84 c10 stepside

[KevinD85]

let me know if you need a hand with anything I can weld pretty much anything at work. I'm little green with the electronics since I've never done much with them besides basic audio stuff. I'm want to tear into mine as well but I'll be waiting for uncle sam ha.

[jpnh]

cool-

[aotte1]

Jeff,
Very nice progress on your truck, have read your build several times for help.

I am thinking about aftermarket fenders for my 1986, C10. Did you use both driver and passenger side aftermarket fenders? How was their fit and quality? Any suggestions on using them. Any brand markings on them to identify them. Mine have some rust through on the seam where they bolt to the box.

Going out this afternoon with the sawsall to cut some bolts on my bed till I run out of blades!! Trying to get the truck ready for paint this week.

Les

[aotte1]

Jeff,
One other question on the aftermarket fenders. They are said to be one gauge thinner metal, is that very noticeable? Or any other effects from being thinner?

Thanks,
Les

[jpnh]

Originally Posted by aotte1

Jeff,
One other question on the aftermarket fenders. They are said to be one gauge thinner metal, is that very noticeable? Or any other effects from being thinner?

Thanks,
Les

i was gonna get my fenders thru Lmc they had one but not the fuel door side {i needed the one w/o the fuel door due to gastank relocation}they backordered it and couldnt say when theyd have more so i ended up dealing with classicparts.com they found me the other one for a couple hundred bucks both the lmc and the classic parts fenders had the same sticker on them that said made in taiwan like they came from the same place the aftermarket fenders dont fit right off the bat it took some drilling and swearing/grinding/pulling/pushing to make them fit. when i installed the new fenders i got a couple bed side bolts that did line up in there to hold the fender in place and then took a sharpie marked out wich holes needed to be modified some lined up some need some help the holes by the steps needed some help a bar that fits thru or a screw driver can help you line the holes up a little too but dont damage the threads of the nuts welded on the back side. its easy to screw up the threads on the bolts doing this too. the holes without the nuts welded on the back are where your fender braces bolt on rat tail file also helps or a grinder bit for the drill. remember where your fender braces go. i ordered my new braces and bolts thru Lmc an oem set of fenders will fit much better/easier guarenteed. availability is an issue. especially around my neck of the woods still useable/ local stuff like that rusted away already. are yours rusted through? as far as thickness goes the new aftermarket fenders werent that much thinner to make much of a difference.-jeff

[aotte1]

Jeff,
My fenders are rusted at the seam where they mount to the the box, that 90 degree seam has several hole rusted through about an inch long around the tire area. The area above the tire is rusted some too, however, they feel solid from the out side, mine were undercoated in those areas and rusted under that. Areas wo/ the under coat are not rusted.

My painter says he can R/R the gas tank filler into the older style fender.

On fitment tissue with the welded nuts is it possible/ make sense to grind off the ones that do not fit and move them???

Do the replacement fenders look ok after you redo them, once installed?

Thanks,
Les

[jpnh]

You shouldnt have to cut the fuel door in. you can get the filler hole fender with the square door or the older style or without you should be able to switch the old door onto the new fender if you order the right one. my fenders were rusted there too i was gonna weld some angle iron on the inside and redrill the holes if i had to use them but it wouldnt have been good they were too far gone to be cost effective. these new aftermarket fenders will be good enough but of course you want a new oem set or a good used set but there not around here anyway what i did was hog out a few holes a little not enough to go bigger than the head of the bolts that hold the fender to the bed they still covered the holes but some dont line up needed some play on a few if its bad bad you might have to relocate some of the nuts so your bolt heads still cover the holes in the bed. down between the new fender and the step was off too i used aftermarket steps too are your steps still good? mine were toast i had to do some drilling down there too once you get the fenders on there they look good just dont expect all the holes to line up

[jpnh]

i had to drill out all the bedside to fender bolts they were way crusted in no saveing them were you able to save yours?the ones from lmc are a different head like a button/phillips head instead of how the oem ones are the oem ones are better the lmc ones dont give you much room to to make the holes bigger you have to be carefull not to take too much the heads wont cover the holes.were the side angle wood hold downs bolts permanently attached? mine were. the bolts broke off when i tried to take them out so i drilled them out. but you could also drill out the spot welds that hold angle to the bed to take the angle out.{if the nuts come loose}-jeff

[jpnh]

stepside fender

[aotte1]

Jeff,
Your fender looks great!

On the new fenders, my plan is to cut and weld in gas door. The fender numbers are L-37345 and R-37349 that I am looking at.

My steps are good.

Bedside to fender bolts, I am not sure if I can get them out? Mine are torx like. A T40 is to small and T45 is to big. Research may indicate the bolt heads maybe "torx plus" which is bigger for each side. I ordered one to see if it fits. If the new torx plus socket does not work, then will have to drill/cut out.

My side angle wood hold down bolts are permanently attached too. I was able to remove nuts on all except for two which broke. For the broken ones thinking of using a coupling sleeve to extend the bolt. I think I got them before at Lowes or Home Depot.

Below is picture of my side bolts.

[jpnh]

Originally Posted by aotte1

Jeff,
Your fender looks great!

On the new fenders, my plan is to cut and weld in gas door. The fender numbers are L-37345 and R-37349 that I am looking at.

My steps are good.

Bedside to fender bolts, I am not sure if I can get them out? Mine are torx like. A T40 is to small and T45 is to big. Research may indicate the bolt heads maybe "torx plus" which is bigger for each side. I ordered one to see if it fits. If the new torx plus socket does not work, then will have to drill/cut out.

