New 68 Stepper Build...IM BACK!!

[77chris03]

after the long and agonizing departure of the stepper i built, i have decided to start another one! Same concept, but totally different this time around....I am looking for an A/C cab as this one is trash. Can someone please help me find one?

[77chris03]

Only pic i have right now...until i pick it up and finish paying for her....

[77chris03]

Went and picked her up last nite. Got a lot of parts that I will be selling to help fund and recover. One is a ford 9" I won't be using.

[77chris03]

i have officially starting building the truck. Should be funner this time around.
So far....

ENGINE

2000 LQ4 .030 over
Diamond pistons
mahle bearings
compstar rods
balanced & polished stock crank
f body pan
243 ls6 heads
ls7 coils with factory harness rebuilt
comp 54-444-11 cam
comp 850-16 lifters
comp 3158KT adj. timing set
comp 13702 trunion kit
comp 26925TS dual spring kit
ARP studded top and bottom
HV modded oil pump
holley 300-132 intake
holley sniper efi 550-510d
TSP hidden valve covers
holley air filter and cover to match
speed engineering long tube headers
msd 60143 ignition control
no accessory drive chosen yet....

TRANSMISSION

1997 Camaro T56 DONOR (traded some old psi washing equipment)
after tearing into it and finding more damage than i expected from a 85k donor, had to weigh options on purchasing a new magnum or finding another t56 but for ls. with the new magnum being almost 5k, no luck on finding a ls t56, and tick performance telling me to "just buy a new magnum" i decided to just convert and build this as a stage 2 t56.

NEW LS input shaft - REM finished
NEW TREMEC Mid Plate
NEW TIMKIN bearings shipped from FRANCE. Weird, no one here in the states had ALL timkin.
NEW Complete syncro assemblies 1/2, 3/4, 5/6, and Reverse (will be doing the REVERSE syncro/shift fork mod for full engagement)
Billet Keys 1/2, 3/4
Bronze Pads 1/2, 3/4
Steel 3/4 shift fork
New rings and retainers
NEW REM finished Countershaft
NEW REM finished 5/6 driven gears
NEW REM finished Rev driven gears

CLUTCH

ALL McLeod setup for the .4 truck crank

ALL AND ALL Im 2k invested in just the t56. should hold up pretty well now.

REAR end

1968 GM 12 bolt
MOSER axles
MOSER studs
Detroit TRUeTRAC
KOYO axle and Carrier bearings, National for Pinion
MOSER diff cover with carrier lock
RICHMOND 4.10 Gears

FRAME AND SUSPENSION

Stock GM 1968 frame
QA1 Front and rear sway bars
QA1 Full tubular Coilover conversion in front
Wilwood Pro spindles
Performance online rack and pinion
Wilwood 6 piston in front plain slotted rotors
wilwood 4 piston with e brake in rear plain rotors
HPI frame brace
QA1 Full rear coilover conversion with tubular trailing arms
tanks inc fuel tank and fuel pump

[Palf70Step]

Looks like a good plan. Looking forward to seeing what you do with this one.

[77chris03]

I’m trying to upload pics. looks like i have to upload one at a time.

[77chris03]

more

[77chris03]

these are way out of order. ill be better from here on out

[Palf70Step]

Pictures are good, in or out of order. And yeah, if you are posting from a phone, ur linited to 1 at a time, especially if they are large size.

[57NAPCO]

Quite the project, bravo !

[77chris03]

Almost done with the T56. Everything inside is new and stage 2. All new gears, synchros, everything except main shaft and countershaft extension. Did the SST forward shifter relocation as well.
Posted via Mobile Device

[77chris03]

Originally Posted by 77chris03

Almost done with the T56. Everything inside is new and stage 2. All new gears, synchros, everything except main shaft and countershaft extension.
Posted via Mobile Device

Getting the cab ready and about time to pull all the panels I have to get blasted and prime red ready for body work
Posted via Mobile Device

[77chris03]

Originally Posted by 77chris03

Almost done with the T56. Everything inside is new and stage 2. All new gears, synchros, everything except main shaft and countershaft extension.
Posted via Mobile Device

Posted via Mobile Device

[77chris03]

Picked up a set of buddy buckets with the frame and all. Very nice piece. Should go good with the set up. Saw it pop up on FB Marketplace and picked it up a few hours later. $1500 bucks seemed like a good deal to me!

