72 C10 for my 25th wedding anniversary

[sfont66]

And another one

[MDPotter]

That is the shiniest oil pan I have ever seen!

I hope you're replacing the oil pickup tube o-ring while you're in there!

[MDPotter]

Good choice going with Boyd's. It's a top notch tank and I wish I would have splurged on that.

[sfont66]

Originally Posted by MDPotter

Good choice going with Boyd's. It's a top notch tank and I wish I would have splurged on that.

I agree, it’s a high quality tank, I have no complaints. I would buy one again, as well as recommend them to others.

[sfont66]

A few weeks ago I was able to set the cab back on the frame with new mounts, I left the bolts a bit loose until I can set the front clip once again. With the cab in place I needed to patch and cut a new hole in the transmission tunnel, being that it is a high hump and removable, made it so much easier.
I was also able to mount the clutch cylinder and components for the hydraulic clutch.
The alternator/ power steering mount was going to be in the way of the throttle body on the Ls 6 intake, so I needed to cut off the portion with the idler pulley, and relocate the idler pulley using a kit front ICT. After cutting that portion off , I sandblasted the modified mount to clean it up.
A few other things needed to make the intake fit easier were ICT coolant crossover lines, and water pump spacers, along with a water pump for a 2002 Camaro.
Next on the list will be fuel rails and regulator. Very soon the front clip needs to go back on, so I can figure out some wiring, fans and most likely a Holley Terminator engine management system.

[sfont66]

I wanted to keep my mechanical gauges, at least for now. I had ordered some adapters from ICT billet. I thought the adapter that replaced the oil pressure sending unit worked very well. I did not like the adapter for the water temp sensor. I thought it stuck out way too far, and I had my reservations as to weather it would even read accurately, since the probe was not in the water jacket.
I chose to not use the ICT adapter, and instead drilled and taped the hole for 3/8 NPT . Credit for this should go to mongocanfly, I saw a tip he shared with another member and saved it just in case I didn’t care for the adapter.
I really like this option , as I think it looks better and will perform better as well.

[sfont66]

Progress has been a bit slow, but over the past few weeks, I managed to drill out a broken exhaust manifold bolt, and use a Heli coil kit to repair the threads.
I tried to weld a nut to the bolt several times, and back the bolt out, but the bolt was too seized up. I forgot to take final pics, but it looks just like newly tapped threads.
Until I can upgrade the injectors, cam, and throttle body, I decided to clean up the old ls6 injectors. A cheap kit found on Amazon seems to work very well, new o rings replaced the old cracked & brittle ones. The ls6 injectors are now back in the intake along with new fuel rails, lines, and fuel pressure regulator.
Recently I was able to purchase the Holley Terminator X engine management system, I like the reviews on this system, hopefully the install will go well.
I have a lot to learn about electrical, and wiring , but I’m learning, and it has been a fun process, for the most part.

[MDPotter]

Very nice and clean. I had the 'rona at the first of January as well, and so did most of my family. We finally got out Terminator last week!

Question - what did you blast your power steering/alternator bracket with? Glass bead?

[sfont66]

Originally Posted by MDPotter

Very nice and clean. I had the 'rona at the first of January as well, and so did most of my family. We finally got out Terminator last week!

Question - what did you blast your power steering/alternator bracket with? Glass bead?

Thanks, I thought this way was cleaner than going through the firewall, I’m happy that the harness has plenty of length to do this.

Hopefully you and your family don’t suffer any lasting affects from the virus. It’s odd how some have very mild symptoms, and others suffer much more!

I don’t have a blasting cabinet, although they are very handy, I worked in shops years ago that had large blasting cabinets, and employees could use them after hours,or during lunch. If they have enough air pressure they do a great job.
For many years since I have used a pressure pot type sand blaster. It’s messy, so I use it outside, it works great on large or small parts.

Anyway, back to your question. I use silica sand for more delicate parts, or on the cast aluminum brackets, where a smoother finish is desired, and Black Diamond for heavy rust scale on frames or suspension parts. I think the Black Diamond Grit is pulverized boiler slag, or coal slag. As always, be certain to wear a respirator or supplied air hood when blasting, the dust is very bad for you as I’m sure you know. If you have a Menards or Home Depot near you, they should have it there .

[MDPotter]

Originally Posted by sfont66

Thanks, I thought this way was cleaner than going through the firewall, I’m happy that the harness has plenty of length to do this.

Hopefully you and your family don’t suffer any lasting affects from the virus. It’s odd how some have very mild symptoms, and others suffer much more!

I don’t have a blasting cabinet, although they are very handy, I worked in shops years ago that had large blasting cabinets, and employees could use them after hours,or during lunch. If they have enough air pressure they do a great job.
For many years since I have used a pressure pot type sand blaster. It’s messy, so I use it outside, it works great on large or small parts.

Anyway, back to your question. I use silica sand for more delicate parts, or on the cast aluminum brackets, where a smoother finish is desired, and Black Diamond for heavy rust scale on frames or suspension parts. I think the Black Diamond Grit is pulverized boiler slag, or coal slag. As always, be certain to wear a respirator or supplied air hood when blasting, the dust is very bad for you as I’m sure you know. If you have a Menards or Home Depot near you, they should have it there .

It wasn't fun, but we all got through it okay. Dad didn't get it by some miracle. But yes, it could have been much worse.

We have some silica sand so I'll give that a try. I saw a guy on YouTube that made a wet sandblaster with a cabinet and it left a really nice finish on the LS aluminum parts, but it would be a bit of a mess to clean up.

[sfont66]

I have been try to finish up the wiring, but hit a roadblock. In the cab, a large portion of the wiring needs to pass through the carpet under the seat. It’s a lot easier to do this with the carpet in place, and feed it from the top side rather than from underneath.
I had ordered ACC carpet from Rockauto back in December, but that carpet was too short by 6” even though I ordered it to go all the way to the back of the cab. I sent it back and ordered a replacement , that carpet was cut very poorly by the transmission tunnel, and was out of square by 3” and short. It was impossible to square up in the cab, I sent that carpet back also. I again reordered another carpet, it arrived today, and this time I think it it will work. I usually let it sit in the sun for several hours to help the carpet relax, get rid of wrinkles, and form better. But today I just threw it in to test fit it. It looks like it will be fine….
Now I can try to get more of the wiring done.
While waiting on carpet I did manage to get the speedometer cable installed. The original cable was 60” long and it was too short. I ordered a 70” cable from GMC Pauls, and it fits perfectly.
I also am going to use stock 1972 style power steering hose and return lines. The metal tube portion of the lines need to be bent to fit better, but seem to work ok. I did need to swap the 1” fitting from the 72 PS pump into the LS pump in order to use the 72 PS pressure line.
The fitting on the left is from the 72 PS pump, the fitting on the right is from the LS pump. The difference is the fitting from the 72 pump allows use of hoses with flared fittings, the Ls style needs fittings with O rings

[sfont66]

Couple more pics….

[MDPotter]

Progress is progress, no matter how small it may seem.

What are your plans for bodywork? Spray the bed to match the rest of the truck temporarily or go straight to hugger orange now? I think you'll like having the top half of the cab in white and rest in a different color.

[sfont66]

Originally Posted by MDPotter

Progress is progress, no matter how small it may seem.

What are your plans for bodywork? Spray the bed to match the rest of the truck temporarily or go straight to hugger orange now? I think you'll like having the top half of the cab in white and rest in a different color.

If I was able to get to the bed this spring, it would just be a scuff and shoot situation, to match rest of the truck. Once I have the mechanical stuff well sorted out, I will be able to focus more on the body and paint.
I do like the look of the top of cab white, and lower hugger orange, I may get started on that later this fall, but it is most likely going to be longer. I feel that, in order to do a color change correctly, the cab needs to come back off and paint the underside, firewall and interior as well as the exterior. I will need to upgrade my paint gun also ( my old gun is a 30+ year old Devilbiss Jga 502, yes I bought it new…) I know excuses,excuses. But I do want to drive it a bit first.

[sfont66]

While waiting for parts to arrive, I decided to install the shifter boot that came with my transmission kit. I was a bit disappointed with it at first, especially since they charged $79.95. I couldn’t really find much for instructions online, nothing came with it. Not that it was particularly difficult, just thought there would be some tips on how to make the boot look better on top, not so bunched up and puckered. In the end I just went for it, if it still bothers me , perhaps I will change it out later. It’s not a show truck, just a fun Hot Rod.
I ended up turning the boot inside out, inverting it on the shifter, then used wire to secure it to the shifter. I then folded the boot back over the wire. I do see some shifters have a trim ring to cover the top, but I haven’t found one for a rectangle shifter, only round.
I used a large nail heated with a torch to burn the holes in the carpet, so the bezel screws would not catch the carpet fibers.

Many of the parts I ordered are arriving today, so hopefully I can get more done this weekend.

[MDPotter]

Looks great to me! We're in the same boat on our project; waiting for a bellhousing (a Holley product). Can't do much drivetrain work without it.

[sfont66]

Originally Posted by MDPotter

Looks great to me! We're in the same boat on our project; waiting for a bellhousing (a Holley product). Can't do much drivetrain work without it.

Thanks, I guess it’s fine for now, especially since I have so much to finish in order to drive it this spring.

You mention a bell housing, is this for the 1993 with the turbo? What transmission did you decide to go with? I haven’t found your new build thread. Not sure if you started one yet

[MDPotter]

Originally Posted by sfont66

Thanks, I guess it’s fine for now, especially since I have so much to finish in order to drive it this spring.

You mention a bell housing, is this for the 1993 with the turbo? What transmission did you decide to go with? I haven’t found your new build thread. Not sure if you started one yet

Yes, it's for the OBS truck. T56 magnum. I haven't started a build thread for it.

[sfont66]

A handful of items arrived, among them is a fan wiring kit from BP automotive. It will allow both fans to start on low, and both fans to switch on high if needed. The fans will be controlled by the Holley terminator Ecu. I chose to mount the relays in the area formerly occupied by the voltage regulator.

I also went With a Painless fuse block, to take some of the load off the original fuse block. I mounted the Painless fuse block next to the original fuse block, after removing the horn relay to make room for it.

I would have liked to have purchased a new Ls radiator and fan combo, but the prices and availability for everything has gone up so much! I decided to try the ford windstar fans, at $95.00 from Rockauto they are cheap enough, and are said to pull a lot of air. I am going to mount them to the aluminum Champion radiator I had when running the 350 Sbc.
I’ve been working on trying to make the wiring a bit more tidy, and removing circuits that are no longer needed, such as the voltage regulator wiring.
More tomorrow….

[sfont66]

When measuring for a driveshaft, I noticed the pinion seal was leaking, upon further investigation I found that the yolk could be moved ever so slightly. I decided I should change the seal . I made marks on the pinion, nut, yolk, and rear end with a chisel. I proceeded to back the nut off counting the turns, and made note of how many threads were showing so I could put everything back exactly as it was before. The nut backed of easily, with a 1/2” ratchet , I was expecting it to be a lot tighter. Anyway i pried the old seal out ,cleaned up the yolk, nut, and pinion, and pressed in a new seal. I packed the back side of the seal with a bit of grease to help the spring stay in place while being forced into place.
I put everything back as it was, aligning the chisel marks, and counting the turns as I went, I put some blue loctite on the pinion threads just for reassurance. Everything went well. I can’t help but think that it may be possible either the pinion nut had backed off just slightly, or the bearing and races could be worn just enough to have made the yoke a bit loose?
I have no idea if anyone had done the seal on this truck before, the rear end never made any noise, so hopefully it will last another year or 2. I would like to replace it with a Moser or Currie 9” sometime in the future.

[MDPotter]

Oh no, a Ford part on a Chevy! Clean work on the install though, looks factory.

I wouldn't expect the pinion nut to be gorilla tight after a lot of miles, but not loose like you mentioned. When replacing the pinion bearings and races, usually a new crush sleeve is installed which takes a huge amount of torque on the pinion nut to get to the 12-15 in/lbs of rotational torque on the pinion itself. That nut is manufactured to not just thread on with your fingers though, it's somewhat of a locking nut.

I'm that the BP kit includes the 3-relay fan setup? I think the two-speed fan setup is the best if you have 2-speed fans. My SPAL fans aren't intended for two-speed so I either have one or two fans running full speed.

[sfont66]

Originally Posted by MDPotter

Oh no, a Ford part on a Chevy! Clean work on the install though, looks factory.

I wouldn't expect the pinion nut to be gorilla tight after a lot of miles, but not loose like you mentioned. When replacing the pinion bearings and races, usually a new crush sleeve is installed which takes a huge amount of torque on the pinion nut to get to the 12-15 in/lbs of rotational torque on the pinion itself. That nut is manufactured to not just thread on with your fingers though, it's somewhat of a locking nut.

I'm that the BP kit includes the 3-relay fan setup? I think the two-speed fan setup is the best if you have 2-speed fans. My SPAL fans aren't intended for two-speed so I either have one or two fans running full speed.

Yes the BP kit does have 3 relays, I do wish they could have made it more compact. It seems unnecessarily large.
I hope the fans and BP kit work well for a while, if not , they aren’t very expensive when compared to some of the other after market fans. But then, as the saying goes, “ you get what you pay for”. So we shall see.

[sfont66]

Small progress lately…..
I was kicked out of the shop for a while, my wife wanted to use the shop space to host a party that she felt she didn’t have room for in the house. It wasn’t all bad though, she cleaned the overhead doors, walls, cabinets, everything!

When checking the drive line angles, I found I would need to shim the rear axle to align better with the transmission. I found the shims i needed at Speedway motors. After adding the shims I remeasured the length needed for a new driveshaft. The measurement only changed 1/16th of an inch. I was then able to call the shop with my numbers. The new shaft should be here late next week.

I tried, but was unable to find a upper radiator hose that fit correctly, so I had to make one out of 2 pieces of hose and a junction that joins the 1 1/4” to 1 1/2” . Again I found the aluminum adapter tube at Speedway motors. I did find them at Summit, but they were out of stock until 6/5/22.
I have finished the wiring, for the most part, I will probably try to tidy it up more, once I’m certain all the circuits are correct and functional.
I did add a catch can can, and a air intake as well.
Small progress, but getting closer to being able to fire this truck up!

[sfont66]

Again quite a bit of time has passed since the last update. This spring has been very busy. And the events bittersweet. We had a death in the family that brings with it much sorrow and heartache, and then we had the wedding of my youngest son, and new daughter in law, and the joy that this union brings .

Back to the C10.
Many weeks back I ordered the drive shaft from Silver Sport Transmission, it came within a week’s time. I guess silver sport doesn’t do their own, because the shaft was drop shipped from Dynotech Driveshafts. Either way, the length is correct, and the quality seems very good. I did upgrade the yolks to 1350 which added another $100 to the cost.
By now I was getting close enough to firing the engine, but it had been sitting fo over a year, so I also wanted to prime the oil galleries. I made a simple setup from a garden sprayer, and a couple of fittings, 1 from ICT that I already had on hand, the other is a brass hose barb from the hardware store. I removed the oil gallery plug on the front of the engine, and screwed the fitting in place. The garden sprayer produced plenty of pressure to prime the engine, enough that it even showed on the gauge in the dashboard. I pumped in approximately 4 quarts, making sure to stop before the tank was empty, so I wouldn’t push air in.
Worked great. And I had a little peace of mind, knowing I had full oil pressure…..

More in a bit.

[sfont66]

Last week, I did fire the engine up just briefly, it ran, had good oil pressure, but didn’t run well. It turns out 2 of the original Ls 6 injectors would stick at random.
I didn’t know this at the time, I had cleaned them, and they really seemed good before I installed them. I just thought I had the wrong injector data. The terminator x came with a 3.5” display, that is limited as far as being able to enter data. I decided to order the USB to CAN harness so I could use a laptop and the tuning software from Holley. I believed at the time that this would help me better tune the injectors.
As it turns out, 1 or 2 of the original ls6 injectors had stuck open when I had shut the engine off. When I went start the engine again it was so full of fuel it would not turn over. I had to pull the spark plugs, drain the oil, remove the injectors, and try to test and clean them again. When cleaning and testing This time, 2 of them would stick open at random times, not good…
I decided to order new injectors that already had data loaded in, and were compatible with the terminator x.
They are actually too big for my current needs, but will support the mods coming later this fall.
The new Holley injectors fit perfectly, and once the new data was loaded to the ECU, the engine fired instantly, but tried to idle at 2500rpm. The IAC had failed and I needed a new one. Once replaced the engine fired and settled in perfect, no leaks , great oil pressure, it came up to temp, and the fans came on, everything seems to be right.
Now to get it out on the road, and let the terminator x learn …..