Help with my build please. 70 C10 Short Stepper.

[bzblaine]

Intro
1st of all, I'm brand new to the forum. Hello all! Blaine here from San Antonio Texas. Just bought me a 70 C10 Short Stepper. I love it. Its always been a dream of mine to have one and my dream has come true. Granted, I don't know a ton about building a vehicle, I know enough to get by. I've been searching the forums for weeks learning stuff about my new truck. I have some question for those who don't mind helping me.
Truck Info
I have already purchased a 468 BBC and a built Turbo 400 trans. The truck was originally a V6. My buddy is building the engine for me. We are working on a budget. A tight one. But, he says he can get that motor into the 550 - 600 HP range. He has done it several times in the past, So, I trust him. This is going to be very fun Daily Driver. I'm aware of the terrible gas mileage, and I don't mind as I didn't get it for the mileage.
Questions
I'm assuming im going to need upgraded suspension and rear end. Being as we are on a tight budget, I would like to know what rear end would be easiest to swap into here and be sufficient for the power we will putting into it. Any suggestions for suspension? Diff? Posi, front end?? I am looking for the cheapest, easiest, and durable solution. Preferably a swap from a donor vehicle currently possessing the qualities I need. Any information would help a lot. Also, as a bonus, Im 6'4 320 LBS. I would like a split bench seat, with center arm rest/console. I need one with a thin back to allow for the most room possible. Again, Any info would be greatly appreciated. Sorry for the lengthy post.

[panhandler62]

Welcome to the forums.

[chevy_mike]

Welcome to the forums.

We need a little more info on your truck. Is it trailing arm or leaf springs rear? Trailing arms, you really don't need to do anything. This works great and can take a lot of power. They don't suffer from wheel hop like a leaf spring truck will. The truck arm suspension is what NASCAR uses in all of their cars and trucks, so it works very well. You should have a truck 12 bolt rear end, which is more than strong enough. You can load it with whatever gears or posi you want. Might consider aftermarket axle shafts, like Tom's Axles. They are beefier than stock but stock is still fairly strong.

My suggestion it good brakes. You'll want to make sure you can stop that much power.

[bzblaine]

OK great! Thanks for the fast reply. I do indeed have trailing arms. This is great news for my budget. So just go with some new axle shafts and brakes and I should be good? Would I need to do anything with the front end or suspension to compensate for the additional weight of the engine? I haven't decided on tires yet, But I'm thinking fat ones. If I can get the thing to stick to the ground well, that rear end will be able to take it? Is there anything else that I might need to worry about when putting that much power in the truck?. My goal is a daily driver that will smoke a Mustang if it needed to. But I do want something reliable. Thanks in advance.

[chevy_mike]

Unless you are building a full race truck, almost all trucks you are going to have a hard time getting them to hook up. There is not much weight in the back, so you'll be smoking the tires a lot. LOL

As for front springs, if keeping stock height, these trucks had BBC as options so you can go with a BBC spring versus a SBC spring. If you're going to lower it, check the different companies as some specify drop with what engine.

As for upgrades for the power, you might want to look at U-joint and yoke upgrades to a heavier duty ones. The stock 1310 joints and yokes might be the week point.

Get the truck on the road and start feeling out what you might need to upgrade. These trucks are fairly strong to begin with.

[bzblaine]

I greatly appreciate all of your help. I love this forum. The replies are ridiculously fast. I'm glad to be apart of the Chevy Truck family. I'll get some pictures up soon.

[SCOTI]

The rear end will work /upgrades (posi, axles, etc). If you get 'serious' about putting the power/torque of that big-block to the ground vs the easily achieveable smoke show, there might be a need to upgrade the housing (the truck arms will still get the job done).

Set the motor back as far as possible in the chassis & utilize as much 'light' stuff as possible to help w/the weight of things. Fiberglass items, alum radiator/water pump/intake, gear reduction starter, wheels, relocating the batt to the rear of the truck can all make an impact.

For seating, look into 88-94 GM truck low back buckets (or split bench). the seat backs on these are fairly thin yet still comfortable.

[bzblaine]

Awesome! Looks like I'm hitting up the junkyard tomorrow and see what I can find as far as seats. We plan on hopefully 600 hp. When you say serious power, Are you talking 700+ hp? And thanks for the weight reduction and distribution tips! Will keep that in mind.

[SCOTI]

Originally Posted by bzblaine

Awesome! Looks like I'm hitting up the junkyard tomorrow and see what I can find as far as seats. We plan on hopefully 600 hp. When you say serious power, Are you talking 700+ hp? And thanks for the weight reduction and distribution tips! Will keep that in mind.

