Project Inline Six

[CMGreen8812]

Hello! I've been lurking around on this forum since I bought my truck about 4 years ago, and I thought it might be fun to share the progress I've made. Fair warning, the engine swap I've chosen for this project may rustle some feathers, but we'll get to that in a bit.

Getting things started, I picked up a 1969 C10 SWB out of a field in SW Iowa as seen here. No engine, no trans, but I believe it was a manual inline six. Cab corners were good, floors were decent, but the inner/outer rockers needed replaced for sure. The front clip was also good, but the bed... not so much.

While this isn't my first rodeo, this would be the first project where welding would be required. A friend of mine who's a former welding instructor took it upon himself to help me learn, so you may see my welds improve as we go.

Armed with my first spot weld drill bit and a cutoff wheel, I jumped right in.

[68Gold/white]

Look'n good in the Iowa neighborhood!!!

[CMGreen8812]

Originally Posted by 68Gold/white

Look'n good in the Iowa neighborhood!!!

Thanks! I wish there was a faster way to upload all of the pics I have of my progress so far, but it looks like I'll need to do this 5 pics at a time. lol

[CMGreen8812]

Under the supervision of the friend teaching me how to weld, we replaced the inner and outer rockers fairly quickly. The passenger side lower a-pillar also needed some attention, so some new steel was welded in. Next, I set my sights on the only cab support that needed replaced, as well as a couple of problem areas with the floor and a spot by the heater core.

[CMGreen8812]

New cab support, trimmed to fit and welded in. Considering what I paid for this truck, I think I got really lucky with this cab!

My engine showed up at a local shipping depot, and a friend of mine helped me get it home. ::puts on flame suit:: This is a 2JZ-GE out of a 1997 Lexus SC300. The odometer read 97,xxx miles when the motor was pulled, and you could still see crosshatching in the cylinder bores when I tore it down for a quick inspection. All of these motors came with a forged crank and the blocks are damn near bullet proof, but this being a non-turbo motor, the pistons and rods are nothing special. That's going to change!

[CMGreen8812]

Hanging the engine in place, we decided where it's going to live and started fabricating our engine mounting solution. We boxed the frame on either side of the engine, and welded in some captured nuts for the engine mounts to bolt into.

[CMGreen8812]

We may have got a bit overboard with the engine mounts! 1/4" plate, 1/4" wall DOM tubing, and some hardcore leaf spring shackles were used to make these. While I had little to do with the pretty TIG welds, I did fab the pieces myself!

[CMGreen8812]

I decided to go with a 4L80E for this project, so I picked up a core locally, and got a good deal on a 2JZ-GM transmission adapter kit.

With the engine/trans position set, we pulled the cab and started stripping the frame. All of the stock suspension/brakes went to local folks, and not the scrap yard.

[CMGreen8812]

The frame needed some modification for the suspension setup I picked, so we went to work on that. A section was cut in the rear for a c-notch brace, and front crossmember met the gas axe to make room for some coilovers. We also did a bit more work on the motor mount plates to make them bigger/prettier.

Next stop, powder coat!

[CMGreen8812]

With all of the cutting and modifying done, I took my frame to a local powder coater that usually works with farm implements. They were happy to sandblast and coat my frame black, and I was really impressed with their work.

[CMGreen8812]

For my suspension, I went with a double adjustable coilover conversion from QA1. They were nice enough to send me templates for their kits before I bought them, so I'd know what parts of the frame to cut before I got it powder coated. These kits installed easily, and should help this old C10 handle much better.

[CMGreen8812]

To finish off the suspension, I picked up a set of 2" drop spindles with Wilwood brakes from POL, which will fit nicely (barely) in the 15" steelies I plan on running. Next, I reached out to Quick Performance and had them build a fabricated 9" Ford rear end for my C10. 1/4" tube, 35 spline chromoly axles, Eaton TrueTrac differential, 3.70 gears, and Wilwood brakes to match the front.

[jcramsey]

Looking good so far...I like the engine choice!

[CMGreen8812]

Next, I ordered a set of billet steel S1 cam shafts and valve springs from from GSC, and sent them along with my long block to Excessive Autosports, where it was cleaned, machined, and reassembled with Diamond forged pistons and Manley Pro series rods. A shimless bucket conversion was also done to ensure the larger cams didn't cause any issues.

