How to: Ruin a perfectly good C10

[brn agn]

Nice work on the exhaust...I bet you can't wait to fire it up!

[gringoloco]

Originally Posted by brn agn

Nice work on the exhaust...I bet you can't wait to fire it up!

Thanks! I hope it has a little rumble- the mufflers are pretty small Dunno how I'll drive the truck without the exhaust smell; it had become such a part of its character...

[SCOTI]

I can appreciate the effort as I've been mocking mine up this week too.

I went by Northern Tool today @ lunch & got some stainless wire for the welder. After work I started making my alignment 'tool' for tacking all the bends together 'in place' in the chassis. I'll weld it up on a pipe stand.

What mufflers are they? How much was the pipe kit?

[gringoloco]

Originally Posted by SCOTI

I can appreciate the effort as I've been mocking mine up this week too.

I went by Northern Tool today @ lunch & got some stainless wire for the welder. After work I started making my alignment 'tool' for tacking all the bends together 'in place' in the chassis. I'll weld it up on a pipe stand.

What mufflers are they? How much was the pipe kit?

I now have MUCH respect for the guys that do exhaust work every day. This is not as easy as it looks- every little adjustment affects everything else on down the line- you are constantly tweaking it to get it 'just so'. I will do as you are doing- get it all tacked together and then finish weld on the bench- this way, I will be sure it is fully welded and can put a coat of high-temp on the seams to slow the rust.

The muffs are Magnaflow, um, I couldn't tell ya. Been a while since I bought them. They, like many things that ended up on this truck, were intended for the Blazer. I do know they were some of the smallest I could get in a 2.5" in/out. You can see straight through them- I wanted to do something other than flows- I must be getting old

I think I paid $199 for my Flowmaster U-fit kit a while back- they are now $239 through Summit, and the stainless is $279. Looking back, I should have gone stainless, but this is what I had on hand. Show us some pics when you start working it

[gringoloco]

Does anyone see anything wrong with these shocks? Notice how there is nothing holding them compressed, yet they are fully collapsed- I'd say they're smoked Luckily, I picked up a set of Monroes on Amazon for, get this, $6 each with super saver shipping! I love that site for smokin' deals...

I wanted to get them installed to make sure my clearances were still gonna be good with the larger shock body. The pics (taken at slightly higher than ride-height) show just how tight it is around that area- I'm trying to keep at least 1/2" clearance between the exhaust and anything else, so I may have to do some tweaking around the shocks- we'll see. the pics make it look closer than it really is...

[SCOTI]

Originally Posted by gringoloco

Does anyone see anything wrong with these shocks? Notice how there is nothing holding them compressed, yet they are fully collapsed- I'd say they're smoked Luckily, I picked up a set of Monroes on Amazon for, get this, $6 each with super saver shipping! I love that site for smokin' deals...

I wanted to get them installed to make sure my clearances were still gonna be good with the larger shock body. The pics (taken at slightly higher than ride-height) show just how tight it is around that area- I'm trying to keep at least 1/2" clearance between the exhaust and anything else, so I may have to do some tweaking around the shocks- we'll see. the pics make it look closer than it really is...

Check out Lakeroadsters build thread for his upper rear shock mod. He built a simple new bracket that raised the shock mount & relocates it further back helping to stand the shock more upright. That might help increase your clearance & give you a little better shock performance.

[67cheby]

nice work

[gringoloco]

Originally Posted by SCOTI

Check out Lakeroadsters build thread for his upper rear shock mod. He built a simple new bracket that raised the shock mount & relocates it further back helping to stand the shock more upright. That might help increase your clearance & give you a little better shock performance.

I remember seeing those- I'll go check 'em out again...

Originally Posted by 67cheby

nice work

Thanks!

[gringoloco]

Completed the front section of the exhaust this afternoon. What fun, taking a 2" hole saw to a freshly installed set of pipes

I tacked the H-pipe assembly together on the truck, then removed it to finish weld on the bench. Turned out pretty nicely- it tucks up higher than the trans pan, just behind the crossmember and under the tailshaft. It will remain completely removable with band clamps on the pipes at the t-arm crossmember. I am not particularly happy with how my welds are looking on this exhaust- the beads seem to want to 'build-up' on me- I'll hafta play with the settings some when I finish weld the over-axle pipes...

Included a few pics of the hangers I'll be using. They're called 'Snappers'. I used them once before, on my Blazer (the red ones) and liked them, so I picked up four more to use on rear sections. They're blue 'cause the red ones were $5 each- the blue $2 on eBay

[SCOTI]

Originally Posted by gringoloco

....I am not particularly happy with how my welds are looking on this exhaust- the beads seem to want to 'build-up' on me- I'll hafta play with the settings some when I finish weld the over-axle pipes...

Included a few pics of the hangers I'll be using. They're called 'Snappers'. I used them once before, on my Blazer (the red ones) and liked them, so I picked up four more to use on rear sections. They're blue 'cause the red ones were $5 each- the blue $2 on eBay

I've been having the same problem. I slowed the wire speed to the point where it wanted to melt itself to the tip. Speed it up enough to compensate & I get more 'peak' on the weld than desired. I didn't get a chance to try another gas mix to see if there might be some improvement.

Do you have a link for the hanger bushings? I know of one source but other choices aren't a bad thing .

[Jacfourteen]

Looking good! You have been making good progress, looks like the only major project left is to finish up the bed.

[gringoloco]

Originally Posted by SCOTI

I've been having the same problem. I slowed the wire speed to the point where it wanted to melt itself to the tip. Speed it up enough to compensate & I get more 'peak' on the weld than desired. I didn't get a chance to try another gas mix to see if there might be some improvement.

