My LQ4/T56 build thread

[ChuckLee]

Looks like old bench at front of seating area is about 58". The way I have my chairs set up it's 56.5" in the same seating area. If you included added width from armrests it's wider than stock there obviously

[ChuckLee]

I have been very torn for months on paint color.....I'm doing it myself and it will be my first paint job. That said I have really been trying to think of a color that would lay down easily (no super darks, no metallics, etc). I finally found one that I believe will work that I am excited about.
It will be something like this...
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Untitled by FlickrAccount83, on Flickr

[solidaxel]

After you finish sanding the mouse grey primer you will want to see a different color than gray !!

[ChuckLee]

Bahaha that's funny. Good point

[NewType72]

Being a painters son I can't say I'll knock it till I see but she better be laser straight if you're going with gray buddy!

[NC_John]

I really like how those seats look. I'm not a huge fan of my factory bench seat either.

[ChuckLee]

Originally Posted by NewType72

Being a painters son I can't say I'll knock it till I see but she better be laser straight if you're going with gray buddy!

Yah, it won't be perfect....but I'm not going for perfect either. If I was, I would be paying someone else to do body/paint. This is a good learning opportunity for me. The more I researched, the more I realized that there are ups and downs to every color choice. At least with this color I am spraying something that SHOULD lay nicely.

Originally Posted by NC_John

I really like how those seats look. I'm not a huge fan of my factory bench seat either.

Much of this stuff is personal taste.....but yes I agree. The factory bench was just not happening for me. I like the looks of it when its covered nicely and has new foam underneath, but I wanted a more modern look for this particular part of the build and more versatility and I wasn't about to dump $2k for buddy buckets. I fail to comprehend the allure of $2k bucket seats for these trucks? I mean they look nice, but at $2k I'm not even considering them.

[jadedbird]

Originally Posted by ChuckLee

Great choice....did the same as far as clutch goes! Great minds think alike
What are you doing to the motor? Stock heads?
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Power washed frame today, going to take the wire wheel and grinder to her next. Anyone have any recommendations on POR-15 or Eastwood or something? Powder coating isn't really an option for me.

Untitled by FlickrAccount83, on Flickr

get rid of that monster clutch asap. I had a stage 3 in my ws6. it sqweeked sqwalled and shuddered. I called monster about a new flex plate and pilot bearing, they said that I would have to send it in for testing to determine if it was a defect. After days of back and forth of fighting they finally said I caused the pressure plate to glaze and warp and ruined the bearing because i must have drove too many city miles during break in.. That was false because my daily commute was 95% highway. then they tried to claim that i drove it too hard. Also false because i was breaking in a motor at the same time so that wasnt the issue. They then tried to flip stances and say I wasnt driving it hard enough and i needed to beat and bang on it to break it in. So i did some research,. long story short, they have bad reputation. i sold the car months later and the next owner took care of it. moral of story.. mcleods or spec....

[ChuckLee]

That sounds like a bad time you had there, sorry. This sort of "came with the trans" I bought. It's got like 20-40 miles on it, probably a lot less actually. I've used this clutch in the past with better success than you have had, but if i had to choose i would go Mcleod RST (i had this clutch on a 800hp vette and it worked great). I also had a couple different cars with spec clutches, no major complaints with those. The RXT clutch is much better if you are going big HP although I don't have personal experience on that clutch. If I were buying one off the shelf I probably would go RST again.

[jadedbird]

Originally Posted by ChuckLee

That sounds like a bad time you had there, sorry. This sort of "came with the trans" I bought. It's got like 20-40 miles on it, probably a lot less actually. I've used this clutch in the past with better success than you have had, but if i had to choose i would go Mcleod RST (i had this clutch on a 800hp vette and it worked great). I also had a couple different cars with spec clutches, no major complaints with those. The RXT clutch is much better if you are going big HP although I don't have personal experience on that clutch. If I were buying one off the shelf I probably would go RST again.

AH well I guess everyone has a negative encounter every once in a blue moon. I'm enjoying your build. I had planned a lq9 swap in the ws6 as well as my c10(s) but I sold them before those plans came to fruition. I wish I never sold the lq9 either

[ChuckLee]

Thanks man. I'm hoping to get back working on her next week for at least 3 or 4 nights. I need the time in the garage right now, been too busy to even think about the truck and it's time to dedicate some time to it again.

[ChuckLee]

Definitely didn't get to spend a lot of time on it as planned.
But got a few things done:

1) Filled in the fuel filler hole on the cab. Used a pre-cut/bent metal insert from Flebay ($20 shipped) so it was worth it. The bends in the cab make that fill panel time consuming.
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Untitled by FlickrAccount83, on Flickr

2) Repurposed my neighbor's old deck wood and made a cab dolly that rolls the cab to its back. I only did this because it was free, lol. It simply utilitzes the 4 cab mounting locations and is made to roll easily to its back, where two 2x10's spread the weight out as it lays on its back. I've seen some really cool metal ones with bent tubing and pretty welds but those look nicer than my truck lol. This will do for me.
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Untitled by FlickrAccount83, on Flickr

Untitled by FlickrAccount83, on Flickr


I was originally planning to sandblast the living daylights out of the entire cab, but now as I ponder more and consider that the panels look pretty straight as is, it may be better for me to sandblast the rust prone areas then sand/prep the rest of the truck with a filler/primer just to make sure I have all the dings/waves/etc out. Maybe once I start blasting I'll want to go deeper, not sure yet. For now......it's probably best for me to start by just replacing the 4 cab supports since they are trashed.

