Patcon

These have been mentioned in the past. I think it is a beautiful way to achieve EFI. Might go this way one day

Love that Chevy! I had one like it but with out the 5 window cab. Sold it in pieces to an older guy when my kids were young. More tuition...

Ouch!! I hate to tear up the diesel and the parts aren't cheap.

Beautiful car! Worth every penny!

My preference is butt welds, when possible

Absolutely!!!

Yes, of course. Find a good machine shop and you should be good.

"Look away, look away, look away..." Do I get to shoot the rope?

I like it!

The forward mounted sway bar can bind in certain situations. The rear mounted bar is a better option. I would suspect binding on the bar or rust at the mounting points broke it.

Zcon 2019 Write it down, go ahead and schedule that vacation!

Are you trying to keep the numbers matching block? If not, I would source an L28 block and go that way. If I wanted to keep numbers matching, I would try to source a seized or blown up block off of CL. The block will have to be "line bored" anyway once you install new caps. It probably won't be much if any cheaper to just source caps because it renders the donor block useless.

I am not sure I would buy inner wheel wells if I was going to flair the car. I would want the flairs in hand and I might just extend the metal on out to the quarter. That way I can run big rubber without worrying about rubbing the wheel arch. I would cut the wheel arch up to clear the rubber but still be hidden by the wheel arch.

I don't know if different caps will fit into your block. I think any caps from L-16 through L-28 should work. Although the thrust bearing caps are different How many do you need? Which ones?

Used, yes, new, I don't think so NLA

Those maybe the holes for the bumper brackets Normally I would try to scab those pieces in behind the radiator support junction, but since yours are wrinkled up high and further back, I might try to come up with a good way to do it where it's easy to make it disappear.

The depressions in Charlie's pans are made on some kind of bead roller. You can see the center point in the middle of the end half circles. I think they will be hard to fabricate with out it. Making a pattern and trying to beat an impression in is only going to stretch the metal and make it oil can. I think you could fabricate the piece of metal under the seat by shaping the curve over a bar or the empty torch bottle after you make the 90 degree bend it. the seat bracket looks good

Why do you need new bearing caps?

It can be difficult to get it disassembled if it's badly corroded. The bolts on the end can be really tight and you need to take care not to damage the aluminum housing. I did not have new seals. I think I came up with some seals to reseal it. It would be in my build thread. Some brake safe grease would be nice too on reassembly. I cleaned everything and obviously replated it all. Be sure you put the correct end in the correct place. You should also test the sensor plug for continuity and isolation.

I don't normally worry too much about bolt on mods as long as you keep the original parts. Although some things are a little more difficult to put back original than others.

The rocker looks good! I don't think you are gonna be much better off trying to graft in the other nose section. I would straighten the drivers side top flange the best you could. Shrinking with heat where possible. If you can't get the top pflange just right, cut it to remove some metal and mig it back up. It looks like the radiator support is mostly out, so I would drill out the rest and repair the drivers side with a metal patch. I can't really tell how bad the rust is on the passenger side, due to all the different colors. I would rework the top flange on this side in a similar fashion and use a template from the drivers side as a guide to set the curve for the passenger side. There is some adjustment in the headlight bucket holes which will help some. If you had some pristine donor front end cuts, I might go at this a different way, but with what you've got I think that is how I would do it. If you need help spotting the re-enforcing plates locations, we can probably get some dimensions from several cars to get you really close.

Show me pictures of what you have on the car right now, please.