How to: Ruin a perfectly good C10

[knomadd]

Nice work so far Chris! The dash is looking good.

[gringoloco]

Originally Posted by mcbassin

Very nice work on the dash repair and the engine Chris!

Originally Posted by knomadd

Nice work so far Chris! The dash is looking good.

Thanks dudes! Moved on to final clean, prep, and paint on the engine. Gotta say, I’m digging it

[C10_ustacould]

Originally Posted by gringoloco

Thanks dudes! Moved on to final clean, prep, and paint on the engine. Gotta say, I’m digging it

What did you use to clean and prep the engine for paint?

[gringoloco]

Originally Posted by mcbassin

The firewall and valve covers look great! Keep at it..

Thanks, Mike!

Originally Posted by GSFMECH

Chris, it's been ages since I've been on here and I have to say it looks great bro, can't wait to see it in person.

Thanks Mike, too! Hopefully soon...

Originally Posted by C10_ustacould

What did you use to clean and prep the engine for paint?

Sorry for the delay, hope it’s not too late. Initial clean was with oven cleaner to get rid of the gunk, then simple green/power purple/whatever skin-eating acid cleaner I had around with various brushes, rags, scrapers, and implements, then final prep with laquer thinner and 3M scrubbies. Lots and lots and lots of time spent in all of the little books and crannies.

[gringoloco]

Ok, folks. Need to some honest input, here. My original plan was to do everything under hood in black and orange, like a truck engine, but I kindof accidentally mocked up the engine like a late ‘60s hipo car big block and I also kindof accidentally like it. Thoughts?

[gringoloco]

It reminds me of this style, though I’m not sure I’d go so far as to do crossed flags and tonowanda decals.

[SCOTI]

Originally Posted by gringoloco

It reminds me of this style, though I’m not sure I’d go so far as to do crossed flags and tonowanda decals.

Though not an LS, I did it. I wanted the older Musclecar period look for my later model Squarebody TBI equipped set-up. While mine IS a big-block, the newer stuff bared very little visual resemblance to it's Musclecar precedent.

I had the factory painted steel valve covers chromed because they were:
A) Cheap
B) I already possessed them
C) After comparing to TRUE 70's era BBC chrome v.covers, they were much smoother.

I used an Edelbrock TBI intake vs. the cast iron BBC intake w/the TBI adapter & a period correct dual snorkel air cleaner to top it off.
I re-routed wiring & other asthetics to appear less electronic. I liked the older look once finished.
I also did the 'Built by Chevrolet Tonawanda' v.cover & 454 air cleaner engine displacement decals to finish off the 'look'. The repop decals didn't survive underhood life for long before coming apart & have been removed...

[Zoomin]

Chris, I think the engine looks great. Personally I like some color comtrast, and the only time I do blocks in black is to help hide any leaks

I hate cleaning crud off more than about anything else on a project, but it's so nice when it's done.

[smbrouss70]

Originally Posted by Zoomin

Chris, I think the engine looks great. Personally I like some color comtrast, and the only time I do blocks in black is to help hide any leaks

I hate cleaning crud off more than about anything else on a project, but it's so nice when it's done.

I'm kind of wishing I had painted my engine black right about now!

[tino0217]

Looks damn good brother, simple but tuff

[ajgriffin]

Originally Posted by gringoloco

Thanks dudes! Moved on to final clean, prep, and paint on the engine. Gotta say, I’m digging it

Sorry for bringing up old stuff, but it seems like you weren't too concerned about paint in the threads or fluid passages. Did that work out well for you? I'm getting ready to paint my engine so I thought I'd ask. Also, what was your prep process before you painted the valve cover adapters? Thanks for the info - really enjoying your build!

[gringoloco]

Originally Posted by ajgriffin

Sorry for bringing up old stuff, but it seems like you weren't too concerned about paint in the threads or fluid passages. Did that work out well for you? I'm getting ready to paint my engine so I thought I'd ask. Also, what was your prep process before you painted the valve cover adapters? Thanks for the info - really enjoying your build!

No worries and thanks for checking in. I wasn’t super concerned, but you could stuff some paper in the holes or carefully tape them off. I did have rags in the intake ports and covered any areas that I thought might get paint into oil passages. Personal preference really, can’t hurt to be overly cautious. I like to run a tap into all of the holes I’m using, too, especially with an *ahem* gently used engine.

Valve cover adapters I simply sanded and used a self etching primer to help the paint stick to the aluminum.

[gringoloco]

Took some time to get the exhaust plumbed over the rear axle. Im using mandrel bends for everything and “snapper” bushing hangers. I had to replace the magnaflows with these Borla pro-xs, due to the outlet configuration; hopefully they sound decent, hard to tell from YouTube clips. It’s all tacked and ready for final weld tomorrow

[Kronald_70GMC]

Great work. Ive heard Borla exhaust before on a cousins 2019 silverado with the 5.3. It sounds pretty good.