"Midnight Rider" 1970 C10 SWB Fleetside

[loudchevy]

That looks awesome!

[Grip]

Outstanding! Congratulations 👏🏻👍🏻

[omodified]

Fixed an issue that has been bothering me. The power steering reservoir return line fitting sits at a bad angle that points toward the frame. The fitting is molded into the reservoir and doesn't move. I was afraid this angle will pinch the hose or rub a hole in it. So, I decided to cut the return off and replace it with an ORB fitting. Had to drill a tap for the new fitting. Then, for the ORB fitting, I had to carefully countersink the hole so the O-ring would seal correctly. Once I finally connect the power steering lines, I will be able to use a swivel fitting for maximum clearance.

[omodified]

Some cutting and buffing going on with the outside of the cab.

[omodified]

The outside has been wet sanded and buffed. This is about as good as it gets. When the truck is assembled, it will get a final buff then. Now, if any overspray get on the outside, it wont be able to stick to this slick surface. Almost looks like a mirror now!

[omodified]

Ready for interior paint now. High hump cover is sanded and prepped.

[omodified]

Interior has color now. 1 coat of black sealer, 2 coats of base and 4 coats of clear. Will cut and buff later. Next up is the bottom of the cab.

[omodified]

For the underside of the cab, I wanted to do something that was low maintenance, but still looked nice. For this, I decided on Raptor 2k coating. It sprays on, it's UV resistant, and should last on this truck forever. Started with prepping the surface. Then, added black sealer. Last, was the Raptor 2k coating. This turned out better than I imagined it would. The coating sprayed nice and even, which gives a great appearance. Now, onto cutting and buffing the interior.

[omodified]

Wanted to consolidate a few more parts. Here we have three NOS parts we will combine to make the battery tray. I found these three on EBAY, years ago. According to the assembly manual, you use the radiator support as a jig and assemble the three pieces together. Then, apply 17 spotwelds.

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[loudchevy]

The cut and buff looks great! I used that same Raptor on my bed and under the cab. It does look great once applied. I'm not sure about how durable it is in a bed that gets used, but it's perfect for undersides.

[Bodied67]

Looks great

[Chevys4life]

The complete cab looks really nice!!! That black paint really laid down and the raptor turned out nice too.

[Grip]

Amazing! 👏🏻

[rodstored-72]

WOW! great job on the paint!

[omodified]

Thank you all for the compliments on the paint. I've been absent from posting for a few months but things have still been slowly progressing. Hopefully this post will get the momentum moving again.

I plan to install air conditioning in this truck. One of the details I envisioned was hiding the AC lines by running them through the fender and having them enter through the side of cab. I heard about a cool panel sold by Level 7 Motorsports that would clean up the install a bit. Unfortunately, the cab has already been painted, but this piece is too cool to not move forward with it. Backordered...





While I was on the Level 7 website, I found where theY sell an updated alternator for the Holley mid-mount front accessory kit. I decided to buy it. Apparently, since I bought this kit, people are been having issues with the Holley supplied alternator. There are two issues that this new alternator addresses. The primary issue is that the pulley ratio is off substantially and over spins the alternator. The second issue is that they have an internal grounding problem and causes them to search for ground and will burn out the voltage regulator. While I'm waiting on the AC panel to arrive, I decided to tackle installing this new alternator.









For wiring, I used 4AWG wire. I needed some pretty beefy lugs, which require hydraulic crimping. To seal the ends, I used glue lined heat shrink tubing.













For some extra protection I added terminal boots, and DEI easy loom.











I used a laser to check pulley alignment and it was perfect right out of the box. Here is the final install. Ready for some power!!!

[omodified]

The Level 7 Motorsports AC panel arrived. Against my better judgement, it's time to cut into the side of this beautiful new paint.




First thing to do was make a template. Then carefully place the template where I want it on the cab.







With the template placed, and the edges scribed onto the sheet metal, it's time to go under the knife.








Everything is trimmed for the best possible fit. The back corner is a bit raised. Held the fender up to check clearance. Unfortunately, the fender brace is slightly hitting the back corner of the panel. So, not a perfect fit, but so far so good. Will have to think through the next step.

[1971bluec10]

wowzers this is amazing good job

[omodified]

Originally Posted by 1971bluec10

wowzers this is amazing good job

Thanks Blue. What's even more amazing is how much curvature this back flange had. Certainly this was contributing to the gap that I'm seeing and the clearance issue to the fender brace.




I took the panel to work and bolted it down the the fixture plate. This carbon fiber is so thick and strong, it will barely move on it's own. Ended up having to score a line half way round at the radius to help it along. Once it moved, epoxy was applied to strengthen it back up.




