New year, new body 70c10 to 86c10
 

Recently started engine swap from my 70' to 86'. Always been fond of the square body's, just need to knock the 80's off of this one!

Re: New year, new body 70c10 to 86c10
 

Fits like a glove! Installed new stock GM rubber mounts and used Dirty Dingos LS Brackets. Did a quick mock up on the sheet metal to see how everything is going to line up. Installing 73-79 front clip. Found that I had to use 81-87 support bushings to drop into the larger holes on the frame. Had to cut them down to lower the support about 3/4" so the gaps lined up between the fender and the door.

Re: New year, new body 70c10 to 86c10
 

So....Have to say that Jose and I are making good time on this. We got both engines out and LS in what seamed to be hours. By far, the hardest part was those damn pedals! Had to take almost the entire dash apart to get to the bracket. Going with American Powertrains Hydro set up, to change from automatic to manual. Will have pictures soon.....

Re: New year, new body 70c10 to 86c10
 

Here are some more pictures of the clutch set up.. Used existing hole on clutch pedal and removed a rubber boot that was on the fire wall. Everything lined right up.

Re: New year, new body 70c10 to 86c10
 

On too the cooling....Found a radiator set up for LS swaps at speedway that was too good to pass up. It has both the inlet and outlet on the same side, to get ride of that 18 foot "S" hose :). Made a quick mounting bracket to get it running and will fab up something nicer down the road. Had an old seltzer bottle that I found in the basement that made a perfect overflow tank. Was able to reuse the 86' shroud, just had to mount it upside down to get it centered with the blade.

Re: New year, new body 70c10 to 86c10
 

Its been 33 Days 3 Hours and 45 Minutes since the last log into this diary to myself on this deserted thread. Progress has been slowed and the shop has started to reclaim the area where the truck rests. Did get it running, but noticed it was bogging down on heavy throttle. Carb needed an electric choke anyway, so decided to do a rebuild. While that was out, I figured I'd address the painted valve covers. Decided to go with a matte Bronze powder coating to change it up a little from the Red's and Oranges. There was (2) mounting holes that were no being used, so I made some brackets to cover them up and show off more of the color ( Not sure how I feel about them yet? ). Plan on changing the style of the coil bracket once I get new performance ones. Flushed the tank and all that's left is wiring the choke in.

Re: New year, new body 70c10 to 86c10
 

Hey, looks awesome!!!!! Looking forward to seeing what you're going to do with the valve covers? Mike

Re: New year, new body 70c10 to 86c10
 

Glad I was a part of this! Awesome working next to you my friend! Hope she’s running and driving now :chevy:

Re: New year, new body 70c10 to 86c10
 

So I've found myself jumping all over the place. Have started one area of the truck, then jumped to another without finishing the last!! Have to get myself straight and finish something. Lets get to this...Thought that the fuel pump should have some kind of cover to protect it from road debris. Started fabbing something up and got a little crazy with it. Just have to make some mounting brackets and do some finish work, then I could check it off the list. I've set a goal to have it done by the end of this week, but don't hold me to it :)

Re: New year, new body 70c10 to 86c10
 

It was great working with you as well!! Thanks for all the help and I'm sure I will see you at a swap meet or cruise night next season.

Re: New year, new body 70c10 to 86c10
 

Goal met!! Task completed, check it off the list. Made up some brackets and I installed bolt rivets to make it easy to access the pump if needed. Painted it Cherry red, just cause I think its cool, no one will ever see it.

Re: New year, new body 70c10 to 86c10
 

Looks sweet!

Re: New year, new body 70c10 to 86c10
 

On to gauges....Picked up a GPS speedometer, so I didn't have to worry about cables and adaptors. Took the cluster apart and mounted it to the existing speedo plate, so everything will be behind the clear lens and look kinda stock. Made up a piece of stainless to hold the switches to go where there was a pocket and another plate to hold some gauges where the radio was, the engine will be my music. Also installed a power disconnect switch to make it easier to work on in the future. Will have to make up a pre flight check list to do every time I start this think up with all these switches.

Re: New year, new body 70c10 to 86c10
 

Last thing to get to before the test run this weekend. Going to do a Ram Air set up that I used on the 70' C10. There was a heated debate on the 67-72 c10tread I had on, if it was really a ram air or not? Pictures are of it installed on my 70'. Changing it up a little for the new application. I used a gas can when I fabbed it up. Hoping to have it install in the truck tomorrow to get some test runs in.

Re: New year, new body 70c10 to 86c10
 

Another task complete. Liked the red so much, that I decided to use it again on the air cleaner. Its kind of reminiscent of what Olds did back in the day with the red/ gold. For the duct, used commercial 4" flex vent and wrapped it with exhaust wrap. Was really surprised that it all fit under the hood.

Re: New year, new body 70c10 to 86c10
 

Did get that test ride in. Stayed local and there were no major issues. Here's a side by side of when I started to today.

Re: New year, new body 70c10 to 86c10
 

So I lied, did have one issue on that test drive. Took it out for a longer ride and when I was able to finally bang through the gears, the stick hit the dash in 3rd. Didn't have a torch hot enough to heat up the rod and bend it, so I had to cut and weld. Also started fresh with a new threaded bolt, could never find the exact thread that existing was? Used the opportunity to bring the ball of the shifter 3-4 more inches closer to me, so I wasn't reaching. Polished the steel shaft and added a boot and 4" hose coupling I had from the Fire Department as the retaining ring.

