"Midnight Rider" 1970 C10 SWB Fleetside

[omodified]

Originally Posted by cj847

I had an exhaust cutout on my sleeper 2002 chevy silverado and loved it. 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.

Thanks CJ. This is the info (or bias confirmation haha) I was looking for. I'll be adding exhaust cutouts to my build plans for sure. Will need to research what is needed at some point.

Originally Posted by 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.

Thanks for the kind words. I appreciate your input on body exit exhausts. I am back and forth on it right now, but I'm definitely taking what you have said here into consideration. Keep checking back for updates.

Originally Posted by Old_Truck_Fan

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

Thanks. The center caps are my favorite so far too. Check back though, I have some even cooler stuff planned!

Originally Posted by Chevys4life

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

Thank you!

Originally Posted by 88Stanger

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!!!

It sounds like you love the look as much as I do. As far as the sound goes, exhaust cutouts will give me the option to control when and what I hear inside the cab. Thanks for the input Stanger! Keep checking back...

[omodified]

The rear assembly is together. The backlash needs set, then the rear end can go to final paint!

[omodified]

The pancake modification is finished on the front crossmember. This will give the front a 1.5" drop to start. The TIG welds are a nice touch and you can't even tell where the seams are from the butt welds!. This will go off to final paint along with the rear end, trailing arms and a few other small parts.

[omodified]

I got my hardware back from the plater. I was expecting a shinier finish, but I am actually happy with what I have here. I think this is a much better match to stainless. Now, I just have to check it in and account for everything.

[omodified]

Organizing all of the hardware today. I separated everything by size and then compared back to my spreadsheet. It appears everything came back!



Once everything was accounted for, I bagged it all according to what it belongs to. Then I labeled the bags for easy reference during assembly. I labeled all the extras by size.

[omodified]

The project has been on hold for a while. Covid, work, and life have all gotten in the way. I also found out that my painter wasn't quite ready for my parts yet. So, I took some months off. I've just been accumulating more parts for the build and trying my best to stay organized with it all.

During the winter months, I decided that I needed to paint the new engine block. Even though the paint was a little faded, I was originally content with leaving it alone. After thoroughly looking it over, I noticed some corrosion on the outside of the block as well as some road grime. I didn't want the block to stand out from all the new parts that will be going on it. I did some research and figured out what paint I wanted to use. I decided to go with VHT engine enamel. I've used VHT paint in the past and I was always impressed at how well it sprayed and covered. Very durable too!



I also found something pretty cool that will help me get better paint results with little to no cleanup. A spray tent with built-in floor!!!



I've been waiting on warmer temps so I could get this done. I have been hopeful for 70F and low humidity. It has taken a while, but the time is finally here. This will be the last time the engine looks like this...

[omodified]

I missed taking pictures of the engine during prep which I hate. Basically, I taped off everything that I didn't want to be sanded. Then, I used a combination of scotch brite pads, sandpaper and a wire wheel to remove the shine from the paint. This also removed the little bit of road grime that I found as well as the corrosion. Then, I used some Duplicolor Prep Spray grease remover to wash the entire block down. It dries pretty fast so you have to wipe it off quickly with a soft lint free cloth. Once, it was totally dry, you could really tell that the surface was oil free, which was encouraging. I could also tell that I needed to sand the surface some more. So, I repeated the entire process a second time and I was very pleased with the results. Then, I used Frogtape to tape off everything that I didn't want to be painted.






Next, I set up the spray tent and rolled the engine in.




Next up was two light coats of primer, followed by one medium coat. 10 minutes break between coats.










Next, I found a few tiny spots that needed wet sanded. I hit that with some 1000 grit and cleaned the surface. At last, I sprayed the color. Two light coats followed by one medium coat again. 10 minute breaks between coats.






After an hour, I pulled the engine out of the tent and started to clean up. It took about 5 minutes to bag the tent and with no overspray all over the shop, I was finished cleaning! This tent is awesome.

