Project Cannonball C10

[mikentosh]

Originally Posted by buffydores

Is the Porsche Madras Brown tartan inserts just the custom cloth that came with the buckskin interior or is it a similar Porsche material. Funny, because that wouldn't be the only parts match with a Porsche on these trucks.

Its a very similar looking material. I didn't find any of the GM tartans that was a really good match for the leather color. The buckskin is close though.

[buffydores]

Originally Posted by mikentosh

Its a very similar looking material. I didn't find any of the GM tartans that was a really good match for the leather color. The buckskin is close though.

Here's mine I purchased from SMS. I can't see the difference:

[mikentosh]

Originally Posted by buffydores

Here's mine I purchased from SMS. I can't see the difference:

We were looking for something with more brown and less red. I don't think the interior picture I uploaded shows the color of the Porsche tartan accurately.

That is a fantastic looking interior BTW! Reminds me of my old blazer...which is what made me change directions towards a tartan look.

[buffydores]

Originally Posted by mikentosh

We were looking for something with more brown and less red. I don't think the interior picture I uploaded shows the color of the Porsche tartan accurately.

That is a fantastic looking interior BTW! Reminds me of my old blazer...which is what made me change directions towards a tartan look.

Thanks, yours is just epic.

[Low Elco]

Awesome! Needs the "Chevy Sport" Hood emblems as the pullbacks in the seatbacks!

[2120]

Absolutely beautiful truck!!!! Is there a paint code or something You could share So I could acquire the same color coat interior dye from SEM?

[kyuss]

Wow!! Amazing build!

[mikentosh]

Originally Posted by 2120

Absolutely beautiful truck!!!! Is there a paint code or something You could share So I could acquire the same color coat interior dye from SEM?

Unfortunately that is one thing I don't have a record of. The color is half way between two of the standard SEM colors in their fan deck and I don't remember which two

[tommys72]

Wow!!! Thats an amazing truck! Great vision and build

[SKT]

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Clip of the Cannonball C10 cruising down the highway at the end of this video:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=1UDNiGlQkyY

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[bodydropped68]

Nice looks like a fun time

[LiveAnimals]

Simply awesome

[SKT]

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Let's see some pics of your road trip to Canada!

Saw you mention it on Instagram.

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[mikentosh]

Originally Posted by SKT

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Clip of the Cannonball C10 cruising down the highway at the end of this video:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=1UDNiGlQkyY

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Thanks for posting this! Cool to see it moving.

[mikentosh]

The night before heading out on the Canada trip I decided to throw in the stereo system so I'd have something to listen to. I've found a pretty cool idea for the "head unit" that I've borrowed from the Singer P-cars (Will be documenting that in a separate post once its done).

As for the speakers, I mounted an 8" Morel sub into the box in the floor:


And finally got to use these '80 door speaker pods that I got a while back. In the original plan I was going to mount them in the kick panels like the '75 Gentleman Jims, but now that I have the full door panels I can mount them as originally designed. These have Hertz 4x6s in them:


I mounted these a little more centered than the originals so I would have extra room for the speaker magnets in behind.

[mikentosh]

I forgot to post about the issues that we encountered on the return from from Brothers show last week. Most were minor, but a couple would have normally been a show stopper if I hadn't had confidence in every nut and bolt that I wrenched on.

Issues on the way down:
- A/C load when idling causes engine to die. Need to tune idle.
- Flaming River steering column is not properly adjusted for ignition switch, so wouldn't start without pulling the ignition rod with other hand. Now fixed.

Leaving the Brother's show with the windows down, I decide to get on it a bit up the freeway onramp. That causes the driver window to come off the channel and drop into the door getting stuck. It has done this many times since...and now it has completely bent the window regulator so it is permanently stuck closed. I blame this on reproduction doors, with reproduction door panels, with aftermarket power window motors. Despite what I've been recently hearing on podcasts, reproduction stuff IS NOT better than OEM quality. I'm on the hunt for 77-87 doors now that we will have to prep and paint, and also looking for 77-80 door panels.

