1968 IH C1300 2wd Restomod/Build

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Crappy picture
 
So I worked 1 day between 12/23 and 1/4. Want to guess how much I got to do on the truck?

if you guessed NOTHING, you'd be right. Garage time of all of 2hrs went to putting a new radiator in the GX470. Might have been able to spend an hour or two one night but didn't have a desire when the garage was around 40*, wasn't worth heating for that short amount of time.

so yeah, no progress updates.

I did get to sled with my oldest, played with the kids a ton, got some other projects done etc so it wasn't a loss. But I was really hoping for a couple hours to button up the rear brakes so I could spend a night putting fluids in the thing.
 
budget76 said:
Cross member fab is done. Not bolted to the frame until I am certain on fwd aft placement of the engine. Dependent on headers and steering shaft

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Looking through past posts. I should probably make sure I bolted in the crossmember :homer:

I've started putting bright yellow tape on anything that's loose or not connected etc. Memories are fading on some things I've done
 
shortbus4x4 said:
Daddy? :flipoff2:
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no ****, it was bad enough before I had 2 minions running around :homer:
PAToyota said:
Probably the biggest problem with long term projects - what have I partially done that I think is complete?
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I'm trying to get fluids into everything that doesn't have any. Condensation/corrosion has now become a mild concern with how long its sitting, I want to be able to spin everything and get some lube moving. I fogged the cylinders with oil before putting plugs in and it's full, but the rear diff / cooling / power steering / brakes / clutch are all empty.

i DID get the rear brake calipers and lines bolted on, minor progress. Going to bend up a new hard line to go between the two then run the hard line front-rear. Add new upper rear shock mounts and the rear is "done" until I find out the driveshaft angle isn't close enough and I've got to mess with perches (hopefully not)
 
more of a note to my future self than an update. Threw new spark plugs and wires on it last night. Cylinder 3 threads were somehow not happy. I did plugs on this engine at least twice in the Escalade and had them in and out during the rebuild. no idea WTF happened between then and now. my best guess is I just hand them in fingertight and that plug took a hit during the install or something and deformed the first thread or two.

For better or worse I was able to work it in but it sure as hell wasn't smooth. I took the gamble it'll seat and seal OK and it'll only be an issue if I drive this thing enough to warrant doing new plugs. If I'm unlucky I'm either pulling the head or figuring out a helicoil once I get it running.

Also pretty sure i'm going to drop the trans before it runs. I had issues seating the trans to the engine that I attributed to the clutch but kept rolling. Turning the engine over, I have a scraping noise coming from the bellhousing area. Hindsight says I should have bought a brand new clutch/PP vs used and dealt with this when it was all on the floor. My last hope is if I bleed the clutch some magic happens and it goes away.


kind of took the wind out of my sails last night and killed some motivation overall. I need to take a day off to finish plumbing the rear brakes and get some fluids into it. aside from the concern above I think I'm fluids, couple wires, and a PCM tune away from at least cranking it over.

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I'm trying to put some wind back in your sails.

I heard you have a fix for the bum clutch...
 
Hopefully a couple updates tomorrow, taking the day off with the plan to spend it all in the garage. gonna be 70* here

Grendel did me a huge solid and I've got some very nice hunks of metal sitting on my welding table right now. Update on that coming too, only had time to get them unloaded last night. Big props to AngryBlack too for the assist in getting them from NH to CT on his way back south.
 
Took Tuesday off and made some good progress. Got the rear shocks mounted, added frame gusset, mostly ran the front-rear hard line, did some garage organization/fab, etc.