I'm thinking less speed/more heat. We'll see. It may not be pretty, but it will do the job

Originally Posted by SCOTI

Do you have a link for the hanger bushings? I know of one source but other choices aren't a bad thing .

Cheapest I found them is a place called Hanksville Hotrods on eBay. Pretty sure they have a site, too...

Originally Posted by Jacfourteen

Looking good! You have been making good progress, looks like the only major project left is to finish up the bed.

Thanks Looks like it! Hope to start on the bed next week- then it will be all loose ends from there...

[usmcchevy]

Originally Posted by gringoloco

Does anyone see anything wrong with these shocks? Notice how there is nothing holding them compressed, yet they are fully collapsed- I'd say they're smoked Luckily, I picked up a set of Monroes on Amazon for, get this, $6 each with super saver shipping! I love that site for smokin' deals...

Mind sharing the number or maybe a link to these? Build looks awesome!!!

[gringoloco]

Originally Posted by usmcchevy

Mind sharing the number or maybe a link to these? Build looks awesome!!!

Thanks The shocks are Monroe 32301s. Looks like they are back to 'normal' price now, $20.62. I've gotten lucky like that a few times with Amazon; just have to be in the right place at the right time, I guess...

[gringoloco]

Received my vinyl dye recently, so I thought I'd give the armrests a shot. They were in poor condition from years of abuse and one of them was a different color from a failed experiment- the color was NOT the same as the cap...

Through a little research, I found that the 68-70 Corvette bright blue is the same (or VERY similar) as the '70 truck color. I couldn't find a truck vendor that advertised their dye as anything other than 'blue', so I bought Corvette dye. It was cheaper, too

The color is spot-on and laid down very nicely. It matches my dash pad very well, excepting the fact that it is faded in a few spots. I am contemplating giving it a shot too- which likely means that it will happen...

[hotrodhomi]

looks pretty good.

[67cheby]

looks great

[mcbassin]

Awesome build thread! I love it. I got a lot of inspiration from your project. I am subscribed now.

Hey, sorry to hear you had to sell the Blazer. Man, I would have jumped on that thing. I never knew it was for sale. I noticed your avatar had changed but never guessed you had to part ways with it. If you decide to dump this project let me know

[gringoloco]

Originally Posted by hotrodhomi

looks pretty good.

Originally Posted by 67cheby

looks great

Originally Posted by mcbassin

Awesome build thread! I love it. I got a lot of inspiration from your project. I am subscribed now.

Hey, sorry to hear you had to sell the Blazer. Man, I would have jumped on that thing. I never knew it was for sale. I noticed your avatar had changed but never guessed you had to part ways with it. If you decide to dump this project let me know

Thanks guys! I try to include info I think may be helpful in others' builds, so I'm glad you got something from it. As for the Blazer- I'm just now getting to the point where seeing pictures of it doesn't make my stomach turn- but, it was for the better. I am in a much better place in life now and can always get more stuff. No surprise you didn't see it for sale- it was sold within a few hours of posting it on this site... This one will hopefully be around for a while- my soon-to-be wife may have some attachment to it since she'll be the one driving it to the wedding...

[gringoloco]

Finished up the exhaust today. Had to use two more bends to get the pipes from over the axle back to the bumper. I ended up using factory holes in the shock crossmember and rear framerails to bolt the 'snapper' isolated mounts to- still need to get some longer bolts for them, as they are temp-installed with what I had on hand. All in all, it turned out decent once I got my welder settings down- I wish I could go back and re-do the forward H-pipe section and get rid of the booger welds, but, oh well, it will work

The rear pieces that run parallel with the 'rails will get either turned down or kicked out towards the ends of the bumper, since I have a couple of 90* bends left, but I will decide on that when the bed goes back on and after the next big projects- bed/body work and paint

[mcbassin]

Nice work on the exhaust. You probably already said, but, where did you get the kit? What dia. tube? Can't wait to get to that point.

[gringoloco]

Originally Posted by mcbassin

Nice work on the exhaust. You probably already said, but, where did you get the kit? What dia. tube? Can't wait to get to that point.

It's a Flowmaster U-fit kit, 15936, aluminized steel, 2.5". It sells for $239 most places- I think I paid $199 a while back. There is a stainless kit for $279, which if I had to do it again, I would get it for the extra $40. Overall pretty happy with the kit- better than what you get at the local muffler shop- I did end up having to buy two more 45° pieces, but that's just 'cause of the way I chose to route the tailpipes...
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[mcbassin]

Originally Posted by gringoloco

It's a Flowmaster U-fit kit, 15936, aluminized steel, 2.5". It sells for $239 most places- I think I paid $199 a while back. There is a stainless kit for $279, which if I had to do it again, I would get it for the extra $40. Overall pretty happy with the kit- better than what you get at the local muffler shop- I did end up having to buy two more 45° pieces, but that's just 'cause of the way I chose to route the tailpipes...
Posted via Mobile Device

That sounds like a good price to me. Plus you got to install it just the way you want it. If you go to muffler shop, not always do you get what you expect. You remember where you bought it?

[ChuckDriver]

Very nice work on the exhaust!

[gringoloco]

Originally Posted by mcbassin

That sounds like a good price to me. Plus you got to install it just the way you want it. If you go to muffler shop, not always do you get what you expect. You remember where you bought it?

Exactly- it's not perfect, but it's better than crush-bent stuff from the local muffler shop- and I have a pretty good exhaust guy. I got the kit from Jeg's a few years back- $239 is as cheap as I can find it now...

Originally Posted by ChuckDriver

Very nice work on the exhaust!

Thanks! It turned out pretty well, I think. Should suit my needs just fine- hope to fire her up in the next couple of days and see how it sounds