Re: 69 C10 swb stepside project 45 ACP
 

Still fighting the urge to cut up my incomplete beater work truck project and modify the trailing arm chassis under it to make it a short wheel base for use with the stepside.

Really thinking this is the way to go for my ultimate goals for this truck as a nice street cruiser / summer toy. I could also use the leaf spring chassis under the stepside in my 4x4 project and the non-A/C cab could stay on the stepside frame to save me some work too.

The big block is just a short term deal until I get a few other vehicles out the door. In the end the stepside will be reincarnated with an LS engine, LTZ 20" wheels, a great handling suspension system and be nicely outfitted with A/C, comfortable seats, a nice stereo and some shiny paint. The Camaro will be the high HP big block drag strip brute that it was meant to be.

Re: 69 C10 swb stepside project 45 ACP
 

When we put our caster/ camber gauge on it, which goes up to 8 degrees, it maxed out really quickly, I would guess its well over 8 degrees. Im sure your could take some out by shimming the top control arm though. The wheel sits really far back in the wheel well when they are mounted that way, and were really close to rubbing at full turn. A taller spindle should make a little bit better.

Re: 69 C10 swb stepside project 45 ACP
 

Great project! I definitely like the 67-68 front clip the best. Keep up the good work!

Re: 69 C10 swb stepside project 45 ACP
 

I figured it would probably have to be put back to stock orientation but I wanted to see what I ended up with to start with since the spindles are quite different.

Re: 69 C10 swb stepside project 45 ACP
 

Thanks, I like the older front end on there too. I just wish the other 69 front clip I had wasn't so nice so I could justify getting another 67/68 clip for my other truck.

My wife goes back to work next week so I might get a chance to get back to work on my truck again some time soon. I can't wait to get this thing on the road.

Re: 69 C10 swb stepside project 45 ACP
 

Finally got my new compressor working so I can get back to work on my truck projects.

Turns out I had a bad start capacitor on the new compressor that mimicked poor voltage to the electric motor. Fixed the problem and it starts & runs great now.

I tied it into my old compressor tank so I now have 93 gallons of 150 psi air available to run my pneumatic tools. That should get the job done. :metal:

Just a little more work to do on the house then I can start back on the trucks again. Just in time for summer.

Re: 69 C10 swb stepside project 45 ACP
 

Better hurry,,,the heat is coming!! you'll have to get up at 5 in the morning to work on it.:lol:

Re: 69 C10 swb stepside project 45 ACP
 

I hear ya. 15 to 20 degrees above average in May isn't a good sign for this summer.

Just have to finish rebuilding the deck stairs & guardrail then I can get to work on the trucks.

Re: 69 C10 swb stepside project 45 ACP
 

looks like a cool project and another stepper for me to follow for motivation

Re: 69 C10 swb stepside project 45 ACP
 

Thanks. I ordered some parts for it finally. Got the super strength U-joints for my driveshaft and the leaf spring perches so I can do the axle over spring flip to get this thing lower to the ground. It looks like a 4x4 right now with the factory heavy duty spring package.

Re: 69 C10 swb stepside project 45 ACP
 

Did a whole lot of digging through my parts stash and getting my priorities straight over the winter and during the lousy weather spring we had.

I am tired of my Malibu, I don't need it, my wife hates it and it really doesn't have much market value in good shape. It will barely bring $3000 in great shape so the nice under 2000 mile freshly rebuilt 4-bolt 400 engine from it is going into the stepside.

I ordered some cheap chambered mufflers to go onto the Malibu so the ceramic coated headers and 50-series delta flow Flowmaster mufflers from it can go onto the stepside too.

With the 400 engine the stepside can now have power brakes and power steering plus it will be getting some other street truck creature comforts to make it less like a tractor and more like a modern vehicle. After I get some of the other projects done it will get a 4L60 to replace the long tailshaft T-350 and the 400 will get one of the direct port fuel injection systems I have on the shelf. Not sure if I will go with the TPI intake or with a rear distributor converted LT1 intake but both systems will be run by the same 91 Z/28 ECM.

