Clifford the Big Red Truck~~The Build

[1957 Chief]

After about 6 times of going up and down and measuring we finally got it whipped. Also, we had to cut a hole for the driveshaft. I am running a pretty big one so we went on the side of caution.
Last year I cut a "high hump" floor pan from another truck. Will drag that out and use that to cover up the hole and to get ready for a shifter.

[1957 Chief]

After we got the cab on there and everything squared up, next was the bed. For those of you that have had the privilege of removing the bed bolts from these trucks only to have them spin in the housing, you know how I feel about this. 5 of the 8 had to be cut off.

When we finally got the bed off, we had to notch one of the cross sills in the bed for the c-notch. That wasn't bad. Next up was to bore a hole into the bed for the Boyd's tank filler. Measure 6 times, cut once. Took a 3-inch hole saw and made easy work of that and we were spot on.

The only complaint I have is that the filler neck is too darn short. And of course, you have to pay another 100 bux for an extended filler... Nowhere do they say on their website that the filler is beneath the bed floor by like 2 1/2 inches. Chaps my a$$. So ill have to buy an extension. Enough of the talk, pic below.

[1957 Chief]

After about 6 ours of work we could finally step back and look at what we accomplished.
One would think pulling 12 bolts and reinstalling a cab/bed on another frame would be easy, but not so fast.

[1957 Chief]

So we got the truck all loaded back up and back to our house to finish the build. Still have a long way to go, but target date is early Aug so Chris can get some seat time in the truck before we head to LS fest in BG, Kentucky.

Also, many of you might be wondering why the thread title says "Clifford the Big Red Truck" when this is a black truck. Well, let's just say the red truck didn't make the cut. So we still had this frame built and we finally got around to getting a body on it. The new name is "Blackjack" because it stayed on Blackjack Mountian for about 6 months before we started the project, and because its black.

[1957 Chief]

Ok, so here is what I'm doing in regards to the hyd clutch issues.
As many of you know the 85-6-7 trucks had a hyd clutch system. Well, I was lucky enough to score one off of eBay last year and went ahead and changed the whole pedal assembly out under the dash. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. Removing the brake booster, instrument cluster, and steering column, we had it out in less than 30 minutes. The stock C10 clutch master cylinder has a bore of approx .699 inches with a maximum stroke of 1.5 inches. The slave cylinder for the TR6060 has an odd shape that encircles the input shaft and it only needs about .4 inches of travel to engage the clutch (26.8 cc's). I was able to figure out the CC's of fluid volume of the slave cylinder and figured that the stock master cylinder could, in fact, move the slave cylinder with 1.1 inches of travel (29.7 cc's). Now I don't know what the pedal feel will be yet, but I'm going to go ahead and try the stock one. The stock master cylinder takes an odd type of metric external flare for the hose, and the slave has a #4 AN fitting. Shouldn't be hard to make those work.

As soon as I get that system up and running I'll report back. I just couldn't see buying another master cylinder and fabbing up a mount when "potentially" the stock one would work.

Bubba

[LT7A]

New truck is coming along nicely. And precisely. "Clutch master cylinder has a bore of 'approx. .699 inches'." When .699 inches is approximate, you know this thing's going to be put together well. ;)

[1957 Chief]

Originally Posted by LT7A

New truck is coming along nicely. And precisely. "Clutch master cylinder has a bore of 'approx. .699 inches'." When .699 inches is approximate, you know this thing's going to be put together well.

Ha ha, thanks. All those years of working on airplanes makes a fella real precise.

Got the bucket seats installed and will fab up a bar behind the seats to bolt the shoulder straps too. Last weekend I transferred all the windows out of the blue truck and put in the black one. Also pulled out all the AC/heat ducts and cleaned them out. And switched all the controls over. Who would have thought that the vacuum hose size changed from 1984 to 1986...

Also ordered a rear shifter and a dashpad today as well.

Will most likely put the front clip back on this weekend, after I finish plumbing the front brake lines.

The target date is still early Aug for completion and shakedown. Already registered for LS fest in Sept.

Will post up some more pics when I get the chance.

[JohnJ@RideTech]

Originally Posted by 1957 Chief

Ok so finally got around to swapping the sheet metal around. The frame that we built from nothing, was finally ready. Full Ridetech coil over suspension with an LS3/TR6060.

The install looks awesome man!
Thanks for sharing.

[Dads79GMC]

Great work!!

[1957 Chief]

Originally Posted by JohnJ@RideTech

The install looks awesome man!
Thanks for sharing.

Originally Posted by Dads79GMC

Great work!!

Thanks gents.

Ok, a lot has been done since the last time I posted.

Finished up the floor pans and seam sealed it.

Put sound mat in the truck and doors.

Got the carpet laid in there and put the shifter in.

[1957 Chief]

We also have been wiring the truck and tidying up some things. About 2/3 way thrugh the wiring. Have to finish up the terminals and the battery shutoff in the back of the truck. Also got the column back from Wayne at GM tilt. He converted the auto shift column to a manual since we got the 6-speed.

