Father/Son '77 Stepper

[nasqar]

We purchased a 1977 Chevy Stepside off of Craigslist for $500!It had been in storage for 14 years because the gentleman's brother had passed away from cancer. The young man had purchased all new GM metal, gutted and painted the interior, rebuilt the motor, and cleaned the front suspension/frame. It was a great deal and an exciting time as I never had the opportunity to build a toy with anyone. I have made a decision to make sure this gets done for my son and the young man that started this project. I will attach photos as I learn how to do it properly.

[nasqar]

This is the day the stepper came home!!! The pickup we were driving was completely full of parts and the bed of the stepper was full as well...There was a small decal on the bumper we overlooked that read "some assembly required..hahahaha" should have paid attention to details i guess.

[nasqar]

First day pics continued

[nasqar]

First at home pics....my wife made an appointment with the shrink to find out what the hell my mind was experiencing....i heard through the grapevine he is now in therapy after delving into my brain...poor guy

[MTCK]

Solid looking truck! What are your plans for it? Lower? Higher? V8? Keep the six? I like the red. Good luck on the build.

[nasqar]

We are gonna keep it pretty stock. My son is 17 and enjoys speed to much so yes we are keeping the 6....my idea and he agreed pretty easily. We are haggling over colors because he wants black or lime green.....ummmmm not my first choice so the color of the exterior will be decided later. Inside will be black and red so the outside should match somehow. Pics will follow as we work toward the finish.

[N2TRUX]

Originally Posted by nasqar

.... We are haggling over colors because he wants black or lime green.....ummmmm not my first choice so the color of the exterior will be decided later. Inside will be black and red so the outside should match somehow...

Awesome to see a Dad/son build. Tell your son that he needs to consider the resale value to help with the decision on colors. If he ever wants to sell this one Lime green is going to limit his buyers. Black on red, or red on black is always a good choice.

Have him look at the links in my sig for a black on red combo that might inspire him...

[nasqar]

We have spent more time together the last 60 days then we have in the last couple years. We have seen his grades go from D's and F's to A's and B's because he feels better about himself and his confidense has grown. I constantly talk about attention to detail and it is spreading into the other parts of his daily life. It has been fantastic but there is still a long way to go. Thanks for the comments, it means alot.

[nasqar]

It's 2:30 and we have installed tilt steering AND power brakes on the stepper!! Wipers will be done today also. We have to get another set of seatbelts since these wont bolt up good enough for me to feel comfortable. Interior will be mostly done by tonite though. Pics to follow tonight.

[Chevy350V8]

Looks like fun

[79gmcclassic]

cant wait for this build!

[nasqar]

We laid the dash pad and dash bezel in place. It was pretty dusty from sitting in the shop but it looked pretty good for a couple rookies that's never attempted this before! We took an old dash pad, cleaned it, and painted it black. It looks brand new, and I was totally shocked it looked so good. It came out of the donor truck we purchased for $200...and we know how much a new dash pad cost!!!! Cha-Ching!

[nasqar]

We installed the seat from the donor seat into ours and it made moving the truck alot easier. We will have to get a black seat cover to make it match. We cant afford to re-upholster the seat correctly. We will install the seatbelts into the truck tomorrow as well as the tilt steering column. Our goal is to have the interior done by the end of next week. Then on to the drivetrain.

[nasqar]

We just moved into our shop because it was full of new sheet metal. We moved the metal inside our enclosed porch since we don't use it in the winter time. Here is our cheap work bench...it is the old tailgate off my 71 chevy put onto a set of saw horses! My son laughed until he started using it and found out it worked well.

[Irish's_79_Step]

If you were closer i'd say you could come get my tank. I have a brand new tank just sitting and i'm not going to be using it.

[nasqar]

Originally Posted by Irish's_79_Step

If you were closer i'd say you could come get my tank. I have a brand new tank just sitting and i'm not going to be using it.

I am going to LaCrosse Wi this weekend for a family wedding. Is that anywhere near Racine? We will be traveling up 90 from Rockford to Madison on Friday and back Sunday.

[Irish's_79_Step]

pm sent

[nasqar]

The most recent update is involving the motor. We had to have in intake machined and most of the bolts drilled out.....ummmm......holy crap i spent $179 on the head and gasket! I wanted to die when he told me how much.
Hopefully the motor will be running by Sunday. We gotta come up with a radiator, hoses, and belts.

We now have all new shocks for the truck and will be installed this week. We will send Kam to the pull-your-part yard this weekend for some inner fenders, and possibly a radiator. Not sure what to do about the radiator because i could spend money and not get a good one. How does someone tell if a used radiator any good? I know it can be pressure tested but i have to buy it first. Any help would be good.

[nasqar]

The front end is starting to go back together. We had brand new gm weatherstipping in the factory sealed bags that were installed! The funny thing was when the new strips were on and the doors were closed, the back window blew out the back....I guess we have a pretty tight seal! We will order the inner fender wells this week (unless someone has a good set they want to sell us cheap!) The $200 donor truck in the background has saved us so much money. I am giving the leftover truck to a gentleman for his labor!! Pretty sweet deal.

[nasqar]

Memorial Day weekend: Parts.....some assembly.....some paint.....AND GRADUATION!!!!!! I am so proud of my lil' man.

[nasqar]

I have tried to order a radiator core support kit and to my surprise....NO ONE carries them. I have called LMC, Autozone, NAPA, Carquest, O'Reillys, and Advance Auto and 2 of them told me to call LMC.

If anyone can give me some ideas, that would be awesome. We have started to test the fit of the panels. Our donor truck had 1 upper and lower support grommets that was ok but the other side was dry rotted beyond imagination. If we can find at least a decent one for the other side, we can get the front end pretty much finished.

[nasqar]

We got half the underside of the hood sanded down. Hopefully it will be done by Friday night and be painted and dried by Sunday night. That will leave the inside of the fenders, core support and top of the firewall. For some reason the top of the firewall has some rust holes in it. Is that common for this type of vehicle?

[nasqar]

The dog house will be taken off the truck tomorrow in order for us to shoot some matching red on the core support and inside of the fenders. The drive shaft was sent off to get cut down to fit the new drivetrain. With any kind of luck, the stepper could be driven home by next weekend! Still missing a core support grommet. Kam will get to the salvage yard tomorrow to hopefullly find a salvageable piece.

[nasqar]

Change of plans. We are leaving the doghouse on for now and just get it ready so Kam can drive it until he goes into the military in September. We will then see what we will do. I got the hood sanded, primed, and partially painted. Here are some of the newest photos.

[nasqar]

Well, I did have some help. We're trying to teach 'em young