Over 25 Years Later, Finally My 71 C-10 Truck Build

[Low Elco]

Upholstery looks great!
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[hgs_notes]

Originally Posted by WIDESIDE72

Beautiful truck! I love the color. I have a 70 longhorn thats medium green. It will be a short step soon like the one in the first of this thread that you saw at the body shop. Just curious how you got the collector ring back on over the O2 bung!
Posted via Mobile Device

Didn't really think about it, but I guess I'm lucky it fit over it.

Originally Posted by mcbassin

Awesome work on the door panels. They turned out great!

Thanks. My little contribution to the interior.

Originally Posted by Low Elco

Upholstery looks great!
Posted via Mobile Device

Thanks. The seat is done, but due to scheduling problems between her and my work, etc. I can't pick it up until tomorrow evening. Will have to wait until next week for the visors, arm rests and dash pad. At least I'll be able to drive it to the show/swap meet sunday though.

I was thinking about hooking up the heater hoses so I would be able to have some heat since the mornings are getting chilly now. Looking it over I need to find another spot on the manifold for the temp sensor for the EFI, because it's in the only good spot to tap in for the heater. There is another plug on the other side of the manifold, but the sensor is kinda tall and I think it will push up into the top radiator hose. Or I would have to move the sensor to the driver side cylinder head, which I really don't want to do. I don't want a plumbers pipe Tee sitting off the front of my intake.

Anyone have an idea that is simple, effective, and looks good?

[hgs_notes]

I don't have all the upholstery done yet, but I got the seat today. I'm taking the truck to a show/swap meet in St Peter tomorrow. The dash pad, arm rests and visors will get done next week. I put the armrests on for the weekend though.

There was one problem I had with the driver side door panel mounting. During the body work phase, the little pressed in nut for the bottom front door panel screw fell out. I figured I would fix it later, but then found out that there is a little steel plate that blocks access to that nut. So you have to fix it while the door skin is off.

So I'm scratching my head trying to figure out a way to get a screw to work in that hole. Sometimes I'm as slow as molasses in January, but eventually I realized my new tool for riv-nuts might work. The screw is a 1/4-20 and I bought some of those for the riv-nut tool last month. All I had to do was drill the square hole out a bit and I had it fixed. I love that tool.


Here you can see the difference in color between the old door panels and the new stuff. I actually would have been happy with that color of vinyl also. The new vinyl is almost a perfect match to my paint.


What an original seat in 69 would have looked like...


Mine...





Here the arm rest is down and you can see the (wrong) scroll was used on the back side. It was free because it was the wrong embossing so I figured a way to use it.



I also swapped out the tach for the used one I bought at a swap meet.

[Palf70Step]

Wow! Those came out great! Looks like the inside of a caddy!

[hgs_notes]

I got the arm rests and dash pad back today, but then turned around and pulled the bottom seat cushions off to have some changes made. Nothing major, just getting rid of the blue carpet backing on the underside in favor of the black.

Here are the arm rests...




The dash pad. Not thrilled with it. The seam is kind wavering along. Might have to talk to her about that.

[hgs_notes]

Got the visors today. The last part of the interior. I will install tomorrow and post some pics. At that point I can consider this project completed. Anything else I do to it will just be extra. This was the vision I had for it and it ended up exceeding my expectations.

[Low Elco]

Whole thing looks great so far!

[hgs_notes]

Originally Posted by Low Elco

Whole thing looks great so far!

Thanks man. It feels kinda weird this morning though. I got the visors in. And instead of feeling elated, I'm more melancholy. There are more things I can do to it over time, tweaks to be made, maintenance and upgrades to come, and I have the Jimmy project yet. But it's definitely like letting go of a long time companion. Not letting go of the truck obviously, but that thing in my head that was always there. The idea of the truck as a project, as an unfinished idea that was always there for me to think about, to tinker with. I have had this as my project/driver/yard ornament/beater since 1983, and in my life since I was in kindergarten.

And now it's done. The vision complete. The truck I always wanted and even better than I imagined it would be. It's a comfy cruiser with the custom interior, rocking stereo, soft shocks and coil sprung suspension. It's been super reliable with the EFI, simple upgrades and add-ons. It's fast and loud enough to make me smile and get attention. It's pretty enough and cool enough to turn heads everywhere. Even though I never built it to be a "show" truck, it's better than half the cars I've seen in shows. Maybe more than half.