No offense intended, but people on the internet mention "600hp" like it's nothin to accomplish so it's hard to establish if it's the real deal (600hp @ the crank on a dyno or 600rwhp/chassis dyno etc). 600hp is no joke.

What are the specs on the motor your buddy is building? That might help us help you better. Knowing what parts are used helps establish how serious the remainder of the drivetrain might need to be. Again... not casting doubt on you or your buddy's abilities.

If you want to plant that 600hp (prepped track, slicks, good tune) there might be cause for concern & reason to spend a little more on an upgraded rear end.
What size wheels/tires are you considering?

[bzblaine]

No offense taken at all. I do understand where you're coming from. And please excuse me because I am still relatively new to the engine building process. But I will give you what information I have. When my buddy gets back in town I will try to get a little bit more detailed information. it's a 468 Chevy big block. We bought it from one of the most Reputable speed shops in San Antonio. We spent a pretty penny on it. Came with a built turbo 400 transmission. This speed shop guaranteed 460-480 hp to the crank. I only say 460-480 because I can't remember what exactly it was. It's either 460 or 480. They do have a Dyno there. My buddy told me that it has the stock heads. He said he will be switching to aluminum heads and doing a couple of other things to hit right around 600. But he is telling me for sure it'll be between 550 and 600 hp to the crank.now I don't know what that translates into for rear wheel horsepower. I just want to make sure that the suspension and rear end will be able to take that kind of power. Now I don't plan on putting slicks on it. Just some wide tires because this is going to be mainly a street daily driver. I might take it to the track once a year or something but it's not really something I planned on doing. Once again I do apologize for my lack of knowledge. I am still learning. And I do appreciate yalls patients with me.

[SCOTI]

Originally Posted by bzblaine

No offense taken at all. I do understand where you're coming from. And please excuse me because I am still relatively new to the engine building process. But I will give you what information I have. When my buddy gets back in town I will try to get a little bit more detailed information. it's a 468 Chevy big block. We bought it from one of the most Reputable speed shops in San Antonio. We spent a pretty penny on it. Came with a built turbo 400 transmission. This speed shop guaranteed 460-480 hp to the crank. I only say 460-480 because I can't remember what exactly it was. It's either 460 or 480. They do have a Dyno there. My buddy told me that it has the stock heads. He said he will be switching to aluminum heads and doing a couple of other things to hit right around 600. But he is telling me for sure it'll be between 550 and 600 hp to the crank.now I don't know what that translates into for rear wheel horsepower. I just want to make sure that the suspension and rear end will be able to take that kind of power. Now I don't plan on putting slicks on it. Just some wide tires because this is going to be mainly a street daily driver. I might take it to the track once a year or something but it's not really something I planned on doing. Once again I do apologize for my lack of knowledge. I am still learning. And I do appreciate yalls patients with me.

600hp @ the crank is approx 480 once it goes through the drivetrain (est a 20% loss through the drivetrain under ideal conditions). It can be done. Also, the words 'BBC/Aluminum heads' & 'budget' usually can't be used in the same sentence. Interested to see what heads/cam/intake he selects for you.

Your 12bolt should do just fine w/the previously mentioned upgrades on street tires.

[bzblaine]

To elaborate, my tight budget I set was for the body, suspension, and whatever else I might need. I have a whole other budget for the motor. Lol. I'm definitely aware of the cost of engine components as my wallet feels the pain. That's the reason for the tight budget for everything not engine related.

[SCOTI]

Originally Posted by bzblaine

To elaborate, my tight budget I set was for the body, suspension, and whatever else I might need. I have a whole other budget for the motor. Lol. I'm definitely aware of the cost of engine components as my wallet feels the pain. That's the reason for the tight budget for everything not engine related.

LoL.... See, discussion promotes awareness. Now we know what the tight budget is for specifically. Excellent.

[BossHogg69]

if the engine shop garaunteed 460-480 at the crank, I'd like to know what heads and cam he's going to switch to gain 100-140 hp! Aluminum heads are fine and good, but there are some 'offshore' brands (Pro Comp comes to mind) that aren't very good - loose valve guides, porous castings, crappy valve springs and what not. Just something to think about before you spend your hard earned cash. Also, I hope you have a really good radiator and fan setup - a true 600 hp is not easy to keep cool. Also, the cam it's gonna take to get 600hp on motor will be pretty rowdy, so make sure you have a contingency plans if your power brakes (if you have them) don't want to work. The cam in my motor is 245* @ .050" and only pulls around 8"-9" of Hg @ a 1100rpm idle. What converter is in that TH400?

