1968 GMC - Ol' Blue

[TA_C10]

Truck looks great Potter, nice job.

I regret chopping another 1/2 coil off my springs so I bought new 1" drop to get me back where it was.

How come? Looks good from my view.

[Low Elco]

Pm sent!

[MDPotter]

Originally Posted by TA_C10

Truck looks great Potter, nice job.



How come? Looks good from my view.

The front end is too low in my opinion and when I eventually get new wheels/tires the wheel well will be too full as I will be going up in size.

[MDPotter]

A few weeks ago I noticed a small puddle of gear oil under the right rear brake. I had picked up a 12 bolt out of a square body K10 a few months ago with the plan to swap it eventually, but the leaking axle seal was the last straw so I jumped in.

I moved over all of the brackets, with the exception of the spring perches which I bought new. Then set the pinion angle, had it sandblasted, painted it, and was ready to install. I also replaced pinion seal, pinion yoke, axle bearings, seals, cover gasket, and new fluid. To get the old bearings out, I ended up using a long piece of rebar we had laying around to drive them out from the inside. Then put the new bearings in the freezer and they went in pretty easy after that. I dropped a spider gear in the process and struggled to get it in right, but eventually figured out that the carrier was not going to hold either spider gear where I needed it to, but that the spider gear needed to be at the 12 o'clock position, resting on the planetary gears so that I could slip the other spider gear in to get them aligned.

In that process, my plan was to rebuild the drums but I discovered that the drums on K10's have a lip which C10's don't have and the wheel was making contact with that lip. I don't really like drum brakes and the idea of spending all that money on rebuilding drums when I could spend another $200 and have discs is what pushed me to convert to discs. So I went with the Little Shop kit and I'm happy with it. Nothing fancy, just Eldorado calipers with parking brakes and plain rotors.

I had bought new parking brake cables for a squarebody K10/C10 but they were too short. To be specific, the sheath was too short but the cable was the correct length. It just so happened that our 69 C10 has a rear disc brake kit on it already and those cables were part of the kit for that truck and were a good length. They are part #EBC6370 from POL.

So now I have a stronger rear end with much more aftermarket and OEM support, better brakes, more favorable gearing, and no more wheel spacers. Someday I might put in 3.73 posi, but for now I'm okay with the 4.11 open gears. Now I can actually convert to 5 lug someday as well.

Bonus - while underneath unhooking brake cables, I noticed the exhaust was touching the brake cable bracket on the frame and I was pretty sure that was the cause of the vibrations I was feeling in the truck. Sure enough, those vibrations are gone now.

I still have to adjust the gearing in HPTuners and record a new 0-60, but it actually breaks loose from a stop now.

[Putzer]

nice work!

[Low Elco]

Very nice! BTW, Your part got used and came out great, thanks!

[TA_C10]

Awesome, I need to check out that brake kit.

[Nitro72]

Nice build. I'm getting a lot of info and ideas.

[geunther]

Just looked through your build. Nice done. You nailed it.

[88Stanger]

nice work.

[MDPotter]

Originally Posted by Nitro72

Nice build. I'm getting a lot of info and ideas.

Originally Posted by geunther

Just looked through your build. Nice done. You nailed it.

Originally Posted by 88Stanger

nice work.

Thanks guys - glad to see the thread getting dug up! I've got Vintage Air (heat only) and new seat covers to put on one of these days.

[MDPotter]

Happy New Year everyone!

Since we're taking a break from bodywork on the '69, we've been knocking things off the list that we have been wanting to do on various vehicles and other projects for awhile. A couple items we took care of this weekend on this truck is window tint and Vintage Air. I was a little on the fence about whether to tint or not, but I'm really happy with it. This is 20% tint and I think it's just the right shade.

[MDPotter]

We also installed my Vintage Air. It was a foggy, frosty, and cold drive to the shop but was nice and toasty on the way home. This is the evaporator kit (heat only), but the underdash box has all of the provisions for A/C components down the road. I found out that there is very little space between the motor housing and the kick panel - I actually had to cut down my speaker spacer and even then they still touch. I wasn't sure how hard it was going to be to install the duct with all of the wiring and other components already in the dash, but it wasn't too bad. I was a little disappointed when I went to drill the bottom most hole for the heater core line in the firewall and the centering bit of the hole saw caught something and snapped which let the hole saw itself scar the firewall, but I can touch it up later. I got a rebuild kit for my stock heater controls from Old Air (new lens, levers, and bushings) and used Vintage Air's cable converters - they're just rheostats. I forgot to take a picture, but one of the previous owners of this truck had cut new levers out of a speed square. Apparently the factory levers were pretty weak. The rivets that connect the face to the controls had mostly let go so someone had added the screws through the lens at some point too. There is no room to spare between the underdash box and the controls either. But no big deal, these controls are only temporary until I decide to spend the $250 for the Vintage Air electronic control panel and add the A/C components. I'm glad to finally have all those holes in the dash filled and to have a warm interior.

