Re: 1966 C10 Project Truck
 

After putting a bunch of miles on it since Friday, I gotta say that I'm really pleased with the truck! There isn't anything that I would change right away but there are a couple things that I would've done differently during the build if I were to do it again. Things like ordering a disc brake kit with drop spindles instead of stock spindles and looking at the No Limit stuff a bit more.

I still have a couple things to get done, mount the steps and clean and paint the tailgate but I love driving this thing and can't wait for its first autocross, it's going to be a blast!

https://c6.staticflickr.com/9/8819/2...e8e7d7d3_b.jpg

Re: 1966 C10 Project Truck
 

Just a quick update. Still no major problems with the pickup which has been great! I still need to go through the rear suspension and check all the bolts but the truck still feels very solid when I drive it. The factory steering wheel is quite large as well but it's ok for now.

I had a little fuel issue pop up when it would get hot outside, it started idling rough but was fine off idle. I am thinking that it's trying to vapor lock but it would never die on me. On Sunday, I was at my parents place for a retirement party for one of their neighbors and a couple of the neighbor kids wanted rides. When we got back from the 2nd ride, dad popped the hood to show off under the hood and while I was talking about it I noticed a slight fuel leak around the filter. Probably shouldn't run the plastic fuel filter above the intake/exhaust manifold :lol:.

I'm going to re-do the fuel line and put the filter right off the pump and also add a heat wrap over the fuel line from the filter to the carb. Hopefully that calms the vapor lock down a bit too.

I'm hoping to hit an autocross or 2 with it this summer, should be a fun time! :metal:

Re: 1966 C10 Project Truck
 

Great looking truck! if you every sell keep me in mind for sure!

Question have you fixed the belt issue? i am having the same exact issue but i believe it to be because of the ridges in the inside of the belt. i have 2 belts 1 being solid rubber on the inside but needs to be replaced and 2nd new but ridged on the inside like yours but it flips like what i see yours is doing.

Re: 1966 C10 Project Truck
 

No plans to sell at this time but I'll keep ya in the loop if it ever changes.

I ish fixed the belt issue. I need to tinker with it some more but the pump is angled back a bit so it's wearing the front edge of the belt. My fix was to move a spacer that was between the pump and the bracket from the front of the pump to the back of the pump and put a shorter belt on it. It's been holding so far but the angle is still off. I'll grab a couple pictures tonight to help explain it a bit better.

Re: 1966 C10 Project Truck
 

I'm still tinkering on it here and there but nothing real "post-worthy".

I've been having an idle issue where it gets real grumpy if it idles for a while like in a busy drive thru or long light, etc. I thought it was starting to vapor lock so I rebuilt the fuel line, moved the filter so it was right off the fuel pump and then heat sleeved the line. It was better but still getting grumpy. I started researching grounding straps and found that HEI isn't real happy without a good ground. Last night, I added 3 ground straps, one from the motor to each frame rail, and then one from the frame to the cab. Seems to be better now but the drive home will tell more.

I also cleaned the steps up and bolted them on last night. What a difference that made! Here it is "done" :chevy:

https://c1.staticflickr.com/9/8099/2...c1f0e003_b.jpg

https://c4.staticflickr.com/9/8332/2...8e5c78e6_b.jpg

Re: 1966 C10 Project Truck
 

Looks Good!

Re: 1966 C10 Project Truck
 

Truck is looking great.
Ground straps are good but to deal with the vapor lock you need a V8.

Re: 1966 C10 Project Truck
 

Best advice, ever! Soon enough :)

Everything seemed well on the way home until I stopped at the grocery store. From there to the house, it was idling rough again. I know I can get a thicker carb mounting gasket but will that really help?

I'm wondering if a 1/2" spacer would do me better but I'm not sure. I do know that the E10 gas has a lower boiling point, super helpful in the not vapor locking side of things. Not!

What say you guys?

Re: 1966 C10 Project Truck
 

I got my new steering wheel last night and slapped it on. I'm still in the undecided phase as it's quite a bit different than I expected. I was thinking the grip would be a smaller diameter than it is and the spokes seem larger than I was thinking as well. I'm after a similarly styled wheel, this has knobs on the backside, that will help me keep gripped on the wheel when I'm playing race truck. The search may continue but it should work for now.

https://c5.staticflickr.com/9/8360/2...9e1637c5_b.jpg

I also smoked my clutch master cylinder over the weekend. I had a feeling the clutch rod was at too much of an angle but I wanted to see if it would be ok or not. Turns out that I got the or not :haha:. I'll likely get it swapped out this weekend so no big deal :chevy:

Re: 1966 C10 Project Truck
 

Clutch master has been swapped out and bled. It took forever to bleed last time and was looking the same today. Not sure why I didn't think to run the hose into the reservoir last time. It sure cut down on the bleed time!

