1970 One Owner Short Step

[boynton]

Originally Posted by mcbassin

That is an awesome power plant! very nice score. Sounds like you have a plan to get this truck on the road soon.

Thanks. My dad set me up with it.

Here are a few examples of the colors I am going with (I borrowed these from the forum):

[boynton]

I am going to pair that color combo with dark tan/saddle interior:

[boynton]

I suppose I missed a few pictures of the truck completely torn down, but here it is going back together, powder coated frame, early classic trans cross member, spindles. new disc brakes in the front and drums in the back. freshly painted a-arms, trailing arms, sway bar, track bar, and rear end...it has been a busy couple of weeks.

[boynton]

New tie rod ends and sway bar bushings. I ended up having to trim the lip of the frame where the A/C sits, but just a bit. Thought I would also include a shot of the early classic motor mounts in place. I just used the stock small block mount holes and drilled new holes in the front cross member.

[boynton]

I stripped the driver's door so I could take it to the sand blaster...unfortunately they ended up blasting off my door vin! I was super disappointed. The door was fairly rough, but I was saving it since the tag was original...oh well I can't reinvent a 44 year old tag. These are the shots where I mocked up the steering. It is all in place waiting for final assembly and then the front end alignment shop. Also a shot with the freshly painted trailing arms in place. You will see the carrier bearing bracket still in place, but I ended up taking it out and will be putting in a one piece drive shaft tomorrow. With the mounts in the stock location, I ended up getting a 54" drive shaft (including the u-joints) I will post pictures and measurements when I get a chance.

[boynton]

A shot of the new shock absorbers and drop springs. I ended up playing with the adjustable track arm until I could get the rear-end to sit evenly under the frame. It was not too difficult, just took a few minutes and a little playing around. After I got everything square, I took the wheels and tires my "1970 Burn Victim" donated after it got some new ones and began turning it into a rolling chassie so I could drop the motor in. And just like majic, there it is! It has made this swap so easy with the cab and front clip off.

[boynton]

You can see where I had to trip the lip of the frame so the A/C lines come off of the compressor. Despite what I have seen on the forum, I wanted to see if the truck manifolds would fit...and TRUST ME, THEY WILL NOT. The right side would fit with some trimming on the top frame rail, but the left will not fit at all. You would have to trim the top and the bottom. I didn't want to have to trim the frame at all. I am trying to keep this thing on some sort of budget, so I will be sourcing a pair of Trailblazer manifolds. I really like the Doug Thorly's but I don't have a spare $600 to drop on them. You have to draw the line somewhere...or at least I do.

[boynton]

A shot of the motor sitting in with the carrier bearing bracket out. Looking forward to hooking up the one piece tomorrow or Thursday. A shot of the truck manifold with the motor mounts, they cleared there just fine, just not anywhere else Also a shot of the left side with the motor in. This was fairly simple and strait forward with these mounts. The last picture is just one of all the pretty suspension...might was well get some pictures in while it is still clean!

[swamp rat]

Moving right along!

Does that 6L90 have an overdrive? I'm not up on the newer technology, anything newer than the turbo's....

[boynton]

I was concerned with the drop I would run into clearance issues. With the mounts in the top location (there are two locations) I have no problems. The truck pan sits almost even with the front cross member as well as the transmission pan. I attempted to take several pictures of this, but it is a little hard to see. I ended up having to drill a hole in the center of the transmission cross-member since the transmission I am using only has one mounting bolt.

All of the sheet metal has been to the sandblaster and is now primed and waiting for body work. I ended up using a different cab, which still needed a bit of work, so it will have a new floor, to include a high hump to clear the transmission, rockers and cab corners. Since I will be using aftermarket air, I will be cleaning up the firewall a bit and closing up the old air-box holes.

This has me all caught up for now.

[boynton]

Originally Posted by swamp rat

Moving right along!

Does that 6L90 have an overdrive? I'm not up on the newer technology, anything newer than the turbo's....

Thanks! The newer stuff goes speeds, then parts quality/weight rating.

4L60 is a 4 speed (4 part of the 4l60) 1/2 ton transmission and 60 represents something...I am not reakly sure what, but it is what comes in all of the 1/2 ton trucks, suburbans, tahoes. Different versions of this transmission go back to the 90's where the turbo's left off.

6l60 is the 6 speed of the above mentioned transmission-very common in the newer tahoes

4l70 came in the Trailblazer SS (6.0 400 hp ls2 motor)

4l80 is the standard 3/4 ton transmission-4 speed with 80 representing a heavier-duty transmission

I am not sure if they make a 6l80

6l90 6 speed heavy duty transmission. Comes in most HD 3/4 ton trucks. As far as I know this is the beefiest transmission GM offers with the gas motors.

As I am sure you know the top gear is over-drive in all of these transmissions.

Take all this info with a grain of salt, I am still learning anyone feel free to jump in and correct any mistakes/add any info that is valuable.

[swamp rat]

>>>As I am sure you know the top gear is over-drive in all of these transmissions.<<<

Actually no i didn't know they were all overdrive so i appreciate it. I cant remember which doesn't require electronics but i know it was the earlier ones cant recall the model.

I ran many turbo's growing up, then a Toyota pickup from 82 though 1995, a 95 S10 with 4 banger and manual from 95 through 2005, and a Dakota after that, so basically with the exception of my 72 K20 I've owned from 94 to current so i have little to no experience with the newer Chevy drive trains. ...What can i say.. Other than its been really hard for me to not go buy a brand new Chevy truck as of late, they are looking really nice. LOL!

