New year, new body 70c10 to 86c10

[Palf70Step]

Truck looks good. Enjoying the build read.

[WilliamFd55]

Originally Posted by Palf70Step

Truck looks good. Enjoying the build read.

Thanks Bill,

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

[WilliamFd55]

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.

[WilliamFd55]

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.

[WilliamFd55]

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.

[Dads79GMC]

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

[Whamo]

Very Nice! Good stuff here!!

[WilliamFd55]

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...

[WilliamFd55]

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.

[Whamo]

Dude! I dig the wing nuts!

[WilliamFd55]

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.

[WilliamFd55]

Originally Posted by Whamo

Dude! I dig the wing nuts!

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

[WilliamFd55]

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.

[70c10guy]

Looking good!!

[WilliamFd55]

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.

[WilliamFd55]

Thinking of getting a little crazy with the tip. There is so many things that have been done already and I want to stick to the "Custom" theme. Have a set of old headers and a valve cover, so here we go.....
Here's a rough sketch of what I'm thinking. Going to try my best to not make it look too Mad Max.

[WilliamFd55]

Welcome to the Thunder Dome!!! Once I had everything tacked, I realized that not all ideas are good ideas. Going to get some boring standard tips for now and put this one on the back burner.

[WilliamFd55]

Productive weekend. Dropped the rear a tad more with 2" drop blocks ( It already has a flip kit ). Noticed the last owners handy work with one of the shocks that didn't fit against the frame, so I guess he cut it? Figured while I was there, I might as well replace both. Also added 4" black tips to the exhaust for now. Got everything in and 2 hours of quality time of cruising.

[70c10guy]

Looks sick.. stance is on point! How’s the 5.3 running?

[Dads79GMC]

Second that.....love the stance!!! Mike

[WilliamFd55]

Originally Posted by 70c10guy

Looks sick.. stance is on point! How’s the 5.3 running?

Running strong. Sound mean with the 3" piping and the glass packs. Got new plugs, still working on the right coils. Everywhere I look says to just use stock. Was thinking turbo? Will have to do some front suspension work before I put more power in it.

[skyphix]

Great looking truck. Pretty close to where mine is headed, both appearance and mechanically. We even have matching red hoods right now!

Love the black exhaust tips as well.

[WilliamFd55]

Originally Posted by skyphix

Great looking truck. Pretty close to where mine is headed, both appearance and mechanically. We even have matching red hoods right now!

Love the black exhaust tips as well.

Thanks! Checked out your thread and they are pretty similar, I'll be sure to follow your build. Looks like you are truckin' along and have a plan, good luck!

[70c10guy]

Originally Posted by WilliamFd55

Running strong. Sound mean with the 3" piping and the glass packs. Got new plugs, still working on the right coils. Everywhere I look says to just use stock. Was thinking turbo? Will have to do some front suspension work before I put more power in it.

Really... I’d say run stock! How big of a turbo are we talking?

[WilliamFd55]

Originally Posted by 70c10guy

Really... I’d say run stock! How big of a turbo are we talking?

Nothing crazy. There is another member doing a build now "jrpontiac". He's using a T4? Gt45. I always thought turbos and chargers were big money, but it looks pretty obtainable if you get a part here n there and do it down the road. I'm going to funnel funds into the front end first. Have to see if it is better to get the bag set up I have upgraded and working right or go to tube A-arms and do coil over? She's a little shaky at 65, but once she hits 90 its pretty smooth