Alex's 64 C10 Stepside

[Hydra]

Well I'm mostly a lurker around the forums but I thought it'd be nice to have thread just to need track of progress since I bought it in July,being my first car,and a broke 16 year old work will be slow.Sorry if I miss some obvious questions I'm the only one in my family who's really into cars,other than my uncle(he lives in FL and got me into C10's) so I'm teaching myself and researching.well enough back story and excuses,excuses are for losers.
My uncle is who got me into C10's and cars in general. My family is Cuban so I was born in Florida and we lived there until I was 9, but we still go back all the time.I remember when I was around 4 all our family was together celebrating a birthday at his house.His house is pretty much straight out of the F&F movies (I know I know but I love them because the family aspect is a lot like ours), it has the barn out back that's a shop with that monster sitting inside,and in this case it was a 70-72 yellow stepside with a 454.I remember we were all out back by the pool and all the men were playing dominoes while they smoked cigars and sipped caronas.He opened up thus shed he had built and fired it up to take it for a quick rip around the block.As soon as it fired up I ran to it and smiled from ear to ear.It's not the craziest thing but at that time I thought it was the most badass thing ever.You could hear from a mile away and it sat low with just a tiny gap between the tires and fenders.That started it all and I still remember it to this day.He eventually sold it for 4000 because "it had some rust in the bed" but really it was because he wanted to get a c6 corvette,it was his dream.It was out of the blue though and I wish I would've had the chance to save up to buy it from him.
But here she is.She's a 64 Stepside,and for $2500, it was a pretty good deal.It's a base model but the 230 runs strong,and most of the work is just fixing bad work previous owner did,it runs and drives very well,the only problem is that I get 9mpg the way I drive , and since I still only have my permit both my parents are scared of it.
This is the day I got her

And then,me being stupid,thought it'd be a great idea to take her out when my parents weren't home on this twisty road,and I hit a sign around 40 because I was distracted washing a cigarette.The speedometer doesn't work so I don't know how fast I was going.
I remember I had a lump in my throut,the passenger bumper was trashed,mostly because it was rusted anyways,and the bumper and grille dented as did the center grille support and rad support.

Luckily the truck came with an extra grille support and the rad support was mostly okay except for the mount for the passenger center grille support mounts being dented in.I was able to straighten the grille and after some saving got a repo fender to get her back on the road.
I painted the grille black thinking it would make it look better


But that got old so I brought all the chrome back and sanded down the primer that the PO didn't.I have to fix the cap corners that he just slapped Bondo over,the doors,and some other spots but first I need to save up to get up to get a cheap flux core welder from harbor freight.I also need to go back over the primer with 800 and 1100 grit because it's going to stay in primer until the body work is done.

The truck also came with seats out of a 30th anniversary camaro but also came with a bench so I but that in it.the shifter caused a few issues but I figured it out.

Also rebuilt the rear brakes and lines,wired the stereo so it'd work,fixed the dome light and adjusted the carb so it'd actually run but I can't quite get it spot on.Then it got new plugs,air filter,oil and a lot of other things that I can't quite remember right because I'm really bad at keeping track of things.All of the clear photos are really recent (last week)
because again,I suck at keeping track.

[TJ's Chevy]

Hey welcome aboard! Awesome to see a 16 year old here! I'm 15 and have been restoring my truck since I was 12. Fun stuff. Anyway...nice looking c10 ya have...6 bangers rule by the way. lol. I have a 292 I6 in mine...mildly hopped up, but I will be putting a more "hotrodded" 292 in soon. Don't let to many people tell you a V8 is the only way to go cause it Isn't. Hope the build goes well, I'm tuned in and watching. Would like to see some pictures of that 230.

[Grizz1963]

Welcome welcome welcome !!!

As mentioned, great to see younger guys getting into neat older cars.

[markeb01]

Welcome to the forum! Nice truck to have at your age.

[62 Barnfind]

Welcome and good pick for your first ride. Have fun building it!

[Ronzo]

I love it, nice truck.
Now refrain from sitting on nice things.

[Hydra]

Originally Posted by Ronzo

I love it, nice truck.
Now refrain from sitting on nice things.

Don't it was just a one time thing
Thanks guys,the 230 really isn't anything special.the PO cut up the harness so know I have no temp or heater so I have to get on that. I plan on keeping the 230 for a while so I can afford gas,but maybe add some mild things like cam,intake,header,etc.First I'm going to focus on suspension and brakes, and before I go for an engine swap get a LSD in the rear and a tko so I can go straight to a 454.But that's long term.
Also the carb is set up for a manual choke but when I got the truck one wasn't anywhere to be found.The only thing on the carb for the choke is the butterfly so as for as setting that up will I be okay with just the cable and ifnot what else do I need.It hasn't been bothering me so far because it's been warm so it just fires right up,but now that it's getting cold having to go up,open the hood and pull down the butterfly,wait for up to warm up and then pull it back up and close the hood just won't be practical for daily driving.

[CRGRS 66]

Welcome to the forum and congrats on the purchase, truck looks great!

When I was in High School I had a 57 short stepper. I loved that truck, next to my current 66, that was my most favorite vehicle I ever owned, learned a lot making it run, and keeping it running. I hope you get as much enjoyment from your new baby as I did from mine.
Good luck, have fun, and CHEERS!

[aggie91]

Glad to see a young rodder on here with us old guys.

The little six can be made into a nice little hot rod and still get decent mileage. Here is a good thread on the I6 with a T5 trans...:
http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=604166

Sharps40 has other good threads that he walks thru the tuning of a carb swap on a little 6.

Lots of good info on here...

