How to: Ruin a perfectly good C10

[aggie91]

Looking good from here!

Nice job Chris.

[lks dcvn]

Just spent the last week going through this build thread and found myself writing down ideas to follow up on and parts to look into for a few of my builds.

Excellent work on all fronts Chris - you are doing top notch stuff!

What shifter boot are you considering for the Muncie? I replaced the one in the 70 GMC Jimmy with a new one (Amazon cheapie) and it ripped after using it for driving in/out of the garage... I should have known.

[gringoloco]

Originally Posted by aggie91

Looking good from here!

Nice job Chris.

Originally Posted by TA_C10

That engine is looking sick in the bay man. Top Notch.

Originally Posted by lks dcvn

Just spent the last week going through this build thread and found myself writing down ideas to follow up on and parts to look into for a few of my builds.

Excellent work on all fronts Chris - you are doing top notch stuff!

What shifter boot are you considering for the Muncie? I replaced the one in the 70 GMC Jimmy with a new one (Amazon cheapie) and it ripped after using it for driving in/out of the garage... I should have known.

Thanks for the compliments, everyone. I just do the things I think are cool, I’m glad others seem to like it as well

As for the shift boot, the plan is for a factory (or re-pop, most likely) oval-shaped 4wd boot and trim ring, just keeping with the stock-ish theme. Hurst makes this handy little piece to adapt the flat handle to a round-ish boot hole:

https://www.hurstshiftersonline.com/...ommet-p590.htm

[gringoloco]

Had some power steering hoses made-up at the local hydraulics shop yesterday. Quick turn, cheap, and fit nicely. The high-side snakes behind the tensioner bracket, while low side has a pretty much straight shot to the reservoir.

That allowed pressing-on of the pump pulley and then measuring for the serpentine belt. I’m happy to report that it only took two trips to the LAPS to get the right one Baby steps...

[TA_C10]

That engine is looking sick in the bay man. Top Notch.

[C10_ustacould]

You're killing it Chris, one step at a time. Your patience and eye for detail are paying off for sure!

[rustytruck50]

Wow...the fit of the engine in that drop member is perfect....I dont know if you could even fab something remotely close to that at home!

[gringoloco]

Originally Posted by C10_ustacould

You're killing it Chris, one step at a time. Your patience and eye for detail are paying off for sure!

Thanks, buddy! I may have to back off on the detail work for a bit, it’s time to get this beast running!

Originally Posted by rustytruck50

Wow...the fit of the engine in that drop member is perfect....I dont know if you could even fab something remotely close to that at home!

Not with my skill set, I know my limitations Definitely a high quality product

[halfstep]

Great truck - great work!

...saw that you had some questions re. the clutch rod angle set up on another post and I'm working on the same subject so I thought I'd get you some photo's of an alternative set up - couldn't send photo's via PM so I'm using this post. Might help you and/or others:

This is the NO LIMIT this set up for hydraulic clutch and looks much more straightforward - pulls the clutch master up higher, rod is straight, is on a flatter firewall area and uses the more popular mounting style master which allows for larger and/or remote reservoir. Plate is 3/16"

[gringoloco]

Originally Posted by halfstep

Great truck - great work!

...saw that you had some questions re. the clutch rod angle set up on another post and I'm working on the same subject so I thought I'd get you some photo's of an alternative set up - couldn't send photo's via PM so I'm using this post. Might help you and/or others:

This is the NO LIMIT this set up for hydraulic clutch and looks much more straightforward - pulls the clutch master up higher, rod is straight, is on a flatter firewall area and uses the more popular mounting style master which allows for larger and/or remote reservoir. Plate is 3/16"

Appreciate the compliments The NL stuff looks nice, wish I’d known there was another option. I’m pretty far down the road with my current setup, so I’m running with it for now. Thanks for the heads-up!

[gringoloco]

These things always come apart easier than they go back together... it’s getting a full inspection, cleanup, and reseal before getting stabbed back in for the (hopefully) last time. Finding lots of little things wrong, so I’m glad I decided to tear into it. Fingers crossed for full function and no leaks

[smbrouss70]

Get it taken care of before it hits the road. Smart guy!

[mcbassin]

Awesome progress Chris! digging the stick shift!

[gringoloco]

Originally Posted by smbrouss70

Get it taken care of before it hits the road. Smart guy!

