Re: C10CJ: A Pro-touring '71 Stepside on a No Limit Pro-C10 Chassis
 

According to this guy, Due to this I'm thinking I want to move my battery to the driver side rear... probably right behind the tire. I'm not sure if the same considerations are important for pro-touring, have you looked into this yet?

Re: C10CJ: A Pro-touring '71 Stepside on a No Limit Pro-C10 Chassis
 

Hey man, I generally agree with what they guy wrote that you referenced. For those that want the synopsis, the guy is talking about the axle split, not to be confused with the weight split even though he refers to it as 52% weight on the front left. He really means 52% of the front axle's weight on the left side and 52% of the rear axle's weight on the left side.

His main point is that you want the cross weights to be the same. So FL/RR to FR/RL should be equal. Most scales these days will give you cross weights in addition to corner weights. This helps to keep the car balanced in both turning directions, so applicable for any handling situation, be it auto-cross, road coarse, mountain fun, etc. The left turn only boys bias this to help the car turn left only, in addition to some other tricks like wheel base (e.g. sprint cars, modifieds).

For the battery, it all depends. The battery is a fraction of your weight, well at least my weight. I'm a tad over 200 lbs. So if you treat the battery like ballast, then you could do some iterations on the scales to find the best place. Essentially, have a helper set the battery in various locations with you in the truck and see how things change. You may find the driver side rear is best, you may find right behind the driver best. Without scales to optimize, it's probably more personal preference. I'm not sure we'd see the benefit of the optimized location just because our trucks are over 3000 lb, some well over.

I have thought about behind the tire, either side. The catch there is you would want a pretty stout box to put the battery inside. That area will get beat to crap with pebbles from street driving. Maybe if it's a low milage/year truck you wouldn't need as much armor. But my goal is to make the truck so fun to drive I put more than the usually 2000 miles on it per year.

With a raised floor, you actually get quite a bit of room up near the front bed mounts between the floor and the top of the frame rail before it turns up for the axle notch. It's around 4 inches lower than the rear frame rail section behind the notch. With the simulated raised floor I did, there was around 11" vertical space in there. Enough to almost mount the battery "normal" versus on it's side. That's the custom cross-member with an integrated battery box I'm talking about. Tied in with the 2nd cross member from the front of the bed. That cross member is no longer much use to the bed mount since the floor is up 6", so there is opportunity there to optimize. My neighbor even joked about putting a live well box in that space if I did a full tilt floor.

Re: C10CJ: A Pro-touring '71 Stepside on a No Limit Pro-C10 Chassis
 

Oh the ups and downs ...

This is definitely an up and a down. I got color on the firewall last night. I hadn't sprayed automotive paint in close to 20 years, let alone a metallic. But that's not the down. The paint came out gorgeous. The problem, some scratches are showing through (the down). I saw 3 scratched when I was spraying the color. I thought, I can live with those. They aren't too bad. I didn't notice all the other scratches until I'm into the clearcoat. So I just sprayed 2 coats of clear and wrapped up. Serves as a good preview of what it will look like at least. The scratches are only on the vertical surfaces too, and only in one direction even though I cross hatched 400 wet then 600 wet. These scratches almost look like 320 scratches. They are very hard to see in a photo, so not even going to try, but because of the metallic, they show right up in the sun.

So re-work it is. Bummer for sure, but it happens. Hopefully I can just stick to the vertical surfaces (sand down to the color, then wet sand the color with 600 until the scratches go away, spray more color then re-clear).

Here's some photos for fun though:

This is where it all started. To clean up this mess:
Attachment 1671636

The after
Attachment 1671637

Passenger side angle shot
Attachment 1671638

Driver side angle shot
Attachment 1671639

You can really see how wrinkly the firewall is from the factory and why many custom shops just chop the whole firewall off and start fresh. I wasn't about to go there. ;)

Re: C10CJ: A Pro-touring '71 Stepside on a No Limit Pro-C10 Chassis
 

Looks good from here!