I was also lucky enough to find a good deal on a set of 2JZ-GTE valve covers and a fabricated forward facing intake manifold for a 2JZ-GE. This, along with a distributor delete kit I picked up, will make it tough for most folks to guess this engine was ever naturally aspirated.

[CMGreen8812]

Originally Posted by jcramsey

Looking good so far...I like the engine choice!

Thanks!


I had the engine mounts powder coated to match the frame, and I set to work welding in all of the extra holes in the firewall. Once that was finished, I set the engine in place and made a little patch panel for the fuel filler hole. (I didn't leave it there, that was just the last pic I took before paint)

[CMGreen8812]

Turns out I forgot about my plans for a rack and pinion conversion before I sent the frame to get powder coated, but that's alright. The kit I bought from No Limit Engineering went on really well, and there's tons of clearance between it and my motor. And luckily, this kit plays nice with the QA1 sway bar I picked up.

[CMGreen8812]

A friend of mine put a bug in my ear about getting a '67 front clip for my '69, and after a year or two, he talked me into it. We ended up going to a local salvage yard and taking this one home.

Then, the "smoothie" steelies I ordered showed up. 8x15 up front, and 10X15 in the rear. The 295 drag radials I ordered fit great!

[CMGreen8812]

To get some motivation for what comes next, we threw on the '67 front clip, my mismatched doors, and the rust free bed I bought the year before. I wanted to get a hint of what it was going to look like before I took it all apart and got the body ready for paint. I'm really glad I took the time to do this, because it really kept me going!

I found out I have about 1/2" between my tired and the bed floor, so I got lucky! I also installed the new bed floor fuel fill door for my Boyd Welding fuel tank.

[CMGreen8812]

This was my first foray into anything resembling bodywork, and I think I should take a moment to clarify my goals for the aesthetics of this truck.

I wanted to find an old, dented, scratched, dinged, etc truck for this project, but I didn't want any rust. I couldn't find anything that fit the bill that didn't cost an arm and a leg, so I decided to make my own. Now that the rust is fixed, I welded-in all of the holes in the body panels, and put a little skim coat over the welds to help with the low spots. All of the other dents, dings, scrapes, etc are being prepped and left in place. I have no intention of making the body of this truck show-worthy! I want folks to assume this C10 is just a beat-up old survivor. Once it's all the same paint code, I think it will make sense.

[CMGreen8812]

I'm going to skip over a ton of paint prep pics because they're probably as entertaining as the prep work itself! Instead, here's all of the various body panels hanging from the rafters of my garage, just before getting shot with primer. I know full well that this is not how to get the best finish! But, so long as the paint sticks, I'll be happy.

[CMGreen8812]

Priming went really well, once the we got the gun set up right! This was the first time we'd done anything like this, so we were just happy the primer didn't roll of the panels and onto the floor. Aside from some tiger stripes on the hood, it all went on pretty evenly! This was the first time my C10 had been one color, and that was a big moment for me.

[CMGreen8812]

Finally, my C10 is one paint code. I decided to go with 537, which is 507 Light Blue and 526 Ivory. We also added a ton of flattener to make it seem more like a tired, old paint job. Once it gets some dirt, dust, and a few greasy fingerprints on there, it just might start to look like the beat up old shop truck I've always wanted.

[CMGreen8812]

On with the rest of the paint! I ended up getting some smoothie style bumpers and painted them to match the grill, wheels, and roof. Overall, the paint was a ton of work, but it was well worth it. Of course, I had to throw it all together again once it was dry.

[CMGreen8812]

One more pic of the truck from behind. I'm really a big fan of this stock color combo. Next, I prepped and painted the engine bay satin black, and put the engine back in. It's really the only area of the truck I plan on being picky about, aesthetics-wise.

[CMGreen8812]

Lucky me, I found exactly the seat I wanted about 10 minutes from home. It's out of an OBS Silverado, and has zero stains, tears, burns, you name it.

To install it, I slid the rails all the way back to make them fit between the front and rear humps in the floor. Then, I drilled new holes for the seat rails and made some captured nut plates to weld to the underside of the floor. This way, the seat just bolts in like it's stock.