Well, I don’t know if I’m smart so much as I hate leaks. Prolly should have chosen a different trans for that, as I’m learning that marking territory is part of the Muncie charm, but I’m doing everything I can to make it as dry as possible. Maybe someday I’ll grab a t56 or TKO cheap...

Originally Posted by mcbassin

Awesome progress Chris! digging the stick shift!

Thanks a lot, I’m just ready to get it stabbed and get to rowin’ gears

On that note, it’s back together with no major parts still laying on the bench, seems to be functioning properly, and is almost ready to stab. Need to torque a new front bearing nut and plumb the hydro throwout first...

[gringoloco]

Got the hydro slave all setup and plumbed, then stabbed the tranny back in for the (fingers-crossed) last time. Once it was in place, I got to assembling the entirely too complicated Hurst shift linkages. I am happy to report that it all seems to be working properly and that the throw is actually nice and compact, despite the extra-long shift lever.

[gringoloco]

...and fabbed up a mounting bracket for a modified set of ICT Billet coil relocators to bolt to the back of the cylinder heads. These are designed to stack the coils in a row; I rearranged them to suit my needs and to fit the space I have available. Mounted them back where a distributor would be to maintain the small-block ruse

[67chevemall]

Originally Posted by gringoloco

Got the hydro slave all setup and plumbed, then stabbed the tranny back in for the (fingers-crossed) last time. Once it was in place, I got to assembling the entirely too complicated Hurst shift linkages. I am happy to report that it all seems to be working properly and that the throw is actually nice and compact, despite the extra-long shift lever.

Please show more of the throw out bearing set up when you can.
Complete awesomeness.

[gringoloco]

Originally Posted by 67chevemall

Stellar man. Looks great! good work.
And thanks for taking that bed off, I was worried at first.
3 hours later page 77 all is great

Originally Posted by 67chevemall

Please show more of the throw out bearing set up when you can.
Complete awesomeness.

Haha, yep, that bed had to go! Thanks for hopping in and appreciate the positive comments

As for the hydro TOB, it is a Ram 78125HD, which reviews well, is rebuildable, and looks and feels like a quality unit. It setup nice and easy using all but one of the provided shims, though I did have to extend the locating pin. No real pictures of it at this point as it is tucked away safely inside the bell housing. Will update here once it’s all bled and (hopefully) functioning properly.

[TexasLS1]

Holy crap that is awesome

[cornerstone]

Originally Posted by TexasLS1

Holy crap that is awesome

Yes it is.

[gringoloco]

Originally Posted by TexasLS1

Holy crap that is awesome

Originally Posted by cornerstone

Yes it is.

Thanks dudes! We won’t talk about how many different ways I flipped the coils and brackets around before settling on this setup that just barely fits, but fit it does...

[65StreetCruiser]

The end result is all that matters, my friend! Everything that you are doing is spot on!

[gringoloco]

Originally Posted by 65StreetCruiser

The end result is all that matters, my friend! Everything that you are doing is spot on!

Thanks, Kevin. Much appreciated. Let’s just see if it actually runs and drives after all of this...

Still chipping away as I poked a couple of 9/16” holes in my nice, shiny valve covers tonight for the PCV system. More to come on this as I finish up with all of the plumbing hopefully tomorrow.

The -6an bulkhead elbow fittings are on the back side of the valve covers, near the firewall where it is starting to get a little crowded. What’s that saying about putting 10 lbs of something in a 5 lb sack?

[knomadd]

Nice work on the coils. I had that idea floating around in my head but thought it would be too difficult and time consuming, so I moved on. Looks like it worked out great! Maybe I should rethink this...

Do you have some sort of baffle on the valve cover fittings to keep oil from coming out through those fittings?

[gringoloco]

Originally Posted by knomadd

Nice work on the coils. I had that idea floating around in my head but thought it would be too difficult and time consuming, so I moved on. Looks like it worked out great! Maybe I should rethink this...

Do you have some sort of baffle on the valve cover fittings to keep oil from coming out through those fittings?

The coils honestly weren’t too big of a deal to do. I think if I took some more time, I could come up with something a little more compact, but this worked well for a modified off-the-shelf solution.

As for the PCV fittings, yes, the “dirty” side will be baffled, using vacuum hose connected to the internal valvecover baffle (pictures of this coming soon). The “clean” side shouldn’t need to be baffled, as it will only be providing fresh air into the crankcase. I also decided to use Earl’s stat-o-seals (rubber o-ringed crush washers) on the fittings to help quell any oil leaks at the bulkhead pass-through.