Projects Jimbohatro's '65 c20 to c10 conversion

Coming in as a newby to the board. Finally getting started on my old pick up. The plan is to convert the 3/4 ton running gear to some newer 1/2 ton and gain the ability to run over 50 mph. The truck has some body issues but was very complete. Came with a '71 350 on a old powerglide. The rear end is an old eaton with what appears to be 4.56 gears. I scored a complete front end and an 8.5" 10 bolt rear end on the cheap that included a few air ride parts. I also swapped the powerglide across to my brother for a 700r4 after the pull. Some pics of the deal along the way so far..

As was when paid for..




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Blew apart the front end and yanked the tired old motor and transmission with my brother this week.
We removed the front clip as a whole prior to picking.


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the PO decided it would be a good idea to spray some sloppy rhino liner type material all uder the fenders and firewall. Should be fun to remove. The steering box is only recognizable as a ball of tar.

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These are some sweet old trucks and my favorite body style I currently sitting on a 64 c10 that is waiting its turn after some off topic projects are finished. What is up with the plate on top of the frame by the motor mount on the pass. side never seen that before. is it a repair for a cracked frame?

 

I'm really excited to have this deal underway. I really love this truck and all the possibilities to have on the build. Other than the more expensive tagging fees with the 3/4 ton title, I don't see any downside to this project at all. That's a good question on the plate. I haven't got around to removing it to inspect. As far as I can see, it was just a grounding plate. I spent the last couple of days sorting out the parts and cleaning up the to be rebuilt and installed rear end and transmission. I hope I don't find any shady business below...

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Nice project... It's been a while and I'm real foggy on pre-66 trucks but I'm pretty sure a 71/2 C10 rear would be a bolt in instead of screwing around putting a leaf spring rear into a trailing arm rear suspension. 71-87 C-10 front cross member/suspension literally bolts in, giving you discs. While you're in there, ditch the original steering box/column for a 69+ box and 69-72 column. The original one will impale you like a skewer in the unfortunate event of a hard front end collision.

 

That plate is a bit concerning and if I remember correctly, that tall bolt nearly made a hole in the mid tube header that was installed prior. There's plenty of crappy work here and there that I'm removing.

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Shoot i helped you pull it apart and i didnt even notice the plate shows how much we pay attention hahaha

 

You will have a great combo with the o/d trans and the newer rear diff simlar plans for mine but hoping to find a 3spd o/d and keep the 3 on the tree feel for nostalgia. will be watching best of luck!

 

I got a chance to inspect that plate and it looks like the motor mount is mismatched and wouldn't reach the chassis from the xmember. Looks like I'll have to replace the mount to delete the plate.

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Thanks. This is the front end I will disassemble and rebuild for use until I save enough for the PB dropmember. It has manual steering box but it will due for a while. I got a booster. Ill need a dual master but the proportioning valve is present. .

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Saw these on the model car side of the hamb and thought of your build jimmy haha

 

Got back from the rig yesterday. Got back to the tear apart today. I had the spare c10 front end to get blown apart to rebuild as a temporary until the dropmember can be afforded.

It was loaded with coils, so I built a compressor at work so that I could unload the spindles and control arms. The tool worked great.

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I really needed to pull the bed to do the rear end swap and suspension work and I figured a day spent taking it off would save days of crawling under and struggling with space issues. I didn't plan on a frame off, but the more I look at the truck the more I want to do the stuff right and make sure it's clean.
There's so much bad work below the surface. Rear coils welded to the trailing arms...

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Nice looking start on your project. It looks like you are following behind Hack job Joe though.
If you are going to run the trailing arms Classic parts and others have new axle mount brackets that save a lot of cutting, fussing and trimming.
http://www.classicparts.com/1960-72-Weld-On-Rear-Axle-Seats/productinfo/93-319/#.WBLZcfkrLIU

 

Thanks 48. I have been searching for a set of these brackets for the 8.5" that I'm cleaning up. I plan on keeping the 2 link. My rig welder lives around the corner and offered to come by anytime I have things mocked up and permanently stick them together. I'd trust his welds.

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Worked this week on the teardown and sort out. Heavy labor, but I got almost all of it done. Tore the rest of the replacement front end apart and got the stuff down to the oil tool shop I worked at for a long time. They let me use their hot pressure washer and industrial degreaser on parts here and there. the arms and crossmember are ready to be wheeled and painted. I'm putting in an order in a week for bushings, tie rods, adjustment sleeves, ball joints, and modular spindles. Should have them all together when I get back from work this month.

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Got the cab stripped of everything. It's way more roached out than I thought. It's going to need a fair amount of sheet metal work. I'm going to just bite the bullet and have it blasted and epoxy primed before starting it.

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so it's just about stripped down. I got the bed dismantled and stowed away. I had to cut nearly every bolt for the cross strips but the hardware for the corners of the body remained in tact and most can be reused after cleaned and painted. The cab is ready to come off and I can begin on the chassis and suspension.

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Jimbo
Have you checked out the cowl and drains for crud.
There is a spot up inside that collects leaves, needles, etc.
My 66 Suburban was rotted out in this area, letting water into the cab floor.

 

I did. The cowls look surprisingly clean inside. The rust came from the rocker weeps being clogged under the weather stripping and water collecting inside the front corners. On the driver side the water came from the firewall and holes where the tire spray was allowed to come in. I didn't include a pic of the driver rear corner with the nasty hole. They had a blowout up front passenger at one point that separated the pinch in the floor panel and the foot panel if that makes sense. It created a gap and all of the water coming off of that tire sprayed inside through that gap for what looks like years.

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Got the rest of the suspension and rear end out and up on CL. I managed to pretty much get it all apart this week and now the work can start. I'll probably burn out a grinder or two cleaning this stuff up.

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Good job jimmy sorry i was working and playing in santa maria and couldnt be there to help ya. We should head down to larrys paint shop and see if he has a spot to blast the cab if u want. Im sure hed be happy to see us. Im eye balling that shifter you have for my chevy 2

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I don't know about your state. But In pa you don't have to tag it at the max. You can register a 3/4 as a 1/2. Just don't get caught overweight.


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Jimbo you have been busy looking good wish my cab was as nice as yours you got a great start keep going!

 

Nice project start. I have a soft spot for these pickups. My dad had an Og napco truck. That motor mount on right probably was different because the truck may have had a 6 banger in it from factory. I recall we had to find a v6 or v8 mount to replace the passenger side when my dad put the 32 in his truck.

 

Thanks. That was some work getting it all the way down single handed. I made really good use of the picker and engineered it into a cab hoist with a drilled hole, a 10" x 1/4" bolt and some lumber and ply wood. The impact wrench was also key.

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That's exactly right. It was used to stretch the length of the mount all the way over back to the frame for the 350 application.


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Hey jimbo whats new on your project

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