Project Cannonball C10

[smbrouss70]

Originally Posted by mikentosh

They are 19x12 Forgeline RB3Cs with Michelin Pilot Super Sport tires in 345/30R19 fitment. I forget the exact offset right now but we've done a fair amount of modifications to the front fenders to get the wide stance.

Are your wheels the same offset front & rear? If they are, I assume that your rear end width matches the front width, correct?

[mikentosh]

Originally Posted by smbrouss70

Are your wheels the same offset front & rear? If they are, I assume that your rear end width matches the front width, correct?

Yes, its a square setup so wheel offsets are same front and back. Rear end width is very close, if not identical, to front width based on how close the tires sit to the fenders.

[OutlawDrifter]

nice build, just jumped in today and read through everything.

the ramp truck will be a nice touch at sema.

[Low Elco]

Diggin' the ramp truck!

[Low Elco]

61 days! What's going on?

[mooseknuckles]

Sema crunch..

[mikentosh]

Originally Posted by mooseknuckles

Sema crunch..

Yeah pretty much that. There has been a lot of progress in the last month, but nothing that really photographs well 😊

[mikentosh]

We've got the hood back from initial bodywork. This is a US Body Source fiberglass 73-80 hood, which has been modified to remove the aero peak along the front edge to retain the early 70's look.

[mikentosh]

To keep the smooth firewall look, we put in a modern wiper motor sunk into the back of the cowl area. With the plans we have to drive this thing I want to make sure its got proper wipers 😊

[mikentosh]

Got around to another subtle modification that I'd been thinking about since the inception of this project...shaved pinch welds. In my opinion the pinch welds on the front fender and under the cab makes the truck look like it was snapped out of a mold, so off they go! This will also help when we go to fit the belly pans 😊

[mikentosh]

We took a minute to put it on the scales and see where things sit. Remember that this is sitting without any glass, interior or cage in it right now, so we'll be putting back on several hundred pounds. Still, its well on its way to achieving my two goals of < 3500lbs and 50/50 weight distribution 😃

[mikentosh]

Thought you might like to see the rendering that @Rickthedutch made up for me. If you've been following on Instagram then you've probably seen his buildup to this.

[mikentosh]

Then we moved onto the roll cage. I have specific requirements for this cage so it won't be an easy build. First thing is to build out proper supports for it.

These pieces are pretty much my favorite thing done to the truck so far. It integrates the front cab mount and ties it into a reinforced front rocker section with the landing pad at the top for the cage to attach to. The sections bolt together for cab removal.

Time to break out the plasma table...



...put it together...



...and onto the truck...

[mikentosh]

One more for the night: Here's the electronics backplate cutout and mounted to the rear cab wall. This will hold all the stereo equipment (amps, crossovers) and truck electronics (Dakota dash modules, fuel pump computer, e-brake module, fuses, relays).

[tinydb84]

Man that thing is so well thought out. I think I saw the shop truck a few times over by the airport.

Do you have more pics/details of how you shaved the pinch? Mine will have to go but I haven't really thought out how I want to do it.

[mikentosh]

Originally Posted by tinydb84

Man that thing is so well thought out. I think I saw the shop truck a few times over by the airport.

Do you have more pics/details of how you shaved the pinch? Mine will have to go but I haven't really thought out how I want to do it.

Yeah, the shop is down near SJC off Reed so you've probably seen us bombing around in the ramp truck a few times 😃

I don't really have any more detailed pics of the shaved pinch on my phone. Will try to grab some when we put the truck back up on the lift. Here's the closest I've got:



I like this photo as you can see all the sand that came out of the rockers a year after getting the cab blasted.

[tinydb84]

Thanks for the pics. I work right near there. Too bad I don't make enough to have him work on my junk hahaha

[Low Elco]

Very tidy work. I like the shaved pinch.

[Low Elco]

Dude, we're dyyyyyin' over here! What's going on?

[mikentosh]

We've been busy, but progress hasn't been as quick as hoped, so...

The Bad: We are not going to make SEMA this year I didn't want to rush the details on this thing, and reassembly is the part I'm looking forward to...would have been sad to rush it in a couple of weeks.

The Good: We can spend some time on a few more custom details that I've been thinking about.

Oh yeah, I also picked up another project truck to add to the madness: Project Two - '74 Sierra Grande

Anyway, the main focus over the last month has been getting the cage completed.

[Trixxterr]

Mmm, can't wait to see the finished product. Going be one he'll of a nice ride.

[Low Elco]

Awesome now- gonna be a game changer when done. Would be cool to target Sema next year and just blow it completely out of the water. Love this truck, as if you couldn't tell.

[mikentosh]

Yeah, this time we should be good to make Power Tour and SEMA for 2016. I'm sure in a year from now I'll look back at this post and wonder how I could think that hahahahahaha.

A preview of some interior ideas: we tore down one of the original seats I had for measurements, as you can see in the pics above. I find the stock bench is not wide enough so you end up sitting on the corner when driving. The plan is to do a 1 1/2 inch wider frame all in aluminum, then cover it in OEM inserts with leather surrounds. Hopefully this will dump another 50+lb from the assembled truck weight.

[mcmlxix]

Originally Posted by mikentosh

I'll grab a few more pics tonight.

Our plan is to get to SEMA but we've got a lot of work ahead of us to get there.

In case you aren't following my Instagram feed, Wes made a new purchase for the shop for our trip down to SEMA in November...a '73 Squarebody C60 ramp truck. Like we need another squarebody project ��

I heard SEMA overbooked display car space. Are you still going to bring the truck? Do you have a place to display it yet? I live in Vegas and try to go if I can score a pass.. otherwise I like to at least check out the outside and entry hall...

[mikentosh]

Originally Posted by mcmlxix

I heard SEMA overbooked display car space. Are you still going to bring the truck? Do you have a place to display it yet? I live in Vegas and try to go if I can score a pass.. otherwise I like to at least check out the outside and entry hall...

No we can't make it this year. Just too much stuff I want to do on it still. We did get a pass but gave it up to another aquantence. They got the denial letter because of the overbooking.

TBH, I'd much rather go to Dino's Get Down and Scottsadle Goodyguys anyway.