Project "3Face 69 SWB"
 

I purchased this truck in Oct 2012 as a project for my wife to give her for the 15th anniversary of when we first started dating. I had to hide it in a barn for a month but she's too dang nosy so I had to reveal it to her earlier. I grew up a Ford guy - my great-grandpa founded a Ford dealership in 1923 and it stayed in the family until it closed in the late 1990's. But most importantly, I am a car guy and I appreciate all makes. My wife grew up all bowtie as her dad and grandpa always had Chevy trucks. She had a 98 model SWB Chevy when we met. We have both loved this body style forever and so when I found this truck it spoke to me for some reason.

I watched the truck pop up on CL, and the guy kept lowering the price once a week until it got so cheap that I had to call him. He told me he traded the truck off to another guy because he couldn't get any realistic buyers, but he figured the guy would want to sell it so he gave me the guys number. I called the guy up and we arranged a time for me to go check it out. Of course I had to lie to my wife to go check it out - told her I got called into work. I drove down to north Texas to meet the guy. I followed him to his house and it was awesome. He had probably 300 old cars/trucks from the 50s-70s behind his house. I guess he parts out stuff and drives all around to swap meets selling parts. The truck looked like a big project but seemed pretty solid. I made sure it wasn't a cut down LWB. Floors seemed solid. It started and ran on starting fluid but didn't have a fuel pump. We cut a deal and loaded it up. I had to race home with it, hide it, and unhook my trailer before my wife started acting suspicious.

The truck is a 1969 Chevy C10 SWB originally med olive. Its a 250/3 OTT truck originally but has been converted to floor shift.

Here are the pics from the craigslist ad

Re: Project "3Face"
 

About the name I came up with for the truck....it took me awhile but I came up with 3Face because this truck looks different from every angle. Drivers side = rusty face, pass side = original paint mixed with bondo face, and from the front the hood/roof look like decent patina face (I wish the whole truck was left alone and matched)

My plans for the truck

-Total repaint and color change to Hugger Orange
-Total 5 lug conversion
-ECE 4/6 drop
-Disk brakes on front obviously with the ECE drop
-Power brake conversion
-Engine/trans swap - either a 350 crate (290 or 330 hp)/700r4 original appearing engine theme or may just go LS swap
-Vintange air
-20x8.5 front/20x10 rear Coys/Ridler/Boss 338 style either gray or black
-Lower trim moulding
-Stock appearing interior with bench recovered in black vinyl with black/orange houndstooth

Goal is to be a nice, dependable cruiser that I can take to shows and hopefully make it to the power tour at least once.

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Here are some pics of it while I had it in hiding and trying to figure out exactly what I had. Oh and remember that hideous slatted tailgate from the first post? I didn't leave with that thing. We swapped out a decent gate from a 68 onto this truck. Only thing is that it has trim holes and my plan is no trim on the tailgate/tailights. It can be fixed but in the meantime I have my eyes open for a solid gate.

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Here's a few more. Undercarriage shot from the rear. Surface rust on everything but not cancerous as far as I can tell. (take note of the crafty custom dual exhaust) Frame shot - don't see any signs of welding/cutting or any evidence of shortening a LWB into a SWB. Also picked up a bench seat from a 72 to swap out as we are wanting an original appearing interior. I would include a pic of the SPID label here but....it was painted over with black spray paint (along with everything in the cab). I tried thinner and fine sandpaper hoping to get a peek but it looks like someone did a bunch of scraping and I fear its long gone.

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And now the segment on stupid crap that my previous owner did. Pic 1 is a custom underhood light. Pic 2 I think alarm siren (not a big deal). Pic 3 custom bracket for ?? holding beer cans - no clue there. Pic 4 metal tubing for windshield squirters Pic 5 custom radiator screen using patio door mesh.

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This is really where I wanted to track the guy down and slap him. Once I got the interior stripped I found this: an old towel stuffed in the passenger vent area and filled with expanding foam. How fun!
Drivers side vent wasn't as bad, just the vent door sealed up with expanding foam and for some reason the fuse box relocated to the kick panel.
The wiring in this truck is seriously hacked and will all be removed and replaced with new harnesses throughout.

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More awesomeness! Custom metal glovebox insert complete with carpeted inner surface! Custom map light! And then to hold the carpeted dash cover down, L-angled aluminum strips riveted to the dash!

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So the main problems sheet metal wise that I see are fairly common. Front passenger fender lower cup rotted out, along with the inner fender and core support. Needs rockers on both sides but cab corners look good so far. Also has some damage to the drivers side bedside in the rear, looks like they backed into something. I'm hopeful that bedside is a fairly easy fix, or I can at least get a patch for it like the front fender cup.