[Mbeef61]

Doing a very similar build as yours with my 71 stepper. I am going ls3 and t56 magnum. Are you doing anything with the c clip in the rear? Eliminators? Or feel safe with the moser axles?

[77chris03]

Originally Posted by Mbeef61

Doing a very similar build as yours with my 71 stepper. I am going ls3 and t56 magnum. Are you doing anything with the c clip in the rear? Eliminators? Or feel safe with the moser axles?

There's no need for the c clip eliminators. Plus wilwood rear dynalites dont allow for it. Plus II... my c clips are caged in the differential, with a billet cap and a fat snap ring...

Went with the Eaton TruTrac Posi.

[Mbeef61]

Originally Posted by 77chris03

There's no need for the c clip eliminators. Plus wilwood rear dynalites dont allow for it. Plus II... my c clips are caged in the differential, with a billet cap and a fat snap ring...

Went with the Eaton TruTrac Posi.

I have the truetrac to put in also. Love them. I didn’t think my brake kit would allow it either. Just thought I’d ask. Thanks

[77chris03]

Originally Posted by Mbeef61

I have the truetrac to put in also. Love them. I didn’t think my brake kit would allow it either. Just thought I’d ask. Thanks

Unless you're pushing massive amounts of power and drag stripping it...c clip eliminators are over rated imho. I had them on my other build..not documented... and i had issues with leaks. Heres my rear end. Waiting on QA1 stuff to come in so i can put it on the truck. Might have to make some wood wheels cause i have no idea what to do for wheels.....

My t56 is 99% done. full build. Even did the shifter relocation.


YES..the rear end is in my living room....sitting right in front of the tailgate bench i made from my step side when i tore it down.

[Mbeef61]

Originally Posted by 77chris03

Unless you're pushing massive amounts of power and drag stripping it...c clip eliminators are over rated imho. I had them on my other build..not documented... and i had issues with leaks. Heres my rear end. Waiting on QA1 stuff to come in so i can put it on the truck. Might have to make some wood wheels cause i have no idea what to do for wheels.....

My t56 is 99% done. full build. Even did the shifter relocation.


YES..the rear end is in my living room....sitting right in front of the tailgate bench i made from my step side when i tore it down.

Haha that’s awesome. I have heard nothing but issues about leaks with the eliminators. I haven’t decided on wheels either yet. Need to finish the qa1 and measure. What size you planning? 20s?

I was wondering about 4:10 gears. It has 3.73. I was thinking I could finish and drive it before I do the rear and if it needs more go 4:10

Using a bench seat? I think I might need the shifter relocater also

[77chris03]

Originally Posted by Mbeef61

Haha that’s awesome. I have heard nothing but issues about leaks with the eliminators. I haven’t decided on wheels either yet. Need to finish the qa1 and measure. What size you planning? 20s?

I was wondering about 4:10 gears. It has 3.73. I was thinking I could finish and drive it before I do the rear and if it needs more go 4:10

Using a bench seat? I think I might need the shifter relocater also

Im gonna be using the buddy buckets i got today. I have a 1967 specific seat that i now need to sell or find a new home for. its a true 67 bench seat. My QA1 rear stuff is supposed to ship on the 14th this month...Ive already got all the stuff removed off the frame and ready for it.... Then once the cuts etc are done, she will get the final coat of POR15. 4:10 gears is what we figured for the best overall RPM..

https://www.tremec.com/calculadora.php

1 2 3 4 5 6
GM T56 (`94 and up) 6-speed manual 2.66 1.78 1.30 1.00 0.74 0.5

Select Transmission :

