The 66 C20 Fleetside LB Project

[Rat66]

I am not sure why this post was deleted before. Please let me know if there is something wrong with it. Thanks

My goal with this truck is to bag it and notch it. I am still in the process of learning all my options and trying to put together my wish list and my to-do list. Once it is dependable and does not leak then I will focus on the fun stuff. Oh yeah, and once I get my fiancees monster Jeep put back together. LOL. That is kind of the deal I made with her. Her Jeep has been in the shop for 3 years. She drove it home the day we bought it and it broke down on me the next time I drove it so I have been rebuilding it since. When she started giving me crap about all the things I want to do to my truck I HAD to make a deal. I am sure a few of you know how that goes :-D

Here is my checklist so far of what I want to do with the 66:
1. Install bags front and rear (Schrader valves to start)
2. Transmission swap (Probably T-5)
3. Notch the rear (Full notch)
4. Drop spindles
5. Wheels/tires
6. Body drop the bed
7. Etc.
8. Etc..
9. Etc....

Anyway, thanks for checking out my project. I will post updates as I go. Please feel free to give advice or ideas. I am here to learn. Right now I am trying to figure out exactly what I need for my bags so please chime in if you can help.

[Rat66]

I am not sure what happened to the original picture of my truck. Here it is.



My direction with this project has changed slightly. I am no longer going with a T-5 trans. They are next to impossible to find around here. So I am going with either a TH350 or TH400 instead. With that I will need to change out my Eaton 4.56. Since Eaton does not have many options I decided to go with a C10 suspension swap.

This weekend I bought a complete front suspension, rearend, auto trans cross-member and complete power brake system out of a 72 C10.





My next step is to clean it all up, rebuild the parts that need it and source the rest of the parts I will need to do the install. Since I will have to pull the engine to install the front cross-member I will be installing the transmission at the same time. So I will need to get the trans soon as well.

Off to find more parts

[SFTorange]

Looking good! Your truck is pretty much exactly what I started with. Doing the C10 swap definitely opens up some options for wheels, etc. and it'll sure drive nice with disc brakes!

[Rat66]

Thanks SFTorange! I am excited about getting started. I am just finishing up my fiancees Jeep project. Once I am done with it I can then focus on this one. Yeah originally I was going to stay with the 3/4 ton but ran into too many hurdles. Wheels being a big hurdle. At least the kind of wheel I was looking for. And yeah I am looking forward to the disc brakes. I have to stand on the pedal just to slow down now. And being able to drive on the freeway will also be a plus

I just read through your entire project. WOW! Absolutely Amazing! I will say that my project will be nothing close to yours BUT I will be borrowing some ideas from you. I love the detail you go into about some of the products/parts that you used. Very informative and helpful. I hope to document and share my build/experience as well as you did.

I love your seats. I will keeping my eye out for a set of those.

Hey did you ever get your cooling issues figured out? In your pictures it looks like the mechanical fan is completely inside the shroud. From doing extensive research on this due to cooling issues on my Jeep project I found that the fan should only be about an inch or so inside the shroud with some of the fan still outside. This is to provide the most amount of suction. I am still working on my cooling issues. I have an electric system on it. I just ordered a shroud that should help out.

I noticed you installed the V8 motor mount brackets that moved your engine forward an 1" or so. I just got a set of those brackets with my suspension parts. I wanted to install them so I could make more room for my HEI as well but CaptainFab pointed out that I may have to extend certain things or alter certain things. I have yet to look into this but I may just end up leaving it where it is. We will see as I get closer.

Any help you can offer would be much appreciated!

[SFTorange]

That's one of the things I love about this place, we all can share ideas and learn from each other as we put our own personal touches on our trucks. Thanks for the kind words, I had a blast building the truck.

I did get my cooling issues worked out. It turned out to be an issue with the Napa temp sending unit. It turns out that the old gauges on our trucks need to have a specifically calibrated sending unit to work correctly. Once I figured out, a new correctly calibrated unit totally solved my problems. I have a big-time cooling system on the truck, and it works great. You are probably right about the fan shroud issue, but the aluminum radiator, high flow water pump, and six blade fan take care of the heat. Someday I'll switch to electric fans...

As for moving the engine forward, it does open up a rat's nest of other issues. Since I was doing a frame-off, it wasn't hard to take care of them, but there were a number of things to consider. First, the exhaust had to be re-done, and there was a tricky bend to hook up to the original ram's horn manifolds I used. They were able to make it happen at the exhaust shop though. Moving the engine forward makes it a tight squeeze between the bottom of the manifold and the suspension crossmember. The 67-72 trucks had manifolds that dump at a 45 degree angle to solve the problem, ours dump straight down.

The fan shroud had to be trimmed to fit, which explains the fan sticking into it too far. Also the driveline has to be cut to adjust the fit. For me, it worked out perfectly because I was pulling out a turbo 350 and putting a slightly longer 700r4 in its place. The longer tranny made up for moving the whole assembly forward.

There were probably a few other issues that came up that I can't remember, but those are the big ones.

All of this being said, I REALLY like having the engine forward. It is easier to work on, and the firewall clearance is awesome. There is a lot more room for running plug wires and working on the HEI. I also think the engine looks really at home in the forward position.

While you're working on the C20-C10 swap, a couple of other things were a big help for me. Most notably, you can swap out the rear cab mounts for a C10 style and can get rid of those shear-type mounts. Check here to get a new set of frame mounts. They are a very quality product. I've ordered a bunch of things from Tony, and he is good to work with. Also chevyrestoguy just posted a great how-to mod for the factory frame brackets if your a fabricator.

Let me know if you have any other questions, and good luck!

[Andyboy]

Looks like a sweet project. I have to do the same but we got everything from a '75 1/2 ton.

good luck

[dr69burb]

cool truck. im basically doing the same thing with my 64. 1/2 ton swap and currently bagging it.

[Rat66]

Thanks SFTorange! I will definitely be bugging you. By the way, I too am just now getting into welding. With all my current and future projects I had to just bite the bullet. I bought new welder and a bunch of equipment. I have yet to flip the switch on it and do anything with it but I have it at the ready Have you bought a welder yet? If so, which one?

Andyboy how far have you got on yours? Do you have a projects thread started on here?

dr69burb have you already done the 1/2 ton swap or are you doing it at the same time as the bags? Are you going with full air management or starting with schraders? Are you notching it? If so, C-notch or full notch? Have you started a project thread yet?

Thanks guys for the comments. I hope to have more updates in the near future. I am so close to finishing my other project

[dr69burb]

yeah i already did the swap. i did a full notch and i just welded in the 4 link i built.
and i plan on doing the full air managment because i did the other setup before and it was a pain in the ass.
http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=537406