Got a new 71

[wesmigletz]

Hi, new to the board. We currently have a 72 C10 LWB, purchased from the original owner. Before that I had a 69 Blazer and a 72 C20. I had been wanting a short bed fleetside for quite a while. Most of what I looked at were beat to hell, and had rust issues.

I found this 71 last week. The frame, body, and under carriage are rust free. The previous owner spent a fair amount of money on the paint and new parts for the truck, but had to sell before he could finish. There is some "trailer" damage to the pass side rear and tail gate, from when the previous owner was bringing it home from the paint shop. There are a few other paint blems from the truck being used as a shelf.

I'm not sure about the color, I'm tempted to respray it before putting it back together. Hopefully, I can start on it next month.



Some additional pics and pics of the 72 are here:
http://www.picturetrail.com/sfx/album/view/7883562

Wes

[my67chevytruck]

looking good. Heck of a start!

[10pointgmc]

be a nice start to a cool ride

[70onB.A.D.'s]

Cant wait to see what the build up looks like!!

[sleepertruck72]

Welcome from Central California
Thats a nice shorty there. I like the green 72 and vette also
What color are you considering re painting the 71 ?

[thirdstreettito]

Nice! Love the green 72!

[big_al_71]

Welcome from Miami Florida!!!!

Thanks for sharing the picts...

[wesmigletz]

Thanks for the welcome. The green truck was bought new by my co-worker's father. My co-worker recently asked me about buying it back. So, it may be going back to him. I'm currently using it as a semi daily driver.

We've had the 62 Vette for a while. The wife and I used it as our wedding car. It's still running the original engine, and has gone 12.77 at Famoso with the original block and heads.

Regarding the 71, the first thing I need to do is return 3 of the wheels to a friend that I borrowed them from, so we could roll it. From there I need to make a list and start planning how I'm going to go about it. My plan for now is to make it my fair weather daily driver. It ill be driven and raced, but it will not be a show truck.

First I need to decide whether to repaint or fix the blems and leave it mustard yellow. If I re-paint, it will be two-tone, and a factory color from 1971. I like the light olive color, forest green, red and orange. Once this is decided, I can start putting the body back together and the windows in.

Gas tank: My first choice would have been to leave the stock tank behind the seat. Unfortunately, the P.O. welded-up the hole in the cab, and added a swing gas door to the passenger side 1/4 panel. So, I'm torn between going with a blazer style tank, with a filler on the passenger side, or adding a Camaro or Chevelle tank with a fold-down license plate on the rear bumper. I'm considering a sumped tank for a F.I. pump.

Suspension and brakes: Leaning toward a stock rebuild of the suspension, with new lines, hoses, calipers and wheel cylinders, and rotors/drums for the brakes as needed. The truck has manual steering, but came with a new PS box. I'll probably install the PS box and add a PS pump. I'd like to upgrade the sway sway bar, and possibly some stiffer front springs and Caltrac type bars for the rear. New shocks will be installed.

Engine and trans: Not sure. Try to get the one in it running to make the car mobile. The P.O. added a TH400. I'm leaning toard installing the 383, headers, and 3.00" dual exhaust (with X pipe) from my old C20. I want to have either a 700R4 or a 200 4R built. Although, a late model LS series engine and trans are being considered. Aside from that, I'm going to run new hard gas lines.

Rear end: Supposedly has 3.73 gears, will add a powertrax or similar locker, and new bearings and seals.

Misc: New wire harnesses through-out. I have a new dash harness, and the truck came with a new engine harness, which I will modify for a full 12 volts for a Pertronix II.

Leaning toward an aftermarket AC and heater/defrost combo, that will fit the stock dash. Any recommendations?

Will replace trim/moldings as needed, along with carpet, windshield, and head liner.

Seat: Would like some blazer buckets and center console. However, the seat in my 72 folds forward, so I may install it in the 71 and put the 71's restored seat in the 72. I would swap the seats to gain the storage space from the gas tank being relocated.

I'm sure there is plenty I left off the list. I'll post update pics once I get started.

BTW, can someone provide me a link for ECE?

[STOCKISH]

Great starting point to what sounds like an awesome project. Welcome to the board, You'll find more helpful people here than you could imagine. Glad you're on board.

[bigguy69]

looks to be a cool ride

[Hart_Rod]

Cool truck. www.earlyclassic.com

[70Custom10Nut]

nice start for a project. I was wondering if you could post some pix of the gas filler relocation on this. I'm seriously considering putting a blazer tank in my LWB truck, but the door will be on the driver's side. Incidently the reason I want to move the tank is that I can't fill the behind the seat tank full. If I do and make any right turns gas comes pouring out the filler neck. If there's a fix for this I'm all ears. BTW I tried a tight cap and it just causes a vacume lock. Cnut

[72BlckButy]

Welcome to the board from Mid-MO!!!

Great looking truck!

[wesmigletz]

Hey guys, thanks again for the welcome. I'll be asking questions and posting pics as I go.

Hart Rod, thanks for the link.

70Custom10Nut, knock on wood, I never had any gas issues with the behind the seat tanks on my 72 C20 or the 72 C10. Assuming your tank is sound, it may be a venting issue. My 62 Vette on the other hand drives me nuts with the same condition you've described...

72BlckButy, I'm originall from the Raytown, Mo area... went to school at MU (Columbia) for a semester. The cars and trucks have much less rust out here.

[Sinister]

Nice truck, welcome to the board.

[heavy71chevy]

Nice score man

[Skirkpat]

Originally Posted by wesmigletz

I'm originall from the Raytown, Mo area... went to school at MU (Columbia) for a semester. The cars and trucks have much less rust out here.

Small World!!! I went to Raytown South (for one day) I grew up North of the river , and my girlfriend just moved here from Santa Monica...How long have you been in L.A.? Did you move to San Diego for the Navy, love the weather and women and decide to stay?

Oh yah, Killer ride(s) where do you park them all in Cali? Space is tight out there!!! Welcome to the board.