For Gramps (1970 C20 RestoMod)

[Jahloha]

FYI. I used a paint brush for every coat of paint.

After 2 coats of MasterSeries silver primer




Finished product!

[MAC71]

Looks really good! I was thinking about using Summit racing frame paint, it does not use a primer and goes on bare mettle. I stopped by the place that you had your sandblasting done and no one was in the office, found some one in a area up front and he just told me to look around in the back. Looked but did not see any one and since it was during work I did not have time to wait around. Talked to a place named Power Keg on I15 and they quoted $200.00 but that is just the frame.
Found a guy in Down Town that has hundreds of body parts for 50's, 60's, and 70's cars and trucks. He gave me a rust free radiator core support and I bought a high hump floor piece for $50.00. If your interested in his info I can find it and pass it on to you.
Headed to a junk yard in the morning looking for a door.

[Jahloha]

Originally Posted by MAC71

Looks really good! I was thinking about using Summit racing frame paint, it does not use a primer and goes on bare mettle. I stopped by the place that you had your sandblasting done and no one was in the office, found some one in a area up front and he just told me to look around in the back. Looked but did not see any one and since it was during work I did not have time to wait around. Talked to a place named Power Keg on I15 and they quoted $200.00 but that is just the frame.
Found a guy in Down Town that has hundreds of body parts for 50's, 60's, and 70's cars and trucks. He gave me a rust free radiator core support and I bought a high hump floor piece for $50.00. If your interested in his info I can find it and pass it on to you.
Headed to a junk yard in the morning looking for a door.

Yeah, they seem to be a little loosey goosey with their operations. It was still worth it for me because I live only 5 minutes away. Also, sweet score of the core support and floor piece! Where is this guy? Ill take his info, always looking to meet new people, shoot me a PM.

[Jahloha]

Have a neighbor who just started up a pressure washing business, so he washed my garage and driveway for the price of his gas ($30). It was a great win/win situation. He got some awesome pics of before and after and I got a clean floor for my buildup.

Knowing he was on his way, I didnt take too much care as I painted the frame. Letting drips fall to the floor, as a means to both test his work, but also MasterSeries. Happy to say his industrial equipment couldn't get the drops off the cement, making me more confident in my decision to go with MasterSeries.

PS. Cant tell you how exciting it is to have my painted frame on jack stands ready to build up!

BEFORE



DURING


AFTER

[Jahloha]

NEW TIRES:

Been researching tires and knew that I didnt want to drop $1K+ on tires, but wanted something reliable and dependent. After a lot of research I went with Discount Tire's limited Cooper Discoverer ATPs, 285/70/17

Here are some pics for comparison, tread, and profile views.

I paid $730 out the door for the set, 55K warranty, and Discount's lifetime services. I am very happy with the tire and their prices.

Profile Views




Tread


Comparison of tires that were on the truck

[MAC71]

Good looking tire and rim. It going to look really good. Is the truck going to be lifted. I had a 72 c20 that I tried to use 285 70 17 and the hit the lower front corners of the fenders when the wheels were turned about half way. Went with 245 75 17 and had about 1/2 in clearance. This was with the stock springs and the rims were 17 by 9 with 4.5 in back spacing. I think if the truck was lifted a few in. It would work. Or a very slight fender mod.

[Jahloha]

Originally Posted by MAC71

Good looking tire and rim. It going to look really good. Is the truck going to be lifted. I had a 72 c20 that I tried to use 285 70 17 and the hit the lower front corners of the fenders when the wheels were turned about half way. Went with 245 75 17 and had about 1/2 in clearance. This was with the stock springs and the rims were 17 by 9 with 4.5 in back spacing. I think if the truck was lifted a few in. It would work. Or a very slight fender mod.

I am going to run the HD front coils to give the extra clearance. I want a beefy look and level out the front with the rear.

[MAC71]

Originally Posted by Jahloha

I am going to run the HD front coils to give the extra clearance. I want a beefy look and level out the front with the rear.