Re: C10CJ: A Pro-touring '71 Stepside on a No Limit Pro-C10 Chassis
 

Agreed. Maybe it's not a Ridler contender.... but it doesn't need to be when the smiles per gallon accumulate.

Re: C10CJ: A Pro-touring '71 Stepside on a No Limit Pro-C10 Chassis
 

I like the color, but now that you mention the wrinkles I might plan on doing a matte or satin black on the firewall to conceal some of those imperfections.

Re: C10CJ: A Pro-touring '71 Stepside on a No Limit Pro-C10 Chassis
 

Cool build! #gottalovesteppers

Re: C10CJ: A Pro-touring '71 Stepside on a No Limit Pro-C10 Chassis
 

Thanks guys! I hear ya SCOTI ... I know it looks good in the photos and it does look good in person until you get close enough. So I tend to judge paint by distance. Essentially the distance where the paint job turns from looks good to uh oh. So not when I see the first defect but the overall appearance. You guys have probably done/heard the same ... "looks good from 10 ft away" - That's what I call a 10' paint job. A Ridler would be a <1" paint job (which if I can convince one of my buddies on an idea I've got for a Ridler car ...). My firewall was a 2'-4' on the spots with the scratches. The rest of my truck is about a 1' paint job, maybe a little better on the bulk of the exterior body, so I want to at least get close to that. I thinking mainly about the guys that lean in to get a closer look at stuff. Well, actually, more about myself. I just couldn't see myself not fixing it at some point, so planning to fix it now.

Crakarjax - on the wrinkles, I actually never noticed them until I did the paint work. On a fully assembled truck, I'm not sure you'll really see them since the hood will shade that area of the firewall. Guess I'll be able to tell for sure in a few weeks. I hope to get the paint work wrapped up by this weekend and get the cab back on. And also, the metallic does not help that situation. A solid color probably wouldn't show as much even in a gloss.

For the firewall re-work, I probably made it sound worse than it really is. I just took the DA and only touched areas I could hit with the DA and some 320. I avoided too much hand sanding since that is time consuming. Here's some shots with the scuffed clear, pretty much down to the color. I don't need to go any farther as the clear I did spray filled the scratches, so it's really just making a new surface for the new color. Don't need new primer/sealer since I didn't expose any body putty/glaze and it's the same color underneath so it won't bleed. I then plan to hit the scuffed areas with 400 on the DA then do another 600 wet on the whole firewall. This will get rid of the tiny amount of orange peel (that I would have cut and buffed anyway) and put a new surface for the new shot of base color. Then I'll re-clear. So not too bad. I also plan to paint the 2 spots on the back of the cab when I redo the firewall paint so that will finish up this round of bodywork/paint. Left over on the cab is the fuel neck hole. But I've got 2 pinstripes right next to that hole so that will be a separate project maybe this winter after I've played around with pinstripe colors. Just need to temporarily plug the hole. More on that later.

So hopefully color again Friday night. Cut and buff Sat night. Install cab Sunday night. That's the goal. I've got some bodywork to finish up on the cab notch I did and so I plan to get that done tomorrow and shot with primer. The cab corner just needs a round of 400 / 600 wet sanding and it's ready for paint.

Attachment 1672082

Attachment 1672083

Re: C10CJ: A Pro-touring '71 Stepside on a No Limit Pro-C10 Chassis
 

Thanks boss! and you know it!

Re: C10CJ: A Pro-touring '71 Stepside on a No Limit Pro-C10 Chassis
 

ok, a little behind my plan, but not much. Still have a shot at getting the cab on tonight. I didn't get paint done Friday night due to weather and me not being where I wanted to be due to well, work. Work pays the bills so getting keep those priorities straight! Anyhow, I'm calling the cab paint work DONE!

The scratches are gone! My only thing to fight is orange peel because I went ahead and sprayed a 3rd coat of clear and that 3rd coat was with a faster activator (that's all the paint shop had in stock, doh! It's summer!) and it was toasty, so I figured I'd get some orange peel. And I did. No big deal. I'll color sand that out. Hopefully the clear is hard enough by dinner tonight so I can at least color sand and polish the concave section of the firewall. The rest I ran do after it's on the chassis.

