Project "Black Betty" (bam-A-lam)

[Dinos63]

very cool! congrats on both truck and getting hitched!!

[likaroc13]

Originally Posted by DRTYRAT30

Wow man great job, love the classic american feel of those wedding pics. Nice work...
Posted via Mobile Device

Thanks, glad you like them! We love how they turned out as well.

Originally Posted by Dinos63

very cool! congrats on both truck and getting hitched!!

Thanks Dino! As Kenny would say, "Eatin' burnt suppers the whole first year; Yeah man, that's the good stuff," lol, J/K...our 2nd Anniversary is just around the corner. We were friends for a year or so before we began dating, and then we dated for about 4 years. So it kinda seems like we've been married longer.

[greg65]

Nice build you have going. Subscribed.

[likaroc13]

Originally Posted by greg65

Nice build you have going. Subscribed.

Thanks Greg! "Justa creepin'," like that Eric Church song. I'm watching & excited to see the progress you & Alan make with yours.

[greg65]

Originally Posted by likaroc13

Thanks Greg! "Justa creepin'," like that Eric Church song. I'm watching & excited to see the progress you & Alan make with yours.

Thanks Phillip. There is no telling how many times i've been through Corinth. Living in Florence and driving to our home office in Collierville Tn. I went through there quite often.

[likaroc13]

Originally Posted by greg65

Thanks Phillip. There is no telling how many times i've been through Corinth. Living in Florence and driving to our home office in Collierville Tn. I went through there quite often.

As Alan mentioned you said, it's a small world! That's my old stomping grounds. I've been to Florence quite a few times, as well as Collierville. I have family in the Memphis area. My ex step-brother (if there is such a thing, lol) works for the police department in Florence.

Not sure if you know of him, but I had Joe Keenum in Muscle Shoals pinstripe my old '93 C-1500. He also did some striping on my dad's old Harley.

[likaroc13]

We were able to make a trip back to my hometown in November 2010, before the front suspension tear down began. So I took the time to take the truck for a drive myself, just to see how the new rear would handle on the highway. Knowing that my dad made a 4-hour trip in it with relatively no issues, I had a new confidence in the truck's reliability. I set out for Tishomingo State Park which is about 30 minutes or so from my hometown. My wife followed behind in her car, just in case there were any problems. While at the park, I took the opportunity to do a photo shoot with the truck. With nice weather and the fall leaves falling & changing in color, it offered some nice backdrops. Here are a few of my favorite pictures from that day:

[likaroc13]

There are plenty more in the picture gallery:

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/gallery/...=32530&cat=500


And here are some more that I like:

[likaroc13]

While at the park, I also had an issue with the truck not wanting to crank. If you read above, this also happened to my dad while on his way to the wedding. I think it may be a starter heat soak issue, because after the truck cools off for a bit it will fire right up. I bought a new NAPA starter for it when the flywheel was replaced in 2009. I was given a good, used Powermaster mini starter when I bought the truck, however I sold it a year later it thinking it wasn't needed. So one day I was searching Ebay and came across the exact same starter, except new. I made a bid & ended up scoring it for $100! It will be installed while the truck is down for front suspension work.

Moving along, we finally got started with the front suspension. Dad & I removed the control arms and spindles from the '72. Dad later took them to get sandblasted. No pic of the control arms before, but here's one of the spindles:



And here are the spindles & control arms after blasting. The control arms have a little pitting, but they will still work nicely (no show queen here )

[likaroc13]

Now it was time to start working on the front suspension of "Black Betty." We stripped everything steering/suspension related but kept the crossmember in place. Power steering would be in the plans too, so the old gear box came off as well. Then I began the clean-up process. I had to roll around on my back, bend, stoop, & crawl trying to get the most access possible. I know we could've removed fenders and such, but I really didn't want to dig into this project anymore than necessary. I'm a perfectionist, and that would result in a snowball effect. So, I just used the degreaser and scrapers to remove the big, gunked up stuff. Then I used the air compressor and wire wheel attachments to get the frame and crossmember bare. Here are some before shots:




I thought I took pics of both sides beforehand, but I think I had already started cleaning the driver's side.

[likaroc13]

Here are a couple action shots:

[likaroc13]

After I got everything cleaned as best as possible, I sprayed it with satin black rust control paint. Here are pictures of the driver's & passenger side of the frame, as well as the crossmember:

[likaroc13]

Unfortunately, things would start to slow down significantly after this. My wife was still not happy with some things occurring within her company, even a year after the transfer. So, we began looking at possible options yet again. I ended up finding a potential position for her through an online career search site. However, it would require some serious consideration as the job was located in Charleston, SC. She did an interview with the company via Skype, & everything seemed to go well. They called back the next day & offered her the job, lol. With little time to make a decision, we prayed and talked about it some more and decided to take a chance on a great opportunity. We knew it would be a long way (10+ hrs) from our families', but we weren't going in completely blind. I have an aunt/uncle who have lived in the Charleston area most of their lives, and my wife and I actually spent a day here while on our honeymoon.

Knowing that I'd be moving away soon, I called up my good friend George to place an order for the needed front suspension parts. I picked them up and made a trip up to my dad's place a few weeks before we would have to move.

I ended up using mostly Moog parts. Through Carquest, I bought new brake calipers, rotors, pads, wheel bearings, control arm shafts, upper/lower ball joints, inner/outer tie rods, pitman arm, & idler arm. I also purchased a set of POL (Performance Online) conversion tie rod adjusting sleeves. And George was kind enough to donate a set of Energy Suspension greaseable sway bar bushings.