I love to drive it and I'm looking forward to the next road trip.

Couple more interior pics...

[EZ SPEED]

Looks Awesome !! Congrats on the Project Completion

[Palf70Step]

Looks G R E A T!

[Bean Counter]

I've gone through both this build thread and the Junkyard Jimmy's and am BEYOND amazed and impressed at what you've done. Guys like you and Bomp inspire me - and obviously hoards of others - to try things outside our comfort zones and, best of all, get some work done on our projects!

Seriously, thanks for sharing both these projects. Absolutely incredible work that you should be extremely proud of.

David

[Bomp]

Great job on putting the last piece of the puzzle into place.
You mentioned "And instead of feeling elated, I'm more melancholy". I hear ya. Experienced that myself.

That feeling you get when a project comes to an end or other things in life, "a new chapter" I like to call it. Graduating and moving out, leaving an old job starting a new, moving from one point in life to the next.
Sometimes the build up "anticipation" is bigger than the end result or it truly is great but you can't seem to get all that excited. Call it what you want, it happens from time to time.

Just my .02 but I believe this is a new chapter of you and your truck,
Let your accomplishment sink in.
Drive it, show it off, haul someone special out to breakfast and enjoy the truck.
This is the beginning of the next chapter. "How I enjoy the fruits of my labor" or something like that. "Built it and enjoy it".
This is a chapter I hope to be able to accomplish one day.

Congratulations on completing "the build" chapter, anticipating what you have next.

[hgs_notes]

Originally Posted by EZ SPEED

Looks Awesome !! Congrats on the Project Completion

Thank you. Seems a rare thing to see something actually get finished. Unless your Dino of course. Then they get done like a baker making donuts.

Originally Posted by Palf70Step

Looks G R E A T!

Thanks man.

Originally Posted by Bean Counter

I've gone through both this build thread and the Junkyard Jimmy's and am BEYOND amazed and impressed at what you've done. Guys like you and Bomp inspire me - and obviously hoards of others - to try things outside our comfort zones and, best of all, get some work done on our projects!

Seriously, thanks for sharing both these projects. Absolutely incredible work that you should be extremely proud of.

David

Thanks! These projects are the definition of persistence. I have fun with them, except for sanding of course.

Originally Posted by Bomp

Great job on putting the last piece of the puzzle into place.
You mentioned "And instead of feeling elated, I'm more melancholy". I hear ya. Experienced that myself.

That feeling you get when a project comes to an end or other things in life, "a new chapter" I like to call it. Graduating and moving out, leaving an old job starting a new, moving from one point in life to the next.
Sometimes the build up "anticipation" is bigger than the end result or it truly is great but you can't seem to get all that excited. Call it what you want, it happens from time to time.

Just my .02 but I believe this is a new chapter of you and your truck,
Let your accomplishment sink in.
Drive it, show it off, haul someone special out to breakfast and enjoy the truck.
This is the beginning of the next chapter. "How I enjoy the fruits of my labor" or something like that. "Built it and enjoy it".
This is a chapter I hope to be able to accomplish one day.

Congratulations on completing "the build" chapter, anticipating what you have next.

Word.

[Low Elco]

Kinda like Inigo Montoya, once you Avenge your father, You're out of the revenge business! You'd make a great Dread Pirate Roberts!

-Enjoy bombing around and frying the tires in it!

[hgs_notes]

Originally Posted by Low Elco

Kinda like Inigo Montoya, once you Avenge your father, You're out of the revenge business! You'd make a great Dread Pirate Roberts!

-Enjoy bombing around and frying the tires in it!

Ha! My oldest girl loves that movie.

Princess Bride - My Name Is... - YouTube

[hgs_notes]

I've been working on an upgrade to my stereo system. What I have was tossed together to make noise and give me the base of a system. A little review cuz it's been awhile...

Head unit is a JVC KD-X200 basic inexpensive media player, no CD or cassette.
http://www.crutchfield.com/S-jI1w2Zi...C-KD-X200.html

Speakers were a pair of Infinity Reference 6x9's and a pair of Audiobahn 8" woofers. I installed the 8" speakers in a pair of old MTX boxes I had with blown speakers in them. The 6x9's are in steel brackets mounted into the cab corners. With a little playing with the EQ settings on the head unit I was able to make it sound almost good.
http://www.techronics.com/caraudio_1...Subwoofer.html
Amazon.com: Infinity Reference 9633cf 6 x 9-Inch...

