Knomadd '71 SWB C-10

[knomadd]

Originally Posted by mcbassin

You sure have made a bunch of progress on this truck since I last checked in. Jealous of you getting to drive it all the time. Sometimes it makes me want to go buy a driver so I can experience it....Keep the pictures coming.

Thanks Mike. Still get to work with gremlins this way too though. Just had the drivers side front turn signal go in and out on me this evening. Not sure if the filament finally went or if I've still got some bugs in the wiring. Hope it's just the bulb. It's definitely nice to be able to renew my energy for building it by driving it every once in a while. Sometimes I wish I had the space, and money to do a complete frame off build though.

Originally Posted by screaminchevypickup

Filler panels look good!

Thanks Kyle. I'm happy with them. I like how it looks just a little more complete.

[knomadd]

I was hanging Christmas lights on the house today and this is the view I had.

[knomadd]

And on a parts collection notice, my window scrapers arrived today. Thanks Kyle and Sarah (laidbackrecreations)!

[77ChevySharkBite]

Definitely not a bad view bro!!! I just think the vehicle that starts with an f needs to be hidden jk man sweet looking view man!

[screaminchevypickup]

Sweet parts.. Thanks for all the support Duane.

[knomadd]

Originally Posted by 77ChevySharkBite

Definitely not a bad view bro!!! I just think the vehicle that starts with an f needs to be hidden jk man sweet looking view man!

That's the wife's car. I had no say. She bought it herself. I'm not a F*rd guy, as you can tell by the two classics, and my daily (not pictured) is a Pontiac G6.

[knomadd]

Originally Posted by screaminchevypickup

Sweet parts.. Thanks for all the support Duane.

Anytime I can, I will. I'm holding out on the Lokar pedals until you get something worked out. Just sayin'

[ddubbs]

Glad to see your getting to cruise the ride. That GTO is one killer car. Love the view. Lol

[knomadd]

It's funny you should say that now...

I started tearing into the front end to swap the lower control arms and add the air bags and plates, shock relocators, and upper ball joints.

Let me just say, I'm in the same boat as most members on here, I HATE rivets! As you'll see, these are the original upper ball joints. Needless to say, they were SHOT.

[mcbassin]

I used to hate those rivets too till I bought an air chisel/hammer. I just grind a slot in the middle of the head and bump it with the air chisel and they pop right out. If that doesn't work I grind the head flush then hit it with the air hammer with the punch tip. One way or the other they come out pretty easy.
I picked mine up at harbor freight for like $10, works great

[Splash4195]

Nice Truck!

[knomadd]

Originally Posted by mcbassin

I used to hate those rivets too till I bought an air chisel/hammer. I just grind a slot in the middle of the head and bump it with the air chisel and they pop right out. If that doesn't work I grind the head flush then hit it with the air hammer with the punch tip. One way or the other they come out pretty easy.
I picked mine up at harbor freight for like $10, works great

I didn't think far enough ahead when I started this project. My air compressor is portable, and is stored in front of my GTO in the garage. It's impossible to get it out from it's current location without moving the car, which is behind the truck. Needless to say, I'm not able to use my air tools. Thankfully I have an electric grinder that I have a flap disc and cutoff wheel for, so I made good use of the grinder. The air hammer would have been very helpful though. Had to use a punch and a hammer. Managed to hit my hand a couple of times too.

Originally Posted by Splash4195

Nice Truck!

Thanks!

[Bennett68C10]

Originally Posted by mcbassin

I used to hate those rivets too till I bought an air chisel/hammer. I just grind a slot in the middle of the head and bump it with the air chisel and they pop right out. If that doesn't work I grind the head flush then hit it with the air hammer with the punch tip. One way or the other they come out pretty easy.
I picked mine up at harbor freight for like $10, works great

This is the same exact way I tackle rivets, and believe me I had enough of those bastards after I was done can't wait to see what it looks like on air. Also love the driveway pic

[C10_ustacould]

Rivets suck!! Glad to see you are getting started on your upgrades!

[HotRod C/10]

Originally Posted by knomadd

It's funny you should say that now...

I started tearing into the front end to swap the lower control arms and add the air bags and plates, shock relocators, and upper ball joints.

Let me just say, I'm in the same boat as most members on here, I HATE rivets! As you'll see, these are the original upper ball joints. Needless to say, they were SHOT.

I shave the rivets with a multi tool and cutting oil..........fast and clean!

[ddubbs]

When I had to do the rivets on my frame I used a 4" grinder with a 36 grit soft pack. Takes the head off in about a minute and you can knock the body out with a chisel. If I couldn't get to it with the grinder I used a unibit. They are a little expensive tho but make it easy to drill rivets. Hope that helps.

[knomadd]

Here's how it sits today. Just went home for lunch and attached my upper bag plate to the passenger side SS7 bag. Not enough time to eat, change out of my nice clothes, work on the truck, clean myself up and change back, then get back to work. If I did that, I'd be lucky to get in 10 minutes of wrench time, but only if I don't get too dirty and I eat really fast.

If it didn't get dark so quickly, I'd be able to do some more of the install when I get off work. Looks like it will be cold and rainy this weekend, so I might not be working on it this weekend either.

Crossing my fingers that I'll have some time to work on it this weekend. I haven't even started on the drivers side yet, or the rear. The rear should be fairly quick though.

You can see in this pic, I've already drilled for the shock relocator, and if you look closely, I had to trim the inner fender so the upper shock mount would fit. Should be nice once it's in.

[77ChevySharkBite]

Looks pretty!!!! Your going to have to tell me how the SS7 bags treat you, I'm thinking about putting those on mine.

I'm looking into getting a pull up tent so if the truck is outside, and it's crappy weather don't have to worry about it!

Depending how far you live out in Rosenberg, I could maybe muster up some kindness and if you want to work I might have a different frame, but willing to pitch in a hand.

[knomadd]

Thanks for the offer. I'm pretty close to the middle of town. I'll try to give you some heads up, like a day or so, when I know I'll be working on it and need some help.

[knomadd]

I was able to quickly attach the new shock relocator, torque it down to 35 ft-lbs, and attach the bag and plate to the cross member (finger tight only) before I froze my nuts off. It started to mist a bit before I finished, and it was in the 40's. Plus, it got dark about 15 minutes after I came in.

The view from this morning...

[knomadd]

I need a longer bolt for the top right mounting hole of the shock relocator. That's why there isn't a bolt in there now. That hole is in the dimple for the factory shock stud mount... The bolts that came with the custom relocator were meant only for a flat frame.

[77ChevySharkBite]

Great look man!!! I like it!

[knomadd]

Finally got a little progress to report. I braved the 40 degree weather and, for the most part, it wasn't that bad. It got a bit cold later in the day when it dropped back into the 30's though.

Finished installing the upper shock relocators, got the PB LCA in, bag and shock mounted, and upper bag plate tightened down. Still need to torque the spindle to the lower ball joint. My torque wrench only goes to 75 ft-lbs (3/8 drive) so I need to go get a 1/2 drive torque wrench for the bigger stuff.

Ordered some 90 degree unions for the air line so I can install my schrader valves in the frame rails... this is temporary, until I get the air management stuff. The schraders will be hidden in the engine compartment, so I just need to pop the hood to fill them up.

This is still just the passenger side...

On to the pics:

[77ChevySharkBite]

Nice!!! Even good things come out of the cold weather!

[knomadd]

I noticed when I started the disassembly that the factory LCA had taken a pretty good beating. I'm glad I went with the Porterbuilt LCAs for another reason now.

Check this out. Sorry about the crappy cell phone pics.