Context for the pics:

rear axle is "done'. Rear brakes are done. Diff fluid is in. Shocks aren't perfect but they're good enough. Just need to finish the hard line run to the front and then I can bleed the whole system. Dad's got my bleeder so i'll wait till he comes up
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Grendel really wants to see this thing driving, gave me a great deal on a Tick performance TR6060, clutch kit, etc shown below. I've got unknown situation with the AR5 setup so this may get slammed in if that gives me issues
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and I couldn't stop thinking about the stresses at this spot behind the control arm mounts. it's boxed in in the back and probably fine, but I threw some gussets on each side for peace of mind.
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update without pics for now
  • Brake lines are done.
  • E-brake is almost working, I cut and spliced the explorer cables to the OEM IH pedal setup. Need to remove some slack then I'm hoping it's got enough throw to fully engage the Explorer levers.
  • weird scraping noise went away. It was there when I had the plugs loose / out but not there with compression and warmer weather. What's that mean?? no idea. We'll find out if it blows up when I start it
  • Confirmed the clutch is not hung up, neutral is neutral
started filling fluids. Lots of air left in the cooling and hydro-assist system that I don't see a good way to bleed out till its running. And I only had a pint of brake fluid somehow. Trans is full. rear diff is full. Engine has oil.


started researching driveshafts options more. I see some 2WD GMT800 longbed crew cabs that may land close. I need to crawl under and measure again now that its just about at final ride height. would much prefer finding an OEM option than going custom 2-piece
 
Just skimmed though the build. Thanks for the heads up on the hydroboost/steering column mount. Very similar to what i had in my head.

Did you decide not to go with the S550 mustang rear? Thats what i used in my 69 F100 build with the CV front. It rides ***s.
I frenched the s550 subframe up into the f100 frame and welded it all up.
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the CV front is also frenched into the front frame to lower it a little more. Coilovers all the way around. I want to go airbags one day. Oh and it has a 2jz/Ar5 in it to really piss off the purists.
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^^love the bastard builds. bet it rides great

didn't do the S550 rear. If I do I'm pushing this thing back another year at the pace I get to work on it. Going to get it together with the 8.8 as it sits, have fun for a while, and if I get the bug to make it ride better then maybe the IRS goes in. I think it should ride reasonably well with the IFS. plan is to keep 17's or even 16's for decent sidewall height.

plus side: measured the other day and the rear driveshaft is 1-piece-able at around 72". might even be able to find a GM off the shelf the right length. I had been holding $1k in my head for a custom 2-piece solution because for some reason I had 80+" in my head. Too bad I didn't keep the Escalade one around, it might have been close. no idea what I did with it but it ain't at this house
 
minimal updates

1. just ordered a cheap Silverado driveshaft that should be pretty close to the right length. if its not it'll get returned. It's close to the right length, has the correct slip yoke, and if research is right uses the same rear u-joint as the explorer.

2. been running the main power/ground wires. Down to the starter wire, haven't felt like laying under the truck at 10PM to do it.

3. decided I hate my crossmember and how it hangs down far in the center and buys me no extra clearance vs a straight bar would. ordered a $45 one off Ebay to modify that'll give me more exhaust clearance underneath. Could have fabbed from scratch but I think this one will be less work.
 
budget76 said:
and I couldn't stop thinking about the stresses at this spot behind the control arm mounts. it's boxed in in the back and probably fine, but I threw some gussets on each side for peace of mind.
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I'm concerned I'll have to do the same thing if I want to raise the CV IFS up into the F100 frame to get it to sit lower.

the_white_shadow said:
Just skimmed though the build. Thanks for the heads up on the hydroboost/steering column mount. Very similar to what i had in my head.

Did you decide not to go with the S550 mustang rear? Thats what i used in my 69 F100 build with the CV front. It rides ***s.
I frenched the s550 subframe up into the f100 frame and welded it all up.
1776109756295.png


the CV front is also frenched into the front frame to lower it a little more. Coilovers all the way around. I want to go airbags one day. Oh and it has a 2jz/Ar5 in it to really piss off the purists.
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which sounds like what you did. How far did you tuck it up? Rear mounts?
IRS sucks for high power. They inherently make the rear camber go up when accelerating due to squat. Tires wear like ****. Good for cornering, ride though.
Nice work on the transplant.
 
