“George” the 1964 C10 Fleetside LWB

[Pick121]

Over the last month at my glacial pace, once I gathered all the parts and tools (and between snowstorms) I have replaced the pilot bearing, flywheel, clutch disk, pressure plate, clutch fork with new spring, “new” clutch fork ball in bellhousing, clutch fork rubber boot which was previously non-existent. I will add some photos of the process for historical record haha. Next is to get the transmission side plate back on and heft that sucker up on to the bellhousing!
Then install drive shafts with new carrier bearing and new U-joints and u-bolts. I figured they are likely 60+ years old might as well while I have everything apart.
Here’s how it looked with transmission removed, this was Dec. 4.
Next on Dec. 5 removed starter, bellhousing, then pressure plate and clutch disk, then flywheel.

[Pick121]

Next was to clean up the back of the engine and remove/replace pilot bearing. I rented a pilot bearing removal tool & slide hammer tool from O’Reilly Auto in Truckee, CA.
The pilot bearing did come out, but in pieces! I did use PB Blaster but not any heat and, it is pretty cold here.
The new one went in pretty easy compared to removing the old one!
1st & last photos are upside down but you get the idea.
Replaced Pilot Bearing Dec.31

[Pick121]

Installed new flywheel Jan 2, 2026. I could have resurfaced the old one, but figured while I have everything apart why not start with a fresh one. Got new flywheel bolts and washers to go with the new flywheel.
Put thin coating of grease on inside of bolt head only (I used the spline grease supplied with Clutch disk & Pressure plate from Napa) and blue thread lok, torqued star pattern in stages 20-40-60 ft/lbs.
It would not just slide on the back of the crankshaft, it really did have to be torqued in stages to slide it on little by little to not warp the flywheel. In the end it was seated perfectly.
Final clean with Brake Cleaner spray and a super clean cloth

[Pick121]

Replacing PTO cover on the Muncie SM465 and washing bolts in parts washer, found a cover bolt with what I thought was damaged threads, then saw all 6 are the same. Curious can anyone tell me the purpose of the slot in the threads? Love to learn new stuff

[Pick121]

A little trick when tightening down/torque your flywheel bolts:
Get one of your bellhousing bolts and one of your pressure plate bolts, and a box end/open end wrench that fits the pressure plate bolts and use it to hold flywheel stationary while you torque ‘em down. Pay attention to tightening direction of course - the flywheel will want to turn clockwise.

[Pick121]

Jan 5th installed clutch disk and pressure plate. The Clutch Kit from Napa Auto included alignment tool, Clutch Disk, Pressure Plate, and spline lubricant. I also ordered new pressure plate bolts because, why not? Used the spline alignment tool to install clutch disk (one side is engraved with “Flywheel Side” so that side goes toward the engine). This will help the transmission shaft “simply glide into” the pilot bearing and clutch splines. More on this later. By the way I marked the spline tool with arrow pointing to top so I could get the transmission splines lined up somewhat with clutch disk. Then installed pressure plate with blue thread lok on the 6 new bolts, torqued in star pattern and in stages first 20, then 35 ft/lbs.

[Pick121]

Also on Jan 5, I assembled and installed the bellhousing. It was pretty greasy (see before and after photos) so I degreased it and replaced clutch fork ball, clutch fork and clip, and a new clutch fork boot (ordered from Truck and Car Shop) since there wasn’t one on it when I got the truck! Cleaned up mating surfaces with a green 3M pad.
The Clutch fork I ordered actually had a new clip in it already, I had ordered a clip separately thinking the fork would not have one but I was wrong. The clutch fork boot was really good quality and fit perfectly in the bellhousing hole and around the clutch fork. Also installed new throw out bearing on clutch fork.

[Pick121]

The clutch fork ball was pretty worn out so I ordered a new one. There was a shipping problem so being Mr. Impatient I got one off EBay that was used but in good shape. The Truck and Car Shop went ahead and sent the one I had ordered, very happy with their customer service. The photo shows left to right, the original worn out one, the EBay one, and the brand new Truck and Car Shop one. I decided to go with the EBay one in the middle because it looked and felt like OEM/NOS nice and heavy duty compared to the shiny new one.
And a photo of bellhousing bolted on to the engine. I was going to paint it but it came out so clean I decided to leave it alone

[rbruno68]

I like that wrench idea when working alone. I bet that would make things a lot easier.

