Lattimer's 1970 C-10 build

[Lattimer]

All of the new front brakes are together. Works good, no more pulsing squeal. All new SS lines in the front. Still have to go back and do the rear, and decided in the middle I'm going to replace the master while I'm at it. That way EVERYTHING is new.


After adjusting the valves twice the engine misses. Replaced plug wires since I figured I damaged one doing the intake swap. No such luck. Investigated it more yesterday with a buddy. Turns out I'm a gorilla and I way overtightened one valve. It was hanging open and had zero compression on one cylinder.

Got that squared away, took it for a spin today. Almost home, it starts missing and popping like crazy. One of my new plug wires landed on the header and burned through. FML.

Just ordered the third set of plug wires since I bought the truck on 12/31/12. This is getting old.

[Lattimer]

Put one of my old plug wires on to make the truck run for now.

Tried to troubleshoot my new AC system. Found that the microswitch under the dash wasn't making because I had a cable routed wrong. Fixed that, then found the pressure switch wasn't making. Broke down and bought a set of AC gauges at Harbor Freight. Hooked them up, had zero pressure!!!

Figured that couldn't be right, so I took them off and tried pressing the high side schrader valve with a screwdriver. Gauges were right, no pressure.

Took it back to the shop today. They put it back under vacuum and checked everything out, but can't find a leak. They put dye in it last time, but no signs of dye anywhere under the light. Charged it back up and now it works. No clue where the freon went. Good shop though, they recharged it for free. AC works great now.

Discovered I will need an idle kick up solenoid, so I ordered one of those just now. Demon makes a nice simple one that fits right on their carb, cheapest price was right from Demon with free shipping.

[Lattimer]

Installed the idle kick up solenoid. Poorly advertised. It does not have enough power to actually kick up the idle. It will hold the idle up, but not kick it up. Phone call to Demon tech support verified this. Since my AC compressor cycles on and off, this won't quite work the way I had imagined.

So, I installed it anyways but wired it up to a toggle switch in the interior. Had a hole in the bottom of the dash already that fit the switch perfect. So now I just have to hit that switch and tap the gas before turning on the AC, and the solenoid will hold the idle high enough for everything to work. Not perfect, but it works.

Also had to install a higher output alternator. The old one was a 1-wire internally regulated unit, but it just didn't have enough output for both fans, the radio, and the AC blower at once. Voltage was dropping to 12.2 with everything running. I bought a new 1-wire unit from Jegs (Jegs house brand label) that is rated at 105 amps. Seems to work very well and comes on sooner and easier than the old 1-wire.

Also recently got a small console that straps to the bench seat. Fits OK and has cup holders and a little area to stash my sunglasses. Not beautiful, but functional.

[Lattimer]

Just made a huge mistake and added up everything I have spent on the truck. Looks like about $18,500 total in the last 5 months. Still have at least $5000 in paint and body to spend.

Labor of love I guess....

[c10Dream'n]

Oh man that hurts, but I don't think you can put a price tag on the things we love and do. The funny thing is I did the same thing by adding up my lunch receipts for the week a couple days back, and said to myself I need to stop eating out so I can use that money for truck parts..

Originally Posted by Lattimer

Just made a huge mistake and added up everything I have spent on the truck. Looks like about $18,500 total in the last 5 months. Still have at least $5000 in paint and body to spend.

Labor of love I guess....

[Lattimer]

Good test today. Drove the truck in about 95 degree weather, AC on, for maybe 40 miles. Had a good 10 minutes in line at a busy traffic light. Temp never got past 200. Dual electric fans both come on with the AC, and it seems to work great.

[Lattimer]

Well, so much for good news. Drove the truck a total of about 10 miles yesterday and it started skipping, bucking, and backfiring. One cylinder is not firing. Getting fed up with this engine. Looks like either a valve or cam issue. Not too interested in diagnosing it right now.

Luckily I bought a decent engine 2 weekends ago. Tore into it this weekend and it looks pretty good. Got a pile of goodies on order and gonna get it rebuilt and shoved into the truck.

[wayno]

Glad to see my truck isn't the only one bleeding cash - look like that guy on tv with all the dollar bills flying off him as he drives away on the bike. Hopefully your near the end of all your engine issues - mine's in too many pieces right now to know what I'm dealing with on that end of things. Good luck with the build.

[Lattimer]

Originally Posted by wayno

Glad to see my truck isn't the only one bleeding cash - look like that guy on tv with all the dollar bills flying off him as he drives away on the bike. Hopefully your near the end of all your engine issues - mine's in too many pieces right now to know what I'm dealing with on that end of things. Good luck with the build.

Thats exactly how it feels.

[derrickmanx1]

If your building them to save money we've all picked the wrong trucks to do that with. I wouldn't trade building it for buying it though. What else was we going to with our money feed and cloth our family's???
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[Lattimer]

Originally Posted by derrickmanx1

If your building them to save money we've all picked the wrong trucks to do that with. I wouldn't trade building it for buying it though. What else was we going to with our money feed and cloth our family's???
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Very true. It was just a severe surprise how much I had spent in so short a time.

