Serious Black

[JJ's Sierra Grande]

great build you got going here. Wife's at work so of course I'm making the most of my time and browsing the forum glad I found it. just finished reading it all and now i'm subscribed and looking forward to seeing more.
my condolences for your loss.

[snipescastle2]

Thanks! yeah, I got lots more to do yet, finding time seems to be my biggest problem lately!
Have a good one!
Ben

[snipescastle2]

Well, I got my drop spindles last night,I was going to install them, but left my allen drivers at work so, I'll be doing this tonight after work.i have to get a measurement before and after I install them, just to compare ride
Heights..... not much else going on, I did install the latches and hardware on my tailgate.
Have a good one!

[Low Elco]

Slam that sucker!

[snipescastle2]

Well Chip,
I think I am gonna be as low as I care to be, I got five inch lowering springs in the rear, 2" lowering springs up front, and now, 3 " drop spindles......I try and avoid speed bumps when ever possible, but now I'm gonna have to dodge the "Road Kill" left in the highway!!! I'll update with some pics in the morning.....
Have a good one!
Ben

[snipescastle2]

Ok, so last night I'm bolting on my
Drop spindles.well, everything bolted
up just fine, until I went to attach the
tie rod arms. Seems the outer tie rod ends I got
Were way bigger in diameter than what I needed for these spindles. And, from what I have been reading, this is pretty common. I Bought all my suspension parts a year ago, and I have to look through all my receipts and return the tie rod ends I bought, because they are wrong....5/8"
Threaded pin .vs- 1/2"-20. I had both O'Reilly's and autozone look up the specifics of each tie rod end they called for on a '71 C10, and they all
Had the same part number of the one I had with me. Nothing else would come up, tried from 67 to 73, no dice. Today I found a post on the board
That mentioned trying "Moog" brands, and I found part number "ES415RL" that tie rod end
Has the exact taper/thread length and over all length I need, and its 11/16" diameter to fit the adjusting sleeves. I'm hoping I saved someone else the aggravation of going through all the searching for the correct parts to make this work.....by the way, I am using "Street Edge"
3" drop spindles for my build, everything else was spot on for fit.
Have a good one!
Ben

[snipescastle2]

okay, got the spindles bolted on and that is done, however, even after I found the correct outer tie rod ends, those were right hand thread....and when I went to install them, come to find out the tie rod coupler was the wrong thread (left hand) take in mind, I bought this truck as a "Basket Case" so when I put these tie rods together, I must have got them swapped around.
so, even after all this, the correct tie rod ends make the difference! this morning, I found the correct inner tie rods, (Moog ES403L) so I'll be picking these up after work and finishing this endeavor up. I'll post pictures of the end results here in a little while (work calls) even with the 2" lowering coils and the 3" drop spindles, it looks as if it needs to be a little lower, but I'll live with it, as I won't be able to get a decent jack under it if it were lower!!!

Have a Great Day!
Ben

[xtremedurb00]

Glad to see the truck is coming along nicely even with the little hick-ups here and there. Keep it up and can't wait to see the pics of the before/after.

[snipescastle2]

Here's a few picks of the before and after stance of the front end...... the first couple are before and the rest, well afterwards...the initial measurement was 32 1/2" inches from the ground to the bottom of the fender lip. after I installed the spindles, it now measures 29 1/2". I can't wait to bolt on the front bumper and see the results! Have a good one! Enjoy!
Ben

[snipescastle2]

more pics....

[sduckworth13]

Ben, you will probably drop another 2 1/2 inches once everything is on. I have 2 inch drop coils, 2 1/2 inch drop spindles, and 265/50/15 tires. I'm sitting right at 27 inches from the center of the fender lip to the ground. Did you get a sway bar yet? That's one of the best improvements to add I believe.

