earthquake68

The 429/460 are the same engine family. The bell housing will bolt to a 351M/400, but since I hate thise engines, that won't happen. I'll either rebuild/fix the 429, install a 460, or put a 7.3L IH diesel in it. I'm undecided at the moment.

I know what you mean. That's why I have a hotrod shop and NOT a repair shop. (although I do work on new stuff too) My favorite thing to do is make modifications and make them look like they came that way from the factory. I'm finishing up a build for a guy on a '66 Ford pick up. It's 4wd and has all factory options from an '80's Ford truck. (delay wipers, cruise, tilt wheel, power steering, factory bucket seats and center console, power disc brakes, etc.) I basically skinned an '85 Bronco with a '66 Ford F100. These fun projects like Cooter's tow truck here, keep me smiling while I'm working on the boring new stuff. I'll keep this thread up to date as much as I can with the progress.

I got the front wheels and tires on the wrecker. I even got some paint on them. I'm still not sure where I stand on the engine, so I'm gonna try a few different things before I yank the engine. I'm gonna start making the changes to make it look like Cooter's truck soon.

The only car I ever heard of with a marking tag was "LEE1" next to the vin tag.

Garrett, are you still around? Where are you? A guy down the street from me builds General Lees for a living. He always has one or two around.

As far as I know, that would be legal, but I think you'll have a hard time selling used items for retail. ....Even with the "upgrades".

I got some more work done on the wrecker. For now, I'm trying to get it back on the road. It's coming along, but it's fighting me every step of the way. I decided to put my new seat in but while it was out, I wanted to patch the soft spots in the floor. Well, I pulled up the carpet and half the floor came with it. It took a minute to weld everything back together, but the truck has floors again. Now I'm on the search for a new engine. It turns out the 429 has oil pressure issues. I took it on a 4 mile test drive and the oil pressure was ZERO when I got back. ...no bueno. Anyway, here's the floors before... And with the rotted metal cut out. ...and finally with new metal welded in.

This thread was started 4 years ago with 8 responses so far. I find that odd. For the record, I love watching NCIS. (both the first and LA) The series started out a little slow, but has really come into it's own in the past few years. Launching NCIS LA was a fantastic gamble. I try not to miss an episode.

That's great! He'll get a kick out that.

I deal a lot with CL and buy and sell parts on there quite a bit. A guy just had a Dixie horn for sale at a decent price. ......yeah, I bought it. Since I don't have a Charger, I put it in my '79 Ford truck. Like the title says, I just couldn't resist.

WOW! Those are great shots. I think I have to buy a new quill to do all that pinstriping. I had no idea there was that much on the truck. Thanks a bunch! I got a new windshield and seat today for it. I also put insurance on it in anticipation of it getting on the road next week. (hopefully) While I have the seat out, I'm going to do the floor patches it needs. I think I have enough sheet metal to fix them. ...little by little.

Let me start by saying I have three girls and they're all gorgeous, so as a dad, I have aneurisms on a regular basis. Anyway, my oldest is 15 and she went out on her first official date last night. I'm ex-military with some time in the sand box and PTSD to prove it. SO, ...I'm out in the shop working on my Chevelle when Cora, (my oldest) comes out to inform me that she's going on a date and the guy will be here any minute. I've had visions of this moment for years. The ole' cleaning a gun when he shows up, whispering in his ear, they'll never find his body, etc. Cora asks me nicely, "When you meet him can you not be, ...well, ....you." Ummm. Ok. So he shows up and I introduce myself and we talk for a little bit before they leave. I was trying very hard to be nice. Honest. On the way to dinner, the boy asks Cora if "I'm always like that." She says sheepishly, "...yeah". Then he says, "He scares the crap out of me and I don't usually intimidate easily." So Cora tells a secret. "Yeah, he was in the Army and can kill people with his thumb." They had a second date for tonight, but he called and said he had an anxiety attack and backed out. ..... ....Gee, I hope it wasn't me. .......I REALLY WAS TRYING TO BE NICE!!!

I used to build big 4 wheel drive trucks. I built a monster truck named "Earthquake". When we went 'wheelin', guys would call me by my truck's name over the CB. After a while, it stuck. '68 is the '68 Chevelle I used to own, since most sites I'm on, "earthquake" is taken, earthquake68 became my screen name. If you see my screen name on another site, chances are it's me. This is Earthquake I. Earthquake II was bigger yet, but I can't find any pictures of it. I'm still kicking around the thought of building Earthquake III.

I got some more work done on the wrecker. Right now, I'm just concentrating on getting it road worthy. I put new style 16" wheels on the back and lost the 17.5" wheels. The tires are much shorter, so it did a lot to help the tall gear ratio. It's also starting to loosen up a little. It's starting easier and running a little better. I'm hoping to pick up a new windshield and a seat for it within the next week or so. I'll get pictures as I get stuff done. After it's a dependable tow truck, I'll go back and make the changes it needs to look like the yellow truck.

Oh, ok. I guess only having made 1,000 of them, that's why I haven't seen another one of them. Thanks for the heads up.