Firewall baking in the sun. Some left over clear in the PPS liner sitting on the dolly as a hardness check.
Attachment 1673144

Side shot with the door. The color is very close. In this pic, I'd say it's hard to see a difference, but I know a handful will.
Attachment 1673145

The back where this was more of a repair on the cab corner and the addition of the notch.
Attachment 1673146

Close up of the heater area. Some orange peel to contend with, but nothing major.
Attachment 1673147

And for those wondering, how did I handle the clear on the back? The problem with a C10 cab, is with a catalyzed clear, you aren't supposed to break in the middle of a panel and always break on an edge, so with our C10 cabs there are no panel breaks that are continuous to another break. So in following the break on an edge guide, you'd have to re-clear the whole cab. Uh, I'm not doing that. No way. So I chose to put a break in 2 spots that weren't along an edge. Just to the right of the notch and right on the corner where that bottom edge that comes from the door disappears over to the other edge below the panel insets. I may pay for that down the road. Oh well. To be clear, I DID NOT paint the entire area show in this pic. I only painted the cab corner and the bottom area over to the cab notch. All that was sanded with 600 wet. The rest of the area was scuffed with ultra fine scrotchbrite. Of course it was all cleaned, then cleaned again, and again.
Attachment 1673150

Re: C10CJ: A Pro-touring '71 Stepside on a No Limit Pro-C10 Chassis
 

Looking good!

Re: C10CJ: A Pro-touring '71 Stepside on a No Limit Pro-C10 Chassis
 

Thanks man!

Re: C10CJ: A Pro-touring '71 Stepside on a No Limit Pro-C10 Chassis
 

BIG day for the C10 today ... the cab is ON!

There was some re-work I had to do, nothing too major. I then decided to cut and buff the front and the entire rear before I put it on the truck.

I must say, it does look good. Now time to get things put back together. I didn't do much to the interior so most of that will go back the way it was. That was by design, and by that I really mean budget. No budget for anything major in the interior.

IT'S ABOUT TIME!
Attachment 1675570

Attachment 1675571

Attachment 1675572

Attachment 1675573

Gotta love when you can see your suspension in the shine. I still remembered how to cut and buff (haven't done it in many years).
Attachment 1675574

Re: C10CJ: A Pro-touring '71 Stepside on a No Limit Pro-C10 Chassis
 

The firewall looks really good! Heck, it all looks good! Nice work on everything so far.

Re: C10CJ: A Pro-touring '71 Stepside on a No Limit Pro-C10 Chassis
 

Very nice!

Re: C10CJ: A Pro-touring '71 Stepside on a No Limit Pro-C10 Chassis
 

The shine is impressive! Truck is coming along nicely.

Re: C10CJ: A Pro-touring '71 Stepside on a No Limit Pro-C10 Chassis
 

Thanks Duane!

Thanks Chris!

Thanks Doug!

Now the fun begins! Working on a center console (nothing fancy) so I can get the shifter re-mounted and cable run so I can move the truck around since I have no brakes yet and I use the park detent in the trans to keep it from rolling down the driveway when I push it out of the shop. Also working on the brakes in parallel. Thought I had gotten the master cylinder push-rod setup done when I mocked in the new master cylinder, but alas I didn't. doh! So need to get that figured out.

Also need to get some door seals and the seals around the steering column. Anyone use the stuff from GMC Paul on the boards here? I've heard good things so will probably give him a call sometime this week.

Oh it's going to be really busy the next few weeks. Trying to get this thing driving in 3 weeks. Wish me luck!

Re: C10CJ: A Pro-touring '71 Stepside on a No Limit Pro-C10 Chassis
 

Looks great!

All of the seals on my Blazer are from GMC Paul's. I found it to be good quality seals, if I remember correctly, most of it was Precision brand.

