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Old 07-29-2024, 07:52 PM   #26
kitsbeach
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Shifter

Figured I could make a new shifter out of an old 4-speed shifter I picked up. Took a look at a few Hurst shifter models for ideas.

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Kitsbeach (Ken)

1967 C10 LWB (now SWB) Fleetside 6cyl Saginaw three-on-the-tree "No Frills"

1980 C20 Long to short & static drop "Square One"
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Old 07-29-2024, 07:57 PM   #27
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Crossmember

By the way the SM465 4-speed crossmember is different than the TH350 crossmember that would have fit my saginaw perfectly.

I didn't remember to take pictures but was just barely able to get the crossmember moved forward enough to attach my trans mount.

I was too impatient to stop and go find the right crossmember, but that would have been the better way to go.

Next time I'm under the truck I'll get a picture and try to post it in here.
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Kitsbeach (Ken)

1967 C10 LWB (now SWB) Fleetside 6cyl Saginaw three-on-the-tree "No Frills"

1980 C20 Long to short & static drop "Square One"
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Old 07-29-2024, 08:01 PM   #28
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TH350 Crossmember

This is what the TH350 crossmember looks like in my other truck (1977 C20). This would fit a saginaw or a muncie 4-speed or T10.

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Kitsbeach (Ken)

1967 C10 LWB (now SWB) Fleetside 6cyl Saginaw three-on-the-tree "No Frills"

1980 C20 Long to short & static drop "Square One"
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Old 07-29-2024, 08:06 PM   #29
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High hump and shifter boot

I had to bend up my shifter boot frame to fit the awkward position at the back of the high hump.

I just went slowly with the vice grips and screwed it in place as I went and it worked out quit nice.

These are actually double layer shift boots, which should be quieter, but I don't know if I have the patience to bend up the second layer and I'm missing the second boot anyway although I have the frame.

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Kitsbeach (Ken)

1967 C10 LWB (now SWB) Fleetside 6cyl Saginaw three-on-the-tree "No Frills"

1980 C20 Long to short & static drop "Square One"
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Old 07-29-2024, 08:10 PM   #30
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High hump and shifter boot

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Kitsbeach (Ken)

1967 C10 LWB (now SWB) Fleetside 6cyl Saginaw three-on-the-tree "No Frills"

1980 C20 Long to short & static drop "Square One"
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Old 07-29-2024, 08:19 PM   #31
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Driving

Driving it today. Shifts nice.

One thing I will say is that this Saginaw was from a 6-cylinder and has a very low first gear. The V8 version with a milder first gear would be a closer ratio and a milder jump.

Also this motor, while strong, has the small 1.72 intake valves, so it doesn't like to rev. The combination makes it a pretty slow speed cruiser.

I'm deciding how much I want to spend on this thing but, if I get into it more, might swap on some small chamber 1.94 heads. Of course then I might think about an overdrive trans like a TKX/TKO600/T56 and on and on it goes....

Here's today's pics

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Kitsbeach (Ken)

1967 C10 LWB (now SWB) Fleetside 6cyl Saginaw three-on-the-tree "No Frills"

1980 C20 Long to short & static drop "Square One"
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Old 07-29-2024, 08:21 PM   #32
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Dent

That dent in the front is bugging me more than it used to. Its right on a crease so it might be hard to get out. Maybe I can find somebody with some actual skills to give it a try.
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Kitsbeach (Ken)

1967 C10 LWB (now SWB) Fleetside 6cyl Saginaw three-on-the-tree "No Frills"

1980 C20 Long to short & static drop "Square One"
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Old 07-30-2024, 08:44 AM   #33
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Re: 3/4 Ton Long to Short & Static Drop Square One

Truck is looking good. Unfortunately that dent/wrinkle on the body line will be a doozy to make it look right.

Leaving this as a patina-ish build?
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Old 07-30-2024, 10:25 AM   #34
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Re: 3/4 Ton Long to Short & Static Drop Square One

Fix the front fender, and you'll have to fix the bed crease....fix the bed crease, and then the door ding will need attention, fix that and....
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Old 08-13-2024, 09:28 PM   #35
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Re: 3/4 Ton Long to Short & Static Drop Square One

Quote:
Originally Posted by Android04 View Post
Truck is looking good. Unfortunately that dent/wrinkle on the body line will be a doozy to make it look right.

Leaving this as a patina-ish build?
Yes for sure this is a "patina build"

The reason I couldn't help buying it was because it had great patina and no rust through. It has one cab mount that is in need of attention and I will do that.

It came with no bed so the colour match and patina on the back is "faux".
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Kitsbeach (Ken)

1967 C10 LWB (now SWB) Fleetside 6cyl Saginaw three-on-the-tree "No Frills"

1980 C20 Long to short & static drop "Square One"
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Old 08-13-2024, 09:29 PM   #36
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Re: 3/4 Ton Long to Short & Static Drop Square One

Quote:
Originally Posted by Shifty One View Post
Fix the front fender, and you'll have to fix the bed crease....fix the bed crease, and then the door ding will need attention, fix that and....
You know it.!
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Kitsbeach (Ken)

1967 C10 LWB (now SWB) Fleetside 6cyl Saginaw three-on-the-tree "No Frills"

1980 C20 Long to short & static drop "Square One"
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Old 08-13-2024, 09:47 PM   #37
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C-notch

Here is the c-notch I bought from Switch Suspension

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I'm very happy with the guys at Switch Suspension. I bought the full 6/8 drop kit, minus the front spindles which were unavailable from Western Chassis at the time. There were a few hiccups during the install and when I phoned I usually talked to Edgar, and he always knew exactly what I was talking about like C20 differences. There were a few problems with some of the parts but we found work arounds (more on that later).