[snipescastle2]

Scott,
I have the factory front sway bar up front, urethane bushings also. I've been thinking of doing the rear sway bar at some point in the near future, perhaps something else to do this winter.... as I mentioned in my text message, I took out the one inch spacers I installed with my poly cab mounts, that made a drastic improvement. Once I get my brake lines finished up front, I'm going to bot the bed down solid, then start laying out the remaining trim holes I need to drill in my shiny new paint job.......(I'll be very nervous doing that) I bought some 1/4" pin striping tape to help keep everything lined up and make drilling the holes that much easier....
Any way's, I'm plugging away with the little things as I go. I still have to add the fuel tank vent and a small piece of hard line to finish up my fuel system, and the wiring for the sender. I still have to attach the two hard lines from the proportioning valve to the front cross member lines, then I can bleed the brakes. I have everything I need to run the E brake cables, I just have to modify the E brake cables where they attach to the rear disc calipers ( seems I got the later F body cables (LS1 Camaro, instead of the pre LS1- the LS1 e brakes had small brake shoes inside the rotor hats, where the pre LS1 calipers had an integral arm that applied the force to the piston/pads) any way's, the cable ends where they attach, are much bigger in diameter and won't fit the mount on the caliper, so, I need to drill them out in order to make them fit, no problem there.

well, after doing all the juggling with the mounts, I'm pleased with how it sits now. I have 15" x 8" rally's at all four corners, P275/60r15 BFG T/A's and it has a killer stance already. Once I have my speaker enclosure done, I can start wiring the stereo/amp and speakers, then move onto wiring the rest of the truck. my seats will be getting recovered this winter, going with Black tweed and bright blue Tweed inserts. I'm going to run the 2007 Silverado buckets and jump seat/arm rest combo, although, I'm probably going to remove the head rests, and look into modifying the base to make them sit shorter, possibly adding some different sliders/adjuster's as you mentioned....
here's a couple of pics from today....
Enjoy!!!
Ben

[snipescastle2]

I ordered my black mother of pearl "Drum Wrap"
That I am going to make a dash bezel inlay, just like the wood grain decal from the factory, but black mother of pearl instead. Should be arriving at home soon, then off to the graphics shop to get the holes cut out with a cnc cutting machine or laser engraver.I'm also going to make one for the glove box door and ash tray.
Should look very cool....

[snipescastle2]

going to see about having the wood grain decal for the dash bezel scanned and converted to a CAD file, so I can get the Black mother of pearl decal cut by the laser engravers, this should turn out "Bad Ass!" I'm having a glove box decal made out of the same material. Can't wait to see how it turns out!!!
Ben

[Low Elco]

Good lookin' Stuff! Can't wait to see it at the Nats next year!

[snipescastle2]

Chip,
Yeah, I'm stoked! Now to get it wired, bled and fired up! I've still got all the trim to install, the seats are getting recovered in tweed, have to install all the glass, but should be ready by spring! Yahoo!
Ben

[JJ's Sierra Grande]

really like the black pearl idea. should look pretty cool. I like those outside of the normal ideas.

[snipescastle2]

Got my dash bezel finished, along with my glove box. I think I achieved my goal and then some!!! let the pictures speak for themselves.....
Enjoy!
Ben Smith

[Pick]

Looks GREAT to me! (I am a drummer, so I may be a bit biased.) I'm glad it worked out for you!

[dfwright]

Wow! That really looks amazing!

[snipescastle2]

Yeah, this is my tribute to my late little brother, "Drummer Frank" as his friends all called him.
I just wish he could be here to see it......
Have a good one! And Thanks!
Ben

[kilrcady]

I'm not a drummer and have to say"Thats cool"My wheels are now turning

[Vic1947]

Very unusual effect, Ben. Turned out great!

[sduckworth13]

That's a nice tribute to your brother Ben. Great work!

[snipescastle2]

Thanks Guy's!!! Now if I could only get a day off where I wouldn't get a "Honey Do List" .....Not likely...... but, maybe I could get some work done!!!
Thanks again!
Ben