Project Glacier 68 Shortbed

[Lord_glum]

1st post here so humor me...
It was a mess of old seat foam and rotted cardboard boxes of old parts when purchased. This project had been in the works for a while before it landed in my garage. The vin tag matches the frame stamp and she's not been shortened.

So here it is...moving slowly.

Project Glacier
The goal of this truck is to get the most performance I can DIY for the least amount of cash that I can spend. That is the rationality behind the parts list.

It will be driven a couple times a week but I would like to do some auto crossing & track days on occasion. The motto is do it right and do it once. I am taking it down to the frame. Which means its gonna get done slowly. That and free time around here is hard to find some days. Thus the name glacier.

I am absolutely looking for feedback so feel free to comment on my parts list or some mistake I made in planning or some new thing I missed. Like CPP offering a coil over kit now.

Drivetrain

• L77, L96, or L92
• TBD cam w/supporting mods & tune. Shooting for 400ish RWHP
• 6L80
• Still looking for tranny cross member
• Edge Racing Torque converter
• Don't think I need a yank
• Borla Pro XS mufflers. Not looking for a loud truck
• Keeping the stock 12 Bolt
• Truetrac w/3.73 Gears
• DS.com driveshaft

Suspension, Steering & Brakes

• Late 80's higher ratio steering box
• Would love full front drop member kit w/R&P, can't justify the cost

Ft

• PoL Sway bar
• Looking at the QA1 front coilover setup.
• Not sure if its worth the $1K difference
• Eibach 3” lowering Springs
• Eibach lowered shocks
• CPP 2.5” modular drop spindles w/brackets
• Looking to use 09 Z06 reman brakes, not sure if they fit yet based on rotor size.
• More research is needed

Rear

• No Limit Trailing Arm System
• CPP C notch
• PoL 1.5” drop blocks
• Wilwood 140-10094-D Kit for rear brakes
• I like the way their parking brake setup works

Wheels & Tires
FT:

• Rocket Attack Rims 18x8 5” BS in Gunmetal
• Nitto NT555 G2 245/40/R18

Rear:

• Rocket Attack Rims 18x12 6” BS in Gunmetal
• Nitto NT555R 335/30/R18

Interior

• Like to keep the stock look interior
• New wiring harness
• Updated to foot parking brake
• Updated bench seat and stock trim
• Heat only, non AC cab
• Possibly Vintage Air unit and shaved firewall
• Need to decide on the gauge cluster Dakota or Classic Instruments
• Is there a more cost effective option?

Chassis

• Larger Rear Wheel wells
• Possibly Porterbuilt rear cross member
• fueltankparts.com Rear EFI bed fill tank
• unless I can find a cheaper option
• Walnut Bed floor and new bed supports
• New Tailgate
• New Front Bed section
• Stock bumpers ft and rear
• New wiring harness
• Relocate the battery to passenger side frame rail

Color Choices

• Plan to use TCP Global Hot Rod Gloss Paints for everything
  
• Primary color not yet decided...leaning White with Grey and Carmine Red accents.
• Diamond Blue
• Glacier Blue
• Alpine White
  
• Accent Colors
• Machine Grey
• Satin Black
• Carmine Red
• Summit Primers
• SEM primers as needed

Other Miscellaneous
Looking for a new Cab!
It looks like I need to re-do what somebody already did poorly. Wondering if its worth my time or just buy a new shell. I can weld but that don't make me a 'body man'
Working with a couple places on line to line up a new cab shell for a non ac cab.

Cab Pics:
Somebody was a fan of caulking, rivets, and seam sealer




How she sits now ready to be torn down:

[MQUnlimited]

You have a decent project there. Glad to see these old vehicles get a second chance to put some miles on them.

[Lord_glum]

Some updates from the weekend. Got the front end and cab stripped down. Waiting for my title before the cab comes off. Illinois is taking its time. Old rear mount gas tank has been removed as well. Also got the first new parts, the CPP notch.

[meenaggie]

Just my $0.02 so take it for what's it is worth . . .

The new front and rear setup from QA1 is worth a look. I especially like the rear how QA1 incorporated pinion angle adjustment, high misalignment front hiems on the trailing arms and multiple mounting point for the lower coilover in the rear which gives you true ride height adjustment. I have a No Limit rear trailing arm set up and their Wide Ride IFS in my '68 C10 so I understand both kits are nice and the differences. For a stock frame those are the two kits I would be choosing from.

If you go with No Limit for the trailing arm setup then you should use the No Limit C-Notch kit. I have the No Limit C-Notch and it is a nice piece. If you go with the QA1 it includes the C-Notch as an integral piece of the rear shock upper mount. So keep that in mind when comparing price as well.

A less expensive option than the entire trailing arm setup is just the QA1 rear coilover conversion. Includes a new panhard bar but not the C-Notch. Reuse your stock trailing arms. Depends on budget, goals, etc.

Maybe rethink the 6L80 with a built 4L60 for the horsepower your are looking for. The 4L60 is significantly easier to fit under the cab with no modifications.