[Hydra]

Thanks for tips man,I need to squeeze as much power from this 6 as possible. I love how bulletproof they are.
I'm thinking about saving and getting a junk 73-86 and using it as a parts truck.I swap the front suspension for disc brakes,the rear axle for the posi,and maybe if it get lucky the 350.they have them for a grand around here regularly

[CRGRS 66]

Good idea, keep us posted

[Ta2Don]

and welcome aboard!

This site has great folks and a wealth of info as well…
Don't hesitate to reach out, I've met lots of new friends thanks to my project...

…and it's AWESOME to see young guys getting into these trucks…

[Hydra]

Here's the mandatory shot of the engine bay.I haven't really gotten into the deep clean I g of the engine,just a wipe down, but it should clean up nicely with some paint. A lot of the engine work I was planning on are going on the back burner as went over my tires again and the cracks are worse then I first thought. So while I'm saving for tires I'm going to be stuck with little things for a while.Also the PO cut up the engine harness so I have no wire to my temp sender and my heater doesnt,and neither does my volt meter,so I'm going to have to get one of those too.

[TJ's Chevy]

Originally Posted by Hydra

Here's the mandatory shot of the engine bay.I haven't really gotten into the deep clean I g of the engine,just a wipe down, but it should clean up nicely with some paint. A lot of the engine work I was planning on are going on the back burner as went over my tires again and the cracks are worse then I first thought. So while I'm saving for tires I'm going to be stuck with little things for a while.

Thanks for the engine picture! Looks good. I like the little air cleaner. Just for the heck of it...here's a picture of my 292. Maybe give you ideas. lol If you keep an eye peeled on craigslist alot of times you can find a good used set of tires, but always be sure to see them in person.

[Hydra]

That is cleannnnn,how are you liking that carb, I've heard that 4 barrels can be over kill and make the engine bog.

[TJ's Chevy]

Originally Posted by Hydra

That is cleannnnn,how are you liking that carb, I've heard that 4 barrels can be over kill and make the engine bog.

Well...a 292 is plenty capable of the carb i put on. I wouldn't put a 4 barrel carb on yer 230 unless you did some head work, street cam, and forged pistons, but a 350 or 500 cfm 2 barrel would work great on yours...I haven't had any issues with bog.

[Hydra]

Started on fixing the Bondo work from the last owner,it's a lot so I'll just post a couple examples.the bed rails were the most noticeable so I decided to start there
Then this is the same spot sanded and filled,all it needed was the pits filled.I got off as much of the corrosion as possible and then filled.

Here's another place,you can't tell in the picture but it was actually barely hanging on,it just cracked off by getting your nail under it.

Then sanded but I haven't filled yet.It looks deeper than it really is,no deeper than about an 1/8 of an inch so I'm comfortable with just filling.After the picture I sounded the surrounding filler down to bare metal because it was really just unnecessary and I want it as smooth as possible with as little filler as I can.

Tommorow I'll fill it and if time allows prime but with homework,work, and errands I'm not sure.

[TJ's Chevy]

Progress.

[MOTOIMPAIRED]

Keep up the good work. You will get further in your build if you do your reasearch first so you wont have to do things twice. Also look on craigslist and search your local swap meets for good deals...

[Monte's62]

Nice looking truck you have and as many have mentioned, it's good to see a lot of new blood mixed with the older guys here like myself. It seems like your not afraid to tackle new problems so keep at it, and I'm sure you can find a generic cable you can run for your manual choke. It's not something that you couldn't do, so keep us updated and good luck. My dad used to tell me, " son do something even if it's wrong, but do something"

[Hydra]

Originally Posted by TJ's Chevy

Progress.

Yes! Still saving for tires so working on the small stuff for now

Originally Posted by MOTOIMPAIRED

Keep up the good work. You will get further in your build if you do your reasearch first so you wont have to do things twice. Also look on craigslist and search your local swap meets for good deals...

Thank you man! I saw your military truck build and it really motivated me to at least start on the body work while things are on hold.The fact that you used flux core and got such great results really made me feel better about using that rather than a more expensive mig set up.

Originally Posted by Monte's62

Nice looking truck you have and as many have mentioned, it's good to see a lot of new blood mixed with the older guys here like myself. It seems like your not afraid to tackle new problems so keep at it, and I'm sure you can find a generic cable you can run for your manual choke. It's not something that you couldn't do, so keep us updated and good luck. My dad used to tell me, " son do something even if it's wrong, but do something"

I love that quote,I may actually steal that if it's alright with you

[Hydra]

This is really late but I finished up the rail and also got a choke and new fan belt on it.I played down some rustoleum semigloss on it and wet sanded it with 1500 just to not have a primer topcoat. I've been having some really big family issues so I don't how much I'll be able to keep up here or even where I'm going to be by next week but I'll do my best to keep up.I guess that's what you get for defending people

[aggie91]

Good work on the bed rail. Family is important and you can never go wrong for supporting someone if you believe in them and what they did.

Keep your head up and you will come through this issue. Feel free to vent on here if it helps you get through hard times.

[TJ's Chevy]

Nice work Alex...Yup, family comes first; but you'll get plenty of truck time.

[Hydra]

Long story short my dad was yelling at my grandma and my mom and I said what kind of man yells at his mother and his wife blaming them for things that are his fault and he punched me.I fight MMA so I he really got the short straw and every time things like this happen he says he's going to kill me but I had him in a choke and he told me to do it and I let him go.I don't want to hurt my own father. I didn't want to fight him but I had no other choice and now I don't know what's going to happen.my grandma actually hit me for defending her which I think is kind of backwards but I'm not going to stand by and let things happen.