The 67 C10 is in need of too much body work and rust repair for anyone to want it around here and I really don't need three trucks so I am not going to put any more time or money into it. It is getting cannibalized for roof parts to fix the stepside cab, to donate the trailing arm suspension for the stepside to use down the road and to put a cheap drivetrain into the Malibu so it can go away with no regrets or loss of investment. The only good part of the fenders are the cup areas so they are getting cut up to use to fix the only bad areas on the fenders of the 69 K10. I might make a trailer out of the beat up bed to save the wear & tear on my other trucks when some real work has to be done too.

The 396 in the stepside now is going back into the Camaro where it belongs (until I get the funds together to finish building the new 496 short block for it). I order most of the parts I need to get the Camaro back on the road again. It got used as a cash machine when I got laid off ten years ago and I have been putting it back together ever since on a much smaller budget. This time around I am making it into a street / strip car instead of a pure drag car like it was before. The roll cage is gone and will not come back. I will limit the power to keep it in the 11.50 to 11.99 ET range so it will not need to have a roll bar by NHRA standards. It won't go to the track very often and will spend most of its time on the street so I can deal with the safety issue. My wife couldn't get in the car before because of her bad back and the back seat was unusable with the roll cage tubing in the way so it had to go. This way my whole family can go for a ride with me and enjoy it at the same time. I have mufflers and tail pipes on it now too. No more open headers. My neighbors will be much happier on Saturday mornings now :lol: I am building a big X-pipe with capped side exits that will bypass the mufflers if I want to uncork it at the track. The poor thing has been in primer since 1987 too so it is going to get painted :metal:

Re: 69 C10 swb stepside project 45 ACP
 

sounds like you got it all figured out! :chevy:

Re: 69 C10 swb stepside project 45 ACP
 

Now I just have to do all the work but that will be fun :metal:

Re: 69 C10 swb stepside project 45 ACP
 

Wow Mike you have a lot irons in the fire! I'm glad you have a plan to get it all done.
We're going to need some pictures now:)
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Re: 69 C10 swb stepside project 45 ACP
 

Priority's, priority's,,,,

Re: 69 C10 swb stepside project 45 ACP
 

No kidding. I am trying to get my vehicular A.D.D. under control a bit and cutting two of my project vehicles out of the herd. I think three is enough :lol:

I figured I should start a rebuild thread on the Camaro too so here it is:

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=528952

I have the order of the work I need to do nailed down pretty good on my to do list so I can be as efficient as possible with what time I have to get things done. I will be bouncing around on the vehicles a bit at first with all the engine swaps and parts transfer work but once that is done I can focus my energy on one vehicle at a time.

First I can get the 67 C10 cut up for the parts I need then put the Malibu together and send it on its way.

The funds from the sale of the Malibu will pay for the rest of the short block parts I need to finish my 496 short block for the Camaro. It is the easiest to get done and on the road as it needs no rust repair and very little body work before paint can go on. Just a little trailer, pit & storage rash here and there from 15 years of racing. It can also run & drive before the 496 is done and the paint can wait. I need to drive that car again soon. It has been undrivable for way too long.

The 396 runs fine and has new heads, cam, timing set, oil pump & bearings. It just smokes a bit because the block needs bored out to fix the cylinder wear. That is why I have a fully machined 454 block in the shed. I couldn't justify paying the money to rebuild a 396 when a 454 or 496 would cost about the same money. I just couldn't make up my mind on what engine to build until recently. I kept thinking about a 427 I built years ago that was a great street engine but pistons are tough to get for them now and cost so much I can't justify the expense. I can buy nice rods and pistons for a 496 for what a set of 427 pistons cost. I nearly scrapped the big block entirely and went with an LS engine swap & single turbo setup. It would cost about the same but there is just something really cool about a big block Camaro plus I have a ton of big block specific Camaro parts that I couldn't use elsewhere & wouldn't get my money back if I tried to sell them.

Stay tuned for more pics. The progress will come soon. The house projects are nearly done then I can get the real work under way. :metal:

Re: 69 C10 swb stepside project 45 ACP
 

Pulled the manual disc master cylinder off the stepside. The flat clear coat sucks and failed in many spots I know had good coverage.

I cleaned it up and coated it with a stainless steel coating I found at a garage sale. Looks just like raw cast iron when dry. It is now on my Camaro.

I used the last of the can on the C2500 LD disc brake rock shields for the stepside. They were rusty, greasy & beat up. I cleaned them up in the parts washer, sand blasted the rust off then sprayed them with the stainless coating. They look pretty good compared to how ugly they were before.