Really think if you have to have a 12" 335 tire in the back. That is going to snow ball on you into having to run wide well tubs and modify the wood for the bed. You can easily get a 10" wide tire in the back with no modification. I would think a 10.5" would fit as well but that puts you into custom wheels.

For the battery relocation I really like the drop down box from Speedway Motors. I got their box in black and fit perfect in the location you described. Their are others out there but make sure you get a drop box.

I recommend Mar-K for the wood bed conversion kit (new header panel and cross rails), walnut wood and tailgate. A few bucks more than some but the parts are so much nicer and worth the spend. I think they have a July 4 sale every year (which will not apply to the walnut).

As for Porter Built . . . I used their tubular cross members in the front under the radiator and rear just in front of and behind the relocated gas tank to eliminate the stock pieces and clean things up a bit. They are simple and not expensive but order early as they can take a bit to get.

PM me for an email if you want pictures of my 68 C10 that has the battery relocation you are looking to do, black walnut in the bed, No Limit rear trailing arm set up, LS, Direct Sheet Metal shaved firewall, etc. Might give you some ideas and I don't want to clutter your build thread with pics of my truck.

[Lord_glum]

Thanks for the input. Here are my thoughts, as always looking for opinions since some of this project is still in the research phase.

I looked at the QA1 rear setup but once its fully priced out its a bit more expensive than the No Limit setup. One of the major stores had it at about a $200 discount but I didn't pull the trigger since I am still waiting for the bill for my cab.

Any thought on the QA1 vs No Limit setup? My thought is more or less for my driving they would be about on par with each other.

Current front end plans are for either the QA1 or new CPP coil over setup.

I'd really like to shove a 6L80 in there if I can. From what I read you need the high hump tranny and move back the mount. As for power the MYC serial numbers are in the L99 camaros. That would be about as much HP as I would need.

12" is a must have so wider tubs is a must. Modifying the bed floor doesn't bother me too much. There is something I crave about fatty rear tires.

I have looked at Mar-K for the kit. That is where I plan to go at this point.

Thanks for the feedback and pics.

[Lord_glum]

Some new parts and some progress....

Porterbuilt core support and and mounting brackets


Parts from a fine gentleman out of Lamar Co.
Ended up with:
a hunk of rear frame for a later topic
'new' cab
Visors
Front wheel tubs
Bed front for wood bed
core support
doors
metal door pane trim
glove box door and misc stuff

[Lord_glum]

My cheap and cheerful cab stand


It doubled as a bed roller


Bed sides off holy cow what a PIA


Rear diff....had some water issues
May not be worth saving


How she sits today


And then there is THIS.
I thought it had a bad spot, but this was more than i was expecting.
I have a chunk of good frame to help patch it but not sure what the plan is just yet.

[Orange67]

Looks like a good project. I'm in.

[Lord_glum]

As long as you don't expect quick updates

I did find I have a 1/2 with the HD frame option. This sits on a 3/4 frame. That explains the extra steel by the coil mounts.
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[Lord_glum]

Sold the old cab and some other random parts so now I can use my garage again.

More progress pics. I now know how bad the rust is on the lower frame rail.
The passenger side looks to be in fine shape, just surface rust.

Now I am researching rear drop kits that allow me to get rid of this bit of frame.

Before:


How she currently sits:


The bad:

[Lord_glum]

Not much progress....Still working on getting rid of all the rivets.

Can somebody help me clarify if I have C10 or C20 cab mounts?
I have a HD rear frame option since I had the stiffener in the rear that caused all the rust.

But from what I can tell I have C10 cab mounts. The rear is flush with the top of the frame and the front (upside down) is pictured below. They seem to me to look like the other C10 mounts I have seen.



Got some new parts.

Dirty Dingo tranny mount
GSI rear frame support.

[68Gold/white]

That's second "DD" cross member I've seen someone with here...Looks like a good idea!!!

[Lord_glum]

I'm planning putting in a 6L80 and the theory is this give me a bit more flexibility with placement.
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[Lord_glum]

Made some progress of late.

Not a single rivet left in the frame rails and the nothces fit up.
Holy crap was that a pain.




New parts are in. QA1 rear suspension setup.



They did miss the fact that they showed 'front' and it was really the 'rear'
Good thing I messed up the 1 that already needed weld repair.



After the weld repair. Found a nice local shop who happens to be a hot rodder and does excellent work. Looks rusty because its a clean section of a good frame that was spliced in.




Old rusty bit for comparison


Just started busting down the brackets with the grinders.



Going to try to hit them with primer tomorrow time permitting.

[Lord_glum]

Got the frame getting ready to be strung up and measured before powder coat


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[Lord_glum]

More parts arrived. I have more parts than progress.




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[Low Elco]

Looks like a heckuva good start- Thanks for the tip on the DD crossmember- I'll be ordering one tonight.

[Lord_glum]

Progress. Me and por15 went to work on the frame.
Don’t mind the diy parts hanger.

[Lord_glum]

Realized my last posts didn’t take. Made some progress.

Got the frame strung up and measured. Torqued the bolts down and installed the c notch.
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[Lord_glum]

Started building shocks and rear suspension.
Got the diff dropped off at the shop. Has 3.73 gears and truetrac diff.