To end the day, I decided to remove the masking tape that was close to the painted surfaces. I didn't want to risk pulling up any paint at a later date. I think it turned out pretty nice!!!

[MDPotter]

Glad to see you working on it again! Are you going aftermarket on the oil pan and replacing the timing cover?

[omodified]

Originally Posted by MDPotter

Glad to see you working on it again! Are you going aftermarket on the oil pan and replacing the timing cover?

Yes and yes! I decided to go with the Holley 302-2 oil pan for extra clearance underneath. I maxed the stroke limit of the pan with this motor (3.62") but it should be okay. I also got a new GM Performance timing cover. The finish doesn't match what I had on here before or anything else. I believe the original had been media blasted, which I like. So, I brought both of them to work today to see if I can get the new one to match the old one. New seals should be showing up today along with some stainless M6 serrated flange bolts for the oil block off plate. Hopefully I will have these installed later tonight!

[Kronald_70GMC]

Just finished catching up from page one. I am very much liking the direction you are headed! I'm in for the ride!

[omodified]

Originally Posted by Kronald_70GMC

Just finished catching up from page one. I am very much liking the direction you are headed! I'm in for the ride!

Thank you and welcome aboard! Hopefully I can keep you engaged.

[omodified]

Time to blast the timing chain cover. First, I taped up all of the mounting surfaces and the supplied gasket. I dont plan on using this gasket, but I wanted to protect that area.




I blasted the paint off the old one just to experiment with what I would need to do to get the desired looked back. Media blasting was the right thing but the finish was a bit rough. I took some red scotch bright and very lighted sanded in a circular motion until it was nice and smooth.

Old vs new...




Since I had the technique down, it was time to blast the goods. Here it is, fresh out of the cabinet...




...and here is the finished product. I think this will work perfectly!

[Kronald_70GMC]

Looks awesome! Love the attention to detail.

[omodified]

I had to take the oil pan off to be able to work on the front and rear covers. While it was off, it was a good time to install some new parts down there.

People usually modify the original oil deflector to work with this oil pan. It requires cutting a fourth of it completely off and trimming a few other spots, all for proper clearance. GM actually makes a newer oil deflector that eliminates most of these modifications. I only hade to make one small mod for the new oil pump pickup tube.

Here is the new deflector...



I removed the old deflector. Here is the old vs new...



This is the one, small modification that I had to make for clearance to the new pickup tube...





New deflector and pick up tube installed. Torqued to proper specs...




Pulled the spark plugs and rotated the crank so I could check for clearance issues but I didn't see anything.

[omodified]

According to my build sheet, the engine builder replaced all the seals and gaskets. However, with the upgrades that I am doing, I thought it was a good idea to replace everything again so I know exactly what I have.

New parts for this phase. Rear main seal and rear cover gasket...



Also, while researching some things about this engine, I found this cool little piece. It is inexpensive and it's suppose to help with oil flow. It comes from Sac City Corvette. I'll install this while the cover is off.





Got the engine off the stand so I can access the rear easily.



Rear cover is off.



Had to drill a small hole in the old barbell and use a screw to pull it out. Super easy!



Old vs new. It looks like they reused the original barbell. So, It's nice to know I am starting fresh here. You can see the new piece should be less restrictive.


The new barbell pushed in with a nice tight fit. It sort of popped right in place. I found SacCity because of the numerous people that use their front and rear cover alignment tools. I will be using their rear alignment tool to center up the rear cover before I torque it down.

Here is their tools...



Rear cover is on with the help of the alignment tool. I hand tightened the center bolts to keep it in place for the next step.



The next step is important for avoiding a miserable oil leak. You have to temporarily mount the oil pan to the block (without gasket). Then, use the oil to rear cover bolts to draw the rear cover down to the oil pan. This insures that the bottom of the rear cover is flush the the bottom of the block. The alignment tool gets you close, but this method gets it exact.



