1969 C10 Bagged LS/T56 Build

[gringoloco]

Cool toy! Bet it's a blast to drive. I'll be using some of your ideas- thanks!
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[LakeAnna]

Nice build! Did you use one layer of rattle trap on the headliner area? I was thinking of the same thing just concerned it might not stick if it got to hot????

You also said you doubled it in the cab? So you put two layers down I guess?
Looks great.

[ADub]

My truck had a home made headliner, wood covered in vinyl. It actually looked good, so I left it. I put a layer of rattle trap on the roof, but its covered by the headliner. I put it on the underside of the dash too (upside down), its sticking in place fine. Yes I put layer on top of layer on the floor and firewall.

The heat dissipation is very noticeable compared to stock. World of difference. The sound deadening is pretty impressive overall, but the exhaust drones pretty bad between 1600 and 1900 rpm. Gonna have to do something about that

[LEX]

Looking good. What part of town you in? I also used to have a 4spd '70 Chevelle SS 396. You wouldn't happen to be a member of Houston Chevelles, eh?

[ADub]

Originally Posted by LEX

Looking good. What part of town you in? I also used to have a 4spd '70 Chevelle SS 396. You wouldn't happen to be a member of Houston Chevelles, eh?

I live in Porter, out NE past Kingwood. Not a member of the Chevelle club.

[ADub]

Little bit of an update. Have around 300 miles on the truck so far. Been working on troubleshooting problems and making the final adjustments for power tour.

Had some issues with random hard starting that I chased around for a week. I think it was an issue with the MSD box wiring. Their instructions tell you to connect their wiring directly to the sensor, yet this is not how their harness is designed to work. Its wired to reuse a factory cam position sensor extension harness, which I did not have. So running without that, you have to repin the MSD cam position sensor connector. That seems to have fixed that problem, but I need some more seat time to confirm.

A/C is having issues. Much like the MSD, every portion of the kit that I did is working fine. Been working with Vintage Air all week and I think we have the issue narrowed down to a bad temperature probe. The probe is inside the evaporator, which comes as a sealed, wired unit. Hopefully they will tell me today what the fix is. I'm hoping the probe can be replaced without pulling the evaporator, but I think the odds of that are slim. Definitely unsure right now if this will be fixed in time for power tour.

I decided the flows are too much. The drone at cruise is driving me insane. I know the dumps don't help either, but there is no clean way to get tailpipes out the back with the bags, notch, and rear mount tank. Ordered a pair of Dynomax VTs. I'll get those installed today.

Dropped the tank and pulled my custom pickup out. I either damaged the sending unit or it wouldn't work with the pickup setup. Replaced it with a stocker so I have a working fuel gauge now.

The rear in the truck was new to me, but not new. Has an Auburn posi, which has been clunky and tight during turns. Figured out that Auburn does not recommend using the synthetic lube that I have in it, but rather basic 80w-90 with a bottle and half of GM posi added. Going to replace that today while I have it in the air for the exhaust.

[ADub]

So just over 3000 miles on Power Tour and no major issues. One tire had a leak that had to be fixed. Lower radiator hose had a random seep that would come and go. Only thing that we really messed with was the AC bracket setup. It made a WHOLE lot of noise. Replaced pullies, belt, modified this and that. Ended up spacing the entire bracket out from the engine with one washer per mount. This took away the noise. So far so good. I owe Vintage Air a call back today, but after purchasing a different vent thermometer, I think the AC is working correctly. A little disappointing since it doesn't really get comfortable on a hot highway driving. Seems the AC is doing its part, the rest is due to trucks design.

Trip average was 15.5mpg. Not bad considering that included a lot of stop and go at some of the tour stops. I think it can do better though, so I plan to spend a little time tuning the carb. I have a short list of things to finish up, but no big changes planned other than new wheels and tires. Not sure what I am going with yet, but the 15x8s with 0 offset are too much for the front. Need to go narrower/tuck in more so I can air it out all the way.

The truck got a lot of love in the primer. My buddy even painted the door logo's in our hotel parking lot in Champaign. Some dbag ran into the rear in the hotel lot in Arlington. Not a lot of damage, but enough to piss me off. Figured I will buy a stud gun and try and learn body work. Worst case, they sell a partial bedside. I think I am just going to leave it in primer.

[Bennett68C10]

I think your truck looks great flat black, sorry to hear about the idiot backing in to you. Congrats on doing the powertour, someday i hope to be able to do it with mine.

[ADub]

Figure'd Im due for an update. On the AC subject, I used some Reflectix to make a shield inside the shift boot since there was a lot of heat coming off that. That made a surprisingly big difference. Purchased some block offs for the kick panel vents, but I haven't installed them yet. Im pretty happy with the AC right now.

