Project O.G. - My First Ever Build

[cericd]

Now that's just freakin' wrong. But oh so right.

Time to wake up from my low riding dream.

On a side note. I am posting this response from my phone because viewing that picture on my laptop blew out the electricity in my whole neighborhood. And who in the world ever heard of a companies phone having a busy signal in this day and age. Thanks Centerpoint!
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[CC69Rat]

My name Peggy..
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[Jimbabwe]

That's how it starts...

[CC69Rat]

And $10-12k later you could have a $40k truck.

Do it !!
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[cericd]

Originally Posted by CC69Rat

And $10-12k later you could have a $40k truck.

Do it !!
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Lol. As much as I like your math, I think it might be a little flawed.
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[Xeen]

Cericd If you are still trying to decide what you want to do about the stance, braking and handling of your truck I have some ideas for you that are much less expensive than laying frame.
Ok so to get the center of gravity down a little bit and improve braking and handling you can do the following;

Go onto Cragslist do a search for 1971 chevy and there will be tons of guys selling parts for our trucks, call them up and ask them if they have the entire front suspension/steering for a 1971-72 including the crossmember.
The idea is to convert it to 1971-72 factory front disk, there's your 5-lug front end, then find a 1971-72 rear axle, or convert yours, either way, there's your 5-lug rear.
Also get a used stock 1971-72 power brake bracket, booster, master cylinder and proportioning valve that has been pulled as one unit.
If your truck didn't come stock with a sway bar you can get one from the same guys on craigslist there is two different types that will fit a 1-1/16" and a 1-1/8" the later is the heavy duty off of the 3/4 ton and is preferable, these are plentiful and wont be difficult to find.
Order a set of 2/4 drop springs which is the maximum you can lower the truck on stock spindles without the alignment being unreconcilable.
Buy a rear shock relocation kit and a front shock reinforcement kit.
You should be able to pick all this up for around half of what you would spend to buy a complete disk conversion drop kit new and this will make the truck a little more civilized and much more enjoyable to drive.

[C10_ustacould]

If all goes well, later this year I am going to be swapping to a Porterbuilt front and rear suspension and I would like change my brakes too. So I will need to sell what I have, and depending on your situation I may be able to offer you a complete package, disc brakes, 5 lug and a 4.5/6 drop. Keep in touch and lets see if we can help each other out.

[cericd]

Ok guys... so my thread has passed the 2 year mark with basically nothing done to my 70 C/10 (aside from collecting parts). The truck is in the same shape as when I bought it. Problem is, lately I find myself wanting something a little older. I've seen quite a few 65-66 swb fleetsides that I really like and I feel like if I am going to go to the expense of adding front disc, 5-lugs all around, power steering, power brakes, etc. to this 70 then why not do it to a 65-66? Am I missing something i.e. (is it more expensive to add all this to a pre-67)? If not, should I try to find someone willing to trade a 65-66 in similar condition to mine straight up or sell mine as it sits and look for a 65-66 as clean as my 70 to buy?

[C10_ustacould]

T.A.D.D. strikes again!

The aftermarket parts are about the same cost from 63 to 72. I say build what you like. It would be best if you could find a board member close to you who has a truck like what you want to build and spend some time with them, maybe cruise with them a bit. That way you know it's what you want. But heck... who am I to give advice I change my mind several times every day!!

[cericd]

Thanks for the info Buck. I guess I should also spend some time looking at the 60-66 section of the forum and educate myself on the intricacies of those models.

[original-71]

do you want five lug just for wheel choices ?

[cericd]

Originally I wanted 5-lug for wheel choices so I purchased a set of new 5-lug conversion axles for the rear (not installed yet) and planned to swap the rest to 5-lug as I rebuilt the rear brakes and got discs for the front. I realize I could keep the 6-lug but if I were freshening up the entire brake system why not switch over to a 5-lug setup.

My biggest issue right now is that I find myself liking the look and styling of the 63-66 trucks more than my current truck and since I can only have one toy right now I thought since I haven't done too much with mine, maybe I should start looking into the earlier model trucks before I buy too many more parts.

Over the past couple years I have become fairly familiar with the specifics of what it takes to modify the 67-72 trucks for things like AC, pwr brakes, pwr steering, lowered ride height, etc. but I didn't know if there is a big difference in cost/difficulty when trying to add these things to a pre-67 truck.