Re: C10CJ: A Pro-touring '71 Stepside on a No Limit Pro-C10 Chassis
 

Very nice progress!

Re: C10CJ: A Pro-touring '71 Stepside on a No Limit Pro-C10 Chassis
 

Thanks guys! Man I've been busy. Pushing the boulder from all sides.

I've been working on a ton of stuff ... brakes, steering, interior, odds and ends

Here's a few shots of some of that:

Built a steam line for the LS using these slick fittings from Earl's that adapt the steam line to a -4 AN. Then I just made some -4 lines from some PTFE braided SS I had in the shop. Then tied it in to the heater port on my radiator.
Attachment 1678138

Got the brake lines all made. Lot's of "fun" here. But they are done. Time to bench bleed the master, flush the lines, and bleed the brakes. Oh, and all that ugly stuff on the steering column will be made pretty. I finalized the u-joints fitment today and dimpled/drilled the shafts (yep, I still hate drilling hardened steel) so they are ready for paint and that bracket will soak a few hours in rust remover tomorrow after a date with the wire brush tonight.Then paint all that stuff and put in together "for reals".
Attachment 1678139

And decided last minute, meaning last Monday, to install some Dynamat. Ordered Monday night, arrived Thursday, installed yesterday and today. Also have some Dynaliner to install in select spots on the firewall and floor. Should help quiet the cab down as long trips in this thing before weren't the most enjoyable to say the least.
Attachment 1678140

And a little "SSS" - Side shot Sunday (we'll, the photo was taken on Saturday). Sitting on the springs. The front is a tad low, but I don't have any pre-load in the coils on any corner, but starts to give you an idea of the final stance. The front only gets about 50-100 lb pre-load so the front is pretty close to final.
Attachment 1678144

Re: C10CJ: A Pro-touring '71 Stepside on a No Limit Pro-C10 Chassis
 

Not enough superlatives for your project so I'll just thank you for the example you are providing in patience and attention to detail as well as clarification on build elements that are often glossed over...btw rear rubber looks pretty serious in that last shot!

Re: C10CJ: A Pro-touring '71 Stepside on a No Limit Pro-C10 Chassis
 

So much cool in this project. Absolutely love the chassis. I bet the excitement is building as you are killing the to do list.

Looking back at it all would you do another roller chassis again? And from the same company?

Re: C10CJ: A Pro-touring '71 Stepside on a No Limit Pro-C10 Chassis
 

Thank you for the kind words sir!

I didn't notice it when I took the pic, but yeah, that angle really makes the rear meats look meaty.

Re: C10CJ: A Pro-touring '71 Stepside on a No Limit Pro-C10 Chassis
 

Thanks man! Yes, the excitement is killing me and I have just a handful of things left to get to wrap up this phase. For a refresher, the bed floor is a winter project and won't be done initially.

On the chassis, yeah, I'd probably go a roller again. If you've got the budget it's hard to not go that route. Same company, that's a tough one, only because I'm all about trying out different stuff. But if I was to build one to flip, I'd probably just go with the stock chassis beefed up a bit and No Limit wide ride up front and trailing arm kit in the back. I've also thought about taking my old frame and installing Hotchkis stuff on that and then finding a body to finish it off and either give it to my dad or sell it. I'd also love to do a chassis with a Detroit Speed front sub and custom back half. But I don't quite have the shop to be doing frame work the right way (and keeping it straight). That's one of the drivers behind going with an aftermarket frame. I could box in the factory frame and not worry much, but chopping the front off then welding on a new one requires a bit more on the jig side.

Re: C10CJ: A Pro-touring '71 Stepside on a No Limit Pro-C10 Chassis
 

ok guys ... fast forward 2 weeks and a ton has gotten done, but I'm not going to make the show this weekend. We leave tomorrow and there is still a good week's worth of work. But I'm sticking to no short cuts and getting it done right the first time.

So I'll try and catch you guys up on what's been done with a post blast. Hope the admins don't mind!

