Hank - 63 C10 Build
 

Hell All,
Here is Hank, my 63 C10 that I am starting with my build project. I am hoping to add to the great build threads that I have followed on the site. By trade, I work for our local school system so I am not an expert. But, I have worked and messed around with cars and trucks for a long time. I haven't been involved in a build for a long time, so this is a chance for me to get back to one of the things I have always enjoyed.

My plan for Hank is nothing to radical, just want to have a sound and fun driver. I am not going to say I am building a patina truck because I would like to some day paint it. But, for now it will just be a little easier to not do much body work which is going to be a stretch for my skill set.

I am hoping to have him back on the road and drivable in a year. That might be tough, but that is what I am going for.

The plan is to remove the body and strip him down to the frame. I want to make sure everything underneath is sound and rebuilt. I will be replacing ball joints and the rest of the suspension pieces as well as add disc brakes up front. He will have a 350 that is already complete and dyno and a 4 speed Muncie. Since he will be an around the town cruiser, I am going with a 4:10 posi so he will have some get up and go.

Once I get all that part done, I plan to put the body back on and fixed body issues as I go. Might not be the best plan and I am sure it would be better to do those things while it is all apart, but I am more interested in driving Hank and fixing as I go. There will be some body work to be done before the sheet metal goes back on, but I will still have more to go.

I plan to Youtube the build as well because why not right? Plus it will help me remember the tear down part which will be helpful for me. I am not there yet as far as the video part, but hopefully will get better at that too.

I tried to upload pictures, but got a "security token" error message. But I will keep trying. Any advice for upload pictures would be great.

I am sure I will be asking a lot of question to the forum. So, here I go...
Rob

Re: Hank - 63 C10 Build
 

I'm not the best to offer advice on posting pictures but if you click the "Manage Attachments" under "Go Advanced", you should be able to upload from there and post them. Look forward to seeing and reading your updates!

Re: Hank - 63 C10 Build
 

Attachment 2318979


I was able to get this one uploaded. All the rest were turned one way or the other. Still need to figure out how to make the right direction. But, this is Hank.
Rob

Re: Hank - 63 C10 Build
 

Attachment 2318994
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Re: Hank - 63 C10 Build
 

Nice! That looks like a solid base to start with.

Re: Hank - 63 C10 Build
 

You're lucky to find a truck that doesn't look like it was messed with too much - great plan on driving while fixing. In fact, you don't even need to pull the body off the truck to do the suspension work you mention - you can chip away at it and keep it mostly together and moving. I know that helped me keep motivation up for working on my trucks.

Re: Hank - 63 C10 Build
 

Got started on a small thing. I mocked up the POL sway bar. I wanted to drill the holes and knock out the one rivet before starting to take things apart so it would be how it would sit when finished. I also didn't want to paint or powder coat the frame and then start drilling holes. Bed removal next.
Attachment 2324670

Re: Hank - 63 C10 Build
 

Neat truck!

Re: Hank - 63 C10 Build
 

Started on Hank with bed removal. It came off pretty easy. I think the previous owner may have removed it to do the bed wood. I didn't have to cut any bolts which I had to do a bunch on my '62. The bumper was a recent addition or at least had been removed and put back on the truck because the bolts were brand new. I am not interested in keeping the farm bumper, so if anyone local to MD is looking for a farm bumper I have one available. I am looking for a straight painted bumper for sale or trade for my farm bumper. The frame looks in great shape. Still looks like it has some of the original paint on it. If the rest of the frame looks like this, I will be very lucky. Some day I will figure out how to rotate pictures so they look right.
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Re: Hank - 63 C10 Build
 

Nice truck !

Re: Hank - 63 C10 Build
 

Nice little truck to start with, good base...

Re: Hank - 63 C10 Build
 

Thanks guys. Hopefully I will have the front clip off this weekend. Keeping my fingers crossed the front part of the frame is also in great shape. More pictures coming soon.
Rob

Re: Hank - 63 C10 Build
 

Are you planning on the squarebody front crossmember swap to get power steering and disc brakes?

Re: Hank - 63 C10 Build
 

I am sticking with the 63 crossmember. I am adding front disc brakes but not power steering. I bought the CPP kit for 6 lug front disc brakes. It won't have power brakes because my motor doesn't pull enough vacuum.
Rob

Re: Hank - 63 C10 Build
 

Got the front clip off this past weekend. Went pretty well. Next up, the cab.


Attachment 2328680[ATTACH]Attachment 2328683[/ATTACH]

Re: Hank - 63 C10 Build
 

Took the cab off this weekend. Had a few challenges and whish I had solid tires and a little bit bigger dolley. But, it is off Hank and sitting waiting for a few repairs.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1LZX_eKe0I4

Re: Hank - 63 C10 Build
 

Cool...started the video, will finish later. Dang work gets in the way.

Re: Hank - 63 C10 Build
 

Added another video of removing the bed. The videos are a little behind my process.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tVN9Ld_KA0I

Re: Hank - 63 C10 Build
 

Gonna keep the fuel cell or relocate under the bed or anything?

Re: Hank - 63 C10 Build
 

I bought a tank for under the bed in the back. Since it didn't have one behind the seat, I figured I would move the take like so many do to under the bed.

Re: Hank - 63 C10 Build
 

Worked on getting the frame cleaned up and setting the motor in place temporarily. Next is starting to mock up the exhaust and rear mount gas tank. Wanted to do some of this type of work in case I need to drill holes in the frame for hangers, etc. Don't want to drill through nice paint or powder depending on what I do to the frame.