The stepside will be getting power brakes now that it will be getting an engine that makes enough vacuum for them to work properly.

Re: 69 C10 swb stepside project 45 ACP
 

Looks pretty good! Nice to see some progress. Your Camaro is pretty bad a$$!! Hope you get it up and running soon too!:metal:

Re: 69 C10 swb stepside project 45 ACP
 

Thanks Wade. I hope to have the Camaro running & moving under its own power again soon with the stepside not far behind.

Re: 69 C10 swb stepside project 45 ACP
 

Thinning the herd a bit and focusing on getting some major milestones completed. I really don't need or want a beater garbage hauler truck so the rust infested beat up and worn out 67 C10 is getting cannibalized for parts to fix the stepside. The K10 truck will not be too nice to use as a truck so it can pull double duty as a work rig and a daily driver truck.

The 67 C10 cab is getting the roof cut off to repair the stepsides roof damage from the original owners roof top mounted service light and the resulting water leak induced cancer in the inner roof skin. It will also be donating the good 69 front clip to the stepside as well as donating the black painted front bumper and the in-cab fuel tank.

I really like the 67/68 side trim that goes up and over the wheel arches and want it on my truck. It just wouldn't look right on a stepside so the 67/68 front clip will be going back onto the K10 truck.

The 4-bolt 350 from the 67 C10 will be going into the stepside as well. I was contemplating using the 400 from the Malibu but want something that will run a little cooler in traffic and is not so high strung. The 400 is built for a street/strip muscle car and just wouldn't be fun to drive in a daily driver truck so it is staying in the Malibu where it belongs.

I should have the 396 out of the stepside and back into the Camaro where it belongs in the next few days. After that I need to do some brake plumbing on the stepside and then can drop the 4-bolt 350 in.

I want to get the stepside running & driving before I break it down and do the rust repair to the cab & paint the truck. I have a bunch of fab work to do and hate having to work gingerly around a nice paint job.

Re: 69 C10 swb stepside project 45 ACP
 

That's a lot of wrenching you've done there! Subscribed!

Re: 69 C10 swb stepside project 45 ACP
 

We'll need to see some video of this:)

Re: 69 C10 swb stepside project 45 ACP
 

I'd like to see that too :burnout:

This heat is killing me but I am working on it.

Re: 69 C10 swb stepside project 45 ACP
 

As usual the Camaro got put on the back burner with the family coming first.

My need for a truck has also pushed the Camaro down the list too.

Got to work upgrading the steering and brakes on the stepside in preparation for the new engine. Installed the power steering gear box from my 67 C10 along with the Delco brake booster I had and a new power disc master cylinder I picked up.

Reconfigured and converted the drum brake hard lines from the distribution block to fit the disc brake proportioning valve with a couple reducer fittings from the parts store.

Also bent the 67 hard lines to match up with the different angle of the 69 flex hose mounting tabs.

Still more to do on the front brake conversion. I put it together the first time with the upper arms on the wrong sides to what the caster angle would be. The spindle angle measured out at 14 degrees this way. A bit too much without relocating the lower A-arms to bring it down. I will put the upper A-arms back on the stock side and relocate the lower arms instead to give me the 5 to 8 degrees of caster I want.

Started cutting the 67 cab apart to get the good roof inner & outer skins I need for the stepside. Man the bottom side of that 67 was rusty. Seattle weather and a leaky cowl area really took its toll on that poor truck.

A little more cutting on the 67 to get it out of the way so I have room to work.

After that I just need to yank the engine out of the Malibu and drop it into the stepside.

Lots of clean up and paint work to do but most of that will not happen until after I put the whole truck together. Pics to follow once I get them off the camera at home.

Re: 69 C10 swb stepside project 45 ACP
 

Made a little progress the last couple days. Decided I wanted a freshly rebuilt engine in the stepside instead of an 80,000 mile 350.

Pulled the 400 out of the Malibu and hauled it over to the stepside. Decided to use the short tail shaft T-350 out of the Malibu too but after I had pulled the engine so I had to drop that by hand. Same with removing the long tail shaft T-350 from the stepside.

A little clean up to the stepside frame to do then the 400 & T-350 can get dropped in. I think the ceramic coated headers from the Malibu will fit the stepside. We will see for sure in the next couple days.

First pics are of the new power disc master cylinder and the power steering gearbox. Last pic is of my supervisor hard at work.