Starting with the steering shaft. I got everything dimpled for the u-joints. Dimpling is a critical activity on these u-joints to make sure they don't accidentally come off.

This is the pre-dimple pic of the steering shaft (I forgot to take a post dimple pic before I installed the steering shaft). It was a little nerve racking drilling into a brand new splined column, but you do what you gotta do. I sorta wish they'd put a dimple ring like the OEM, but I understand why they don't.
Attachment 1683632

Dimples in the steering shaft.
Attachment 1683633

The shafts are steel so they got a little paint.
Attachment 1683634

Ok detail here. Since I did a slip shaft, the large DD tube has an open end at the top. So I took a simple grommet and wedged it in there. I also poked a very small breather hole so that as the steering shaft slides, it doesn't pop the grommet out.
Attachment 1683635

Then a slob of grease in the large tube, coat the upper end of the small shaft and assemble. Red Loctite on all the set screws and jam nuts. Don't want anything getting loose.
Attachment 1683636

Re: C10CJ: A Pro-touring '71 Stepside on a No Limit Pro-C10 Chassis
 

Remember that ugly rusted lower column mount from post 180? A couple hours in Metal Rescue (found it at Home Depot) and came out mostly rust free! A little sanding and ready for paint.
Attachment 1683647

Here's the steering/master cylinder area after all the cleanup. I also got the brakes bled. So for those counting, steering and brakes are done!
Attachment 1683648

Also got a hole for the throttle cable drilled and got the cable housing installed. Yep, I'm still a little old school with a cable throttle.
Attachment 1683649

Re: C10CJ: A Pro-touring '71 Stepside on a No Limit Pro-C10 Chassis
 

Also got all the trans cooling lines done. Here's the mouse trap of hardlines. I went from the trans to the fluid cooler and then to an air cooler for additional cooling since I've got a high slip converter.
Attachment 1683661

I'm relocating the air cooler from in front of the radiator on the passenger side to behind the radiator support on the driver side. I had to move it due to the addition of the A/C. I'm planning to cut some holes in the radiator support to get some airflow in there, although since I've missed my target this may get "re-thought". This photo is missing one of the lines but it run right next to the one shown here. My current cooler just has tube fittings on it hence the tube fitting on the end here. But I do want to replace that air cooler (a tube/fin style) with a plate cooler eventually.
Attachment 1683662

Another shot of the mouse trap of hard lines.
Attachment 1683663

So in this pic you can see I've got some radiator hoses also installed. I gave up on finding some OEM rubber hoses after spending a couple hours in a few different auto parts stores. Ugh. Under that hose you can barely see a blue block which is a trans temp manifold plumbed in the trans out line.
Attachment 1683664

Here's a shot showing the flex lines in the setup. I wound up just using extra -6 line and so I just needed a -5 to -6 converter as I put -5 tube nut/sleeves on the hard line with 37 deg flares.
Attachment 1683665

Re: C10CJ: A Pro-touring '71 Stepside on a No Limit Pro-C10 Chassis
 

Got the Vintage air unit installed and all the lines installed. I did deviate from the install in a couple ways. The default install has you slide the heater hose through the firewall and then seal up with RTV, whereas the A/C lines get grommets. So I found some grommets that fit the heater lines perfectly and installed those ... after the hard lines were in, which was a large PIA but the look is so much better. I may eventually give hart_rod a call b/c I really like the manifold he made for his setup, but for now, it's done. I used the Vintage air lines but missed one detail, the vintage air lines assume the compressor fittings are on the top of the compressor while the billet specialties puts the fittings on the bottom. The lines still fit, but the routing is set by the suction line being upside down and since it has a bent fitting on each end, well, you guys know.
Attachment 1683666

Got some Dynaliner installed on top of the Dynamat.
Attachment 1683667

Attachment 1683668

Also fab'd up a bracket for the shifter and ECU. I went round and round on where to put the ECU, so I decided to since i wanted to raise the shifter I'd put the ECU under the shifter. So far so good. I plan to paint the bracket, but not until I get the side of the console made in case I need to weld some tabs on.
Attachment 1683669

