56 Chevy (RIP)

[8man]

Nice job on the brackets. The seat looks good.

[dsraven]

some say the rear seats aren't as plush as the front seats usually are. I have a 2015 silverado daily driver and those front seats are a chiropractor's dream, they make the users book chiro appointments after a long drive. I am sure your rear seat conversion will be as good or better than my stock front seat. if not you can always do some work on the seat foam, the covers are not that tough to get off. as a side bar, the seat shop in texas makes very good replacement seat covers for stock seats. I have used them and they look and feel like a stock GM cover. just in case someone reading is in need of a new cover for a stock, newer model, seat

[Snake72]

Raven that's pretty funny, I actually am a chiropractor, maybe I should start recommending patients drive 2015 silverados and give business a little bump up hahaha. No these seats are super comfortable and a dramatic improvement over stock, I prefer a firmer seat vs plush or bouncy springs. My daily driver is a 2012 duramax with leather buckets and I can drive all day in those with no issues

[dsraven]

I previously drove a 2003 avalanche and those seats couldbe sat in for a 12 hour drive with no issues. the newer style seats, however, seem to have a lot of issues and owners posting on different sites about comfort issues. I am going to try new foam and see if that helps.

[57tailgater]

Nice work!! Great thread to follow!

[SDRRACING]

Nice work and making me anxious to get started on my truck.

[Snake72]

Welp, overdue for an update. The holidays, kids sports and work have been the focus for a few months. I've tinkered on the truck a little, stripped the cab interior to bare metal and did some minor metal work around the interior. I removed the stock firewall / steering brace from under the dash, I'm going to install a firewall mounted brake booster which comes with its own brace for brake pedal and booster mounting. I'll need to figure out a hydraulic clutch pedal as well. The interior is ready for epoxy. I'll wait to paint the interior until I figure out engine placement and if a firewall recess is necessary, but need to install the front corvette IFS first for motor mock up (kit ordered and on the way).

[Jason 56]

I like the seats! They came out great. You’re making great progress.

[Snake72]

Sprayed some epoxy primer last night, interior is finally one color! It'll sit like this for a while, the flat out C4 front crossmember came in today so I'll get to work fitting that up. After the crossmember is in, I can figure out engine/trans placement and hopefully not have to recess the firewall. By my measurements the AR5 shifter is going to be a little far back already so I don't want to have to move the motor back any further than necessary, oil pan clearance of the rack and pinion will be the issue. May have to try several oil pans and clock the steering lines to the front instead of the stock "on top" location that causes clearance problems.

Pointers welcome if anyone has installed the flat out C4 crossmember and LS engine in a task force...

[8man]

What a difference a little paint makes. Looks good.

[dsraven]

its good to let the epoxy dry for awhile anyway.
like any new crossmember install, I recommend to set the frame at the rake angle you want and block it well once levelled side to side. next decide what tire outside diameter you want in the end,, this goes along with the rake angle thing as staggered tire sizes obviously changes that angle. then hopefully be able to mock things up with a front fender on because if the task force truck is lowered then the front axle center line needs to be altered some so the tire doesn't look like it is being stuffed into the rear of the wheel opening.
you prolly already know that already.
keep posting up pics, we all love when guys do that.

[6DoF]

i actually really like that gray for an interior color. i made a huge mistake going black and white, the white is always filthy ...

[Snake72]

The gray does look pretty good, I believe that was the original interior color as well but was repainted sometime in the 70's to the blueish / teal color you see in previous pictures. The dash will be black, rest of interior will be a color match to the blue-green. Sill steps will get raptor liner.

As for suspension, this kit will produce a rake but I want it as small as possible, will set the frame for 1" lower in front than rear. I'll fit the cab and front fenders on with wheel mockup prior to fully welding in crossmember. I'm expecting to move the spindle center line forward about 1" from stock. Tires will not be staggered diameters, just wider in the back.

[Snake72]

I've had some time to fit up the flat out c4 crossmember, a few observations so far. First, the crossmember is a work of art, very well made, beautiful welds, Don the owner of flat out has incredible customer service and always answers the phone himself and answers all questions...but the instructions could be improved. Nothing that most guys cant work through but better directions would be helpful. I leveled the frame 2 degrees downward rake, level side to side and fitted the boxing plates. When squaring up the crossmember I found the frame was out of square due to an impact on driver front frame rail. I was able to straighten the frame after some head scratching and effort/heat/clamps. From the cross member on back to any point in the frame is exactly square, the very front frame rails are 1/8 off but should not affect anything. I made 27" plywood roller wheels for mockup, fitted the control arms and started working on getting wheels centered in wheel well at ride height. I had a buddy help set the cab and front fenders for mock up. I ended up leaving the crossmember at the 27 1/2" from front frame rail, which is location recommended by flat out. Some guys move the crossmember forward a little but this looked right to me. The boxing plates are short in the front, I picked up some 11ga plate steel to further box forward where the rack and pinion C notch will go. I will also fab up a front crossmember that will go just forward of the rad support mounts. Will likely build a K member or X brace to go mid frame and gusset rear crossmembers to make the frame a little more rigid. Enough talking, people just want to see pics.

[Snake72]

Measure, measure, measure. Recheck square, level...100x. and brace frame very well so it doesn't warp with welding

[Snake72]

mock up looks good to me! Nice to see a rust free cab back on the frame, even if just temporary

[dsraven]

even adding boxing plates can be a decision. do you leave them proud so the weld bead has room to be a weld bead after dressing? do you bevel the plate edges and weld it in flush with the frame so the bevelled edges leave room for the weld bead?
nice job and good for you to check the frame for square and sag before going ahead with the cross member install. thats a step a lot of guys don't do. also good to have your finished tire outside diameter figured out prior to the install so your rake angle and axle centerline are known and the front clip mock up will show what things will look like when done.
like the pics too.
remember to do short welds on the boxing plates and move around so that the area has time to cool off before you start welding again. rushing causes the frame to get hot and stay hot. then when it cools off things aren't straight anymore. I find its good to have another small project on the go so you have something to keep your mind busy and that leaves time for the weld area to cool off. I always think, if it's cool enough that I COULD put my tongue on it (yuk) then it's cool enough to weld again. lol

[Snake72]

Raven thats exactly right, everything is a decision. I shaved down the inner frame rails to accommodate 1/8" plates on both sides (1/4" total) to keep the proper 29 1/2" inner dimension for a tight crossmember fitment, left a V channel to fill with weld bead.

For welding, I tack every 3-4", cross brace, and stitch tacks together about 1-2" then switch to other side, then to bottom of frame, let cool completely. It would really suck to get all the measurements perfect, then warp the frame...