I was thinking about this and because the suburban was a big block, was heavy and I used it to tow I wanted a load range E tire, I think that the 285 70 17 was a extra load and the 285 75 17 was the E tire and that was what did not fit. It was about 7 years ago when I test fitted it. I hope you have the clearance because those tires are going to look really good!

[mjensen]

Jason, here's the link we talked about:

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=624445

Mike

[Jahloha]

Originally Posted by MAC71

I was thinking about this and because the suburban was a big block, was heavy and I used it to tow I wanted a load range E tire, I think that the 285 70 17 was a extra load and the 285 75 17 was the E tire and that was what did not fit. It was about 7 years ago when I test fitted it. I hope you have the clearance because those tires are going to look really good!

Yeah, I dont tow a lot, but wanted the E load for the few times a year I load up something heavy (2-4K lbs). But yeah, since Ill be throwing a 383 in, should weigh a bit less then the big block...right? haha

Originally Posted by mjensen

Jason, here's the link we talked about:

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=624445

Mike

Mike, seriously, thank you so much. Helps to have another Utahn who I can bounce ideas off. Now we just gotta get Mac to meet up with us! Id say come kick the tires, but Im not there yet haha.

[Jahloha]

FINAL REAR END TEAR DOWN:

This freaking rear end, specifically the coil bolts has been a big pain in the butt! By far the hardest thing for me to tear down in the entire process.

I ended up cutting each coil at the lowest point I could to gain access to the bolt. I also cut the bolt heads off on the bottom of the trailing arms. After these two steps, I cut a portion off of each retaining cup to be able to then cut the the nut off each bolt.

Lastly, with the cup removed and just the rusted bolt shaft through each trailing arm, I got my 10 lb hammer and a pin and just whacked the hell out of each one. Took me about 5 minutes of solid swinging until each one came out.

Needless to say, I am VERY happy I am done with that. Here are some pics:

[Jahloha]

REAR END SWAP:

So after a lot of reading and talking with some board members, I began looking for a 14 bolt rear end locally. Although not completely confident moving forward with the swap, I found one and bought it for only $65. Its from a 78' GMC 3/4 ton and has been sitting for roughly 6 years.

Here are the reasons I am wanting to swap my Eaton out for the 14 Bolt (now if I say something you know to be false, dont yell at me haha, help educate me!):

1. Want ease of accessing replacement parts
2. Want to be able to switch my gears, moving from 4.11 Eaton to 3.73 in the 14B
3. Will be doing a disc brake conversion, parts and brackets cheaper on the 14 bolt (I plan on using this bracket http://www.ruffstuffspecialties.com/catalog/14BSRW.html )
4. If I did the swap, I wanted to have something just as durable as the Eaton. Although I believe the Eaton to be the more solid rear end, the 14B is a close second and if something breaks, parts will be easier to locate

Anyways, for only $65, I jumped on this rear end. Its currently at the sandblasters getting blasted. But heres some pics when I picked it up from the PO.

[Jahloha]

Getting nearer and nearer to putting parts back onto the truck, I was tired of the crappy lighting in my garage. So I swung by Home Depot and picked up some plug in shop lights and bulbs for about $50 total.

Although I would have preferred to hard wire them and daisy chain into my existing light fixtures, I do like that I can turn one or both on when needed.

[swamp rat]

Just a heads up, the 14 bolt conversion brackets do bolt right up to the Eaton as well, then all you need to do is get some front replacement disks for a 71 or 72 3/4T and longer studs, then use the stock Eaton rear hubs and your done. Be sure to get the 1 1/4 width rotors not the thin ones, then make sure when you buy the calipers they don't accidentally have the wrong width caliper in the correct box, it happened to me.

But you are correct about there being more available parts for the 14 bolt, all the bearings and seals are still available for the Eaton but the Pinion bearing is quite large and last i checked they said it was about $400 but don't quote me on that. Its the drums and brake parts and gears that are getting hard to get.

[Jahloha]

Originally Posted by swamp rat

Just a heads up, the 14 bolt conversion brackets do bolt right up to the Eaton as well, then all you need to do is get some front replacement disks for a 71 or 72 3/4T and longer studs, then use the stock Eaton rear hubs and your done. Be sure to get the 1 1/4 width rotors not the thin ones, then make sure when you buy the calipers they don't accidentally have the wrong width caliper in the correct box, it happened to me.

