"Outkast" 1985 C10 in Hawaii
 

Here we go again! This time, I decided on a Square Body C10 to play with.

I live on the Big Island of Hawaii and finding a C10 with minimal rust is a challenge. Damn near impossible, to be honest. So, I did the next best thing... I found one in Cali. She lived in SoCal and I found her on CL. I bought it in December 2017 and my friend picked her up. I immediately called Classic Industries and ordered new bumpers and some other small odds and ends and he picked them up, threw um on before it shipped to Hawaii in early January 2018. He also put new BFGs all around for good measure.

Here is what I knew when I bought it:
1985 Chevy C10, GM Goodwrench 350, 700r4, edelbrock carb & intake, ceramic coated headers, dual 40 Flowmasters. CPP drops spindles and drop springs in the front and flip kit in the back. No carpet, bumpers where is bad shape, inside the bed is well used and raw, ran n drove pretty good.

The pics are from the CL add prior to me doing anything to it.

Re: "Outkast" 1985 C10 in Hawaii
 

At this point, it was GREAT to be back into another C10. After I sold my 67, I went through a K5 Blazer, a 50 Chevy, built a mild custom 2001 Dyna, had a 2003 Silverado and a 2009 Chevy 2500HD... none of which felt the same and I got rid of them all except the Dyna... she will be with me forever.

The wait was LONG.... here is a Christmas pic of Outkast sitting at my friend's house in Orange County Cali over the holidays.

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For those of you that didnt see my "name that truck" post... I decided on "Outkast" because where I live in Hawaii, there are little to no C10s - muchless in the condition/style mine is in... Everyone here has Tacomas or 4Runners... its amazing how many are here in this small town. Its what is popular.... thus, came the name...

More to follow as I get caught up on its arrival, the issues, and what I have done to it so far. Stay tuned!

Re: "Outkast" 1985 C10 in Hawaii
 

Looks like a real nice truck. What are your plans with it?

Re: "Outkast" 1985 C10 in Hawaii
 

Well, I had a plan till it got here and milked my budget fixing a bunch of the issues and things I didnt like about it. I am still working on a few but, nothing major thus far. I have a 5.3 and 4l60e out of a rolled tahoe, I also would like to bag it because when I get to the post where I changed the wheels, you'll see, it came up a bit because of tire size and I like my trucks a lil lower... time will tell. As with most toys, they are never done...

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Next update... so, the truck made it to the Big Island in mid-Jan and immediatly, I knew she was a problem child. On the way home, the windshield was leaking and the windshield wiper came off the arm and scratched the hell out of the windshield. She also ran rough and shifted weird.

Also, I needed to get a safety check to transfer the title and register it. At this point, the dash & reverse lights, hazards, and horn didnt work. Also, the key was so worn out that it slid in and out like a thai hooker in Pattaya beach! Fixed all that, put in some carpet and padding and got my Saftey 2 weeks later.

Next came the brakes.. the back brakes locked up on me. Come to find out, the pads were wearing into and grooved into the backing plate causing them to bind. This ordeal took 2 weeks to figure out and I ended up replacing the front and rear brakes for good measure. Spent the better part of a day filing down the backing plate and putting some light grease on the filed spots. See pics....

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She has a GM crate 350 and a 700r4 tranny. The 350 is topped off by an Edelbrock intake and 750 carb. I will go on the record and say, I loathe Edelbrock carbs and frankly, a 750 carb is too big for a mild 350.

I ordered an FiTech set up from JEGS... paid for it and waited. I also ordered new plugs, wires and heat boots so the headers dont melt the wires like the ones that were on it....
Got everything a few days later but not the carb... called JEGS and the carb was on back order and I wouldnt see it for at least a month so, I canceled the FiTech order and went to my local Oriellys and bought a new Holley 670 Street Avenger. I had one on my 67 and loved it!

Got it home and realized, I needed a throttle cable/TV cable bracket and another bracket specific for the 700r4. The stock bracket wouldn't work and no one in Big Island (small town) had Holley stuff. JEGS wanted to charge me $43 to shop those two little things to Hawaii so, I called SUMMIT and boom! $12 later... I was in. Pulled it all apart and realized, the accelerator connector was different too... another order and 5 days from Summit to my front door... PAINFUL....

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I almost forgot... so, the truck has CPP drop spindles and I think JDM springs up front and a flip kit in the rear... when I was driving it home from the dock, I noticed, the front rode nice and smooth but the back was a springboard. After getting home and under it... I noticed, the damn bump stop brackets and bump stops were still in it and the rear axle was sitting on them... WTF? So, jacked her up, got out my grinder and cut off the giant rivets and pulled them out.... what a difference.... now there is about 3.5" of travel room back there.

