70 K10 the Teal Deal

[landarts]

In June of 2021 I had just sold a few trucks and had also bought a few more with the proceeds. I just returned back from Washington a few weeks earlier to bring back a 70 K20 with a service bed that I bought from a local fire department deal. Anyways I was browsing through Facebook Marketplace and saw that a 70 K10 and an additional parts truck came up for sale about fifteen minutes from my house, so I reached out and made an appointment to go take a look. Once I arrived at the property there were actually three trucks there but these were the only two that were for sale. He stated that he would only sell them as a set.

So I looked over the parts truck first to see if it was worth anything or if any of the parts on the truck were worth using. The parts truck is a 72 C20 CST with a stripped-down cab that was rust-free, a nice bed, a tailgate, and all of it sitting on a nice rolling rust-free frame. Then I walked over to the 70 K10 which was what my real interest was focused on. Overall the truck was in good shape, not much rust except for the drivers rocker and a small bit on the passenger rocker. The firewall, cab supports, cab corners, floor, and doors were as solid as can be, and original. Body damage on the driver's door and the driver's rear corner. The rest on the outside was mostly peeling clear coat from a prior repaint, but overall a straight truck. Under the hood, the motor top end was removed and sitting in the bed of the truck. Missing the brake booster and master cylinder and the power steering hoses were also missing. The Interior was complete, the seat was in need of recovering, the dash pad had a few cracks, the rubber floor mat was in good shape and the radio delete plate was in the glove box. The glove box SPID was beyond readable and the door VIN plate had been removed and reattached after painting with standard rivets.

So I also noticed that the truck had a "Cheyenne 10" emblem on both sides of the fender for its badging. The truck is a "70" so the Cheyenne badging is not right and I saw nothing on the truck that resembled Cheyenne. So I asked the seller if he had a wire brush I could borrow to see if I could clean up the frame on the driver's side front where part of the VIN is stamped to see what it might tell me. After doing some cleanup and scrubbing the VIN on the frame matched the VIN plate and also matched the title. I did not see anything on the truck that would tell me it was not a true K10. The interior paint was the original paint and had not been repainted like the outside. I was able to make out on the bottom of the SPID the faint numbers "600 Saddle Vinyl" and "536 White/Turquoise.

After all the investigative work I came to this conclusion. The truck is an original 1970 K10 truck with a one-year-only color "Turquoise" paint. The interior is original paint Turquoise with Saddle dash pad, saddle seat belts, and Saddle door panels, and I would bet it had a Saddle seat cover at one time replaced over the years with the aftermarket black one. The radio delete plate was original paint with Turquoise paint and there were other places on the outside that showed me the original Turquoise paint. The P.O. had removed the door VIN plate when it was painted and at the same time added the "Cheyenne" fender badges. Anyways I bought the truck and the parts truck and put it in storage for about 6 months. Have been working on it over the last couple of months. Over the next few days, I will be uploading bits and pieces of the story and lots of pictures to get us up to date.

[landarts]

Here are a few close-up pictures of the damaged area on the driver's door. So I proceeded to remove the window and regulator since the regulator was toast and needed to be replaced. Removed the mirror and the wind wing assembly so that everything is out of the way to do the repair. The damage on the door I thought could possibly be pulled with my stud gun and Steck Lever. Well, that was an epic failure for sure. The main portion of the crease was tied to the side panel in the door where all the strength is, so it really did not move after about twenty-plus pulls. So I decided to cut out the damage and attempt to shape it and shrink it back to fitting after pounding on it for a bit on the anvil portion on the back of my bench vise. Then I proceeded to shape it back into place so that I could spot weld it back onto the door. Do a little hammer and dolly work to adjust a few high spots and then add a little filler to smooth it all out. Also welded in the mirror holes and addressed the uneven surface there.

While this door is being repaired I just mounted another spare door I had from my parts stash. Then after the major dent was addressed I went over the door with a DA and feathered out any chips or nicks and filled it with 3M white spot putty. A few rounds with the DA and the door is about ready for primer and paint.

