A 1967 C10 Story and Build.... "Radio Jones"

[EZ SPEED]

Hello fellow C10 family, my name is Eric.

Thought I would do a build thread of .....” A 1967 C10 Story and Build.... "Radio Jones" “

This truck has been in my life for 32 years , it is currently owned by my step-dad Doug Jones.

I named this thread with that title because of where this story begins.

The story begins with my step-dads father…..Jeff “Radio” Jones. His nickname “Radio” is because he talks constantly…just like a radio. LOL

Jeff “Radio” Jones is 95 years old right now. But this story begins about 45 years ago, around the time he was turning 50 years old in the summer of 1970. (which just also happens to be the year I was born

Radio ran into one of his friends in town and noticed that he was driving a new truck. Radio asked him what he did with that pretty blue 67 Chevy pickup, and found out that it had been traded in at the local Chevrolet dealership. Radio had always admired that truck , so the very next day Radio and his son Doug (16 yrs old) went to the dealership and bought the truck and brought it to its new home.

Originally:

1967 C10 Small back window with a longbed
283 Engine – 3 speed on the column
Manual 4 wheel drum brakes
No power steering

Over the next few years the truck was used on Radio’s small farm. Hauling dirt, rocks, feed, and any other chore that it was needed to do. Radio built some stake bed sides so that he could haul large loads with it. Occasionally Radio’s son Doug would borrow the truck to go hiking, camping, canoeing, and other outdoor activities with his friends since he didn’t have a truck of his own.


Now we are up to 1983:

Doug married my mom and they bought some land to build a house on for us. He once again borrowed the 67 truck from Radio to help clear off the land. After about a week he decided that the he really needed this truck badly and asked if he could buy it. Radio sold him the truck in the fall of 1983. It still had the stake bed sides you can see in the pic.
The truck was used to help clear the land by hauling trees, rocks, dirt, building materials, and much more for the next 3-4 years. During these years I drove it a little when I was 13-15 years old.

This is a pic of Doug in 1983 with the 67. How do you like those mud tires and stake bed sides?? LOL






A few years after the house was finished, probably around 1989-90, the truck was tired and worn for working for years and years….Doug decided to have the stock 283 engine rebuilt and a fresh coat of paint and start using it for hiking, fishing, and canoeing trips once again.

This picture was taken around 1990 after new paint and rebuilt engine.






Fast forward to
January 2004:

By this time in my life I was a self taught car nut !!
I had built quite a few race cars and also built show cars and trucks. I had owned over 30 vehicles of my own by now and had a little shop at home that I did all my own work in.

Doug came by one day to see what projects I was working on and then asked if there was a way that I could help with the steering on the 67 because it had a lot of play in it and was becoming more and more difficult to drive. I told him that he should let me do a power steering conversion and he would be much happier driving it. He agreed and I also talked him into letting me do the electronic conversion on the factory distributor that had also become troublesome to him.

Little did I realize how this conversation would lead to me teaching my step dad how to work on vehicles ……and would also be the beginning to us bonding and start a great friendship that we never had before now.

[Orange67]

Nice truck, good story. Subscribed.

[69sinker]

Great history, I'm in!

[EZ SPEED]

June 2005:

Doug brought the truck to me and wanted to redo the interior.
After looking at pictures on the internet of other C10’s we decided to put in carpet, a headliner, and kick panels (the truck had none of these things from the factory), Also recover the original seat, install new door panels, new door panel arm rests, new dash pad, and add sound deadner.

[EZ SPEED]

June 2007:

Doug had a local body shop weld in new rockers to fix what little rust the truck had at this point. Then he had ALL new glass and new weather stripping installed by a local glass company.

here is what the truck looked like in june 2007

[Justin@EntropyRad]

Nice driver!

[EZ SPEED]

Around October 2008:


Doug noticed the truck was getting weak on power and thought that it might be time to rebuild the engine once again since it had been almost 20 years ..lol
He and I started talking about the options we had with the engine.
1.Rebuild the factory 283 engine
2.Go with a GM 350 crate engine
3.then my idea to go with a GM Ram Jet 350 crate engine to gain the advantages of fuel injection.

I explained to Doug how going with the Ram Jet would be beneficial due to it would be modern just like his 2003 Chevy truck he owns also. Start right up in any weather condition, fuel economy, power, and less adjustments over the course of time.



March 2009:


So Doug was sold on the idea of the modern fuel injected engine conversion for his 67. I made my list of parts I needed and ordered everything to get us started. He brought the truck over to my little shop at my house.

Here are some pics of the truck right before we started.

