"Midnight Rider" 1970 C10 SWB Fleetside

[omodified]

Back to work! Let's start tearing the front of this thing apart.

Removed front shocks and front shock mounts.




Removed front sway bar and tie rods.



Removed front brake hoses.




Remove front brake drums.



Removed front hubs and brake components.



Removed front backing plates from spindle. Removed front springs. (In disclosure, I was able to remove the front springs so easily at this point because I cut a half coil off when I installed them.)



Removed spindles.



Remove upper control arms.



Removed engine stands.



Removed lower control arms.

[omodified]

Really close now to having a bare frame! This time, we are dropping the crossmember out. It will get the pancake treatment to lower the front about an a inch and a half which will also give some spring rate back. Will get some oil pan and ground clearance too!



Doesn't look like there is much left to do.

[omodified]

This is it...the last of the items bolted to the frame. Let's finish this thing!

Removed idler arm and center link.



Removed idler arm mount and steering box.



Removed driver's side frame rail tail light harness and clips.




Removed brake and fuel hard lines and clips.

[omodified]

Lots of shiny new suspension parts have been trickling in. Most recently, I received a big ticket item. Check it out, LS power!

[omodified]

Today, we will finish up the frame. Lots of frame rivets to drill out. Started with a center punch. Used a 3/16" bit for pilot hole. Last, I went for the takeout blow with a 3/8" bit. Most of them tapped right out. I few had to be persuaded with an air hammer.

Removed the rear bump stop perches first. This is roughly where the c-notch will be.





Removed the transmission crossmember and truck arm crossmember.





Almost forgot about the single exhaust hanger. I wont be needing this anymore.



Frame is ready to go to Piedmont Traction for some fab work, then off to blast and paint. That's it! It was a lot of work to this point. It now it seems like the work has only started. Stay tuned for some cool stuff!!!

[omodified]

While the frame is out of my shop, I wanted to work on something else that had been on my mind. For this build, I plan to reuse the same 15 inch wheels and tires that was already on the truck. I really like the 2000-2010 center caps that I have. What I never paid attention to before I tore it all down, was that the color of the center cap bowties were gold.





All of the other bowties on the truck are blue (hood, glove box, steering wheel horn button). I wanted to come up with something better. I looked all over the internet and couldn't find anything that was was close to looks and size of what I have now. Something UV resistant was important too so they will last. I tried to find somebody that would custom make them, but it was too expensive to order only few. So, I took matters into my own hands.

I found these on EBAY. Gel type stickers, but plain. They even have the same machined finish as the originals.



I also, found these on EBAY. Blue foil bowties.



I needed to figure out a way to protect the blue foil sticker from weather and peeling up when I clean them with a rag or whatever. I did some research and found this doming resin. It's basically what manufacturers of center cap logos use. It's a two part epoxy. You drizzle it over your part and it slowly spreads out but has a doming effect. It hardens in 24 hours to a nice, clear, pliable surface. I ordered some, so we will test it out.

[omodified]

This is the last day I will see the frame looking like this in my shop. It leaves tomorrow and I can't wait to have it back! I'm impressed at how well preserved it is. Thankful right now for years of engine and transmission leaks hahaha.

[omodified]

Well, the frame is gone, so this gives me time to work on these center caps. I ordered enough of everything to afford myself some mistakes. The plan was to practice on the caps I already had. I bought four NOS caps to use once I had perfected the process. I used this video as my reference, which explains whole procedure.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Krb1a3OhsS0

I made one practice run on a Tupperware lid first. Here I learned to not use Elmer's glue in the process. It made the final finish foggy. There hardest part was getting the blue bowties centered exactly right. I wasted a few of them trying. The resin process was pretty simple. It was self leveling as advertised and the air bubbles always rose to the top and popped. I had to help a few of them by poking them with a toothpick. I'm pretty happy with it. The resin is UV resistant, so hopefully these will last a long time. Here's how things turned out...

NOS caps



Remove the old logo. These were surprisingly hard to remove. They aren't stickers at all. They are metal and GM actually silicone them to the cap. I had to carefully pry them off and them use a razor blade to remove the excess silicone.