As for suspension, I'm running a 468, but with a TREMEC 5 spd and stock trailing arms that have been stitch welded down the seams. I'm using the stock '69 C10 12 bolt housing with a Detroit Truetrac, Moser axles and Moser (Ford 9") housing ends to eliminate the stock C-clips with Richmond 3.73's. I used 1350 u-joints in the driveshaft and converted the trans & pinion yokes to 1350 as well. I also moved my motor back 1.25" in the framerails.

You probably won't be able to hook up even 480 hp (@ crank) on street tires, much less 600. 600 hp is a helluva lot of power, especially in a BB with a bunch of torque. My 468 is in a '69 stepper and i'm running 345mm wide rear tires and they don't stand a chance - I'm talking full on rolling burnouts on the throttle at 50mph slidin' sideways and laughing my a$$ off grabbing gears. Pics are on my profile page if you care to check the truck out.

I believe the Moog 6454 & 6102 springs are the HD/ big block springs to use up front, but you may have to cut a coil off if you're looking to lower the truck a little. The 6454 is a bit taller, but it also has a higher spring rate (1060# vs. 1015#), so depending on the look you're after you might cut more that one coil off to get the look you're after. If you run an iron headed big block, the 6454 might be the better choice. If aluminum heads, maybe the 6102. I'm running 2" drop Hotchkis springs @ 1500#, but they aren't exactly budget friendly. The Moog springs are around $85. Get good shocks and a sway bar too, a big block up front with no sway bar is a hot mess. A junk yard 3/4 ton or 1 ton truck sway bar with new bushings will probably be okay, and much better than none at all. I know from experience. Before I tore my truck apart for this recent build, it had an iron headed 454 with drum brakes and no sway bar up front and was a hand full if you tried to have any fun with it.

[510ChevyC10]

Originally Posted by BossHogg69

if the engine shop garaunteed 460-480 at the crank, I'd like to know what heads and cam he's going to switch to gain 100-140 hp! Aluminum heads are fine and good, but there are some 'offshore' brands (Pro Comp comes to mind) that aren't very good - loose valve guides, porous castings, crappy valve springs and what not. Just something to think about before you spend your hard earned cash. Also, I hope you have a really good radiator and fan setup - a true 600 hp is not easy to keep cool. Also, the cam it's gonna take to get 600hp on motor will be pretty rowdy, so make sure you have a contingency plans if your power brakes (if you have them) don't want to work. The cam in my motor is 245* @ .050" and only pulls around 8"-9" of Hg @ a 1100rpm idle. What converter is in that TH400?

As for suspension, I'm running a 468, but with a TREMEC 5 spd and stock trailing arms that have been stitch welded down the seams. I'm using the stock '69 C10 12 bolt housing with a Detroit Truetrac, Moser axles and Moser (Ford 9") housing ends to eliminate the stock C-clips with Richmond 3.73's. I used 1350 u-joints in the driveshaft and converted the trans & pinion yokes to 1350 as well. I also moved my motor back 1.25" in the framerails.

You probably won't be able to hook up even 480 hp (@ crank) on street tires, much less 600. 600 hp is a helluva lot of power, especially in a BB with a bunch of torque. My 468 is in a '69 stepper and i'm running 345mm wide rear tires and they don't stand a chance - I'm talking full on rolling burnouts on the throttle at 50mph slidin' sideways and laughing my a$$ off grabbing gears. Pics are on my profile page if you care to check the truck out.

I believe the Moog 6454 & 6102 springs are the HD/ big block springs to use up front, but you may have to cut a coil off if you're looking to lower the truck a little. The 6454 is a bit taller, but it also has a higher spring rate (1060# vs. 1015#), so depending on the look you're after you might cut more that one coil off to get the look you're after. If you run an iron headed big block, the 6454 might be the better choice. If aluminum heads, maybe the 6102. I'm running 2" drop Hotchkis springs @ 1500#, but they aren't exactly budget friendly. The Moog springs are around $85. Get good shocks and a sway bar too, a big block up front with no sway bar is a hot mess. A junk yard 3/4 ton or 1 ton truck sway bar with new bushings will probably be okay, and much better than none at all. I know from experience. Before I tore my truck apart for this recent build, it had an iron headed 454 with drum brakes and no sway bar up front and was a hand full if you tried to have any fun with it.

That is a beautiful truck! I am new to the forum, the love here is big! I am learning a lot. I am looking a truck now, prices have gone up.. But I guess I haven't found the one meant for me. Love the pictures!