"Midnight Rider" 1970 C10 SWB Fleetside

[omodified]

I know paint is coming just around the corner. So, I'm thinking about assembly coming just after. In the last few years, I have acquired some more parts/hardware that will be part of the build, but need nickel plated to match everything else. The issue is, the place I used has gone out of business and there aren't any options around anymore. I found an electroless nickel kit made by Caswell that actually looked like I could use in my kitchen. It seemed easy enough to work with and the kit comes with almost everything I would need. So, I ordered a kit to try it out. In hindsight, I should have done a better job estimating the size of the kit I needed to order....


To start, I rounded up all of the parts I could find. Mostly it was just random hardware. Specifically, I recently purchased several sets of 12 point hood latch bolts in order to find a matched set. I also threw in some radio mounting brackets and an early takeoff ball bearing ashtray.








Preparing to plate, you have to get two solutions ready. One is a detergent bath for degreasing and the other is the plating bath. The plating kit came with two - two gallon glass lined tanks. For the detergent bath, I mixed a 1/2 pound of detergent with one gallon of distilled water and warmed it to 190°. For the plating bath, I mixed one quart of solution with 1.35 gallons of distilled water and warmed it to 185°. The kit came with a thermometer so keeping track of temps was easy.














Once the temps became stable, it was time to prepare the parts for plating. The first thing to do was strip the first batch of parts in muriatic acid. Since this is toxic and smells really bad, I did this in the garage sink, with the doors open. I let the parts soak for three minutes, then rinsed with water. I immediately transferred the parts to the degreaser bath so there was no flash rust.






Next was plating. Caswell, has a very specific formula for you to understand how much solution you need for your project. They refer to it as credits. The numbers of credits you use is calculated as time in bath x surface area (in²). They would also have you measure each part to be plated. I refused to spend that kind of time on this so I just grouped everything into 5"x5" batches. Caswell says once your credits reach 80% of your starting credits, you have to replenish with 4oz of solution to bring your credits back to the original number or the bath will crash. Using 5x5 batches in the formula, I would need to replenish 4oz every 14 minutes. One batch would be finished after 28 minutes. Based on this, I would only have enough solution to complete two batches. I organized the batches by priority, in case I didn't have enough to do everything. Well, I followed Caswell's instructions and replenished when I was suppose to. I had enough to start the third batch as planned. I decided to let this batch sit the entire 28 minutes to see how it would turn out. It actually turned out fine. So good, that I decided to take a chance on the last batch, which was the ash tray. I'm glad I took the chance because it turned out nice too. I'm not sure how much further I could have gone or how many more parts I could have put in each batch, but I'm glad I didn't have to push it any more than I did. This stuff actually turned out better than any of the stuff I paid for in the past. This is a little expensive for what I actually got, but it was way worth it seeing how it turned out. Not afraid to do this again if I have to!!!

[omodified]

Body shop update with a few more details...

[Shifty One]

"Science bi*&hes"!

[omodified]

Been gathering ideas for the exhaust. Due to my motor being rated at 550hp, I decided a few months ago that 3 inch exhaust was in order. You may have seen in an earlier post where I polished out 3 inch inlet/outlet mufflers. Well, the struggle I reached recently was that the headers I currently have installed are 2.5 inch at the collector. It's too bad because I really like the look of these and the clearance they offer. I looked into using a 2.5" to 3" adapter, but I also read where 550hp+ engines should have 1.75" primary tubes or bigger. These shorties are 1.625" so it's time to find something different.




I tried to find a manufacturer that makes a set of shorty headers that meet my specs. Unfortunately, there isn't anything out there with a 3" collector. So, I started looking at long tubes. A few members on this board have used Doug's D3348 headers with pretty good results. So, I decided to start there. I went with the model specifically for 67-72. I like the idea that these are already coated. I was going to have to coat my old short headers anyways, but I wont have to worry about that with these. I got the right side installed, and the clearance was very tight to the frame rail, 0.005" at the closest point. I need at least 0.375" to feel comfortable. I didn't really want to remove this much material from the frame and I also didn't want to dent the headers. So, I decided to send these back. I wasn't very happy with the welds on these anyway.


















Since I really liked the TIG welds that the Speed Engineering short headers have (way nicer than Doug's partial MIG welds) I decided to try a set of their 25-1066 mid length headers. They don't offer anything specific for 67-72 C10, so I went with universals. They are for LS engines so I assumed the fit would be close. Well, I was wrong. They look really nice, but the collectors are aimed toward the transmission. In fact, they hit where I have already removed the transmission ears. I can't take anymore material away from there, so these will get sent back too.






Next, I decided on a pair of Speed Engineering 25-1025 long tube headers. These have a ton of clearance to the frame on the driver side. They do hit the corner of the block ever so slightly. I will need to clearance the block there about 0.00625".










The passenger side is a little closer. I have 0.080" of clearance to the frame. Better than Doug's but I will still have to remove some of the frame to get enough clearance. I really do like the looks of these headers, so I think I will keep and use them. I used a large metal file to attack the frame. Using a grinder might blister the paint on the frame and make it harder to touch up later. After filing for what seemed like a day, I ended up with 0.400" clearance and some damn good looking headers.