69 C10 swb stepside project 45 ACP

[68 TT]

Decided it was best to have the engine in and headers on before I fab up any of the front brake lines so I just finished installing the engine & trans today. Will post pics when I get home from work.

[VA72C10]

sounds like a good idea! Looking forward to the pics!

[RCbowtie69]

Looking good,you have came along way with your build,keep pictures coming & keep on truckin'

[68 TT]

Sorry it took so long. The wife had the camera at work with her.

I ended up shifting the engine forward a little to allow me to remove the tall valve covers without pulling the studs from the head.

[68 TT]

The K10 project donated its 67/68 front clip to the cause.

The front end didn't come down hardly at all with the weight of the big block and front clip due to the HD factory springs so it will need some drop springs. In the rear I am probably going to do an axle over spring flip and adjust the ride height with shackle length as needed.

[68 TT]

msgross just gave me a link to a site with all the bed wood dimensions so I thought I would share it in case anyone else could use the info.

http://www.gmcpauls.com/47-72_BedWood_Info.htm

I put it into AutoCAD already but need to create a PDF file of the drawing for all to share once I figure out the bed mount hole locations. I might try to get the locations off a friends metal bed floor short bed truck. They should be in the same locations.

Not sure what wood I will use yet but I might be able to talk my friend out of some nice dry lumber cut down & milled from trees on his property a few years ago.

[mcbassin]

Looks like another great project! Not sure how I missed it but I'm glad I found it. You have kicked butt on this thing in short order. Keep up this pace and you'll be tooling down the road in no time. subscribed

[68 TT]

Turns out the fan shroud that came with the stepside was the wrong width for the radiator that came with the truck but was the right width for the larger one that I had in the 67 C10.

It fits nicely and just clears the crank pulley on the big block by about 1/4". It should pull plenty of air with the 7-blade clutch fan on there.

I need to pick up some long 5/16" fine thread studs to put into the water pump and the matching serrated washer head nuts to hold the clutch fan in place with then it can be installed. The water pump is a short style but has a conversion spacer on it to make it compatible with long water pump pulleys.

I may put a standard long water pump on there to be able to use the better design passenger side alternator brackets on the engine rather than finish fabricating the low mount driver side alternator brackets I was working on for the engine when it was in the Camaro. That way I could save the Edelbrock aluminum water pump and ribbed belt pulleys for the 496 I am building for the Camaro to replace the 396 I just stole out of it too.

[68 TT]

Couldn't find my longer carb studs I bought for this thing so the carb is just sitting there for now.

Starting to get used to the quick change to colder weather we had and the new mid shift job hours too so I should start getting some more work done to this thing now.

I hope to get it moving under its own power before the snow fly's. I don't have much time left. It can snow any day now.

[68 TT]

Originally Posted by mcbassin

Looks like another great project! Not sure how I missed it but I'm glad I found it. You have kicked butt on this thing in short order. Keep up this pace and you'll be tooling down the road in no time. subscribed

Thanks, I hope to have it running very soon and get the brakes functional before it snows. Running out of time.

[68 TT]

Originally Posted by 68 TT

Thanks, I hope to have it running very soon and get the brakes functional before it snows. Running out of time.

Need to cut the driveshaft down by about 2" as well or it isn't going anywhere. At least the driveshaft is too long and not too short.

[mcbassin]

Hey, that big block looks perfect under the hood. We need to get you a garage so that pesky snow doesn't stop ya in the winter. That's usually my most productive time of the year

[68 TT]

Originally Posted by mcbassin

Hey, that big block looks perfect under the hood. We need to get you a garage so that pesky snow doesn't stop ya in the winter. That's usually my most productive time of the year

I agree. I wish there was somewhere on my property I could build one but the drain field covers all the buildable area in the back yard that is not a utility easement or setback.

We want to move into a ranch style home on some property with a garage and a separate shop. We just haven't found what we want yet in our price range. I might end up buying some property and building my own place.

I could just buy the property, build a big shop and call it good.

[68 TT]

I scored a nice van tilt column for the stepside. Now I just need to convert it over to fit the truck and install the 68 steering wheel.

I need to go back and get some more stuff I could use before the snow buries everything.

[CC69Rat]

Just looking through you're build, it's coming along great man! another Big Block stepper! Looking sweet man.

Mine has stock SB springs in it now and the PO cut one turn. My BB rEAAlly drops the front .. But, it might be too much when I finally drive it. It might have so much steer in it it will drive like a dump truck. I'm hoping it will be ok.

[RCbowtie69]

LOOKING GOOD!!!!!!! keep up the hard work & keep on truckin'

[68 TT]

Originally Posted by CC69Rat

Just looking through you're build, it's coming along great man! another Big Block stepper! Looking sweet man.

Mine has stock SB springs in it now and the PO cut one turn. My BB rEAAlly drops the front .. But, it might be too much when I finally drive it. It might have so much steer in it it will drive like a dump truck. I'm hoping it will be ok.

