Project "Financial Burden": 1968 SWB C10

[KMC3420]

I don’t plan on running bucket seats but that write up you did is very detailed and will be much appreciated by many! Looks like good progress moving forward. As always, excellent work! I’m super excited to hear those turbos light.

[Old_Truck_Fan]

Originally Posted by KMC3420

I don’t plan on running bucket seats but that write up you did is very detailed and will be much appreciated by many! Looks like good progress moving forward. As always, excellent work! I’m super excited to hear those turbos light.

Thanks KMC3420. I'm getting excited with each item I cross of my to do list.

[Old_Truck_Fan]

I finished the Restomod Air under dash unit mounting and put in a Lokar throttle pedal. I'm now gearing up to complete all things plumbing related (exhaust, engine, turbo, brakes, etc.).

[KMC3420]

Looking good, patiently awaiting your mock up and running AC. I assume you have a relative idea where you are going to run the turbo piping? I want to run AC on my truck but will only be running a single turbo. Just not a ton of room for the AC in the stock location and a turbo. Keep up the progress.

[Old_Truck_Fan]

Still working on plumbing... Was able to modify the Flowmaster C10 kit to tuck into the frame. I used temporary wooden spacers to keep the spacing correct going through the trailing arm cross member. I substituted dyno max resonators instead of the 40 series Flowmasters included in the kit. The kit included 4 different tail pipe options so I used the spare bends to complete all of hot side turbo plumbing. I used a nice mock up system from icengineworks that really helped with all of the 2.5 inch plumbing. I also made a simple tube cutting jig that worked out well for all of the tube cutting.

[Old_Truck_Fan]

I added some bosses to the ls valley cover for coil mounting under the Holley high ram intake manifold. I blended them in to make it look like they were cast in. I was able to route several other lines on the valley cover.

[Old_Truck_Fan]

I shaved the mounting bosses off the Holley ls valve covers. They were the only standard height valve covers I could find that had PCV baffles and connections. I also needed the billet oil fill provision since it's so close to the turbo. Since the coil bosses are taller than the factory ones you can shave them off easily without needing to fill holes. The two bosses I left will be used for a power steering reservoir heat shield.

[Old_Truck_Fan]

Engine re-installed... again...

[Old_Truck_Fan]

Originally Posted by KMC3420

Looking good, patiently awaiting your mock up and running AC. I assume you have a relative idea where you are going to run the turbo piping? I want to run AC on my truck but will only be running a single turbo. Just not a ton of room for the AC in the stock location and a turbo. Keep up the progress.

Thanks, AC plumbing is next on my list.

[KMC3420]

Wow! You have been busy. Excellent progress and the twin turbos are both fitting very well. The plumbing looks very neat and well thought out, the two intercoolers seem like a good idea if running twins. The coils under the high rise really cleans up the look as well. Keep at it.

[STOCKISH]

Looks amazing!!

[Old_Truck_Fan]

Thanks for the comments guys. I'm still working through all the little detail items. I finished up the power steering plumbing with a mixture of stock and aftermarket parts. I converted the clutch rod delete from the plastic plug style to the later, two bolt cover plate. I was concerned that the plastic plug may melt since it's close to the exhaust manifold. I also modified two LS3 coil harnesses to work with the compact coil configuration on the valley cover. I placed the main ignition coil bulkhead connectors in a similar location to stock so that the main EFI harness connection doesn't have far to travel. Although, I'm confident now I can shorten harnesses pretty easily with all the re-pinning I did on the coil harnesses. I'll add some loom to them later.

[Old_Truck_Fan]

I searched for quite some time for a remote mount battery option. I wanted something sturdy and subtle. It seems like most of the aftermarket battery trays are setup for a floor mount or they carve the manufactures logo on the side which I wasn't a fan of. I finally stumbled on the fact that large GM passenger vans have an optional second battery mount on the frame rail. They are inexpensive, well engineered, and stamped from heavy gauge material. I thought this looked like a more factory appearing option. I had to modify the mounting ears and fill in the original holes to make way for new locations. It's mounted on the passenger side frame rail just behind the cab corner. The bottom of the tray is above the level of the bedside so you will not see it in a side view. I'm really happy with how it turned out.

