69 C10 swb stepside project 45 ACP

[fakerwade]

Hey 68TT, Don't beat yourself up,,, sounds like you hit a little bad luck,,that's all. Bout the time you get going again it will snow 3 feet then temp will drop below zero for a month and a half. Spokane weather ya know?!!

[68 TT]

Originally Posted by fakerwade

Hey 68TT, Don't beat yourself up,,, sounds like you hit a little bad luck,,that's all. Bout the time you get going again it will snow 3 feet then temp will drop below zero for a month and a half. Spokane weather ya know?!!

No kidding. Not a bit of snow on the ground but by this time next week I could be buried in it.

Just can't seem to get moving on anything project wise after starting this mid shift job. Having the primary tools I use the most die kind of knocked the wind out of my sails too. Almost there though. Got the welder working and got the new compressor mounted to a new pad.

Have to rewire for the new compressor to work though so that sucks. A single breaker for the stupid off brand service panel in my house is $70! I'm not going to pay it. I am doing a service change to the house instead and updating the panel to something that is reliable and breakers are reasonable in price. The whole new service panel cost just about what one breaker for the old panel cost.

[68 TT]

I am planning on running some kind or rear mounted fuel tank on the stepside so I have been thinking about where to put the gas cap & fuel fill door.

I had planned on using the round door off of an 88-98 Chevy truck on my fleetside 4x4 so I pulled that piece out and what do you know the curves match the stepside fender perfectly.

The only down side is the best place to put it is right over the side marker light that I wanted to keep. I guess I could make this thing look like a 67 instead of a 68.

[68 TT]

The loss of the marker light got me thinking of trying to blend a marker light housing into the gas door. I thought it was about the right size and that there might be enough depth if you lose the gas cap holder tabs off the inside of the door.

I dug out one of my new marker lights and set it over the 88-98 truck gas door. It is pretty close in size and could be put right over the top with just a relief cut for the light socket part. Not enough room to blend a fender marker light piece into the fuel door to partially recess the marker light like stock.

In the top pic the marker light is at an angle because of the light socket port on the back. Sorry about the out of focus pic of the gasket on the door but you can at least see the marker light outline is just about a perfect to match the gas door. No idea what the camera was focusing on there.

I'm probably going to pick up anther gas door setup and a spare door or two and play around with making it work.

[fakerwade]

Seems like a pretty cool idea, just make sure they are attached real solid!! (big block torque)

[mcbassin]

Originally Posted by 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:

Too bad you're not closer I would loan you mine. Well, my welder anyway. Won't need if till get done blasting tomorrow.

[mcbassin]

Just read down further to see you got the welder fixed and a new compressor.
I like what you have going on the gas tank filler. Keep at it.

[Muskey]

Looks good 68tt what year of truck did you get the engine stands from?

[mcbassin]

Anything new? Update?

[fakerwade]

Originally Posted by mcbassin

anything new? Update?

x2???

[68 TT]

Originally Posted by fakerwade

x2???

Just got my new poly body bushings & hardware to mount the cab to the frame, built some spring perches to do the axle over spring swap out back and picked up the rear emergency brake cables I needed to complete the rear brakes & get the emergency brake system completed. Now I just need some time and decent weather to get some actual work done. This time of year is when no garage to work in really sucks.

[68 TT]

Originally Posted by Muskey

Looks good 68tt what year of truck did you get the engine stands from?

The engine stands came from a mid 80's Suburban but pretty much any square body with a small block will have the same thing.

[fakerwade]

No garage sucks!! Warmer weather should be here soon. (I hope)

[68 TT]

Originally Posted by fakerwade

No garage sucks!! Warmer weather should be here soon. (I hope)

No kidding. I'm dying to get back to work on my trucks. I can't wait for the good weather to get here.

[imsuchaman55]

Nice build! Im liking the big block. I noticed one thing though that you might want to double check. I had my upper control arms mounted the way yours are, and when we checked the alignment, we had tons of caster. Long story short I had them on the wrong side, once I flipped them they were dead on. I mouted them with the offset to the rear like most other cars do, but I guess I had thought wrong and mixed them up while painting. Just a thought when you get to that point! Ill definately be checking back in on this build

[Muskey]

Love watching this build outside with no luxuries. How thick is your rad at the tank 3 or 4 core?