Magnum-F 2.66 - .50
Engine RPM :
2500
Enter your desired RPM for racing or cruising here.
Axle Ratio :
4.10
Enter your rear axle ratio here.
Tire Height (in) :
30
Enter your tire height here. Use the Aspect Ratio calculator below if you do not know your tire height.
Ratio MPH
1st Gear
2.66
20.46
The estimated speed you will be traveling based on the parameters you established and the transmission you selected.
2nd Gear
1.78
30.57
3rd Gear
1.30
41.86

4th Gear
1.00
54.42

5th Gear
.74
73.54

6th Gear
.50
108.84

[77chris03]

Originally Posted by Mbeef61

What size you planning? 20s?
Using a bench seat? I think I might need the shifter relocater also

I have no idea yet....was thinking autocross style sizes...18s or so but i think i may to 20s. my biggest thing is finding backspacing and offset.....
Once i get the rear end and QZ1 stuff on, Ill mock up the bed parts and figure something out. THeres is like NO INFO on stepsides with the short rear end....

I got the SST shifter relocator...If you do it yourself...be sure to grind the surface hardening before you drill... I promise you will break ALL of your bits.. I have access to a machine shop right down the road and he didnt believe me when i said its surface hardened....3 end mills later.. i grabbed it off the press and ground it down on both sides...voila...straight thru. Everything else can be done with a metabo blade made to cut stainless...

[indymachinist]

Originally Posted by 77chris03

There's no need for the c clip eliminators. Plus wilwood rear dynalites dont allow for it. Plus II... my c clips are caged in the differential, with a billet cap and a fat snap ring...

Went with the Eaton TruTrac Posi.

Cliffs notes: I agree you don't need C clip elimnators

Just for reference... your C clips being caged, billet capped, fat snap ring etc is not going to help vs C clip eliminators. C clips falling out or breaking isn't really the problem. Axle shafts breaking is the problem. If a C clipped axle breaks, the splined tip of the axle with the C clip on it almost always stays right where it was, inside the differential. At this point on a drum brake car the rest of the broken axle slides right out of the housing.

I personally believe with most disc brake rear end setups C clip eliminators are outdated/unnecessary. The brake caliper bracket is usually bolted right to the axle flange, and has the brake rotor captured. This effectively traps the axle and prevents it from coming out of the housing even if the C clip end breaks off.

Sorry for the book, just one guys opinion on the subject.

[indymachinist]

PS nice build you've got going

[77chris03]

Originally Posted by indymachinist

Cliffs notes: I agree you don't need C clip elimnators

Just for reference... your C clips being caged, billet capped, fat snap ring etc is not going to help vs C clip eliminators. C clips falling out or breaking isn't really the problem. Axle shafts breaking is the problem. If a C clipped axle breaks, the splined tip of the axle with the C clip on it almost always stays right where it was, inside the differential. At this point on a drum brake car the rest of the broken axle slides right out of the housing.

I personally believe with most disc brake rear end setups C clip eliminators are outdated/unnecessary. The brake caliper bracket is usually bolted right to the axle flange, and has the brake rotor captured. This effectively traps the axle and prevents it from coming out of the housing even if the C clip end breaks off.

Sorry for the book, just one guys opinion on the subject.

Completely agree with you. just didnt think about mentioning the rotor being captured.

[Mbeef61]

Originally Posted by indymachinist

Cliffs notes: I agree you don't need C clip elimnators

Just for reference... your C clips being caged, billet capped, fat snap ring etc is not going to help vs C clip eliminators. C clips falling out or breaking isn't really the problem. Axle shafts breaking is the problem. If a C clipped axle breaks, the splined tip of the axle with the C clip on it almost always stays right where it was, inside the differential. At this point on a drum brake car the rest of the broken axle slides right out of the housing.

I personally believe with most disc brake rear end setups C clip eliminators are outdated/unnecessary. The brake caliper bracket is usually bolted right to the axle flange, and has the brake rotor captured. This effectively traps the axle and prevents it from coming out of the housing even if the C clip end breaks off.

Sorry for the book, just one guys opinion on the subject.

Good explanation. I was just looking at my brake install stuff and realized that. Rotor is captured. Duh. It was late haha