Project Goldilocks, '66 C10 SWB BBW Build

[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.

[chevyrestoguy]

Looking good John! I'm always impressed at your ability to think outside the box. You definitely do your homework, and it shows.

Jason is building my tach right now. I chickened out and went with a 7K, not the 10K beast like yours. LOL.

[Chapstr's65]

I bought my truck in SC and it wasn't anywhere near the condition that yours was in.

[w00dst0ck]

Are you going to just run all those gauges off mechanical senders instead of the factory LS electric?

Going to be tough to get a mechanical speedo to work off the VSS. They do make a conversion box but I haven't heard much good about them.

[theastronaut]

Originally Posted by chevyrestoguy

Looking good John! I'm always impressed at your ability to think outside the box. You definitely do your homework, and it shows.

Jason is building my tach right now. I chickened out and went with a 7K, not the 10K beast like yours. LOL.

Appreciate it Alex! I'll be watching your build to see the tach!

Originally Posted by Chapstr's65

I bought my truck in SC and it wasn't anywhere near the condition that yours was in.

It's definitely not the typical SC truck. My "Winter Beater Build" has all the typical rust trucks around here have.

Originally Posted by w00dst0ck

Are you going to just run all those gauges off mechanical senders instead of the factory LS electric?

Going to be tough to get a mechanical speedo to work off the VSS. They do make a conversion box but I haven't heard much good about them.

I'll use the senders from a '66 283 or 327 and adapt them to the LS. Probably going to use a Magnum T56 with cable drive instead of the F-body T56 to solve the speedo cable issue.

I've also been thinking about using a C5 transaxle and IRS to move more weight to the rear and keep the bed floor lower. If I do that then I'll add an electric motor directly on the back of the speedometer like in this thread:

http://ls1tech.com/forums/conversion...-solution.html

[gcgxplosv1]

Awesome Build I'm new to the site just I stopped on my 71 SWB Project to complete a 64 Suburban with a 5.3 LS and 4L60E I like the work you've done on the instrument cluster for this series truck pls pls pls would you build me one
Gordo gcgxplosv1@yahoo.com

[MalibuKasey]

Are you not done building it yet???

You were talking pedal pressure earlier. So on my clutch master the way it ended up working out was the bigger the bore master the stiffer the pedal... I went with the largest and you felt my clutch pedal! That and the American Powertrain Roadrace setup makes for a fun trow.

[theastronaut]

Originally Posted by MalibuKasey

Are you not done building it yet???

You were talking pedal pressure earlier. So on my clutch master the way it ended up working out was the bigger the bore master the stiffer the pedal... I went with the largest and you felt my clutch pedal! That and the American Powertrain Roadrace setup makes for a fun trow.

That's what I'm looking for, as big as I can get away with to make the throw shorter without needing to eat a can of spinach every time I drive it. There already isn't much leg room and I don't like pushing a clutch pedal in three feet to get it disengaged... The VW pedal is pretty much perfect- very short throw, lightish effort, and very good pedal feel/feedback. The Conquest pedal is just the opposite, long and squishy. Mitsubishi decided it was a good idea to incorporate rubber cushions in the linkage and flow restrictors in the master cylinder to soften the pedal feel.

[theastronaut]

We have a local autocross event coming up in a couple months and our club's sponsor/guest is Rob from No Limit Engineering. And he's bringing his Hellboy C10. Makes me really wish 'Locks was rolling so I could load it up and take it, just to get input on what I've done so far.

I still need to figure out what rear axle/suspension I'm going to use. I'm leaning towards a four link and have been reading up on Ford 8.8" axles with 9" axle ends. I need something to limit axle end-play since the CTS-V calipers are fixed mount. Can't use anything with c-clips or I'll have pad knock back issues. I've also thought about using an aluminum center quick change so I can change the gear ratio to suit whatever track I'm on. The aluminum center might save a little weight.

[theastronaut]

In other news, Bomp has been rubbing off on me. Except I haven't been working on building a C10 farm. I've bought a couple more Conquests, a '63 VW Convertible, and a '77 Celica GT. I'm down to just two Conquests now (from 5) but the '63 Vert and Celica will probably end up as keepers. I'm hoping to sell one of the Conquests and the blue/white '66 C10 so I can build the Celica as a daily driver.


