"Midnight Rider" 1970 C10 SWB Fleetside

[omodified]

It took a little elbow grease but the seals are looking brand new. I found that the easiest way to get the stuff off was to just rub it off between my fingers with soapy water. Now I can install them to the frame, which is the hardest part of the whole rebuild.








Every video I watched, guys had different recommendations for this step. Use Windex, use oil, use a screwdriver etc. I'm lucky I found this lubricant from Precision. With just a little extra effort I was able to basically push these seals into the frame by hand. Then I installed the frame onto the division bar. What was difficult here was getting both ends of the vent seal up under the division bar seal. This lubricant really helped with that. I used a plastic window tool to help tuck the hardest parts.










Getting close to the end. The next step is to install the vent window assembly to the frame. First I need to install the vent window handle. I was able to find nice NOS handles and studs. The chrome on both turned out really nice after I hit it with the dremel. The rest of the parts are from a vent window handle rebuild kit I bought from LMC. Once the handle is installed, you are ready to install the window assembly. Slide the window post through the bottom hole in the frame. As you do, make sure you are installing the original washers back in the correct order that you removed them in. I messed this up on my original attempt, but I caught it and fixed it later. Next, install the tension springs and retaining nut and locking washer. I used NOS tension springs that I found on EBAY. The rest of the post hardware is the original stuff I cleaned up and soaked in Evaporust. Don't tightened all the way. Use the handle to lock the window in place. This is your last chance to get the glass depth correct. Check to make sure the window is make a good seal against the division bar seal and that the rivets aren't interfering. Adjust the window in the sash if needed. Install the vent window hinge rivet. You may have to tweak on the vent window frame bit to get everything lined up better. I needed a helper for this last rivet install.
















The very last thing to do before I store these away was to install the division bar channel seal. Again, I couldn't find originals so I went with the Precision GRB 1111 60. I applied 3M weatherstrip adhesive to the back of the seals and to the division bar channels. I installed the seals and push them up until they were flush with the top edge of the channel. This will ensure no air will get by and create a whistle.







Well, this little project is finished. What to do next?

[omodified]

Body shop update. The bedsides are further along and looking good. Already shot some high build primer. The wheel covers had a few areas that needed smoothed. Trying to get these gaps closer on the front end. It is requiring some metal work and adjusting but it's getting there.

[omodified]

***Body Shop update***

I was asked to bring a few items over this week to assist with continued progression of setting gaps and getting all of the edges straight. The biggest pain in the butt so far seems to be how this cowl panel fits. I had two nice ones to choose from and they both fit the same. Looking at where most of the gaps are now, we are targeting to get everything +/- 0.200". Getting closer to that every time I come check on it.

Had to bring up the tailgate for prep work. Also, brought the door seals and windsheld seal to help set the cowl and door gaps.

[omodified]

The rear brake kit showed up this week. I got everything mocked up and I'm very happy to report that the caliper has lots of clearance. Will final install later this week. My wheel hopes are still alive!!!

[omodified]

Time to install the rear brake kit. Everything is suppose to be a direct fit for the truck 12 bolt rear end. Since everything fit during the mock up, I'm not really expecting any problems.

In order to install this kit, you have to remove the axles first. Good thing the rear end cover wasn't sealed yet. Once the axle was out, I could install the backing plate. What I really like about this kit is that it comes with an internal parking brake on either side. This is a way better option for me than the D52 kit, since that kit has no parking brake at all. I had already replaced the original backing plate hardware with grade 8 stuff and had it nickel plated. I used these to secure the backing plates to the rear end flange. The GM assembly manual says to torque these to 35lb/ft.













Reinstall axle and c-clips.





Next, install the caliper mounting brackets to the backing plates. Wilwood supplied nice bolts for this but they come in a raw finish that didn't quite go with my theme. So these bolts got replaced with stainless ones. Wilwood recommends using red Loctite 271 and torqueing these bolts to 25lb/ft.











Next step, installing the rotor. This step should have been easier. There were a few issues that made it difficult. For one thing, I guess I have bastard axles. These axles were advertised by Moser as being for a 4wd. They argued with me that the 2wd trucks are 5 lug. So, I went ahead with the 4wd 6 lug axles, which ended up getting me a 78mm center hub diameter. Well, the 6 lug diameter should be 90mm which is what my wheel center bore and the rotor center registration both are. Wilwood does offer some registration reducer rings, but they didn't have the size I needed. I contemplated making my own, but I found US Wheel Adapters on the internet and they do custom orders from aluminum or ABS plastic. So, I ordered a set of 90mm>78mm plastic rings with no flange. I ended up using the lathe to take another millimeter off the front half of the outer diameter to compensate for the powder coating on my wheels. The nice thing these wheels is the center bore is designed in a way the it captures the hub rings and they wont be able to walk around. In the end, these rings saved my butt and I have the confidence in knowing that everything will be true without vibration.

The other issue I had was the brake shoes rubbing the inside of the drum. The LR rotor went on without any issues and would spin freely. The RR however, would barely spin before it would just grab and lock up. I called Wilwood and they suggested that I adjust the shoes outward until the adjustment wheel won't turn anymore. Then pull on the ebrake lever a few times and this is suppose to align the shoes to the drum. Well, that did not work. I ended up using 220 grit and sanding the black electro coating off of the drums where the shoes will grab. This helped quite a bit but there was still some rubbing. Then, I noticed witness marks at the bottom of both shoes. So, I sanded those spots down and re-checked for rubbing. I sanded and re-checked six times until I had good clearance. All clear now.

















Next up is installing the calipers. Again, Wilwood supplied nice raw mouting bolts. I substituted those for stainless. Using the supplied shims, I made sure the caliper was centered on the rotor. Then I torqued the mounting bolts to Wilwood specs (40lb/ft) along with using red Loctite.











Close to finishing up here, but this thing is never going to stop without some brake pads. Installing them is super easy. No messy brake quiet goo. Just drop in place, secure and you're finished.











I already know the wheels fit, but I wanted to show how much clearance there is here. I'm super excited that this worked out. The look is really clean and most importantly, I still have my wheels!!!

[omodified]

***Body Shop Update***

[omodified]

***Body Shop Update***

I was asked to bring the rear splash pans for bed mockup. Grabbed some photos while I was here. Gaps are pretty much set. The cowl still needs a bit of work in a few places. More work has been done to the doors and body lines on the cab. Tailgate is in epoxy primer. Tops of the fenders are skim coated. About to start looking for low/high spots on the bedside.

[omodified]

Everybody has been taking a break to work on other things over the past week. Should be working on a few things this week though. Here is more progress on the cowl. Also, the splash pans are in epoxy primer now.

[MDPotter]

I can appreciate (and also not be at all envious) of the amount of time it takes to get all of the gaps in that particular spot to look so good.

[Chevys4life]

That is going to be one nice truck!!!!!

[omodified]

Originally Posted by MDPotter

I can appreciate (and also not be at all envious) of the amount of time it takes to get all of the gaps in that particular spot to look so good.

Lots of time for sure, but it will be so worth it.

Originally Posted by Chevys4life

That is going to be one nice truck!!!!!

Thanks Chevys4life. I am certainly hoping that you are right.

[omodified]

Got a little rear brake line work done tonight. Started with installing a 90° stainless fitting into each caliper. I used plumbers tape to get a good seal. Using a wrench, I tightened it as far as I could while keeping it facing the right direction.






Next I installed the tee for the rear lines. GM used a brass tee here. I wanted to replicate that but I decided to go 3/16 brake lines on the whole system. So, the factory tee size won't work here. I found a triple 3/16 tee and paired it with nickel plated 3/8-24 to -3an adapter. The only way I could make this work was to fasten it all together with a super narrow base weld nut. I found one that was stainless and ground it flat. I used red loctite on this nut and got it as tight as I could against the factory mounting tab.












Next, I installed the rear brake lines. I went with a stainless pre-bent set from CPP. Ill need to alter a few bends, but these are really close right out of the bag.








Next, I installed the the stainless brake hoses to the calipers.








I'm not sure where I got this brake hose mounting tab kit, but it is up next. Long ago, I had the tabs nickel plated along with the clips. The only thing I didn't care for is how flashy these stainless bands are. So, I found some nice black ones to replace them with. I will just need to trim the stud later. I used a nickel plated 3/8-24 to -3an adapter with the mounting tab.

[omodified]

Trying to wrap up the rear end stuff. Added the vent, vent tubing and the brake flex line that goes to the frame rail and brake line clip on the rear end cover.

[omodified]

The bedsides are nearly done now. It's getting close to bed assembly time. So, I brought the front bed panel to Hawk Restoration to get it prepared. I couldn't find an NOS front panel or even a good used one. so I got what I hear is the next best thing...Mar-K. Here are some pics of it and the progress I noticed while I was there.

[omodified]

I stopped by the body shop today to check on things. The front bed panel is in epoxy primer now. The bedsides and wheel tubs are finished and are ready for assembly. The cab and front fenders are skim coated and are currently being massaged. The cowl is off and the center section is about to get media blasted. So many details!