[landarts]

Driver's rear back quarter panel was something I knew when I purchased the truck was going to be a challenge. The damage was twisted in a few different directions and the tail light housing itself was captured inside the opening and could not be pulled out. When I bought the truck I had a couple of solutions in mind, and here they are:

1. remove the whole side of the bed and replace repop
2. remove the whole side of the bed and replace it with a used bedside
3. cut out the bad and replace it with another section from a used bed
4. try to repair the damage, possibly having to cut some out and reweld back after repair

I decided to go with number 3 because I have five extra beds that I bought for parts or builder trucks. If I really mess it up then I can go with the number 2 option and bolt on another used bedside that I have.

[landarts]

When I started to make the cuts on the truck I used 3/4" 3m yellow tape anywhere I could as a reference marker so it would be easy to match on the other bed that is the replacement part. I measured down equal distance using a flexible ruler from the top inside the bed rail. I also wanted it on the curved part of the bed where there is more strength to help avoid the tin canning issues. After I got the part mounted up there in place, there were three places that need to be trimmed a tiny bit to give me the proper gap for spot welding. I went super slow and skipped around and let it cool before moving on to the next spot. When it was all done I was surprised at how easy it actually was to repair.

I had stripped the metal with my Eastwood SCT metal striping tool. This tool was really great, did the job fast and without heating up the metal. Used some UPOL Gold filler and then a coat of UPOL etching primer for now.

[best view]

Jim I was getting worried about you glad you’re back

[landarts]

The tailgate needed some attention with some of the paint peeling off in places. Looks as though some of the areas were never scuffed to make the paint bite. Went over the tailgate with a DA sander and then filled a few areas on each end that had spot weld dents. Tailgate is ready for some primer and paint. Also had to repair the handle linkage that attaches to the release handle and lubricate it. The black scribble marks are where I marked areas that needed attention before painting. The tailgate was the only body part I found that was not the original color, came from an Ochre-colored truck.

[notsolo]

Nice truck, Great color, your skills are bringing this beauty back to life.

[landarts]

So under the hood, I had a few items to address as far as the engine goes. The motor in the truck was partially disassembled when I purchased it. Not knowing the issues with it I decided to just replace it with a rebuilt motor. At my age, the projects are so much easier to work on when they can be driven instead of pushed. So I purchased a rebuilt motor from a referral I got from the local Napa Auto parts.

The gentleman delivered the motor and picked up the core motor that was in the truck. I started to assemble the rest of the items on the motor and noticed that the paint kind of sucked on it and there were a few mismatched bolt styles. So I went back over the motor and scuffed it up with a red ScotchBrite pad, then primed it with Duplicolor engine primer and sprayed it with Duplicolor Chevy Orange Ceramic engine paint.

While I was painting it I noticed a broken bolt in one of the exhaust manifold holes. So I busted out the MIG welder and tacked a few spots on it to build it up a bit then welded, then welded a nut on it to see if I can get it out. Once I got it out I noticed it was a thread chaser, instead of a broken exhaust bolt. I started to wonder what else on the motor might be messed up, and started to have second thoughts on the quality of the motor rebuild.

[landarts]

Finally got the motor all wrapped up and installed with a new clutch, flywheel, and throw-out bearing. Added a Bosch Tach, some ZDP for zinc content and fired it up, and did the break-in for 20 minutes at 2000 rpm. The motor ran great. Also had to loop the water line to the heater core since it was leaking. Got that on the order list and will do the heater core install next.

Here are the new items installed on the rebuilt long block:

• AC Delco water pump and thermostat
• pulleys
• fan
• belts
• hoses
• spark plugs and wires
• distributor cap, rotor, and condenser
• coil
• vacuum hoses
• fuel pump
• air cleaner and filter
• carburetor
• American Autowire engine harness
• battery and cables
• coolant overflow reservoir
• exhaust pipe and muffler

[regan wilson]

Nice truck and nice work also. I've never heard Turquoise was a one year only color. My 69 was the same color new. It was built in St Louis in early 69.

[landarts]

Originally Posted by regan wilson

Nice truck and nice work also. I've never heard Turquoise was a one year only color. My 69 was the same color new. It was built in St Louis in early 69.