Then I applied the new machined stickers.



Carefully centered the blue bowties.



Time for resin. Because the machined sticker already had the normal doming resin on it when I bought it, the bowtie ends up looking suspended, which I think I kind of cool. We'll see what others think!





Even better, I think it looks great on the wheel. I can almost imagine what the truck is gonna look like finished! So far away though.

[omodified]

Let the parts fly!

Apparently, the frame work is going well. There were quite a few bends on the bottom of the frame the needed to be straightened. As it turns out, I don't know how to jack up my truck properly. Also, some new holes needed to be located and drilled for front shock braces. The last thing that needed to be done before blast and paint was the c-notch. I had to take the rear end housing, new trailing arm crossmember and trailing arms to help with the process.

I was fortunate enough in last April to buy a set of the only NOS trailing arms that I have ever seen from board member gcburdic. The cool thing about them , besides being NOS, is that they are for a 3/4 ton. They fit exactly the same as 1/2 ton, but they are reinforced on top and bottom. These should stand up to any torque that I can supply! Before I could take them, I needed to replace to bushings. Even though they were original and had never been used, the rubber was dry rotted.




I research on the board here how guys are replacing these. There were a few different methods, and this was what I did...

I drilled as much rubber out as I could from around the bushings. Then I used a socket and hammer to push the sleeve out. When the sleeve came out, the rubber came with it.



Next, I used a reciprocating saw the cut through the bushing. I had to be super careful not to get into the trailing arm itself.



Once I cut through most of the bushing, I took a punch and hammer and caved the bushing in on itself. Once it was curled up pretty good, I used a socket and hammer to tap the entire bushing out of the truck arm. Super easy removal.




During my many years of research on building one of these trucks, I came across the debate of rubber versus polyurethane bushings for our trucks. There are pros and cons for each, but for me, I don't think you can do better than original. And by original, I mean NOS. I was able to locate several pairs of these guys, so I have some spares too if I ever need them.



I greased up the new bushings. Using a hammer and socket, I was able to carefully drive the bushings into place.





The new trailing arm crossmember is a CPP 6372LDL-B. This is for trucks lowered 5" or more. It comes powder coated black. It has a larger driveshaft hoop and allows a 3 inch exhaust to pass through.




Also sent these, CPP CP39029 2" angled lowering blocks . These will help get me a 7" drop in the rear while giving me 4° of pinion angle back.

[omodified]

*Frame update*

Metal work is finished. This c-notch is super nice with the tig welds. And it's boxed too. Off to the blaster and then paint! Can't wait to get it back to my shop.

[omodified]

Went to a truck show this weekend. I've only been to one other show during all this covid19 stuff, so I was really looking forward to getting out. Lots of nice Chevy trucks were there. Really big show for my area. I was kind of surprised. I took this picture because I am seriously drawn to this look. This was the first time I've seen it in person, but I think it looks killer. I may have to implement this into my build. Anybody want to talk me out of it? I'm thinking exhaust cutouts too.



Oh, and here was the show. Almost 1000 trucks in attendance. I'll be back to this one.

[omodified]

The frame is back at my shop and I couldn't be more pleased. All of the bends are fixed and the fab work looks great. And it's painted!!! The c-notch really blends in with the frame nicely. Even though the trailing arm crossmember was powder coated, it got painted to match the frame. Now, I am waiting on the front suspension crossmember to come back pancaked, along with the rear end and trailing arms.

[omodified]

The rear end housing and trailing arms are back from being blasted and primered. Piedmont Traction will be assembling the rear end so I have to take him some new parts in the next few days.

[omodified]

Documenting the parts that are going in the rear end...

Eaton Posi Performance Differential19556-010 - Limited Slip, 30-Spline, GM, 12-Bolt, 4 Series



Yukon Gear & Axle Master Overhaul Kit YK GM12/14068 - Ring and Pinion Gear Installation Kit, Master Overhaul, 30 Spline, GM 8.875 in




Yukon Gear & Axle Bearings AK 1559 - Axle Bearing, 2.530 in. O.D



Yukon Gear & Axle Ring and Pinion Sets GM12T-373/24128 - 3.73:1 Ratio, 1.438 in. Pinion, 30 Spline, 8.875 in. Ring Gear, GM 8.875 in.




