68 C10 First Car Project

[mosert68]

This truck was my 17th birthday present and I have been working on it slowly but surely ever since with my dad. I am almost 21 now and have been away at college for the last 3 years and have only been able to work on it over the summer. I will post pictures of the progress from when I got it to where it is now and will continue to post pictures as I work on it. Currently is has an LQ4/4L80e with an ECE 4.5/6" drop including their tubular trailing arms, cross member and panhard bar. It also has Hellwig sway bars front and rear. It currently is rolling on 17x9 cragar soft 8's with 245's front and rear. The front brakes are factory 73+ discs up front and drums in the rear. My next upgrade is going to be Summit 143 series wheels, 18x9.5 with 285/35R18 all around. After wheels and tires I plan on getting an Eaton posi unit with 3.73's. This is my daily driver/project so progress is slow but my ultimate plans are for it to be a pro touring beast that performs well in Auto X and puts up decent times on road courses.

[mosert68]

Here are some more pictures. The first picture is from the first day I laid eyes on it. The following pictures show some of the changes it has gone through.

[bs46488]

Looks great!

That LS swap cleaned things up nicely in the engine bay.

I like the 2 tone paint scheme with the white and gray.

Keep up the good work.

[mosert68]

Looks great!

That LS swap cleaned things up nicely in the engine bay.

I like the 2 tone paint scheme with the white and gray.

Keep up the good work.

Thank you! I agree, the engine bay looks 100x better. I cannot wait to do more upgrades. The paint is just rattlecan Rustoleum that I lightly sanded to give it the look of old single stage paint. I want it to be an inspiration for people like me who love pro touring cars and trucks but do not have 10's of thousands to spent like most of the pro touring car owners.

[Slick68]

This truck was my 17th birthday present and I have been working on it slowly but surely ever since with my dad. I am almost 21 now and have been away at college for the last 3 years and have only been able to work on it over the summer. I will post pictures of the progress from when I got it to where it is now and will continue to post pictures as I work on it. Currently is has an LQ4/4L80e with an ECE 4.5/6" drop including their tubular trailing arms, cross member and panhard bar. It also has Hellwig sway bars front and rear. It currently is rolling on 17x9 cragar soft 8's with 245's front and rear. The front brakes are factory 73+ discs up front and drums in the rear. My next upgrade is going to be Summit 143 series wheels, 18x9.5 with 285/35R18 all around. After wheels and tires I plan on getting an Eaton posi unit with 3.73's. This is my daily driver/project so progress is slow but my ultimate plans are for it to be a pro touring beast that performs well in Auto X and puts up decent times on road courses.

Can you be more specific on the 245 tires? What aspect ratio? Any side shots?

[mosert68]

I was wrong they are actually 235's. They are Eagle RS-A police pursuit tires. 235/55R17. They are not high performance tires. I got them for free as police take offs so I am running them. Like I said as soon as I can I'm going to get new wheels. I'm going to end up getting U.S. Mag Rambler' 18x9.5 and am going to run 285/35R18 on all four corners.

[mosert68]

This is the only side shot I have of the wheels/tires.

[mosert68]

Well it has been a long time since I posted on the forum. I’ve been busy and life has gotten in the way. Since my last post I have created a “faux patina” on the truck, put the interior together more and purchased new wheels and tires.

[mosert68]

Here are some pictures of the faux patina process. I did it all in my driveway/garage with only rattle cans and sandpaper.

[mosert68]

[mosert68]

As For the wheels I ended up going with 20’s. My truck is currently street driven 99% of the time and I like the way the 20’s fill out the wheel wells vs. 18’s. 19’s are perfect on these trucks but I was pretty much limited to 18 or 20 because I don’t have the money for forged wheels at this point.

[mosert68]

Specs on the wheels and tires: U.S. Mags Rambler U111 20X8 front 20X9.5 rear with Pirelli P Zero’s 245/40 front 305/35 rear

[79 Camaro]

You might want to review the mass air sensor and air cleaner position. With the mass air sensor so close the intake you may have tuning issues. Also when your cooling fans kick in they might disrupt the air flow into the air filter and the mass air sensor. I'm not the expert but this what my local tuner would recommend.

[mosert68]

You might want to review the mass air sensor and air cleaner position. With the mass air sensor so close the intake you may have tuning issues. Also when your cooling fans kick in they might disrupt the air flow into the air filter and the mass air sensor. I'm not the expert but this what my local tuner would recommend.

Hmmm okay, thanks for the tip. I’ve been driving it for the last 3 years with no issues. I’ll have to do some research.

[79 Camaro]

Glad it's worked well for you. Just my tuners thoughts.

[mosert68]

As for the interior I purchased a set of ProCar by Scat Fixed back bucket seats. They are just a tube frame seat with a cloth cover but are actually fairly comfortable and supportive. I do not have a harness bar yet so I am just using 3 point belts.

[mosert68]

I recently purchased a Grant Quick Release and Longacre Racing 15” suede steering wheel.

[mosert68]

For the Door Panels I recovered the factory panels in faux suede, made a leather door pull to put in place of the factory armrest and installed some billet door handles and window cranks.

[mosert68]

I am trying to finish the interior up now. The next project is to make a headliner. Then I will install the factory style center console I just purchased and order a factory dash pad.