Time to start my project

[mcgoo26]

So a bit of history on this one. This is my grandfather's C-10 which was purchased in '76 I believe. Since then it has remained in the family. I took possession of the truck last November and have been eager to restore it. Overall the truck is not in too bad of shape, but in need of some TLC. Anyhow, in the next month or two I will be sending her off to get cleaned up and repainted. I want to stick with the current color as much as possible, but that is for a later post. As much as I would like to dig into the body work and all myself, I am restricted on what I can knock out. You see, I live in a community controlled by a HOA. Recently, the HOA pitched a fit because my tags were expired. Truck is on private property and they pitch a fit-whatever. I managed to cram the truck in my garage. Problem solved...for now. Bottom line is, I cant go all out as much as I want to with out getting a nastygram. So today, I started taking parts off to minimize what will need to be done in paint and body. Today, I started in the cab. I started pulling the old carpet out and cleaning things up. Here in the next couple of weeks Ill start pulling apart the firewall pad and heater box and so on. I plan to post more pics as I go along. Any tips, tricks or pointers would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.

[mcgoo26]

More of the cab...For the most part, pretty solid. A lot of surface rust on the driver side; mainly where the kick panel and floor panel meet. But I dont think it is too bad...

[mcgoo26]

Now for the good stuff.

[mcgoo26]

Now for some of the junk...If you look at the receipt, in 1994, gas in So-Cal was going for 1.27 a gallon. Also found the tripod jack and handle. Before I really started digging in to things I found the factory build sheet. I have since recreated it. That is all for now, I will ramp it up as the everything takes shape. Cant wait. Again, if anyone has any advice or pointers, Im all ears.

[mcgoo26]

So its been a little while since I started my project and I was able to get the funds together to strip the truck down and send it off to have paint and body work done. I live in a HOA and they have griped at me in the past for having the C-10 in my driveway with expired tags so I had to cram the truck in my garage. Dumb. Anyhow. I stripped off what I needed to and removed the engine and transmission and had the old girl towed away for a face lift. While she is out getting done up, I wanted to get the engine and especially the transmission taken care of (I have no reverse or neutral) while I have the available space so I can drop everything back in and get it back in the garage and work on everything else like re-doing the interior and re-wiring the truck and so on.

[mcgoo26]

So, for the last two week or so I have been picking away at rebuilding the transmission. I can see why it cost so much tho have done. Overall, not bad considering it is my first rebuild. I purchased the book on Amazon and I found it pretty helpful for the novice like myself who has never tore down or rebuilt a transmission. Honestly, after I started to rebuild it was fairly easy. Just make sure you have a good set of punches to remove and replace bushings and a press (to undo the spring cages) or fab up something (as suggested in the book). Once I tore the transmission down, it was very clear it was done. Friction plates were worn smooth and a few were burned and fused together
I used a kit from Summit that had just about everything one would need for a simple rebuild.

Summit Racing Automatic Transmission Rebuild Kit
SUM-705000--Kit which includes 9 frictions - forward, direct, 3 frictions - intermediate, 5 frictions - low reverse, 9 steels - forward, direct, 3 steels - intermediate, 5 steels - low reverse, 1 -band - 2nd gear, 1 filter, and 1 bushing kit.

[swamp rat]

I'll be interested to see the rust repair on this one!

[mcgoo26]

Originally Posted by swamp rat

I'll be interested to see the rust repair on this one!

I am too. The shop is suppose to start on it next week some time.

[kehstr]

subscribed to keep watching

[Coley]

With respect to the engine...you mentioned it ran solid.
It may not need anything overly substantial unless you really want to dig into it.
I would start by giving it a compression test and see how close the cylinders are to one another and a 150 psi benchmark.
This will give you a reasonable datum to decide from.
Did the engine offer good performance? This might be the time to be a new/improved cam and lifter set in it to get a little more oomph.
Also might be a time to check to see if the timing chain is in good shape....double roller?...and also an easy task to re-gasket it while you have it out to seal up any oil leaks, etc.
Looks good so far!...keep the updates coming.
All Good
Coley

[mcgoo26]

Originally Posted by Coley

With respect to the engine...you mentioned it ran solid.
It may not need anything overly substantial unless you really want to dig into it.
I would start by giving it a compression test and see how close the cylinders are to one another and a 150 psi benchmark.
This will give you a reasonable datum to decide from.
Did the engine offer good performance? This might be the time to be a new/improved cam and lifter set in it to get a little more oomph.
Also might be a time to check to see if the timing chain is in good shape....double roller?...and also an easy task to re-gasket it while you have it out to seal up any oil leaks, etc.
Looks good so far!...keep the updates coming.
All Good
Coley

Well. In response I decided to rework the engine. Probably a good thing considering that this is what I've seen so far.
Posted via Mobile Device

[mcgoo26]

Originally Posted by mcgoo26

Well. In response I decided to rework the engine. Probably a good thing considering that this is what I've seen so far.
Posted via Mobile Device

Sorry. Having issues posting pics.
Posted via Mobile Device

[mcgoo26]

Ok here we go...

