69 LWB Fleet Build thread "The Beast"

[69C-owner]

I dont like the idea of modifying an original frame, if you do a C-notch and do it well then right on it makes me proud to see something well engineered and I really dont like long to shortbed conversions cuz if everyone did it then ooops where did all the longbeds go? lol i know longbeds r easier to find but come on boys plz do a little bit of searchin for a shortbed b4 u pull out ur torches and sawzalls.

[69C-owner]

Bruce88 and gopokes have both inspired me, gopokes to possibly do a roll-up back window and Bruce88 to maybe do a 7004R instead of a 6speed, maybe put a 700R4 in a different project cuz I really wanna put a 6speed in "The Beast" and have that woodgrain pistolgrip shifter (yes I'm using some mopar engineering) and have the six speed shift pattern engraved on top of the chrome cap, it only comes with a 4speed pattern or blank so ill get it blank then have it engraved and I wanna keep the stock four speed in the 67 C20 that a few of you have seen, She'll b bonestock 4 speed flatbed

[69C-owner]

[69C-owner]

Ok I need your opinions cuz I'll never make the decision on my own, right now there is a Pontiac in my truck, it was an original 350 4bbl truck, the PO or maybe even PO before him put this Pontiac in there, I was told it was a 400 and me and my dad looked it over and it looked like a 400 but now that I've looked at decoding sites and looked at the block I think its a Pontiac 350, I honestly wont know until I pull it out clean it up and get a good look at all the numbers, you may have seen the thread about the 77 Monza 305 I scored for free, I've been thinking of doing a basic rebuild on it, just bearings rings maybe a crank, not a crap build but not putting more money into it than i need too then dropping in into the truck while I build the Pontiac, i wanna get the truck into the 500-700 HP range, should I use the Pontiac blue or Chevy orange, Ive always thought of the Chevy orange so when someone looks at it they may not know what it is right off the bat and stand there scratching their head thinking BBC? Also do you guys think building the Pontiac to make that power is my cheapest way to that horsepower goal?
Put up some pics so you can see the blue and orange and just for laughs a turboed pontiac

[67chevy1series]

well if you have a chevy then pait it chevy orange

[69C-owner]

Fine point you have their Rick, any performance tips?

[67chevy1series]

well i dont like them but headers can get you 40 more horse power

[69C-owner]

Had headers in my plans already and from what some Pontiac freaks have told me 6X heads on it are good to work with

[67chevy1series]

hmm i dont know of any thing else

[69C-owner]

did some more tinkering with the wiring today, trying to clean up what the PO hacked up

[67chevy1series]

wel its always messy when the po messes around with things he shouldnt

[69C-owner]

The brown wire that runs along the drivers inner fender has some random blue wire spliced into it which the PO spliced into the red wire of the regulator plug, sorry about not having pics, I'm having camera issues well anyway I ran out of daylight to finish tracing things and my printer is SOL right now so I gotta look at the wiring diagram run out there look at things come back in go back out, I got the blue and brown wire on the regulator plug cut and spliced and I got the red wire attached to the post on the alternator, the blue wire attached to the #1 tab, just gotta run a jumper from the post to the #2 tab and attach the ground to the alternator....with a 5/16 bolt if my memory serves me right, still trying to figure out what that brown wire is that I first started talkin about, what it looks like in the wiring diagram is the wire going to the left front marker light but I dont have one I just have a reflector.....any ideas?

[Mike Bradbury]

Sorry I'm late to your party, I am sure once progress pics are posted you will generate others to comment and follow along with your progress.

I hate to be the bearer of bad news but Coy's have discontinued the C-55 wheel and (as of June 2010) only had a few sizes left and 17's were not among them. That was my wheel choice and I settled for 18's instead and have not regretted the switch.

I used an ECE 2.25 drop spindle and a 2" drop front spring and the C-55 fits just perfect under the fender with zero clearance issues.

I planned my build for nearly two years (mostly because I had no time to work on it) and it changed at least three times before I got what was the final look.

[69C-owner]

Originally Posted by Mike Bradbury

Sorry I'm late to your party, I am sure once progress pics are posted you will generate others to comment and follow along with your progress.

I hate to be the bearer of bad news but Coy's have discontinued the C-55 wheel and (as of June 2010) only had a few sizes left and 17's were not among them. That was my wheel choice and I settled for 18's instead and have not regretted the switch.

I used an ECE 2.25 drop spindle and a 2" drop front spring and the C-55 fits just perfect under the fender with zero clearance issues.

I planned my build for nearly two years (mostly because I had no time to work on it) and it changed at least three times before I got what was the final look.

I'd like my truck sit as yours does at ride height but also drop it down low when its parked, is that doable with this ridetech system and and what size wheel and tires would you recommend?

[Mike Bradbury]

I am not much of an authority on air bags so I do not know if this kit will allow you to lay frame or not. You will need a drop member or modify existing x member up front, and you will need to notch the frame a lot more than what I did in the rear. If you just want to drop it lower w/o actually laying frame then that kit should work for you.
My drop is a 4/6 with 245 60R 18 tires. With the older styling of these trucks I have always preferred some sidewall on the tires that makes them look proportional, large diameter wheels and short side walls look a little out of place IMO. Also the ride is rougher the less sidewall you have.

[69C-owner]

Ill swing by your build thread to get a look at how you notched your's, I may not want to go lower if I have to do too much

[69C-owner]

Had this idea of building a 4 headlight chevy grille

[67chevy1series]

hmm thats different

[Mike Bradbury]

I've got about 4" before the axle hits the frame but only 3" of coil over shock travel before it bottoms out, so I am not concerned about hitting the axle at all. The Bilsteins have a pretty significant bump stop built into the shock, but if I wanted to go lower I would have to cut into the bed. I could go lower w/o cutting the bed but I would not be able to maintain the recommended travel distance and would be basically riding on my bump stops. If you are just going to air down to park but not ride then you might be able to do that, but like I said, I am not much an authority on bags.
Mike

[69C-owner]

ttt, started watching ford making the new boss 302 on speed and realized my name for my truck "The Beast" is pretty cool but I need some input, some new ideas on a name, I want my truck to be a multipurpose truck, low long 6speed high horsepower medium MPG bad @$$ mean lookin truck with lots of modern convenients but still lookin like it could be somethin that was built by chevy in 69 or 70 to hit the track and stomp mustangs and chargers and not have buttloads of crappy sensors that fail all the time and be my daily driver to and from work and a grocery getter....so race/DD/show truck with one wicked awesome name, something that rivals boss

[67chevy1series]

how about ''HOSS'' well i have een told that if you have a dd you cant have a show truck ,so my fix is make it as nice as you want it and can have it ,and just take really good care of her washer aout 3 times a week all ways clean her when you drive her in the rainy mud days an make sure you dont ding it scratch it that is how i am gonna treat my 67

[69C-owner]

Nice suggestion Rick

[67chevy1series]

[67chevy1series]

i am not good at making the names i cant even make up a name for mine

[69C-owner]

My truck out in the snow