Building and rebuilding my grandpa's 63

[burlapen]

Alright....I guess it's just about time I start a build thread. I've been lurking around for quite awhile getting inspiration. I'd like to share what I've got going so far.

So here goes the backstory on grandpa's 63 Chevy C10. My grandfather's best friend bought this pickup new in 1963. One year later he decided to "upgrade" to a 3/4 ton and traded the pickup back to the dealership where my grandpa bought it from. I guess they did the whole deal through the dealership for financing reasons.

Grandpa rocked this pickup from 1964 all the way until 1989 when he decided it was finally time for a new one. He still drives the 89 today, that's the kind of guy he is. The man has owned three vehicles in the last 45 years.

The 63 worked out great for him. It was a long bed equipped with the 292 "high torque" and the SM420 4 speed transmission. It served as his daily driver, camping rig, tow truck, hunting rig, you name it. It went cross country a few times and even up to Canada. I remember all of the early morning fishing and hunting trips we took in the old pickup. The square cut gears whining away and the host of any given AM talk radio show rambling on about things a 10 year old has no interest in. To my left my sat my grandfather, one hand steadily sawing back and forth on the great big steering wheel while the other pulled on the tall black shifter handle in front of me surely pulling the clunky trans into the next gear as the engine grunted to pull the weight of the pickup up the next grade. To my right sat my father, talking with grandpa about the things men talk about, how to make a dovetail joint, the proper grit sandpaper to use, how to wire a garbage disposal or the time my uncle shot one horn off of a deer.

I remember the noises and smells of the old pickup as and the impressions the seat would make on my skin as my 10 year old self would fade in and out of sleep because it was so early the sun had yet to show itself.

The old pickup served well until as I mentioned it was relieved by a new model in 1989. My uncle drove her for a year or so until a bent pushrod put her out of commission behind grandpas cabin in the foothills.

Years passed until my uncle, with some prodding from grandpa, agreed to let me have a crack at getting the old pickup up and running again. So at the end of deer season around 2005. The old pickup was loaded up onto a flatbed and drug down the hill to my house.

I was so excited to get my hands on it and I wasted no time tearing into it to get it back on the road. I replaced a couple of pushrods and rebuilt the carb. I changed the plugs and points, cleaned out the gas tank, replaced the hoses and viola, the pickup was alive once again.

I drove it that way for a couple of years. The pickup was once again serving all around duty. Towards the end of 2007 I decided it was time to give the drivetrain a once over. I picked up a 383 V8 shortblock from an old friend of mine, I added some new heads and a cam. I purchased a 72 c10 for a parts donor for the V8 swap. I had to stay out of town for over half of 2008 which meant by the time I got the pickup back together it had sat for around one year. While I was doing the motor swap, I painted the firewall the original green and did an all around cleanup of the engine compartment. I upgraded the cooling system with an aluminum radiator and new fan clutch. I had some new dual exhaust built and when the 12 bolt decided to eat a tooth off of the ring gear, I rebuilt it and swapped in some 3.08's in place of the steep gears required with the 6 cylinder.

That's how It was until a few weeks ago. I had been meaning to get the rest of the body work done and get the thing painted for some time. A couple of months ago grandpa was diagnosed with cancer. Seeing him go through bouts of chemotherapy has really lit a fire under my rear to get this thing done.

I know this is a long read, but bare with me. I hope to really get the ball rolling with the old pickup even if it means redoing some of the work I have already done. I'll let the pictures do the talking from here. Thanks for listening.

[burlapen]

My uncle at the cabin with the old pickup circa the early 70's

[burlapen]

The pickup after its original revival still equipped with the big 292.
It received the brown repaint sometime in the late 70's.

[burlapen]

Here we go with the rebuild, 292 out to reveal a crusty engine compartment.

Sorry for the quality, some of these pics are from my phone.

[burlapen]

fresh 383 sitting in the repainted engine compartment.

What is the correct engine color for a V8 in these things anyway.

[burlapen]

Who's that handsome guy?

[jonzcustomshop]

nice truck, love that vintage pic.
here ia a nice pic of a restored correct engine, in a 65.

[DPowers]

Those are great memeories- may you continue to make them.

[burlapen]

Thanks for the replies everyone. I need some help on the next decision. I have been going back and forth wether or not to convert this into a short bed. I do feel like the short would look a little better visually and I was hoping to give it a somewhat "muscle truck" vibe. I would ultimately like it to be able to handle well and accelerate like crazy but look stock at a glance. The long bed has been useful over the years, but the truck will be doing less time as a work truck and more just for fun usage from now on. Im sure everyone has an opinion on this issue, I'm just trying to figure out where I stand with it :-)

[Joemomma1]

Originally Posted by burlapen

Thanks for the replies everyone. I need some help on the next decision. I have been going back and forth wether or not to convert this into a short bed. I do feel like the short would look a little better visually and I was hoping to give it a somewhat "muscle truck" vibe. I would ultimately like it to be able to handle well and accelerate like crazy but look stock at a glance. The long bed has been useful over the years, but the truck will be doing less time as a work truck and more just for fun usage from now on. Im sure everyone has an opinion on this issue, I'm just trying to figure out where I stand with it :-)

SHORT, SHORT, SHORT! Dont listen to those guys, theyre trying to compensate, thus the liking of the long bed . I had a long but now its a short. At first it was no big deal but after seeing so many nice short beds hows a long bed to compete? Go short youll never regret it. "Hey thats nice,oh..its a long bed." Tell me you never said/thought that before. Clovis huh? Gotta see this thing in person when done.