[mikentosh]

Shortly after leaving the hotel post-Brothers Show we started to hear a bit of a misfire in the motor, which continued to get worse as the morning went on. At one point we were unable to keep in 6th gear as the misfire was so bad in the 2000-2500rpm range. We had suspected a plug wire, which was giving us a bit of trouble during assembly. Pulled over at a dealer in Monrovia to try and find a replacement plug wire. I put the truck coils on this motor so they take the longer wire length which has been a challenge to find. Well, new plug wire didn't help and I could see all the misfires happening through the Holley interface. Not much we could do at this point but to keep on trucking.

Once getting home and tearing in, the problem was immediately obvious. The new headers didn't have a lot of clearance on #4 cylinder and this is the result:


I've since switch to some Taylor Firepower 9mm plugs which have a 135 degree boot on them to help clearance, and I added some DEI plug wire boots for added insurance.

[SKT]

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Glad to hear there shakedown issues were not a 'show' stopper!

Always enjoy seeing updates and fresh pics in this thread, as this was an amazing build and the truck turned out looking rediculously fresh!

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[NASTY-LSX]

WOW, Awesome work.

[68Timber]

What happened to the pics?

[SKT]

Originally Posted by 68Timber

What happened to the pics?

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Also looking forward to seeing some fresh pics!

Here are the only two new ones I've seen:

https://www.instagram.com/p/BH8ZtMrBNHx/

https://www.instagram.com/p/BISqTcwh-

Maybe someone could post them click-free.

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[mikentosh]

[mikentosh]

That brings me up to the Canada trip. Left the Bay Area on Tuesday afternoon right at the height of rush hour, and had to sit in stop and go traffic for over 2 hours. Truck did well, though the heat did get to the clutch line and eventually I started to loose clutch pedal. By the time it got dark I was out on I-5 North. For fear of a repeat occurrence, I kept stopping to check up on the plug wires. Despite that about 4 hours in it started to develop the misfire again!! Well this was normal for me so I decided to just drive through it, but by the end of the night it was virtually undriveable and I feared a return trip to the Bay Area the next morning. After too little sleep, I went back out to check on it and found that my fiddling of the plug wires to check for burning had caused one of them to come unseated from the plug. Snapping that back into place and tightening down the battery positive lead from the alternator solved all the remaining driveability issues and I was able to crank out the rest of the drive north in comfort.

I had some time yesterday to bring the truck past my old friends at Vic Front End to flush the clutch M/C and try to hunt down a bad squeak when hot. Everything is ready for the return trip south starting tomorrow.

[SCOTI]

Curious on your opinion of ride/drive quality between the OE lowered version vs the RS chassis. Since you've basically had the same body/set-up on the two different chassis platforms, does the updated chassis compare to driving a new truck (car) w/an old body? I guess to be more blunt....is there a 15k difference?

[mikentosh]

Originally Posted by SCOTI

Curious on your opinion of ride/drive quality between the OE lowered version vs the RS chassis. Since you've basically had the same body/set-up on the two different chassis platforms, does the updated chassis compare to driving a new truck (car) w/an old body? I guess to be more blunt....is there a 15k difference?

Yes, the difference between them is staggering. I guess there are probably two types of enthusiasts here, the ones that like old trucks for their styling, and those that enjoy the classic ride and handling of an old pickup.

I'm in this group for the styling. If I didn't live in a major metropolitan area with mostly freeway driving I would like to have the classic handling too, but I feel like driving the blue truck around during weekday commute hours puts me in a handicap.

The RS chassis has removed every bit of classic ride and handling. It truly feels extremely similar to my E46 M3...the only real giveaway is the longer shifter throw and skinny steering wheel 😊 After 20 mins to get comfortable it pushes you to drive it aggressively all the time. Its pretty much the antithesis of most bagged truck builds which are great for cruising with one hand on the wheel and one arm out the window. The ridiculously wide tires and aggressive alignment mean brutal tram-lining on the freeway and constantly both hands on the wheel to keep things in check, but with harnesses on and miles of twisty roads you forget everything else and just enjoy the drive.

The setup I have is definitely not for everyone...in fact I would guess that the majority of the enthusiasts would prefer driving something like the Roadster Shop Spec chassis setup. But if you like fast cars and want a pickup then this is the way to go