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Next thing was.... I spent about a month looking for the right rims and I had to take into consideration of tires, what I wanted to do to the truck later (like bagging it) and shipping. I really liked the US Mags wheels and ended up ordering a set with tires to be shipped here from SoCal Performace Wheels. Overall, a great experience, Jason worked with me and I felt I got a great price on rims, tires, mounting and balancing, lug nuts, and shipped to Hawaii via freight... took about two weeks.

That's a lot for today.... Stay tuned...

Re: "Outkast" 1985 C10 in Hawaii
 

BaZinga.... :metal::metal::metal:

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The first pic with the new shoes.... when I did the brakes, I cleaned up and painted everything behind the wheels since you can see everything behind them... it came out pretty good but, she needs to be a lil closer to earth with the taller wheels and tire combo.

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The wheel change made a nice difference on the truck. Looks good!

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Right on, thank you for the compliment. I really like the simple look of the rallys but, the wheels took it up a notch... Now, I need to get it sitting right. She needs another 2" of drop all around.

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Showing off at the beach

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here is the Holley 670 Street Avenger on... you can see in the pic, also had to get the Holley TV/Kickdown cable bracket (p/n 20-133) and the Holley TV cable geometry corrector (p/n 20-121). The truck runs much better than with the Edelbrock 750 that was on it.

I did have a hard time getting the timing correct - come to find out, my balancer has the timing mark straight up at 0 deg.... so, I lined everything up then backed it off about 12deg (with my precise eye) and then adjusted the carb and she is ALL G!:metal:

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I’m shocked to hear you had better luck with a Holley Carb over the Eldelbrock. I have always had the opposite luck haha. It’s been awhile since I’ve messed with any carburetors though.

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I initially ordered a FiTech set up but, 3 weeks later, JEGS told me it was on back order still so I just said screw it... I wanna go LS later anyway...

It had the Edelbrock 750cfm that on it when I got it and the motor is pretty stock with the exception of the intake and headers/exhaust. If there is a cam in it, its super small and the rockers are stock so I am assuming its a basic GM Hencho Mexico crate 350 (based on the #s on it). ...and it has ports on both sides for the dipstick... anyway, it ran like crap with the carb that was on it and I had a Holley Street Avenger 670 in my 67 c10 and loved it...

I went with the Holley because its what I know and I have never had good luck with Edelbrocks.:waah:

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I have another ‘85 swb that belonged to my dad. It has a carb and 400sbc. I haven’t had time to get it running. I’ll keep that Holley carb in mind when I get time to mess with it again. The 400 sbc in it has dart heads and no telling what else, so I don’t plan to LS swap it. But when you’re ready to start selecting parts for your ls swap let me know. I have weighed every option when it came to doing mine. I just wish both of mine had good paint like yours still.

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The down side is the Holley is a lot more expensive than the Edelbrock...

I have a complete (rolled) 2005 Tahoe with a 5.3/4L60E... just need everything else at this point. not planning on going crazy with mods... the stock 5.3 will be plenty!

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You’re pretty set then! There are several little things you’ll need. If I had dual tanks like yours, I would use saddle tanks for the ‘87. You’ll be able to use the gas pedal off the Tahoe so that will work out. I kind of wish I did DBW instead of getting a throttle cable setup.

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Other than doing some reading on others swaps, I havent put much effort into research. I'd like to get it closer to the ground on bags first so... gotta take some time and save for everything I need for that. Need to get the sounds set up too.... its a never ending project just like my previous c10

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I have had a difficulty time deciding between coilovers and bags for a long time. I pulled the trigger and ordered the coilover upper/lower comtrol arm kit from Ridetech the other day. I’m anxious to get it in haha

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Bro, I am not totally sold on going with bags, I do like the ability to adjust on the fly though... Hawaii has some good and BAD roads and, my long tube headers hang a lil low. I worry on speed bumps as it is but avoid p-lots n roads with them so, have considered coil overs. How much did your set up run?

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Honestly I didnt add it all up. I went with the $1600 coilover upper/lower strong arms. I think the coilovers were $700. I also ordered their steering setup which was about $250. $250 for the front frame support bars. If my DJM drop spindles wont work, I’ll have to use Ridetech $400 drop spindles. Also I will have to go with their front antisway bar, I think it’s around $400. Hopefully, I can use the $250 SSBC rotors I recieved not long ago and the $400 D52 Wilwood calipers lol.

