sweetk30

well looking for a old school hiddin hitch that all the low rider guys use to run is real hard these days to find for our old style trucks. only 1 i could find was $250 bucks new . i got money but i have better things to spend it on .

but this is the style i was looking for . pic's 1-2

well after looking and asking around for 1hr or so on the internet i decided to make my own out of a almost brand new one i had from collecting stuff.

so i got the hitch to work and cut/ground the end plates off to give me a good starting point. also found it wasnt a reese brand hitch. it was some sort of ford factory hitch i dont recall what it come off of. but its not ford anymore. pic's 3-6

then i mocked up the bumper and plate box and set the hitch in place to check fitment and what size / length of angle iron i need for the new side plates to make it bolt up to the frame.

last pic is basicly how i will make my own to look like. pic's 7-10

sweetk30

and little 4" sticker i found that fits the truck perfect since its almost all recycled parts min few new things . and better for the enviroment than a prius

jbhotrod

So youre going for a lowered style street truck? I realize youre in NY, and I guess you could say its the Georgia coming out in me but I would give anything to see/or build myself, a offroad capable older C10 with a 600-800hp supercharged/turbo LSx, either mud truck or a prerunner/dune sand drag truck. I just think that would be so fun
and awesome.

Something along the lines of this but street legal and more tame:

sweetk30

more done on the support unit .

took 1 whole support bar unit out of older 2 headlight style unit. and cut it down and made to filler panel sections for each side of my unit. also blasted them up and weld threw primered them. will get good under coat later.

then all set in place ready for weld in and ran out of easy grind wire

had to put put down the the road in the snow storm we are getting now and pick up a roll. no big deal it is what it is.

ya there not 100% perfect but 10x better than bad sections before. and once all the stuff is on there you wont see it in black paint.

well its 1 color now the core support and bumper brackets that is.

sweetk30

we got core support mounted up and holes cleaned out with tap .

also ordered new headlight adjuster bolt/clips as mine were old / cracked / rounder and needed new. cant find them in any auto body books for the 89-91 style nose. lmc is 5 each on hem . i used my wholesale price at dealer and got them cheeper.

come out real nice for a rebuild and fix up of the unit.


also got the front bumper mounted up today .

all said and done its 1/4" at most off level from left to right as it sits now. need to do final tweeking when body is in place.

and thats a 4" std 2wd valence. i am going to get a new 4x4 version at 5.5" tall and non tow hook hole option . 40 new is all. as you can see it helps clean up the look under the bumper a lot i think. and gives the ilusion of being lower than it is.

fyi thats 31x10.50x15 tires on there for rollers.

sweetk30

big day today on the project truck .

body test fit / check body lines all panels / check overall stance and look .

i like it for a clean daily driver truck . the 2.5" drop frt/rear still make it nice but not to low.

its got 1/2 or little under 31" tires on 8" rims now . she sits 14" to the rocker lip off the ground.

84hernandezc10

Do u have pics of how you made your fuse block for the dbw? I found the info I need but just don't want to get in over my head b4 I start it

cprmn14

Good lookin truck man, i like the stance!

sweetk30

wow update time .

new gm adjusters for headlight buckets. all blasted / painted headlight bucket parts / new head lights .

even decided to swap over the doors to another project truck . and since i am going so nice with this one figure use my N.O.S gm doors .

sweetk30

got my cooling system today

griffin 8-70013-ls radiator specific to 73-91 solid axle style trucks with ls swap . and has tranny cooler in it but on driver side now. NOTE the inlet / outlet on pass side and baffle in middle of pass side tank. basicly makes this 2 radiators in 1 . and its how thay get both inlet / outlet on same side.

i also ordered up prothane rad isolators . wasnt sure on size i needed since aluminum rad might be made diffrent. well looks like it takes the bbc/6.2 4 core rad size isolators. 7-1712-bl

and for little bling i got a blue cap .


also windstar fan setup fits the gm radiators great with few mods .

sweetk30

test fit today with few problems found

rad fits in the hole but its made to the older 73-80 short rad hight . so the ( pic 6 ) upper clamp mounts wont fork .

i had ( pic 7 ) light duty brackets on hand from a 80's v6 truck i stripped for parts . there the style needed or the full top plate style older ones used .

but it does go in and has tons of room to let me add the windstar fans .

sweetk30

well got a new special gift to the truck today

BIG HUGE BOX got droped off.

goodmark 2" cowl hood

shippman

Cool build... I'm following closely, however I must have missed something . Did you still use the Dingo motor mounts or did you change brands?

sweetk30

thanks for the coments .

and yes i did use his mounts cause i needed the motor in place and didnt see any way at the time to find others like it . and i figured after his b!tching match with me on his quality and thay dont brake i would see if i could get them to break .

i wish someone else would make some like his but better welding and also index off the ear's on the motor mount also like stock so all the pressure is not riding on the bolt .

oh well will find out at some point if thay break or not.

Ian Johnston

Where we up to with this one??

woog74

Yes we all want to know.
I'm curious to know about that fuel pump setup. It was the same setup I was thinking about doing if/when I ever do a LS1 swap.

sweetk30

well its been SLOW . . . . work crazy and haven't had much time.

we have had some time to get a little filler work done on low spots in the box . driver rear was ripple in lower ear from prev damage . just needed thin layer . and pass front was patch panel and small long line dent we got most out with hammer / dolly . then few low spots here there.

and to make work easy I made a cart to hold the box right side up or upside down and not hit the ground. as we need the box off to paint 100% and also I need to flip it to cut / weld on bottom side to clear the shackle swing of the 1" longer diy4x shackles for the 1/2" drop extra I needed.

got the idea from a member from other site when he sold me the cab ( for my plow truck redo project ) and gave me the cart he had for it.


I need to clearance the bottom side of the rear crossmember for the swing of the 1" longer shackles that got me lower. you can see were the shackles hit and with box not bolted down to the frame it would lift the box 3/4 of a inch .

also when it was up on its end I took the time to media blast the small spots of rust on the top rails were some tool box's had been for years before I gotthe box used.

I used the speed blaster and the hot shot kit it works great and the hot shot kit is good also for small jobs you don't want grit all over the shop .

Ian Johnston

Mine had to cut as well to clear a 2" shackle, and 2" hanger drop. Looking good otherwise.
These projects turn big real quick.

sweetk30

you will like my cross member mod I have planed .

and ya I have 5 projects at this point. but 2 major this and my k30 plow truck redo before next winter.

Ian Johnston

Cant wait to see the mod. Mine was done before I got it back, just cut with a torch. Needs cleaning up, but aint removing the tub to do it yet.