I will have to check into that. Thought that is what I read when I was researching the color. Possible to have a one-year-only color late in the previous year or early in the latter. Anyways I will be digging deeper into the subject.

[landarts]

Dropped the passenger side inner fender once the heater core showed up. Pulled the heater box off of the firewall and did a major cleanup of the inside of the box and the heater tunnel. Cleaned up the housing with a few chemicals and got it all back together.

Now that the motor was running I need to address the brakes so that I can drive it. I have been driving it just to move it to different positions on my driveway and using the emergency brake to stop it.

[landarts]

Was able to wrap up the new heater core install and get that back together and working with no leaks. Moved onto the brakes in the front of the truck. Removed the front wheels and could see really easily why I had no brakes. The brake shoes were completely worn down to metal and the wheel cylinders were leaking everywhere.

Ordered up some front brake parts from Napa Auto. New wheel cylinders, brake shoes, hardware, brake hose from the back of wheel cylinder to frame, and new drums since the others were toast from braking metal to metal. Got everything cleaned up and installed. Had to cut the hard line on the passenger side and do a double flare with a new fitting since the other was rusted on the wheel cylinder and crushed when I tried to take it off.

All back together on the front brakes and bleed the system and we now have brakes that will stop the truck. While I was tearing into the front brakes I noticed that the locking hubs were also messed up, so I pulled them and ordered some Mile Marker hubs.

[landarts]

The hubs showed up in a day so I got onto that project to wrap up the front. Looking at the hub assembly part of the axle was crusty and had some surface rust that needed to be addressed. Attacked the axle part with a brass wire wheel on the drill and some sandpaper. Got it primed and painted with some semi-gloss black paint.

The installation of the Mile Marker hubs was really simple and went in without a hitch. Much more of a solid feel than the old hubs that were loose and falling apart. While I had the wheels off I wanted to try some aluminum brite spray I purchased at Napa Auto which is some sort of acid spray that cleans and strips aluminum.

[landarts]

So when I was at the Napa Auto store picking up the brake parts, the guy working the counter told me to try the aluminum brite spray to try and revive the old-school aluminum rims. For $7 dollars it is worth the try, if not I will be mounting some steel wheels and hubcaps.

After throwing the first one over in the rocks on the side of the driveway and spraying it down with the product, I could not believe how well it works. It was like watching the old layer melt off. I let the product stay on the rim for about 5 minutes and then washed it off with a power washer. Then scrubbed it down with a brush and some soap to make sure I got all the chemicals off. Hit one more time with the power washer and let it dry.

[landarts]

While I was doing all the work on the front brakes and hubs I noticed that the truck was going to need new shocks and tires. Ordered up some Monroe shocks for the front and back. Had a set of Cooper Discoverer A/T 265/75R16 installed on the rims since the other tires were weather cracked and old.

I finally got the shocks and tires on and took it for a test drive in the neighborhood. Everything went well and the truck drove really nice. Next up I need to address the lean on the driver's side. I noticed after sitting on the driveway that there was a lean on the driver's side. So I measured all the way around and the front driver's side was about 1.5" lower than the other three of wheel wells. So time to tear into this issue.

Got the truck jacked up and started doing measurements under the truck from spring perches to the frame, looking for anything that might point to the obvious. I have read that the driver's side is common to have a lean due to torque and also the weight of the driver.

While under the truck on the driver's side I noticed the top spring closest to the frame had some cracks or breaks showing on the side of the spring. So I spent the next hour removing the u-bolts and found that the spring was broken in three places under the spring perch plate. Then I remembered that the K20 front springs I removed from another project are the same springs used on the K10. Grabbed it out of the parts shed and installed it. Let it down off of the jacks and still has a lean.

Do a little research and then some calling around and found a spring shop not far from my house. They said that it is a common issue and that they could re-arch the spring to match the other side and get the truck level.

Drove the truck 13 miles to the spring shop in Boise. That was the first time the truck had been on the road in over 10 years. The drive went well, the truck drove really nice and I was really enjoying the trip and trying to take it all in. Had a big smile on my face while I was driving it over to the shop, and had a few thumbs up from people which is always a cool thing.

