1969 C10 Longbed BubbaTruck

[jamyers]

Then I found out that the junkyard Q-jet intake manifold I scored for $15 was an early model which required a "sideways" mounted choke thermostat coil. Which of course, isn't readily available like the usual "fore-and-aft" oriented coil. So I had to shop ebay until I scored an NOS Carter coil assembly with the rod, cover, etc for $20, which is about half what everybody else wants for one of these.

[jamyers]

Whoops, I forgot this chapter of the story, which actually happened while I had the intake manifold off, swapping the junkyard Q-jet intake manifold on.

While I had the intake off, I pulled the valve covers and was double-checking the valve adjustments, and realized that they were ALL over the place, some WAY too tight, and others WAY too loose. Sigh, then I look at the cam down inside the block and notice that the #7 exhaust lobe is pretty much wiped out, worn down, and g. o. n. e. - gone.

Here is the lifter and cam lobe:






It was an Engle cam, basically an "RV" grind.

[jamyers]

So a new "RV" cam and lifter were installed into the block, then the valves all readjusted properly (1/2 turn past zero lash), and everything buttoned up.

(I know that I probably should have replaced all the lifters, but the engine/lifters only have maybe 20 hours on them, and 90% of that at idle or no load with stock valve springs, and the existing lifters showed virtually no wear or pattern on their faces, so I'm taking a chance.)

So after much work, we got everything hooked up, fluids topped off, and got the engine started up. Kinda.

It ran rough as a corncob, and no amount of ignition or carb adjusting would get it to settle down. We put a vacuum gauge on it, and it was jumping all over the place from 0-15... VALVES!!!

So we pulled the spark plugs and ran a compression check.
1 = 155, 2 = 165
3 = 0, 4 = 155
5 = 150, 6 = 0
7 = 30, 8 = 160

NOT GOOD.

So after MUCH poking around, we determine that about 1/4 of the lifters are stuck in the fully-pumped-up position, and won't bleed down when we try to adjust them. So we set all of the valve adjustments just a 'hair' short of zero lash, figuring that the lifters will loosen up once the engine runs a bit and I can set them properly then.

Ran another compression check, and this time everything is within spec, with pressures between 170 and 155.

Put everything back together, and it started right up. Did some fast ignition and carb adjustments, then ran it at 2,000 rpm for 15-20 minutes to keep the new cam lubed. No leaks, and after fine tuning and several heat / cold cycles it seems to run rather well, although the oil pressure is good but not great - hard to know exact numbers with the stock gauge

[jamyers]

Time to get the body put together, starting with the fenders.







Then the grille. The plastic insert was broken in several places, but with some glue repairs and some wide washers it bolted back into place, pretty solid once completely installed - way better than when it was removed!

[jamyers]

The original grille and fenders were pretty beat up and took a lot of straightening, hammering, bending, etc to get to within 90% of perfect, including the steel brackets on either side of the grille. I have the rivets, but just bolted the one side together (far simpler)

[jamyers]

Without the grille;



With the grille and its center brackets, hood latch, etc;

[jamyers]

Then the passenger side fender. I probably should have installed both fenders and then the grille, but this is the reverse of how we removed everything, so there you go. The passenger door needed to be adjusted a hair to the rear, and then the door / fender gap was good.

[jamyers]

Passenger Fender from the front. Note that the emblems are mounted on this fender, and not on the Driver's side. That's because I mounted the DS fender and then realized that you can't access the backside of the emblem studs to screw on the thread-cutting nuts once the fender is mounted, and by the time I realized the error I was in no mood to remove the fender. So I'm debating either using silicone to stick them on, or drilling the holes oversized and using barrel clips. I'd use silicone, but the emblems are 'hollow' on the backside, so there would only be a very thin bit of adhesive around the perimeter of the emblems, and I'm not sure it would hold long-term.

[jamyers]

Next up is the lights. Headlights, side markers, tail lamps, and their trim. We used LED #194 lamps for the side markers, and LED #1156 and #1157 bulbs for the backup lamps and tail lamps. The headlights are H6 bulbs in modern reflectors that directly replace the 7" sealed-beam bulbs.








Note the 4 backup lights, 2 in the fenders and 2 in the bumper. Lots of light is great, although I had to up-size the fuse from 5 amps to 10.

[jamyers]

Finally got the hood back on, after mounting the cowl, rebuilding the Driver's side hood hinge, and installing a new radio antenna.

[jamyers]

We realized that the brake lights weren't working, and traced the fault to the brake light switch. Removed the switch, took it apart, and found that for some reason it has apparently never been making contact at all because the brass contacts inside it needed to be bent slightly.

So I bent them slightly, and now the brake lights work. Good job, quality control!

[jamyers]

So after a couple of years, a couple of false starts, and a couple of back-tracking repairs, it's finally road worthy! Went to the local Sonic drive-in for some Dr Peppers.

[jamyers]

...but wait, there's more!

After driving BubbaTruck a bit, the 4 brake wheel cylinders (which had been rebuilt 3-4 years ago, but basically sat since the truck hasn't been driven) pretty much decided to all start leaking because the dirt/rust/whatever that had collected ate up the seals.