[mcgoo26]

From what I can tell using calipers, the engine hasn't been bored out yet. If I recall, a 350 had four inch cylinder bore. Which is what I measured. Trying to figure out which direction to proceed. Curious: what is an average going rate for having the block and heads machined. I understand there are many variables, just looking for ball park. Any input is very much appreciated.

[butler57]

I really admire you for tearing into that tranny like you have. That's a gutsy play. Truck will be great when you're done.

[mcgoo26]

Originally Posted by butler57

I really admire you for tearing into that tranny like you have. That's a gutsy play. Truck will be great when you're done.

Thanks. I really hope it works out in the end. In all, I didn't think it was too bad, but then again, I was able to take my time. Its not like it was a daily driver.

[Freddo]

Originally Posted by butler57

I really admire you for tearing into that tranny like you have. That's a gutsy play. Truck will be great when you're done.

I Agree!
Great start on your truck. Sounds like your HOA needs some new blood!
Keep on Keeping on!

[El Dorado Jim]

nice truck, I will be following your build, and HOA's are a pain in the rear, I would never live where there is a HOA or CC&R's, cannot stand someone telling me what to do on my property.....

[mcgoo26]

Originally Posted by El Dorado Jim

nice truck, I will be following your build, and HOA's are a pain in the rear, I would never live where there is a HOA or CC&R's, cannot stand someone telling me what to do on my property.....

Appreciate you following. Yeah, the HOA is a pain. I cant understand how low the property value would have dropped on mine and surrounding properties due to expired tags on a vehicle in my driveway that was intact and not an eye soar.

[Joesjunk]

subscribed

[cooperhw]

Originally Posted by mcgoo26

Appreciate you following. Yeah, the HOA is a pain. I cant understand how low the property value would have dropped on mine and surrounding properties due to expired tags on a vehicle in my driveway that was intact and not an eye soar.

I hear you on the HOA. I have had more that a couple "little reminders" of the rules when I have to leave a vehicle outside here in Mesa AZ. Really not the single vehicle like yours or mine, but the rule is in place so the guy across the street doesn't have 3 dead cars sitting there at all times with one in the air getting a motor/trans swap, one getting parted out, and one runs and is for sale. I get it, but a P.I.T.A it is for sure.
Nice truck by the way.

[SKT]

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Progress is looking good!

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[mcgoo26]

As of now nothing new to report. Paint and body still in the works. Will post pics soon.

[Gregski]

any updates? interested in the rust repair, kick panels especially

[mcgoo26]

Well...update time. Last October I took a friend of mine to check out pricing on paint and body for a '55 Chevy pickup he was looking to have painted. Backstory on his truck: he has been wrenching on this thing from the ground up for 10+ years frame off and the works and was looking for someone to paint it. Well we stopped by the shop where my truck is currently at to see if it was something he was interested in. To this point I did not know my truck was being worked on. I get the fact that the owner/operator had a few builds ahead of mine and once time/manning allotted, they would start on my truck. Anyhow, long story short; the price Bob (the owner of the restoration shop) quoted my friend was less than reasonable in his opinion for the work that had already been done body wise. Bob looks at me and says "we need to look at what you want to do for paint and payment on the balance". I didnt see anything resembling my truck on the property and was curious. So he takes me around back and there it is all tore down primed and just about ready for paint. Problem was I was staring at a nearly $6,000 bill to this point. So I stressed overnight about it obviously. Come to find out, they had the incorrect e-mail address on file and had started working the truck in July. Needless to say Bob kept working on it anyhow until I stopped in in October. Cool thing is, is that Bob understands that these kind of builds take time and that not everyone can afford to drop such a chunk in one shot on a payment and is of the mindset pay what you can when you can. Anyhow, come to find out in the process of blasting the old paint off of the truck, I now need a new right fender. And of corse, all is on hold for the time being until the balance is knocked down.

Well with the paint and body in a stand still, I have started plugging away at getting the engine cleaned up so I can nickel and dime putting it back together. Now that other financial constraints have been eased, I can focus on getting the paint and body balance down and work the on putting the engine together. As far as I am concerned, these things take time (and money) and I can take a while to get to where you want to be, but the journey to that point will be well worth it.