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That looks great, I REALLY LIKE the tire/wheel combo! Where did you get those rear wheels?

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Awesome attention to detail!

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Had them built & I would not recommend the place that did it (Stockton Wheel).

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Definitely the right wheel and tire combo for this truck. Frame looks great, definitely worth all the hassle. When is the body swap party? I'm in!

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cleanest Z i have ever seen, super nice job

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As stated, it looks awesome! If this is "practice"..... I really can't wait to see the 67 ;)

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very nice...that's the same idea i had/have for my wheel & tire plans unless something changes...keep up the nice work!

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Well, I got the rear Bilsteins delivered today so I though I would do a quick trial fit to make sure there were no suprises. Suprise! They need to be modified.

The lower mounting stud on 'generic' shocks is typically separate from the shock. The stud mounts to the frame or bracket & is secured w/a nut. The shock bushing slides over the shaft of the stud & is secured to the stud w/another nut (just like the front shocks).

On Bilsteins, the stud is press-fit into the bushing & is one piece w/the shock. The only way to secure the lower end of the shock is to mount the stud/shock combo in place & tighten the nut from the back of the mount. Not a problem w/standard lower coil spring shock mounts but it IS a problem w/the Porterbuilt lower shock mount as there's very little room to access the nut.

With PB's set-up, you have enough room to put a wrench on the nut to keep it from spinning & you simply tighten the stud from the front side..... It works well when the stud & bushing is 2 pieces.

Sooo..... I cut the stud apart to press it out of the shock eye & bushing. The fit was so tight, it wouldn't press the stud out, it pressed the entire bushing & stud out as a unit. I then had to press the stud out of the bushing.
1st pic.... Bilstein stud vs. generic shock stud
2nd pic... Bilstein stud cut apart to press out of bushing
3rd pic.... Bilstein shock stud & bushing

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So I go to try & squeeze the bushing back into the shock eye..... that was like putting a square peg into a round hole. It squished/squirmed one way or the other vs. into the hole. On to Plan B.

Plan B. I figured would just require getting a typical 2pc bushing w/a sleeve (each half of the bushing slips in place from the opposite side of the shock eye & a sleeve is pressed in place). I got all the dimensions from the bushing & shock eye to start my net search. Hhmm.... it seems what I need is not exactly a common size. In fact, nothing seems to be available in a 2pc.

So, now I'm contemplating my options. I might try to freeze the supplied bushings & cut them in half (effectively making my own split bushing); or I did find a 1pc poly bushing from Prothane w/similar dimensions that I could do the same (cut it in half making it a 2pc bushing).

I guess I should know by now, it's never simple....

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hmmmm use wash up liquid to grease the bushing and clamp the lot intoo a vice with a couple of big ratchet sockets to push the bushing in far enough and tighten , or do the same thing with a piece of treaded rod stuck through the whole setup fitted with some nuts and washers ( this might actually work better )

they put the thing in there before so it should fit

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That's basically how I was attempting to draw the bushing in. The problem was once the 'set-up' was tightened to draw the bushing into place, the bushing expanded making it that mush harder (because of its now larger diameter) to pull into the shock eye.

We have deep freezers @ work. I'm going to try the same process today after freezing the bushings @ -60°.

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awesome work Scoti!

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Freezing the bushings didn't help so last night I cut one in half. That allowed me to get the bushing pressed back into the shock eye but there's no way even a .500" bolt is going to pass through w/o forcing one of the bushing 'halfs' out.

I need to order the mufflers from Summit today so I'll order some poly shock bushings, cut them in half, & use them (the poly bushings have a larger dia bolt hole).

Last night, my buddy Matt stopped by the shop to see the chassis. He said it looked better in person than in the pics so that made me a happy camper.
:)

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I ordered some Prothane (poly) shock bushings & mufflers. Once I get the bushings, I'll cut them up to use in the shocks. I'm just hoping they're not going to be noisy.

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You ordered the bushing mufflers, but forgot the muffler bearings...;)

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Blinker fluid....dont forget it

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They came w/the flux capacitor . . .....

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Truck looks great Scoti

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Thanks!

Today, I worked on the cab/front clip in anticipation of separating the body from the original chassis.

I needed to get the floor cut to allow clearance for the tranny using a high-hump trans tunnel. I got it cut out & 'marked' for the tunnel fastener holes. Since I was in there working, I removed the clutch pedal (plus the attached push-rod linkage), the remaining firewall insulation, heater assembly, various wires, cables, & e-brake hardware.

I then removed the batt tray, cables, any 'hacked up' front clip wiring, tagged the 'good' wiring, & removed the master cylinder.

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Go scot go!!!!!

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I need to get off my duff and catch up on mine...maybe the holidays will do me some good..

Keep it going....

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Nice job on chassis, looks great !!!!!!!!

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Eleven days.....I know your not sitting on your hands so what's been done?

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Unfortunately, not much. Still waiting on the shock bushings. The drivetrain hasn't moved from its spot in the garage. I need enough time to get everything in one location & w/my schedule that means weekend 'days' (Sat one week, Sun the next). But, my weekend guys have taken personal days the last 2 weeks so I covered a Sat for one, Sun for the other.