[Pick121]

Originally Posted by rbruno68

I like that wrench idea when working alone. I bet that would make things a lot easier.

Yes! Working alone is all I got right now, I enjoy it but it does provide challenges to overcome.
Stole the idea from ChrisFix on Youtube. This is better than my kindergarten crayon diagram

[Pick121]

Jan. 8, 2026: Next up was to install transmission. Oh but first bolt the bellhousing to the frame. Should have taken pics before disassembly, I forgot how they went on but figured it out eventually.

Got PTO cover with new gasket installed. I tried it without any RTV sealant as the FelPro site said it was not necessary…Will report back once I get fluid in it.
Got the trans off the engine stand, onto the plywood and slid it under the truck. Used ratchet straps on the heavy bar in the cab to lift it up high enough to get the transmission jack under it. A small block of wood under the back of it so I could keep the platform mostly level, and ratchet straps to keep it from falling and crushing me.
Pulled the clutch alignment tool and eased the trans shaft into the throw out bearing-clutch disk splines-pilot bearing. Seemed to be going well, a little wiggling and jiggling, and jiggled the rear output yoke and pushed on the transmission until it was in all but about 1”-2”

[Pick121]

Unfortunately the JEGS trans jack was slowly losing pressure so it would drop a bit as soon as I got it to the right height. A number of reviews of the jack mentioned this as a flaw but I took my chances and, sadly had the same problem.
Anyway I could not get the transmission to budge the last inch or 2. Eventually I did some investigation and found the trans round front plate on the SM465 was not lining up correctly with the machined round hole of the bellhousing.
Once I figured this out, I used a ratchet strap (the blue strap in the photo) hooked to the bellhousing cross mount, around the back of the transmission, then on the cross mount on the other side. I cranked down on it pretty hard so it pulled the transmission forward against the bellhousing. Then I raised up the jack, wiggled the trans, and whacked it on the rear yoke with a chunk of 2x4 and a mallet, and that seated it in the bellhousing!
Photo shows the view of the trans front plate seated in the bellhousing

[SkinnyG]

Genius idea with the wrench!

[Pick121]

I got the 2 top bolts on and called it a day, so then today Jan. 10, I got new split/lock washers as the old ones were pretty flat, and got all 4 bolts tight. Specs I found said torque in stages, star pattern, 20/40/55 ft/lbs but I could not get a torque wrench in there for any of the 4 bolts! The top bolts I could reach from cab with the high hump cover off, but the ribs on the trans casting were in the way. And the lower bolts were too close to the pressure plate. Even long, short sockets, universal joints, extensions,…no go. So I applied blue thread lok, gave each one a grunt, then a longer gruuunt, then a looonger gruuuuuuunt. And they are torqued.

[Pick121]

Jan 10 I also installed inspection plate (which is new, the truck had none when I bought it) and starter. It was raw metal so I wiped it down with brake cleaner, primed and painted in Chevy Orange to match the bellhousing. It ended up with a few runs in the orange (I am blaming the 30 F temps not my lack of skills) but since it is under the truck and not visible, I called it good.
The plate goes on before the starter, and I wish I had made better notes or before photos of the starter because as you can see in the photos I was left with a long 9/16” bolt, a short 9/16” bolt, and a short 7/16” bolt with a different head. If anyone knows what actually goes where let me know. The long bolt I used has lots of threads out the back of the starter. Oh well, it is on!

[Pick121]

Jan 11 was Universal Joint R&R day. Man those YouTube videos sure make it look easy, very deceiving! It was not easy. But I got all 3 u-joints off and the carrier bearing I had already removed. Cleaned up everything, deburred a couple bad edges from going caveman on the drive shaft ends, and installed new everything. I was gonna degrease, sand, prime & paint driveshafts but honestly this clutch project has motivated me to just get the truck driving and on the road not sitting while I putter around. Driveshaft Paint will be later like when I remove the bed.

[Pick121]

Jan 12, I installed carrier bearing onto drive shaft. Cleaned up the spline area real well, cleaned and sanded the shaft where te bearing will sit, and installed with rubber side toward transmission. Also installed a spacer-I hope it is correct, because when I removed the old bearing the spacer was on the transmission side of the bearing; but everywhere else I looked the spacer went in the back of the bearing.
To install the bearing I stole this idea from YouTube to get a 1-1/4” Sched 40 rigid metal conduit pipe around 2 feet long, to drive the bearing and the spacer on. This works really well if you don’t have the actual carrier bearing install tool. Make sure you are pressing the inner race only, not the outer bearing shield or the outside rubber. If you do it will ruin the bearing.

