LS Engine Install and SEMA Show | 1968 C10 Build Episode 5
In this episode of our ’68 C10 project, we hit two milestones. First, the 5.3 LS engine that we put together last episode found its new home between the framerails. Second, our truck hit its first car show, and it was a big one.
First, the engine. It’s always a big deal when you drop the engine in your car. It’s the moment when your Frankenstein creation receives its heart, and you know that the “it’s alive” moment isn’t far off. We also had the chance to try out our new C10 LS Swap Motor Mount Kit and C10 Transmission Crossmember. The motor mounts are slick, since the brackets bolt into factory holes on the frame and crossmember, then use readily available 4th-Gen F Body mounts to the block. Ditto for the trans crossmember. There are a bunch of holes in the ‘rails from the factory, we took advantage of them and created a cool looking fab’d crossmember that will accommodate just about any transmission we can dream up, now or in the future.
In the interest of keeping the budget under control, we chose to use an old TH350 that we had leftover from another project. In the future, this truck really wants to have three pedals, (as it did from the factory) but for now we’re content to get on the road without breaking the bank. We used one of our slick adapter kits to adapt the old-school automatic to our Gen III engine. We dressed up our engine a little with a Bill’s LS Accessory Drive Kit, stock replacement water pump, alternator, and polished AC compressor. The finishing touch to literally tie everything together was the custom length driveshaft kit.
Next, the car show. How do you take a truck that doesn’t even have a cab on it to the show? Well, the calculus is a little different when it’s the SEMA show. We had a killer Willys sedan hot rod to show off in the booth that we put together to celebrate our 70th anniversary, so we threw our truck chassis in the mix as a way to show off the incredible number of products that we offer for these trucks. You’ll hear us say it a couple times in the video, but really everything but the framerails, front crossmember, and junkyard 5.3 long block came off the shelves at Speedway Motors.
We’re proud of how far we’ve come with this little truck project. But there’s obviously still a long way to go. Next, we’re going to try to hammer that ragged cab and sheet metal back into shape. Stay tuned!