I've had that problem before too. OK when going down the road but hit a dip and the headers get pounded and throw sparks.

This thing sits like a 4x4 with the HD spring option. I just don't want the same too soft of a spring problem like you have now. It is a very fine line to walk.

[68 TT]

Looks like I will be converting the stepside to the trailing arm suspension and ditching the leaf springs. Too much money involved in getting the ride height I want and to eliminate wheel hop with the leaf springs.

I have most of the parts I need on hand, just need the time & weather to get the job done and to pick up a new set of U-bolts to install the trailing arms.

Considering fabricating some main cap style upper brackets that will allow the use of standard grade-8 cap screw fasteners in place of the U-bolts.

[68 TT]

To get me going sooner I am going to do the axle over spring swap with the stock truck 12-bolt. It may give me the ride height I want and I can build a set of Cal-Trac style traction bars for it this way too.

I'm going to get this thing on the road first before I go jumping into the trailing arm conversion. We will see how it does with leaf and some traction bars first, maybe I won't need to do the trailing arm conversion.

I am probably going to install a car 12-bolt rear end into this thing after it is on the road as well. Most likely it will come out of my Camaro.

The plans for the Camaro include going back to a forced induction engine making in excess of 700 hp to the wheels so the stock axle 12-bolt that is in there now will need completely upgraded. Might as well just build a whole new rear end instead and use the existing one in the truck. The truck will only make 400 to 450 hp to the wheels with the 427 short block I am putting together for it. The car 12-bolt can handle that all day long and it is easy to get 1350 U-joint pinion yokes for it too.

The wheels I have for the Camaro need to be changed to a smaller width to work the best with the 275/60 drag radials I am going to run. They work best on an 8" rim so the 10's that I have need changed out. The fronts are 6's because it was running an iron head big block with twin front mounted turbos so it had a bunch of nose weight. The new engine will be an aluminum head 6.0 liter LS engine with a single turbo so it will weigh several hundred pounds less up front. I can now run a skinnier 4" front wheel with a smaller width tire. This leave the whole set of nearly new Center Line wheels I had on the Camaro as spare parts. Might as well use them on the stepside too.

This means I am going to convert this thing to 5 on 4-3/4 bolt pattern. The Camaro 12-bolt swap will take care of the rear end. A set of new body style 1/2-ton 5 on 5 rotors will fit onto the 2500 LD spindles and I can redrill them to 5 on 4-3/4 so that will take care of the front. I will see if they can be machined down to work with GM hubcentric wheels, if not no big deal. I can always convert it to a different spindle that will take different rotors if I really want to run a set of rally wheels on it for some reason. I might mess around with the 6-lug rotors and see if they can be redrilled too.

Working mid shift has really messed me up. I am starting to get used to it now though. Now I need to get a little money saved up and get some work done.

[mcbassin]

Sounds like you have a plan on all the parts swapping around. I hope you document the van tilt modification. I see those on craigslist locally pretty cheap. I would like to have a tilt but just can't seem to be on the board when a "good" deal comes up.

I like the idea of losing the leafs too. We need to see some pics of that bad-a camaro man! sounds like a killer car.

[68 TT]

Originally Posted by mcbassin

...We need to see some pics of that bad-a camaro man! sounds like a killer car.

It used to be. I ended up selling off the drivetrain about 10 years ago when I got laid off. UI didn't come close to paying my bills so rather than lose my house or go bankrupt I traded my very well built twin turbo 454, T-400 & 12-bolt for a worn out 396, T-400 & 12-bolt plus a pile of money to a friend who wanted to turn his Nova into a race car. That kept me afloat until I could find a new job.

I've been piecing it back together ever since but on a much smaller budget. Getting married & having kids put a big damper on the Camaro project and put it at the bottom of the priorities list.

I need to get some trucks done and make some space so the Camaro can get the attention it deserves. I've had it for nearly 25 years and more than a third of that it has been in pieces. At least I still have it though.

[502ms]

Great progress!
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[68 TT]

My friend that bought the old engine out of my Camaro upgraded the accessory drive system so I got my old stuff back for use on the stepside. This will allow me to use long waterpump parts on there and save me a bunch of fab time. I just got them in the mail today so now all I need is some time to work on the truck.
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[68 TT]

Originally Posted by mcbassin

...I hope you document the van tilt modification. I see those on craigslist locally pretty cheap. I would like to have a tilt but just can't seem to be on the board when a "good" deal comes up.

Doing a little research for making the van tilt fit the truck and cam across this link that documents everything so I though I would post it for others to use as well.

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=147927

I will still post pics of my process too when it happens.

[68 TT]

No progress for a while. My welder died then three days later my compressor died too. Trying to dig my way out of that hole before I can make any real progress.

For the lack of progress I deserve this: