71 c10, upgrades/rebuild-my first truck

[bigyellow]

So I'm 20 years old i've had my truck since i was 15. She's my baby. I bought her when she was to say the very least-rough. I wanted to learn how to do bodywork and make cool hot rod kinda stuff. So I mowed yards, did whatever it took to make money and after much searching I found my first vehicle. My dad and grandpa taught me how to do bodywork and painting, now i know alot more than i did i wanna repaint it but from a distance doesn't look bad, just has alot of rock chips, a dent from an idiot friend of mine in the passenger fender =/, and a couple paint bubbles. but i still love my old chevy.

After replacing u-joints, brakes, a couple belts, a carb, new tune up parts, and a clutch she still runs great. Straight 6 250 all stock, bolted to a muncie sm420 with a 3.08 gear (gettin about 17 mpg right now ) haha

All through high school I took it EVERYWHERE old dirt roads, road trips, i mean everywhere and that was when I still had the 3:73s in the back

after graduating high school i ended up going to coastal carolina university which i drove to and from every other week at 65 mph 260 miles one way at ohhh 3500 rpm haha, gotta love it.

anyway what i'm gettin at is i'm ready for some upgrades. I wanna bolt up a t5 s10 trans with the adapter plate, put ECE 2/4 drop kit, front sway bar from a 1 ton chevy, and a rear sway bar from a 80's camaro. I figure if i put the 3:73s back in it'll be pretty quick for an old straight six. The 3:08s leave a lil to be desired. I also wanna do the headlight relays, led instrument cluster bulbs, and put some cragars on it. It's going to be kind of an odd combo all together but idc it's mine and i like my big yellow truck (btw so do girls )

soo give me some feedback on what u think it'll be like, any tips would be nice, or any ideas on other cool upgrades that'll make my truck a lil different than the rest running around, but remember i am a college student so i dont have gobs of money lol

[bigyellow]

some more pics =)

http://youtu.be/mYCJXFI1PBI

[bigyellow]

bump- you guys gotta have some sort of feedback.

[PanelDeland]

Nice truck.The upgrades look like they took.The plans you have should be well within your skill set.I will tell you that odd combo or not,"You should build what you want" it';s your truck after all.

[FLDBRED]

That's a great story! The best tip I can give you is to NEVER SELL THAT TRUCK.you have a lot of cool memories that right now might not seem like a lot but years from now they will be priceless!

You and I know someday soon a small block will find it's way in your truck!So why pro-long it! LOL. CHEVY RUNS DEEP,doesn't it!

Oh... and she sure is a beauty!

[50bomb]

I say keep on a truckin. Good to see you kept it this long and I say keep it till the end of times. I wish I still kept my first truck 64 chevy short fleet I am still hurtin deep down. Ima go sit in the 67 now haha

[70cst]

Looks way You all have done a fine job thus far. As been said...look at other trucks and then do what makes you happy and also within your skills or what you can afford. Again...nice truck

[jhwkns]

Way to go! Good for you, doing it all yourself. You've got my respect.

[Beat68CST]

Lower it?!

[bigyellow]

thanks everybody and trust me this truck isn't going anywhere. EVER. lol and i've got a built 350 sittin in the shop but it's going in the vega wagon...w/ a powerglide and 4.10s. gonna be wicked

and if i do upgrade to a v8 it's definitely going to be a big block. no sense screwin around lol. I know at the end of the day it's not like my buddy's f-350 dually, he can buy ALL of his parts off the shelf and they bolt right on. doing these kinds of projects takes a lil bit more enginering on our part.

also does anybody know where the hell i can find a air breather for my monojet that is bigger than those lil pieces of crap ones you buy at advanced?

[bigyellow]

it's lowered a lil bit not much, and it was done the wrong way...yeah i know a torch isn't the best way to do it but it was the cheapest way.

My truck came with heavy duty rear suspension so how much higher did that make the truck sit? cause even after torchin the springs my truck doesn't sit much lower than my friends 69 c10. and his is all stock.

[bigyellow]

sooo i got the headlight relay install done today. wasn't too bad just kind of tedious because i wanted to get it right the first time and not blow up my headlights lol

turned out pretty good. when you open the hood nothing looks butchered in or anything like that. the relays and circuit breaker and mounted on the rad support on the driver side next to the head light bucket

turned out pretty badass, can't wait til it gets dark to check out the difference

as always i like feedback =)

[Andy4639]

Well I think I may have seen your truck around Liberty SC. Did you go to Daniels HS. My son is Ryan Fisher just gradutated this past June.
I have a 71 truck and have done a lot of mods to it.



Give me a call sometime and we can talk. 864 419 2928 I live in Liberty SC.Would be more than happy to show you stuff and help out.
Glad to see you younger guy's picking up the older stuff to drive. Colman Merck has a 68,69,70 truck also. It's Blue.

[original-71]

nice truck it has come a long way, my only advice would be save that beauty and your money, get a clunker to drive to college.

[bigyellow]

i don't wanna drive a clunker lol although i've thought about it, gettin a lil econo box just to save on gas. i think right now i'm spending around 60 bucks a week. i live in the middle of freakin nowhere so everything is like 20 miles away lol

[bigyellow]

forgot to mention how the headlight relays worked. worked alright my headlights were already pretty bright for regular closed beams but it did make them a lil bit brighter and whiter of a light.

[Andy4639]

Well if you want some help on the truck LMK. I'd be glad to help you out.

[bigyellow]

awesome. the money i was going to spend on a front sway bar is now going to a rear brake line hose. now when i hit the pedal the rear drums decide to drag pretty hard. when i open the bleeder it stops dragging but when i hit the brakes again they start dragging again. so sounds like the rear hose to you guys to right?

[wilbilt]

Originally Posted by bigyellow

when i hit the pedal the rear drums decide to drag pretty hard. when i open the bleeder it stops dragging but when i hit the brakes again they start dragging again. so sounds like the rear hose to you guys to right?

Likely the hose, but you can check by cracking the line open on the MC side (top end of the hose) while the brakes are dragging. If they don't release, change the hose.

If fluid squirts out and the brakes release, your problem is further upstream toward the MC.

[bigyellow]

could it maybe be the proportioning valve? if it was the wheel cylinder i'd think that itd leak and not hold the brakes. and why is it no parts stores keep the hose in stock? ugh

[wilbilt]

Originally Posted by bigyellow

could it maybe be the proportioning valve? if it was the wheel cylinder i'd think that itd leak and not hold the brakes. and why is it no parts stores keep the hose in stock? ugh

Wheel cylinders can stick, but if you open the bleeder and the brakes release, it sounds like fluid pressure is the issue. Do both rear drums drag, and both release when you open either bleeder?

I have seen proportioning valves cause issues, but only when the fluid had been contaminated. That usually starts at the master when somebody tops it off with something other than brake fluid (ATF, motor oil, etc.) The first clue is when the diaphragm in the MC cap swells up 3x its normal size. By that time, the cups in the master are junk and the contamination spreads from there.

No hoses in stock? I guess there are not as many of these trucks running around as there used to be.

[bigyellow]

they both drag, for some reason the driver side is a lil worse. but not alot. and they both release when i crack the bleeders. a bunch of brake fluid will shoot out of each of them as well, so i'm 99.9 percent positive its the rear hose is collapsed in itself. and i've never put anything but brake fluid in it. all the brakes are new except the lines/hoses and the proportioning valve.

[wilbilt]

It sounds like you are shopping for a hose, then. Are there any brake parts supply houses near you? These would be the places that sell to the automotive shops. They would be more likely to have one or a cross reference to another number that would work.

[bigyellow]

nope. i can order one thru advance auto parts but it won't be here until tomorrow and that doesn't get me on the road and its 60 bucks for some reason. so looks like i've gotta borrow dad's car to get to work tonight...can't really complain tho its a 2010 camaro lol i just don't like askin to borrow it.

[bigyellow]

ok time to do a lil boasting on my steal haha

so i just picked up my t5 =) its out of an 86 s10. i decoded it and it has the 3.78 first gear, and the .72 5th gear. 150 dollars i think i did pretty good. it also came with the shifter. so now i gotta have the input shaft trimmed down. get my clutch disk and pressure plate then put it in. buttt tthats gotta wait til like christmas break from school cause the driveshaft will have to get cut, cause i drive it to school everyday.

i can't wait to take it out on the highway for the first time. i'm gonna leave my 3.08s in it and see how it does =)