Re: Family Project 65 C10 SWB "Old Blue"
 

The ebay stainless headers came in today! They look great on the truck. Very thick flanges, excellent welding, they look to be high quality...go figure! We'll see how they hold u to heat and time.

No clearance issues at all, once I get the old transmission cross member cut out

Re: Family Project 65 C10 SWB "Old Blue"
 

Removed the old throttle linkage and pedal mounts. This engine is DBW, so I'll be mounting the Silverado pedal assembly with sensor direct to the inside of my firewall.

Re: Family Project 65 C10 SWB "Old Blue"
 

Removed the gas tank...

Re: Family Project 65 C10 SWB "Old Blue"
 

If you've ever smelled gas inside the cab of one of these trucks and wondered were the leak is...these hose clamps and the filler tube are the answer...

Re: Family Project 65 C10 SWB "Old Blue"
 

Where we stand today: ready to pull the body, sandblast and POR the frame, run exhaust, install fuel pump and lines, install a new gas tank.

The concrete blocks are to keep the power of that 5.3 from flipping the truck over...or to protect my knees from the bumper braces...either one depending on the need. :-D

Re: Family Project 65 C10 SWB "Old Blue"
 

Those stainless headers look great Jamie

Re: Family Project 65 C10 SWB "Old Blue"
 

Thanks, they fit great, other than needing angle boot plug wires...most headers require those though.

Re: Family Project 65 C10 SWB "Old Blue"
 

UPDATES with lots of pics. Not all interesting stuff, most pics just so I can remember what I removed from where, LOL! Removed both doors to get ready to lift the cab off.

Re: Family Project 65 C10 SWB "Old Blue"
 

The gears on the passenger side window regulator were so rusty I couldn't get the window down. WD-40 to the rescue!

The top of the door jambs look great, no rust. The bottom...not so much...

Re: Family Project 65 C10 SWB "Old Blue"
 

Removed the bolts and pushrod from the 1992 Chrysler LeBaron power master cylinder that my dad and I installed about 20 years ago.

Also removed the clutch pedal arm and linkage.

Re: Family Project 65 C10 SWB "Old Blue"
 

Removed the steering assembly and lifted off the cab.

Re: Family Project 65 C10 SWB "Old Blue"
 

Jake, one of our #GodsGarage students helped me cut the old manual transmission cross member out to make room to run dual 2.5" exhaust off the LS motor.

Re: Family Project 65 C10 SWB "Old Blue"
 

Cut the old z-bar clutch linkage bracket off. Also removed another bracket that I'm not sure what it was for, drivers side, extended from the frame about 5 inches inward...exhaust hanger maybe? My dad and two youngest sons helped with that one (put one picture of a swing and a miss...dad is a brave man...lol)!!

Re: Family Project 65 C10 SWB "Old Blue"
 

Cut off some other old exhaust hangers and started scraping 50 years worth of dirt from the frame. Had to give up my scraper...the boys said it looked like fun and took over!

Re: Family Project 65 C10 SWB "Old Blue"
 

One thing I was really concerned about was the bed. I don't have any intention of doing much body or paint work at this point; I just want to get it driveable and safe for now, rat-rod style. The only reason I'm pulled the body was to cut those trans crossmembers out, but I can't see having the body off without cleaning and POR-ing the frame. Back to the bed, it has a solid steel sheet welded into it. I've never really looked at how it was welded, although I did love having a solid bed in the truck. The bolt heads for the bed mounts are covered by the sheet of solid steel. I was worried this was going to cause problems with bed removal. Fortunately we discovered that the sheet was only tack welded, and only to the wood supports, not to the bed sides! YAY! A-grinding we will go...

Should have the bed steel removed this evening!

Re: Family Project 65 C10 SWB "Old Blue"
 

Looking good. nice to have all the extra hands around to help!! Especially on frame cleaning

Re: Family Project 65 C10 SWB "Old Blue"
 

Worked on removing the bed last night. I got the rest of the spot welds cut, but then found that the sheet of steel has bolts welded underneath, going through the outer rail that used to hold wood down. I was able to get underneath and remove most of the nuts (or break the bolts off...cheap hardware), but there's still something under there holding the steel down. Hopefully I can find it tonight.