Also since were putting 5-point harnesses in the truck, we had to weld a bar along the back wall in order to attach the shoulder harnesses to.

Also got a new radiator and a bunch of other things to finish out the truck.

Only thing left to do now is finishing!

[1957 Chief]

Ok folks, has been a hot minute since I have taken the time to update this thread. Need to put a few pics up and describe what has been done.

Completed the rear battery details This included installing a battery hold down, shutoff switch, fuse block, and all the wiring. Put the battery on the rt rear of the bed behind the wheel well. Ran all the wires through the sidewall of the bed. Also had to run a constant power wire up to the front of the truck to always have power to the GPS, radio and dash memory.

Rewired the interior and installed new parts and ducting for the AC.

Tackled the clutch issue hoping that the stock C10 master cylinder would move the LS slave cylinder. It moves it, but not enough. I adjusted all the pivot points and messed with the linkage, the bottom line is it will not. So I had to order a Wilwood master cylinder setup. I have a 13/16 and a 7/8 bore to try out. One of those two will do it. Will know more about that this weekend when i put it in.

Had to wire in a clutch safety switch in order to not start the truck with the clutch not pushed in.

Ran all the wire for the rear amp and subwoofers. Also installed new front speakers.

Bled the whole brake system.

Finished installing the interior and mounted all the belts. Gave measurements to my buddy so he can make a shifter boot.

Did a complete underneath inspection of the truck. Checked torque on all bolts, ensured wires and lines were snugged up and clamped outta the way.

[1957 Chief]

Checked all the wiring last night and bumped over the engine. I will start it this weekend. I still have to pressurize the fuel lines and add water to the truck.

Wanna be done in 2 weeks. SCCA track days is in Blytheville, AR, on Aug 11. Plan to take the truck up there and thrash it. That will give us right about a month to get ready for LS fest in Sept.

I'll try and drum up some more pics of the truck tonight. I usually don't take pics, cause I'm too busy moving on to the next thing.

And if there is anything specific that yall want to see, let me know and ill take pics or answer your questions.

Bubba

[1957 Chief]

Oh yea, we're also gonna put an old school camper shell on it. And auto-X it.

[1957 Chief]

Well finally got the truck started after troubleshooting an ECM code that was looking for a 1.5v reference signal showing that the clutch was disengaged.

It's a real healthy sounding motor. Have a few issues to address, tach not working on the dakota digital gauge set, can't get the shifter into reverse (the bolt hits the underside of the shifter) and some other minor items. Also need to do some fine tuning of the suspension height, front is too low.

Snagged the camper shell off another truck that I hustled. Will paint it black to match the black truck.

[44boggers]

Originally Posted by 1957 Chief

After we got the cab on there and everything squared up, next was the bed. For those of you that have had the privilege of removing the bed bolts from these trucks only to have them spin in the housing, you know how I feel about this. 5 of the 8 had to be cut off.

When we finally got the bed off, we had to notch one of the cross sills in the bed for the c-notch. That wasn't bad. Next up was to bore a hole into the bed for the Boyd's tank filler. Measure 6 times, cut once. Took a 3-inch hole saw and made easy work of that and we were spot on.

The only complaint I have is that the filler neck is too darn short. And of course, you have to pay another 100 bux for an extended filler... Nowhere do they say on their website that the filler is beneath the bed floor by like 2 1/2 inches. Chaps my a$$. So ill have to buy an extension. Enough of the talk, pic below.

My bed support interfered with the filler neck of my boyd tank. Is your filler neck also located directly under the bed support? I had to notch my bed support to make it work. I will also have to drop the tank about 1/2'' because the bed hits the fuel fittings. Any issue with that?

As far as the fuel neck being to short, why dont you use some rubber hose to connect the tank fuel neck to the fuel cap?

[JohnJ@RideTech]

Put a ladder on the roof of it..I dare you.

Looks great man! I love the progress. Cant wait to see it turned loose at LS Fest.

[1957 Chief]

Originally Posted by 44boggers

My bed support interfered with the filler neck of my Boyd tank. Is your filler neck also located directly under the bed support? I had to notch my bed support to make it work. I will also have to drop the tank about 1/2'' because the bed hits the fuel fittings. Any issue with that?

As far as the fuel neck is too short, why don't you use some rubber hose to connect the tank fuel neck to the fuel cap?

Yes sir, had to drill right through the bed support. Also, I ordered the filler kit to attempt to fix it, and it is too high for the damn bed floor. So I have to fix that as well. If the designed the filler neck the same height as the bed floor, it would be great, but they didn't and I don't like it. If i had to do it all over, id prolly explore a different tank manufacturer.

As far as the lines, I used an AN-6 union into the tank and went straight into a 90-degree swivel fitting for my hoses. I have no issues whatsoever. You can prolly see them in some of the pics I posted.

