1969 c10 Restoration

[69kinger69]

Hello All! New to the forum and need some help with my build. I have a 250 inline 6 with a 3 on the tree manual trans I swapped for a 454 BBC bored 30 over. It is going to mate up with a built up Th400 transmission with Allison TC around 2700-2800 stall speed. So far I have an Eagle stroker rotating assembly, Edelbrock Victor Jr. 850 cfm, Holley super sniper 8 injector electronic fuel injection and Performance World PER 90315A aluminum rectangular port heads (120cc combustion chambers) I NEED to figure out how to mount this engine and transmission in the frame. Where to move the mounts and what I need for crossmembers. Also I need new total rear end including suspension as well as front suspension. This is a 2 wheel drive long box and I will be shortening the frame, full restoration, power steering, etc. The Whole nine yards and I need all the input I can get! Any feedback is greatly appreciated. I need to know recommendation on rear and front end as that is nowhere near my specialty.

[cornerstone]

Welcome aboard! These trucks came with big blocks from the factory, and I think the 454 and 396 share the same mounting locations so no problem with mounting the motor in the stock location. You will need to locate a set of big block engine stands and a set of stock motor mounts and it'll bolt right into place. I'm also pretty sure the TH400 will use the same transmission cross member as the TH350, so those are easy to source as the stock one from any V8/automatic truck will work. Another issue you may have will be the transmission tunnel in the cab. If your truck currently has a low hump, you'll most likely need to cut it out and add a bolt in high hump transmission tunnel. You can buy those in the aftermarket now for about a hundred bucks, so no need to hunt for an original.

It sounds like your building a 1/4 mile drag truck based on what I'm reading. Is that the plan? If you are able to post pictures do so and you'll get a lot more interest in your build, and more responses too.

Good luck!

[May70]

Don't buy a bunch of parts up front. Plans change and you forget what you have bought.

If you buy sheet metal, buy all that from the same place.

Don't bite off a bunch at once.

Start with the basics, you know your doing a frame off because of the shortening work... Might as well get everything out of the way. Bag and tag everything on your way there. Take pictures too. Force yourself to stay organized.

If you dont have extra space like a big garage, depending on where you live/weather conditions/wind exposure... You may want to invest in one of those enclosed car port tent things. Keep your cab, fenders bed and misc stuff in and out of the way.

Get the frame pretty much squared away. Move to the cab, get all the rust repair done, if you have to do rockers, you will need to mount fenders to cab to match body lines. That means if your fenders need work, you do it then. Bed is last. Get metal in order then deal with body work when you have cab, core support and fenders on the frame. Bed can be dealt with separately. Be prepared to take everything on and off a hundred times. Do not do body work on doors without them being ON the truck and the fender ON next to it.

If you don't have a decent tap & die set, get one, you'll need it.

Either buy a complete fastener kit or get a bulk hardware kit. I got a grade 8 set for frame/important stuff because a lot of the stuff you will buy might not come with hardware and you will replace quite a bit. Grade is extremely important so do your research. Don't go putting china junk quality on your frame because you are asking for problems.

Don't rush, do it right and you wont regret it. Spend a little bit more where you can on quality if you're going to keep the truck. You will remember quality long after you've forgot about the cost. Dont skimp on paint and that includes sealer/primer!!!! I know many painters and the bottom line is a single stage (no activator required) paint of any kind stands no match to a two part system. If your first coat on bare metal is rattlecan 'primer' you might as well buy the cheapest paint there on because your weakest link is the cheap primer. Try to stick to all the same brand/systems where you can. Follow the instructions/guidelines for the paint EXACTLY. Get a temperature gun and a thermometer for the shop, temp and humidity will ruin everything in an instant.

If you dont have a decent paint gun, I highly recommend the 3m accuspray system. Disposables can be bought on ebay cheap. On that note try to buy all your consumables in bulk, I know a lot of people have moved on to Amazon but ebay has its deals. Tape is a huge one. If you buy it buy the single roll, you are paying 5-6 times the price you should. Only automotive tape, yes it matters.

Sorry for the rambling. Just things I wish I had known years ago. I learned a lot from disappointing results a few times. Apologies if you knew this or better.

[69kinger69]

Hey thanks for the replies! I am well on my way cab is getting stripped and frame is stripped down to wheels only for now. Planning on taking those off as a need to beef uo my suspension and rear end. What are your thoughts for suspension and rear end? Ehere is everyone getting their hardware kits. Itd be sweet to get the entire restoration hardware in one shot and labelled needly to save the time and headache.

[AU Doc]

Originally Posted by 69kinger69

.... Ehere is everyone getting their hardware kits. Itd be sweet to get the entire restoration hardware in one shot and labelled needly to save the time and headache.

I would be interested in this as well. I found a complete kit a while back, but now I can't seem to find it again.

Edit: Looks like Eckler's has a complete body bolt kit for around $270

[May70]

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Grade 8 assortment. Certainly wont need it all for this but if you dont have a nice assortment this was the best deal I could find.

The rest I bought between LMC and Classic Heartbeat (Wes forum member)