68 GMC C15 - The Daily Blue

[WheelsCamaro]

Finally got around to creating a build thread for my daily driver 68! Below are a few pics from the day I picked her up.

I found this old girl right outside of Memphis, TN and quickly made a deal with the previous owner. The body is in good shape, with the only rust in the bottom of passenger front quarter (will patch), the bed floor and a couple holes in the floor. The rockers have already been replaced. The inside, motor and wiring is where it needed some help. The motor has a ton of blow by, needed some adjusting on the valves, and the carb was all out of wack. From the looks of the mechanical and wiring, the previous owner may have gotten in over his head or just lost interest. Might be why he decided to sell! A Speedway harness had been purchased and half-way installed, so I enlisted the help of my father to help me sort things out with that. Fixed necessities for a daily, like lights and wipers, gave her a good cleaning, and now she's finally road worthy... for now (future plans may change that).

Specs: 1968 GMC LWB, leaf spring rear end, 69-71 Model 307, 350 trans, 5 lug

[WheelsCamaro]

As you can tell from the above pictures, the previous owner's favorite color was blue. Blue everywhere. Huge Kentucky fan. BUT, I can't say that I'm a fan of all of his blue accents on the truck. So those, along with the steering wheel, were some of the first easy changes I tackled. Spray paint and a cheap steering wheel sure makes a difference. Also took some cool pictures on top of a parking garage.

Also made a big parts order.

The order of things to come (hopefully): shorten the frame and bed sides to a SWB, relocate gas tank while the bed is off, wheels and tires, lower it, A/C and insulation to tackle this Mississippi heat, new weatherstripping for the doors and windows, fix or replace the leaky front windshield, continue to sort wiring issues, DRIVE IT.

[WheelsCamaro]

I'm breaking up the posts because of attachment limits, so here's some more!

New wheels and tires! American Legend Racer Series in grey, Falken 255/45/18 tires.

Also included is a quick Photoshop job to show the future stance of the truck. Planning a axle flip in the rear and spindles/springs in the front. Then of course the shortened bed.

[cornerstone]

WoW!! What a difference some TLC and a sweet set of new hoops can make! Nice wheel choice man Very nice picture with the sunset in the background sir.

[WheelsCamaro]

Originally Posted by cornerstone

WoW!! What a difference some TLC and a sweet set of new hoops can make! Nice wheel choice man Very nice picture with the sunset in the background sir.

Thank you! More changes to come!

[WheelsCamaro]

MAIL CALL! Brother's came through with the under-dash A/C, and my sweet new gauges. My shortbed kit will be coming in soon. I would measure and cut the frame DIY style, but this is my daily driver. The bolt in template makes the job easy so I can be back on the road quicker... with or without a bed

I bit the bullet and ordered Classic Instruments gauges because my stockers already didn't work and I knew that I would want different gauges in the future. Great product! Easy to wire up and it comes with all the sending units I needed.

Also modified a cheap phone holder I had to work in the truck. Bent up a metal frame to clip in to the ashtray and added some plastic spacers. Works pretty well. Ignore the hack job head unit install. I'll be replacing that dash section and using a stock looking head unit.

[bs46488]

Looking good.

Following along to see the progress of the AC install.

[WheelsCamaro]

Decided to cut my truck in half this past weekend. Started with the bed, which I estimated would take the longest, then moved on to the frame. I saw a thread on here where the guy cut the bed while still bolted to the frame, and that is the ticket! It's so much easier that way! The off cuts are easy to line back up to the center section because there is a mount to rest them on while tack welding. Also, the kit from Brother's makes cutting the frame super simple. I'll be gluing it back together next weekend.

Next on the list is to lower this thing! Opinions on good products for lowering leaf spring trucks? I'm thinking flip kit out back and springs shackles up front.