[Old_Truck_Fan]

Finished up the under dash AC and heater plumbing too.

[SIXTY9]

Very nice mod on the battery tray. Would you mind sharing the part number? By the way enjoy reading about your truck.

Thanks,
Wally

[KMC3420]

Originally Posted by SIXTY9

Very nice mod on the battery tray. Would you mind sharing the part number? By the way enjoy reading about your truck.

Thanks,
Wally

Agreed, nice updates and would like that battery box part number as well. It looks like the ticket.

[Old_Truck_Fan]

Thanks Wally and KMC3420. The GM part number on the battery tray is 20970916. It was used on 2006-2016 Chevrolet Express and GMC Savana cargo vans. I purchased mine off of ebay as a "take off" unit, which included the hold down clamp and bolt. They can also be purchased new from a variety of sources. I included one more picture to show the other mounting ear configuration. I'll be using a group 34/78 battery with side posts.

[cornerstone]

Nice work! I believe that's what I'd like to do also. Thanks for the part number!

[TA_C10]

No dropbox? Do you think you will be able to get to the battery easily when needed? And in case of needing a jump, are you thinking of installing one of those nice connectors that you end up cutting off one end of battery jump cables and installing the connector? That setup in pretty slick, I would have went that route if I didn't already buy my remote battery jump posts for engine bay.

This is the connector i'm talking about: https://www.zoro.com/anderson-power-...BoCyisQAvD_BwE

Truck is gonna be badazz btw. Nice work.

[SIXTY9]

Thanks for the part number and the info.

[68Gold/white]

I like the 34/78 batteries. I use side post cables. Many folks hate the side post stuff because of leaks, I've never had a leak problem. The additional top posts along with the side posts allow easy jump starting...

[Old_Truck_Fan]

Originally Posted by TA_C10

No dropbox? Do you think you will be able to get to the battery easily when needed? And in case of needing a jump, are you thinking of installing one of those nice connectors that you end up cutting off one end of battery jump cables and installing the connector? That setup in pretty slick, I would have went that route if I didn't already buy my remote battery jump posts for engine bay.

This is the connector i'm talking about: https://www.zoro.com/anderson-power-...BoCyisQAvD_BwE

Truck is gonna be badazz btw. Nice work.

Thanks for the comments TA_C10. My battery setup will be somewhat difficult to install and service. I made a battery mockup out of cardboard and there is no way to install it with the battery box bolted up. The bedside and bedside brace don't allow for much room. And I'm sure twisting a 50lb battery around will be a lot harder than a cardboard box. I'll need to install the battery in the tray, then lift it with a jack up to the frame and bolt the tray on. It's not ideal, but it's worth it to me to have it mounted as high on the frame as possible. I considered a drop box (much like your setup, nice build by the way too!) but I didn't think I could mount it as high up as I wanted. I'll need to give the jump start thing some thought, I had not given that much consideration.

Originally Posted by 68Gold/white

I like the 34/78 batteries. I use side post cables. Many folks hate the side post stuff because of leaks, I've never had a leak problem. The additional top posts along with the side posts allow easy jump starting...

Thanks 68Gold/white. I'm just now learning all the battery lingo. I'm not sure I can package the top post with how high up the battery will sit, but that would fix the jump starting question. I'll need to take some measurements from an actual battery to confirm.

[dec010974]

this is an awesome build thread.

[Old_Truck_Fan]

I've been working on the small things lately. I converted my three speed on the column to a floor shift setup with the correct collar. During disassembly of the column, I found damaged threads on the steering column nut. I didn't want to scrap the shaft so I repaired the damaged threads by sizing it down from 1/2-20 to 7/16-20. I also plumbed the gas tank vent/roll over valve (hope I don't need that!). It was a little tricky since the gas tank fill is in the bed floor so the vent is elevated above the floor and nest within the bedside.

[Old_Truck_Fan]

Originally Posted by dec010974

this is an awesome build thread.

Thanks man!