I need better than "almost good". So I have been consulting with others on the board here, mostly with nuke1, and as a result I bought an amp. Before I get too far I will qualify my "upgrade" as a budget oriented quest for "better than good". I also want to keep the system mostly hidden. More on that in a bit. Anyway, I bought an amp. I liked the JVC head unit and found a good deal on a 5 channel 1000w amp from JVC to go with it.
http://www.walmart.com/ip/JVC-Mobile...utput/24905282

And an install kit for it...
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Pyle-PLAM4...n-Kit/21607394

And after spending countless hours (ok, maybe 4-5) looking at dash speaker options I went with another set of infinity reference speakers, 4" coaxials, that I'll mount in the dash where the original speaker was at.
Amazon.com: Infinity Reference 4022i 4-Inch...
And tonight I ordered some 8 gauge speaker wire off ebay.

Today I worked on getting the amp wired up. I ran 4 gauge from the battery and mounted the 60 amp fuse onto the rad support in front of the battery.


That runs through the fender and under the cab along the fore to aft support rail, then up through the floor and behind the seat.



The ground wire just goes from the amp to behind the seat and bolts down onto one of those gas tank mount holes. I think I'm going to double check what I have for a ground strap from the cab to frame and add one if I need it.

The wiring from the head unit to the amp was pretty simple, just speaker outputs to a plug that fits the amp, and a RCA wire from the sub output to the sub input of the amp. Only other wire is the remote power on from the head unit, which is basically like a relay set up in the amp. So that part is about done, other than looming the wires up, etc.


As for the 8" speakers, I'm building them into a subwoofer. I pulled the old wiring out of the boxes. There were tweeters mounted on the top of each box and I pulled them out too. That basically created an air port for each box. Then I screwed the 2 boxes together end to end and drilled a hole through there to run wires. Once my new 8 gauge wire shows up I will fill the boxes with fiber fill pillow stuffing, wire them up and screw the speakers back down. I could have built a new box, but I like to recycle parts when I can and these fit the space perfectly.


I will have to make a mounting plate for the 4" speakers when they get here and run some wires for those. The amp has a lot of adjustability with each channel and creating a subwoofer to go with the 6x9's and 4" infinity speakers should give me a more balanced sound. I may add a pair of kick panel speakers later, especially if I feel the need for them once this is up and running. They would be the only part of the system that would be easy to see.

When I first got the truck painted I had planned on getting an aftermarket head unit that fits in the dash and has the aux input and usb on it. But I had the shop paint up the radio delete plate anyway cuz I didn't have anything to install at the time. I put the plate in and I like the look of it. I went without a radio for almost 2 years. Then the St Louis road trip came up and I threw a system together. When I found the seat I decided to stick with I thought the radio mount under the front of it was perfect. Easy access to the wiring, out of site, but the remote works fine and I can plug my mp3 player into it without a wire going to the dash. The speakers are hidden in the rear corners, which kills the sound quality btw, but its a convenient location. A sub behind the seat? Obvious choice if the gas tank is gone. The dash speakers will reflect off the windshield and from what I have heard from several people, the sound is good like that. If kick panel speakers are needed, then I'll do it.

I'm not an audiophile, that should be obvious based on my budget stereo so far. I just like to crank my metal up.

[hgs_notes]

This weekend I got my new dash speakers so I made a mount and got them installed. Nothing fancy. I just used a scrap piece of laminate flooring and cut holes in it and screwed the speakers down. Then found a bracket under my workbench that I bent and cut to fit my needs. I added a couple holes for better stability.

I had some foam tape weather stripping and used it to make a cushion since the little tweeter sticks up a bit from the rest of the speaker. It should help protect the speaker if I take a hard bump that wants to bounce the speaker at the dash. I also figured it would help direct the sound upward and minimize the reflected sound from under the dash since it's almost an inch from the dash grill.

Hardest part of the whole job was finding a bit that I could reach through the dash with to get starter holes in for the bracket to mount to. I ended up using a wood bit, which is longer by far than your standard steel bits. I just got the tip through and then let the screws do the rest when I installed it.




