How to: Ruin a perfectly good C10

[TA_C10]

This = glasspack-sounding “clap” = is what I don't like about these.... I'm an old Flowmaster guy, deep and mean sounding... Nascar is cool don't get me wrong, but unless you have 900+ horse and it's setup to race, it doesn't sound right to me on the street, just obnoxious... And this is me, getting old...

.

[gringoloco]

Exhaust is “done”.

[knomadd]

Good for you!

Not to stir the pot, but the sideways X-pipe isn't going to be an issue. It'll still flow out like it should, but not as efficiently, so it won't make as much power as the "normal" direction would.

Think about it this way.... if you take 2 garden hoses and blow them full blast into an X-pipe the "normal" way, it'll flow as intended. Do the same with the X turned 90 degrees and it'll still flow, although not quite as efficiently. It's still going to flow the right direction because of the pressure of the exhaust gasses coming from the headers.

[lyrikz]

Originally Posted by smbrouss70

Looks good! I wish I could fit an X-pipe on a Blazer.

I dont see anywhere i can put one one mine. Any recommendations??

[gringoloco]

Originally Posted by knomadd

Good for you!

Not to stir the pot, but the sideways X-pipe isn't going to be an issue. It'll still flow out like it should, but not as efficiently, so it won't make as much power as the "normal" direction would.

Think about it this way.... if you take 2 garden hoses and blow them full blast into an X-pipe the "normal" way, it'll flow as intended. Do the same with the X turned 90 degrees and it'll still flow, although not quite as efficiently. It's still going to flow the right direction because of the pressure of the exhaust gasses coming from the headers.

Yeah, I could see the possibility of that. It sounds really nice, and it fits, which is good enough for me right now. I may just have to make up for all of these intake and exhaust inefficiencies with more cubic inches

Originally Posted by lyrikz

I dont see anywhere i can put one one mine. Any recommendations??

Above the intake and through the hood!

[gringoloco]

Minor catch-up: a few weeks back smbrouss70 (Steven) and 65StreetCruiser (Kevin) stopped by to help me get the AAW chassis wiring harness installed. Good news; it’s worth the money and fits beautifully. Bad news is wiring harnesses are not exactly photo worthy, but here’s an in-progress pic, the voltage regulator cover I used on the firewall bulkhead, and an example of the braided split loom we used on everything.

[gringoloco]

Also got the Dakota Digital RTX gauges and the Detroit Speed delay-type windshield wiper setup (that Steven and Kevin somehow convinced my wife that I needed, thanks ) installed. Whole bunch of stuff behind the gauges now, kept relatively orderly by the Dead End Garage bracket. Also managed to get the stock wiper control knob to work with the DSE switch, so no one is the wiser. Stock, but not. Perfect. I’m really liking this view from the driver’s seat

[gringoloco]

Kinda hard to see, but the exhaust now routed over the axle and panhard, all the way out to the rear bumper, mandrel bends the whole way, with hidden turn downs at the tips. Pretty happy overall, but definitely reached the limits of the Eastwood welder as the beads kept wanting to pile up... The Borlas sound a little quiet at startup, but wake up nicely at higher RPMs

[gringoloco]

...and thanks to robznob11 for the SUPER bright LED tails. No worries about tailgaters now!

[cornerstone]

More beautifully subtle upgrades that add safety and reliability. I ran my exhaust the same way, it's like playing tetris back there to maintain adequate clearance.

[ajgriffin]

Originally Posted by gringoloco

Also got the Dakota Digital RTX gauges and the Detroit Speed delay-type windshield wiper setup (that Steven and Kevin somehow convinced my wife that I needed, thanks ) installed. Whole bunch of stuff behind the gauges now, kept relatively orderly by the Dead End Garage bracket. Also managed to get the stock wiper control knob yo work with the DSE switch, so no one is the wiser. Stock, but not. Perfect. I’m really liking this view from the driver’s seat

Hadn't seen the DSE wiper motor until today and in the words of Chris Rock....