Re: 69 C10 swb stepside project 45 ACP
 

Got the brake booster installed, fit the support brackets, drilled the lower support bracket hole that I didn't have, installed the new master cylinder, fit the disc brake proportioning valve and plumbed it to the master cylinder.

The drum brake fittings on the supply lines to the front & rear brakes are different sizes than the fittings on the disc brake prop valve. Bent the lines to fit and used a pair of inverted flare reducer fittings to make the conversion.

Got the organ donor 67 cab cut apart. It will never be a truck again but the parts it donated will help get both of my other trucks on the road.

Re: 69 C10 swb stepside project 45 ACP
 

The engine & short tail shaft trans are in.

The headers from my 79 Malibu fit like a glove and give a whole lot more ground clearance than the headers I had on the truck before. As I expected the collectors exit right into the trans crossmember though. Re-purposed a tubular trans crossmember I built 20 years ago for my 70 Chevelle. Cut it down a little and reworked the frame mount brackets to fit the truck frame then gave it a coat of paint. Problem solved.

Next job will be to get the driveshaft in and check to see if I need to shift the engine any so it will fit right then I can drill the lower mount holes for the square body clam shell mount brackets. After that I will get the headers bolted up and start building the first half of the exhaust system.

Re: 69 C10 swb stepside project 45 ACP
 

Looks like good progress on this one. What's next>?

Re: 69 C10 swb stepside project 45 ACP
 

Nice job man! How far back are you running the exhaust?

Re: 69 C10 swb stepside project 45 ACP
 

I need to fit the driveshaft, locate the engine to match and bolt down the frame mounts. After that the headers can be bolted up and the accessories installed.

I need to put a better driver side door on and install the new cab mount bushings then the cab can be bolted down and the front clip installed.

Install the fuel tank, put the seat frame onto the crew cab seat base and fit the shoulder belt retractors to the floor anchor points.

Reinstall the under dash harness and the rest of the dash parts so it is complete then install the front light harness and engine harness.

Do the rear axle flip to put it on top of the springs and cut the front coils down to match. Flip the upper A-arms side to side as the current configuration gives too much caster. Remove the lower A-arms and machine the cross shafts for 3/4" rearward placement to increase caster. When the funds come available it will get drop spindles & proper drop springs up front.

Make the emergency brake system complete and functional, finish plumbing the rear brakes and bleed the system so they work.

Cut the exhaust pass thru holes in the trailing arm crossmember and build the exhaust system.

After that I can put some gas in it and fire it up. Should move under its own power at that point.

Still a boat load of stuff to do after that point before it is ready to get blown apart, painted & reassembled. I may just hit it with a quick coat of satin black to knock the ugly off it. After this thing moves under its own power I will be getting back to work on the 4x4 project to get it to the same point.

Re: 69 C10 swb stepside project 45 ACP
 

For now it will only just pass through the holes I will be cutting in the crossmember with the mufflers just forward of that for now.

Down the road I am going to trial fit a spare trailing arm suspension setup onto it and make the tail pipes clear that system. At that point I will move the mufflers back to behind the rear axle where they are more efficient.

Not sure if I am going to keep it leaf spring or put trailing arm suspension onto it but I might as well make the exhaust system work with both.

The final system will exit straight out the back. I might notch the rear bumper similar to some newer vehicles to tuck them up a little higher. Side exits shake the walls of my house and the neighbors house too much. :lol: I like the look of out the back better vs side exit anyway.

Re: 69 C10 swb stepside project 45 ACP
 

I really like that finish.

Re: 69 C10 swb stepside project 45 ACP
 

Unfortunately the matte finish clear didn't hold up well at all. I ended up re-doing it with a spray on matte stainless steel spray coating. Looks the same as freshly blasted cast iron but much more durable than the clear coat.

Re: 69 C10 swb stepside project 45 ACP
 

Not much progress recently but the acquisition of my 67 Suburban pushed things along. I decided I wanted the bigger low RPM motor in the K20 so I pulled the 400 out of the stepside and put it into my 4x4. The fresh 4-bolt 350 that was in the K20 is now in my 67 Suburban.