My side angle wood hold down bolts are permanently attached too. I was able to remove nuts on all except for two which broke. For the broken ones thinking of using a coupling sleeve to extend the bolt. I think I got them before at Lowes or Home Depot.

Below is picture of my side bolts.

Thats what mine were like too i had 2 different bits that fit i twisted one and broke the other one then decided to drill them out

[Hankster]

Originally Posted by jpnh

stepside fender

Lookin' good, I like them wheels

[aotte1]

Are wheels Welds, what size and back spacing(BS) they look nice, I am thinking of 15x10 in the rear-maybe for mine? I have 15x8.5 for the front with 3 7/8 BS. For the rears still need to do some more measuring, but for now, thinking I need BS of 4.5 to 5.0 for 10s. Still need to determine if they made wheels I need in 10s for the 5x5 we need. Mine are an old set ARs slots that I found from the 80s.
Les

[jpnh]

Originally Posted by Hankster

Lookin' good, I like them wheels

thanks-jeff

[jpnh]

Originally Posted by aotte1

Are wheels Welds, what size and back spacing(BS) they look nice, I am thinking of 15x10 in the rear-maybe for mine? I have 15x8.5 for the front with 3 7/8 BS. For the rears still need to do some more measuring, but for now, thinking I need BS of 4.5 to 5.0 for 10s. Still need to determine if they made wheels I need in 10s for the 5x5 we need. Mine are an old set ARs slots that I found from the 80s.
Les

They are summit racing fast fives {they are like a weld knock off but probably 1/2 the price} 15x10 rears 15x7 fronts couldnt get them in 5x5 Unless you special order them. being impatient,l i wanted to get something they had in stock so i went with 4.75 and reused the adapters that were already on the truck. i believe their 5in backspacing but having the adapter on there takes up some of that i had ordered a set of centerlines but they were backordered for a while then i got a notice saying they didnt know when theyd be around so instead i got the summit racing rims/MTtires/lugnuts for about the same price as the centerlines. summit racing gave me a good deal/ were easy to deal with.they delivered them within a week mounted and balanced.-jeff

[jpnh]

Got My trans {4l80e2wd}yesterday still gotta get the new yoke for the tail of it and my motor mounts came in too a couple steps closer-jeff

[aotte1]

Jeff,
What are you going to use to control the transmission shifting. Controlled by computer and/ or manual shift by driver? I have a 4 wheel drive one, for my CUCV M1008, not installed yet, still collecting parts needed to control it from 1ton vans from the 1990s.

Les

[jpnh]

not sure yet,havent got that far ill figure it out and let you know after i reasearch it hopefully ill find something i can use -jeff

[aotte1]

Jeff,

Several years ago I had two way to go with mine, aftermarket controller that was expensive, now I think their are several companies making them. The other option I was using was to use the original controls GM used on certain diesel trucks/vans. These vehicles ( maybe 1 tons and bigger) wo/ computer controlled engines used three inputs, if I remember correctly. 1). Throttle position sensor, 2). Speed signal for the trans computerTC (it has a fancy name, but is a sin wave generator with input from trans - as speed increases sends more waves to TC) , and 3). Trans computer with wiring harness. Also the GM systems had two version ( early and late, the change year maybe 94 or 95). The GM control system needs to match your trans, as to early or later model. If remembering correctly the complete system were available for about $400 from junk yards.
The hard part was finding the vehicles that had this system.
If want more on the GM system, I can provide reference service manuals that give detail description. I have the manuals.
Les

[jpnh]

cool/thanx Les, i might be askin for info once the time comes. finally got the motor around my place, between that and the hoist its certainally an elephant in the living room.

[aotte1]

How is the LS engine coming along? What are you doing before installing, doing a test run with your set-up? It will be very nice once finished. A stock 5.3 has a lot of GO, in a 2010' short bed, It will get you to 50/60 MPH fast.
Let us know how it is progressing.
Les

[jpnh]

i was thinking on keeping the motor stock pretty much its an lq4 6.0 i heard it run before i bought it. the place i got it justchevytrucks.com isnt that far from me just over the border into maine.ive been collecting all the parts i wish i had the funds to build it wild, but im gonna have to go stock at first and get all the systems set up and working before i get into any performance mods on the engine. the motors are realitively inexpensive compared to buying a new 383 stroker crate motor but setting everything up at first is the hard part im gonna keep track of what i have to do/cost of parts and post it {when i get that far} my next thing im getting (just cuz i found one)
is a new yoke for the 4l80e trans to be able to get it in there when im ready to swap drivetrains still got some collecting to do before i pull the truck apart getting there slowly but slowly-jeff

[jpnh]

another piece of the puzzle,

[jpnh]

decided to go forward with the paint before the bugs come out just need the right weather for a few days/primer sealer man i took care of a few things and i cant believe how quiet the truck is now when i had the door panels off i found an empty can of tire shine in the door ratteling around in the ps door /both speakers in the doors were half assed attached/loose/rattling the tailgate was rattling and the rear window slider seals were worn so if you dont have the window open it rattles i re did all the suspension new rims and tires new brakes an alignment and i was kinda bummed out how loud the rattles/vibrations were on the truck but now i found it was all those little things combined to make the noise it was makinmajor detective work. decided to refinish the old stock hood and the fender without the antenna hole in it too gonna pull the bed back off coming up i hate to do its going too good/too much fun the way it is. gotta get it over with while i got the time.

[aotte1]

Jeff,
On the "quite" note, have you thought of adding any sound proofing material to the doors and other cab areas? Have done research here on what others have used.
Not sure what I would use.
Thought I would check out some new totaled cars in the local salvage yards to see what they are using as sound proofing.

Les