The Mindl3ss slow progress build thread.

[Mindl3ss]

Well, here goes nothing!

I was thinking about calling this "what did I get myself in to" but I knew it was going to be a lot of work anyway. I've had a few projects over the years, but I've never been in a position to actually make progress on them. This will be the first project where I actually have a small disposable budget to work on things.

I bought this '68 C10 short/wide bed two weeks ago on Friday. I've always wanted one, and it was just good timing. Also needed an excuse to finally sign up on this forum, since it is pretty much 90% of the results when I search for info and pictures of these things.

Anyway, here are the pictures that were in the ad on Craigslist:









Not really great photos. But it was in the same town where I work, so I went to check it out after work before commuting home.

Well, being the impatient, leap before looking guy I am, I struck a deal with the guy and arranged to pick it up and pay on Friday (checked it out Wednesday)

And here it is on Friday after I got it out of the shop while I waited for the hauler.


and on the flat bed


Well, I'll post some more later. I did some work on it this weekend.

[Mindl3ss]

Here's the tailgate with a cover on it. The guy said it was just a skin and could be removed so I can use the original tailgate.


Well, so much for that :p

[Mindl3ss]

I did get some stuff done this weekend.

Yesterday I wrestled with rusty/stuck bolts in a rotting wood bed


Got a nice frame. I figure the first step is strip it down to the frame, send it off to get blasted and paint it.


Tired old 350 and auto trans


I think that's enough for the weekend

[Mindl3ss]

Well, guess I'll list what I'm planning.

LS swap, size will depend on what I can find when I've got the cash. Ultimately I'll be building to be a nice weekend cruiser, so I won't need a ton of power. I'm mainly after reliability and a smooth ride.

I'm not 100% sure on the rest of the details. I have a few things to decide on.

Suspension: I like the stock height, but for handling I wouldn't mind lowering it a bit to get the center of gravity down. Perhaps a small airbag set up.

Paint: I love the color that's under the orange. I'm assuming it's stock (no SPID or protecto plate ) but I have several other ideas too.

Interior: It's an AC cab, which makes me happy. Just nice to have that as an original option. I'd have added it anyway, but I figure it'll be a bit easier this way. I want buckets, but I haven't decided on buddy style or something out of a newer vehicle. I've seen some with seats out of a late 90's Tahoe that look good.

[Mindl3ss]

Well, good news and bad news.

First the good:
Last night after I got the engine out I was beat, so I just cleaned up and left it until later. Went out today and removed all the plugs to see if the engine would turn by hand and it did with little effort. I would have removed them in-truck, but I didn't have a socket large enough. I didn't expect that, but no biggie. Also, one of the motor mounts was busted, so the engine was a bit low and the lower pulley was sitting on the crossmember.

Now the bad:
The frame looks a bit tweaked. It's about .5-1" higher on the passenger side than it is on the driver side in the back. Front seems level.

A question for someone who may know: how bad is this? I would think it's pretty bad, but can be fixed properly if I have the $$$. The problem is, I don't have the $$$ right now. Really, I have no idea what it will cost, but I'm guessing it's not too cheap.

[Xeen]

It doesn't sound like the damage is that bad but you won't know for sure until it is checked out by a professional.
I would go ahead and strip everything off of the frame and take it to the frame shop, you are probably looking at $250 or less to fix it, mine was way, way worse and only cost $250 to fix.

[Mindl3ss]

Originally Posted by Xeen

It doesn't sound like the damage is that bad but you won't know for sure until it is checked out by a professional.
I would go ahead and strip everything off of the frame and take it to the frame shop, you are probably looking at $250 or less to fix it, mine was way, way worse and only cost $250 to fix.

Good to know! Gives me a good rough idea what I can expect. I know prices vary regionally, but I can't see it being too difficult a job for them. If they try to charge too much I'd go at it with a hand winch like I did on an old Saturn frame I did years back. If I had the come-a-long still I'd probably have already tried

[Mindl3ss]

I've done a little more tearing stuff apart today. Last week I just set the engine/transmission on my garage on some blocks. Today I put them up on the stand and cleaned off about 1/4" of sludge to see if I can ID the engine.

A shot of the partial VIN. It's hard to tell, but it looks like there could have been a 1 at the beginning. The second appears to be a 0, so I am thinking it's from a 1970 car or truck. The K seems to be the St. Catherine's plant in Ontario? I swear, every Chevy I've owned that I bother to check the VIN on came from Canada, haha (well, this truck is actually from Fairfield, but it's got a little Canadian in it). It'd be cool to track down the original vehicle this was from and reunite it if possible.


The casting. This is where things get a bit fuzzy. I've found conflicting information on this casting. One source says 4 bolt main from a Z28 (1970 that would put it at 360 HP, but other sources say this casting was 1969 only (well, the VIN above looks like a 0, but could be a 9?). And another source says 2 bolt main, 300 HP from a car or truck. Either way, not a bad figure for power. Not that it matters too much... but decent starting stock.


And these numbers. I need a better angle at them. I don't know what they mean, but I'll continue searching. If anyone has some info or a resource, I'd appreciate it.


Tomorrow I'll tear in to the heads and see what I have up there. If I have a good set of heads I'll be happy.

[Mindl3ss]

Got in to the heads to see what I was dealing with, and I'm not too excited. I can't find solid information on chamber sizes or valve sizes. The only thing I can find that is consistent is they are junk smog heads, haha.

Well, kind of makes the decision to just jump in on the LS swap quicker.

Heads casting 3927185


This site says that shape on the front is a bad casting
http://www.crankshaftcoalition.com/w...identification

[Mindl3ss]

Got the heads off and my first look at the cylinder walls. This engine was absolutely filthy on the outside and top end. The heads were caked in sludge. It pretty much looked like it was covered in PVC leather, haha.

I'm no expert, but the cylinder walls look okay, or at least nothing a quick hone wouldn't clean up. I'll know more once I get the pistons out and can see the whole length of them.

I really hope the walls are okay because it looks like this engine has been bored to capacity already. 4" bore, .060" over already.

[Mindl3ss]

I've got the day off because of the holiday.

Decided to pull off the grill. A bit of surface rust on the back, but I brushed it off and it's nice and solid.

[Xeen]

The first tear down is always interesting, shes been together for 46 years she wont part with her front clip willingly.
I flat wore out a harbor freight 1/2" impact by the time I took the entire truck apart.

[Mindl3ss]

Originally Posted by Xeen

The first tear down is always interesting, shes been together for 46 years she wont part with her front clip willingly.
I flat wore out a harbor freight 1/2" impact by the time I took the entire truck apart.

I got all the bolts out and pulled it up, but the warped bumper seemed to be holding it on. Went back under and had to take off all the bolts for the bumper.

I got them all but one that was being stubborn, but it made it loose enough to move the bumper around and get that sweet, sweet grill off.

Little bit at a time. Just gotta remember there's no rush and it will be several months before I can afford to put anything back together anyway, haha.

[Mindl3ss]

New idea:

If I can get the current engine going for around $100, I think I will drop it back in for a bit so I can at least drive this thing around.

I will test all the parts out individually and see if I can't get a bare bones runner. If the starter, alternator and water pump check out, I think I'll be able to pull it off.

I'll check the cylinder walls more in depth and give the engine a good cleaning, paint, and then reassemble it and drop it in.

If nothing else it will let me know if the core I have is good or not. Best case scenario is I get it running for under $150 and I can sell it for a few bucks more down the line.

[Xeen]

Sounds like a plan, low buck refresh, big reward, I would consider hot tanking that block because from your description it doesn't sound like it was taken care of and all the oil and water passages are going to be caked with crap.
Oh and one more thing when you put it back together put either Mobile One full synthetic or Royal Purple oil in it, you will thank me later.

[Mindl3ss]

Originally Posted by Xeen

Sounds like a plan, low buck refresh, big reward, I would consider hot tanking that block because from your description it doesn't sound like it was taken care of and all the oil and water passages are going to be caked with crap.
Oh and one more thing when you put it back together put either Mobile One full synthetic or Royal Purple oil in it, you will thank me later.

Yeah, a hot tank would definitely be in order, but it depends how much it costs. Being "new" to my area, and in the middle of nowhere, I don't have any info on local machine shops. That's one down side of having moved since my last project: no local connections. Honestly, I think I'd be happy with some de-greaser and a pressure wash.

I can't remember what the process is called, but if I have it at a machine shop I would probably have them check out the block for defects while it's there. Sonic wall or something like that? I don't remember.

But yeah, ultimately the goal is as cheap as possible just to get it running.

[gdavis]

You need to get it lined bored, unless you are a gambling man. For about 50 to 60 dollars more your mind be at ease.

[Xeen]

The problem George is it is already .060 over which means it's done, it's pointless to even bother with that block if it needs anything other than a good cleaning.
So on second thought Mindl3ss you are right just degrease it and put it back together and run it until it grenades.
After it grenades you could locate yourself a known good short block that isn't more than .020" over and just replace it, I bet one of the local machine shops has one laying around for cheap.

[Mindl3ss]

Originally Posted by gdavis

You need to get it lined bored, unless you are a gambling man. For about 50 to 60 dollars more your mind be at ease.

Originally Posted by Xeen

The problem George is it is already .060 over which means it's done, it's pointless to even bother with that block if it needs anything other than a good cleaning.
So on second thought Mindl3ss you are right just degrease it and put it back together and run it until it grenades.
After it grenades you could locate yourself a known good short block that isn't more than .020" over and just replace it, I bet one of the local machine shops has one laying around for cheap.

I'm no gambling man, but I think spending the extra dough to get it to get it bored any more would be worse. I'm not too familiar with terms, but is line boring just the more technical name for a plain old bore?

As Xeen pointed out, it's already .060. I've seen a few posts over the years where people talk about going .080, but then everyone down the line says they are crazy.

The goal is run this one for a year or two, VERY light duty only, save up and then replace it with an LS. I would like to avoid destroying it, but I've also never killed an engine... could be a fun experiment later on.

[gdavis]

Originally Posted by Mindl3ss

I'm no gambling man, but I think spending the extra dough to get it to get it bored any more would be worse. I'm not too familiar with terms, but is line boring just the more technical name for a plain old bore?

As Xeen pointed out, it's already .060. I've seen a few posts over the years where people talk about going .080, but then everyone down the line says they are crazy.

The goal is run this one for a year or two, VERY light duty only, save up and then replace it with an LS. I would like to avoid destroying it, but I've also never killed an engine... could be a fun experiment later on.

no, line bore is when the machine shop bores the cam holes where the cam bearings and cam go. But, if you are already at .060 the block is toast. I don't think I would even try and get anymore out of the block. It is a waste of money and time putting it together with all new parts. Just look around 350 blocks are every where.

[Mindl3ss]

Originally Posted by gdavis

no, line bore is when the machine shop bores the cam holes where the cam bearings and cam go. But, if you are already at .060 the block is toast. I don't think I would even try and get anymore out of the block. It is a waste of money and time putting it together with all new parts. Just look around 350 blocks are every where.

Thanks for clearing up the terms.

And I get what you're saying about the block not worth it, but as a quick and, most importantly, temporary placeholder I think I'll be okay.

Around here it's difficult to find even a 350 core for under $150-200, and anything I get at that price is going to require just as much work as the engine I have. I would rather spend $150 now for gaskets and seals, put this back together, and not care if it goes out. If I'm going to spend $150 on another block and $150 on odds and ends then I'm better off saving and just letting it sit for a year or two until I can find a decent 5.3L.

[Mindl3ss]

Well, was working on cleaning the engine up yesterday and decided to just say forget it and not mess with it. I smashed my thumb between the engine stand and the rod used to turn the engine on the stand so that probably is what put me in a bad mood

Now the questions go, what can I get for the parts? I'm guessing the block is good for scrap, but not much else. The heads are typical "smog" heads, so probably not worth much, the intake is an edelbrock aluminum so that may be worth a few bucks.

I'll tear the engine apart further and measure the crank journals to see if they are still standard size.

While cleaning the engine up I ran across a few stickers under the caked on dirt/sludge. One said "4 Star Remanufactured" and the other looked like an ID sticker with blanks for part numbers and . All the info that would have been written on the second was long gone.

[mcbassin]

Looks like pretty cool build you have going. I'm gonna follow along too.

[Mindl3ss]

Originally Posted by mcbassin

Looks like pretty cool build you have going. I'm gonna follow along too.

Welcome aboard.

It's only going to get slower from here on out, but I'll keep posting things as I work on them.

[Xeen]

I'm thinking after you restore the frame, suspension and steering, just reseal the engine and drive it while you fix it up.