Brent's '72 Custom/10 SWB stepside build

[msgross]

I would just make your own bed pads. Find some heavy rubber or plastic. That's all that my set looks like.

[brossow]

I like your suggestion about carving out some of the wood even better. Gonna look at the option when I get home and can see it in the daylight. (It was dark by the time I was done shifting it around last night.)

[brossow]

If it's not one thing it's another. Back on 6/7 I mentioned that the guy who sold me the CTS-V setup didn't send the windage tray. Finally got him to send it, but then he sent the wrong one (F-body part, exactly like I already have). Refused to do any more for me unless I sent stuff back at my own expense and so I cut my losses and ordered one on eBay. It arrived today ... or should have. I knew at a glance that the box was too small to be the right part. Called the company that sold it to me and they're shipping the correct part yet today, so at least I should have it by the end of the week. Been trying since May 21 to get the parts together for what should have been a dead-simple pan swap, but more than a month later I'm still waiting....

[Joe67]

Beautiful project - love the pics and write up.

Great to see your son right in there with you

[brossow]

Originally Posted by Joe67

Beautiful project - love the pics and write up.

Great to see your son right in there with you

Thanks! Both boys (8 and 11 yo) and my daughter (9 yo) have been involved at one point or another. My little girl loves to powdercoat!

[Joe67]

Originally Posted by brossow

Thanks! Both boys (8 and 11 yo) and my daughter (9 yo) have been involved at one point or another. My little girl loves to powdercoat!

Even better yet

Hopefully I'll end up keeping my project and my kids (3 and 1) can help complete it

[brossow]

Feel like I accomplished a lot this weekend. Got the engine reassembled with the CTS-V pan setup and got it set back on the chassis. With the ECC mounts and new pan, it's like it was made for this application. Reinstalled the alternator and now there's plenty of clearance where I don't think there was before with the CPP mounts. Not at all convinced it should be tilted back at such an angle, however. Thoughts? In the second (and third) pic you can see what it looks like if I elevate that tranny tailshaft (by the full height of another tranny mount). I have no idea how elevating it would affect clearance with the cab or change the driveshaft angle.

Finally was able to get the front swaybar attached to the A-arms. Even with the weight of the engine and tranny on the chassis it didn't bring it down as far as I would have liked, but with enough wrangling and maneuvering I was able to get the end links attached.

Also hand-sanded all of the bed wood and hope to get it stained and sealed ASAP. There need to be a couple more days in the weekend! Cut the hole for the filler neck, drilled the holes, and cut the filler hose down to size. A few days ago I had to cut the filler neck down, which was NOT a fun task, as it was a couple inches too tall. That was some TOUGH metal! Today I drilled and tapped a hole for the cap retainer chain (the old hole got cut off) so that's ready to go. I also notched the bed wood to clear the spring shackles and I think that problem is taken care of.

Finally, for fun I also hung one of the rear fenders in place to check the wheel gap. With the truck assembled and a full tank of gas I expect it'll drop another inch or so, but even if it doesn't I'm very happy with it.

All in all I think it was very productive weekend, one of the best in ages as far as the project goes. After the wood is stained and sealed, the next order of business is stripping old paint from the fenders, cab, etc. Bought a gallon of aircraft stripper on Friday and will be working with a friend from school for bodywork and paint. Decided on a color tonight (pending input from my buddy) but will save that for a surprise later.

[msgross]

that is a lot of work..

I think 3 degrees is a proper engine angle.. use an angle finder or an iPhone

glad to hear the the wood came out in the end.. what stain are you going to use. I think i'm selling my NOS wood and going for oak or walnut with a classic gunstock brown stain...

[brossow]

I'm going to use Minwax Wood Finish -- Ipswich Pine #221, to be exact. You can see the color here. Then I'm using Pelucid (made by POR15 - link) to seal it up. Should last a long time, I hope!

[hgs_notes]

Is the tranny crossmember mounted right side up? Does it matter for mount hieght, or is it the same either way? It does look like too much angle there.

[brossow]

Originally Posted by hgs_notes

Is the tranny crossmember mounted right side up? Does it matter for mount hieght, or is it the same either way? It does look like too much angle there.

Yup, it's right side up. It can only go one direction. Tomorrow I'll look at it more closely to see how it lines up with the rearend, etc. before I decide whether to add a spacer or find some other solution. I've got a machinist friend who can make me whatever I'd need. Thanks for the feedback!

[MisterE72]

Originally Posted by brossow

Yup, it's right side up. It can only go one direction. Tomorrow I'll look at it more closely to see how it lines up with the rearend, etc. before I decide whether to add a spacer or find some other solution. I've got a machinist friend who can make me whatever I'd need. Thanks for the feedback!

I have a similar problem using the CPP trans crossmember and a 700R. The motor looks a little tilted back. I contacted CPP and they said they had never heard of such a problem. I made some measurements and found the original crossmember was 1 inch higher than the CPP tubular at the mount. I had a 1 inch spacer made for mine, but I still think its not going to be enough to get the 3 degrees. Keep us posted on what you find. Thanks

[brossow]

I'm gonna have to futz with it a little to see where I can get the best compromise. Looked at it briefly last night and realized that with it jacked up to where it sits in the second pic there's no way the driveshaft would clear the crossmember. Oops! An inch might do it but much more and I think I'll have problems.

Don't you love companies who have "never heard of" a problem that virtually everyone must be having?

[hgs_notes]

Is it ECC engine mounts and CPP tranny crossmember? Could that be the issue? Are the engine mounts higher than the ones CPP had? Would an ECC tranny crossmember have a different tranny height? I'm just banging ideas around and thinking out loud...