So the lesson here is that brakes WILL go out on you if you don't use them.

The good news is that drum brake cylinders are readily available, and replacing them isn't that hard.

Not shown - we replaced the rubber brake hoses as well, while we had everything apart.

[jamyers]

Good Grief, I gotta get out more often...and update this thread!

And Photobucket sucks - but their stupidity has reminded me to update my Premium membership here so I can edit, upload photos, and fix my thread.

Lots has happened since last year...got the brakes working just fine, then the engine ate its crank and rod bearings (remember the wiped cam lobe and lifter?). I tried replacing the bearing inserts, but the crank has been scored enough that within 100 miles it ate the new bearings as well. When cold it has great oil pressure, but once hot the pressure drops down to 5psi or so, and there's a pretty hard rod knock going on. Sigh...

So... I picked up a decent used '92 5.7 TBI engine awhile back, and (insert really long story involving mud-daubers making their home inside the # cylinder here) we're doing a half-rebuild on it and about to swap it into Bubba. New Summit Racing 11001 camshaft, lifters, cam bearings, and a new #6 piston w/ rings, and we should be back on the road in a week or so. The block is in really good shape, with minimal bore wear - they measured a few thousandths over stock, basically only the cross-hatching was worn away. I re-honed the bores very lightly to re-establish a cross-hatch, and will put the 7 original pistons back in (they look that good).

I'm keeping the 'crappylow-performance' TBI swirl-port heads instead of swapping the earlier ones on, mostly because of the far better valve covers - and I'm not bothered that "those heads suck above 4500 rpm" because my son doesn't need to be revving this thing that high to begin with.

Oh, and I alread installed an HEI distributor, the points one was just too worn to work reliably, and the stupid pertronix ones are both still dead as doornails.

I'll be posting pics of the latest progress, and try to catch up.

[jamyers]

Next project is to go through the used 700R4 transmission that I picked up off of Craigslist. It's an '84 model, out of a Monte Carlo with a 305 engine. It had the smallest 2nd apply Servo, the 7-vane pump, and .420" Boost Valve in it, all light-duty items that are getting replaced.

The fluid looks great, I've found pretty much none of the gray pasty "mung" that worn automatics usually have inside them, and from what I can tell, at least the valve body and pump have been apart at some point in its history (non-oem seals and separator plate). The only thing that I've found wrong is that the purple spring for the 2nd Accumulator (valvebody side of the separator plate) was broken into several pieces (photo below).

This 700R4 Build Thread is invaluable!!!

I'm installing the TransGo SK700-G kit. I also have the Sonnax pinless Accumulator Pistons, as well as a TH350 Governor, and a new TransGo Separator Plate.

Am currently waiting on a new 10-vane pump, Corvette servo (it's hard to find a NON-Corvette one online, lol), and .500 boost valve to arrive from Amazon.

So I'm debating either going ahead with it as is and assuming / hoping that the friction materials have a decent amount of life left in them, or having them replaced while it's halfway disassembled.

[jamyers]

Update: Good grief, has it been a year and a half already?

The 799R4 is working well, even if it does like to WOT upshift way too early imho. Fuel mileage went from 10-11 mpg to 12-13, which isn't as much as we'd hoped for, and maybe there's some more to be gained by carb tuning. But the entire truck is SO much happier cruising down the road at 2000 rpms instead of nearly 3K.

Completed Projects and Updates to post:

Pieced together and installed an underdash A/C, using the old-style "slimline" evaporator that puts all the guts underneath the glovebox, but the vents and controls go across the cab to underneath the ignition keys.

Rebuilt the front suspension with new Moog ball joints all around, tie rod ends, pitman arm, idler arm, and modded the lower control arms to move them as far forward as possible for more caster.

----------------------

Upcoming Project: Convert from front drum brakes to discs.

[jamyers]

Front Drum to Disc Brake Conversion

After looking at every option, we decided that the easiest and cheapest way to get front disc brakes would be to use the Scarebird.com adapter kit.

Main reasons:
1. Keep original spindle, and NOT have to mess with the new ball joints we just put in a month ago.
2. Cheaper by at least $30 (more if we can score some sales), and we'll KNOW good part numbers for future needs.

I'll try and upload the spreadsheet we used to compare, and some shopping details in the next post.

[jamyers]

Well, uploading .zip files is a fail...

[trac209]

Cool truck read through the whole build,word to the wise never reuse lifters on a brand new cam. Doesn’t matter if they were only used during break in or a few miles after. Once a cam is broken in it’s broken in to the those lifters and any changes will require new lifters and break in process.

[Sparky dave]

Just read entire thread. As a fellow 69 longbed owner it’s a beautifull thing to see you going through that truck as a family. Thanks for sharing

[jamyers]

I can't get the spreadsheet to upload as a .zip, so here it is as screenshot .jpgs

Comparing the different kits from CPP, Early Classic, Suspension Superstore, Auto City Classics, Pirate Jack, and Scarebird, a couple of things jump out:

* I think of everything but the Scarebird kit (actually a bracket, bearing spacers, nuts and bolts) as a "Complete Kit", and the Scarebird as a "Get-It-Myself Kit", since everything but the Scarebird route includes all major hardware (rotors, pads, calipers, hoses, etc). Going the Scarebird route means I have to source all that myself, which doesn't bother me since I can shop it around and then I'll be sure to have good part numbers to put in the glove box for years to come.

