68 C10 SBSS build - start to finish

[Xeen]

LOL well no matter what year it is someone is always going to be dishonest as hell and try and rip people off, $13,500 is outragous I would have literally laughed in the guys face then asked him what kind of drugs he was on. I cant imagine paying more than $4,000 for a high quality paint job if the body work really is done right and they dont have to touch it and all they have to do is spray it, because as you know most of the labor cost is the prep work, yes the paint depending on the quality is expensive but not that expensive.

[Vic1947]

You're spot on with what I ended up paying. They provided the materials and wet sanded the panels with 1500 grit, then polished them out for that as well. Just a great job overall and really nice folks to boot!

[Low Elco]

Uncle Matt works for Carstar (Production Manager) in Smithville. He has dealt with Precision a bunch and has nothing but good things to say. Great that you found good craftsmen willing to not only share, but teach. Great skills and work!

[99-LS1-SS]

Wow, you have an exceptional attention to detail. This is a very cool and professional build.

[Vic1947]

Thanks, 99-LS1-SS. When non-car friends shake their heads and ask why I spend so much time on stuff you'll never see, I tell them, "It's like wearing clean underwear... maybe no one else cares, but I do!"

[99-LS1-SS]

Originally Posted by Vic1947

Thanks, 99-LS1-SS. When non-car friends shake their heads and ask why I spend so much time on stuff you'll never see, I tell them, "It's like wearing clean underwear... maybe no one else cares, but I do!"

That is an awesome quote and analogy! LOL
Posted via Mobile Device

[Vic1947]

After rolling down the thermal/acoustic material, I crawled under the cab and sprayed a layer of undercoating over the bottom side of the floor. With the cab now suitably prepped, I focused on getting a few last things done to the drivetrain before setting the cab on the frame.

The engine that came with the truck was a junk 305 not worth rebuilding. As I mentioned earlier, my engine guy came up with a 350 truck block that he bored .030" over. It now has forged rods, hypereutectic pistons and a balanced rotating assembly. Also, a mild Comp Cams hydraulic cam. Up top, I sourced a set of ProComp 210cc aluminum heads with 64cc CNC'd chambers that give me a final CR of 10.1 to 1. The original 305 had an Edelbrock dual plane intake that I'd planned to use, but when I set it on the heads, there was about a 1/8" gap showing along the top of the intake ports. So I had to spring for a ProComp air gap style manifold. I rebuilt the Edelbrock carb, but failed to check the throttle shafts. They were so worn out, when I got the engine running, it wouldn't idle down consistently. Moved it on down the road at a swap meet and replaced it with a new ThermoQuad style Street Demon.

The original pulleys were mismatched and one of the brackets was held in line with baling wire. The rest of the engine was looking so nice, I decided to forego reworking the pulleys. Instead, I wrecked my budget and ordered a March serpentine setup. It cleaned up the front of the engine very nicely. To help keep the clean look, I used one of the bungs at the back of the intake as my heater hose return.

Finally I was ready to set the cab onto the frame.

[Xeen]

WOW....just wow!

[sduckworth13]

Nice truck, you move quick and do great work.

[gearys 5600]

Nice work..

[Low Elco]

Looks great, can't wait to hear the rest!
Posted via Mobile Device

[Vic1947]

As of the first of April, I was down to two months to finish assembling the panels, wiring and plumbing, etc. if I was to meet my goal of the car show in Sedalia the first of June. A major step along the way was getting the cab back on the frame. My neighbor across the street, his son and a friend came over and the four of us lifted it up and walked it down the length of the frame and, with my wife Kathy directing traffic, set it in place. First couple of tries immediately identified an interference issue between the trans, the trans dipstick and the lower edge of the firewall pinchweld where it met the trans hump. Removed the cab and put it back on the rolling cart then crawled under it with some body tools and applied some gentle persuasion to the problem areas. Up top, there were some ribs on the center top of the trans that had to go as well, so I used the angle grinder and flap disc to give me the clearance I needed. A quick coat of black from a rattle can hid the surgery and we were ready to put the cab back in place. We had to remove the cab two or three times for more adjustments but finally had a good fit.

My next task was to route the wiring and begin terminating everything. The instrument cluster was all Autometer gauges, so I built a wiring harness using WeatherPak connectors so it could be removed if needed down the road. The OE instrument cluster used a printed circuit board which was long gone and wouldn't have helped anyway, but along with it went the provisions for the turn signals and high beam indicator. I solved that by using 1/8" green LED's for the turn signals and a blue one for the high beam. I had to make some small aluminum discs and epoxy them into the turn signal recesses. The LED's fit into a small hole in the center of the discs.

A tactical error I made with the wiring was using a Painless kit for a late 60's GM muscle car. On the cars, the wiper motor is on the outside and the heater motor is on the inside which is opposite of the trucks. This meant I had to turn some wires around from the engine side of the firewall and run them back inside under the dash. For that reason, I wished I'd gotten a kit dedicated to my application. But I'd had that Painless kit sitting on the shelf for a number of years and it seemed like the perfect opportunity to use it. Bottom line was, I made it work plus it was the most cost effective solution.