I've been around the house more so I've been doing small things w/the dually. A much needed brake inspection, some detail cleaning, & then replacing the master cylinder. Then onto cosmetics.... front bumper w/impact strip is gone. Rear hide-away space carrier is gone. 'Urban cowboy' exhaust tips are gone. Today while waiting for the plumbers to arrive @ the house to repair my leaking water main ( line from the meter that supplies the house split), I removed the rear 'work' bumper & swapped the sport bumper in place to determine the hitch requirements.

I still have to get x-mas shopping done too. So progress.... just not on the 64.

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Scoti,
I just read all 109 pages. Very awsome build so far! I dig what you are doing! A few questions. You are running 78-81 Malibu rear shocks and C-10 front shocks? Did you order them through the local parts house? Thanks!

Greg "GT" Tholen

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I wish I'd have known. I just placed a large order from www.TackyUrbanCowboyTruckStuff.com for my truck. On my side of town our necks are much redder than over on the east side where you are.

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Yes. C-10 fronts & g-body rears. Bilstein does not list a p/n for C-10 rears. Now that Hotchkis has a kit w/'tuned' shocks, a guy might be able to just get some Bilsteins for their C10 that's a direct fit.

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Kevin, these are 'patina' so I saved 'em for guys just like you. But, I'm warning you up front.....it's going to be harder for you to sneek up on the sheep!

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Velcro gloves should do the trick, I hear.

Just for what it's worth, the Craigslist ad when I bought the dually had is listed as a "Cowboy Cadillac". I think I heard dueling banjos when we went to go pick it up.

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as long as they dont hand you there beercan and start yeliing hey ya'll watch this , you prolly be ok

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thats some funny stuff right there.... i dont care who you are thats funny !!

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It's been a few days (weeks), but I managed to get to the shop after work tonight.

Last time I was @ the shop admiring my work (:lol:), I noticed the 'new' brake lines were already flash rusting from nothing more than just sitting under the tarp (indoors). I buffed the front lines down w/a 3M disc, wiped them down w/degreaser, & re-installed them.

I inspected them tonight & the rust was starting to show again. I'm going to just paint them so they don't look fugly.

Since I was removing all the brake lines, I decided to swap the HD rear brakes into place. They had a basic 'clean-up' on the exterior surfaces by my buddy Matt when he turned the drums for me but were otherwise 'as pulled from the donor'. So I dis-assembled the internal hardware, wiped them down w/some degreaser, hit 'em w/a coat of black, & after they kind-of dried (dang Rustoleum), got the backing plates installed.

I'll try to get new internal hardware, shoes, & wheel cylinders tomorrow just in case I get an opportunity before or over the weekend to get them finished up. Other than that, I'm trying to formulate my game plan for the body swap as I'm @ that stage . . ....

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hmmm usually brakelines have a greenish gold plating to prevent them rusting (think they use zinkfosfate or sumtin like that ) , im suprised they rust so fast , you could smear a bit of acid free vaseline on them , that will keep the rust off at first , hit it with some brakecleaner and a rag and it should be clean enough for final paint

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I was surprised as well. I've pulled OE brakelines from older trucks in the wrecking yard & the lines were rust free. These are 'replacement' OE steel from Inline Tubing. Plus, I had to make one line from scratch so the surface appearance was slightly different (enough to notice).

Painting them will keep everything consistent & is easier than making new lines from stainless.

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Let me know when you have the swap party. I'm definitely in.

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(Y.S.) I would like to see some pictures......have you installed the motor/trans yet? ;)

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Shooting for drivetrain install tomorrow.

*edit* Motor, trans, & chassis are all @ the same location. I hate working in the dark.

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I was able to find what I wanted for the rear brakes. I went by this 'new' place (new to me) & it's old school! I told them it was the beginning of a new relationship :lol: .

So tomorrow Ill get the rear brakes buttoned up & drop the drivetrain in if timing permits.

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allways nice to find a shop with personel that actually know wat they talk about

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Drivetrain is in place. I'll need to build a 2.5" trans mount spacer to get my targeted 5° trans output shaft angle; everything else went pretty smooth (other than the drivers side bottom motor mount bolt on the DM engine towers..... PITA).

I need about .500" added to the ECE style T/A x-member when the truck is @ full dump/bottomed @ the c-notches & a 1pc shaft would clear the x.member 'hoop'. This means some investigation is needed. Initially, I figured I would have to run a 2pc drive-line. What I didn't like about that plan is the added cost & complexity. With the dimensions being so close, I would really prefer to run a 3.5" 1pc shaft. So, tomorrow I'll crawl under the truck & take some reference measurements to see where (if) there will possibly be interference.

The final numbers were: trans output yoke was 5°; the carb flange was 2.0°, & the pinion was @ +1° @ ride height (pinion not finalized). That puts me @ 3.5" front compression travel & 3" rear compression travel before bottoming out so it should work pretty well on the road.

I also started the rear HD brake swap but didn't get far. I purchased all new spring & hardware kits thinking I would just quickly assemble things.... wrong. I laid down a coat of color on the drums & then started the install only to realize I needed to clean all the necessary brackets for the install (my brain was thinking the hardware kits had everything included). The only 'brackets' included are for the self adjusting set-up. It took much longer than I wanted to get the brackets all cleaned up (I cleaned them well enough for a coat of color just cause I tick that way :lol: ).

So, that's where the day/night ended (all the brackets are now ready). The next opportunity I get out to the shop, I should be able to actually get the swap done.

Crappy cell phone pic still counts as a pic ;) . . . .....