Thankfully I live in Socal so I'll just use some RainX and call it good enough. Seriously though, great job with the harness. Looks super clean! Voltage regulator cover was a stroke of genius too! I was recently looking at standoff plates that would remove it from the firewall, but this looks like a great solution to me!

[gringoloco]

Originally Posted by cornerstone

More beautifully subtle upgrades that add safety and reliability. I ran my exhaust the same way, it's like playing tetris back there to maintain adequate clearance.

Thanks man. Definitely a puzzle, but I think the mandrel bends are worth the effort over exhaust shop kinks

Originally Posted by ajgriffin

Hadn't seen the DSE wiper motor until today and in the words of Chris Rock....



Thankfully I live in Socal so I'll just use some RainX and call it good enough. Seriously though, great job with the harness. Looks super clean! Voltage regulator cover was a stroke of genius too! I was recently looking at standoff plates that would remove it from the firewall, but this looks like a great solution to me!

I’m with you, way too rich for my blood. Thankfully I have good friends to convince my great wife to buy me cool stuff.

I can’t take credit for the voltage regulator cover, it was a trick I first saw n2billet use on his trucks. All of that fancy looming was Kevin’s doing; I’m just here to post pictures

[darkhorse970]

Everything looks killer Chris! I love the voltage regulator cover idea and really clean wiring, I need to call you and get the details.

[aggie91]

Chris,

Great progress on the truck. Did you use a direct replacement harness or a universal harness from AAW? Also, I really like your steering wheel. I have seen a number of versions of this wheel by different manufacturers. Who's wheel is that and where did you get it?

[gringoloco]

Originally Posted by darkhorse970

Everything looks killer Chris! I love the voltage regulator cover idea and really clean wiring, I need to calm you and get the details.

Thanks Keith. No worries, give me a shout. I think we struck a decent balance between affordable and done ‘right’. The braided split loom and harness tape both came from amazon.

Originally Posted by aggie91

Chris,

Great progress on the truck. Did you use a direct replacement harness or a universal harness from AAW? Also, I really like your steering wheel. I have seen a number of versions of this wheel by different manufacturers. Who's wheel is that and where did you get it?

Thanks Karl. The harness is an AAW 510089 67-72 specific kit. Although due to my extensive modifications, much of it was deleted, the kit is VERY nice, VERY complete, and easy to install. Highly recommended. Get a nice set of crimpers before you start (we learned the hard way).

The wheel came from eBay seller drclassicauto. It is very nice quality and came with everything needed, including the correct size hub. The only thing I have had to do is take a small file to the sharp edges on the center section, otherwise very happy with it.

[aggie91]

Originally Posted by gringoloco

...Thanks Karl. The harness is an AAW 510089 67-72 specific kit. Although due to my extensive modifications, much of it was deleted, the kit is VERY nice, VERY complete, and easy to install. Highly recommended. Get a nice set of crimpers before you start (we learned the hard way).

The wheel came from eBay seller drclassicauto. It is very nice quality and came with everything needed, including the correct size hub. The only thing I have had to do is take a small file to the sharp edges on the center section, otherwise very happy with it.

Thanks for the info. I am just starting a rewire of an '80 C10, the owner brought me a #510008 Universal Harness from AAW to install. So far I like the kit and how all the wires are labeled.

[smbrouss70]

You can't blame us for the wipers! She came out as soon as you went to the store and started asking about the wipers that Kevin and I were talking about. I just made sure she went to the correct website and ordered the correct ones... and made sure she used the free shipping code that I found.

It all looks really good. I assume you had to determinate the block on the firewall to pass the wiring through your voltage regulator cover, huh? I see that you did replace the screws with buttonhead screws that hold the fuse block to the firewall, looks much better now.

I didn't get a chance to work on the Blazer this weekend, so my wipers still haven't been installed yet, but I think I will be using the stock knob like you did.

Also, my LED tails should be delivered today after seeing yours. See, it works both ways.