[TA_C10]

The paint looks killer man. Tint looks good with it and wheels. I feel your pain on the heater control unit. Mine was pretty bad too. All the rivets on the back were toast, so I found shallow rivets and reinstalled, worked great.

[MDPotter]

Originally Posted by TA_C10

The paint looks killer man. Tint looks good with it and wheels. I feel your pain on the heater control unit. Mine was pretty bad too. All the rivets on the back were toast, so I found shallow rivets and reinstalled, worked great.

Thanks! This is one of the better pictures I have of it to really show how vivid this color is in the direct sun. I daydream of new wheels and tires, but I know that building a house is the higher priority...

[MDPotter]

I finally recovered my seats. I've had these seat covers sitting in my garage since October. These are an ebay purchase (US Auto Seat Cover) but they fit just fine and the material seems to be good quality. It took us maybe 4 hours to remove the seats, take them apart, recover, reassemble, and reinstall in the truck. I haven't decided what to do with the armrests yet - I didn't buy the replacement arm rests in the matching color because I never use them, but it leaves this weird hole where the armrest was in the upper seat back and unfortunately the seat covers didn't come with any velcro in that spot so they don't stick to the foam. Other than addressing that, I just need to paint and install my defrost vents and the interior will be complete.




And here is a picture of the heater levers that one of the previous owners made out of a framing square. I have to admire the craftsmanship here as they are much stronger than the factory levers and I'm sure it took some time to make these.

[1971Stepside]

Seats look good and comfy.

[MDPotter]

Originally Posted by 1971Stepside

Seats look good and comfy.

They feel much better! The color of the old covers was bothering me for quite awhile. If I was really committed to black then I would paint the trim pieces too.

[rodstored-72]

Md potter, Happy new year! hope the year is starting good for you. I was re-reading through the thread to recheck some check off items on my build & I wanted to find out a few things. I was wondering what year escalade seats you used & if you also used the same model center console? also I was wondering if you might share a few steps you did to clean up/prep your differential for re-install?

thanks!!
jake

[MDPotter]

Originally Posted by rodstored-72

Md potter, Happy new year! hope the year is starting good for you. I was re-reading through the thread to recheck some check off items on my build & I wanted to find out a few things. I was wondering what year escalade seats you used & if you also used the same model center console? also I was wondering if you might share a few steps you did to clean up/prep your differential for re-install?

thanks!!
jake

Happy new to you as well! The seats are out of a 2004 Escalade and the console is out of a 2014-2018 GMC/Chevy Truck or SUV.

On the differential, I just had it sandblasted and I coated it with the same paint as the rest of my chassis (Chassis Saver satin black). I had to cut off the old shock mounts and brake line bracket from my old diff and I welded on new spring seats, replaced the axle bearings and seals, and did the disc brake conversion, new fluid and cover gasket.

[twotrucks]

Awesome build! Question: when you paint the bed in pieces do you use any sealant between pieces (bedsides and floor & wheel tubs) and do you weld the bedside at the rear? Any pictures of inside the bed finished? Thank you.

[MDPotter]

Originally Posted by twotrucks

Awesome build! Question: when you paint the bed in pieces do you use any sealant between pieces (bedsides and floor & wheel tubs) and do you weld the bedside at the rear? Any pictures of inside the bed finished? Thank you.

Thanks! I did not use any sealant. I don't think GM did and I didn't see any reason to. I live in a dry climate, it sits in the garage 95% of the time, doesn't get rained or snowed on, and I only wash it once every month or two. I did paint it all in pieces so it's covered on all surfaces with a waterproof coating (epoxy and clear coat). I also did not weld the bedsides to the rear sill, just bolted.

[Kronald_70GMC]

I forgot how vivid that blue is. Looks amazing 👏

[MDPotter]

Originally Posted by Kronald_70GMC

I forgot how vivid that blue is. Looks amazing 👏

Thanks! It's kind of a loud color, but blue looks so good on these trucks and I'm happy with it.

[twotrucks]

Thanks for the reply. Beautiful truck and work!