Re: 1963 C-10 in NC
 

I had read your thread and the comments about the urethane bushings and had planned on using the rubber ones from MOOG. I appreciate your help on the sway bar install and I will post pics of install. Im waiting on the bar to arrive, ordered the brackets today from CPP and will have the bushings enroute once I can verify the thickness of the bar. I think your right on having to raise the front end once Ive drilled pilot holes in the a arms & I think the drill bits above will do the trick just fine. Harbor Freight is 5 min from the office so I'll stop by there tonight. Thanks again for the help.

Re: 1963 C-10 in NC
 

Another milestone done. Completed the shifter install kit to finally complete the trans assembly. Was just a miracle that I found a NOS Hurst mounting kit for the T-16 transmission. Hurst said it was only made for a few years with very low production since they were only used for a few years. Install kit was complete minus the shifter, which I had, so no biggie anyways. I have the install kit for a saginaw/muncie 3 also that I wont need anymore, so it'll end up in the classifieds. I'll post some pics of the Hurst Diagrams for the install kit tomorrow in case it'll help anyone else.

Anyways....heres the finished product. Factory V8 bellhousing converted to a hydraulic clutch mounted to the Borg Warner HD 3 speed (fully synchronized), and a hurst Master Shift to top it off. I have a Hurst boot to finish install in the cab. I used grade 8 bolts wherever possible and i'm satisfied with the end result. So now I can get back to dressing the engine and plumbing it.

One more note on the shifter mount. It bolts where the transmission tail mount is and goes around the tail shaft. Alot of the kits bolt to the main case using the tailshaft bolts. This shifter mount is solid.

Just FYI...the input shaft is 10 spline w/27spline on the tail shaft. Total transmission weight w/o fluid, bellhousing, novak kit & shifter is 92lbs

Re: 1963 C-10 in NC
 

sway bars in and its 15/16. seems to be an odd size according to all the parts catalogs, but another member had the same size stock in his truck also, pulled up an old thread and found he used a moog k8792 which is what my research lead me to also
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Re: 1963 C-10 in NC
 

Those sway bars should help with understeer quite a bit. I am going to get a pair for my truck cause every time I go around a turn at 55 mph it feels like the back end is sliding when its swaying. Just shows its an old truck! I haven't been able to call the guy yet on the fender but I will soon. My project has been at a stand still for awhile. Thanks. T.J.:chevy:

Re: 1963 C-10 in NC
 

The fun part will be drilling all the holes as my truck did not come with one. I went out and mocked it up a little last night, but am waiting for the two frame mounts to arrive from CPP. I know a lot of people have had issues with them, but Ive only had positive dealings so far. And I would think the mounts are pretty straight forward to make. Bushings were ordered this morning, so should see them shortly also. This will give me time to clean & prep the sway bar. I did find a carrier online this a.m., posted it on the fender mounted carrier thread (looks to be for a long bed). Ill take good pics of the sway bar install.

And I have more than my share of projects on the backburner, so your not alone there.

Re: 1963 C-10 in NC
 

Trans and Shifter set-up are Rockin'...:metal:

Re: 1963 C-10 in NC
 

Thanks Ta2Don. My factory 4 speed column part will be in this week, which is the last part I'll need when I do the swap on the trans. That way I don't have the shift arm bump on the column anymore.

Lots of work, paint, grime and of course $, but I think its come out good. Cant wait to get behind the big block with the 3 speed....should be a fun ride.

Re: 1963 C-10 in NC
 

Found another poster brochure that I already have, but I wanted a 2nd copy to get framed and hung. Its about 36" x 12" and has all the various models in color. A very cool poster for 63

Re: 1963 C-10 in NC
 

It will be cool with that big block in there. You are gonna give the 6 cylinder a proper burial right???:lol::lol: If you do a 1 inch drop in the front and a 3 inch in the rear it will level the truck and will look really nice, and I'm not a fan of lowered trucks, and that's if you lower it. I think it would look good with 33 inch tires on there. That would fill up your fender space so you won't have the big gap in the front. I put 30's on mine. Are you gonna change the gear ratio since you running a 3 speed?

Re: 1963 C-10 in NC
 

The old 230 will go to Sharps40. He lives about 30min from me and we have done our share of parts swapping. I'd guess knowing him I'd stay tuned to the modified 6 cyl thread as I think hes looking to beef one up a little.

I hadn't planned on lowering it. I do have big block springs for the front, and I want to put the weight of the new engine & trans on the new springs before I make any decisions on ride height. Right now I'm running 235/75R15's.

My current gear ratio is a factory 4.10 and I still have the factory MC318 3 speed installed. I'm not sure what the 1st gear ratio is off top on that trans. I have two borg T-16's with different gear ratios, so more than likely if I don't like the 2.41 1st gear, I can always put in the one with the 2.86.