[cericd]

I'm getting ready to order parts to rebuild the front end of my truck and I've been trying to compile a list of Moog replacement parts. I found out that ECE offers a front end rebuild kit with Moog parts for $525. I've read on the board that many people have gotten good deals through rockauto.com so I did some comparison research and came up with the following: which would cost $296.64 before shipping costs.

[cericd]

But I'm not sure about the Idler Arm. The one in the example pic from ECE (inside red box) looks different than the part that came up on the Rock Auto site and on the Moog site (second pic).

[cericd]

Also, I'm not sure about the pitman arm. Seems there is one for manual steering (first pic) and one for power steering (second pic). I would assume I need the power steering version since I am going to add factory power steering at the same time.

[cericd]

I've decided to rebuild the truck as sort of an upgraded factory style driver for now. By "upgraded" I mean adding power steering, 5-lug and power disc brakes which weren't offered in 1970. I plan to keep the truck factory height with factory 15x6 steelies and original dog dish caps and I need some help with sourcing parts and factory finishes while keeping a budget in mind where I can i.e ECE vs Rock Auto or best quality supplier of suspension, steering and braking parts etc.

I was planning on using the ECE front disc conversion kit for 5-lug factory height which utilizes conversion spindles so that I could keep all my front end parts of 69-70 vintage so it would be less confusing when I need replacement parts in the future.

Any assistance with the above decisions would be greatly appreciated. I just want to make sure I have all my bases covered before I start tearing things appart.

Thanks

[smbrouss70]

The idler arm that you found is correct. It attaches to a bracket bolted on the side of the frame with a tapered hole for the idler. I guess the ECE part is supposed to replace that bracket?

Yes, if you are upgrading to power steering then you will want the power steering pitman arm.

If you are wanting to lower the truck at all in the future, I would buy the drop spindles now for your 1970 so that you don't have to re-purchase spindles in the future. Also, you can save your self some money if you only purchase the spindles from ECE and buy the rest of the brake stuff from Rock Auto. It is all typical replacement parts for a 71-72 setup, but they do use quality Raybestos brand parts.

[cericd]

Thanks Steven. I've gone back and forth over the "to lower or not to lower" thing. I finally decided to do a stock height rebuild for many reasons and figured if I change my mind in the future at least the rest of the parts I'm replacing now would be compatible.

I figured that I could probably do better price wise just buying the spindles from ECE and getting the rest of the brake parts elsewhere but I looked for a parts list and couldn't find one. I'm no mechanic so I don't know the names of all of the parts in the ECE disc Brake Upgrade photo. I mean I know the dust shields, rotors, calipers, master cylinder, proportioning valve, brake pads and spindles but I don't know what all the other parts are or if they are even offered elsewhere.

[smbrouss70]

I just put their disc brake conversion on my Blazer back in August. I'm almost positive that I still have the instructions which I think has a parts list. I'll try to find it tonight and let you know.

[cericd]

That would be great!

Thanks.

[cericd]

I will also be swapping my rear 6-lug axles for a set of replacement 5-lug axles that I already purchased and rebuilding the rear drum brakes as 5-lug. Would I be correct in ordering factory replacement parts for a 71 C-10? Are the brake lines the same? Are there any other "wear and tear" parts that I should look into replacing while I'm back there i.e. control are bushings, rear end lube, or parts that would likely be damaged when swapping the axles?

[cericd]

Anyone?

[68Gold/white]

Swapping the axles involves removing the rear end cover, removing the cross pin/bolt, then pushing the carrier center shaft through the carrier.

You push the axles inward which allows the "C" clips to be removed from the axle ends.

Then the axles can be freely removed from the rear end housing. Then you remove the seals and bearings, I use a slide hammer w/ 3 fingers on it (they can be rented).

I use a large socket to install the new bearings, seal can be installed w/ same, or a short piece of 2X4.

The biggest potential problem is that the cross pin can be broken in the carrier. I have drilled them and remove w/ an easy out.

There's no other parts you'll need to fool with when doing this, unless you need to replace the rear brakes, while the rear drums are off.

[smbrouss70]

I haven't forgotten about you, but I can't seem to place my hands on those instructions.

[cericd]

Thanks Steven. Let me know if you run across them.