But you are correct about there being more available parts for the 14 bolt, all the bearings and seals are still available for the Eaton but the Pinion bearing is quite large and last i checked they said it was about $400 but don't quote me on that. Its the drums and brake parts and gears that are getting hard to get.

Yeah, I read that. And like you said, if I could get the 3.73 gears and pinion bearings, Id keep it. But looking at this as an ease to repair/fix down the road, I would rather have the ability to find the part easily.

So you kept your Eaton and did a disc brake swap?

Im also trying to lock down my engine/trans decision now to decide if having 3.73 gears over the 4.10 will make a difference. Going to make a post to the general forum for input. Hope to hear you chime in.

[swamp rat]

Yes i did keep the Eaton and put Disks on it, if i had to do it allover again I'd use different brackets, the Ruff stuff look nice, i was also looking at a set from DYI, they have a gusseted bend and mutable positions. had to send mine back and have him re drill the holes as they were too close to the disk, i would have rathered he just made another set but..

http://diy4x.com/cart/index.php?rout...&product_id=35

[MAC71]

Originally Posted by Jahloha

Getting nearer and nearer to putting parts back onto the truck, I was tired of the crappy lighting in my garage. So I swung by Home Depot and picked up some plug in shop lights and bulbs for about $50 total.

Although I would have preferred to hard wire them and daisy chain into my existing light fixtures, I do like that I can turn one or both on when needed.

Attachment 1325177
Attachment 1325178

You can never have to much light!

I sent you a PM and you inspired me to start a build thread located here. http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=649755

[Jahloha]

Ball Joints Removal:

So the past few days have been spent getting these dang ball joints out of the control arms, both upper and lower. This job now ranks as one of the crappiest jobs I've done on the truck haha.

Things I learned...

1. When I first started this job I felt like I needed a few specialty tools, but nope, all I needed was brute force
2. I felt like I'd bend the control arm or some other component if I really swung a BFH as hard as I could, but nope, swing it as hard as you can
3. I felt like there may be a secret to getting these rivets out after grinding off the heads, but nope, swing away like Babe Ruth

Long story short, any who ends up reading this in the future and are stuck removing your ball joints, take this advice:

Get the biggest BFH you have and swing with all your might!!!!!! Hahaha.

Anyways, anyone who has removed these knows the happiness these before and after pictures can make a grown man feel.

Before (sat like this for two nights of frustration)


After (BFH, all your force, bingo!)
Of course, remember to grind off the rivet heads

[Jahloha]

Now I am trying to get the dang shafts out of the control arms, was able to muscle loose one nut from one of the UCAs, but couldn't get the second. Gonna borrow a bigger socket from a neighbor and try again.

PS. I bought new shafts from POL

[MAC71]

I could not get my ball joints separated with the fork I had because it was to thin. I had to weld a bunch of beads on top and grind it to shape to be have the thickness that would work well.

[REEDS 72]

Looking super nice you are doing a great job keep up the good work all be watching this one.

[Jahloha]

Originally Posted by MAC71

I could not get my ball joints separated with the fork I had because it was to thin. I had to weld a bunch of beads on top and grind it to shape to be have the thickness that would work well.

Yeah man, these are seriously PITAs to get out haha. I am happy these are gone, sorry I didnt call you back the other night, two young kids proves to be crazy. I definitely want to swing by and check out your project!

Originally Posted by REEDS 72

Looking super nice you are doing a great job keep up the good work all be watching this one.

Reeds, thanks a lot! I remember seeing your thread and wishing there were more pictures. Looks like I gotta swing by and check it out.

Same with yours Michael.

[mjensen]

Good work Jason!

I really need to find a magic motivation potion to get working on mine

[REEDS 72]

Let me know when you're going to be in the area and I will PM my address to you.

[Jahloha]

I finally found the article that tells the story on how Gramps won his truck for a $1 raffle ticket back in 1970. He is a great man and will be framing this article, alongside a license plate and keys as a momento to him in my office.

Short read, enjoy.