This trick seemed to work as the gap is better now. Unfortunately, during the test fit, we pulled on the metal a bit to help things line up better and one of the spot welds broke. So, now we are talking spot weld repair, paint and blend, ugh. So here we go with that...













The repair turned out nice. Now on to drilling the mounting holes in the panel and installing rivnuts onto the cab.











Now for the final step, paint blending and buffing. I'm not sure why I even worry. The guys at Hawk Restorations have been knocking this stuff right out of the park.

[omodified]

For the AC system, I decided back in 2022 to go with a Gen 4 Vintage Air system. I was advised to buy when I could due to extreme backorders and Covid, so the parts have just been sitting here. I'm close to running the hoses on the interior, but before I can, the bulkhead needs to be installed onto the AC panel. For the bulkhead, I went with nice machined aluminum piece from Vintage Air.







Before the bulkhead can be installed, we needed to trace an outline of the kick panel vent tunnel onto the back of the AC panel. This will show the area available to install the bulkhead onto. Fortunately, for what I have planned, the exact center of the bulkhead is going to work perfectly. Using the provided template, it's time to rotobroach a few holes. Just before that, we added weather stripping to the back of the AC panel.









I bought a bunch of different fitting combinations because I wasn't sure what would be needed to make everything work. I had everything I needed except a few 45° AC fittings. I used heater hose fittings for mock up, so I will need to buy a few more fittings for the final install. Here's the setup for the outer fittings.







For the interior, I really wanted to reuse the kick panel vent door, just to keep things symmetrical. For mock up, I grabbed a used door that I had laying around and we just cut a hole in it. This will at least show whether its possible to use it or not.





Next, the evaporator needs to be mocked up so we understand which AC and heater hose fittings will be needed for maximum clearance at the floorboard. So far, it looks like this is going to work out. Just need a few more 45° AC fittings.

[omodified]

While I wait on the AC fittings to arrive, I decided to randomly switch gears a bit. I bought these NOS rear bumper filler panels years ago from Ebay. It is impossible to find a RH side, so you have to buy two LH sides and drill holes in one of them for a RH fit. Since, I have a little down time, I thought it would be a good time to get this done for later use.

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[omodified]

Did another thing while I wait. I recently stumbled upon this steering box from Detroit Speed. They claim the box is a direct bolt for 1970, has rack and pinion valve technology, low-friction gear design, and 12.7:1 quick ratio. The reviews were good and the details sound great, so I went for it. Unfortunately, it comes with a raw finish that needs painted. So off to the booth it goes.

[omodified]

Got the correct AC fittings and it's time to run some hose. Before that, I thought it would be a good idea to install some Dynamat in this area before the evaporator gets permanently installed.









Had to take the evaporator in and out several times to measure each hose. It's a very tight space and I wanted the lines as tight as possible without kinking. All the hoses turned out just as I hoped. I lubed the O-rings on the evaporator fittings and tightened them down permanently. Will deal with the bulkhead fittings later, once we figure out the vent door.









Here is everything installed. I don't think you will see much of the hoses once everything is finished.

[omodified]

Wetsanding is starting to happen on the bed. More paint might be flying soon!

[omodified]

Time to finish the kick panel vents. My original vent doors were in good shape with very little corrosion. We used these for the final assembly. First thing was to tear them apart, blast and primer.





Next was painting and assembly. For assembly, we decided that we needed something a little more heavy duty than the usual foam seal. Went with 1/8" buna rubber. It's sold in sheets by the foot. This process took a few tries to get it right, but this is for sure the way to go.





To marry all these pieces together, I found gloss black 1/4" rivets on Amazon. I think these turned out nice.









Had to install both sides a few times and keep timing the outer edges down until the rubber layed down correctly and made a good seal against the cab.







The last step was the hardest. Lining everything up, drilling holes in the rubber in the right spots and just big enough to slide the fittings through. Only had a few inches of room to play with to get it all buttoned up. Here it is finished up, with original nickel plated arms and hardware (passenger side is for looks of course). I left these crappy knobs on for now. Will replace those with new ones later on. May have to add a grommet to fill those tiny gaps around the lines. I have to say though, I really love how this turned out.

[omodified]

So I tried to install this Detroit speed steering box and let me tell you...it is not a direct fit. I wish I hadn't taken their word it and tested the fit before I had it painted. Now, I am grinding a TON of material away from the mounting side of the box. I read where a few forum members had the same issues with Borgeson boxes. We can add Detroit Speed to that list. Here, I have most of the material ground away. I'm using some red tacky grease to check where the frame is still interfering with a flush mount. Fitting much better now, but will have to repaint this box when I have proper clearance.