1970 Chevy Longbed CST/10
 

So it has been years but I am finally ready to get my longbed on the road. I have been gaining knowledge from this board for years and now I thought I would share the progress as it goes. I am by no means a professional so any and all suggestions or comments (well mostly) are welcome.

I started this whole project with a plain jane 1972 Chevy longbed that had been hacked up by the PO. It did have one thing I wanted ... 5 lug wheels. It also had a fair number of spare parts so was as good a place as any to start.

This is the 72 I started with. I really liked the front end of the earlier trucks better and I wanted an A/C cab (preferably not cut up). Power breaks and power steering would be a plus as well.

Re: 1970 Chevy Longbed CST/10
 

So after some looking a friend of mine found this gem in a field. It was a one owner 1970 CST/10 with AC cab and a bunch of options.

And so it begins!

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So we struck a deal and brought her home (garbage and all).

Time to get to work.

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Here are some more pics. Did I mention that we also brought home more yellow jacket nests than I could count? The clean up process was frequently interrupted to take care of these nasty (an understandably angry) critters.

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It cleaned up pretty good but it turned out the engine was in need of rebuilding so, with the help of a friend, we turned a stock 350 into a 383 stroker. This was my first complete engine rebuild and my last. Next one is going to be a crate motor.

Re: 1970 Chevy Longbed CST/10
 

That looks like a really good truck.

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nice looking project!

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Thank you! So life got in the way of continuing the project for several years and even a couple moves. It ended up sitting in my garage for much of that time. Well a few weeks ago I finally was able to start on it again. I can't wait to get it back on the road.

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So first steps are to address the body and wheels. I have always liked the black steel wheels with white lettering and a smooth body (no trim). So I got my rims powder coated and some new rubber on them. Also removed the trim and started looking at the issues in the body. I am no body/paint guy so I will be learning as I go. Lots of Youtube watching going on and some book reading too. Removed the grill and going to start welding up some trim holes. I will post more as I do it. Hopefully this weekend.

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Well had a few hours of daylight tonight so I got the grill apart and treated the aluminum with oven cleaner to remove the anodizing. Sure does make it look worse. Gonna have a a lot of hours hammering, sanding and polishing in my future.

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THIS just arrived today. Gonna need it.

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Got my wheels on the truck today. Like the look but need to get the stance better. The back needs to come down a few inches. Still working on the front grill. It's going to take quite a few more hours of sanding and polishing.

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Got the fenders and hood off to see what I am dealing with. Mostly surface rust except by the drivers side door. looks Like there is some rust holes inside the cowl letting water inside the cab. Not sure what to do to access that area. Do I cut a patch of the side of the cowl and then weld it back after the repair? Time to do some research.

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Oh and I found that wrench my friend and I lost in the truck years ago. There it is.

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Now I can see the whole picture., both sides of the cowl have the home made brackets.

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Home made brackets?

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Got the headers off today and sent out for ceramic coating. Also got the drivers side of the cowl panel cut so I could access the vent and seam area. Looked like a rats nest in there. Rust wasn't too bad but there are some areas that definitely need addressing. I washed everything with rust remover and got it ready to start working on the patch.

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I cleaned up around the rust holes and used a hole punch to look for more. I found a few more areas that need patching.

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Before I start cutting and welding I decided to take a look inside the truck to see if anything was gonna catch fire. That would be bad. Well, one thing led to another and when the day was done I had cleared out almost everything inside the truck including the gas tank. Can I say now that I HATE removing seat belt bolts. :waah:

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Bottom pic in post 13 shows some kinda angle bracket screwed into the outer cowl

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Those are factory are far as I can tell. They support a rubber shield between the door and the fender. Still not sure if they are needed but they did come with the truck. I will post a pic tonight of them.

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Turns out those are the stock Inner Dust Shields. I found them for sale on Classic Industries J1016 - 1967-72 GM Truck Inner Fender Dust Shield Set. I have attached pics of mine.

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I think maybe they were an option because most of the trucks don't have them.

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QUOTE "Gonna have a a lot of hours hammering, sanding and polishing in my future" QUOTE

I know this is not a big deal in the overall scope of this build, but I would love to see a play-by-play and how-to of the work you are going to do on the grill. Mine needs some attention, but I'm a bit hesitant messing with something made of an alloy called "unobtainium". Don't want to screw that thing up!
Thank in advance!

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Be happy to show you how it goes. Guessing there will some mistakes along the way but hey maybe I can learn them so someone else doesn't have to. I already started hammering some of the dents but I can get some pics together as I go.

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Nice choice on the 2nd truck, I too like the grill better, doing some nice work. Well worth the extra disassembly by the looks of it, will be done right, looking forward to seeing more.:thumbs:
Mudman.

Re: 1970 Chevy Longbed CST/10
 

Sweet... Thanks, Bro'

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Here are the first things I have been doing to the grill. I needed to work the biggest dent out which actually came out fairly easy with a little hammering. Then I really wanted to see what I was in for so I experimented on that specific area with a variety of sandpaper. 200, 400, 800, 1000 and 2500 grit.

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Then I started using aircraft aluminum polish with some steel wool as it recommends. That really turned the very dull grey color into a bit of a shine. Then I did a couple more passes with a cloth and the polish. I think we have some progress. All of this took a 3 hours or so.

One thing I can already see is that the new surface is going to be SO MUCH smoother. This means I will have to do the whole thing since the older finish really looks crappy in comparison.

Another thing that has occurred to me now is that I might be liking that "not quite fully polished" look. It has a nickle plate appearance that is pretty cool and might look good with the gunmetal grey I want to do the truck. We will see. More to come.

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Thanks. It has been a lot of fun so far. I can honestly say I wouldn't have the guts to do a lot of this without this board and the amazing posts to read. Now I can't wait to work on it every free day and weekend.

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Wow - I guess my days of kicking in doors doesn't translate into having the stomach to beat on my grill like that! You are the Man!
Seriously - I'm very relieved that this can be done...and apparently done very well. Keep Leading the Way, Bro' and I just might decide to do the same on mine. Thanks again!

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Nice work on the grille!

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Thank you both. Yes, it CAN be done (or so I am finding). I will continue to work on it over the holiday weekend and post pics of the progress. Happy Thanksgiving everyone BTW!

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So I was able to get a little more done over the holiday weekend. Not much because it was raining most of the time but I was able to get the rotted part of the seam cut out and a patch made. I got most of it welded (my wife caught me with her camera) but I wont be showing the finished welds until I get finished with the grinder (can you say UGLY?) I am NOT a good welder .... yet :)

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Well some goodies arrived today from brothers. I took advantage of the Black Friday weekend. Guess my project list for the near future is rather obvious. Also got a picture from my powder coater today with progress on my hinges and headers.

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Great work powder coat looks awesome

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Thanks, Got my headers back from ceramic coating. Love that color.

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Cool truck, it looks like you are getting a lot done! And it's good to see another Norcal project (I'm in Chico).

What headers are those? I like the color. Did you get them done at "Powdercoat It"?

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Thanks. It is a lot of fun. I cant wait for it to be road worthy again. Maybe I will take a drive up to your neck of the woods then.

I think they are Headman headers. Yes I had them done at Powdercoat-it. Top notch work done at that shop. It's the only place I will take my stuff.

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Well there was finally a break in the rain over the last couple days and I figured I better get some Por15 down while I had the chance. I will add more later but I got a good coat on the fender wells, radiator support and the floor of the inside. I went ahead and coated the inner cowl area to protect it from further damage during the upcoming rains. I still need to finish repairs but at least the rest is coated.