Rebuilding The Beast

[ProjectBeast]

Well I guess its about time that I start my build thread. I have been using this forum for years as a great place to research and learn about working on my truck. I traded an old CJ-7 plus $500 to the kid down the street for the truck about 5 years ago when I lived in New Mexico. Since then I have moved a couple times and the truck has come with me.

The Beast:
The truck came with the name, "The Beast" and I decided that I couldn't change her name since she older than me. She is a solid 1972 C20 with a small block 350. The kid I got the truck from said they had recently rebuilt the engine and bored .060 over. Behind the engine it has the T400 and a Dana 60 rear which I think has 4:10 or 4:56 gears (way too tall). Over the last few years I been working on the truck to improve things and keep it running good: gas tank under the bed, headers and 2 1/2" exhaust, new oil pan, fuel pump (changed on the side of the road in the dark), battery, spark plugs and wires, etc.... you get the idea.

The build plan so far:
I've come to the realization that I can continue to upgrade the truck a little at a time but it will never get to what I really want using that method. Sooooo, my plan was to buy a C10 frame and build it up the way I want so that I can keep driving my truck without having to tear it down right away. Then when the frame/drive train/etc is good to go I will swap over the body and finish truck on the new frame. The end goal is to build modernized version of the truck so that it is reliable, comfortable and safe. I want it to handle good and stop safely. Basically, I want to be able to drive it anywhere without worrying about it. And air conditioning will be nice too.

So far all I have done is A LOT of research and reading. I also bought a good rolling frame from a '68 long bed C10 (see pic below). Anyway, I really enjoy watching everybody else's builds so I am going to try to do the same with this thread as I build my truck.

Next up:
- Rebuild the 12 bolt rear end
- Disc brake conversions front and rear
- Air bag suspension (just to get it low but I don't want to lay frame)
- 2 1/2" drop spindles up front
- C-notch the rear frame
- Make a decision to shorten the new frame for a short bed or leave it a long bed (I flip flop on this a lot)
- New wheels (something classic looking like a corvette style rally or a five spoke torque thrust)
- LS small block (maybe build an LQ4 or LQ9)
- 4L60E transmission (I want overdrive)
- And on and on and on.....

This is how the truck looks now:


This is my new frame:

[71Sleeper]

Looks like you got a good straight frame to start with. Good luck with the build.

[Justin@EntropyRad]

Killer driver, and gorgeous neigborhood!

If running an LQ4/LQ9, you might want to think about the matching 4L80E, instead of the 60...bit more stout

[ProjectBeast]

Made a little progress today. Got the rear end out and after cleaning off a lot of the dirt and grease, I popped the cover to give it a quick inspection. Everything looked pretty good inside just a little sludge in the bottom. I was hoping that it had 3.73 gears already, but after counting the teeth is turns out that its a 3.07. Called up Ft. Worth Gear and Axle and they gave me a ballpark over the phone quote of about $1800 to do a rebuild with posi and new gears. This seems a little high to me, I was expecting somewhere under $1500.
Can anybody confirm that this is a reasonable price?
Does anybody have a recommendation for gear and axle shop in the Dallas/Fort Worth area?
Considering doing it myself but I don't have any experience with rebuilding differentials so it would be a learning process.

[Xeen]

It sounds like they are charging $1,000 in labor, which IMO is high.

[FRANKENSTEINC10]

I agree with xeen! You could probably buy a whole new rear end for that price. I have a couple of buddies in the Ft. Worth area I will give a call and see who they'd recommend.

[ProjectBeast]

Thanks for the replies and the help. I called Dallas Differential and they quoted me $1250 for the parts (ring and pinion, posi unit, rebuilt kit with bearings and seals) and then another $250 for the labor. If I want to change the axles they said that would be another $150 a piece so that puts it about $1800 also. I want quality parts but these prices are killing me.

I had also considered doing a bolt-in 9" Ford or another 12 bolt, but the prices I found with the set up I'm looking for are still slightly higher than the rebuild.

Thanks again for the advice and help.

[Xeen]

They are building in their markup on the parts which from the price they quoted you is considerable.
Go on ebay and look up the parts and see if you come to the same price they claim and you will find you can get the parts considerably cheaper.

[ProjectBeast]

Making some small progress. I took Xeen's advice and went in search of all of the parts myself. Ended coming across a pretty complete kit for the rear end on ebay with an Eaton posi unit, Richmond Excel 3:73 gears, and all the seals and bearings. Then I ordered a set of Moser axles and was good to go. Dallas Differential was able to clean it and put it together for $350 in labor.




Next I ordered a disc brake kit from POL which just arrived today. Can't wait to start playing in the garage again!

[Xeen]

You gave the rear end the deluxe treatment, you will enjoy the hell out of that.
I was thinking about how you said you have been going back and forth about the decision on whether to keep it as a long bed or make it a short bed and in order to make that decision easier lets look at the cost involved.
Shortening the frame and bed floor will be aprox $500 and good quality made in the USA reproduction short bed sides will cost you about $1150 shipped so all in you are looking at $1650 so ultimately because of the considerable cost involved this decision has to be about what you are are going to use this truck for, if it is for work then leave it a long bed but if it's for pleasure then make it a short bed.
I wanted to mention something about your decision to use a different frame to build the truck.
In order to sell the truck across state lines the numbers on the frame have to match the numbers on the VIN so that is something to consider because trust me they will check.
It won't take you long to clean and paint the original frame and considering that you have to tear down everything to swap frames what is an extra couple of days in the grand scheme of things.