I am in the process of freshening up the very low mileage rebuilt but greasy and partially ant infested 70 Chevelle 350 that came out of the Suburban for the stepside. All the oil on it came from a grooved balancer snout hosing down the whole undercarriage and engine and a pushed out rear intake seal. Other than the small amount of ant nest sand in the intake ports and the thick coat of grease on the outside it is in great shape. Very clean with nice crosshatching still clearly visible on the cylinders, nice tan clean burning cylinder residue on the valves and no sludge anywhere but in the bottom of the oil pan from the 33 year old oil that was still in it from 1979 when it was parked. Pretty amazing for how long it sat untouched. I expected barnacles in the cylinders and rats nests in the heads.

The auto trans has been eradicated and the original 3-speed manual trans will be going back in.

I will be converting the truck from the as optioned leaf spring rear suspension to trailing arms after the engine & trans are installed.

Re: 69 C10 swb stepside project 45 ACP
 

Glad to see you are making positive progress. Keep the update pictures coming.

Re: 69 C10 swb stepside project 45 ACP
 

I am making good progress on getting this truck put together.

I am going to convert my newly acquired 67 Suburban into a 4x4 so this worked well with my desire to put a trailing arm rear suspension into the stepside. It also gave me the motivation needed to get that monumental task started.

The leaf-spring-suspension-ectomy is complete on the stepside and it now has the complete trailing arm suspension system out of my old 67 C10 that I parted out.

The cab of my 67 C10 was too rusted out to be economically salvageable so it gave its life to help out several of my other projects. It continues to give as the inner roof skin and outer roof skin will be going onto the stepside cab. I need these to fix the damage caused by the roof mounted service light installed by the original owners as it was originally a Pacific Telephone & Telegraph service truck.

I need to do a little work to the front end and brakes before I start on the roof replacement but it should happen soon. My plan is to drill the spot welds and remove the inner rear window panel & inner roof panel then do the same to the outer roof skin. Just reverse the original assembly line process then install the 67 C10 donor parts like the Fisher body plant did. Should not be able to tell it was ever done when I am finished and it will be just as strong as it ever was.

Lots of pics to post just haven't had time to download and edit them to size.

Re: 69 C10 swb stepside project 45 ACP
 

Ready to see some pictures of all that progress. Sounds like you have been busy.

Re: 69 C10 swb stepside project 45 ACP
 

Some way overdue pics of the trailing arm conversion to the factory optioned leaf spring 2wd frame.

Luckily the leaf spring option did not eliminate the forward trailing arm crossmember itself but only the trailing arm mount brackets and carrier bearing bracket. This made for a very good reference point for all suspension conversion measurements.

I used my old 69 C20 frame as a component location template and parts donor in addition to the trailing arms & rear end out of my old 67 C10.

Problems loading the pics and letting the site resize them. I will need to try again later after I get a chance to resize the images myself first.

Re: 69 C10 swb stepside project 45 ACP
 

Been very busy with the family & life getting in the way but finally getting back to working on my trucks and the Camaro.

I ended up going off the deep end on my daily driver bagged 89 C1500 RCLB when it blew a head gasket in the original small block. It turned into a full frame off rebuild & upgrade. It is now a static dropped short bed on a torsion bar 4x4 chassis with TBI 454, 4L80E and 14-bolt posi. I am playing around with the idea of making it all wheel drive as I have all the parts to do it but the lack of posi for the front is kind of a detractor. We will see.

The stepside has reverted to the 400 small block and T-350 again.

I fit the stepside with the 5-lug drop spindles off of my 89 C1500. With the 235/70-15's on the front it sits nice an low like I wanted it. Now I have to make the rear match.

That necessitated a rear end swap to get 5-lug out back. I cut the trailing arm mounts off of a spare housing I had and fit them to a square body 3.73 posi truck 12-bolt 5-lug rear end I had rebuilt for the 89 C1500 rebuild job but didn't use after I decided to make the C1500 6-lug and found the 14-bolt posi for it.

I just got the rear installed into the stepside yesterday and am in the process of building a longer panhard bar setup for it. I used the axle tube mounted portion from a spare HO72 housing I had and modified it to fit outboard of the trailing arm mount on the passenger side. It sits about 2" lower than the stock mount does so that will lower the rear roll center a bit. I need to build the longer panhard bar to match. I am toying around with the idea of making a frame bracket to lower the arm more to level out the bar and lower the roll center even more.

Re: 69 C10 swb stepside project 45 ACP
 

Nice looking work there! How bout a pic of the '89?