Re: 1963 C-10 in NC
 

Okey, yeah those bb srings should help. An easy conversion would be 3/4 ton springs, you would be able to haul alittle more weight and those would handle a 351 v6! 900 pounds or something like. It looks good stock height, and the heavy motor should smooth up your ride a little.....until you jam it:lol::lol:

Re: 1963 C-10 in NC
 

I believe the big block I have probably weighs pretty close to that, so we will soon see. Probably be in the spring now with the colder weather starting to creep in. I just got done building my carport, and the trucks new shop is next. & with all the different mods going on at once, I'd like to do the work inside. My list will be:

1st - get rear posi installed
2nd - front end off
3rd - clean up front end, prep the engine bay
4th - crossmember swap & disk brake swap & hydraulic set up on fire wall & sway bar
5th - new engine & trans assembly
6th - reinstall new front end sheet metal.

The posi conversion I will be doing soon. But with the truck being my daily driver right now, I'll be commuting with my girlfriend for what I hope is no more than 2weeks to get the other work done. I have to trim the frame rails a little, but I believe I can do that with the 6cyl in it now. So hopefully my long hours of prep and getting parts squirreled away will help pay off and make the different swaps go on time. Ive tried to cover every base I can think of as far as gaskets, bolts, plumbing issues...and I have assembled a book with all the instructions and fact sheets I will need for to help assist. Only time will tell

Re: 1963 C-10 in NC
 

Cool! Your are making great progress!

Re: 1963 C-10 in NC
 

Slowly but surely.

Re: 1963 C-10 in NC
 

If your interested Classic Parts I believe sells a rear sway bar, then the back end of the rig won't feel like it's slipping back and forth. I got a spare tire fender. Couldn't pass it up for $50. Here's a picture.

Re: 1963 C-10 in NC
 

nice score especially for the price. looks to bed a long bed carrier, but it'll work w/no issue. you will have to drill a hole in it for the carrier to pass through like the short bed fenders had. its an easy fix. i used a jaguar firewall grommet on the hole and then ran the rod through it. i posted pics on the thread i believe, if not, i can get some for you.
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Re: 1963 C-10 in NC
 

if you can manage the carrier, you can do the conversion in about 3-4 hours. remove the rear fender, install the spare fender, mock up the carrier, mark all the holes to drill, remove the carrier & fender, drill the holes, reinstall fender & then carrier and your done. i also figured out a pretty cool lock for the tire that will fit under the stock caps using a corvair locking lugnut and a corvette lock. best part is they are all period correct gm parts. its on an earlier page here in my build....let me know if you have any questions on it.
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Re: 1963 C-10 in NC
 

Thanks for all your help, I really appreciate it.

Re: 1963 C-10 in NC
 

no problem at all.
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Re: 1963 C-10 in NC
 

I can't wait to see the engine/trans in place, and here your feedback on how you like driving it with all that torque compared to the inline 6.

Re: 1963 C-10 in NC
 

like your build

Re: 1963 C-10 in NC
 

yeah, me too mark. last big block i had was in a 69 chevelle ss with a th400. ive never driven a big block on a clutch, so it'l be fun and probably quita an adventure the 1st few times out. the 1st 63 i had when i was a kid was converted to the floor w/a hurst indy, so ive had time behind the floor shift before. i think power steering will not be too far off in the build. i did order pulleys with an extra groove in case i decided to add it one day. looks like the shifter will be close, but will be able to use with the bench seat. will know more on clearance during install.

according to what i see on the chevelle/camaro threads, 66-68 bbc/3sp cars were the option to a 4 speed (option m13) when talking manual trans, so im pretty much running the same specs, although a little more cam & head work and 40 over...will definitely be interesting. i feel alot more confident with the borg t16 since it was factory ordered behind mid-late 60's chevy ss muscle cars. and used in gmc trucks in 68 i believe too. i have a factory gm manual on the t-16 for dealership mechanics.
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Re: 1963 C-10 in NC
 

thanks bigblock79...always glad to see more nc members on the forum.
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Re: 1963 C-10 in NC
 

All of my old 3 speed conversions mounted the shifter head very close to the side cover with much shorter rods. Just in case the shifter handle does interfere with the seat, you may be able to solve the problem with the new bolt on version of the old 55-57 Chevy bench seat shifter handle. Part number 5388620:

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/HUU-5388620/

http://imageshack.us/a/img13/4576/5388620.jpg

Re: 1963 C-10 in NC
 

yeah, i saw that on their website. the hard part was finding a factory hurst install kit so i didnt have to fab one, i think if i have any issues the other shift arm will work. nice thing is it shoud be a bolt on fix, which is always nice
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Re: 1963 C-10 in NC
 

Hopefully I won't have to move the shifter back as far when I put the richmond 5 speed in. I know I'll have to relocate but I don't think it will sit that far back. :chevy:

Re: 1963 C-10 in NC
 

Got the column cover taken down to metal and sprayed in some self-etching primer. Wil wrap and go in the "to be painted" box along with a bunch of other stuff.