Still don't have the wire for the sub woofer. But I did try out the stereo and amp with the 4 infinity speakers. Everything works as it should but the sound is really missing the bass without those 8"ers hooked up. It is much cleaner sounding though with the mids and highs. I'm just glad everything powers up properly and is functional. Can't wait to get that sub hooked up and tune it and see what kind of sound I end up with.

[mcbassin]

Your interior looks great! I like the riv-nut idea. I need to own one of those tools/kits.
Looks like you will have some killer audio in your ride too. You sure have taken this ole truck a long long ways. Rock on

[Low Elco]

Glad its workin' out for ya.

[hgs_notes]

Originally Posted by mcbassin

Your interior looks great! I like the riv-nut idea. I need to own one of those tools/kits.
Looks like you will have some killer audio in your ride too. You sure have taken this ole truck a long long ways. Rock on

Thank you, the rivnut is awesome and really wasn't that expensive. I got mine at Menards.

Originally Posted by Low Elco

Glad its workin' out for ya.

Me too, but it didn't come without some difficulties.

Earlier this week I got the 8 gauge wire for the sub. It's a bit overkill, but wth, no biggie. So I wire up the sub, and the stereo is kicking, but something doesn't sound right. The lows are buzzing. I pull the seats forward and one sub is banging hard, too hard, and the other is barely trembling. Uh oh.

So I shut it down and think about it. The 8"ers have dual voice coils and there is a set of terminals for each coil on each speaker. But from what I was reading it sounded like wiring to both was optional and wiring into one side would feed the other and blabbity blah I had it wrong. I knew I needed them wired in parallel but I cant do 4 voice coils (4 ohm) wired all in parallel cause that would make 1 ohm to the amp and probably overload it.

I stopped at a Best Buy today and talked to the installer guy about it. He said I would have to wire them in parallel/series. Now I just needed to figure that out. I had an idea, it turned out to be close but wrong. Below is how it's wired in the sub woofer box now.

IT SOUNDS AWESOME!!!! The best sounding car stereo I have ever had. I sat in there for an hour just trying different songs, finding the ones with the heavy bass and drums. If you're familiar with Chevelle (the band) you know how heavy and bass loaded their music is. The whole truck is just BOOMING!
And none of it is easily seen. Sleeper stereo.

Rock on everyone...

Chevelle - Family System - YouTube

[Low Elco]

Glad it all worked out!

[hgs_notes]

Originally Posted by Low Elco

Glad it all worked out!

Me too. \m/ \m/

Last year the truck got hit by a baseball that put a ding in the bedside. I lived with it but had talked to the local paintless dent guy about it. He looked it over and said he should be able to fix it. I verified through my vast pictoral history that there wasn't any filler in that area so I didn't have to worry about cracks or the filler popping out. It took him a while to get the time, but finally yesterday he showed up and fixed it.

He had to twist hard to get it out. He kept grumbling about the hard steel. He said he normally turns these jobs down on the older cars cuz it's so hard to get the steel to move. This one was in a tough spot and the curve in the steel makes it that much stiffer.

Here's a couple pics where I tried to get a good shot of the ding. It was about the size of a 50 cent piece and very obvious, but didn't photograph well. About a foot or so back from the front edge of the bed and right in the middle of the rolled curve or hip.



And after. With light reflecting off of it I can see where the dent was but no longer a dent. I think the evidence of it will rub out when I wax it next.

[Dieselwrencher]

Your interior is awesome and that sound system is cool too! I bet it sounds bad azz! The dent repair looks really good too. Congrats now spend that time enjoying this truck and making the suspension mod list for the Jimmy!

[flipster23]

The truck looks amazing, I have read all 47 pages but I will try too once I get some down time.

[hgs_notes]

Originally Posted by Dieselwrencher

Your interior is awesome and that sound system is cool too! I bet it sounds bad azz! The dent repair looks really good too. Congrats now spend that time enjoying this truck and making the suspension mod list for the Jimmy!

You must be just catching up! Thanks man. I drive it every chance I get.

Originally Posted by flipster23

The truck looks amazing, I have read all 47 pages but I will try too once I get some down time.

Thank you! I'm guessing you meant 'haven't read'. Take your time. There's tons of BS, changes in plans, gripes, moans, and pics of what seems to be the same things over and over. In other words, typical project thread.

Enjoy!

Happy Halloween!