68 C10/international L110 Mut

[jmlcolorado]

No physical progress last night, but I did drop some serious coin on hydraulic hoses and fittings, new inner and outer tie rod ends, rag joint Assembly, DD steering shaft and support bearing, and the first part of the exhaust system.
All added up to about $750!!! Ouch!
It's all good. In retrospect, I'd prefer to have new steering parts. Safety first after all
Once further down the list I'll swap out the rotors, calipers, drums, shoes, rear brake cylinders too.
Ultimately when it's all said and done, all steering, braking and steering components will be new which simply gives me peace of mind.

[jmlcolorado]

Another weekend has come and gone with no physical progress. However, I did order the last of the air ride components (computer and ride height sensors) and also ordered long battery cables kit as well as a painless 28 circuit (overkill I know) fuse block and all wiring for each circuit. Should make wiring much easier. Those items together were.......um.......expensive. But should ultimately tie together the trucks systems nicely and safety.
If I keep going this direction, all the sub systems and components under the truck will be new

The fuse block I ordered connects with a bulkhead connector at the firewall to make install/removal of the cab easier.
Pictures to follow once parts start rolling in.

[jmlcolorado]

Started collecting a pile-o-stuffs to install. A few things I had already (air compressors and air horns), but still needs installed so they get thrown into the pile.



And more coming.......

Stopped by the junk yard again today to pick up a PS resivour. Wanted a firewall mounted one. This one has a return port so I don't have to tee the return lines. The return for the hydroboost will dump into this one and the return for the steering gear will dump into the back of the pump. Should make rats nest of lines a touch cleaner.


The 4BT has a large electromagnetic shutoff solenoid. It turns on and pills a lever back to allow fuel flow. Turn the key off and the spring loaded arm pushes the fuel shutoff arm back on the injection pump. I was screwing around with it one night without it connected to the pump and shot the thing apart. Boo.
Priced them and HOLY CRAP! They're made of gold!
SO, on the search for a cable.
Came across I pristine blue dodge van, which had cables for heater controls. I snagged the cable that runs........uhhh..... I don't know what it ran, but it had a two position switch integrated with the cable. I thought it was pretty cool so I grabbed it.




The international still has its factory choke cable mounted on the dash. Or what's left of it. I think I'm going to mount its knob onto this assembally.
Figured I would make one of the switch poles light up a light on the dash indicating "Fuel Off" so that I know why it won't steer when I turn the key and crank it over, and nothing happens.
I think the "Choke" knob is a fun play on words for its function.


It's in B&W because I poste it to the photo contest.

Let's see, what else.......

Oh yeah, new pile-o-stuffs.
Started getting exhaust parts.
3"-3.5" a damper to come off the turbo neck. Call it the down pipe. It's a short down pipe
Also a flexable connection.
I'll start collecting other exhaust stuff to build that up soon.

[jmlcolorado]

-6 AN hoses and some fittings.
Braided doesn't fit the rat rod theme, but I like it.


Found out today when wondering around auto parts stores that PepBoys has Russel AN fittings on the shelve. Dang! Have been ordering through Summit. Of well, at least now I know when I start putting it all together and forget something.

Steering shaft (3/4" DD), u-joints and support bearing. I forgot to get a 1"DD to 3/:" DD u-joint for the connection to the column, so that's lagging behind. I want to mount the steering shaft, then route hoses.
As I mentioned earlier, there is going to be a lot of stuff on the drivers side, so I want to make sure it stays nice and orderly.


Oh, there's a body/engine grounding kit up there too.


Wiring harness. Oh boy.
I got the largest block I could. Think it's 28 circuits. I figure you can never have too many.
This should support any future nerd that might come along.
I choose Bulkhead connector mounted as I want to remove the cab to finish plumbing the systems. Brakes, suspension, wiring, so I'm trying to have everything that connects to the cab easily removable. Minus brake lines. No getting around the hard lines from the Mc to the prop valve mounted on the frame.