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This I wasn't expecting. This outer rocker looked to be the best of the 2. Also I didnt see anything from under the truck to make me think any work had been done on the floor, but its been patched and riveted. This guy loves rivets and L-angled aluminum strips.

Re: Project "3Face"
 

The driver's side rocker is rusted out here, but at least it wasn't replaced by L-angled aluminum. Floor is pretty decent, has some surface rust but I think its good. Passenger side floor is solid underneath the patch besides the rivet holes. And when converting your manual transmission from column shift to floor shift, one should always drill 10 holes around the shifter and use pliers to fold the metal back.

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One of the first things I replaced was the Pep Boys steering wheel off a go-cart. I picked up a decent driver wheel off the board. Also cleaned all the crap out of the cowl

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Bought a pair of used outer door handles off the parts board, should get me by for awhile. I got tired of pinching my fingers trying to reach through and poke the lever. I also removed the custom trailer hitch. I still have a few pieces of metal left over that I need to take off.

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Better pics of the truck

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I ordered a reproduction seatbelt set from Brothers, but it only included the driver and passenger belts. I have a 2 year old son, so I needed to find a center seat belt so he could cruise with us. Thanks again to this board, I found one from Dustin, who is about an hour and a half northwest of me. He had it laying around and offered to send it to me for free. I sent him some $$ to cover his shipping. I disassembled the buckle and then I cleaned the belt using a plastic bristle brush under hot running water. I then soaked them overnight in hot water in the sink with some spray-n-wash and laundry detergent. I let them dry out and then dyed them on the stove using Rit dye. I bought the repro plastic buckle cover/GM sticker from Brothers. I think it turned out really good! And also here's my helper. I think he may try to steal this truck away from his mom when he gets 16.

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January 23rd I started the truck for the first time. I got the fuel pump in and replaced the pump to carb line with a steel unit. I used a cheap pump from harbor freight to suck the old gas out of the tank. I shot some air into the fuel line from under the hood and it belched out a bunch of the old gas. It fired up quickly but I had to help it out quite a bit until it was warmed up. After that it idled smooth and sounded pretty good. I was able to put in in reverse and back up and drive it forward as well about 10 ft each way. The brakes seemed to work ok as well. I figured I had better not take it on the street until I checked out the brakes, changed the oil, etc. I'm trying to get it to where it can move on its own power and drive it a little here and there before I totally tear it apart. I decided to put a filter between the metal fuel line at the frame rail and the fuel pump and now it won't fire up. It will start with started fluid but dies as soon as I stop spraying. Looks like either the tank is clogged with crud, the new fuel pump went out, or the filter I put in there is causing a restriction to the pump. Once I get some cooler weather I will try to fix this issue and get it running again.

While I was messing around, I figured I would try out the CLR and green scotch brite pad trick and see if it made a difference on the hood patina. Only did half the hood because it was Feb and still pretty cold. I was impressed how well it worked, and its obvious from the pictures that I could go back over it and it will come out even better.

Also got a few pics with both of my trucks together - 39 years difference between the 2

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The latest project I've been working on is getting new wheels/tires so I can drive it/roll it around the yard. The old wheels were rusted out and the tires wouldnt hold air very long. I used the opportunity to start the 5 lug conversion. After measuring the rear I determined that it was the correct narrow rear end for a 69. I ordered a set of the Moser axles from Summit, I think they are the 30.5 inch axles. I also went ahead and got new 5 lug drums. They don't have adjustment holes so I'm going to pull them off and try to make my own adjustment holes once I get time.

I picked up new rear cover gasket, 1/2" wheel studs, brake shoes, and adjusters locally at Autozone and Oreillys. I forgot to take pics with the new brake hardware/shoes on.

I found 6 rally wheels in my father-in-laws pasture. He has a used car dealership, wrecker service, mechanic shop, small salvage yard, and he goes around hauling off scrap metal for local farmers. Don't know how he came across these rallys, but they sure helped me out for the time being. Even better was that 4 of them were 5 lug, and 2 were 6 lug. So for now I'm halfway through the 5 lug conversion and Im running mismatched lugged rallys. Once I put the ECE drop kit on, I will switch out the front tires to the other two 5 lug wheels I have and leave them on throughout the restoration process. Its no big deal if they get overspray on them. Once the truck is done and I mount up the 20s, I will restore the rallys - probably powdercoat them and get some nice caps and trim rings and keep them around for winter or a change of pace. Looks like I'm going to have to trim the A arms for that to happen.