Originally Posted by JohnJ@RideTech

Put a ladder on the roof of it...I dare you.

Looks great man! I love the progress. Can't wait to see it turned loose at LS Fest.

Pshhhhh come on John...I already got an alum ladder for it. They prolly won't let my son Auto-x with it on the roof, but we will bring it.

Bubba

[44boggers]

Originally Posted by 1957 Chief

Yes sir, had to drill right through the bed support. Also, I ordered the filler kit to attempt to fix it, and it is too high for the damn bed floor. So I have to fix that as well. If the designed the filler neck the same height as the bed floor, it would be great, but they didn't and I don't like it. If i had to do it all over, id prolly explore a different tank manufacturer.

As far as the lines, I used an AN-6 union into the tank and went straight into a 90-degree swivel fitting for my hoses. I have no issues whatsoever. You can prolly see them in some of the pics I posted.



Pshhhhh come on John...I already got an alum ladder for it. They prolly won't let my son Auto-x with it on the roof, but we will bring it.

Bubba

Yup I have the same fuel fitting set up as yours but the bed floor makes contact, probably just 1/8” to high.
For my fuel filler I am using a pop up motorcycle filler neck
It actually slips right into the Boyd filler neck. I’ll just sleeve it with a rubber hose to keep debre from getting in. I can post a link to the pop up filler neck/cap I have if you want. Only problem is that you need about. 2.25” hole and I think you said you already drilled for a 3”

Paul

[1957 Chief]

Originally Posted by 44boggers

Yup I have the same fuel fitting set up as yours but the bed floor makes contact, probably just 1/8” to high.
For my fuel filler I am using a pop up motorcycle filler neck
It actually slips right into the Boyd filler neck. I’ll just sleeve it with a rubber hose to keep debre from getting in. I can post a link to the pop up filler neck/cap I have if you want. Only problem is that you need about. 2.25” hole and I think you said you already drilled for a 3”

Paul

Thanks my friend. I already put the filler neck on the lathe and turned it down to make it work and to cover up the "butchered hole" I made.

Bubba

[1957 Chief]

Ok, so we finally got the clutch lined out. I installed a brand new slave cylinder in the trans last October, only to realize that it was leaking. So we had to pull the transmission this weekend and change the slave cylinder. Also, put in the billet support collar for the slave cylinder. Got the clutch all bled and took it for a spin...
What a ride. When we got back my son said, "I'm scared of this truck dad." I told him he better be, and he better respect it.

So there is a big SCCA track event this weekend in Blytheville, AR, and we plan on taking the truck up there to thrash it and see what we need to address. Still haven't gotten the tach or the speedo to work...but we don't need that just yet.

Can't wait for LS fest...

Bubba

[1957 Chief]

Well, the truck is 95% complete and will head to Blytheville, Arkansas tonight to auto-x the truck in the SCCA event tomorrow. I'm cautiously optimistic on how its gonna do and what all I will need to address during the event and after.

Been driving it for the last couple days ironing out all the little stuff. Glad to have gotten the tach and speedo to work.

Bubba

[1957 Chief]

Well had a pretty good weekend at the event. Unloaded the truck and set the shocks and tire pressures to get a base run. Went out there and let it all hang out. Truck performed flawlessly. Only had 2 small issues, power steering reservoir was a little too full (left and right movements fixed that haha) and a clamp had to be tightened up on the upper radiator hose.

The truck is a total beast, has a powerband that comes on just about 4200 rpm and it can get squirrely if you arent ready. I made a few shock adjustments to let the rear of the truck roll a little better and it reacted in a good way. Absolutely love the ridetech suspension.

Got to send the Dakota Digital gauges off to get looked at, for some reason when you turn the key on they go to flashin like mad. Also, the shift light didn't work either. Talked with their tech support and they want me to send it in.

Need to address the battery cables/starter/ battery. When the truck gets warm its hard to start and the cables get warm. Something ain't right in there.

Now that the driveline is squared away and tested, its time to put the AC back on and put the doors back together.

If anyone needs answers on what to do or how to do it, just let me know. I encountered a lot of walls on this truck. Putting a 6-speed in the truck wasn't easy.

Bubba

[daddyjeep]

Cool. Glad you had a good shake down Did you get any videos for us?

[1957 Chief]

Originally Posted by daddyjeep

Cool. Glad you had a good shake down Did you get any videos for us?

I do have videos brother, but I don't know how to share em. ??? Lemme know and Ill post em up.

Also during the inspection under the truck yesterday, found a bad starter. I recall on Saturday the bendix sounded like it drug a lil but, so I pulled it and, sure enough, the bendix spring isn't retracting the gear and the bearing on the end of the nosecone is trashed. So I ordered another one. I'm also looking at the battery cables. For some reason, they are pretty hot after starting. So there is resistance in there somewhere. I have a 2/0 wire going from the batt switch to the starter and 2/0 wires going from the battery to frame, and motor to frame. Might have to run a wire directly to the motor.