[NC_John]

Looks good Chuck. Is your garage air-conditioned? My current one isn't. I worked from 6 am to noon on my engine yesterday until I had to call "uncle" from the heat. Then as luck would have it a buddy (forum member) called asking for some assistance pulling his new 5.3/4L60 from a donor truck and i spent all afternoon in the heat anyway.

Did you finish your engine or is it sidelined for the moment? I'm somewhere between a short-block and long-block with mine. Every time I touch mine two things happen. I cut my hands somewhere and bleed all over the place (took 2 mins to happen yesterday) and i find another part i need to get (yesterday was a stroker windage tray).

[ChuckLee]

No AC in my garage but it isn't hot in there ever. My garage sits under the house. It does get cold in there in winter though. Motor has been sidelined for too long. Need to put it together so I can do another engine/trans mockup so I know whether or not I need to "extend" my high hump trans tunnel (I'm using the rear shifter location, not the center inspection port that would make this much easier)

[ChuckLee]

Note to self: don't be lazy and wear running shoes while welding. Slag easily burns through shoe, then sock, then your toes.

[sangell]

Originally Posted by ChuckLee

Note to self: don't be lazy and wear running shoes while welding. Slag easily burns through shoe, then sock, then your toes.

Ain't that the truth. When I was welding the new rockers on I was sitting cross legged on a creaper and had slag roll down into my shoe a few times.

[splatrd]

Nice work. I see you are in Richmond. I am in Midlothian. I am currently working on a 72 with a LQ4/4L80E swap and Vintage air. Let me know if you would like to meet up and compare trucks.

[ChuckLee]

PM'd

[slowcpe]

Cool project. I too am building an LQ4/T56 c10. Just read through your build and is giving me motivation to get back on it.

[ChuckLee]

Note to self #2: Welding a whole panel in, with the gas valve off, means doing the same job twice.

[knomadd]

Originally Posted by ChuckLee

Note to self: don't be lazy and wear running shoes while welding. Slag easily burns through shoe, then sock, then your toes.

Originally Posted by ChuckLee

Note to self #2: Welding a whole panel in, with the gas valve off, means doing the same job twice.

I did something similar recently myself. It's "fun" figuring out why your welds just don't look right. Oh, and try grinding in shorts while sitting... I had a lot of little mini burns on both legs for a couple days after just one grinding session. Didn't burn myself while welding though, so it could have been worse.

[ChuckLee]

forgot to post pic of my ugly cab dolly in use.
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It can be discouraging when you start sanding and blasting. I realized how bad the passenger outer rocker really was. Bondo works miracles.
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so i cut that off
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and found this!
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And underneath the cab, you can see the extend of outer floor/inner rocker rust.
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So I had to slow down once again and just deal with the hand I've got. Instead of investing in Bondo stock like the previous owner, I decided to invest in precious metals, in the form of sheetmetal replacement. I made my measurements before cutting stuff off and made new pieces off those measurements and off the forms I cut off.
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Untitled by FlickrAccount83, on Flickr

Untitled by FlickrAccount83, on Flickr

Untitled by FlickrAccount83, on Flickr

Cut out the kick panel to replace as well.
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Untitled by FlickrAccount83, on Flickr

Cut out thingamabobber piece
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Then cut out the cab corner
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Untitled by FlickrAccount83, on Flickr

Then made some more measurements and cut out the outer floor/inner rocker after scribing a line.
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Tacked in inner rocker piece
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Untitled by FlickrAccount83, on Flickr

kick panel
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A pillar
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Thingamabobber piece
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cab corner
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Untitled by FlickrAccount83, on Flickr

Now I'm on to the outer rocker, and it's being a pain. My door has been put back on and adjusted to where I'm happy with the gaps..............all but the gap on the bottom. The rusty door bottom actually has no gap to speak of along the bottom of the door when shut.
When I just put in the out rocker panel, the front bottom corner of the door edge rubs the front rocker bad while opening/closinng. That's no good.
Then, to make matters worse, as you can imaging, the outer rocker is in contact along the door bottom. I can shut door, but its rubbing all the way for the most part. The front is where it rubs more so, and I've got to figure something out. Any ideas? I have a few but would rather hear your expert ideas than spout of my amateur talk.

[Devil Pup]

good work on the cab, I fear thats in my future as well. looking like you are handling it with ease

[ChuckLee]

Thanks. This is my first attempt at sheetmetal and welding really at all. First attempt at body work as well. All the pros on here would agree I'm sure. Haha. That's what this is about for me though, learning.

[ChuckLee]

Considering the fact that I have no gap between the door cup and the inner rocker when shut, I'm farely certain I'll have to adjust my inner rocker somehow before messing with the outer rocker at all. I don't want to put the cart before the horse.
The failure in my method here is very possibly in the fact that i have rotted cab supports that i did NOT replace yet. That said, I'm guessing I messed up on the angle at which I placed my inner rocker/outer floor section in. I didn't angle it downward enough which would have given me more room for the door and outer rocker gap. I purchased replacements long ago only to realize they are not the OEM replacements ones. They are the "cover up the rust ones" that fit over the existing ones and provide zero structural support. Basically, they are a Disney's Frozen Band-Aid fix. So, my plan was to do all this work, then at end I'll either order correct oem replacements and cut out the rot and weld in new pieces, or I'll modify the slip over ones I have to be used in a more structual way. In either case, the cab supports are really hard to remove from the floor without damaging the flatness of the floors. I knew better than to attempt removing them any further.

So for the fix.....on the inner rocker/outer floor section, maybe i can apply a torch to heat it up, then bend it down a half inch? I don't know yet. Feel free anyone to chime in and give me your advice and wisdom. I am your grasshopper.