[brossow]

Originally Posted by hgs_notes

Is it ECC engine mounts and CPP tranny crossmember? Could that be the issue? Are the engine mounts higher than the ones CPP had? Would an ECC tranny crossmember have a different tranny height? I'm just banging ideas around and thinking out loud...

That's the setup, yes, but I think the engine comes out about the same height either way, with the bottom of the oil pan about even with the bottom of the front crossmember.

Correction: I just went out and measured before posting the above. I've got the CPP tubular engine stands also and set them side by side with the ECC setup. It appears the CPP stands would actually raise the engine by 1/2"–1". (Hard to tell exactly how much just eyeballing it in the semi-dark.)

Attached is a pic of the setup with the CPP stands I was originally planning to use (on the bottom) compared with the ECC mounts I'm using now (top). (I flipped the top pic so it was a better visual comparison.) The angle of the photo isn't precisely the same, but if you look at the bottom of the cylinder head in each pic in relation to the top of the tire, I think it clearly sits higher on the CPP stands. You can also see it in the one rib on the bellhousing in relation to the frame.

Whatever the case, I don't have a lot of options. The engine is sitting as low as it's gonna get and the tailshaft of the tranny can only go so high before the driveshaft won't clear the center crossmember. It's just gonna have to be good enough. If nothing else, the front end will settle more once the weight of the cab and other parts is on it and decrease the angle relative to the ground at least.

[brossow]

Yesterday I stained the bed wood and today I applied the first of several coats of Pelucid. It needs 96 hours (4 days) to cure before I can sand it and apply the second and subsequent coats, though it's dry to the touch in 3-5 hours. In a couple days I plan to flip the pieces over and do the bottoms. I expect this will be a week-long process, give or take, with all the flipping and waiting between coats. Hope it lasts for a long, long time!

[Hart_Rod]

Originally Posted by MisterE72

I have a similar problem using the CPP trans crossmember and a 700R. The motor looks a little tilted back. I contacted CPP and they said they had never heard of such a problem. I made some measurements and found the original crossmember was 1 inch higher than the CPP tubular at the mount. I had a 1 inch spacer made for mine, but I still think its not going to be enough to get the 3 degrees. Keep us posted on what you find. Thanks

Originally Posted by brossow

I'm gonna have to futz with it a little to see where I can get the best compromise. Looked at it briefly last night and realized that with it jacked up to where it sits in the second pic there's no way the driveshaft would clear the crossmember. Oops! An inch might do it but much more and I think I'll have problems.

Don't you love companies who have "never heard of" a problem that virtually everyone must be having?

The factory tranny mount for a 2001 -2007 suburban or truck is 3/4 - 1" taller than the mounts you're using. You will have to drill one hole in the center of your tranny crossmember because the it only mounts with one bolt.

[brossow]

Originally Posted by Hart_Rod

The factory tranny mount for a 2001 -2007 suburban or truck is 3/4 - 1" taller than the mounts you're using. You will have to drill one hole in the center of your tranny crossmember because the it only mounts with one bolt.

Thanks for the info! My current mount uses just a single bolt, too, and there are three holes in the crossmember already, so it looks like I just need the different mount. Guess I won't be using the Energy Suspension poly mount I had sitting around....

[brossow]

Ordered the 'Burb mount today as described above. Had a coupon for $10 off a $25 purchase at Advance Auto Parts, so got the mount plus a tranny filter kit (which I'll use for my Camaro) for $16.08 total. Supposed to be here tomorrow.

[brossow]

Originally Posted by Hart_Rod

The factory tranny mount for a 2001 -2007 suburban or truck is 3/4 - 1" taller than the mounts you're using. You will have to drill one hole in the center of your tranny crossmember because the it only mounts with one bolt.

Hmm ... not sure if I'm using a different mount than you were thinking of or what, but today I picked up the mount for an '02 Suburban and it's exactly the same height as the two mounts I already had on hand. Gonna return it tomorrow.

[Hart_Rod]

Originally Posted by brossow

Hmm ... not sure if I'm using a different mount than you were thinking of or what, but today I picked up the mount for an '02 Suburban and it's exactly the same height as the two mounts I already had on hand. Gonna return it tomorrow.

Looks like the poly mount is quite a bit taller than the factory 2 bolt mount I had. The burb mount was a good 3/4" taller than the original mount I had. Looks like you will have to add spacers or flip the cradle on your CPP mount.

R/

[brossow]

Originally Posted by Hart_Rod

Looks like the poly mount is quite a bit taller than the factory 2 bolt mount I had. The burb mount was a good 3/4" taller than the original mount I had. Looks like you will have to add spacers or flip the cradle on your CPP mount.

I'll likely have my machinist friend fabricate a spacer for me. The CPP crossmember is all one piece and can only be installed one way. No big deal.

[brossow]

Originally Posted by brossow

Ordered the 'Burb mount today as described above. Had a coupon for $10 off a $25 purchase at Advance Auto Parts, so got the mount plus a tranny filter kit (which I'll use for my Camaro) for $16.08 total. Supposed to be here tomorrow.

Not sure if I should feel bad about this or not. Returned the mount this morning and between the cashier and the manager on duty they couldn't figure out how they should handle the return because of the $10 coupon I had used, so they just decided to refund the full price ($15.99) plus tax for a total refund of $17.17. Essentially they paid me $1.09 to take the tranny filter.

[killer71]

Just discovered your build. I see where you've had some frustrating times but your hard work is definitely paying off....your gonna love the ls1! Nice Truck!

[my67chevytruck]

nice progress..... keep at it!