* Everybody but Scarebird wants to swap out the '69 (67'72?) spindles, which means different ball joints. Fine if you're going to replace them anyways, but we just put new ones in a month ago and I'm not wanting to go back in and pop them all loose again, possibly tearing rubber boots, etc.

* All the "Complete kits" use OEM parts for everything but the spindle, EXCEPT the CPP kit, which makes you captive to their hub/rotor p/n CP4R-6. I poked around the interwebs and couldn't find any cross refs, and I do NOT want to be stuck having to order parts from ONE source in 5, 10, or 15 years from now. So CPP is out.

* Several kits include or have available power boosters, master cylinders, and prop valves of different designs (8" vs. 11" boosters, etc), but I've already got a good GM booster, and can get a GM master cylinder just about anywhere, so those kits don't hold much appeal for me.

SO...

the best "Complete Kit" deal looks like the Auto City Classics kit (spindle swap) at $500, then either +$200 for M/C+Booster+PropValve or shop a M/C and valve for $150-ish...total $650-700 and everything comes in one box

OR... $200 Scarebird "let's go shopping" kit plus $350-ish for rotors, calipers, pads, hoses, etc, then $150-ish for MC and PropValve, total $650-700, lower if I can score some deals.

We really didn't want to pop ball joints and swap spindles, so we went Scarebird.

[jamyers]

EDIT: Mark at Scarebird indicated that they may be changing this kit in the future, in order to accomodate the drum-brake wheels. He also asked me not to post their kit instrustions online, because they don't want to be getting questions in the future about an old kit that's been updated.

So... ANY PART NUMBERS or INSTRUCTIONS BELOW MAY WELL CHANGE, so PLEASE do NOT go emailing Scarebird a year from now asking questions based on the kit and part numbers I have here.

That said, I'm sure the nice folks at Scarebird would be glad to answer any other questions you might have

==============================

Scarebird was nice enough to email the kit instructions and part list before I ordered, so I shopped the individual parts at NAPA, O'Reilly, Summit, and RockAuto. Results are shown in the .jpg below.

Took some time to compare parts across vendors, plus compare things like Calipers that included Pads vs Calipers and Pads separately, but it was freezing outside and it kept me out of the pool halls and bingo parlors, lol.

Ended up ordering Calipers and Pads separately, saving about $20 and ensuring that I get Raybestos' premium EHT pads, which some compare to the EBC GreenStuff 6000 series. Who knows if that's a good comparison, I likely never will. Just having discs should be worlds ahead anyways.

Tweaking the orders between Summit and Rockauto to minimize RockAuto's shipping cost, plus I ordered some parts for another vehicle put me over Summit's "$100 gets you free shipping" threshhold, and we're getting all good quality parts (Raybestos, SKF, National, etc). No Cardone or Dura-crap parts anywhere.

The only thing I don't have ordered yet is the dust caps, there is some question if the old ones will fit. At worst they'll run me $4 each.

Exact cost so far is:
Scarebird kit = $209.95 shipped
RockAuto = $246.26 shipped
Summit = $178.94 shipped
Total = $635.15

Ain't bad, considering premium quality parts and we don't have to screw around with ball joints, tie rods, or another alignment.

[jamyers]

Scarebird kit includes:

2 SOC brackets plus bolts to mount brackets to spindles,
2 Chieftain spacers,
2 Indian spacers,
2 Metric banjo bolts,
2 Cotter pins,
2 Hose clips

Apart from the dust covers and brake fluid, I can't think of anything else we'll need. Once we start, I'll post some pictures of our progress.

[jamyers]

The Scarebird kit arrived!

Two heavy plated steel brackets, plus mounting hardware, also:
* Metric banjo bolts (for hoses-to-calipers)
* Bearing spacers
* Brake hose clips
* Cotter pins

Oddly enough, the two brackets aren't mirror images of each other, it looks like they "clock" the caliper at different positions, maybe an inch difference. One is marked "C25, and the other is marked "C22" (pics below).
I don't think it'll matter, but I emailed Scarebird for confirmation, and they quickly replied that: "It should not be an issue - some steering arms on early trucks were straighter than others." I'm not sure what the steering arm straightness has to do with it, but ok. Just looking at things, the only thing I can see that might interfere with the calipers is the back edge of the upper control arm at full turning lock, and even then I don't think it's going to matter.

I will say that these brackets appear to be very well made, nice and thick, with good looking welds and cuts, and everything looks well-plated (not that rust is much of an issue in West Texas)

I'll also add that dealing with Scarebird so far has been very nice - their website indicates that they're 1-2 weeks behind and please don't be calling them with a lot of questions, but I've emailed them several times and they've always replied quickly and helpfully. So + points for their Customer Service!

[jamyers]

Started by removing EVERYTHING drum-related, including the hoses. The two bolts holding the bottom of the drum brake backing plate also hold the steering arms to the spindles.