69 C20 4x4 project - the mutant

[68 TT]

Pics of my high hump tunnel install and flintstone floor pans.

[68 TT]

Finally got a chance to hit the wrecking yard again.

Scored a nice set of 69 C20 lower A-arms, sway bar and one of the sway bar mount stands. Now I can put the new C2500 ball joints in and get the 6-lug front disc brakes working on this thing.

One sway bar mount stand was bolted on and the other was riveted on. The other truck with a sway bar had both stands riveted on. I will need to fab up a matching part for the other side but it is pretty simple piece so it won't take much.

Also snagged some inner & outer tie rods that will work for the C2500 disc swap to experiment on before I go and buy new parts to cut up and install.

[68 TT]

Well this project takes another major turn. Since I scored a pretty nice condition swb stepside project truck that came from the factory as a 3 on the tree six cylinder, still had the manual trans bellhousing frame crossmember in place and also came with a complete running 350 and the correct 3 on the tree style trans & bellhousing this longbed C10 project will be getting all of the manual trans parts and the engine that came with the swb stepside.

I got the riveted in place crossmeber pulled out of the stepside this morning and got the engine out of the back of my Tahoe & bolted the trans parts to it this afternoon.

I have a job interview tomorrow morning but later in the day after I pick up some fasteners to bolt the crossmember in with I will drop in the drivetrain from the stepside.

[68 TT]

Ended up spending the rest of the day and the next cleaning up & painting the front end parts for the stepside so no progress on the 67 C10 until late yesterday.

Got the auto trans pedal assembly & damaged booster removed. Installed the manual trans pedal assembly & manual brake master cylinder then reinstalled the original 3 on the tree steering column.

Decided to put the hard lines & distribution block from the stepside onto the 67 C10 longbed to go with the stock front drum brakes that are also coming from the stepside. Still need to secure the lines to the frame but after that the drivetrain can be dropped in.

[68 TT]

It has an engine & trans once again.

I need to put my other engine frame mounts on as they are more compact and the lower mount point lands on the frame.

Only had to slightly elongate two holes out of twelve to get the manual trans crossmember from the 69 stepside to fit the 67 C10 long bed. Not bad for two different frame types from two years apart.

[68 TT]

With a little luck tomorrow I will get the front brakes from the stepside installed and put the front end back together with stock parts so it is steerable.

I still need to put a new wheel cylinder into the rear brakes to fix a pressure loss problem it has but then I can make the brakes work again & hook up the e-brake system so it works too.

I'm going to put the tires & wheels from the K10 project on here too as they hold air and have decent tread so they are usable to make the truck drivable. No sense letting them go to waste as the K10 is getting converted to a K20 with different wheels & tires.

I need to pull the A/C core support out of this thing too and put the non-A/C 69 core support from the stepside into it so the stepside radiator will fit and I have the A/C stuff for the K10 project that is getting the better of the 69 front clip parts.

It won't be long and this thing could be movable under its own power once again. Still a whole lot of work to do but not having to push it around will make things so much easier.

[68 TT]

Got the front shocks installed and decided to put the wagon wheels from the stepside onto the 67 as the tires are in much better shape than the ones on the K10 I had planned on using.

Much more tire clearance now plus they may not rub when turning.

It is starting to become a whole truck again.

I need to put the rear brakes back together then I can bleed the system and connect the emergency brake cables so that will work too.

After that I will need to put the clutch linkage in, come up with a driveshaft and build an exhaust system.

Still need to swap out the A/C core support for the non-A/C stuff from the stepside too.

[68 TT]

Removed the broken driver side exterior door handle. Stupid little tab broke off one side of the push button retainer.

I tried to tack weld it back together but the metal the door handle body is made of is not weldable. Most likely pot metal. Oh well, I have a few other functional ones I can replace it with.

One of these days I will have to figure out a repair for that common failure. I have quite the collection of broken ones waiting for the repair solution and most of the ones at the wrecking yard have failed too. Some have really nice chrome but broken button retainer tabs.

[mcbassin]

You sure have a lot of irons in the fire bro. I have a hard time just trying to keep one going suscribing to this one too.

[68 TT]

Originally Posted by mcbassin

You sure have a lot of irons in the fire bro. I have a hard time just trying to keep one going suscribing to this one too.

No kidding. I am trying to lower the vehicle count some so I can get something done for once. Vehicular A.D.D. sucks.

This one will most likely go away as soon as I can get it drivable so i can focus on the stepside then get back to the 4x4 conversion once the stepside is on the road.

[mcbassin]

Originally Posted by 68 TT

No kidding. I am trying to lower the vehicle count some so I can get something done for once. Vehicular A.D.D. sucks.

This one will most likely go away as soon as I can get it drivable so i can focus on the stepside then get back to the 4x4 conversion once the stepside is on the road.

Sounds like a plan. "Vehicular A.D.D." I like that.