1970 swb c-10

[jmking9]

I have been wanting to upgrade to better shocks for quite a while. I just never knew what to get. A friend of mine recently put some Ridetech RQ shocks on his Chevelle and was very impressed. So I decided to give them a try. After talking with Matt at Matts Classic Bowtie, I took some measurements. I never realized how wrong the KYBs that came with the ECE kit were for my particular truck. The old kybs were way too long in the rear. I always thought it was the axle bottoming out on the bumpstops in my c notch when you hit a big bump or RR track. But it was actually the shock bottoming out. Here are some pictures of the difference in lengths. The fronts were just slightly too long. Probably because I run a 2"spring in place of the 1.5" spring that would normally come with the kit.

[jmking9]

Some more pics installed. Ignore the welded track bar. That was a hole in the wall muffler shop fix in a tiny town near the TX/OK border on the way down to join up on the Power Tour. Its a long story but it lasted me long enough to finish the P.T. so I can't complain. It was replaced after i took the pictures.

[jmking9]

Overall, I'm impressed with the Ridetechs. The rear end doesn't bottom out anymore, and feels much less "bouncy" . The truck feels less harsh than before.
Also, I took it for a 80-90 mile trip this afternoon and broke over the 8k mile mark since finishing it in May (ish) of 2013. Most of those miles have came in the last 2 years. The whole first year I was worried too much about it not being "perfect" (it was never anywhere near perfect) if I drove it too much. But I've since realized that driving it is much more fun than looking at it in the garage. Driving it so much has caused it to loose that fresh look, particularly underneath. But I don't care anymore, i just love driving it too much.
On another note, I bought another project the other day. Just got it home this evening. Its a 67 Chevelle that was originally a marina blue Malibu. It has had 99% of the metal work that needed done finished. It currently has a 350/350 and actually runs and drives fairly decent. I will be starting a build thread soon in the alternate tinkerings section. I have a 68 camaro that I was working on slowly. I think I'm going to put it on the backburner and work on the Chevelle. Anyway, everyone loves pics...

[jmking9]

And a couple of the Camaro project. While I'm at it I might as well post a picture of my other baby, the CJ7.

[mcbassin]

Originally Posted by jmking9

Overall, I'm impressed with the Ridetechs. The rear end doesn't bottom out anymore, and feels much less "bouncy" . The truck feels less harsh than before.
Also, I took it for a 80-90 mile trip this afternoon and broke over the 8k mile mark since finishing it in May (ish) of 2013. Most of those miles have came in the last 2 years. The whole first year I was worried too much about it not being "perfect" (it was never anywhere near perfect) if I drove it too much. But I've since realized that driving it is much more fun than looking at it in the garage. Driving it so much has caused it to loose that fresh look, particularly underneath. But I don't care anymore, i just love driving it too much.
On another note, I bought another project the other day. Just got it home this evening. Its a 67 Chevelle that was originally a marina blue Malibu. It has had 99% of the metal work that needed done finished. It currently has a 350/350 and actually runs and drives fairly decent. I will be starting a build thread soon in the alternate tinkerings section. I have a 68 camaro that I was working on slowly. I think I'm going to put it on the backburner and work on the Chevelle. Anyway, everyone loves pics...

I agree with you on driving the truck is much more fun than looking at it sit in the garage.
Very nice Camaro and Chevelle! I've been thinking about buying a CJ for the last few years... You have excellent taste in cars/trucks

[jmking9]

Originally Posted by mcbassin

I agree with you on driving the truck is much more fun than looking at it sit in the garage.
Very nice Camaro and Chevelle! I've been thinking about buying a CJ for the last few years... You have excellent taste in cars/trucks

Thanks. So do you obviously!
As far as getting a CJ, all I can say is DO IT! I know this is the wrong site to be saying this, but to be honest, I enjoy driving the jeep more than the truck. I've had several YJs and one TJ in the past. This CJ is definitely my favorite of all of them. I made it the way I always wanted one.

[Zoomin]

Originally Posted by jmking9

Overall, I'm impressed with the Ridetechs. The rear end doesn't bottom out anymore, and feels much less "bouncy" . The truck feels less harsh than before.
Also, I took it for a 80-90 mile trip this afternoon and broke over the 8k mile mark since finishing it in May (ish) of 2013. Most of those miles have came in the last 2 years. The whole first year I was worried too much about it not being "perfect" (it was never anywhere near perfect) if I drove it too much. But I've since realized that driving it is much more fun than looking at it in the garage. Driving it so much has caused it to loose that fresh look, particularly underneath. But I don't care anymore, i just love driving it too much.
On another note, I bought another project the other day. Just got it home this evening. Its a 67 Chevelle that was originally a marina blue Malibu. It has had 99% of the metal work that needed done finished. It currently has a 350/350 and actually runs and drives fairly decent. I will be starting a build thread soon in the alternate tinkerings section. I have a 68 camaro that I was working on slowly. I think I'm going to put it on the backburner and work on the Chevelle. Anyway, everyone loves pics...

Did you do a build thread on this or the Camaro?

[jmking9]

Originally Posted by Zoomin

That's a great looking truck!

Still looks fresh from here.

Thanks Steve!

I did start build threads in the alternate tinkerings forum here for both the Camaro and the Chevelle. The Camaro didn't get too far before I found the Chevelle and decided to focus on it. So the Camaro has been shelved for now. The best place to check out the Chevelle build is on the pro touring site http://www.pro-touring.com/threads/1...Chevelle-Build I keep it a bit more updated than the build thread in the alternate tinkering section here. Not much traffic in that section.

[jmking9]

I took my son to a nature center to do some hiking last weekend, the little road you take up to the trailhead seemed like a nice place to snap a couple of pictures with my phone. Anyway, here's my very amateur attempt at photography