Re: Family Project 65 C10 SWB "Old Blue"
 

Finally got the bed steel out of the truck. I finally figured out that it wasn't just tack welded. They had drilled through the sheet from the bottom and placed bolts through the side rails and the sheet, then welded the tops of those bolts and ground them flat. What a pain, but we won...

Re: Family Project 65 C10 SWB "Old Blue"
 

Next step is removing the bed. I had to remove the step braces to get to one of the last bolts holding the sheet of steel in, then we started removing the bed to frame bolts. All but on had to be cut/ground off from the top.

Now I need to get new bolts to re-attach the bed cross members to the side rail, since those were attached by the bolts that were holding the bed steel in. Once I get that done we're ready to remove the bed.

Re: Family Project 65 C10 SWB "Old Blue"
 

Didn't get much done last night, just bought some bolts and washers to hold the bed together while I remove it. Once that's done I can start cleaning up the frame. Hopefully I can get that completed this weekend.

Re: Family Project 65 C10 SWB "Old Blue"
 

Pulled the bed off using our custom built bed lift (100 year old maple tree).

Re: Family Project 65 C10 SWB "Old Blue"
 

Removed the wheels and spacers. Cut off any remaining exhaust hangers, etc.

Re: Family Project 65 C10 SWB "Old Blue"
 

Started sandblasting rust and dirt from the frame to prep for painting/sealing. I had plenty of help with that part!

Re: Family Project 65 C10 SWB "Old Blue"
 

One awesome project! :metal: In for the ride. :chevy:

Re: Family Project 65 C10 SWB "Old Blue"
 

Thanks! Apparently:truck: I'm in for the ride too...

Re: Family Project 65 C10 SWB "Old Blue"
 

looking good ... keep it up =0)

Re: Family Project 65 C10 SWB "Old Blue"
 

It's a great family project you have going and having the boys involved is priceless. Please get those boys and yourself a better respirator for sand blasting. The sand breaks up into some really fine particles and those masks leak so bad they are breathing in some bad stuff. Again love the project and have been following along.

Re: Family Project 65 C10 SWB "Old Blue"
 

Thanks!

Thanks! They didn't last long enough for it to hurt them. There was plenty of wind that day too! But yeah, for long term sandblasting, especially in enclosed spaces, a real respirator and SHIRTS are a good idea, lol!!

Re: Family Project 65 C10 SWB "Old Blue"
 

Got some REALLY important stuff done last night...A/C in the shop!! <edit> Forgot to mention, God blessed me with that A/C unit for $75...can't beat that!

Also took some pics with my daughter. She had her first school dance thingy last night. Yes, that is my "I will kill any man that crosses my daughter" look.

Re: Family Project 65 C10 SWB "Old Blue"
 

I got started on reworking the wiring harness. I used the information from Brendan at lt1swaps.com, he knows this stuff inside and out. I'm reversing everything so that the main harness exits under the intake and goes into the cab. I'll be mounting the pcm and tcm under the dash, along with the relay box for all the power going to the harness. I'm going to have to extend the power and ground on the driver's side coil connector, everything else looks good to go.

Re: Family Project 65 C10 SWB "Old Blue"
 

That's alot of spaghetti you have there. Don't envy you on that job.

Re: Family Project 65 C10 SWB "Old Blue"
 

It actually only took about an hour altogether. The key is having a printout with what wire goes to what pin with the wire color noted. From that point just remove what has been programmed out of the computer or isn't needed by the computer to actually run (egr, oil/temp sensors, etc). http://ltwswaps.com has all the info you could need to do it.

