Barn raising

[Mike Bradbury]

Wow, has it actually been since February since I last updated this thread!? I had to take some time off of posting and spend more time wrenching. Seems like I was spending more time talking about what I was going to do rather than doing it.

I will post up pictures tomorrow on the progress but so far I have the front clip most of the way back together minus the radiator and grill. Unfortunately that is the best access to the power steering system and I have not completed one hose yet so it will be about a week before I can get the grill on.

I had aspirations of re-doing the wiring system completely and hiding all of the wires. But I am going to have to put that project on the shelf for a while, I am running out of money and patience to have this "bent push rod fix" drag on much longer.

[litew8]

[67cheby]

cant wait !

[MrBeast]

Mike this is a pretty cool build, I really do like seeing what you have done with your truck, a lot of original ideas instead of doing the same ole same ole a lot of other folks do.

[Mike Bradbury]

Thanks for the encouragement. One of my ideas in the near future is to put your avatar on the roof of my truck. I have wanted to for some time now because the paint it failing badly on the roof and I do not have the funds to paint the truck, so I figure that that flag would be a cool addition to the trucks attitude. Just seeing your post reminded me that I need to start planing it before any rust starts forming.

[Mike Bradbury]

A couple of weeks back I went to the local truck junk yard and tried out my hood hinge on one of the '69 trucks in the yard since mine still had the front clip off at the time. It works like a charm and it seems as though the struts will hold the hood open. I only have one done still because I did not want to get too far down the road on the second one if they still needed some design modification. The hood closed smoothly and sucked the back of the hood down to the cowl and everything lined up without much adjusting. The only thing that needs to be changed is the bolt that attach's the hood to the bracket needs to be a lower profile or button head bolt because it interferes with the bolt that holds one of the arms to the bracket. As you can see from the top portion of the photo, the two bolts would be very close to one another, it worked but it made adjusting the hood difficult because the wrench was contacting the hinge arm bolt

[MrBeast]

Originally Posted by Mike Bradbury

Thanks for the encouragement. One of my ideas in the near future is to put your avatar on the roof of my truck. I have wanted to for some time now because the paint it failing badly on the roof and I do not have the funds to paint the truck, so I figure that that flag would be a cool addition to the trucks attitude. Just seeing your post reminded me that I need to start planing it before any rust starts forming.

That would be pretty cool.

Also if you get those hood hinges put into production, I would be inclined to buy a set.

[Mike Bradbury]

Here is the latest photos of the engine compartment. I still have to fabricate a A.C. delete panel and string the spark plug wires through the looms, also finish the hood hinges and some other odds and ends but this is quite an improvement from when I bought it. I cannot tell you how much i now enjoy working on an engine that you do not even need to wash your hands after working on it.

[67cheby]

Nice clean work !!

[FrankieD]

Lookin sharp nice & clean

[VDOG]

Engine looks great. What kind of carb linkage are you running? Mine are always mickey moused. LOL

[VDOG]

Engine looks great. What kind of carb linkage are you running? Mine are always mickey moused. LOL

[Mike Bradbury]

I got tired of the crazy bent bar type throttle linkage that they put on the stock trucks back in '69 and wanted something similar to the 71/72 linkage that is nicer looking. I threaded a S.S. 1/4 rod and put two shackles on the ends. It looks much better. I will take a picture and post it today. It's the little things that really dress up the engine.
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[Mike Bradbury]

Here is the linkage that I made up, it is really simple and I am wondering why this was not part of the original design. works really good and is a snap to fabricate.

[crakarjax]

Originally Posted by Mike Bradbury

Here is the linkage that I made up, it is really simple and I am wondering why this was not part of the original design. works really good and is a snap to fabricate.

Where do you find stuff like those shackles? And do you have a tool that can tread SS rod or do you take it to a machine shop? Just tring to get an idea of how I could work my way to fabbing as well as you, starting from the 0 skills that I have now.

[Mike Bradbury]

Any industrial hardware store would have shackles like that. Not a Home depot, but more like a Grainger, or Mc Master Carr. As far as the threading goes; any tap and die set should be able to accomplish the task. The cheaper ones will not last as long on the S.S. stock but I bought a die for $8 at grainger that did the 1/4 24 thread. I wrapped the shaft in duct tape before I put it in the vise so it would not scratch the finish.

[VDOG]

I did not realize how cool that linkage was. I saw it from the distance of the picture, but up close, that is a great piece. Can you say make a few more and sell them to raise money for your truck?

[FrankieD]

Did you keep the original foot pedal?

[Mike Bradbury]

Yes, everything else is OEM. You can see on the right side of the picture the original accelerator arm that the shackle attached to, it was a simple take the old one off and put the new one on. The only modification I had to do was to slightly bend the Edelbrock linkage away from the carb about 1/8 so the shackle would miss the secondary linkage at WOT.

[Mike Bradbury]

Last night I was able to get the hood hinges done and mounted. They work as designed and closes the hood securely with full adjustability. I am very happy with the result, with the reservation that the gas struts I got from the junk yard are not quite up to the task of holding open the hood. I think they were just worn out when I got them, but they were really to mock up with the hope they would suffice. I need to just get new ones and the problem will be solved.

[hgs_notes]

Looks great. I'll take a set.

Couple questions, what is that switch looking thing above the heater? And is that a sticker in the lower passenger side of the windshield? And how come the radiator cap is off, the battery cable is off and there is no pics or video of a burnout?

[67cheby]

lots of great detail going on in that engine compartment !!

[bonnieclyde100]

i like those hinges i would like to try to make some myself. were they hard to make and about how much did they cost to make them?

[Mike Bradbury]

Originally Posted by hgs_notes

Looks great. I'll take a set.

Couple questions, what is that switch looking thing above the heater? And is that a sticker in the lower passenger side of the windshield? And how come the radiator cap is off, the battery cable is off and there is no pics or video of a burnout?

That is not a switch but the tail end of the lever that opens and closes the vent under the cowl. When I took the factory air out I just left it there, maybe I will hook a passive lever up to it so I can open and close it by hand.

The C10 club is a pretty sizable club out here in California, our big get together is coming up in July at the Brothers truck show in L.A. Over 300 of our truck are there with 45 being from the C10 club. We won the best participation award last year, it was quite an experience to drive on the freeway and as far as you could see in front and in back of you was nothing but C10's. Of course my engine was toast and about ready to disintegrate so i was a little preoccupied. If you get in contact with Rene AKA "C10 King" he will get you one. Or you can always come to the show! it is a great time! Sign up on the Brothers web site.

Oh how I wish the rad cap was on and the cable was connected, you did not notice that there are no spark plug wires either. Details details...

Originally Posted by bonnieclyde100

i like those hinges i would like to try to make some myself. were they hard to make and about how much did they cost to make them?

Not too hard to make if you have the right tools. I made all of the bushings and spacers. The pollish is difficult if you have a small buffing wheel. I have a 3HP 3 phase buffer that makes it a little easier to get a nice shine.

I have about $100 into them, $20 for the dumb struts and the rest in chrome hardware and bronze. THe arms themselves were made from scrap alluminum I had in the shop.

I just used the same geometry from the OEM hinges. So I knew they would work. But it saved me about $500, there are a couple of things I would do different if I did them again but I don't think I will.

[litew8]

Very nice Mike! Like the reflective plate on the firewall. When you gonna fire it up!