[ProjectBeast]

So its been a while since the last update, but here's what I have been up to. I ordered and received the Ridetech Level 1 air ride system with the RidePRO digital controller. I did loose install of all the bags, mounting plates and shocks before taking it all back apart (sorry forgot to take a pic before i took it apart). Right now all of the control arms, trailing arms and a couple other small suspension pieces are at the powder coater's getting cleaned up and coated. The frame is now almost bare with just the cross members.


The next step is finding someone to shorten the frame to make it a short bed. Can anybody recommend a reputable shop in the DFW area (preferably near Mansfield) that has done the frame modifications before? Maybe somewhere that could shorten the frame, c-notch it, sand blast the whole thing and paint it in house so I don't have to drag this thing all over the place. I found one guy based on a couple recommendations, and he quoted me 300 bucks to shorten the frame but he doesn't do any blasting or painting.

[ProjectBeast]

So wow its been a while since I last updated. The build has slowed considerably due to lack of funds and time. So here's what's been done in the last year:
- Shortened the frame to a short bed
- Sand blasted and painted the frame
- Install all of the suspension
- Added front and rear sway bars
- Mounted the brakes
- Installed the steering (using a later model steering box to reduce the turns)
- Started running air lines and mocking up the air control system

Here's a pic of the current state.


Next up:
- Wheels and tires (hopefully they come in this weekend)

Last weekend I did get to attend the C10s in the park Meet in Waxahachie, TX which was a fantastic show. Got some great ideas and confirmation that I'm headed in the right direction. The turn out was amazing, around 400 C10s in one place. Made me glad that I still have the truck running and driving while I build the new chassis.

[shores6]

Frame looks awesome!

[NewType72]

Swift and sanitary progress. Always love when you can build the frame and still enjoy the truck until it's time to swap makes it so nice

[ProjectBeast]

Alright so the project stalled for a while, but over the past year or so I have made some progress. First, I picked up some wheels and tires back in Oct 2016 but forgot to post pics. The wheels I picked out are US Mag Ramblers 20X8(front) and 20x9.5(rear) and the tires are 245/45R20 and 275/40R20.



Next I finally had to make a sacrifice and sell one of my motorcycles to buy the engine. After a lot of research, head scratching and searching I finally made the decision to buy a 2007 5.3L L33 used engine with approximately 50K miles on it.

[builtbyKane]

Those are some good looking parts.

[ProjectBeast]

Had a good day today. Got my Body's Welding tank installed. The motorcycle jack made easy work of keeping it in place while marking the holes and getting the bolts started. I also got my engine and trans hooked up. The transmission is a 4L60 stage 1 built by C&C Transmissions in Dallas. The torque converter is a 2100 stall from Precision.

[cornerstone]

My situation is almost the same, other than the way we acquired our trucks. I am doing pretty much the same build and at the same point in the work done.... looking forward to watching your progress. Your work looks to be very nice. Do you know if there is going to be another show in Waxahachie this year?
Brian

[evanhall19]

Digging those wheels

[ProjectBeast]

Originally Posted by cornerstone

My situation is almost the same, other than the way we acquired our trucks. I am doing pretty much the same build and at the same point in the work done.... looking forward to watching your progress. Your work looks to be very nice. Do you know if there is going to be another show in Waxahachie this year?
Brian

Ya I have been hearing that there will be another show this year. They have also started doing a "Party on the Square" event in downtown Waxahachie after the show. Check out their Facebook page. https://www.facebook.com/c10sinthepark/

[ProjectBeast]

Progress! The engine is finally in and all bolted down. It took a few attempts to get it right, but now it looks right at home.


I used the CPP sheet metal engine perches and sliding motor mounts which worked great, but I had to put them in the rear mounting holes on the frame and drill new holes in the cross member for the third bolt. I also got the front brake lines in and mounted to the crossmember while the engine was out (super easy with nothing in the way). I left the AC compressor in the lower position on the engine and it cleared the frame but there was no way to attach the hoses in the future. I ended up making a small clearance cut on the top of the frame rail to try and leave room for the AC hose fitting.... fingers crossed that the cut was enough because I don't have the fitting to confirm yet.

I also swapped the oil pan and used the GM muscle car pan. There isn't a lot of difference in the oil pan depth (maybe 1 inch), but it does keep the bottom of the pan just even with the bottom of the crossmember which added some piece of mind.

Original 5.3L L33 Oil pan


GM Muscle Car pan

[Slowguy]

Just wondering what you are doing for the trans crossmemebe and mount? I now have the pol tubular member and poly trans mounts but I’m able to find zero instruction on installation. I’d imagine you remove the old trans cross member and bolt in the new tubular one but sure would be nice to confirm before I start grinding out rivets only to find it was in error.