Just broke $20k over the weekend with engine parts for the new 327 build.

[Lattimer]

Just ordered some new ceramic coated headers to replace my rusty ugly junky ones when I do the engine swap. Ordered a new fuel pump while I was at it, its one of the only parts I haven't changed on the truck yet. Hope to get the engine build going this weekend.

[Lattimer]

Not much progress lately. Got the truck running well enough to drive, so I've been cruising a little. Started putting the new engine together today. Got the cam bearings and main bearings in, and the crank installed.

Plan is a 1968 327, .030" over, Flat top forged pistons, double hump 291 heads. Gonna swap my intake and carb onto it, and drop it in once its ready. Should give the old truck some hustle.

[Lattimer]

Home from work today due to a medical procedure on my wrist. Raining like crazy, and I have basically one hand to work with. So I did a few little things.

Painted my pedals so I don't see any rust.


New air cleaner lid. Has 327 stamped into it and I put on a Turbo-Fire decal. The 350 HP part is a big fat lie until I get the new engine in.



New remote starter solenoid kit. Hopefully this will take care of my heat soak issues.

[Bennett68C10]

Nice meeting you today Shawn, hope the rear sway bar works good for you. It should help it handle like its on rails Truck looks great too. Good luck on the motor build.
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[Lattimer]

Originally Posted by Bennett--G4L

Nice meeting you today Shawn, hope the rear sway bar works good for you. It should help it handle like its on rails Truck looks great too. Good luck on the motor build.
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Thanks. I have it mocked in place already, just have to finish drilling some holes.

great to meet you too.

[Bennett68C10]

Originally Posted by Lattimer

Thanks. I have it mocked in place already, just have to finish drilling some holes.

great to meet you too.

Wow you don't mess around. I had to stop working on it at 3:00, it was just to damn hot in the garage.
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[Lattimer]

Originally Posted by Bennett--G4L

Wow you don't mess around. I had to stop working on it at 3:00, it was just to damn hot in the garage.
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I needed something to do. Plus my garage has AC and a ceiling fan.

I finished the install around 11 tonight. Had to fabricate a short drill bit to get into position on the trailing arms. I really didn't want to pull them out.

Drilling took forever, and I had to modify the bushing mounts a little to fit the trailing arms where I wanted them. Little angle iron and the trusty MIG took care of it.

I'll test it out tomorrow and take some pics.

[PanelDeland]

I don't get over here to look at threads often but this one is great.You've made a lot of progress within a short time.Building an engine for it just seems right since everything else you've done is.It's already a sharp looking ride and should be a show stopper after paint.

[Lattimer]

Originally Posted by PanelDeland

I don't get over here to look at threads often but this one is great.You've made a lot of progress within a short time.Building an engine for it just seems right since everything else you've done is.It's already a sharp looking ride and should be a show stopper after paint.

Thanks!!! I hope it turns out nice. I still have a ton of stuff to do. I'm better at the bigger jobs, the little detail stuff annoys me.

[Lattimer]

Long weekend, so I dug into a few things that I have been meaning to do. First, one of my home grown spring repairs in my newly upholstered seat failed and punched through the vinyl. Not a happy thing. So I had ordered a new cover from TruckSeats and sourced some springs from the classifieds. Here is the new and improved seat.










While I had the seat out, I dressed up around my shifter. The hole in the floor wound up slightly larger than the boot I bought, and I mangled some of the carpet near it. Solution: cover it with diamond plate.





Also sourced a new Hotchkis rearsway bar meant for a Camaro from a board member near me in NJ. Got that on there last night. Fit pretty good with minor modifications and really helped the handling. My short test drive showed much quicker turn in and almost zero body roll. I already have an OE front sway bar with poly bushings, but I think I will upgrade to a larger bar in the future.

[Lattimer]

Also-----on my test drive, I ran a few errands. Started the truck in the parking lot of the pool store and noticed the temp gauge at 240. Not cool. Discovered both electric fans inoperable. Both fuses were blown and melted. Absolutely no clue why. No evidence of a short anywhere. I temp wired them without fuses to get home, and both fans run perfect with no issues. The fuse and relay harness was a kit from Jegs that I bought with my fans. Now I have more wiring to do.

[Lattimer]

Just want to add a shout out to some of the forum peeps whop have helped me out with stuff:

Bennett--G4L
rustyrexiusrodz
70shortfleet
Truckseats
MidLifer
BLK65K10
humco
Darren MagooGardner
jhwkns
Mister-B
1970 C10 MJW

These folks either sold me what I needed, or provided help, inspiration, or guidance from direct helping or some of their very detailed threads.

[Bennett68C10]

Seat looks great Shawn, I love that black/white houndstooth. Happy to hear the sway bar worked out good for you, nice job on the install.
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[Lattimer]

Originally Posted by Bennett--G4L

Seat looks great Shawn, I love that black/white houndstooth. Happy to hear the sway bar worked out good for you, nice job on the install.
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Thanks. End links are at a bit more of an angle than they should be, but I had to tilt the bar that far to get clearance on the driveshaft. If I was stock height, or if I was lowered more it would fit better. I seem to have hit the middle....