[68 TT]

Originally Posted by imsuchaman55

Nice build! Im liking the big block. I noticed one thing though that you might want to double check. I had my upper control arms mounted the way yours are, and when we checked the alignment, we had tons of caster. Long story short I had them on the wrong side, once I flipped them they were dead on. I mouted them with the offset to the rear like most other cars do, but I guess I had thought wrong and mixed them up while painting. Just a thought when you get to that point! Ill definately be checking back in on this build

Good catch but I actually put them on that way on purpose to see how much caster I could get. I am shooting for 8 degrees. If it ends up with too much I will flip them back to the stock orientation and move the lower arm forward 3/4" to 1" to get the caster I want.

I also have a taller spindle on there so it will be a challenge to make the numbers work.

[68 TT]

Originally Posted by Muskey

Love watching this build outside with no luxuries. How thick is your rad at the tank 3 or 4 core?

It is a 3-core. Same one I had in my 67 C10 with the same engine and it is enough to keep it cool when paired with a shroud and a good clutch fan. Without the shroud it can't keep up with the cooling load in traffic. I have a nice Griffin aluminum radiator that will end up in this truck eventually though.

I should be able to get back to this truck pretty soon if it ever stops raining. I have a ton of work to do.

[mcbassin]

Originally Posted by 68 TT

I should be able to get back to this truck pretty soon if it ever stops raining. I have a ton of work to do.

Looking forward to an update buddy. We could use some of that wet stuff over this way. All of our lakes are still low and the ground is dry. We'll have some killer fires going too if it doesn't.

[68 TT]

Originally Posted by mcbassin

Looking forward to an update buddy. We could use some of that wet stuff over this way. All of our lakes are still low and the ground is dry. We'll have some killer fires going too if it doesn't.

I would be glad to share some rain with you guys Mike. We had so much yesterday that many of the intersections were flooded, some were even closed. The ground is saturated and the drains just can't get rid of the water fast enough. Several of my co-workers basements are flooded.

[68 TT]

Still fighting the urge to cut up my incomplete beater work truck project and modify the trailing arm chassis under it to make it a short wheel base for use with the stepside.

Really thinking this is the way to go for my ultimate goals for this truck as a nice street cruiser / summer toy. I could also use the leaf spring chassis under the stepside in my 4x4 project and the non-A/C cab could stay on the stepside frame to save me some work too.

The big block is just a short term deal until I get a few other vehicles out the door. In the end the stepside will be reincarnated with an LS engine, LTZ 20" wheels, a great handling suspension system and be nicely outfitted with A/C, comfortable seats, a nice stereo and some shiny paint. The Camaro will be the high HP big block drag strip brute that it was meant to be.

[imsuchaman55]

Originally Posted by 68 TT

Good catch but I actually put them on that way on purpose to see how much caster I could get. I am shooting for 8 degrees. If it ends up with too much I will flip them back to the stock orientation and move the lower arm forward 3/4" to 1" to get the caster I want.

I also have a taller spindle on there so it will be a challenge to make the numbers work.

When we put our caster/ camber gauge on it, which goes up to 8 degrees, it maxed out really quickly, I would guess its well over 8 degrees. Im sure your could take some out by shimming the top control arm though. The wheel sits really far back in the wheel well when they are mounted that way, and were really close to rubbing at full turn. A taller spindle should make a little bit better.

[jbwolfe]

Great project! I definitely like the 67-68 front clip the best. Keep up the good work!

[68 TT]

Originally Posted by imsuchaman55

When we put our caster/ camber gauge on it, which goes up to 8 degrees, it maxed out really quickly, I would guess its well over 8 degrees. Im sure your could take some out by shimming the top control arm though. The wheel sits really far back in the wheel well when they are mounted that way, and were really close to rubbing at full turn. A taller spindle should make a little bit better.

I figured it would probably have to be put back to stock orientation but I wanted to see what I ended up with to start with since the spindles are quite different.

[68 TT]

Originally Posted by jbwolfe

Great project! I definitely like the 67-68 front clip the best. Keep up the good work!

Thanks, I like the older front end on there too. I just wish the other 69 front clip I had wasn't so nice so I could justify getting another 67/68 clip for my other truck.

My wife goes back to work next week so I might get a chance to get back to work on my truck again some time soon. I can't wait to get this thing on the road.