Yukon Gear & Axle Differential Pinion Yoke GM12-1350-F/41069 - 1350, 30 Spline, Forged Steel, GM, 8.875 in



B&M Differential 71504 - 12-bolt, Aluminum, Black Anodized, GM 8.875 in



Not for the rear end, but these need to go with the trailing arms to be painted. Goodmark Parking Brake Bracket GMK414351967 - Cable Bracket, Includes Hardware, Left or Right

[omodified]

I sold my old engine. A board member here was looking for a 350 in the same condition as mine. He wanted to use it in his 1969 Camaro but he was trying to keep it close to stock looking. We struck up a deal and I made the sale. Ready to go out the door.



The next day after delivery it looked like this.



The following weekend, he had it installed. He said it fired right up and was happy with his purchase. I'm happy that he is happy and I got some space back in my shop. It sounds really good!

https://www.dropbox.com/s/p1yyw613qq..._5312.mov?dl=0

https://www.dropbox.com/s/mi2s5co44c..._5313.mov?dl=0




.

[omodified]

So, while I am waiting for items back that help me move along with the frame, I wanted to take on another task. My plan for this build is to use all stainless hardware. I read in several places that Totally Stainless was the place to get frame bolts as they offered them in material close to Grade 8. Well, I tried to go that route, and the company is on a 9 month backorder due to Covid19. Ouch! So I had to go a different route, nickel plating. This would require me to document everything I had for hardware and what it belonged to. I Anything that was used, I bought new Grade 8 replacements. Some of my new parts came with Grade 8 hardware. Documenting probably took me around a week of evenings. Every time I would think I was finished, I would find something else that need accounted for and replaced. Here is some of my spreadsheet.



Here is a huge pile of metal. I swear I know where everything goes. I even have extras in there, just in case.



Once everything was accounted for and ready, I needed to strip any coating off and get it down to raw for the plater. For this, I used muriatic acid. Nasty but effective stuff.



I filled a five gallon bucket up with 1 gallon of straight muriatic acid. I filled the bottom of a strainer with hardware and dipped it in the acid.



It foams and smokes for about 30 seconds and I'm being super careful not to breathe any of this crap in. After 30 seconds, I pull up the strainer and rinse the hardware off with cool water. I end up with nice raw hardware.



I had to hurry and dry it off because it flash rusts in a hurry. Once I got it dried off pretty good, I threw it in a gallon ziplock bag and sprayed WD-40 all over it.



All of the hardware is stripped and will get sent to the plater tomorrow. It should be back in a week.

[MDPotter]

Wow, what an update! You've been saving up all of your pictures and progress just to blow our doors off!

There is something very satisfying about stripping a truck down to the frame and starting with a clean foundation.

You won't regret the LS swap and from breezing through the parts list, it's got excellent parts in it. Gen 4 rods, GM bearings, ARP rod bolts, and ported heads to highlight. What's your plan for the engine and transmission management? Holley Terminator X Max? Since you bought it as a long block, you might as well go with the Holley system over the GM ECM and harness.

I should have known from your previous posts as detailed as they are that your attention to detail would apply to the rest of the build - the hardware list, plating, forethought on the chassis, and part number tracking in general.

Lastly, those center caps came out incredible. If it were me, I would have just ran the gold bowties but your blue bowtie mod is just one of those little details that, combined with all of the other little mods that I'm sure you will be doing, will make this truck one in a million. I bet you could sell those caps on eBay! If you're sticking with the 15 inch wheels, you'll have to do some research on brakes. I assume you're upgrading to discs at least in the front?

[omodified]

Originally Posted by MDPotter

Wow, what an update! You've been saving up all of your pictures and progress just to blow our doors off!

Thanks MD. I wouldn't say I was saving it hahaha. Life gets in the way sometimes. So, you have to make time for the important stuff. I figured this blog could wait. As long as I take lots of pics, the stories that go with them all should come right back to me! Now that I spent an entire weekend bringing you up to date, I think I may have to re-prioritize my stuff!