Moving the rod down on the pedal has resulted in a stiffer pedal, not surprised, with my 1:1 clutch system. I may go with a smaller master this winter, I'll wait and see how I feel driving it some more. The smaller wheel sure makes it feel like a different truck too!

That's all for now :chevy:

Re: 1966 C10 Project Truck
 

Well, this old girl quickly became the daily driver after my last post. My Dodge has been suffering from death wobble since Labor Day Weekend and the Jeep has been grumpy as well. The Chevy has taken it like a champ!

I've since gotten the wipers working, the heater and defrost working and a few other little things done to it since I got it drivable. Shortly after getting the blower motor working again, it quit on me and I haven't been successful at removing the old blower motor since it hits the inner fender and I don't feel like beating the inner fender up that much.

I have had a recurring running problem where if it idles for more than a few minutes, it starts running really bad and tries to stall. Give it a little throttle and it's just fine. Thinking it may be electrical since I've working on the fuel side a bunch and it hasn't changed. Anyone have any insight to that?

Re: 1966 C10 Project Truck
 

I have had issues like that, usually means the float level is wrong...can be to High or to Low. Or, the A/F screw needs to be turned out a tad.

Re: 1966 C10 Project Truck
 

That would make sense, I'll turn the screw out a little bit and see what she does. I have it a 1.5 turns out now and now that I think about it, it never did it until I turned the screw in from 3 turns out.

Re: 1966 C10 Project Truck
 

Put the old girl to work over the weekend! I used the Jeep to pull the stumps out since it has super low gears in it and loaded the stumps in the Army Truck since it's got a super low tailgate compared to the Dodge. Handled it like a champ! :chevy:

Click the picture to play the video
https://c8.staticflickr.com/6/5694/2...6446e90e_b.jpg

https://c1.staticflickr.com/6/5571/2...824138eb_b.jpg

https://c6.staticflickr.com/6/5736/2...da2e91e0_b.jpg

https://c5.staticflickr.com/6/5324/2...f9a31134_b.jpg

Figured I gotta use it as a pickup now before the next stage happens :metal:

Re: 1966 C10 Project Truck
 

I've been having fun with the old girl, she hasn't needed much in the way of maintenance so I've just been enjoying putting miles on it. Wednesday, I cleaned up the garage so I could fit both the Jeep and the Chevy in it and I'm starting to prep for a couple upgrades to the rear suspension this winter. More than likely it'll have coilovers on it and I'm going to be making a new panhard bar and mounts so I can adjust my roll center. Step 2 of making it handle a bit better :metal:

https://c8.staticflickr.com/6/5643/3...2f12e82d_b.jpg

I also had a little fun at my buddy's house yesterday, this thing is too much fun!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VynJxi-w8AM

Re: 1966 C10 Project Truck
 

work horse working hard ....

Re: 1966 C10 Project Truck
 

So was it the float?

Re: 1966 C10 Project Truck
 

I turned the mixture screw out a half turn and it seemed to be happier. It's been a lot cooler lately and that seemed to help it as well. There's still a slight miss at idle but it's nowhere near what it used to be.

Re: 1966 C10 Project Truck
 

I've been pretty busy helping a buddy out with some really cool car projects but since those have died down a bit, I was able to tinker on the old pickup last week a bit. I needed to replace the fan blower motor but couldn't get it out of the truck by itself so I yarded the whole heater box off the firewall. Everything I've touched on the truck, I have cleaned up and repainted so it all looks nice. The heater box was something that I wanted to clean up for a while now and I was able to sand blast it and hang it on our powder coat line. It sure turned out great!

Before:
https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/763/32...c16c9133_b.jpg

After:
https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/281/31...47f2bc9b_b.jpg

I've also been fixing some of the small things that have come about and I gotta say, I'm super happy with the truck. There's still a few things that need to be addressed still but for the most part, it's a good driving little truck! I also ordered up some new suspension components that I'll be getting installed in the coming weeks. Going for a 5.5/7 drop instead of the 2/3 drop. It should look killer!

