69 swb "Big Red"

[aedcustoms]

And so it begins, I have had this truck for a little over a month now and am gonna do a budget build on it. My plans are to do a 5 lug swap with disk brakes all around, power steering and bag it to achieve a better stance. I have gotten a lot of motivation from checking out all the build threads on this forum and figured I would start my own.

My build will not be near the quality of most of the threads on here, as I am not near the fabricator. Lots of great work on this site.

She has a 305/350 combo that runs good but leaks something awful. I don't plan to do a power train swap as of yet but who knows

I have a goal of getting the above done and road ready by the end of July, so I can cruise her down to Austin for heat wave.

I have a bit of ADD when it comes to these projects, as I have two other trucks that have stalled for the time being, but this is a 69 right! So with the help of this forum I hope to stay motivated and see this thing thru.

But enough of the jibber jabber on to some pics, up till now all I've done is put a cheap seat cover on and replaced the battery










Posted via Mobile Device

[aedcustoms]

A little progress over the weekend, I pulled the front suspension off my donor and replaced the bushings (remind me to pay someone to do it next time) fitted it to my truck and put in my 3 inch dropped spindles and bags for the front and replaced the springs in rear with bags.

Still have to install some air management but I'm happy with what I got accomplished during the holiday week end.


Posted via Mobile Device

[calvin78612]

I'm in.Looks like a nice start to me.Let me know if you need a hand on anything,i'd be glad to help out.Calvin.

[aedcustoms]

Thanks Calvin, I appreciate it.

Picked up a Craigslist find the other day for my rear end on the 69



It's out of a 94 caprice police car 3.08 gears with a posi and disc brakes of course

Cleaned it up a little bit



But as usual my daily driver's engine decided to take a dump on me so progress will slow on this while I put an engine in it


Posted via Mobile Device
Posted via Mobile Device
Posted via Mobile Device
Posted via Mobile Device
Posted via Mobile Device

[aedcustoms]

Got a little done today mostly worked on swapping over the brakes from my donor vehicle, got the booster and mc mounted



I know I'm missing some bolts, also got the front brake lines swapped over

I also picked up a serpentine setup from Craigslist to get my power steering going



For giggles I took the 22's off of my 95 and slapped them on to have a looksy



I think about 4 inches lower will prolly do, but that will b much later
For now I moved my 95 out of the garage so I can put the replacement engine in my 81
Posted via Mobile Device
Posted via Mobile Device

[aedcustoms]

Well my plans for Heatwave did not pan out, I'm battling a pass rear disk brake that's grabbing and my power steering has some issues.

Nevertheless here are some pics, here is a pic of the quality work done to it, hopefully during the winter I can tackle some of these botched repairs


Posted via Mobile Device

Here she is as she sits now like I said I have a few things to work out, but I'm going to take a break for a bit



I still went to the carshow and saw some great trucks, I'm sure a few of you will recognize this guy, this truck is even more gorgeous in person and a great guy as well



Here are some other trucks at the show, a great show with way too much to see









Posted via Mobile Device
Posted via Mobile Device

[aedcustoms]

A little progress to report, I bought a column off of a fellow site member and got rid of the floor shifter, also swapped the steering wheel out of an 87 burb



Also decided to ditch those other wheels and just rob the wheels off of my 95 for now since it will be a while before I get to work on that one.





I've gotten most of the bugs worked out and have enjoyed driving it for the past week or so, still planning on doing some more modifying to get lower, and I finally ordered some wheels for the 69, I will make sure to post some pics when I get them

[TchncnDen]

Also decided to ditch those other wheels and just rob the wheels off of my 95 for now since it will be a while before I get to work on that one.

Are those Boss wheels? If so, did you use a spacer on the front to get the centercaps to fit? I have the same wheels and can't get the caps on.

[aedcustoms]

They are boss wheels, I got them about 8 yrs ago. I don't know if that makes a difference. My 5 lug front suspension came off of an 87 suburban, hope that helps

[aedcustoms]

A little update, I have some issues I'm working out with the shocks on the front but on the positive side I got my wheels I can now start planning my future mods, truck still sits to high for my taste. But on to some pics

[slowcpe]

Truck looks good. I really like the new wheels.

[mcbassin]

This is a really nice project. It's cool that you actually get to drive it. A bunch of us just dream of the day of driving our projects....
Keep the updates coming.

[aedcustoms]

Thanks guys, I do enjoy it as much as I can, one of these days I will do a full tear down and rebuild it but for now I just enjoy it she needs a lot of work but a great driver

[c10Dream'n]

whats the wheel specs on those bad boys? they look pretty darn good.

[knomadd]

Wow, those wheels look good! Are those racelines?

[aedcustoms]

thanks guys, yes they are Raceline deceptive 5s, 22x8.5 on the front with 4.5 bs and 24x10 on rear with 4.25bs tires are 265/35 on front and 295/30 on rear

[Bennett68C10]

Really nice project, love the wheels. I agree with Mike, it's awesome that you get to drive it while working on it. Something I wish I could have done with mine.

[ksshane]

Those wheels look wicked on there.

I know you want to lower the stance some more but its perfect in my eyes. Lovin this truck.


Was the steering column swap pretty straight forward? Im thinking about going AT and was wondering about that.

[aedcustoms]

Thanks guys, the steering wheel swap was pretty straight forward, thanks to this board I pretty much got all the parts for under $100 bucks to my door. That's why I love this forum, lots of ideas and people who have a passion for these trucks.

I took her out on her maiden voyage with the new wheels today. Took my boys to get their hair cut, spent more time talking to the barbers about my truck. Seems like everyone has a story about this body style, glad to report no major issues even with the tight clearance in the back, I was sure I would smell burnt rubber somewhere along the line and not the good kind.

Here's a couple pics out in the sun

[knomadd]

Lookin good! Gives me more to think about with mine. Wheel ideas anyway. Love the stance.

[C10_Dreamin]

AED, do you know how to get the center cap off of the deceptives? Trying to get mine off this morning. Thanks.

[aedcustoms]

Originally Posted by C10_Dreamin

AED, do you know how to get the center cap off of the deceptives? Trying to get mine off this morning. Thanks.

C10, if yours are like mine they have a rubber o-ring that holds them in real tight, I just got a big socket that fit on the inside behind the center cap and tapped it with a hammer from the backside. Make sure you protect your shiney wheels from the cap falling on them

[C10_Dreamin]

Yesirr! I finally got a hold of Raceline and they mentioned it'd had to be pushed from the inside out. Got er done with a mallet and a 2x2 piece of wood. One was missing the o-ring though. :-/

[Justin@EntropyRad]

sweet truck