[EZ SPEED]

We pulled the front clip off and started cleaning the frame and front suspension. There was so much caked up dirt and grease that it took a while to get it all clean. Once we got it clean, we realized that all the front suspension needed to be rebuilt also.

[EZ SPEED]

Time to pull the 283 out and get the suspension torn down

[EZ SPEED]

Originally Posted by Orange67

Nice truck, good story. Subscribed.

Thanks! I have been wanting to share the history of this truck for a while.

Originally Posted by 69sinker

Great history, I'm in!

Thanks! Glad you enjoy

Originally Posted by Justin@EntropyRad

Nice driver!

Thank you very much.

[Low Elco]

Great story, I'm in!

[5567Cruiser]

Great Story, my build is similar to yours,same year and LWB fleet CST with the Buddy seat. Same color, 67 Buick Midnight Blue with Pearl and all stock moldings.

[EZ SPEED]

We cleaned all the front suspension pieces and painted everything with satin black. It started looking so good on the front, that it made from the firewall back look horrible …..so we scrubbed clean and painted a section at a time till we got the whole underside looking pretty good for a driver.

[EZ SPEED]

The new Ram Jet Crate Motor has arrived !!!

[EZ SPEED]

Time to start installing the Ram Jet!!

I built the exhaust system using a kit from LMC truck, but I cut and modified it quite a bit to suit how I wanted it.

[steelhorse]

Great looking truck. It is nice to see one that didn't get cut into a short bed and slammed. I would have lost the front drums though.

[EZ SPEED]

Originally Posted by steelhorse

Great looking truck. It is nice to see one that didn't get cut into a short bed and slammed. I would have lost the front drums though.

Thanks!!... a little spoiler alert... the drums are gone now...all 4 of them

[EZ SPEED]

More pics:

[5567Cruiser]

Attachment 1359914Y

Thanks for all the pictures of your build.Your truck sure looks great and mine will be a twin and I thought I would have a one of a kind LWB Fleet. I love that engine that you installed as that will make the truck a lot smoother and better mileage. I just got my hood on and the interior pretty much done. Had fun getting the gaps adjusted on the hood.I will post more pictures as the weather gets warmer in Minnesota so I can get it out of the garage.

[EZ SPEED]

Originally Posted by 5567Cruiser

Attachment 1359914Attachment 1359912Y

Thanks for all the pictures of your build.Your truck sure looks great and mine will be a twin and I thought I would have a one of a kind LWB Fleet. I love that engine that you installed as that will make the truck a lot smoother and better mileage. I just got my hood on and the interior pretty much done. Had fun getting the gaps adjusted on the hood.I will post more pictures as the weather gets warmer in Minnesota so I can get it out of the garage.

You are very welcome.

Remember.... these pics just get us up to Feb of 2011 there is still a lot that I have done to the truck in the past 4 years So it looks a little different now

[Hart_Rod]

Kewl truck.

[EZ SPEED]

Originally Posted by Hart_Rod

Kewl truck.

Thanks Rob, check back in and you will see the truck finished very soon.

[EZ SPEED]

March 2011 - April 2012:

Doug and my mom enjoyed the 67 a lot also during this year. But my mom had one complaint… with the windows rolled down on hot days it messed her hair up..LMAO.

Doug was joking with me about it one day and I said “ Well you know I can install a Vintage Air setup and she cant fuss about that anymore.” He thought about it for about 2 minutes..then told me to order whatever I need and install it for him. So here we go with the next round of upgrades..LOL

I ordered the Vintage Air kit, Brothers Trucks electric fan kit, Street and Performance polished Ram Jet air cleaner, upgraded to a more powerful chrome alternator, and I also upgraded the alternator wiring to larger gauge wire to handle the extra load from the AC and the electric fans.

[5567Cruiser]

You will be real COOL now, I assume you put in the new generation Vintage Air with the digital controls so you can ditch the cables. I thought it was of the easiest install of any kit I have ever had for my truck and the instructions were top notch. You know they are good when after the install you have no remaining bolts or screws left, at least I didn't.Your install looks great with the Ram Jet engine.

[EZ SPEED]

Originally Posted by 5567Cruiser

You will be real COOL now, I assume you put in the new generation Vintage Air with the digital controls so you can ditch the cables. I thought it was of the easiest install of any kit I have ever had for my truck and the instructions were top notch. You know they are good when after the install you have no remaining bolts or screws left, at least I didn't.Your install looks great with the Ram Jet engine.

Thanks!!!
and yes it was the new generation with digital controls. VERY nice kit.