[Low Elco]

Do you have a link to these motor mounts? Are they not an adaptor, just straight to the frame and motor? Did you use a factory oil pan? considering the same swap, I'm very interested, and I like yours. Nice work! also, it seems that your AC compressor hits right in the dumb flipped up spot on the frame and you just chopped it out. Am I seeing that right? (If so, great, I hate that spot.) Again, looks real good.

[rgunlock]

Everything is looking great! You are really scootin' along on this one. Just a few weeks and you have already about caught up with where my progress is! Guess I'm going to have to get a move on mine, but that filling/sanding/filling/sanding... is hard to get motivated for.

[boynton]

Originally Posted by Low Elco

Do you have a link to these motor mounts? Are they not an adaptor, just straight to the frame and motor? Did you use a factory oil pan? considering the same swap, I'm very interested, and I like yours. Nice work! also, it seems that your AC compressor hits right in the dumb flipped up spot on the frame and you just chopped it out. Am I seeing that right? (If so, great, I hate that spot.) Again, looks real good.

http://www.earlyclassic.com/catalog....ry=New%20Items

These are the motor mounts and the transmission cross-member is right under it. You can easily use any auto cross member though. I did use the factory oil pan with these mounts and I think it clears just fine. the pan is about even with the cross member. The ac compressor did hit right at that lip, so i just trimmed it out of the way. It made things pretty simple with the cut-off wheel. I just took it nice and steady and it trimmed out fine. Thanks for the compliments. I am learning as I go, this is my first swap...

[boynton]

Originally Posted by swamp rat

>>>As I am sure you know the top gear is over-drive in all of these transmissions.<<<

Actually no i didn't know they were all overdrive so i appreciate it. I cant remember which doesn't require electronics but i know it was the earlier ones cant recall the model.

I ran many turbo's growing up, then a Toyota pickup from 82 though 1995, a 95 S10 with 4 banger and manual from 95 through 2005, and a Dakota after that, so basically with the exception of my 72 K20 I've owned from 94 to current so i have little to no experience with the newer Chevy drive trains. ...What can i say.. Other than its been really hard for me to not go buy a brand new Chevy truck as of late, they are looking really nice. LOL!

They do look really sweet! I understand the pain of shelling out big money for a new truck...which is why I have never owned one! Used is just fine for me!

Originally Posted by rgunlock

Everything is looking great! You are really scootin' along on this one. Just a few weeks and you have already about caught up with where my progress is! Guess I'm going to have to get a move on mine, but that filling/sanding/filling/sanding... is hard to get motivated for.

I bet...I am going to cheat in this area and have the body shop do that for me...judge all you want, I am just not good enough to do it. I really want this truck looking sharp, so I am going to leave that to my pro's. Still looking forward to riding around in yours. When you decide it needs a good mud bath, bring it up to central Texas and we can take it to the farm

[beckmand78]

Subscribed. Very interested in how that 6l90 works out with clearance/wiring. Sounds like something I'd love.

[Hart_Rod]

98-00 Fbody exhaust manifolds work with ECE motor mounts as well as the 2010+ Camaro manifolds.

The first couple pages of my build thread talk about them:

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=200387

Originally Posted by beckmand78

Subscribed. Very interested in how that 6l90 works out with clearance/wiring. Sounds like something I'd love.

I installed a 6L80 in my 68 SWB. There's lots of pics in here towards the end:

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=358692

[beckmand78]

Originally Posted by Hart_Rod

98-00 Fbody exhaust manifolds work with ECE motor mounts as well as the 2010+ Camaro manifolds.

The first couple pages of my build thread talk about them:

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=200387



I installed a 6L80 in my 68 SWB. There's lots of pics in here towards the end:

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=358692

Wow, nice truck. I'll check it out.

[boynton]

Originally Posted by Hart_Rod

98-00 Fbody exhaust manifolds work with ECE motor mounts as well as the 2010+ Camaro manifolds.

The first couple pages of my build thread talk about them:

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=200387



I installed a 6L80 in my 68 SWB. There's lots of pics in here towards the end:

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=358692

Thanks. I ended up using TBSS manifolds and ended up having to trim just a smidge on the right frame rail...I was trying to avoid this but it was not much so I was ok with it.

Originally Posted by beckmand78

Wow, nice truck. I'll check it out.

Hart_Rod has some very nice builds. I have learned a lot just reading through his threads.

[boynton]

Time for an update...I ended up sourcing a set of Trailblaser SS manifolds for $100. I really wanted to use the stock truck manifolds, but as I mentioned before, they will not fit without major surgery (which I am not willing to do).

I trimmed less than an 1/8 over a 2/3" area to give the right manifold some room to move when the motor torques.

[boynton]

a few more shots from the back and left side. I just bolted the truck down pipes to the TBSS manifolds, so they are out of place. I will have the exhaust shop straiten these when I am done, I just wanted to make sure I was going to clear the frame rails.

[boynton]

Here is the new one piece drive shaft in place. It is a beast. Now the weakest link in my drive-train is the rear-end. I will address this after the build is done and on the road. It is a good open 12 bolt rear-end with 3.07 gears. I will eventually put in a posi. I may keep the 3.07 gears if I feel the motor has enough torqu (which I think it will for this super light truck), but we will see.

I also addressed another issue today with the power steering. I took my old power steering lines to a shop and had them make me up an adapter. I may need to adjust the location/angle of the lines, but now the '70 power steering box is hooked up to the '09 power steering pump.

I also sourced this chart for cutting your own bed wood from the forum (I am mainly dropping this here so I can remember where it is later!!! hope it helps someone else too). I will be cutting my own wood when I get to that point.

Today was a lot of lets see if this fits and then take it right back off. That is how I learn and since this is my first swap, there was a lot of that going on today.

[Pegman]

Nice work keep it up

[Low Elco]

Man, it's lookin' good! Keep it up, I need the inspiration so I don't chicken out!