Re: 1963 C-10 in NC
 

Heres some pics of the OEM 63 Irving seatbelt that was my junkyard find a week or two back. I do not know if its a factory truck seatbelt or a car seatbelt, just that's it dated Chevrolet 1963...and the price was right.

Re: 1963 C-10 in NC
 

Nice belts! I heard that the 66 a-arm were pre-drilled for swaybars. Gonna go look and see.

Re: 1963 C-10 in NC
 

That would have been great if they were. Classic parts came through nicely on the sway bar mounts. Ive never had anything but good dealings with them, although a lot of people hadn't. From order to delivery was around 8-10 days. Parts arrived correct and they look great and mock up fine. I stripped the sway bar last night and will do my typical rust prevention treatments followed by some black chassis paint.

I know they 63 & 64 a arms were not predrilled as I have both of them outside.

Re: 1963 C-10 in NC
 

This is awesome! I just found out that the 66 came with pre-drilled swaybar holes on the a-arms. Here's a picture....it might give you an idea on were to drill the holes. All I have to do is mount it on the a-arms and mark my holes on the frame and I'm done!

Re: 1963 C-10 in NC
 

Hmmmm.....if I could get some measurements....that may very well help. I have a spare crossmember from a 64 that Ive considered mocking up w/the disk brake kit and just doing a crossmember swap. Would allow me to clean / paint/ prep the entire crossmember w/o taking the truck off the road as long.

Re: 1963 C-10 in NC
 

Those two holes were basically in the center of the a-arm. When I get some good weather here I'll pull the tire and get some measurements for you. Been raining here like the end of the world! :chevy:

Re: 1963 C-10 in NC
 

OK, just have to go get some more grade 8 bolts for the sway bar mounts and bushings. Sway bar cleaned up, just have to paint, new bushings here, new mounts from cpp here, so pretty much just left to center, drill and install.

Moog #8792 for the bushings and CPP 6372SSB for the frame mounts

Re: 1963 C-10 in NC
 

Found out Classic Parts sells sway bars for the front and rear. 1 1/4 inch for the front and 1 1/8 for the rear..... Not bad. If you want a part number for the rear one I have a catalog handy.:chevy: Hopefully I will have those measurements for you by Saturday. T.J.

Re: 1963 C-10 in NC
 

Thanks T.J., I don't use classic parts anymore. A personal choice after several bad deals with them and their in house issues. I have never had any issue with their parts, just always the bad communications between themselves and customers. I have my front sway bar parts all together now, and will work on the rear down the road. I will probably use the CPP rear sway bar.

Thanks again though.

Re: 1963 C-10 in NC
 

Anytime, I had the same issue as you. great parts, but when I ordered a fuel tank the catalog stated the shipping cost as 10% of the price, I had no idea that there was an oversize shipping cost of $35 on top of the $150 I paid for it. All it said was *No free shipping on this item.

Re: 1963 C-10 in NC
 

My issues were a little different. I paid for a received parts, was told parts weren't paid for, even though I have receipt of the parts and verification from my bank that the funds were pulled. 2nd issue is their communications sucks.....got constant run around on a 2nd order, its in the mail, its not, it'll be enroute, its been transferred to someone else in this office....just finally ran out of patience with them. There are so many other companies I deal with on a regular basis with no issues. Brothers, Tim Tygerts (obsolete chevy truck parts), Bow Tie Bits, Truck Shop in Ca, Ecklers...I can name a few more. LMC's quality control has gone down hill, and classic parts has to many internal problems personally. I would advise anyone to look in the vendor review section and read the complaints and the cons to various companies before spending any money with a company they have never had dealings with. Im not telling others not to buy from them, just my two cents worth. A lot of people have issues with CPP. I have bought motor mount perches, a whole disk brake conversion and now sway bar mounts with no issue.

Re: 1963 C-10 in NC
 

Thanks for the info, The best and easiest place I have bought parts from is The Truck Shop in CA, they are pretty organized. I plan to get my sway bar from Early Classic. I will be careful ordering from Classic though, it was a good thing they weren't as screwed when I ordered my tanks cause I sent them cash!

Re: 1963 C-10 in NC
 

Though I don't think I will be buying sway bars for awhile, cause in my back yard there is a deep ditch that I barrel through to get to the garden when I have a full load of dirt, with the sway bars the truck is only gonna be able to move up and down and not have the twisting ability. Meaning when the sway bar is off one tire can sit higher than the other and when it's on one will go up and the other will be force to, possibly causing something to bend or break in my case cause I load that truck to the hilt!:lol: