C10BLDR's 69 Shortbed C10 Project

[C10BLDR]

New guy here, long time lurker, finally joined a few week ago. A little bit about me-I was born and raised in Alaska, moved to Utah when I was 16, lived there for 13 years and just moved out here to Tennessee a couple months ago. I have built/modified a bunch of off road vehicles and done a couple bagged mini trucks, so this is my first venture into the classic/hot rod scene. I have always loved the 67-72 C10's but have never managed to find the time and money to build one, so when I sold my truck in Utah and moved out here I decided it was time finally buy one. Anyways, enough about me, lets get to the truck!

I found a 69 factory short bed. It's been sitting awhile, so it needs alot of work. Somebody started a rebuild and never finished. It had a 5.3/4l60e bolted in it but nothing connected.
Here it is in once I got it home in my garage.

[C10BLDR]

My goal for the truck is to have a reliable truck that I can drive every day if I feel like and handle well enough that I can take it to some autocross events and have some fun.

So here is the plan for the build:

69 C10 Shortbed
5.3/4L60E
PSI Harness
Boyd Welding Fuel Tank
Dakota Digital Gauges
Entropy LS Swap Radiator
Vintage Air
Wheels and Tires are still undecided
Faux Patina Paint Job
Bucket Seats

Front suspension:
No Limit Rack and Pinion Conversion
No Limit Sway Bar
ECE 2" Drop springs-likely cut down another inch
RideTech Shocks
Stock upper and lower a-arms-possible caster mod
McGaughys 2 1/2" Drop Spindles
McGaughys 13" Disc Brake kit-5 lug

Rear Suspension
No Limit Sway Bar
No Limit Shock Relocator Kit
No Limit Adjustable Panhard Bar
ECE 5" Drop Springs
RideTech Shocks
2" Drop Blocks
CPP C Notch
Box the frame and and some tubing to stiffen it up
5 lug conversion and drum brakes for now
3.73 gears and a posi

[C10BLDR]

After getting the truck home, I got right to work with the tear down. These trucks come apart fast!





A little sketchy pulling the bed myself but it worked fine.

[C10BLDR]

Had a few shiny new parts show up! Boyd Welding Fuel Cell and Entropy Radiator, both ordered through Pro Performance- Good people over there!





Also got the cab removed and the motor/trans out



It's tight working in a 2 car garage, but doable...

Started stripping the frame

[C10BLDR]

Frame completely taken apart



Removed a few of the factory crossmembers as well, frame rivets are fun....haha

[C10BLDR]

Finally got the frame completely stripped. Did it all by hand with a grinder and a wire wheel.....never again. It is totally doable, but it is a ton of work and makes a huge mess. The next one will get sandblasted.



Also got the front crossmember bolted back in and installed the rack and pinion.





Got the trailing arms cleaned up and added some stitch welds and also flipped the trailing arm mounts. Drilled the holes to 7/16" and used 6 grade 8 bolts per mount.

[C10BLDR]

Next, I started on the rear suspension, got my mockup axle bolted in with the new ubolts, 2" drop blocks, panhard mount and shock mounts.





Now that brings things up to today, when I got the c-notches welded in.
Tacked on a couple uprights to keep the frame from sagging at all while cutting out the notches.



Then measure 37 times and cut once.



Then I welded them in

[C10BLDR]

Does anyone have any suggestion for wheels that won't break the bank? I would love some Forgelines, but it's just not in the budget. I'd like something in a 18x9 that I can run all the way around but it doesn't seem like that will work with the backspacing I'll need, so I may have to go staggered. The Boss 338's and Coys are nice but a little too popular for me. I kind of like the Ridler 645's, anyone have any feedback on those? If anyone has any ideas, I'm all ears. Hoping to stay under $300 per wheel.

[Xeen]

As far as width goes I recommend a 8" wheel on the front and a 9" to 9.5" wheel on the back anything wider and you will have to modify the stock inner fenders and wheel houses respectively.
As far as diameter you can go as big as 20" without modifying anything other than front spindles, CPP sells a modular 2" drop spindle that brings in the wheels 3/4" on both sides so that you can run disk brakes and retain the same geometry as the original drum brakes which allows you to run larger wheels.

[cooperhw]

No wheel suggestions, but wanted to welcome you and compliment you on your progress. Another old truck's life is saved by "one of us". Good on you.
I will tag along on the build. Wish they went back together as fast as they come apart.

[C10BLDR]

Originally Posted by Xeen

As far as width goes I recommend a 8" wheel on the front and a 9" to 9.5" wheel on the back anything wider and you will have to modify the stock inner fenders and wheel houses respectively.
As far as diameter you can go as big as 20" without modifying anything other than front spindles, CPP sells a modular 2" drop spindle that brings in the wheels 3/4" on both sides so that you can run disk brakes and retain the same geometry as the original drum brakes which allows you to run larger wheels.

Thanks for the input, I am definitely going to stick with 18"s on this one, trying to save some weight and I like a little sidewall.

Originally Posted by cooperhw

Wish they went back together as fast as they come apart.

Haha, that would be nice. Re assembly is the fun part though!

[SierraMtns]

Great start. I will be tagging along for the ride. I like the look of the No Limit Rack and Pinion Conversion.

[Justin@EntropyRad]

Ooh, shiny bits

[C10BLDR]

Thanks for following along. Got a little more done over the last couple days.
The rear section of the passenger frame rail had some damage that needed addressed. I thought about heating it up with a torch and trying to straighten it out but decided it would be easier to just cut it off and build a new section.

Before and after.




Also got the rear end cleaned up and installed and the fuel cell fitted.
I hate how the trailing arm crossmember is mounted at a slight angle, it makes everything in the rear frame section look so crooked and out of square....



Then I cut out some plates to box in the inside edge of the c-notch





Then, I added some tube to replace the factory crossmembers that were removed.

[C10BLDR]

Well, it's been awhile since I've posted any updates. I've been plugging away at it and have made some decent progress. I'll just let the pictures do the talking.

[C10BLDR]

[Jinxy81]

Great progress!!

[rikyric]

What wheels did you end up getting?

[C10BLDR]

Originally Posted by Jinxy81

Great progress!!

Thanks!

Originally Posted by rikyric

What wheels did you end up getting?

Whoops, forgot the last picture. They are Boss 338's 18x9.5 rear and 18x8 front. Not my first choice as they are so common on these trucks, but for the price, you can't go wrong.

[Sicksty8]

Looking good so far! Just wondering where you picked up that rear sway bar kit.

[C10BLDR]

Originally Posted by Sicksty8

Looking good so far! Just wondering where you picked up that rear sway bar kit.

Thanks, the rear sway bar is from No Limit Engineering.

[C10BLDR]

A few more updates, progress has been slow, but still plugging away at it.

Got some tires mounted, went with the Nitto NT555's in a 295/45/18 rear and 255/45/18 front.



Also modified the lower control arms for more caster.





Finally got my McGaughys brakes and drop spindles as well, it's finally a roller!

[C10forDad]

I'm interested to see this build come together.

This is the first time I've seen somebody take the time to flip the trailing arm brackets instead of buying a new crossmember. I did the same and looked at it as money I could spend elsewhere on the truck.

[FRANKENSTEINC10]

Excellent work so far and quality parts.

[C10BLDR]

Originally Posted by C10forDad

I'm interested to see this build come together.

This is the first time I've seen somebody take the time to flip the trailing arm brackets instead of buying a new crossmember. I did the same and looked at it as money I could spend elsewhere on the truck.

My thoughts exactly, trying to stick to a budget here. It's easy to say "oh, whats an extra couple hundred for a new crossmember..." but you do that too many times and it really adds up.

Originally Posted by FRANKENSTEINC10

Excellent work so far and quality parts.

Thanks, it's fun seeing it start to come together.