"Midnight Rider" 1970 C10 SWB Fleetside

[omodified]

The frame is back at my shop and I couldn't be more pleased. All of the bends are fixed and the fab work looks great. And it's painted!!! The c-notch really blends in with the frame nicely. Even though the trailing arm crossmember was powder coated, it got painted to match the frame. Now, I am waiting on the front suspension crossmember to come back pancaked, along with the rear end and trailing arms.

[omodified]

The rear end housing and trailing arms are back from being blasted and primered. Piedmont Traction will be assembling the rear end so I have to take him some new parts in the next few days.

[omodified]

Documenting the parts that are going in the rear end...

Eaton Posi Performance Differential19556-010 - Limited Slip, 30-Spline, GM, 12-Bolt, 4 Series



Yukon Gear & Axle Master Overhaul Kit YK GM12/14068 - Ring and Pinion Gear Installation Kit, Master Overhaul, 30 Spline, GM 8.875 in




Yukon Gear & Axle Bearings AK 1559 - Axle Bearing, 2.530 in. O.D



Yukon Gear & Axle Ring and Pinion Sets GM12T-373/24128 - 3.73:1 Ratio, 1.438 in. Pinion, 30 Spline, 8.875 in. Ring Gear, GM 8.875 in.




Yukon Gear & Axle Differential Pinion Yoke GM12-1350-F/41069 - 1350, 30 Spline, Forged Steel, GM, 8.875 in



B&M Differential 71504 - 12-bolt, Aluminum, Black Anodized, GM 8.875 in



Not for the rear end, but these need to go with the trailing arms to be painted. Goodmark Parking Brake Bracket GMK414351967 - Cable Bracket, Includes Hardware, Left or Right

[omodified]

I sold my old engine. A board member here was looking for a 350 in the same condition as mine. He wanted to use it in his 1969 Camaro but he was trying to keep it close to stock looking. We struck up a deal and I made the sale. Ready to go out the door.



The next day after delivery it looked like this.



The following weekend, he had it installed. He said it fired right up and was happy with his purchase. I'm happy that he is happy and I got some space back in my shop. It sounds really good!

https://www.dropbox.com/s/p1yyw613qq..._5312.mov?dl=0

https://www.dropbox.com/s/mi2s5co44c..._5313.mov?dl=0




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[omodified]

So, while I am waiting for items back that help me move along with the frame, I wanted to take on another task. My plan for this build is to use all stainless hardware. I read in several places that Totally Stainless was the place to get frame bolts as they offered them in material close to Grade 8. Well, I tried to go that route, and the company is on a 9 month backorder due to Covid19. Ouch! So I had to go a different route, nickel plating. This would require me to document everything I had for hardware and what it belonged to. I Anything that was used, I bought new Grade 8 replacements. Some of my new parts came with Grade 8 hardware. Documenting probably took me around a week of evenings. Every time I would think I was finished, I would find something else that need accounted for and replaced. Here is some of my spreadsheet.



Here is a huge pile of metal. I swear I know where everything goes. I even have extras in there, just in case.



Once everything was accounted for and ready, I needed to strip any coating off and get it down to raw for the plater. For this, I used muriatic acid. Nasty but effective stuff.



I filled a five gallon bucket up with 1 gallon of straight muriatic acid. I filled the bottom of a strainer with hardware and dipped it in the acid.



It foams and smokes for about 30 seconds and I'm being super careful not to breathe any of this crap in. After 30 seconds, I pull up the strainer and rinse the hardware off with cool water. I end up with nice raw hardware.



I had to hurry and dry it off because it flash rusts in a hurry. Once I got it dried off pretty good, I threw it in a gallon ziplock bag and sprayed WD-40 all over it.



All of the hardware is stripped and will get sent to the plater tomorrow. It should be back in a week.

[MDPotter]

Wow, what an update! You've been saving up all of your pictures and progress just to blow our doors off!

There is something very satisfying about stripping a truck down to the frame and starting with a clean foundation.

You won't regret the LS swap and from breezing through the parts list, it's got excellent parts in it. Gen 4 rods, GM bearings, ARP rod bolts, and ported heads to highlight. What's your plan for the engine and transmission management? Holley Terminator X Max? Since you bought it as a long block, you might as well go with the Holley system over the GM ECM and harness.

I should have known from your previous posts as detailed as they are that your attention to detail would apply to the rest of the build - the hardware list, plating, forethought on the chassis, and part number tracking in general.

Lastly, those center caps came out incredible. If it were me, I would have just ran the gold bowties but your blue bowtie mod is just one of those little details that, combined with all of the other little mods that I'm sure you will be doing, will make this truck one in a million. I bet you could sell those caps on eBay! If you're sticking with the 15 inch wheels, you'll have to do some research on brakes. I assume you're upgrading to discs at least in the front?

[omodified]

Originally Posted by MDPotter

Wow, what an update! You've been saving up all of your pictures and progress just to blow our doors off!

Thanks MD. I wouldn't say I was saving it hahaha. Life gets in the way sometimes. So, you have to make time for the important stuff. I figured this blog could wait. As long as I take lots of pics, the stories that go with them all should come right back to me! Now that I spent an entire weekend bringing you up to date, I think I may have to re-prioritize my stuff!

Originally Posted by MDPotter

You won't regret the LS swap and from breezing through the parts list, it's got excellent parts in it. Gen 4 rods, GM bearings, ARP rod bolts, and ported heads to highlight. What's your plan for the engine and transmission management? Holley Terminator X Max? Since you bought it as a long block, you might as well go with the Holley system over the GM ECM and harness.

This LS engine is indeed nice. I really lucked out with that find! I don't want to spoil the engine management story by giving away the ending just yet, but let's just say you might be on the right path!

Originally Posted by MDPotter

Lastly, those center caps came out incredible. If it were me, I would have just ran the gold bowties but your blue bowtie mod is just one of those little details that, combined with all of the other little mods that I'm sure you will be doing, will make this truck one in a million. I bet you could sell those caps on eBay! If you're sticking with the 15 inch wheels, you'll have to do some research on brakes. I assume you're upgrading to discs at least in the front?

Thanks for all of the compliments. I'm pretty excited myself, about how the caps turned out. As far as the brakes are concerned, thank you for the suggestion. That's what I love about this board. I did some research and I think I found some old calipers that I will work with my old squarebody 4WD rally wheels.