[omodified]

I met Piedmont Traction at the body shop today and we started assembling the bed. In order to do this, I had to bring the cross sills, bed wood and the bed hardware. For all of this, I again went with Mar-K. I plan to use stainless hardware for final assembly but for mockup I will use a cheaper zinc plated kit.










Front panel is attached to the bedsides.










Wheel tubs installed.





Rear crossmember, bed wood and reinforcement crossmembers installed. Up onto the stand.









Next up is test fitting the tailgate. Before I can mount it, I have to install the trunnions. I found these trunnions on Ebay a while back. I think they are sold on the board too. They are stainless/delrin and make the tailgate super quiet when opening/closing. I had to tweak on the tailgate a little so it would accept the new trunnions.








Last thing for the night, installing the tailgate hinges. I found some a few years back that were early takeoffs. Gotta love the campers for leaving us with such nice parts. These were in great shape and after nickel plating, they look brand new. Will be back tomorrow to hand the tailgate.

[omodified]

And just like that...this project has stopped. Ugh.

Installing the tailgate today. I have NOS latches that I nickel plated but I will save those for the final build. For today I have a different pair of NOS latches that I will use. I also have an NOS tailgate handle for the build. I nickel plated my original latch rods but I will also save them for the final build. For today, I will use some Counterpart latch rods.






I got all the parts installed on the tailgate only to discover the first issue. It appears that the tailgate handle mounting holes that get stamped into the outer skin was put in the wrong place. When I tried to pull up on the handle, it was too far up inside the gate to be able to lift all the way up. When I compered these measurements to a GMC gate that was in the shop here, my holes were off by as much as a 1/4 inch.






We were thinking we could cut out the stamped area and relocate it. So, I went ahead and mounted the gate to the bed. This is the bigger issue. The crazy thing is that nobody ever saw it until today. The bedside, also NOS, is problematic. It appears that the very back of the bedside was spot welded incorrectly at the factory. The outer skin is about 1/4 higher than the inner structure and not level at the top. So, now I will pause and weigh my options. Buy NOS they said. It fits the best they said. LOL.

[omodified]

So, after weighing my options I decided the have the bedside fixed and I am going to try and replace the tailgate. I used the search function here to determine who might have a tailgate on hand. I reached out to DaddyMoo2 and he didn't disappoint. He had two options that will work for me. An Nos gate and an early take-off from a truck that received a camper. This is what he sent me. Packing up right now and heading to Kentucky for a day trip. Let's bring them both home so we have options.

[omodified]

I got both tailgates home and looked them over. The takeoff gate ends up being the nicer of the two. I'm hoping since it was installed on a truck from the factory, it would fit the best. This gate is really nice and straight and doesn't really need much to get it ready for paint. The tailgate handle fits way better than what I had before. After checking the fit, the handle got massaged to better match the lines of the gate. Time to work on the bedside now.

[omodified]

Stopped by the body shop today to check on progress. The tailgate is on. The bedside is no longer leaning into the tailgate. Cut a slice in it to relieve the area. Next step will be cut the spot welds out and lower the panel to where it should be.

[omodified]

Spot welds drilled out and bedside skin has been lowered. The top still isn't quite level but great progress so far.

[omodified]

The bed is on the frame now. The bed lines are really close to the cab lines. The bed still needs the isolator pads installed under the bed crossmembers. This will probably require the cab to be shimmed as well.

[omodified]

More progress on the bedside. A small slice got the top level now. This is looking much better compared to what I had a few weeks ago.

[omodified]

So, it seems we are back on track now. The bedside is all but finished and the tailgate fit looks as it should. All bed crossmembers are installed with the isolators underneath. Had to shim the cab slightly to match the height of the bed. Cowl has been blasted and primed. It is installed onto the truck again and is currently being skim coated and massaged. More progress on the front fender and cab.

[omodified]

I'm rounding up all of my trim that will get installed on the truck. It will get mocked up this week so we know exactly where all the holes will need to be drilled. Drilling will be done before paint. Upper and lower side trim is from Mar-K. Upper and lower tailgate trim is from Mar-k as well. The black tailgate band is from Trim Parts. It is the better reproduction with the metal letters. The LH cab divider trim is NOS. The RH cab divider trim is what came off my truck. Thank goodness it has no damage since the RH NOS trim piece is such a unicorn. Tailgate handle trim piece is NOS. The fender emblems are what came off my truck. I will use these to drill the holes. I have different ones for final assembly.