I was NOT very happy with Western Chassis. I needed the C20 drop spindles and, at the time I was ordering (Dec 2023), Western Chassis were the only ones making them.

I ordered them and they charged my credit card (most places don't charge until parts are shipped) and then I began the wait.

First they were supposed to arrive in January, then February, then in March I was told they had arrived and just needed to be unpacked and sent to me. Then in late March I phoned again and they said I was on the backorder list again. They didn't have enough to fill my order!

Doesn't Western know how many are on backorder and how many were coming in?
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Kitsbeach (Ken)

1967 C10 LWB (now SWB) Fleetside 6cyl Saginaw three-on-the-tree "No Frills"

1980 C20 Long to short & static drop "Square One"

Last edited by kitsbeach; 08-13-2024 at 10:12 PM.
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Old 08-13-2024, 10:03 PM   #38
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c-notch

Install of notch went well.

My frame had a perfect alignment hole (which I double checked by measuring from the front spring hanger because the front hanger distance doesn't change vs rear shackles do move).

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I made a paper template then drilled the corners before I started cutting the frame.

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The best feature of the Switch suspension notch is this little pointer to help line up the final fit.

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After many test fits and much grinding to perfection she was in place.

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Kitsbeach (Ken)

1967 C10 LWB (now SWB) Fleetside 6cyl Saginaw three-on-the-tree "No Frills"

1980 C20 Long to short & static drop "Square One"
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Old 08-13-2024, 10:13 PM   #39
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Flip kit

I'll post up the flip kit install next.
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Kitsbeach (Ken)

1967 C10 LWB (now SWB) Fleetside 6cyl Saginaw three-on-the-tree "No Frills"

1980 C20 Long to short & static drop "Square One"
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Old Today, 12:06 AM   #40
kitsbeach
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Flip kit

Here are a few pictures of the flip kit and shock extenders being installed.

The one problem I encountered was that the leaf spring plate came very close to the shock mounts. It was impossible to get a nut on the bolt for the shock extenders.

In the end I just welded the end of the bolt, and will have to grind if off if I ever want to take this apart.

By the way in my case I could have re-used the OEM leaf spring plate by flipping them upside down. That would have created more room. But I had already bolted on the flip kit before I tried to install the shock extenders.

The OEM leaf spring plates have a bump for a pin on 3/4 ton springs, but I used 1/2 ton springs that have no pin.


Flip kit installed right side:
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another pic of right side:
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Next three shots show how close shock mount is to leaf spring plate (not much room for shock extenders):

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Kitsbeach (Ken)

1967 C10 LWB (now SWB) Fleetside 6cyl Saginaw three-on-the-tree "No Frills"

1980 C20 Long to short & static drop "Square One"
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Old Today, 12:14 AM   #41
kitsbeach
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Switch Suspension Flip kit

Here are what the shock extenders look like:
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Here they are installed (you can't see the back where I welded the bolt in because there was no room for the nut):
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Here is the truck rolling again waiting for Western Chassis drop spindles that never did arrive:
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Kitsbeach (Ken)

1967 C10 LWB (now SWB) Fleetside 6cyl Saginaw three-on-the-tree "No Frills"

1980 C20 Long to short & static drop "Square One"
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Old Today, 12:31 AM   #42
kitsbeach
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Belltech rear shocks don't come with mounts..!!

Another problem with the Switch Suspension flip kit is that the Belltech rear drop shocks do not come with mounts.

Very frustrating.

That turned a 15 minute shock install job into a two week job while I found some mounts that were similar, had them shipped to Canada, and then had them machined to the right size.

I ended up using a set of front upper mounts and machined them to the correct diameter to match the Belltech shocks.

Switch suggested using the original mounts and lightly reaming out the shocks themselves but the original mounts are over 40 years old and were not coming off the original shocks in one piece.

Here are some pics of them installed.

Top mount:
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Shocks are very close to the leaf spring plate (this could be improved by Switch by making the plates the same size as the OEM plates):
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Bottom mount:
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Moral of the story is do not buy Belltech rear shocks until they start offering shock mounts with them. The Switch guys were very helpful but the shocks are a bad product.

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I'm curious if others have had this problem and what they did about it?
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Kitsbeach (Ken)

1967 C10 LWB (now SWB) Fleetside 6cyl Saginaw three-on-the-tree "No Frills"

1980 C20 Long to short & static drop "Square One"

Last edited by kitsbeach; Today at 12:38 AM.
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Old Today, 12:34 AM   #43
kitsbeach
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Belltech shocks don't come with mounts

PS on my '67 I wanted a certain brand of shocks and hunted around and did the math until I found an OEM fitment that matched my truck (Toyota shocks I believe). That might be an alternative if Switch/Belltech insist on selling rear shocks with no mounts.

There are no mounts anywhere on the internet that I could find that fit the Belltech rear shocks.
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Kitsbeach (Ken)

1967 C10 LWB (now SWB) Fleetside 6cyl Saginaw three-on-the-tree "No Frills"

1980 C20 Long to short & static drop "Square One"
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