Re: New year, new body 70c10 to 86c10
 

Some more pics

Re: New year, new body 70c10 to 86c10
 

So its been a while... Would like to say that the truck is home now. Drove it 20 miles home with no issues. Next project in line is the bumper. I know I didn't want to slap a stock one on there and was toying with the idea of modifying a late model Silverado bumper to fit, but I decided to stick with a kind of period correct one. Found what I think it a late 60's, early 70's Chevy van bumper? at a swap meet for a cool $40. It has a shorter height profile that a 70's C10 bumper and I think I can modify it to hug the fenders nicely. Started by cutting it in half to straighten it out. Made a jig with wood to get the profile of the 79 valance.

Re: New year, new body 70c10 to 86c10
 

Love the work put in so far.... and that ram air set up is cool! There is nothing like making your own $hit! Awesome!

Re: New year, new body 70c10 to 86c10
 

Thanks, there is no fun in just bolting things on...

Stay safe on the Island!!!

Re: New year, new body 70c10 to 86c10
 

Progress on the bumper. Straightened and added some metal to contour the valance. After setting it in place, it does look a little long. Will have to cut it down again and re-measure to have it hug the fenders better.

Re: New year, new body 70c10 to 86c10
 

nice build(s) man! where did you get the aluminum fitting for the end of the hose for the ram air, I need a couple of those

Re: New year, new body 70c10 to 86c10
 

Thanks, checked out your build and man it looks sweet. I found the intake on eBay. Its called a 4" Velocity Stack, $30 bones with free shipping. I added the mesh screen and stainless Allen bolts.

Re: New year, new body 70c10 to 86c10
 

thanks man, I appreciate the info!!

Re: New year, new body 70c10 to 86c10
 

Truck looks good. Enjoying the build read.

Re: New year, new body 70c10 to 86c10
 

Thanks Bill,

Seems like its been an hour here, hour there for the last couple months with getting things done. Will keep trucking along.....

Re: New year, new body 70c10 to 86c10
 

Bumper update:

Ended up taking around 4" total off the length. Now it hugs the fenders and lines up with the light bezels. Put it in place to get a good look at it, but its not mounted yet.

Also, made my first cruise night...excited with how everything is coming along and the feedback has been great.

Re: New year, new body 70c10 to 86c10
 

Had a minor scare when my welder died. Found it was just a switch, which was an easy swap and we are back in business. Once I had the bumper up in place, its short profile exposed some of the front frame rails. Played with a couple different ideas to cover it, from extreme 70's/ 80's z28 style wedges to thin profiles and settled on kind of a mixture of both. Used 3/16" rods to hug the valance and create a nice lip on the lower section. Time to mud and paint.

Re: New year, new body 70c10 to 86c10
 

Got a little side tracked with some parts that came in to dress the engine up a little. Got some billet coil brackets, new coils and some plug wires. The coils are basically OEM, just have a red plastic casing. Cleaned up the wiring and had to use some stainless spacers to hide them the best that I could.

Re: New year, new body 70c10 to 86c10
 

I love the tweaks to the bumpers!!!! Everything is looking great!!

Re: New year, new body 70c10 to 86c10
 

Very Nice! Good stuff here!!

Re: New year, new body 70c10 to 86c10
 

Progress on the bumper and keeping with my M.O., several other things.... Got side tracked again, when I came across a 73' grill on CL and decided to go a little further back in time with the front of the truck. I knew there would be some modification, but didn't want to get that crazy with the latch and hood pin. So here is what I did.... The side mount brackets were easy, there was already (2) indents on each side to indicate where to drill for mounting bolts. The center support however was a little different. To make the new support mate up with existing latch system, I had to cut it and splice the new with old. Also had to bevel the back of the grill a little to allow it to sit flush. For the bumper, I originally wrapped it black because down the line I was thinking of doing a black hood and maybe the wrap would hold up better from chips?. By doing this, I felt it hid the features I changed and now I'm in the process of painting it silver. We'll see how it turns out...

Re: New year, new body 70c10 to 86c10
 

Some updated pictures of the bumper finished. Ended up painting it silver and doing a satin clear coat. Mounted with stainless hardware and brass wing nuts. Main reason was I didn't trust my welds to do it concealed and I like being different.

Re: New year, new body 70c10 to 86c10
 

Dude! I dig the wing nuts!

Re: New year, new body 70c10 to 86c10
 

Couple more pictures....
I know its Fords idea, but I love the Raptor style lights and have put them on all my trucks. Figured I follow suit. Note to self, try the lights before you install!!! there was one rouge red one in the mix. Will have to remove trim/ grill again. Lesson learned.

Re: New year, new body 70c10 to 86c10
 

Thanks. I have lock washers behind them, but I guess I will have to keep an eye on them :).

Re: New year, new body 70c10 to 86c10
 

Some pics of the new rims and tires. Did like the old school slots I had on before, just wanted to go a little bigger. Didn't realize how hard it was going to be finding tires though. Seen a set up on a Camaro that looked good, but when I put them on my truck; they looked like roller skates. Ended up going with 16 x 8 powder coated Steed D rims with BF G-Force 255/50R16's upfront and the biggest I could find Toyo poxes 275/60/16's in the rear. Also installed 1-1/2" spacers to push them out a little.

Re: New year, new body 70c10 to 86c10
 

Looking good!!

Re: New year, new body 70c10 to 86c10
 

Was looking to get to the hood next, but I'm having a hard time finding one by me. While the search continues, figured I'd do something with the exhaust. Still keeping on a budge, a friend of mine had a full OEM 3" exhaust from an unknown truck that I'm able to cut up and make work. Picked up some glass packs and X-pipe from Summit and got to work. Was firm on going through the body with the exhaust, but couldn't follow though when I got to that point. Ended up just dropping it out the bottom side for now and I'm going to make a custom tip to hug the body.