The '63 Vert was a craigslist find, saw the listing one morning and went to check it out on my lunch break. It turned out to be extremely straight and solid, and fairly complete. The guy only wanted $700 for it and even delivered it since it was still loaded on his trailer. Unfortunately the frame, vin plate, and title were used to build a... trike. I have a friend with a matching numbers but rusty '63 Vert that may become a donor car. I had an extra sedan frame that I threw it on to make it roll, and stuck it in the barn for a future project.












The Celica was pretty random. I'd never even seen a first gen Celica until I gave a buddy a ride to a used car dealer where he was buying a '91 twin turbo AWD Stealth R/T. While we were there he said that I needed to check out the really cool old Celica around back. I'm thinking "A Celica? That's going to be stupid..." Well, I had a change of heart after seeing it and hearing the old stories of the guy racing Celicas back in the 80's. He still had some left over race parts and the car had one of his race heads and cam installed. The price was right, and a few weeks later I still hadn't gotten it out of my mind so I went back last weekend to buy it. He ended up throwing in some of his old racing parts (extra intakes/carbs, new Arias forged pistons, etc.) when I went back to pick it up. It should make a cool daily, and the nasty lope at idle should scare the ricer kids that happen to end up beside it at a red light. I already had a pair of 40mm Weber sidedraft carbs that I'll throw on it (I reeeally like IR intakes and Weber/Dellorto carbs if you haven't noticed by now!) and it'll get Euro/Japanese spec bumpers, coilovers, and minilite style wheels... eventually.



The friend I dropped off (the one I'm blaming for all this!) helped to do a "Krylon Makeover" last weekend so it'll be less ugly once I start driving it.











They look pretty cool fixed up.

[Jeff La]

What did you use for the krylon, I love that color

[theastronaut]

Originally Posted by Jeff La

What did you use for the krylon, I love that color

I never even looked at the can to see what the name was, I'll have to look tomorrow.

[aggie91]

OMG, you did a krylon make over?? We expect higher standards from you..LOL

Just kiding with you. It looks good in the picture and should make a fun daily driver. A friend in college years ago had one that he autocrossed with the school's car club. It was a fun little car.

Now, quit goofing off and work on this truck...

[theastronaut]

Originally Posted by theastronaut

I never even looked at the can to see what the name was, I'll have to look tomorrow.

Paint was Krylon Oxford Blue, Satin.

Originally Posted by aggie91

OMG, you did a krylon make over?? We expect higher standards from you..LOL

Just kiding with you. It looks good in the picture and should make a fun daily driver. A friend in college years ago had one that he autocrossed with the school's car club. It was a fun little car.

Now, quit goofing off and work on this truck...

Me, having high paint standards...?!? I'm actually all about original/patina paint for my own cars- way less upkeep. That's one of the biggest reasons I bought this truck instead of some of the others I looked at- no need to repaint it.

A lot of guys have been ribbing me about buying the Conquest and Celica but it's been a good learning experience. I've had the '64 VW as a my only daily driver since '07 so it's been an eye-opener to have something that can actually go around a corner without constantly correcting and fighting it. The VW does really good for a 1930's suspension design but it has its limitations. It's also been good to get a different perspective of steering wheel, pedals, and shifter placement. Having that stuff in just the right place really improves the driving experience. Having supportive seats means you're not having to hold yourself in the seat and you can focus more on getting through and out of a corner better. Seeing those things has given me a better idea of what I need to build into the truck project to make it more enjoyable and practical to drive.

[theastronaut]

Been reading up on rear suspensions, and I think I'm going to go with a parallel four link with a full width panhard bar. I don't think that the extra fab work of a watts link is worth the effort when a full width panhard bar works so effectively. Plus a watts link would get in the way of gear changes if I go with a quick change axle.

Next step will probably be figuring out a rear axle and building step notches, then building the four link. I'm not looking forward to making the CTS-V brakes work on a straight axle, they have an internal drum parking brake.

[SCOTI]

Why not stick w/the Truck-arm set-up & tweak it for your performance goals?