The Junkyard... 1971 C10 aka another good deal

[AJohn6]

I have a bad habit of watching Craigslist and Copart for the "good deal". I picked up a rusty '71 C10 off Craigslist and a 36k mile 2014 Chevy Express 3500 with a L96/6L90E off Copart. I planned to pull the engine and trans out of the van for another project. Instead, I got a harebrained idea of putting the '71 cab and front clip on the 1-ton dually chassis. The idea seemed fairly straight forward. I've ran into a couple issues along the way but nothing drastic.

[AJohn6]

I did not know that the engine sat so far back on the chassis and offset to the Rt side. I had to move the engine cutout of the firewall back a couple inches.

[AJohn6]

I modified the harness myself and built the fuse block as well. lt1swap.com was a huge help on figuring it out. I tuned out the VATS and did a VVT deleted with a Gen III RV cam. I plan to use this as a low buck hauler.

[AJohn6]

Test fit of the cab.

I also plan to use the hydroboost setup.

[AJohn6]

Cab and the front clip is mounted.

I used the radiator from a 2002 Escalade and other random parts from the Esky and a Denali I stripped.

[AJohn6]

Front bumper and other front end parts on. DBW pedal mounted and utilizing a "new" chassis harness from my other '71. I had my little helper with me.[ATTACH][/ATTACH]

[AJohn6]

I don't know what I am going to do with the rear portion yet but probably keep it as is for now. I also do not plan on doing much to the rust until my first 71 in the garage is in paint. My low buck ratty rusty hauler.

Hopefully you guys think it's as cool an idea as I do.

Adam

[3757chevy]

I like it . Looking good . How did you mount the hydroboost .Did it mount on the original m/c bolts?

[flashed]

Love it , keep going .

[AJohn6]

Originally Posted by 3757chevy

I like it . Looking good . How did you mount the hydroboost .Did it mount on the original m/c bolts?

I left the '71 bolts that stick into the firewall and made a template for the '14 hydro setup. Drilled 4 new holes for the '14 hydro in the firewall and 2 holes in the hyrdo plate. I enlarged the original center hole and used some nuts on those bolts as spacers otehrwise I would have had to make the center hole too big IMO. I took the old shaft and mated it with the new hydro shaft that attaches to the pedal.

Between an '03 Denali, an '02 Escalade, and the '14 Van I was able to piece together the hoses that I needed. The only thing I bought for the brakes were a T fitting, 3 unions, and several 1/4" Invert flare fittings. I used as much of the original '14 brake line as I could. Brakes are bleed and work great except for one fitting where I think the inverted double flare may need redone.

[AJohn6]

Originally Posted by flashed

Love it , keep going .

Thanks, I have plans for this thing once I get my other '71 in paint. For the time being it'll do. I'm now trying to figure out if I can get the rear HVAC unit from a Denali to work for heat and AC because I don't want to spend a ton of money on the truck if I don't have to.

[MDPotter]

That's really cool! I'd love to do a project like this - buy a newer salvage vehicle from Copart and put the old body on the new chassis.

[cornerstone]

Loving this build!

[AJohn6]

Originally Posted by cornerstone

Loving this build!

Haha "a quick LS swap turned into 3 year build" that's my other 71. I feel the pain.

[Jkmyers84]

How hard was it to do the harness? The e78 ecm throws a lot of people off it seems.

[AJohn6]

Originally Posted by Jkmyers84

How hard was it to do the harness? The e78 ecm throws a lot of people off it seems.

I wouldn't say it was hard but it was time consuming. I spent hours researching and the best help was lt1swap.com. I used his info on the E38 ECM and cross referenced it with the gmupfitters guide for the 2014 Express that I found online.

Once I got to the point where I felt comfortable doing it, I started ordering parts like wires and fuse blocks. I plan on doing this again soon but with a Gen III ecm so ordered extra wire and relays. One thing I recommend before taking the covering off of the original harness is the use a zip tie and any of the "branches" otherwise you end up with a mess like I did.

I triple checked before cutting wires or pulling pins so I minimized chances of screwing up. I had the motor out and was able to lay out how I wanted the harness to sit on the motor. Once it was in the engine bay I was able to finish the wiring to a degree of satisfaction. Next one I'll do it a little differently because I wasn't happy with the amount of extra loom I used because of my choice of what to bundle together and what not to. The real test will be when its actually on the road to see if I really jacked it up or not. Haha.

The hardest, or rather, most uncertain part was tuning the E38 to get rid of the VVT since i put a GenIII cam in it and VATS. Pretty sure VATS is removed because it runs. I think i got the VVT done right but will know for sure once i actually have a guy i know tune it.

I ordered a floor shifter with TU/TD buttons and hopefully I can make it work. Once I get it I will post more info.

Adam

[72 tigger]

Nice project! Always fun to try to build something decent using miscellaneous parts to keep the $ in check

[AJohn6]

Originally Posted by 72 tigger

Nice project! Always fun to try to build something decent using miscellaneous parts to keep the $ in check

Thanks! I'm having fun with this thing. I have plans for it that will be cool but once this truck is roadworthy it's back to 3rd in line for any major money being spent. I need to get one of my trucks built to sell in order to fund my addiction.

Adam

[AJohn6]

I had been struggling to figure out how or what I was going to use for a shifter since I did not want to spend a ton on an aftermarket one or a Camaro shifter. I found a shifter for a '07 GMC Acadia on Ebay for $39 that has PRNDL and TU/TD buttons. I figured I may have to adjust the throw somewhat but I didn't after all. I took the '14 vans steering column and drilled out the spot welds to take the mount since the cable wouldn't attach to the shifter and the mount on the shifter. It works perfectly and I just need to make a console for it to sit on. I also raided our old sheet shelf and talked the wife into letting me use this lovely floral pattern sheet as a seat cover.