Attachment 1683670

Re: C10CJ: A Pro-touring '71 Stepside on a No Limit Pro-C10 Chassis
 

Some of you may have caught that I kept the holes to mount the OEM parking brake pedal but I didn't keep the hole for the cable. There are some bolts in there now. Hmm.
Attachment 1683690

The pedal is installed. So now you're thinking, is it cable still or did he retro-fit an electric kit?
Attachment 1683691

Here is the cable routing from the rear. I run along the top 4-link bar and then cross over to the frame right near the rod ends. This is because the cable will experience the least amount of movement due to the suspension at this point. I then run over to the driver side where the cables converge to a custom bracket I made.
Attachment 1683692

Here's the bracket. Nothing special, but built to provide the proper spacing and provide "full pull" capability.
Attachment 1683693

Here's the bracket after it's been installed.
Attachment 1683694

Re: C10CJ: A Pro-touring '71 Stepside on a No Limit Pro-C10 Chassis
 

Last post for this round of updates ...

To summarize:
-Brakes - DONE
-Steering - DONE
-Fuel system -DONE (but a few fittings need to be tightened, waiting until wiring is done)
-Trans line plumbing - DONE
-Radiator hoses - DONE
-Dynamat/Dynaliner - DONE
-A/C - DONE except for duct install, wiring and control panel mounting
-Shifter/ECU bracket - DONE except for paint

What's left?
-Wiring
-fab a custom throttle/TV cable bracket to properly align the cables to the throttle body
-fab a new mount for the trans dipstick (simple z bracket)
-figure out where to mount the air/oil separator for the PCV circuit along with the custom PCV valve I picked up from M.E. Wagner (more on this later)
-finish fab work on corner front bumper mounts
-Trans air cooler install
-install carpet/rest of interior
-install the rest of the body

I am planning to get the truck driving before I work on the bed floor. So the bed floor is not on this list, but on the next list.

Can't leave you without showing you a mess of wires.

Just half of the ECU harness is laid out. Still have a whole connector worth of wiring sitting in a bin.
Attachment 1683698

Updating my relay board. 3 fan replays and the A/C relay. All on auto-resetting circuit breakers. You can also see the giant junction I'm planning to install. The starter will wire to that and then the battery to it as well. That way when I re-locate the battery down the road I just need to run the power wires to this junction point.
Attachment 1683699

More mess in the interior.
Attachment 1683700

Re: C10CJ: A Pro-touring '71 Stepside on a No Limit Pro-C10 Chassis
 

Oh, and I'm off to Kool Deadwood Nights tomorrow in Deadwood, SD. If any of you guys happen to be there too let me know!

Re: C10CJ: A Pro-touring '71 Stepside on a No Limit Pro-C10 Chassis
 

Dang, dude. Lotsa work happening here. So close!

Re: C10CJ: A Pro-touring '71 Stepside on a No Limit Pro-C10 Chassis
 

Looks awesome! Some questions...

- Where did you get your sway bars, and how did you choose the size/rates?
- Is your frame powdercoated? Looks really nice.
- Are those residual valves that I see on the brake lines? Those are only needed if your MC is lower than the calipers afaik -- any reason to include them?

Re: C10CJ: A Pro-touring '71 Stepside on a No Limit Pro-C10 Chassis
 

:metal::metal::metal:


Thanks man.

The sway bars were spec'd out by No Limit with the chassis, but they look like units from Speedway Engineering (not to be confused with Speedway Motors). I can't remember the spline count, you think I'd have written it down. lol I'll grab the specs when I get back. At some point I do plan to back calculate the bar stiffness, but that's a bit down the road when I'm no longer building. I've got an old dated background in suspension design (it's been over 12 years since I did any though) so I just need to dig out a few formulas and take some measurements on the truck. Or find some software for me. I know No Limit uses suspension design software to aid them in their choices, but Rob has also got the years of experience behind his stuff.