[Alan's Classic]

and Cool story and great progress. Keep this one long and get you another truck that is a short bed. That way you will have 2 trucks.

[burlapen]

Well my brother in law came over and we made some progress on Old Bessie today. I made the decision to go ahead and go shortbed. I know some love the longbed, but I believe the short is a better choice for what I am doing with this build. So, here it goes....

[Bugeyev8]

Greetings from Ca too !! sweet old truck , I would leave it a long bed, I have gone back and forth myself but decided on leaving mine long bed,, with the right stance and rear bumper they look great!! I have a 62 custom long bed fleetside that my grandpa bought in 62-63 too, I have had it for 24 years myself and am just getting to a rebuild now, I drove it for the last 20 years and its been upgraded alot but...now I want it to be nice

[4dranch]

Very cool story with your rig. thanks for sharing.
I love me some long bed trucks.



Ooh and as for the short bed question.....

[burlapen]

Not a whole lot of progress but some... I got the inner fenders and radiator support removed. Spent some time just organizing the garage and parts to wrap my head around where I'm at with the project. I had to spend some time working on the old dodge this weekend, the steering box was leaking so I swapped in a manual box that required some column modifications. Anyway, here are a couple of pics.

When I was swapping the motor last time I noticed the lower radiator support was bent up pretty bad. I couldn't find a straight one anywhere so I cut a thick piece of angle iron and it seems to have worked just fine.

[burlapen]

This is the Flaming River steering coupler installed on the Dodge.

Also this is the seat from the pickup. It was recovered in the 70's and is still in pretty darn good shape. I love the styling.

[burlapen]

The main thing I am up in the air about on the project now is the transmission. I would like to keep in manual but the SM420 is way to loud and impossible to shift quickly. I was looking at some of the TKO's but they are pricey and I have heard the shifting is a bit notchy. Engine should make around 500 HP when all is said and done.

[OARNGESI]

Nice truck with a really cool story

[burlapen]

Thanks for all of the replies everyone. Not much progress but every little bit counts. I got the steering column removed and the cab ready to come off. Planning to hopefully get some serious progress this weekend. Seems like the other cars have been getting in the way of making any progress on the pickup lately. I don't own a new car (except for the wife's), I drive old junk which means I usually have to keep at least two of them running in case one breaks down . I really should probably look into getting a "reliable" car, but I love my old junk. Anyway here are some pictures.

The last two pictures should give a hint as to what's coming next. I stopped by Early Classics which is only a couple miles from my house and picked up a set of their frame stiffeners.

[burlapen]

I have basic pricing laid out for the rest of the project. I know there is some serious stuff I am forgetting but it basically looks like this:

New trans : $1000
Heads/Cam/Intake: $1000
Ball Joints: $100
Shocks/Springs: $300
Dash Wiring Harness: $250
Weather Stripping: $250
Front Brakes (calipers, lines, mc and booster): $400
Bed Kit : $400
New module for Dist : $75
Headers: $200
Driveline : $150
Rhino line inside of bedsides: $150

I know there is a ton I am forgetting, but that is quite a bit to deal with for now.

Probably going to sell my 65 Dart GT to help finance some of this. We'll see.

[kizer]

Looks like your left rear is a little low on air.

Man another long bed gone over to the dark side. Oh well in the end their will be only one. That's mine, yeah that's it.

I like your creative stacking for your parts. Kinda gave me an idea or two.

[burlapen]

Well, I made some more progress this weekend. I got the cab entirely stripped down. I also picked up some furniture dollys for $9 at Harbor Freight that work great for rolling the cab around. My favorite helper (my son) was out and did some pressure washing for me. I also removed the motor and trans off of the frame and dropped the front crossmember. Funny it doesnt seem like much on paper, but it took me the better part of a day and a half. Anyway, here are some picks. Oh yeah, I picked up a t5 at the junkyard on friday. It is out of a Camaro so i still need to find an S-10 tailhousing to swap.

[burlapen]

More

[burlapen]

I have been trying hard to work quickly. Grandpa is in San Francisco right now, he had to have yet another surgery and they still aren't sure if they got all of his cancer. He had some pretty violent psychological reactions to the medicines they were giving him but his head seems to be in the right place since they have cut the meds back. Please keep him in your prayers if you are so inclined. I know it seems kind of pointless in the big picture, but I really would like to get the old pickup back together to at least let him have one drive in it all fixed up..... like 1963 all over again. Thanks.

[Alan's Classic]

Nice work and progress and yes your Granddad will be in my prayers.