[likaroc13]

I also purchased a factory 1.25" sway bar from a board member. This truck didn't come with a sway bar, so it should definitely make a difference.

After we got moved to SC, progress slowed quite a bit. My dad fell off a ladder at home and hurt his shoulder. He ended up having rotator cuff surgery. Not too long after that, he also had hernia surgery. On top of that, he was responsible for taking care of my Great Aunt who was in declining health. Therefore, there was not much time to work on the truck. Not being there to help, all I could really do is gather parts that would be needed.

I ended up buying a new Fenco power steering gear box & Lares coupler/rag joint for a '72 C-10. I used online discount codes from Advance Auto Parts to get it cheaper. Then I bought a "Captainfab" power steering adapter plate, along with the steering shaft adapter/coupler he makes as well:

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...power+steering

here's a pic of it mocked up:

[likaroc13]

here's a pic of the painted Captainfab bracket (bottom right), new pitman arm, centerlink, and battery box:

[likaroc13]

I guess I should elaborate a little more on my steering setup since I kinda went the unconventional route. I kept my '66 front crossmember as you saw, and I took the factory '72 C-10 spindles & control arms. I also kept the '66 centerlink because it was already removed & in good shape. To do this I will have to move the new '66 outer tie rods (5/8" LH thread) to the inner location, and the '72 outer tie rods (11/16" RH thread) will be in the outer location. The POL conversion tie rod sleeves will mate the two together (Part # HPAS6570):

http://www.performanceonline.com/196...-SLEEVES-PAIR/

BTW, thanks to forum member "lolife99" (Keith) for helping me with this configuration

I also have a new '72 pitman arm, & the new idler is for a '66. It's a mix/match between the two years, which could be confusing for some folks. However, I made sure to document what I have & hopefully won't be needing to replace any of this stuff for a very, very long time (if ever).

[LostMy65]

Originally Posted by likaroc13

I also have a new '72 pitman arm,

I have done much research on pitman arms because when I upgraded my 66 to power steering, I lost some turning radius.
I've read that the 70-72 pitman arms are longer (which turns the wheels sharper) and yet still fit the newer ps box.

I haven't been able to confirm this myself.

[likaroc13]

Originally Posted by LostMy65

I have done much research on pitman arms because when I upgraded my 66 to power steering, I lost some turning radius.
I've read that the 70-72 pitman arms are longer (which turns the wheels sharper) and yet still fit the newer ps box.

I haven't been able to confirm this myself.

what year P/S gear box & pitman arm do you have?

[flips72]

great progress, sorry to hear about your dad and aunt we will keep them in our prayers.

[likaroc13]

Originally Posted by flips72

great progress, sorry to hear about your dad and aunt we will keep them in our prayers.

Well, dad is doing good now & has since fully recovered. I was traveling back in time and posting a play-by-play, which I didn't have in the original build thread. Unfortunately though, my Great Aunt passed away in January. It's weird going home and not seeing her there anymore, but I know she's in a much better place now. She was often like a mother to my dad, so I know he misses her too. Prayers are always appreciated though regardless

[likaroc13]

When I was back home over Mother's Day weekend this year, I painted the spindles, calipers, control arm shafts, sway bar, & such. Unfortunately I didn't have the camera with me at the time.

Also, I purchased a set of factory pulleys, as well as P/S pump & brackets from a forum member. He used this setup on his '70 C-10. Everything should be correct, as the pulleys are for SBC w/ short water pump. Here's the setup I have, minus the alternator brackets which wouldn't work since I don't have mounting holes in the cylinder heads:

[likaroc13]

Also scored this on Craigslist for $100 (retails for $250)! My plan was to have it clear powdercoated before installing.
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/EDL-8820/

However, I ended up selling it for a profit and scored another just like it (except natural finish):
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/EDL-8882/

I really didn't want to have to keep the other one polished, & powdercoating would've been extra expense & not really the look I want. The natural finish water pump will be painted with VHT engine enamel in Nu-Cast Aluminum color.



And when I was at home over Labor Day (2011), I got a pic of the power steering pump/bracket and pulleys mocked up. We still need to install the new water pump, & I need to clean/paint that lower alternator bracket:

[lolife99]

Sorry to hear about your Great Aunt.

Just now catching up to your thread.
I love your truck!

Any reason you didn't add drop spindles?
Keeping it stock height?

[likaroc13]

Originally Posted by lolife99

Sorry to hear about your Great Aunt.

Just now catching up to your thread.
I love your truck!

Any reason you didn't add drop spindles?
Keeping it stock height?

Thanks. Yes, I decided to keep it stock height. I kept it that way for the wedding pics, but after more contemplation I decided to leave it. Initially my plan was to keep an original outer appearance but have a slammed static drop. With so many lowered/bagged trucks these days, I thought maybe it would stand out a little more with the original appearance. After all, every other vehicle I've owned has been modified & slammed/lowered, so I thought it would be a change of pace as well.

[likaroc13]

Pretty much nothing happened between the Fall of 2011 and Spring 2012. After my Great Aunt passed away in January, my dad was responsible for settling her estate. He is also an avid Harley rider, so once warmer weather rolled around he hit the road. He's part of the local American Legion bike club, & they do lots of benefit rallies & rides.

My dad and his "girlfriend":




And an interior view of his shop (can you tell he's a Harley fan? ):