I also picked up an accelerator pedal and a universal throttle cable that's too short. Not very interesting to look at so no close up of those


I managed to finishe welding in the brake pedal mounting assembally last night, and remounting the steering wheel for the most part. I ordered a ball floor flange for the bottom of the column because I didn't like my home brewed square plate I had.
I also flipped the hydroboost 180* to get the hoses below it vs on top and in clear sight from the drivers seat. Also shortens the hoses quite a bit too.

I was up till 2 am this morning messing around so probably won't get much done tonight, unless I get a second wind.

[jmlcolorado]

Got the battery cable kit. I wanted to make sure I had enough to put the battery anywhere.
I had planned to install right behind the drivers seat in the bed, below the bed floor, but this battery is so freakin big that it won't leave enough room for the bed floor to have any hinged baled to access. I have tons of room on the rear behind the axle, but not sure if it'll see any water splash from the tire.
Thinking I might put the battery on the cab behind the seats. Pleanty pf room there.



Fancy ball style firewall mount for the steering column. Probably the prettiest thing on the whole truck! Except those Allen bolts! I think those took a swim


Brooke decided to come hang out with dad tonight.






That kid is a nut

Got the fuse block mounted. The drivers side firewall filled up quick with the brakes, throttle, fuel cutoff cable. I decided to mount the fuse block on the passangers side next to the heater.






There are quite a few wires on the engine side of the harness I don't plan on using. Ignition coil, fuel pump. Ect. Anyone just remove those wire from a painless bulkhead? I don't just want to cut them off, but still want to be able to have access to them in the future if I add stuffs.

Started building the hydraulic lines for the power steering. I forgot the fitting out of the power steering box, so need to buy that adapter.

[jmlcolorado]

I think i might have mentioned this earlier on in the thread.


Okay, so try to keep up.
I ordered a custom shifter from a guy called Kilduff Machines.
He's building me a lightning rod shifter for the rat rod.
Video:
http://youtu.be/P25xh_xGdkU

Mines a little different. The mopar 47RE is 3 speed plus overdrive. Overdrive is electronically activated.
So on my shifter, I'll have a PRN4321 lever for gear selections.
A 1-2 lever that shifts mechanically.
A 2-3 lever that shifts mechanically.
A 3-4 lever that's not hooked up mechanically. I'll install a momentary switch for 3-4 shift so that once the lever is pulled, the switch closes activating overdrive electronically.

I will also have another momentary switch on the 2-3 lever for torque converter lookup and it will stay locked up as soon as it hits 3rd gear and during the 3-4 shift.

Last lever (that makes 5 levers total) will be a 4-neutral lever which allows me, when coming to a stop, to pull the one lever to go straight to neutral. Good for stop lights and stuffs.

The trans will get a Trans Go full manual conversion so the transmission is not a fully automatic anymore. This provides full line pressures at all times, giving firmer shifts and less band wear.
There will be no Throttle Valve cable needed since the trans will not be fluctuating line pressures through the shifts.

Lastly, I'll have a momentary switch mounted on top of the 1-2 shift lever for line lock because..........burn outs

Kinda crazy, but I think it fits the rat rod theme.
Guess you could call it a clutchless 4 speed

[jmlcolorado]

Got me a big......okay, medium sized box today.
The wife is starting to wonder who this Summit gal is. She also thinks Summit is some sort of stripper name, and a horrible play on words.
I digress.


Anyways.
I forgot what I had ordered since so much stuffs is showing up these days.
Open er up and find a bajillion little boxs.
Turns out these little exhaust hangers are much like beta fish. They don't much get along, so they must be kept separated.
Come on!



Also got the last couple fittings for the hydroboost and some exhaust hanger bars to weld on the frame/exhaust to support.
Tryin to do this the "right" way I suppose.


Seems to me, they could have fit all this into one rubber hanger box.

[jmlcolorado]

Might be an insignificant win to some but......
http://youtu.be/VVveUCrWRGk



Also posted a 3rd progress video on YouTube. Same photos as what's is shared in this thread, so nothing new to anyone. I make them mostly for people I know who aren't on this forum to follow along.

[jmlcolorado]

A little progress.
I built the battery box and got it hung. I decided to put it under the bed to keep as much room available in the cab as possible.
Side bracket template



Scratching out on 3/16" plate.