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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1cmHMRxWRSw&t=24s

Re: Hank - 63 C10 Build
 

I started to work on mocking up my exhaust. Haven't got all the way finished but did get each pipe to the first crossmember and tacked together. As you can see, the passenger side has a much bigger bend in it to get it to the straight pipe to start heading back on the frame. In the other picture, you can see the passenger side header tucks up closer to the block then the driver side. I have a set of Headmen headers that are designed for the truck. Does anyone have a set that the one side tucks into the block that much? I am not sure that it is that big of a deal, but I figured I would ask.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Prr_HZkmIAI

Re: Hank - 63 C10 Build
 

What tank did you decide on? Side fill or top fill? I will be doing a under bed tank too.

Re: Hank - 63 C10 Build
 

I went with top fill. That will be the next phase. I hope I am finish with tacking up the exhaust this evening. That has taken a lot longer then I expected. The tank will be next.
Rob

Re: Hank - 63 C10 Build
 

Couple updates on my progress. I finished tack welding the exhaust together. I just made turn downs for now in front of the axle. May change later, but that is what I have now. I also finished bending the lines and mocking up the gas take under the bed. I used 3/8 stainless lines which was a challenge at times, but I think I have it figured out. I need to clean up the small little brackets I needed for the fuel pump and filter, but outside of that, I think I have all the holes and other mods to the frame that I wanted to do before I painted. Now I need to pull it all back out so I can start working on cleaning up the frame. I want to take it to a local powder coating place to get a price on powder coating. I know it will be more expensive then paint, but not sure how much more. Here are a couple photos as well as links to YouTube for my progress.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S0qa4omMYAc&t=24s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=95nLj51skjg&t=268s

Re: Hank - 63 C10 Build
 

Subscribed.....

Re: Hank - 63 C10 Build
 

Great! Thanks for checking it out. Trying to get better with the videos.
Thanks again,
Rob

Re: Hank - 63 C10 Build
 

May have a rag joint for you if you want it. Was swapping out the gearbox/pittman/rag joint on mine. Decided to bite the bullet and make it collapsible since I had to cut the shaft to get the old rag joint off. I had to switch things up a bit and have an extra part.

Re: Hank - 63 C10 Build
 

You know what you want, it's going to be a great truck, I'll read along with interest.
Nice video.

Re: Hank - 63 C10 Build
 

Just a quick update. The frame along with suspension and a few other random pieces are off at the powder coaters. I didn't really get any pictures but dropped everything off last week. Now, the waiting game. I am anxious to get the parts back because that means I will finally be heading the other direction and starting to put things back together.
Rob
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UYa4kDEDDvw&t=119s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9WOs4Z4h9Uc

Re: Hank - 63 C10 Build
 

Getting close to getting parts back.
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Re: Hank - 63 C10 Build
 

Looking good. Catching up on your videos this afternoon. :metal:

Re: Hank - 63 C10 Build
 

Picked up my parts from the powder coater. Now time to start putting things back together. I think everything turned out great. All nice and shiny new.

https://youtu.be/uRSmlBgNmx8

More pictures to come.

Re: Hank - 63 C10 Build
 

Looking good Mister ! hank is coming around ! I finally got my log in credentials fixed,,

Re: Hank - 63 C10 Build
 

Got the rear suspension reinstalled in the truck. A couple pieces need a little adjusting to fit, but I guess that is all part of using aftermarket parts. But, all in all in went together ok. Next up is the front suspension.

I am having a major issue uploading photos because my phone takes HEIC and the site accepts JPEG. Can't seem to find an easy way to save as JPEG.

But here is a You Tube link.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KYK95tlNZmk

Re: Hank - 63 C10 Build
 

May have figured it out but what a pain. Every update on my phone causes me issues. Sorry for the rant about technology on our truck page.
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Re: Hank - 63 C10 Build
 

Made some more progress on the truck. I assembled the control arms which went well except dealing with the dust boot for the lower ball joint. I could not get that to seat at the bottom of the ball joint. With the spindle on now, it looks like it might be pressing it down to actually hold it in place. The truck still has a long way to go, so maybe this summer when everything warms up, I might be able to take two channel locks to squeeze it into place. I torque my bushings to 100 ft pounds. I didn't understand when the manual called for different torque for "new" or "replacement". So, I went with what Moog recommended which was 100. I know the bushings are supposed to twist once they are torqued. Mine moved so they were not frozen, but they didn't swing freely. Again, not sure how free they should be able to twist, but mine did at least move. I also upgraded to the square body u bolts for more strength. Brakes and steering are next. The issue now is that it is so cold in MD, that painting in my barn will be a problem. I still have a bunch of steering parts and hardware that needs paint. Might have to wait till we have at least a normal temp to do much more painting.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H1PNA9B_QSs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jq4K8Alm82Q

Re: Hank - 63 C10 Build
 

damn fine job so far sir. really like the simplicity but careful assembly. Very nice work..

Re: Hank - 63 C10 Build
 

Thanks, I am hoping to get the rest of the steering and brakes done in the next week or so. It will be nice to get it back down on 4 wheels and move on to the cab.
Rob

Re: Hank - 63 C10 Build
 

Got the steering parts back on the truck. The frame is finally back down on all 4 wheels. The only question I had was with the brake line hoses supplied in my kit and there was a rubber gromet. I have asked those questions on our main page. Other then that, things went together well. Now that the frame is pretty much done, I plan to move on to the cab. But, I made a list of all the little things I need to do to the frame so I don't forget when it comes time to start putting the cab and other sheet metal back on.

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Got to try and keep that dust off my frame..... lol



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VafBy1nj2KA

Rob