[best view]

Jim whats the number for the shocks and cost

[landarts]

Originally Posted by best view

Jim whats the number for the shocks and cost

Monroe Shocks & Struts Gas-Magnum 34944 Shock Absorber Front $39 each

Monroe Shocks & Struts Gas-Magnum 34822 Shock Absorber Rear $44 each

[best view]

Thanks Jim I would think they would be the same for a k20

[72ironmike]

Wish I had those skills & abilities. Love your approach to repairing these trucks.

[landarts]

Originally Posted by best view

Thanks Jim I would think they would be the same for a k20

Yes they would be the same. You can get them both on RockAuto for a bit less if you want to go that route.

Originally Posted by 72ironmike

Wish I had those skills & abilities. Love your approach to repairing these trucks.

Thanks. The best advice I give to people is don't be afraid to try. Do a little research then give it a go.

[landarts]

Got things going and the truck running pretty good. So I thought I would move on to some interior items. The interior was not bad but I like to freshen up the interior on the trucks I rebuild. It is nice to have it like new again and it helps when I get ready to let the truck go to another owner.

The interior items that I will address:

• rebuild seat springs and foam if needed, new seat cover in Saddle
• insulate the floor
• new flooring carpet or rubber matting
• replace rubber boots on shifters
• buff out both knobs and repaint the shift patterns
• add radio and new speakers in the door to existing holes
• replace gauge bezel
• clean and repaint gauge needles and buff plastic with compounds
• add oil-temp-amp Bosch gauge to bottom of dash for breaking in new motor
• add Bosch tach to the steering column to break in new motor
• remove the square body steering wheel and replace it with Grant Classic
• repair turn signal cam with new springs
• clean and repair heater controls if needed - missing one knob
• replace the dash pad with the new Saddle dash pad
• clean and service seat belts while out for seat redo
• add new rubber pedal pads to the brake, clutch, and emergency brake
• replace the rearview mirror and missing lighter
• add new dome light is missing
• new seal plates
• new inner rocker and rocker drivers side
• rocker repair or replacement depending on what I find on the passenger side
  

Going to start with the driver's side inner rocker and rocker panel. Started by cutting into the rocker to get it peeled back to see what damage or repairs are needed. I already knew that the cab supports were in excellent shape and had no signs of rust so I figured just peel it back and see where it goes. Once I got into it I would need to cut into the floor a little bit to get a rust-free repair for the inner rocker. Use a metal bar stock to clamp down and use it as a guide for the cutting wheel. Then get it clamped in place and cleaned up for spot welds. Once installed I moved onto the rocker. Did a few cuts to make it fit where I needed it and a few splice cuts upfront to get it to fit the body lines. Tacked everything in and started to go over with a few coats of filler.

[landarts]

Pulled the dash bezel out for cleanup and a repaint on the needles. Did some major cleaning of the gauges and tried to rid the instruments of any of the fine powdered dirt that was on everything. Cut a few pieces of paper to shield the gauges and started getting a few coats of fluorescent orange onto the needles with a small brush. Polished out the clear plastic face for the gauges with some cleaner wax and an orbital 3" buffer. Slapped it back together with a new plastic gauge bezel and installed it after a good cleaning dash cavity that holds the bezel. Super happy how it turned out and made it look really fresh again.

While I had the bezel out I installed the dash pad, much easier with the extra access with the gauges out. Also hooked up and mounted the Bosch tach on steering wheel.

[landarts]

I had removed the seat and install a temporary seat so I can still drive the truck and tear down the seat that came in the truck. See what materials I need and get that ordered and on its way. The seat cover still had about two weeks before it would show up so I thought to get the frame cleaned up, springs addressed and foam repaired if needed.

In the meantime, I noticed the stock front bumper had a little bit of a twist in it on the end of the passenger side. So I decided to use some scrap metal and an old rebar bender to build out a tool to pull the twist out. Took about 15 minutes to put together and test out. I was happy with how it turned out and beats buying a repop.

[Warrens69GMC]

Looking good!