Re: 1966 C10 Project Truck
 

I'm starting to stage 1.5 of the truck. I really wanted to do a bunch of work to the suspension and an LS swap this year but it's not really in the cards. It'll have coilovers before too long but for now, I'll be swapping the 2/3 drop out for a 5.5/7 drop. Springs and spindles up front and springs and blocks out back with a front shock relocation bracket and outboarding the rear shocks. I'll also be playing with the rear track bar to get the roll center down a bit to increase it's stability. It'll be on an autocross course this year too :metal:

Good things come in brown trucks :chevy:
https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/660/32...2abeea93_b.jpg

Re: 1966 C10 Project Truck
 

loss of altitude is always funner

Re: 1966 C10 Project Truck
 

Big weekend for this old pickup! Saturday morning, we started out lowering the truck more. It had a 2/3 drop in it and looked good but I wanted it lower. I opted for a 5.5/7 drop from CPP. The front is 3" springs with their modular 2.5" drop spindles and the rear is 5" springs with 2" blocks. It went together mostly without a hitch, it was sure nice only being in there a few miles ago :cool:

My buddy let us use his lift, it was so nice working on this thing not on the ground.
https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/487/32...9d964428_b.jpg

About an hour later, we had the front done :metal:
https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/504/32...3c4d9665_b.jpg

https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/578/32...ca571954_b.jpg

https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/705/32...58d53bb1_b.jpg

The rear challenged us a bit more, we had a burr on one of the u-bolts that hung us up but luckily it was low enough on the threads that we cut the bad part out and used the stock nuts. I also had to relocate my sway bar from on top of the axle to below the axle. Nothing major.
https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/639/32...eeb1a98e_b.jpg

Had to cut the hitch off, it would have drug on everything :(
https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/476/32...82a71828_b.jpg

Tucking tire at full droop. Perfect! :metal:
https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/376/32...a8882359_b.jpg

Something that I saw when I put the truck together but never paid attention to was my passenger rear fender. It had been rubbed on something and pushed in pretty far. A little work with a piece of tube and it's mostly good as new.
https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/711/32...00f0ca91_b.jpg

Here it is, 4 hours after we started. It looks so much better and still rides ok with the factory shock mounts. I'll have no limit rear shock mounts on it and a relocation kit for the upper mount on the front shocks soon
https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/741/32...b2199e09_b.jpg

https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/645/32...46382427_b.jpg

Here's the part that I'm still in shock about. I came back by in the evening and my buddy that I've been helping on car/truck projects in the last year had a surprise for me. He picked me up a 2002 5.3 with about 160,000 miles on it and a few other things I wanted when I do the swap. It'll have a car intake on it, bigger injectors, etc. Should be pretty rowdy! There's a big C10 meet a few hours North of me in May so I'll have the truck back together for that. Time to get busy :metal:
https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/522/32...ca6ab9aa_b.jpg

Keep an eye on the thread in the coming months to check out my progress :chevy:

Re: 1966 C10 Project Truck
 

Drop looks great, Nice 5.3. Outta haul that thing perrty well and get decent mileage to.

Re: 1966 C10 Project Truck
 

So your using 235-75-15's all the way around with disc brakes?
What is the backspace on those wheels, looks like the rear has less backspace than the front?
When you get a chance get a pic with it on level ground.
Looks great. :)

Re: 1966 C10 Project Truck
 

Yep, all 4 corners with disc brakes on the front.

They are 15x8 rally wheels I got off craigslist so I'm not sure what the backspacing is. Somewhere between 3.5" and 4" I'm guessing. The disc brake kit pushed the front width out a little bit (73-87 spindles and hubs) and then I did have to add a 1/4" spacer to keep the wheel out of the lower control arm. I'll probably swap it out for a 3/16" spacer here before too long.

The driveway shot is pretty level but I'll get a couple more before too long, I mean who could resist taking pictures of their own truck? :metal:

Re: 1966 C10 Project Truck
 

Just checked out your thread. Cool truck. I dig the Army vibe. I kinda miss my old 6 banger from years ago. I bet the 5 speed was a great upgrade.

You are gonna love the power of the 5.3, it has great power for a stock engine.