Originally Posted by MDPotter

You won't regret the LS swap and from breezing through the parts list, it's got excellent parts in it. Gen 4 rods, GM bearings, ARP rod bolts, and ported heads to highlight. What's your plan for the engine and transmission management? Holley Terminator X Max? Since you bought it as a long block, you might as well go with the Holley system over the GM ECM and harness.

This LS engine is indeed nice. I really lucked out with that find! I don't want to spoil the engine management story by giving away the ending just yet, but let's just say you might be on the right path!

Originally Posted by MDPotter

Lastly, those center caps came out incredible. If it were me, I would have just ran the gold bowties but your blue bowtie mod is just one of those little details that, combined with all of the other little mods that I'm sure you will be doing, will make this truck one in a million. I bet you could sell those caps on eBay! If you're sticking with the 15 inch wheels, you'll have to do some research on brakes. I assume you're upgrading to discs at least in the front?

Thanks for all of the compliments. I'm pretty excited myself, about how the caps turned out. As far as the brakes are concerned, thank you for the suggestion. That's what I love about this board. I did some research and I think I found some old calipers that I will work with my old squarebody 4WD rally wheels.

[omodified]

I realized today that I made a bit of a mistake. More of a, well dang, I didn't know that. While researching gas tank relocation, I realized that I should've removed this brace on the frame.



Good thing I love drilling these frame rivets out. It's a memory now. Well, it will be once I touch up the paint.

[cj847]

[QUOTE=omodified;8862067] I may have to implement this into my build. Anybody want to talk me out of it? I'm thinking exhaust cutouts too.

I had an exhaust cutout on my sleeper 2002 chevy silverado and loved it. I had an intake, cam and headers into the stock muffler and tailpipe with the cutout in front of the muffler. I loved pulling up to stop lights in my plain jane looking truck, then opening the cutout, and gassing it when the light turned green. Super fun at cruise nights as well. And, it won't piss off the neighbors.

[LT7A]

Honestly, round one with your truck was the kind of build that is nearest and dearest to my heart. Keep it running and fix and improve things while you go. I can understand though that there were certain spots, especially in the body work that could eventually get away from you without addressing them. So I'm watching your off - frame restoration with interest. You are using a lot of nice parts and are extremely organized. Personally, I would avoid cutting body panels when you don't need to. That would rule out in-body exhaust exits for me. It is still happening at a prodigious rate on custom trucks, but it is a fad and has been going on for quite some time. From my perspective, we will see less of them in two or three years and I doubt anybody will be doing it 5 years from now. Some guys can update their trucks as styles change. I have to work on mine for the long haul, so that's how I think. I will enjoy following as you progress. Thanks for taking the time to show us.

[Old_Truck_Fan]

Nice progress! Love the center cap modifications and that meticulously organized and clean shop. Keep it up!

[Chevys4life]

You have a nice build project that is coming along nicely!!

Subscribed!!!

[1971Stepside]

I think I saw one picture where there was dirt on the floor! Unbelievable. Let's not make that a habit

[88Stanger]

Originally Posted by omodified

Went to a truck show this weekend. I've only been to one other show during all this covid19 stuff, so I was really looking forward to getting out. Lots of nice Chevy trucks were there. Really big show for my area. I was kind of surprised. I took this picture because I am seriously drawn to this look. This was the first time I've seen it in person, but I think it looks killer. I may have to implement this into my build. Anybody want to talk me out of it? I'm thinking exhaust cutouts too.



Oh, and here was the show. Almost 1000 trucks in attendance. I'll be back to this one.

#1 Jealous on getting to go to a show, we never got to see 1.

#2 if that is what i think in the pic, that is side exhaust port. I have done this on my 1969 C10 and this is what i can tell you. I love the look, BUT beware the sound will be louder to those in the cab, and if you listen to exhaust to see how it sounds, and see if you can hear a miss, ya that is not happening. Not sure if this is what you are looking at in reference to the side exhaust, but i have it, i love the look but there are a few things i listed that maybe you wont like.

Great build so far!!!