Thanks on the frame! And yes, the frame is powder coated. The color is Black Magic from Tiger Drylac.

Yep, 2lb residual valves inline. You are right, only "required" when the MC is below the calipers (or drums), but I'm told they firm up pedal response in regular systems, so I'm giving them a try. If I don't like them, they are easily removed. I can already tell even w/o driving they do make the pedal firmer and the pads are held closer to the rotor on full pedal retract. The proof is on the driving though. I've never driven a car with them, so I've got that feeling in my head. I'll see how different it acts hopefully soon.

Re: C10CJ: A Pro-touring '71 Stepside on a No Limit Pro-C10 Chassis
 

[QUOTE=1971_c10;8023075]Got the Vintage air unit installed and all the lines installed. I did deviate from the install in a couple ways. The default install has you slide the heater hose through the firewall and then seal up with RTV, whereas the A/C lines get grommets. So I found some grommets that fit the heater lines perfectly and installed those ... after the hard lines were in, which was a large PIA but the look is so much better. I may eventually give hart_rod a call b/c I really like the manifold he made for his setup, but for now, it's done. I used the Vintage air lines but missed one detail, the vintage air lines assume the compressor fittings are on the top of the compressor while the billet specialties puts the fittings on the bottom. The lines still fit, but the routing is set by the suction line being upside down and since it has a bent fitting on each end, well, you guys know.
Attachment 1683666

Chris,
I've also purchased the Vintage air package, welded in the plate, but then being associated with rods much more have decided to go with the bulkhead fittings instead, now that I made that decision, I'll have to fabricate my own aluminum plate to cover the holes.....sigh....anyway, doing this I think I can eliminate some of the angle issues since I can pick and choose fittings, straight, 90....etc...I'll post pictures later

Re: C10CJ: A Pro-touring '71 Stepside on a No Limit Pro-C10 Chassis
 

one of the best builds i have seen!!! great job!!

Re: C10CJ: A Pro-touring '71 Stepside on a No Limit Pro-C10 Chassis
 

I'm hoping to use bulkheads as well -- I'm very interested to see how your install goes. Still deciding on vintage air vs restomodair.com -- their kits are made for bulkheads and look super nice but are pretty pricey.

Re: C10CJ: A Pro-touring '71 Stepside on a No Limit Pro-C10 Chassis
 

Here are some links to hart_rod's vintage air bulkhead he created.

Un-installed post showing the details

The finished product

And a linked pic of his final product:
http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/a...1&d=1473772633

Re: C10CJ: A Pro-touring '71 Stepside on a No Limit Pro-C10 Chassis
 

Thanks man! I really appreciate the kind words!

Re: C10CJ: A Pro-touring '71 Stepside on a No Limit Pro-C10 Chassis
 

Sunday night updates ...

To start off, I got my shifter combo bracket painted and installed (yeah, I changed my plans from above slightly). It's quite a good feeling to take a sketch on a white board and turn it in to a real product that works the way you want. Ok, I do that in my normal job too, but I don't get to do the fabricating there, whereas here I do!

The bracket with the white board sketches in the background
Attachment 1689175

Close up of the funky thing I came up with for the ECU mounting just to show you guys it's not just a hole. The ECU has a vibration grommet installed so instead of swapping those out, I went ahead and used them. The ECU just slides right in (well, it's not quite that easy).
Attachment 1689176

The finished assembly ready to install
Attachment 1689177

Got some holes drilled in the tunnel. A 7/8" hole for the shifter cable and a 1 7/8" hole for the ECU engine harness (holy crap that's a big hole!). The grommet for the ECU wiring is filling the giant hole. Why such a big hole? Well, the largest ECU connector wants a 1 5/8" hole to fit through, and the grommet was a 1 7/8" so it all worked out.
Attachment 1689178

The finished product. Install order matters and the carpet is included in that order. So it ain't coming out easy if someone tries.
Attachment 1689179