Re: 1966 C10 Project Truck
 

Thanks! The 5 speed was awesome. While I never drove it outside of the neighborhood with the 3 speed, I can only imagine that it would be not nearly as fun. I'm so excited for the 5.3 to go in, parts should start arriving soon :metal:


I don't think I ever posted this here, I got a GoPro for Christmas so I took a little video on the way to my buddy's place around New Years. It so fun to drive!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ryDZ2UCNh-o

Re: 1966 C10 Project Truck
 

Parts are starting to roll in for the 5.3. To say I'm excited is an understatement! :metal:

Re: 1966 C10 Project Truck
 

Awesome truck. Glad to see your V-8 moving ahead.

When you mentioned rough running with your 6 after getting warmed up and missing grounding straps, it reminded me about a Jeep vapor lock story.

We had a 1954 Willys M38-A1 that had that warm running vapor lock issue even on cold days. I had done some work myself and ignored those "dumb" grounding straps because they didn't look cool. As it turned out a mechanic friend diagnosed it and said the *fuel line* was acting as the ground and getting hot and boiling the fuel. When he reinstalled them the problem went away. Embarrassing for me.

Re: 1966 C10 Project Truck
 

Tinkered on the old truck yesterday. Not sure why but after lowering the truck down, the brake pedal got really soft. I've re-bled, replaced parts and even checked how the brake lines are routed and it's better but still not what it was. I'm still plugging away on that, my next thing to check is to get some shorter brake lines for it.

Before bed last night, I went and got the 5.3 on the engine stand and took the intake off so I could start sizing up what I needed for the car intake. Good and bad things happened. It turns out that before the guy sold the engine, he decided to wash it but not plug any of the holes. Bad to see water in it but good that it's at this stage. Everything is still in great shape, it just came with a little extra water :lol:

It sure has a great stance now!
https://c1.staticflickr.com/4/3876/3...a9e7474e_b.jpg

https://c1.staticflickr.com/3/2442/3...3c821e0a_b.jpg

First thing I saw when I pulled the intake, this is looking down the head
https://c1.staticflickr.com/4/3956/3...e31b0c7c_b.jpg

Oil pan was cracked, I'm glad I don't need this one
https://c1.staticflickr.com/3/2722/3...1d64af8f_b.jpg

https://c1.staticflickr.com/3/2470/3...3db2f87b_b.jpg

It sure made a mess when I turned it over!
https://c1.staticflickr.com/3/2031/3...8c08a84b_b.jpg

All in all, it looked scary and disappointing but things really aren't all that bad inside. Run it and see what happens :metal:

Re: 1966 C10 Project Truck
 

Your truck looks great! It does have a great stance. I'll keep watching your progress. Thanks for your input on the instrument questions I had.

Re: 1966 C10 Project Truck
 

Got quite a bit done yesterday. My buddy and his nephew stopped by and helped get the motor back together and the front clip off the truck. The 5.3 was super dirty but it's like new now! It's surprising what a few minutes and a little elbow grease will do. I yard ed the heads off when I found some loose head bolts on the intake manifold side, turns out those aren't critical to keeping the head on and I could've just retorqued em. Oh well, new LS9 head gaskets are on and will last a while. A few other friends stopped by throughout the day, at one point there was 6 of us tinkering!

Tomorrow dad and I will get the motor and tranny out of the truck and even the bed off if the weather plays nice.

Re: 1966 C10 Project Truck
 

No turning back now, I can't wait! :metal:

Re: 1966 C10 Project Truck
 

Do you know the history on the engine? Willing to part with power steering?

Re: 1966 C10 Project Truck
 

A little progress tonight! Got the engine and tranny put together and dropped it all in the frame. A few little things popped up but nothing is a show stopper. I'll need some new exhaust manifolds, likely going with the Hooker block hugger manifolds and I'll need a new accessory bracket because my rack and power steering pump want to share the same space. I'm really happy with it!

Re: 1966 C10 Project Truck
 

Did you have any difficulties mating the T5 to the 5.3?

Re: 1966 C10 Project Truck
 

None at all. I'm only running 5 bellhousing bolts since the 5.3 has a slightly different hole pattern but that's not a big deal at all.

For the flywheel, I picked up a Sachs NFW1050 flywheel and was able to bolt my existing 11" clutch right to it. It's a metric flywheel so I had to get new pressure plate and flywheel bolts as well as open up the holes in the pressure plate for the larger M10 bolts.

It all went together super easy and looks to be working like it should.

Re: 1966 C10 Project Truck
 

Looking good Scott!

Re: 1966 C10 Project Truck
 

Thanks dad!

Re: 1966 C10 Project Truck
 

When are we doing an LS in the '69?? :lol: