Project Goldilocks, '66 C10 SWB BBW Build

[theastronaut]

Chopped the crossmember today to raise the bag mount area. I need to get some plate and 10" pipe to box the area in. At this point I've realized I would have been better off to buy a No Limit WideRide crossmember...


2" cut out.









7" tall now. That'll shrink a little once I plate the mounting pad but it's a major improvement!

[Wizit247]

Originally Posted by theastronaut

Chopped the crossmember today to raise the bag mount area. I need to get some plate and 10" pipe to box the area in. At this point I've realized I would have been better off to buy a No Limit WideRide crossmember...


2" cut out.









7" tall now. That'll shrink a little once I plate the mounting pad but it's a major improvement!

Following to see how you mount the top of the bag. I have been thinking about cutting mu upper mount instead of the lower arms similar to what you have done.

[mcbassin]

Very nice work as always.

[theastronaut]

Originally Posted by mcbassin

Very nice work as always.

Appreciate it!

[theastronaut]

Got an update from Jason on the speedo lens today!

[chad64chevy]

lens looks great, always top notch detail

[theastronaut]

No real updates other than I've been buying parts. Bought a set of Porterbuilt 1" forward and 1" narrowed A-arms this week. Haven't had time to build my own and these will do everything I was wanting to do except for having a little extra drop at the bag mount for bag spacers. Maybe raising the upper mount will create enough room that I can still shim the bag if needed.

Been picking up NOS parts when I can find them at reasonable prices- not into dealing with aftermarket junk if I don't have to! So far found a pair of '66 Fawn armrests, interior mirror mount, and an anodized grill. Another find was a pair of NOS offset stud mirror heads. They're not GM but are identical. I also bought a pair of NOS chrome bumper guards that had a fair amount of shelf wear but I couldn't bring myself to use them for what I have in mind...

So instead I bought a pair of used guards to cut up. Wanting to shorten them a few inches to take some of their bulk away, always thought that they just looked to tall to fit the proportions of our trucks.

[Bomp]

Great Score on all the parts!!!!

[duallyjams]

That's some great finds.

[pdxhall]

It's good to see you back at it. That's a nice group of parts you've accumulated. I don't even want you to tell me what you paid for that grill. If it was a real good deal I'll feel terrible that you got it and I didn't and if you paid a lot, then I'll be discouraged about ever finding one I can afford. It is a killer find, though. Let's get back to some of that quality work you put out.

[theastronaut]

Thanks dudes. Been wanting to get back on it, just been busy with everything else lately. The VW broke a valve spring so it's out for repairs and upgrades (can't leave anything alone!). Hoping for another 30-40 hp with a cam and heads swap. It should be back together in a few weeks. Was going to autocross it at Goodguys Charlotte this weekend if this hadn't happened.

The PB arms should be here Monday. I'll get templates to plate the upper bag mounts and have a fab shop bend the filler plates next week. Should have the front rolling again soon.

Pdxhaull, the grill was a good deal- I happened to be on Ebay at just the right time. Matching bezels will be impossible to find though.

[theastronaut]

Porterbuilt arms came today so I did a quick test fit.

[duallyjams]

did you weigh the old verses the new

I always thought with the bumper guards being tall was for adding a grill bar between them, look forward to seeing you shorten them up.

[theastronaut]

Originally Posted by duallyjams

did you weigh the old verses the new

I always thought with the bumper guards being tall was for adding a grill bar between them, look forward to seeing you shorten them up.

Haven't weighed them yet. Got to come back apart for new ball joints and paint so I'll do it then.

[theastronaut]

Taller upper ball joints from QA1 came today. I'll get those bolted in and the correct lower ball joints pressed in next week. I talked with a local machine shop about designing and machining a set of caliper brackets; he's interested so I'll drop off the parts with him this week. Final mock up should be soon! Then on to the rear suspension.

Still haven't decided on an axle. It'll need to be fully floating to prevent pad knock back since the calipers are fixed. I'd like to build a Trailblazer EXT axle since the center section is aluminum. With chromoly axle tube pressed in they're roughly 50 pounds lighter than a 9" or 12 bolt.

[Bomp]

Cool stuff man.
What is the length of the 'Taller upper ball joints from QA1' ?

Are you using longer lower ball joints too? I seem to remember something mentioned earlier about it but I can't find the info on it.

Glad to see Goldilocks getting some attention.

[theastronaut]

Originally Posted by Bomp

Cool stuff man.
What is the length of the 'Taller upper ball joints from QA1' ?

Are you using longer lower ball joints too? I seem to remember something mentioned earlier about it but I can't find the info on it.

Glad to see Goldilocks getting some attention.

They're 1/2" taller than stock. The bottoms are just stock Moog replacements. Not sure if taller lowers even exist and if they did they would drop the truck lower, which I don't need to do.

I always get fired up about working on it after attending the Goodguys show and autocross in Charlotte every October... need more events like that to keep me motivated!

[theastronaut]

I set up the passenger side with the taller upper ball joint tonight. Used a dial indicator to measure exactly one inch of travel (upward) and an angle app on my old iphone to measure the difference in camber. After doing a few tests and averaging the results I'm seeing about 1.61* gain (negative) with 1" of travel. From memory that's about half of a degree more than stock over the same amount of travel. I have info on stock and No Limit's Wide-Ride camber gain numbers on my phone but it's dead right now; I'll post those for comparison once I get it charged up.

[theastronaut]

Found the info I had on my phone; stock is .86* per inch and No Limit's Wide-Ride is 1.56* per inch. With the camber curve improved, castor angle increased, and bump steer fixed with the R&P kit it should stick pretty good.

[theastronaut]

Update on the valve covers. A few months ago I went to look at a set of VW wheels I found on craigslist and the guy turned out to be a normal car guy that works at a local machine/fab shop. Not the usual crazy craigslist seller... I mentioned the truck project and asked if they did CNC laser/plasma cutting and he said they could work in small projects. So I sent him a pattern of the valve cover flanges and he worked in two pair with a larger run of parts.


I'll have to do some minor reshaping on the end that I started on to get them lined up 100% but it's pretty close already. I have another pair of valve covers in good shape that I'll probably use. I'm thinking about shortening them maybe 3/4" inch from the first one I modified- not sure about that yet. Also thinking about making another pair from 327 car valve covers.

[Bigd426]

So cool. Love the valve covers

[LoRollinLS]

These OEM valve covers will look rad on that LS motor. I'm not real fond of LS swaps on these trucks, but at least your trying to give it an old school look. Thanks for that.

[aggie91]

Cool!

[theastronaut]

Originally Posted by Bigd426

So cool. Love the valve covers

Originally Posted by LoRollinLS

These OEM valve covers will look rad on that LS motor. I'm not real fond of LS swaps on these trucks, but at least your trying to give it an old school look. Thanks for that.

Originally Posted by aggie91

Cool!

Thanks dudes! LoRollin, I don't like the looks of newer engines either. Between the carbs and valve covers it will pretty much look old except for the lack of a distributor.



I worked on getting the tie rod ends mounted yesterday. Had to cut the tie rods shorter due to the 1" narrowed PB arms. The tie rod ends that No Limit supplies does away with the tapered hole in the spindle and uses a 5/8" through bolt instead. For some reason my spindles are already larger than 5/8" on the small side, and measure 3/4 on the larger side of the taper. I'll have to drill it to 3/4" and get a bushing to reduce it to the correct 5/8" bore.

I've posted on a few Facebook groups trying to find a cheap pair of 18" rollers since the front is nearly finished up for now. I will decide on a sway bar and shocks/upper mounts after the rear suspension comes together.

[theastronaut]

Jason got the speedo lens and background decal finished and shipped. Need to stick the decal on and it'll be finished. I may convert the amp gauge to a voltmeter eventually.