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I was looking at the strongarm coil over kit a little while back. I am leaning toward the bag set up though... really want on the fly adjustability and ability to drop her low when parked. Not to happy about the investment for the air management system though... that stuff can get pricey. Especially when you add shipping to Hawaii for all of it.

Re: "Outkast" 1985 C10 in Hawaii
 

I bet the humidity and the shipping costs eat ya alive. I don’t envy you on that!
Some if the new technology for bags is really awesome. I may eventually lean that direction myself

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I love the US mag rollers, what size wheel/tire did you decide on? I'm looking into a similar setup on my Suburban.

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The wheels are US Mags Ramblers 20x9.5 in the rear and 20x8 in the front

Tires are Nitto NT555 G2 275/40r20 in the rear and 245/40r20 in the front.

Got the entire set up mounted and balanced delivered to Hawaii from SoCal Custom Wheels.... They are reasonably priced for the wheel and I am super happy with them. No rubbing or issues at all! Minus my shipping and lugnuts, all together, they were $1650!

Cool thing about the wheels too is the lip is stainless so, no maintenance at all! I just wash them with a soapy towel and they shine!:metal::metal::metal:

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They have a pretty good sized lip and I love the no maintenance aspect of the stainless finish.

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Having some electrical issues lately.

Wipers only worked on Hi so, changed the switch (turn signal twist style) and that didnt solve it. Put in a new wiper motor, that didn't solve it. Now, sometimes, they won't even work at all. Had to drive 15 miles in the dark while pouring rain yesterday with no wipers, that sucked! Just found out today, if I get out and force the wipers to move it comes back on but, it is random when they go out. The linkage is all smooth with no binds or hang ups.

My 2nd issue, when I got the truck, none of the dash lights worked. I replaced all the bulbs and put in a new fuse - every time I turn on my lights, the headlight switch starts to smoke. I replace the headlight switch and it still happens. Cant find the short anywhere!

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BOOM... <doesnt look back>:metal::metal::metal:

Re: "Outkast" 1985 C10 in Hawaii
 

Hopefully the lava isn’t effecting you!

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Thanks Doug, Thankfully, the flow is about 10 miles from my house. I am also about 1000ft in altitude (up the mountain) above it so, unless it goes uphill we will be okay.

Aside from that, the earthquakes have been a lil crazy. My family, C10, and Harley are all safe! Thankfully the trade winds are blowing the sulfer offshore. That is where the acid rain comes in... some folks downwind of the flow are having to deal with it but, they have evacuated most of them in that area.

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Not to divert from your build, it is heart breaking to see the lava slowly destroying what people have spent years (generations even) putting together. And unless it is a TV movie, there isn’t anything to do but get out of the way.

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Ya bro, it is sad but, that land down there is SUPER cheap and when you buy it, they make sure you know that you are in Lava Zone 1... also, most insurance companies will not cover homes down there due to that unless you pay some pretty mean premiums. All the USGS maps show the rift straight through that area as well as visible vents from previous fissures. I am compassionate but, it shouldn't be a big surprise. I feel for them though. I wouldn't build own/down there - dude, there are multiple $1M+ homes down there... Hell, there is a geothermal power plant there... the flow is threatening that too.

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Weather has been rainy and crappy lately. Only bring my girl out for nice days and havent had a lot of time to work on her. I need to change the wiper switch inside the column so, that will be the next post hopefully this weekend.

Other than that, the lava flow continues and we still have a little ash flying around in the air... it sucks but, at least the earthquakes have subsided.

Re: "Outkast" 1985 C10 in Hawaii
 

Was wondering how you were doing there as I watched news reports. Glad you are OK! A rainy day is good for truck projects in the shop.

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Thank you for the concern. All is well... I agree rainy days are great for garage work. Car show season and cruises start here the end of this month so, trying to get my girl reliable and safe. And, I just got the parts for my wipers so, its time to tackle that. Hopefully, I can find the short in my dash lights too.

It never ends. LOL I still havent had the time or $ to drop her another few inches so the rims tuck a little. I need to start gathering the air bag parts to make it happen. Decent stuff is so damn expensive. I need to put a HELOC on my house to afford my garage habit anymore.... :waah:

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Picked up an old school shell and a brand new dash pad (still in the plastic and box) today - quite the score for Hawaii Island. :metal: The shell is still covered in years of dust in the pic. Don't worry, its not staying on all the time, I just needed the option of using a shell for transporting stuff inside or on the racks - like my OC-1 canoe.

Now I need to decide if I want to go grey to match the wheels or just paint it white. What do you think?

Re: "Outkast" 1985 C10 in Hawaii
 

Go White.