[SCOTI]

Originally Posted by smbrouss70

You can't blame us for the wipers! She came out as soon as you went to the store and started asking about the wipers that Kevin and I were talking about. I just made sure she went to the correct website and ordered the correct ones... and made sure she used the free shipping code that I found.

It all looks really good. I assume you had to determinate the block on the firewall to pass the wiring through your voltage regulator cover, huh? I see that you did replace the screws with buttonhead screws that hold the fuse block to the firewall, looks much better now.

I didn't get a chance to work on the Blazer this weekend, so my wipers still haven't been installed yet, but I think I will be using the stock knob like you did.

Also, my LED tails should be delivered today after seeing yours. See, it works both ways.:lol:

It seems you've got a few more bucks to spend in order to equal that purchase-price range of the DSE package. It's funny reading though. I just printed off the install instructions on Saturday to get a feel for the motors mounting footprint in order to see if they'd work on a g-body.

[smbrouss70]

Originally Posted by SCOTI

It seems you've got a few more bucks to spend in order to equal that purchase-price range of the DSE package. It's funny reading though. I just printed off the install instructions on Saturday to get a feel for the motors mounting footprint in order to see if they'd work on a g-body.

Oh, he's not free from blame either. See the below quote from when I was trying to solve my 700-R4 problems and resist the urge to order a new TKO transmission a little over a year ago.

Originally Posted by gringoloco

I think the problem stems from the fact that your transmission has a torque converter instead of a clutch...

[SCOTI]

Originally Posted by smbrouss70

Oh, he's not free from blame either. See the below quote from when I was trying to solve my 700-R4 problems a little over a year ago.

SHOTs FIRED!

[smbrouss70]

[gringoloco]

Originally Posted by smbrouss70

You can't blame us for the wipers! She came out as soon as you went to the store and started asking about the wipers that Kevin and I were talking about. I just made sure she went to the correct website and ordered the correct ones... and made sure she used the free shipping code that I found.

It all looks really good. I assume you had to determinate the block on the firewall to pass the wiring through your voltage regulator cover, huh? I see that you did replace the screws with buttonhead screws that hold the fuse block to the firewall, looks much better now.

I didn't get a chance to work on the Blazer this weekend, so my wipers still haven't been installed yet, but I think I will be using the stock knob like you did.

Also, my LED tails should be delivered today after seeing yours. See, it works both ways.

Isn’t she awesome!? Total surprise to me, which doesn’t happen very often. She is usually afraid of buying the wrong thing since I’m so darned particular.

I did pull the terminals out of the harness and fed them through the hole, but talking with Keith, I realized with the bottom exit that a slot would probably be just as good as a hole and require less effort. Speaking of, he’ll probably be recruiting you soon for his harness install. I told him to stock up on beer

If you wanna try using two of the billet knobs, I have a spare I won’t be using.

Originally Posted by smbrouss70

Oh, he's not free from blame either. See the below quote from when I was trying to solve my 700-R4 problems and resist the urge to order a new TKO transmission a little over a year ago.

I think I remember you stating something along the lines of “best modification yet” and “I should have done this from the start”. I was just trying to save you from wasting money on yet another red fluid leaking slushbox

[rustytruck50]

Been awhile since I checked in ...the truck looks great with all the neatly executed upgrades!

[gringoloco]

Originally Posted by rustytruck50

Been awhile since I checked in ...the truck looks great with all the neatly executed upgrades!

Thanks Doug. I gotta stop goofing around at some point and just get it done...

[C10_ustacould]

Originally Posted by gringoloco

Minor catch-up: a few weeks back smbrouss70 (Steven) and 65StreetCruiser (Kevin) stopped by to help me get the AAW chassis wiring harness installed. Good news; it’s worth the money and fits beautifully. Bad news is wiring harnesses are not exactly photo worthy, but here’s an in-progress pic, the voltage regulator cover I used on the firewall bulkhead, and an example of the braided split loom we used on everything.

What did the voltage regulator cover come off of?