I wanted both sides to be exactly the same, so I welded the two pieces together so I can work them both at the same time.



Cut out and some grinding done.




Gluing it all together.









This photo you can see three holes on the back wall of the box. I had intended on cutting heads off some bolts and welding them in these holes, then grinding smooth so the battery doesn't rub against them.




Here h can see an additional 4 bolts in the top side. I don't think I'll add the 3 in the side of the box as these 4 feel substantial. We'll see though. I'm able to stand on the box with the battery in place and it's pretty solid. Only thing I could think of is the 3 through the side will help keep the box from bouncing up over rough roads. And country living has its fair share of rough roads!
Thoughts?


Welded some wind nuts to some all thread, welded long nuts to the sides of the box and secured it all with 1.5x1.5" angle iron. Seems solid.
And of course, batter cables attached

[jmlcolorado]

I was going to hang the battery from the drivers side, but when I got looking at it, that's the side the fuel filler neck is located. And I wasn't comfortable with the battery being inches away from fuel. I like big bangs most of the time, but in this case, I'll avoid it.

Only problem is I put the battery where I was hoping to stub the exhaust out. Oh well. I'll find somewhere else for the exhaust to exit.



I'm at a point now that I needed to pull the bed and cab to finish all everything up under the truck.
Need to run hard fuel/return lines, rear brake line, air lines for everything, driveshaft. Blah blah blah.





Went to my drive shaft guy today to get pricing on a shaft.
He reccomended I upgrade the u-joints from 1350's to 1350's due to the torque of the engine. I advised I hope to eventually upgrade to compound turbos and more fuel, so I want enough shaft to accommodate the extra power.


I believe this rear end is a 12 bolt GM.
Any pointers on replacing the yoke?
I understand there is a crush sleeve and it needs to be tightened to the proper bearing preload. Only problem is I think to be able to measure preload properly, I have to gut the rear end so I'm spinning just the pinion gear.

I've heard guys who have marked the exact location of the pinion nut, removing, pulling and reinstalling new yoke, then tightening back to that exact same location.
Anyone have headache against this method?

[jmlcolorado]

Got some exhaust done tonight.










Ever have one of those moments where you almost bought a tool, then decided not to cause......when are you going to use it?

Yeah, verticle metal band saw for me. Woulda made those few cuts much easier.




I was going to go outside the frame immediately off the turbo elbow, but noticed I had room between the frame. Figured I might as well utilize that dead space from the frame zee.
I think I like it.

[jmlcolorado]

New pinion with 1350 series u-joints installed (hopefully it's right), Driveshaft is ordered, last of the air ride showed up, hard fuel line here.

I'm running out of stuff I can buy. I'll need to actually do more work on this thing soon

I needed to rebuild the trans crossmember so I stopped by the scrap yard and found a nice piece of steel that will work perfectly. I'll get that installed tonight and lock in pinion angle.
I'd like to start running brake and fuel lines once that's installed. I e been waiting to run those so I could make pass throughs on the trans crossmember so they can go across the inside of the frame rails.
Also, bending aluminum tubing. Boo! I got some spring benders and a different bender today to see how those work with the aluminum line.
The one I had, the aluminum didn't like very much.

[jmlcolorado]

Also, I stumbled across this video
http://youtu.be/M8sWBqgP1PI

Sooooooo. I have the documents filled out and will be sending the money and documents today. We'll see what happens. This would be a monumental hurdle that has been holding me back for a dang long time. I feel like if I have plates for the truck, maybe I wouldn't have procrastinated as long as I have on it.
Lesson learned. Don't touch the vehicle until you are registered.

New arrivals:
Remaining air ride components. Level sensors, wiring, computer.


Fancy controller


New 1350 u-joint yolk


3/8" fuel line


Braided fuel hose, AN fitting for fuel line, misc grommet supply, some 1/2" NPT weld in bungs for the air tank. I need to do some adjusting on location of the ports as I can install any fitting on it because the ports lay on the ground when aired out. 1st world problems.


