"BUILD: 1970 C10 LWB--->SWB “Jumping Cholla”

[loudchevy]

Originally Posted by Chaparralman1974

I love seeing your progress man! It gives me motivation to keep moving forward with mine. It has been so miserably hot though, that I have slacked a bit. Looking great man!!

Clay

Originally Posted by rodstored-72

scott, agree with Clay! keep motivating us!

Thanks Gents! I'm glad I can help motivate the AZ crew

[zicc1835]

hey Scott thanks for the tip on the speedo cable and Speedway CM mine lined up real nice on the 700R4 .....close like you said but all good
Jess

[loudchevy]

Originally Posted by zicc1835

hey Scott thanks for the tip on the speedo cable and Speedway CM mine lined up real nice on the 700R4 .....close like you said but all good
Jess

Yup, that looks as close as mine is. Good to know it fits!

[loudchevy]

Labor Day weekend progress update...

I had bought a new set of power steering hoses from Speedway the other week but I'm going to return them. The lengths are perfect but the fitting that connects to the pump is a 45 degrees and it moves the hose too close to the header tube on cylinder #1. I found a set on Summit with a 90 degree fitting that should work much better. Since the serpentine belt setup I have on the 454 uses a new style pump, I needed to get an adapter (Part Number 605SOL) for M16 x 1.5 to 5/8 in.-18 inverted flare to make the hose fit up to the original steering box.

I finally got to install the new CPP tilt column. Pretty straight forward install with good directions included. The new column comes in a hard plastic case, almost like a rifle case, to protect it during shipping. Once that was installed, I put in my new rag joint at the gear box, new u-joint at the column, and a new shaft to connect everything together.

Next mini project was the transmission cooler and lines. The an fittings I had bought forever ago were the wrong size for the supply/return on the trans case so I'm stalled on running those lines until those pieces come in. I moved on to mounting the trans cooler. I went with a plate and frame over tube and fin coil. I've never liked the mounting style they send with any of these coolers (with the plastic studs that sandwich the heat exchangers of the radiator/cooler together) so I bend up and made my own brackets out of some 1"x1/8" flat stock and mounted it in front of the core support. I wanted to have the cooler on the passenger side of the core but after looking at the Vintage Air condenser coil that I will most likely run at some point, I saw that wasn't going to work out since the drier would be in the way. So I moved the cooler over to the drivers side and bend my brackets so that a new VA condenser coil assembly could slide right behind it. Hopefully my holistic planning pays off and when it comes time to do A/C and the coil can be installed with minimal teardown of the cooler setup. I need to pick up some bulkhead fittings to install in the core support to connect all the hoses from the remote cooler, radiator cooler, and the trans.

Inching closer to starting the engine

[loudchevy]

Just a few more pics of the front

[Chaparralman1974]

Nice work Scott! Are you happy with the CPP column so far? I am looking at getting one of those as well. My original column is beat to hell and I figured it would be better to just go with a new one vs. try to rebuild the old one. Plus it would be nice to have a tilt mechanism to boot. Also, are you going to leave yours black, or paint it the body color??


Clay

[loudchevy]

Originally Posted by Chaparralman1974

Are you happy with the CPP column so far? I am looking at getting one of those as well. My original column is beat to hell and I figured it would be better to just go with a new one vs. try to rebuild the old one. Plus it would be nice to have a tilt mechanism to boot. Also, are you going to leave yours black, or paint it the body color??

Clay

The new column seems like a nice piece so far. I still need to get a Steering wheel too. I was going to go the same route of rebuilding my old one, but once into disassembly, I saw it would just be nice to have a tilt along with all new plastic pieces, bearing and electrical connections. I'm just going to leave it black

[loudchevy]

Small build updates...

• Finished the trans cooler plumbing, just need one more straight -6an fitting for the line back to the trans. I picked up a DEI heat sleeve to help protect the lines running between the headers and the oil pan.
• New power steering hoses work much better coming out of the pump.
• Waiting on my CPP transmission shifter linkage to get here. Tracking showed it was stuck in Texas for a few days. I was hoping to have that in hand and get it installed this weekend.
• Took all the measurements for a new driveshaft. I'm planning on getting that made from Phoenix Rack and Axle. I had my K5 driveshafts made there forever ago and they came out great
• Got the brake lines connected to the proportioning valve. I really had to bend and tweak the lines to get everything connected. It's not pretty, but should be functional lol. I still need to bleed the lines and hope for no leaks
• New temp sensor installed in the manifold, Blocked off the heater hose port on the water pump with the cap I removed for the sensor. I'll add a barb once I get to the HVAC portion of the build
• Lastly I got upper and lower radiator hose hooked up

Pics are kinda repetitive from my other posts cuz most of these updates are kinda small but it's the smaller steps that make the progress.

[Chaparralman1974]

That firewall looks CLEAN!!! Looking great Scott!


Clay

[loudchevy]

Baby steps forward but it's progress. The shift linkage is installed and the column shifter is clicking through the gears of the 700R4. I got my new driveshaft. I ended up getting it made by AZ Driveshaft out in Mesa, AZ. It was ready in a day after I approved the quote. It looks like a nice piece and the sticker should add a few HP.

With the driveshaft installed I can throw some ATF in the 700. I still need to pickup some power steering fluid and coolant for the radiator, connect my makeshift engine stand wiring harness, plug wires, and a few gallons of fuel and start this baby up. I want it running before jumping into the new wiring harness (that I still need to buy) and more so for milestone motivation. Not sure if I'll get to it this weekend but I can almost smell the exhaust now.

It's almost cooling down now in Phx so I can move back over to getting the bed shortened, cleaned, bodyworked, and painted. As much as I was hating that process on the cab and front clip, I'm actually looking forward to starting it all over again for the bed

[Chaparralman1974]

Hey Scott, that sticker should add at least 10HP.....If you really want some power, then add a chrome spectre air cleaner! LOL

She is looking good man! And I hear ya about the cooler weather. It is nice to be able to go outside and not worry as much about heat stroke.


Clay

[loudchevy]

Not a whole lot of progress over the last weeks. Life got busy real quick with kids school back in full swing and nights and weekends filled up. I also got distracted from the C10 and bought a used Polaris Ranger that has ate some garage hours

I did manage to get all hoses and fluids tightened and filled. Also whipped up a quick wiring harness to start the engine, dropped the fuel lines in a gas tank, and it started/idles (and revs) sitting between the frame rails.

Start up vid

Rev'ing

Now that it's been started up, time to get the fenders, wheel wells, grille, and hood bolted in and make sure I can get the gaps correct.

[Chaparralman1974]

Originally Posted by loudchevy

Not a whole lot of progress over the last weeks. Life got busy real quick with kids school back in full swing and nights and weekends filled up. I also got distracted from the C10 and bought a used Polaris Ranger that has ate some garage hours

I did manage to get all hoses and fluids tightened and filled. Also whipped up a quick wiring harness to start the engine, dropped the fuel lines in a gas tank, and it started/idles (and revs) sitting between the frame rails.

Start up vid

Rev'ing

Now that it's been started up, time to get the fenders, wheel wells, grille, and hood bolted in and make sure I can get the gaps correct.

Congrats on getting her started up Scott! And also contracts on the new Ranger! Now that we are finally getting into cooler weather here, I really regret getting rid of my RZR. Oh well, more time to work on my truck I guess.


Clay

[zicc1835]

Originally Posted by loudchevy

Not a whole lot of progress over the last weeks. Life got busy real quick with kids school back in full swing and nights and weekends filled up. I also got distracted from the C10 and bought a used Polaris Ranger that has ate some garage hours

I did manage to get all hoses and fluids tightened and filled. Also whipped up a quick wiring harness to start the engine, dropped the fuel lines in a gas tank, and it started/idles (and revs) sitting between the frame rails.

Start up vid

Rev'ing

Now that it's been started up, time to get the fenders, wheel wells, grille, and hood bolted in and make sure I can get the gaps correct.

congrats sounds fannnnntastic

[loudchevy]

Well I got distracted from bolting the rest of the front clip on and decided to cut the bed apart. It's been sitting in my backyard all blown apart for a few months now and since its getting a little cooler (finally under 100 degrees ) I said now's the time. I started laying the cuts out, measured 10x and started cutting the bedsides first. Pretty easy and straight forward. All the pieces look like that should come back together. I'll either have to use some of the scraps from the cut-out sections as replacement panels or buy a patch panel piece to fully remove the toolbox opening. I'm leaning toward a new patch panel. Also, I'm not sure if I'm going to put the side marker lights back in, might leave it looking like a 67 bed.

On Saturday I dragged the floor into the garage and started laying out the cut lines. After a few cutoff wheels and a couple of hours. I had the entire bed cut down to a short bed. See the next post for the carnage......

I'll probably be taking all the pieces to get them media blasted. I don't have it in me to DIY them like I did for all the other body parts. Once I get some clean pieces back, I'll weld everything up and start the body work/painting process up again.

[loudchevy]

The carnage I mentioned in the last post happened as I was prep'ing the floor for my cuts. Everything was great until my makeshift floor stand started to lean and give way causing the floor to head right for the drivers door of the truck . I was able to somewhat grab the floor before it crashed in the door, but bed floor corner was already pressed up against the door. I was the only one home at the time so I couldn't yell for help. I held everything stead for a minute trying to figure the best way to cause minimal damage. I finally decided to let gravity win and help guide the floor down to the ground while the corner of the road down the door. The scratch is only a few inches long considering it rode across the door for over 2 feet. I had a moving blanket with a tarp draped over the cab which I think helped minimize the damage, but damage was done .

I was pissed at myself for my piss poor work setup leading to this to happen. It was totally avoidable with the proper setup, which I did the second time around.... So I'll have to sand and repaint the outer drivers door when I paint the bed. Not a huge deal but extra work none the less. A positive for having to do the door is to fix a couple of areas where my first attempt on filler/sanding wasn't perfect and was visible once color was sprayed.

Overall, this incident could've been way worse, it still sucked though.

[Chaparralman1974]

Originally Posted by loudchevy

The carnage I mentioned in the last post happened as I was prep'ing the floor for my cuts. Everything was great until my makeshift floor stand started to lean and give way causing the floor to head right for the drivers door of the truck . I was able to somewhat grab the floor before it crashed in the door, but bed floor corner was already pressed up against the door. I was the only one home at the time so I couldn't yell for help. I held everything stead for a minute trying to figure the best way to cause minimal damage. I finally decided to let gravity win and help guide the floor down to the ground while the corner of the road down the door. The scratch is only a few inches long considering it rode across the door for over 2 feet. I had a moving blanket with a tarp draped over the cab which I think helped minimize the damage, but damage was done .

I was pissed at myself for my piss poor work setup leading to this to happen. It was totally avoidable with the proper setup, which I did the second time around.... So I'll have to sand and repaint the outer drivers door when I paint the bed. Not a huge deal but extra work none the less. A positive for having to do the door is to fix a couple of areas where my first attempt on filler/sanding wasn't perfect and was visible once color was sprayed.

Overall, this incident could've been way worse, it still sucked though.

Ugh! I know how you feel Scott! I have done similar things several times throughout the project. But, you will get her fixed up nicely!

For your sandblasting, I recommend Amalfi Powder Coating on 43rd and Clarendon. They are cash only, $120 per hour but do really good work and have experience blasting sheet metal. They took their time with my bed and didn't mess anything up. I have used them several times throughout my project.


Clay

[loudchevy]

Originally Posted by Chaparralman1974

Ugh! I know how you feel Scott! I have done similar things several times throughout the project. But, you will get her fixed up nicely!

For your sandblasting, I recommend Amalfi Powder Coating on 43rd and Clarendon. They are cash only, $120 per hour but do really good work and have experience blasting sheet metal. They took their time with my bed and didn't mess anything up. I have used them several times throughout my project.
Clay

I was going to ask you who you used for your bed. Thanks for the recommendation.

[rodstored-72]

SCOTT, glad to see you making headway. I COMPLETELY understand about carnage in the garage, just take a look at page 2 of my build to see my "little mishap" in the garage after painting. it is nice to be able to be in the garage and it NOT be 110 degrees!! LOL!! are you thinking that you will be at DINO'S ?

[loudchevy]

Originally Posted by rodstored-72

are you thinking that you will be at DINO'S ?

If I go it will be on Friday night. You going?

[rodstored-72]

I am going to try.. I also would be on that friday.....

[loudchevy]

I dropped off the chopped-up bed at the sand blasters (thanks for the recommendation, Clay) yesterday. I need to get my weld gas tank swapped out this week as well. Might get some bed pieces glued back together this weekend.

[Chaparralman1974]

Originally Posted by loudchevy

I dropped off the chopped-up bed at the sand blasters (thanks for the recommendation, Clay) yesterday. I need to get my weld gas tank swapped out this week as well. Might get some bed pieces glued back together this weekend.

No problem Scott! They did a good job on my sheet metal. The guy there seems to know what he is doing.

Clay

[pjmoreland]

Nice build! Your truck is really starting to take shape. You've gotta be pretty excited about it.

[loudchevy]

Originally Posted by pjmoreland

Nice build! Your truck is really starting to take shape. You've gotta be pretty excited about it.

Thanks, I'm excited about getting closer to the end. Had a lot of fun working on it over the past year+ but am wanting to get it driving and on the road.