Turned out pretty well. Still looks like a mess, but everything that connects to the engine is loomed up now and separated out. Now I just need to connect all the pinks via a relay pack to key on hot and the oranges to battery always hot. I'll be replacing the ugly blue tape with some good electrical tape too. Making progress!!

edit: Since my setup is DBW, I also kept out the four wires that control the cruise control so I can wire them into a CC stalk on my steering column. I can't wait to drive this thing!

Re: Family Project 65 C10 SWB "Old Blue"
 

Ordered the parts to completely rebuild the front suspension on the truck today. I shopped around and found all MOOG parts at Rockauto.com as cheap as the chinese junk that's out there. I was amazed. Shipping was only $35 too. I've listed the parts and prices below for anyone looking for a c10 front end rebuilt kit in the board search feature:
Brand Part Desc $ea qty $total
MOOG K6023 Ball Joint $ 14.47 2 $ 28.94
MOOG K6024 Ball Joint $ 15.81 $ 0.00 2 $ 31.62
MOOG K6098 Control Arm Shaft Kit $ 24.89 2 $ 49.78
MOOG K6147 Control Arm Shaft Kit $ 28.79 2 $ 57.58
MOOG ES370R Tie Rod End $ 9.95 2 $ 19.90
MOOG ES350L Tie Rod End $ 11.14 2 $ 22.28
MOOG ES350S Tie Rod End Sleeve $ 9.12 2 $ 18.24
MOOG K14 Idler Arm $ 44.79 1 $ 44.79

Re: Family Project 65 C10 SWB "Old Blue"
 

So....I got all my suspension parts in last week, but I've been trying to figure out a safe way to disassemble the front end with the thing stripped down to the frame. There's no weight to compress the spring with a jack, and all of the compressors I have access to won't fit to compress the spring. Here's what I settled on as a solution. I drilled out one of the body mount washers just enough to pass the bolt of the spring compressor. I also used an old pulley to add some width. I'll run this up through the hole in the bottom of the lower a-arm and compress down from the top of the spring. Problem solved, I hope!

Re: Family Project 65 C10 SWB "Old Blue"
 

We removed on side of the front suspension this weekend. I used a couple of crank pulleys to give lower support for the spring compressor. Worked great. Popped the tied rod ends and upper/lower ball joints loose with a fork. Unbolted the upper and lower a-arm bushing rods and pulled it all loose. We got started on the other side then the rain hit.

Re: Family Project 65 C10 SWB "Old Blue"
 

Documented the spacers in the upper a-arm to have a starting point for alignment later. Also a good pic of the original tie rod bar orientation.

Re: Family Project 65 C10 SWB "Old Blue"
 

Got the rear shock removed. My boys felt the need to help me clean up the old truck some more. I plan to remove the idler arm and the passenger side a-arms tonight. Next step after that is a final cleanup with the sandblaster then on to paint! Can't wait for the new parts to start going on!!

Re: Family Project 65 C10 SWB "Old Blue"
 

Last night I got the passenger side suspension removed. We're ready for sandblasting and painting....then....NEW PARTS! (Also a couple of pics of the upper a-arm spacers, so I have a starting point for alignment when i reassemble everything.)

Re: Family Project 65 C10 SWB "Old Blue"
 

Wow. It's been a little over two years since I've updated. Unfortunately it's also been two years since we've worked on the truck. I got to the sandblasting part and just stalled, partly because of reading/discovering the dangers of sandblasting. Regardless I was excited to get back on it this weekend. My dad and some of my boys pitched in.

We got almost all of the frame sandblasted (finally). We made use of "black diamond", a carbon-based blasting material that can be purchased at Tractor Supply for about $7 per 50lb bag. Not only is is safer than silica based sand (although you still need a respirator, etc), it cleans up the frame better/quicker AND it's easier to wash off. We got all but the rear underside done this weekend. I hope to finish the blasting in the evenings this week and get it painted with POR this weekend!

Side note: I'm blown away by how much my boys have grown in the last two years...

Re: Family Project 65 C10 SWB "Old Blue"
 

A couple more pics of the blasting job. I hope to have pretty steady updates this winter. We shall see!