rattle_snake said:
I'm concerned I'll have to do the same thing if I want to raise the CV IFS up into the F100 frame to get it to sit lower.


which sounds like what you did. How far did you tuck it up? Rear mounts?
IRS sucks for high power. They inherently make the rear camber go up when accelerating due to squat. Tires wear like ****. Good for cornering, ride though.
Nice work on the transplant.
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I tucked mine up 1.5" or so and added gussets to the rear mount similar to whats posted. no issues so far after years of beating on it.
 
the_white_shadow said:
I tucked mine up 1.5" or so and added gussets to the rear mount similar to whats posted. no issues so far after years of beating on it.
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glad to hear, even though I plated the inner side and gusseted the outer I still don't love the stresses. I just need to remember I'm not throwing 2 tons of stone in the back, it'll be fine.

Rattlesnake, you've got way more fab skills than I do. I bet you can make your frame cut look cleaner / less squared off than I wound up. the frame boxes were like $40, definitely recommend grabbing those as a starting point vs fabbing your own. the actual work was easy, the measuring and cutting was the tricky part for me. F100 measurements are known and defined off of rivets/holes in the frame so you'll have it WAY easier, even if you decide to recess everything you know exactly where it needs to land off the bat.


ironically I positioned my frame boxes lower to make the frontend sit higher. Kind of glad I decided to do that looking back, since if the boxes were raised 1-2" I may have had bigger issues with recessing/plating the rear mounts.
 
the_white_shadow said:
I tucked mine up 1.5" or so and added gussets to the rear mount similar to whats posted. no issues so far after years of beating on it.
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Thanks for the info, it looks good at the height.
And **** the purists, run whatever motor makes the sounds you like. Although F100 did come with I-6s.
budget76 said:
glad to hear, even though I plated the inner side and gusseted the outer I still don't love the stresses. I just need to remember I'm not throwing 2 tons of stone in the back, it'll be fine.

Rattlesnake, you've got way more fab skills than I do. I bet you can make your frame cut look cleaner / less squared off than I wound up. the frame boxes were like $40, definitely recommend grabbing those as a starting point vs fabbing your own. the actual work was easy, the measuring and cutting was the tricky part for me. F100 measurements are known and defined off of rivets/holes in the frame so you'll have it WAY easier, even if you decide to recess everything you know exactly where it needs to land off the bat.


ironically I positioned my frame boxes lower to make the frontend sit higher. Kind of glad I decided to do that looking back, since if the boxes were raised 1-2" I may have had bigger issues with recessing/plating the rear mounts.
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I'm planning to stretch the wheel base and move IFS forward, then up into frame so my mounting will be all custom. Then tie it into the rest of the frame.

Anyhow your are in the finial stretch of your build, almost there.
 
got ~2hrs yesterday and was able to swap the crossmember. This one doesn't hang down in the center so I've got way more flexibility for exhaust routing. Essentially only took drilling 4 new holes in the frame, lucked out it sat right where I wanted it without modification. If I have to play with driveshaft angles I have a little bit of upwards adjustability. didn't bother painting it, it's got a nice finish already. I expected it to be raw but it's got nice paint on it. well worth the $50 vs fabbing from scratch

Decided I'm not loving the rubber fuel hose for the full run. I found a cool video where the guy uses a copper compression fitting barb to create a barb/crimp on steel fuel lines. basically install the compression fitting, then remove it and cut off the nut. Depending on where the exhaust lands I may run some hard lines for a length of the run where its closer to the exhaust. Mainly mentioning this so maybe I remember the barb technique

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versus
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Grendel said:
Do you want to borrow my flaring tool?
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thanks for the offer. I'm not redoing those yet but I'll keep it in mind. Going to slap a sheetmetal shield there for now and that's a "readdress once its running" type thing

on another positive note: E-brakes are adjusted and works. makes it way safer for me to move outside and get the grime off now.
 
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