Another '63 Restomod Build
 

Well we sold our previous truck before having to move again (military), and I missed it since we saw it drive away. With moving and buying a home, I don't regret it - it's got us to where we are today.

Anyhow, fast forward nearly 3 years and we found another kneeknocker. This 63 was in Idaho and, according to the seller, appears to have been an Idaho farm truck its entire life.

The plan is to have it on air. We're going to cup the control arms and do a mild c-notch, but the Chopping Block rear half and cross member look pretty sweet!

For get up and go, we're thinking an ls with either a 4l60.
Power steering and disc brakes all around should make it comfortable and safe to drive.

The 8 hour drive from Vegas to Idaho Falls was... long :lol: driving through Nevada is boring - not much to see!

[B]Here's a picture of the C10 on the trailer
https://i.imgur.com/3zJMAHN.jpeg
The view from our hotel room :)
https://i.imgur.com/bZvLYhg.jpeg
Grabbing coffee and donuts for the roadtrip
https://i.imgur.com/ftOzcOP.jpeg
and finally, home
https://i.imgur.com/CUqsy7c.jpeg

Re: Another '63 Restomod Build
 

Re: Another '63 Restomod Build
 

Good looking solid truck.

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Re: Another '63 Restomod Build
 

Making good progress! Looking forward to more updates.

Re: Another '63 Restomod Build
 

I'm in to watch. Looks like a decent starting point.

Re: Another '63 Restomod Build
 

Nice to see another 63. What is the two master cylinders? At least it looks like two bolted to the firewall.

Re: Another '63 Restomod Build
 

Excellent time to pancake the crossmember.

Or go Porterbuilt, or NoLimit, or something....

(big grin)

Re: Another '63 Restomod Build
 

Thanks Joe

It's not terrible, definitely one worth saving!

Yeah.. :crazy: we wondered the same thing lol

Thanks, we're going to rock the patina look for a bit.

Going to cup the front control arms for now, but we are looking into eventually doing the Choppin Block dropmember and rear backhalf :metal:

Re: Another '63 Restomod Build
 

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Subscribed...

Re: Another '63 Restomod Build
 

Crossmember is back on and got some items ordered over the last couple of days.
https://i.imgur.com/j2kANjk.jpeg
https://i.imgur.com/DM8t2bU.jpeg

Re: Another '63 Restomod Build
 

Looking clean!

Re: Another '63 Restomod Build
 

Looks great. The frame and firewall really cleaned up nice.

Re: Another '63 Restomod Build
 

Thanks Joe! Any update on your 65?

Yes they did, we were amazed at how much better it looked. Although it's time consuming and one can easily lose time sanding away, it's part of the fun and satisfying when you see it all come together with some fresh paint at the end.

We do plan on moving onto the middle of the frame next. For now, the plan is to figure out how to lift the cab - at least some - to thoroughly get the frame and cab mounts as well as replace those body bushings while we're at it. We're looking at the OE rubber since I've read the poly bushings can be stiff.

Re: Another '63 Restomod Build
 

So, I read this was a popular upgrade: 1973-1987 LCA u-bolts
https://i.imgur.com/E5rmdvT.jpg
Step drill bit and 9/16 bit took care enlarging the crossmember holes
https://i.imgur.com/X5WlL3y.jpg

Re: Another '63 Restomod Build
 

Yes..... They are a good idea. Moving the lower arns slightly forward is as well.

Re: Another '63 Restomod Build
 

How did your bolts/nuts fit up against the top side of the crossmember? I used a die grinder and tried to move the holes away from the crossmember and they were still very close and hard to get a socket on.

Re: Another '63 Restomod Build
 

Same issue. I recall final tightening was via open-end wrench.

Re: Another '63 Restomod Build
 

Funny you say that, when I mocked it up for that picture, I was wondering if that would be a problem.

I'll try the slow going open-end wrench, but if need be, thanks for the die grinder idea.

Re: Another '63 Restomod Build
 

I took a 'hammer on ball-peen hammer' approach as well as needed. A couple of good clean whacks helped.

Re: Another '63 Restomod Build
 

Noted!

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..for now I decided these uppers designed to add up to five degrees of caster while providing full wheel travel should do the trick.
https://i.imgur.com/mzG1dCp.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/gjCLrNU.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/xgFXiQ1.jpg

Re: Another '63 Restomod Build
 

I never saw anything construction wise that looked 'different' as far as geometry on their uppers.

Could you get a pic of one of those uppers paired next to the same side OE arm for a visual reference before you get farther along?

Re: Another '63 Restomod Build
 

Yikes, I hope that's not the case. We're about to head out to camp, but I'll get a side by side comparison when we're back.

Re: Another '63 Restomod Build
 

I can see where the Caster gain is on the lowers but not the uppers.

Re: Another '63 Restomod Build
 

Here's a few pictures. It's not significant, but the geometry is different where the ball joint mounts.

https://i.imgur.com/xJAd1uK.jpeg
https://i.imgur.com/wlD6ImY.jpeg
https://i.imgur.com/bTqX0wX.jpeg

Re: Another '63 Restomod Build
 

That angle allows you to air out without locking the upper balljoint. I pie-cut my own uppers to do just that.

Show us a picture of both arms as viewed from above - so we can see the "A" shape of both. That will show the geometry change if any.

Re: Another '63 Restomod Build
 

^^ This exactly. ^^

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Gotcha, right on. Thanks for the info! I'll grab another picture in a bit.

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Alright, so I tried to line it up as best as I could. What do you guys think?
https://i.imgur.com/3FI5JrX.jpeg
https://i.imgur.com/QakrS1x.jpeg
https://i.imgur.com/SNmAzT5.jpeg

Re: Another '63 Restomod Build
 

If the balljoint location is moved back a bit, you are indeed getting more caster (yay!). If it appears to be in the same location, these arms only allow for a lower ride height (still yay!). It _appears_ that the ball joint is further back.

Small movement is a significant improvement in making these trucks "handle" a whole lot better.

Are you moving the lower arm forward at all?

Re: Another '63 Restomod Build
 

Thanks for the info. I wasn't thinking of moving the lowers.

I found an old thread where the shafts were re-drilled to move them forward and increase caster. Is that what you're referring to or is there another way?

Re: Another '63 Restomod Build
 

That is the way.

I drilled two new locator holes on my '77 (shown below), but you may only need to drill one.

https://www.gwellwood.com/wordpress/...78-480x360.jpg

I only drilled one (per bar) on my '61 (73-87 arms modified for 88-98 ball joints, and to clear Fox Mustang rack):

https://www.gwellwood.com/wordpress/...15-672x378.jpg

The '77 - note the spacing of the arm on the crossmember - arms is moved forward about 3/4":

https://www.gwellwood.com/wordpress/...83-480x360.jpg

Re: Another '63 Restomod Build
 

Looks good! ..and relatively easy. How did you go about drilling it? The thread mentioned taking the shafts to a machine shop.

..besides drilling a new hole, everything else was pretty straight forward? Just simply moved it forward that 3/4"?

Re: Another '63 Restomod Build
 

Pretty straight forward. I usually have to beat a bit of the crossmember edge in to make sure there is full range of movement. There are a variety of threads here on doing this - that's how I learned of the mod.

You could carefully measure, and then work your way up in drill bits to final size. I don't remember what size exactly, but you can buy a deming bit that will work. It's just steel, there is no magic here. The bigger the bit, the less fun they are to drill. I.... have a milling machine....

Re: Another '63 Restomod Build
 

The CPP lower arms are where the geometry change is. They did this same mod to their lower arms.