[Pick121]

Originally Posted by Pick121

The plate goes on before the starter, and I wish I had made better notes or before photos of the starter because as you can see in the photos I was left with a long 9/16” bolt, a short 9/16” bolt, and a short 7/16” bolt with a different head. If anyone knows what actually goes where let me know. The long bolt I used has lots of threads out the back of the starter. Oh well, it is on!

I think I figured out the 7/16” headed bolt, it looks suspiciously like my new u-joint bolts to rear of transmission…I probably got them mixed up during disassembly (unless it was installed with it from PO). I will replace it with correct one, when I re-wire the truck I can take out the starter.

[Pick121]

Jan 13 I installed the Drive shafts and attached carrier bearing to the crossmember. Not too bad of a job except it has been pretty cold and my hands/fingers were not happy. Got it all together then realized the forward u-joint grease fitting was inaccessible because rear transmission yoke blocked it!
I had to remove the bolts at the yoke and the carrier bearing, which I moved to the side and it gave me enough play to get u-joint out of the yoke. Then I filled the u-joint with grease and put everything back together. The other 2 u-joints and the splined shaft grease fitting were all accessible with a little contortion.
I went ahead and got all new bolts, saddle brackets, and u-bolts/nuts to go with the new u-joints

[Pick121]

Hard to believe there was no snow on the ground Dec 24th, then we had a few storms so I have been shoveling around the truck and clearing the snow off the cab. Supposed to be dry another 10-14 days, should be enough for me to get this truck off the jacks and test drive

[Pick121]

Since the truck came without a flywheel cover, I bought a new one and primed/painted it along with the inspection plate. These will definitely help keep the clutch disk, flywheel, pressure plate, clutch fork protected from the elements! I had to trim it a little to clear the rubber bellhousing mounts for the SM465 to 350 V8 bellhousing (3815891)
I marked it and trimmed as in this photo, then still had to trim a little bit more to get enough clearance. I will take photos of it installed tomorrow, I could only get 3 of the 4 bolts installed because the inspection plate needs to move a tiny bit- so I have to loosen the 3 starter bolts to do this and I was done for the day. The inspection plate and the flywheel cover share this 1 same bolt hole & bolt.
And, one of the bolts for the inspection plate is directly behind the oil filter so i will add that bolt at the next oil change (note to self, hope I remember haha)

[Pick121]

So I found out I ordered the wrong starter shield (I was calling it Inspection Plate) So if you have the same bellhousing I have for the Muncie Sm465 to SBC V8, you should get the one with the bump out. I got one that is flat and as you can see there is a hole/gap where foreign objects can enter. Ugh! I will order the right one and replace it when I can. Now that I have done it once it is not that difficult.

[Pick121]

OK there was a lot of little things left before i could fire up the truck and test drive. Filled the trans with SAE90 gear oil, connect clutch linkage to clutch fork, install clutch fork pullback spring (look at the old one on the truck vs. the new one!), bolt in high hump so I could have a gas pedal, install gear shift, jack up truck to remove jack stands, then connect the battery & spray some starter fluid … yes it drove around the block!! Clutch feels stiff - prob needs to be adjusted, and feels like the parking brake is dragging. Projects for future me. Glad it runs and drives!

[Pick121]

I was actually able to reach the top bolt hole behind the oil filter, i re-used a bolt that was left all alone on the bellhousing when I took it all apart. It has a smaller head than the new bolts, which also came with a star washer, but at least there is something holding it in place for now. Like I mentioned, I will replace the starter shield with the correct one for my bellhousing to cover the gap.

[Pick121]

I finally replaced the heater levers and heater cables that I bought in 2021 - they have been waiting patiently for me to finally do something. I got sick of looking at the control panel dangling from the dash by a bungee cord. The levers are advertised as “unbreakable” from Old Air, they do look strong. I got them and the cables and switch from the 2021 version of Brothers. It went together pretty easily but I recommend reading the instructions closely which I did not, and put the wrong press on nut and so the last one was too big and would not lock on the pin, it just spins. There is a gold one and black ones so don’t confuse them like I did. Oh and do yourself a favor and mark the cables and locations on panel before removing.