[Graham57a]

Beautiful truck, you should be proud of that thing. I know I sure would be

[Vic1947]

Originally Posted by Graham57a

Beautiful truck, you should be proud of that thing. I know I sure would be

Thanks, Andrew. You're making great progress also and your work is outstanding. I thought your shop truck build was a hoot.

[Graham57a]

Originally Posted by Vic1947

Thanks, Andrew. You're making great progress also and your work is outstanding. I thought your shop truck build was a hoot.

Thank you sir. I do the best I can and make sure I ask as many questions as possible. I don't think she'll be half bad when done. As for the shop truck, I love that thing. The best part is the 307 in it has a HUGE cam, headers, flowmasters, and a gear drive. It sounds BIG but looks so small under there

[Vic1947]

During the wiring process, I revisited the sidemarker lights I'd previously sectioned. I wasn't happy with the way they looked with satin black sprayed on the backs, so I built some aluminum covers to hide the ugly.

I used the factory style plastic tape to tidy up the wiring behind the instrument panel. It helps, but thankfully this area is well hidden. I was finally able to install the seat, the instrument panel and the CPP tilt column. I still had all the engine bay wiring, tail lights and etc. to go, but it was a big relief to see the dash buttoned up. Good advice from Painless was to test the circuits with a low amp battery charger instead of the actual battery. That way, wiring mishaps are less likely to balloon into an ordeal. I popped one fuse on the power window circuit before tracking down the problem, but no smoke!

[Xeen]

Im having a great time watching this build.

[Xeen]

How do you like that CPP tilt column, quality, fitment, etc... I am thinking about buying one but they are always back ordered so im wondering if its worth the wait.

[Vic1947]

Originally Posted by Xeen

How do you like that CPP tilt column, quality, fitment, etc... I am thinking about buying one but they are always back ordered so im wondering if its worth the wait.

Hey Brian, the tilt wheel was a good addition for me because I'm 6' 2" and the seat sits so high. Having the tilt feature allows me a little extra room. Might not be as worthwhile if you don't need the room or have seats that position the driver lower and further back.

As for the quality, it's fair. I bought mine from Speedway (their generic house brand at $299) but when it arrived it was in a CPP box with CPP instructions. I'm not sure whether Speedway offers it anymore. It has a little slop in the tilt mechanism, not too bad but much more than the Ididit column I have in another project car. Also, I've been unable to find a combination with the two levers they sent that attach to the Morse cable going to the trans. Neither one will line up the shift indicator properly. However, if you plan to use a floor shifter, manual or auto, that wouldn't matter.

[Xeen]

I really like your idea with the Stainless Steel mesh inserts in the grill it looks very nice with the silver paint.
Its a very modern style upgrade that improves the look of the truck.

[67cheby]

looking SWEET !

[Vic1947]

Well, by mid May I was getting closer to the finish line. When Mike re-painted the cowl cover, he also painted the kickpanels for me. With the front fenders and grille, etc. in place I was working to get the rest of the wiring done. I don't know about everyone else, but it seems like wiring is a never ending task. I wired both the halogen headlights and the electric fans using relays with 8 ga. wire to be on the safe side. Both those items have high amp draw and I didn't need any failures. In retrospect, it would probably have been a good idea to wire the power windows with relays also, but that's something I can retrofit this winter when the weather's lousy.

With the engine bay wiring flanged up, I was able to install the fill panels between the grille and core support. I can honestly say, these were the only pieces of sheetmetal I bought that actually fit without needing to be redone. Bolted 'em in and they lined up on the first try. Whoever designed and built these panels obviously spent a lot of time getting them right.

[Graham57a]

What's the deal on those valve covers and how do I get some?
Posted via Mobile Device

[Vic1947]

Originally Posted by Graham57a

What's the deal on those valve covers and how do I get some?
Posted via Mobile Device

Valve covers are easy to do. I picked up a set of chromed aluminum valve covers on eBay. Didn't look at them closely when they arrived and later on found out one had some scratches on the top that couldn't be removed. So I asked my buddy Steve, who is a sign man, to cut out some vinyl stickers to apply over the tops. The color is a nice silver and he weeded out the Chevy emblem and the letters so that the chrome underneath shows thru. Font is italicized Impact. Voila!

[gdavis]

Originally Posted by Vic1947

Well, by mid May I was getting closer to the finish line. When Mike re-painted the cowl cover, he also painted the kickpanels for me. With the front fenders and grille, etc. in place I was working to get the rest of the wiring done. I don't know about everyone else, but it seems like wiring is a never ending task. I wired both the halogen headlights and the electric fans using relays with 8 ga. wire to be on the safe side. Both those items have high amp draw and I didn't need any failures. In retrospect, it would probably have been a good idea to wire the power windows with relays also, but that's something I can retrofit this winter when the weather's lousy.

With the engine bay wiring flanged up, I was able to install the fill panels between the grille and core support. I can honestly say, these were the only pieces of sheetmetal I bought that actually fit without needing to be redone. Bolted 'em in and they lined up on the first try. Whoever designed and built these panels obviously spent a lot of time getting them right.

Engine looks sweet. Keep up the good work.