Full manual kit for the 47re


Got a phone call this morning from the guy building the shifter. He said he's wrapping it up and should be in snail mail today [cl[cl

[jmlcolorado]

Made some progress today.
When I took the cab off, I realized I never changed out the transmission crossmember. And output shaft angle was WAY off. So time to build a new crossmember.
Sectioning to gain proper driveshaft angles.










Bending up the fuel supply and return lines.
This SUCKED. These are now installed too.



Mounted the air suspension valve manifold and computer.


Started rough routing wires.


For such a simple vehicle, wiring is sure abundant. Good thing this isn't a newer truck. I can't imagine all the wires in the new cars these days.


With the air suspension wiring, I have a handful of wires that need to end up in the cab. I REALLY didn't want to just stub them throu with a grommet in case I needed to remove the cab later. I almost ordered a separate bulkhead so I could accommodate all the extra wires outside of the painless wiring kit. Then I got to reading the painless wiring instruction and it has 20 extra terminals for extra wiring [cl[cl
Gotta give it to the painless wiring folks, well done.

[jmlcolorado]

]I spent the day cleaning shop and once it was clean, it felt too weird, so had to make a mess to feel better about myself.
Decided to give mounting the ride height sensors a try.

I have to redo the rear c-notch because I moved the trailing arm crossmember forward an inch to center the rear wheels in the wheel wells. Of course, I notched the frame before I did this, so now the axle hits the front of the notch. Which keels the rear from dropping the last 1/2" or so.
I ordered a heavy duty notch kit since I liked that it adds much needed reinforcement. It's made of 3/8 plate and is supposed to match the contoures of the frame.
I'm waiting for that to arrive, so I'm not messing with the rear sensors.

In order to cycle the suspension through its full travel, I need 180 psi of air.
Shop compressor doesn't go that high, so the next best thing is the actuall tank and compressors on the truck.
So I rigged up the two compressors to the tank, installed a gauge and waited to see what happens.

Success!
http://youtu.be/sb9ugpoUpqY

It's quite slow in the rear when airing out. That will speed up once I add the weight of the body. The front is quick. Almost too quick. I might add some speed controls to the fronts if I can to slow it down a bit.
Raising is pretty on both front and rear.

Compressors pump to 200 psi. I think they'll go higher, but I'm too afraid to try.
I'm using DOT 3/8" air brake line. The connections are simply 1/2" NPT to 3/8" push connects. Now that I realize how much does sure this is, I don't trust the push connects very much. I know a lot of air guys run them, but I can't afford to loose a corner at speed. So I ordered 3/8" air brake compression fittings. Kinda pricey at $8 a piece, but it's worth peace of mind.

Front sensors installed.


It took a little finagling. These require no greater than 2.75" travel, so it took a little moving, marking, measuring, repeat to get then just right.

Once the rear sensors are mounted, I'll program all the heights for the system.

[jmlcolorado]

Got the heavy duty c-notches today. I opted for the heavy towing versions since I plan to haul motorcycles and buiodijg materials in the truck. I hope to actually use it as a truck. I won't ever hook a hitch to it.

These things are seriously built!
Look at the root weld on the right one.







Now, with these how they mount, I have to modify the bottoms to accommodate the 1/2" npt to 3/8" 90* fitting. That was a giant PITA before. Because it's a 90, you can't get a socket on to tighten it up, and it's surrounded on 2 sides. Plus recessed into the factory spring crossmember and the head on the fittings are only a quarter inch thick. Now I'm adding 3/8" to that. The fittings will be buried.
Suppose I'll have to install the fitting in the bag first, then install the bag.

I think that's the only way to do it.
Nice thing is these have bump stops built in with the exact design I was thinking of. One less thing for me to do. [cl
Once these are installed (hopefully tomorrow night) I think I'll be able to get the rear ride sensors installed, then ride heights programmed.

[jmlcolorado]

I know the UPS guy personally now. Literally. Helping him build his shop


Delivered a Painless Wiring chassis loom kit. I tried to find a decent amount of loom locally but no luck.
I REALY wish there was a good source locally for hot rod parts. AN fittings, quality loom, real brake line frame mounts, stuff like that.
The "performance" section of the auto parts stores ain't cutting it.

Also ordered a large collection of different size hose mounts to mount brake lines, air lines and wiring.