Rear cover installed and torqued to GM specs.



New rear main seal is easy to install. Start it by hand and use the alignment tool and a rubber mallet to get it in place. Be careful though, because it can only go on one direction. It's marked this side out.

[omodified]

While the engine was still on the lift, I thought I would do one more thing to finish up the back.

New flexplate. Since my engine block is a 2004, I won't need to use a spacer like some other LQ9/4l80e combos. This flexplate is made specific for my year/combo.



New flexplate bolts...




I followed ARP's torque specs for this install. I used a flexplate locking tool to help get 85lb/ft.





Finished! Now it can go back on the engine stand so I can finish the front side.

[omodified]

When I painted the block, I painted over everything that I planned on replacing. This was way easier than tedious masking. Since I took this approach, I needed to replace all of the oil and coolant drain plugs. The replacements came in a nice kit with sealant already on the threads.



Plugs installed at GM torque specs.

[omodified]

I got the engine back on the stand and it's time to finish off the front of the block with the timing chain cover.

New parts for this phase...





Using the front cover alignment tool, I hand tightened the middle bolts. Then, like the rear cover, I used the oil pan to front cover bolts to draw the cover even with the bottom of the block. Then I torqued the bolts to GM spec. I reached out to ARP about their torque recommendations when using their Ultra-Torque lubricant. They told me unless the bolts came with specific instructions to just use factory torque specs.



With the use of the alignment tool and a rubber mallet, the front main seal installation was a breeze.

[omodified]

During my efforts to make this engine look it's best, I became dissatisfied with how dull (and scratched) that the front and back of the cylinder heads were. I decided to take some metal polish to those surfaces. I know I'm suppose to use a $100 bill for these shots, but this truck is leaving me only with $ingles...



This was after fives passes by hand. Maybe I'll do a few more passes later.

[SRU1436]

The motor is coming along great.

[MDPotter]

Beautiful! What kind of polish did you use?

[omodified]

Originally Posted by SRU1436

The motor is coming along great.

Thanks for the compliment!!!

Originally Posted by MDPotter

Beautiful! What kind of polish did you use?

Thanks MD. I've been using this can for a many years now. I just can't seem to use it all up. I was happy to see that it's still sold. Works great on aluminum and other metals. I used it a few years ago for water stains on my shower door.

[lolife99]

Thanks for taking time to explain everything you did.
Love this build.

[omodified]

Originally Posted by lolife99

Thanks for taking time to explain everything you did.
Love this build.

Hey Keith!. Thanks for dropping by. Good to see you again.

[omodified]

Happy to report that the cab and doors were picked up today. Piedmont Traction will begin metal work and paint prep. The build should start moving a little quicker now!

I still have plenty to do with the motor. While I'm waiting on a part that will help me finish up the oil pan, I decided to start of the valve covers. Original valve covers off...



I'll be reusing the original valve cover mounting bolts. They are in great shape. The grommets seem to be in good shape too but let's start with new ones here.



These are the valve covers I decided on. I really like the two-piece design to hide the coils. I'm not too sure about the Chevrolet script, but I do like it better than the other options that were available. Maybe I will black out the script so it's less noticeable. Either way, this should look nice when its finished.




The new grommets are installed and lubricant is on the threads. I bought new gaskets to replace the ones that were already here. The new ones were orange and could be seen between the head and the valve cover base. I didn't care for that, so I decided to reuse the original ones. They appear to be new so I washed them with Dawn soap and reinstalled them.



Valve cover bases installed. Bolts torqued to GM specs.




I had to stop here though. The bolts that Holley supplied to mount the coils are a bit too short. I did try to use them but I managed to pull some thread out of the hole. Holley recommended torqueing them to 106 lb/in (GM spec too), but there is no way I'll ever get there. So, I ordered some longer bolts to use instead. My plan is to just install them at 20 lb/in with some purple Loctite. To be continued...