Hi Guys,

Well I've been trying to post a few photos for about a month.
No help to date... But work is progressing slowly anyway.
I cleaned and inspected the donor engine (258).. The top end is
serviceable... I did clean a few exhaust valve seats with my
antique cutters..I removed the excessive carbon from the intake
valves and installed new stem rubbers. New head gasket and the
top end is back on the block... The bottom end however was a
little disappointing... I struck copper on the rear main.. The
journals are all still shiny and bright so I'm gonna reuse the
crank as is.... I'm waiting now for a new set of main and rod
inserts... New timing gears/chain, water pump and thermo housing
will go on after I sneak the crank out and then back in the block

I'll be making the EGR block off plate and plug in the next week or so...Also a plug for the O2 sensor.. I bead blasted the
stock intake and exhaust manifolds the other day..

Cleaning up a used/replacement oil pan was interesting... The
gunk on the inside was so bad, I had to use paint stripper to get
down to bare metal... The outside had a rust/crust UNDER the paint. I bead blasted that away and then put on a little engine
paint.

I'll be rebopping the alternator bracket, moving the alt to
the rear about an inch.. This will allow using the vibration
dampner as the alt belt drive... Shortening the engine assy
about an inch.

I'll also be pulling covers and inspecting the T5 trans and the Dana 300 transfer case.. Last things to inspect and repair will be the two axles, Dana 25 up front and Dana 53.

I purchased 3" channel iron the other day to use for my new
rear/trans mount cross member. The current cross member will
remain on the truck. The new one will mount the same as the original, only rearward about 7 inches. The sides of it will
bolt to the outside of the frame rails and the bottom part
will be about one inch below the bottom of the frame...Sure wish I could post photos.. I have a weak vocabulary and cursing (my usual option) isn't appreciated on the inter web...(ha)