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After looking at those last pics I can't wait till this thing is laying low. Way too much gap between the tires and wheel wells :lol:

One other thing that I was able to verify while I had the rear end apart was that it has 3:73 gears, but no posi. I think I can live with that though. I think the gears will be perfect for either engine/trans combination I'm looking at.

Looking forward to getting dirty and sharing/learning along the way!

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Interesting PO work :lol: Great start on cleaning it up. Like your garage/loft :metal:

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Looks like a good project, I'll be watching.

The custom PO repairs made for a few good laughs this morning :lol: :mm:

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LOL - I kept finding one thing after another and I finally just had to start laughing at everything that was done because I was getting too upset. This one might take me awhile as its my 5th vehicle and I'm in no hurry, plus I want to enjoy the process. I also don't have a place to store it once its done. Original plan was to build this house and sell it after 2-3 years and build another one with a huge shop out back. Well 6 years and a baby later.....we're still here.

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One thing that was apparent was that the truck needed new glass all the way around. The windshield is cracked all over and has taken 3 bb shots it looks like. The other windows have had window tint that baked on and looks horrible. I found a guy (he is also on this board but doesnt post much) in the same little town who was selling his side glass he took out of his 68 during restoration. I think its the original smoked glass or whatever its called and for $10 each I figured why not. They were in really good shape, just a few small scratches. Another problem I had been dealing with was that there was no window crank on the drivers door, just a pair of vise grips that the guy I bought it off of wanted back. Of course the gears were so chewed up that I couldnt get a window crank to stay on it. Decided to kill 2 birds with one stone and replace the window regulator and glass at one time. I haven't seen alot of positive things about repro window regulators but I went ahead and ordered a pair. So far it seems good, goes up and down really smoothly. I hope it lasts. I haven't got around to the pass side yet.

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Fuel pump and new fuel line from pump to carb. Got tired of fighting it and the anticipation of getting it running was killing me so I just made it fit for the time being :lol:

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In another "what was he thinking?" post - previous owner screwed a rubber bed liner down to the bed using sheet metal screws, and then in the front corner on the pass side of the bed he screwed an old tool box down through the bed liner and the bed floor. That thing was hard hard to get out. Everything in that box was rusted really bad and we couldn't see any screws so my buddy and I got after it with a prybar. If that wasn't bad enough, the bed liner was for a long bed so he ran it up the front of the bed and screwed it in there as well. In the pic you can still see the screws with pieces of rubber under them on the front bed panel.

I just noticed a few days ago that he also put down some kind of paint or something over the floor that looks gray. It is coming off in places and I can see the med olive underneath it.

I think the floor is usable though, or at least I hope it is.

Pic of bed floor, and a pic of where the guy had the toolbox screwed into.

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Just played with photoshop and did a really quick drop. Man this thing, as ugly as it is, looks so much better lowered. And bagged it looks good too. I have no clue about anything air bag related or I might rethink that. Probably just stay with the static drop.

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Almost forgot about the front bumper - its got cutouts for lights so its from a 72 or something else. But the guy has no bumper brackets on it, he just drilled into the front of the frame and bolted it on. So I'm going to need both bumpers and all the bumper brackets. Great huh?

*After crawling under the truck to take this pic I was pleasantly surprised to see both the smaller L-shaped front bumper brackets!

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dang just when I was digging that fancy air flow tailgate .....it disappears !

Re: Project "3Face"
 

I'm sure its in the exact spot I left it. If you want it for Cloud 9 I'm sure I could arrange that LOL
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Re: Project "3Face"
 

LOL....I could never put anything that fancy on Cloud 9 she's just an old work truck !

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I haven't done much lately on the truck besides buy a few parts here and there. I figured it would be wise to pull the tank out and clean it good and inspect the sender. So I got the tank out which was easier than I would have imagined. Had some crap back there behind the tank like a mouse nest and also lots of nice original olive paint. I had also noticed that the PO had rubber hose clamped from the fuel line to the sender, so sure enough I didn't have a proper sender with the fitting attached to it. Just ordered a new one from Classic with a few other smalls.

The next non-cold day I have off will be spent cleaning that nasty original tank.

I've also got some Tri-Plus panels laying around from Wes that came in last week. The front fender cup is being drop shipped from the mfg, but I've got the outer and inner rockers and both kick panels.

Re: Project "3Face"
 

We had 2 really, really nice weather days Mon and Tues and I was off for both, so I got to work on the truck some. Got some simple stuff removed from the interior like the sunvisors and clips. Had a hard time getting the rearview mirror off since the PO had wired that map light in. One of the screw holes was used to run the light through and I wasn't able to access the screw. Fortunately I was able to slightly pull on the rearview and rotate it counter-clockwise to loosen the screw.