Installed some new wheels this week. The idea was spawned on Power Tour when a buddy suggested picking up some worn TTIIs and brushing them. Well I had left the truck 6 lug thinking I would stick with steel wheels, but over time I just grew less interested in steel wheels (15s). 6 lug leaves very few options for wheels in classic truck offsets. Stumbled on Summit brand Legend wheels in 17 x 8. They offer them in 0 offset and a +19, which I needed to suck the tires in up front. I bought a gunmetal set +19 offset for the front and 0 for the rear. Taped off the lips and blasted the centers so they looked worn. Pretty pleased with how they turned out for the price. FYI, you need to open up the center bore just slightly to clear the rear hubs. I had access to a lathe, but you could do it with a dremel. Running a 1/4" spacer on the rears. Wouldnt hurt to run more like a 3/4" spacer to push the rears out a but more, but that would also require some longer studs. We'll see. Tires are Nitto NT450s 255/50 fronts and 275/50 rear

[lolife99]

GREAT looking wheels!

[ADub]

Thanks. Hoping they get a little darker as they oxidize.

[gringoloco]

Looks good! I kinda wish I'd done that with my wheels. Hmmmm... As an alternative to big spacers, you could find a late '70 rear axle, which are 1.5" wider and still 6-lug, or a 71-72 rear and use 4wd axles, also 3/4 wider per side.
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[ADub]

Yea I know I could swap rear ends, but thats a lot of work. Im already shopping for a rear end for my 71 burb and they aren't exactly on every corner.

[502ms]

How are you enjoying the t-56?
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[ADub]

Originally Posted by 502ms

How are you enjoying the t-56?
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I love it, I prefer to do my own shifting

[Hart_Rod]

Originally Posted by ADub

I love it, I prefer to do my own shifting

What geAr and tire size did u end up with?
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[ADub]

3.73 gears, tires just under 28" 275/50 17

[gearys 5600]

COOL truck...Love the LS/T56 combo..

[widewhite70]

Nice build! gotta love the LS/T56! Did you ever get a MPG dialed in on it? I've wondered what they do with the carb on them. I almost went that way with mine and decided to bite the bullet and try to figure out the injection.

[ADub]

I never really "dialed" it in, haven't put a wideband on it yet. Gets 15 around town, best tank was about 18. I don't drive it as much now, so the mpg hasnt really been a priority. Had a kid, so I have been working on a 71 burb for Power Tour 2013

[502ms]

Awesome - I am actually doing a LQ4/TKO600. I might look to you for a few questions...the Wildwood M/C - do you have a part number for that? Also, how low does your truck sit aired out? I am trying to determine if I need a new pan or if the Dirty Dingo mounts will be adjustable enough to prevent the pan from being below the front crossmember. Congrats on the new family and new project

[ADub]

Not running a Wilwood master, mine is a stock replacement for a 2000 S10.

Im on stock arms up front, so my xmember is still a couple inches from the ground. Im running the GM muscle car pan and it sits about 1" above the Xmember with the ECE mounts. The stock truck pan will probably hang below the xmember. Unless prices have gone up, the muscle car pan was less than 150 shipped

[fr3ed0m]

if you dont mind me asking what did you do for the transmission crossmember? and if its custom made what degree do i need the motor mounted at? or is that something im going to have to figure out with the truck at ride height by checking pinion angles? thanks in advance for any help

[ADub]

Originally Posted by fr3ed0m

if you dont mind me asking what did you do for the transmission crossmember? and if its custom made what degree do i need the motor mounted at? or is that something im going to have to figure out with the truck at ride height by checking pinion angles? thanks in advance for any help

I modified a factory auto xmember. Installed engine/trans with engine bolted and jack under trans. Set chassis to ride height, adjusted trans height to coordinate with pinion angle. I ended up using a piece of thick wall 1-1/4" tubing welded to the factory auto xmember to get things lined up for me.

If you are notching/bagging yours, be careful. My setup has the DS too high to clear the stock trailing arm xmember and cab brace when aired out.

[fr3ed0m]

thanks that was exactly what i wanted to know. Right now its a 5/3 drop, i have a c notch in but i only put that in for when i overload the truck with stuff cause the axle didnt hit the frame rails untill i put a decent load in the bed, but ill keep an eye on that cross member when i can get around to this swap. Ill be using a ls1 t56 behind my small block once my friend does his lq4 swap he has a lakewook scatter shield im sure he would love to get some money back for, so hopefully once i can get around to a ls1 swap i wont have to change the trans mount height. But anyways enough about my nonsense thanks for the help and very nice truck its given me the inspiration to finally get back to working on mine