Coming up on a year already !
...so here's a brief overview of the last 10 months.
I bought it sight unseen, was very nervous doing so, much out of character for me to say the least but the opportunity came up as we were pulling out of the driveway for a 2 wk trip through Yellowstone. Seller answered many questions, sent photos, and seemed to be on the up and up. Helped that it was in the registry.
Upon delivery I was pleased with the body, paint, and overall condition. But it was obvious the previous owner may not have had the skills or attention to detail that I typically put into things. As he put it it was an occasional driver to take the grand kids for ice cream. It did have a new 347 crate motor but needed sorting out.
First drives were entertaining to say the least. The steering had an honest 1/2 turn of deadband, binder style driving required! No power brakes which for me was a surprise back to my younger years. The cam had way too much duration for the torque converter, didn't want to idle in gear. None of the dash lights, gauges, or turn signals worked. The list continues but you get the idea.
So the plan for the fall was to get it sorted out to make it driveable. Removed a lot of cobbled overlayed wiring. Installed power brakes. Rebuilt the steering column, i-shaft, replaced steering box with a rebuilt 4 turn unit, and a new drag link to get the steering back to something not so white knuckle. Fixed oil leaks which included going through the t-case. It actually drives rather well now for an old truck. Oh and the rear axle was loose to the springs!
At this point I could hop in it and drive it on the weekends and to work at will without too much worry. The bumpity bump cam was about the only negative for drivabilty at this point but got lots of thumbs up.
So what to do next, what's the plan / vision for a 73 Stroppe that is pretty solid but probably never going to be a concourse truck ?
Stay tuned, we've done quite a bit and I have photos to share....