Got the mirror arm off the pass side door. One of the screws wouldn't budge so I had to drill the head off. I tried everything to get the remaining screw piece out of the backing bracket, but vise grips, torch, and drill wouldn't touch it. I soaked it in Evaporust overnight and it slipped out the next morning very easily.

Got the incorrect 71-72 front bumper off including all the mismatched hardware.

Got lots of brackets and crap removed from the engine bay that someone had added to hold down wires I guess.

Got the old 80s cassette player out and then got the heater controls out as well. It is an 80s GM unit I believe, as it looks just like the one in my 87 Turbo Regal.

Awesome wiring job back behind there I must say. I was able to clean quite a bit of that up. I also cleaned up more wires that went to nowhere under the hood. It will all be cutout and replaced with an M&H harness eventually.

As much damage as the PO did, at least he didn't hack the dash up.

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I'm trying to gather up patch panels and get the truck in for rust repair with Kyle. I'm wanting to get the floor shifter removed so we can patch the floor. Got the linkages and column shifter handle from the parts board. Got the column lubed up and the handle installed.

I couldn't figure out how the linkages attached so I had to run over to a friend's house and look over his truck. I was amazed how molested my truck is compared to a one-owner, all original truck. Now I know how to hook everything up and what parts I'm missing. Hopefully I can get the two shifter levers that bolt onto the side of the trans here shortly.

Also notice that the PO removed the speedo cable in order to install the floor shifter. Ugh, it never ends with the hack job on this truck.

When I put the rear axles and new brake shoes/drums on, the pass side drum was really hard to get on. I figured the e-brake was hung up. I lubed it up some while I was under the truck. I noticed that the exhaust was actually resting on the parking brake cable, pushing it down quite a bit. I removed the right side of the exhaust from the long tubes back. Another pic of the craftsmanship using flex tubing for exhaust.

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That truck is a basketcase! BUT, you are getting it done, which is an inspiration to all of us. Keep after it.

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It's been a few weeks ago but I got the floor shifter out and got the new passenger side glass and window regulator in.

I was off the past 2 days and got a little done on it.

I put the new fuel pump on it. Relocated the metal Wix fuel filter under the cab. I was able to run a hose to a gas can and get it to start and run. Not sure why the other new fuel pump I put on died.

I then tried to connect the trans linkages. I had pictures I took of my friend's truck and the service manual, but I could not get the R-1st lever to hook up to the column. I took the linkages back off and ran down to my buddy's house and compared them side-by-side. They look very close but the R-1 has a different angle from the upper bend near the column. The 2-3 has a much less bend at the transmission end. I don't know if they are different from a v8 vs. a I6, but these aren't going to cut it.

Recall I haven't driven the truck more than a few feet last summer. It was killing me to drive it just a little but so I got underneath it and manually put it into first. I drove it around the back of my shop and started going up the hill in my yard to the road and it didn't want to climb the hill and started to smoke like crazy. I shut it down and took a look. I'm pretty sure the clutch is shot. I've never had a manual trans vehicle before but burnt clutch smells horrible. I was able to let the smoke clear and drive it back in place gently.

Its not really worth it to me to replace the clutch and figure out the trans linkages since I'm converting to automatic, so I figure I will start tearing the truck down now.

I also drilled out the rivits on the panel that was on the passenger side floor and it was hiding a decent size hole. I couldn't see it from underneath because it was right on top of the cab support. I will go ahead and buy both front floor patches now. I will get a pic of it and post it up.

I also worked on cleaning the gas tank out. Let some vinegar sit in it overnight and then flushed it with baking soda and water. Blew it out with the compressor and threw some seafoam in it to slush around. I sanded some of the black paint off of the tank and sanded a small spot on the bed just to try out the new DA sander.

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Great Project, your PO was an AR-teest!

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Here's the little surprise I found under the riveted on sheet metal patch. Trying to upload from my phone so I hope it works.

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This truck reminds me so much of the truck I just traded for. I will be watching for sure.

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This is a cool old truck. You aren't far away from me either. Hope to see your truck in person some day. subscribing.

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The picture of your son standing in the cab is worth every penny of what you paid.
Looks like a great start and a lucky wife.

H
 

Thanks Mike! You will definetly see it around. It is going to spends lots of time at Kyle's when I get to that point.

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Yes we have had fun with it so far and he loves it. My guess is that when I'm done crusing around in it he will get it.

This is the first vehicle that I've really gotten into deep and I'm using it to learn some new things. It was cheap enough and its easy to work on. I already have a car that I race and an original numbers matching car - so this one won't be "race" fast or original. I just wish I had a bigger shop now!