Ordered a Classic Performance Parts long adjustable trac bar.
The main reason I opted for the C10 chassis is vast availability of aftermarket performance parts for these trucks.
You could get a whole full tubular pro touring chassis and suspension setup if you really wanted to.
This leave it wide open for me to upgrade parts and handling of the truck as I go.

[jmlcolorado]

Well the goal tonight WAS to install both c-notches. Figured they were easy. I already had half the fram cut out. Just cut the rest and bolt it up.
Riiiight.

Remember I moved the rear ended forward 1 1/2"?
Well that threw off the shape of the c-notch match I g the frame.
I out it back to factory, but the axle was too far back in the new notch once it was in the right place. For I ended up having to I've it all forward 3/4". Split the difference. Nobody is going to see the axle is 3/4" off center from the wheel well except me.

This isn't exactly an easy task because the crossmember is wedged I side the c frame so it's very hard to transfer the holes and drill square.
Plus drilling the two holes u Dee the frame is a PITA cause your pulling the drill up vs pushing.
Got the crossmember moved and bolted up, then finished bolting up the drivers c-notch. I still have to drill a very large hole for the air fitting on top of the bag. I'll probably just plasma cut that out. I remember trying to drill that one before. Three hours of no fun.


Old, not so good c-notch


New, more better c-notch.






So the question now is, should I stitch weld this thing in place too?
There are a total of 8 grade 8 bolts Nolting it together, but there is also a lot of opportunity to weld it up too.

[jmlcolorado]

I refused to drill all these holes from above the frame.
Easiest way to drill.
I'd rather lay on my back and push up anyways.

T's nice working on it up this high. Almost want to wire the chassis while its way up here so I can just stand up to run it all and wrap in loom then secure

[jmlcolorado]

Got the other c-notch installed. What a pain! Mostly due to the air bag provisions.
Clearance is tight, but that's what I expected.
Drivers side




Clearance at the diff to shock crossmember is tight too


Passanger side.




Also got the rear ride height sensors installed.



Let the computer roll through calibration. It goes through a number of steps of suspension at different heights and calculates full entension, full drop and ride height automatically.

To my surprise, it out both the front and back at exactly the ride height I was shooting for. I suppose that means I installed everything right, including spring perches.

Here's a quick video showing how the system works


https://youtu.be/DJUs93AssZU

[jmlcolorado]

Alright folks. There it is. This catches you up to basiclly today.
I do have a 32 ford radiator and intercooler ordered. I'm kind of working my way from back to front and trying to knock out things as I go.
Wiring has started. I'm running all the bare wires to their respective locations, then I will go back and wire loom everything. I think that's the best way to do it.

I'm working on the transmission manual kit tomorrow night. Driveshaft should be done today. Getting close to needing the cab back on to start to tie in all the systems to the cab. Should hopefully have a "1st drive" video soon. It won't be a real drive, mor like drive out of the garage and around the yard, but that will be monumental.
I'll post current updates as I make them from now on so you don't have to wait 3 more years to see progress

[jmlcolorado]

Picked up my Go Stick!!!
Had it built to support 500 HP using 1 ton u-joints.
Should hold up just fine

Eventually, I'm going to experiment with compound turbos and heavy fueling on this truck. My buddy built up his 07 Dodge mega cab with compounds, programming, and injectors. He had a stupid expensive built trans to hold all the power. My goal is to match him HP to weight ratio. We're guessing he's at about 600 hp now, with capabilities to hit 750ish. I figure I need to be at 350-400hp to match him. Should be fun.

[ERASER5]

Dang! I hope a lot of that was copy/paste! I didn't mean to wear your fingers out!

[jmlcolorado]

Originally Posted by ERASER5

Dang! I hope a lot of that was copy/paste! I didn't mean to wear your fingers out!

Yes, that was indeed a lot of copy paste!
I was on my iPad though, so it was just a lot of tappy tapitty tap tap

Copy and past will explain why the verbiage might not make sense in areas.

[ERASER5]

That loose nut behind the wheel will fit perfectly in 12 to 14 years from now. You are building that "for her" right?