New to Me - 62 C10 Shorty

[Blue_Aura]

Hello All,

Just thought I'd introduce myself and my new project, which is a 62 C10 Shorty. I traded my one of a kind retro military bike that I designed as a tribute for my Dad, who was a Vietnam Vet. I loved the bike, but had to rethink riding while my kids are still small. So, I forced myself to trade for something that would keep my interest and give me plenty of options for customizing. I have always been into classics and have built/restored many 60's to 70's muscle cars, and one '66 Ford F100. I had a '73 4x4 when I was a teen and loved it. I have always wanted a 60-66, or a 67-72 C10, so I found one to trade for my custom bike.

About me; I am married and have 3 wonderful kids, a set of 10 year old boy twins, and a 3 year old princess (future Drama Queen). I live in the Central Valley of CA, and commute to San Francisco for work. I love working on cars and bikes. I have another side project that is different from anything I have ever done; an 89 Honda Civic (my commuter car and future "first car" for the boys). I used to work in the automotive industry and went to school for it, but got burnt out and stopped enjoying working on my own projects. Now I can try and fit in some work on my new project.

The truck has been been painted with Imron paint (no longer available in CA due to VOC laws), not the best paintjob (I can tell it was done outside), but it looks nice. I probably won't touch the paint or body until after I finish all other areas of concern.

The truck has a 350 in it, with an aluminum hi-rise manifold and Q-Jet. It has a really bad rod knock and the PO said that it has low oil pressure when it is warm (try NO oil pressure when it is warm). I got a free '75 350 4-bolt main from a friend that smokes a little bit. Might just throw her in, just to have a runner. Then either decide to get some Vortec heads and manifold, 600-650 Holley DP or Carter/Edelbrock carb, shorty headers, and a Lunati 268 VooDoo cam. Or, I might just go a 383 stroker on one of the engines (haven't checked to see what the current engine is). Either way, I am going to build this truck for torque, not HP, which is opposite from all my other builds.

Truck needs a bed kit after I remove the existing rust and paint with POR-15. I am thinking about going with a polished aluminum diamond plate floor instead of a traditional wood kit. I am going to build a tonneau cover for it before that. The PO is supposed to be getting me the 1/2 gallon of Imron paint that was leftover, so I can paint the bed. If not, I will probably coat it with a hammered paint or textured paint.

Tires and rims are 15" Billet Specialties GTP-53 with 275/70/15 on the back and 235/70/15 on the front. I would like to lower the tire height on the fronts, so I will see about going to a 60 series tire instead. I need to buy the center caps for all 4 rims, so they will look decent. Might sell these and get some 18's.

Stance is raked. Has springs in back that seem to be a lower height. First plan is to lower torsion bars as much as possible, and cut one coil off the back, then get shock relocating brackets and replace shocks with Monroe front shocks. Later plans will be 2" spindle drop in front, along with disc brake conversion.

Brakes are steering are non-power. Heater core is looped together, so I assume (uh oh) that it is leaking. Interior has no fan or heater control levers. Turn signals do not work. Current wheel is a 70's Camaro wheel (yuk) and it has a smaller Grant sitting in the cab. The PO probably thought it looked cool, but found out how hard it is to steer a non-power steering truck with a small wheel .

Seat is a late model Chevy bench seat with seat belt openings. Plan to put in seat belts as soon as I can. I want to get some '94 Silverado seats with the integrated seat belts.

Cab is two-tone, with a white pearl metallic as the second color. Nice combo. Small area of cancer on the step plate (sill). Evidence of cancer under paint at top of the door jamb. Doors need to be adjusted, striker seats in way to far and makes doors hard to open. Glass is great, but needs new felts and all weatherstripping. Back glass surround needs replaced too.

Currently has dual glasspack mufflers, which dump down before the axles. Sounds decent.

Well, that's all I can think of for now.. so here she is...









FUTURE PLAN: (as soon as I lower it)

[hopped up]

Nice truck! That bed look like nothing is wrong with it.
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[aerotruk63]

Nice truck, have fun.

[Blue_Aura]

Thanks, Hopped_Up and Aerotruk63. All the bed needs is a bed kit and repainting. The PO removed the bed posts holes (don't know what they are really called). Just some patina on the original white paint.

[1Bad62Pro/Street]

Nice........
Roll call... 1962's!
http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=361134

[GWs62]

Nice looking '62! You're gonna have fun with this. Keep us updated.

[lucifer]

Nice color on that shorty . Welcome to the forum. You will find lots of help here if you need it.

regards

[70 shorty]

Love that truck! That's my favorite color too. Only thing I'd change is to mount a 63 grille, as I'm partial to them, even though it's a 62.

[Blue_Aura]

Originally Posted by 70 shorty

Love that truck! That's my favorite color too. Only thing I'd change is to mount a 63 grille, as I'm partial to them, even though it's a 62.

Thanks. Actually, it has a 64 grill on it (from what I was told).

[Blue_Aura]

Originally Posted by lucifer

Nice color on that shorty . Welcome to the forum. You will find lots of help here if you need it.

regards

Thanks, I love the color too.

[Blue_Aura]

Originally Posted by GWs62

Nice looking '62! You're gonna have fun with this. Keep us updated.

Thanks. Can't wait to get working on it and get it driving around! I'll definitely be posting updates.

[Blue_Aura]

Originally Posted by 1Bad62Pro/Street

Nice........
Roll call... 1962's!
http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=361134

Thanks! I have been checking out your truck for some time now... inspiration! Great job on all you've done to yours! Love it.

[1971sierragrande]

Very cool!!!

[Blue_Aura]

Originally Posted by 1971sierragrande

Very cool!!!

Thank you, thank you.

[Captainfab]

Welcome to the forum

That is a nice truck...of course I am partial to blue anyway

Sounds like you have a good plan, Keep us posted on your progress and or questions.

[likaroc13]

Originally Posted by Blue_Aura

Thanks. Actually, it has a 64 grill on it (from what I was told).

in case you're not aware, '64-66 has the same grille

nice truck! although i currently don't have a blue truck, blue is my favorite color ....sounds like you have good plans, & you couldn't be in a better forum....welcome aboard, & good luck...look forward to seeing the progress

[LostMy65]

Yes, very nice.
Welcome to the forums.
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[Blue_Aura]

Originally Posted by Captainfab

Welcome to the forum

That is a nice truck...of course I am partial to blue anyway

Sounds like you have a good plan, Keep us posted on your progress and or questions.

Thanks, Captain. I will surely get ahold of you for some brackets, once it's in the budget. Quick question for you... Once I have the brake booster, do I need anything other than the m/c to hook up the power brakes?
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[Blue_Aura]

Originally Posted by likaroc13

in case you're not aware, '64-66 has the same grille

nice truck! although i currently don't have a blue truck, blue is my favorite color ....sounds like you have good plans, & you couldn't be in a better forum....welcome aboard, & good luck...look forward to seeing the progress

Thank you. I already feel welcome. I have been checking out the forum, even before I got the truck and can easily see that it is a great one.

I didn't know that about the grill. Thanks for the info. I actually want to return it to a 62 grill, since there aren't that many of us put there. I see a lot of 64's and 65's, but not very many 62's. I have only seen them online, never in person. That is one of my reasons I chose this one. I could have gotten a 65 that was already bagged, c-channeled, had the 20" rims, nice engine, but needed body work. Instead, I went for this one, with a blown engine. Glad I did.

Yeah, I love blue too, so this one really caught my eye. Once my wife saw it, she really liked it too.
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[Captainfab]

If you are converting to power brakes with the 4 wheel drums, you don't need a prop valve. The '67-'70's had a distribution block with the warning switch in it, but you don't have to use one, just plumb direct to the master. If you are going to be going with power brakes and the disc upgrade, then you will definitely need a disc/drum proportioning valve.

Originally Posted by Blue_Aura

Thanks, Captain. I will surely get ahold of you for some brackets, once it's in the budget. Quick question for you... Once I have the brake booster, do I need anything other than the m/c to hook up the power brakes?
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[ChiefRocka]

Welcome aboard !

Born n raised in San Jose...now live in Hollister.

Good friend of mine lives out in the Valpico/Sycamore area.

Nice looking truck, btw !
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[Blue_Aura]

Originally Posted by Captainfab

If you are converting to power brakes with the 4 wheel drums, you don't need a prop valve. The '67-'70's had a distribution block with the warning switch in it, but you don't have to use one, just plumb direct to the master. If you are going to be going with power brakes and the disc upgrade, then you will definitely need a disc/drum proportioning valve.

Good to know. So I will just get the booster and the bracket until I am ready for the disc conversion then. Since it is a 62, I don't have the same options as 63 and up.

How about converting to power steering? What all would I need for a 62? I know that I could get a power steering box from a lot of different trucks and that your bracket can be fabbed up pretty easily to my frame (I hope). Then it's just a mod to the steering column, right? Power steering will definitely be on the list of top items to do to the truck, ha ha.

[Blue_Aura]

Originally Posted by ChiefRocka

Welcome aboard !

Born n raised in San Jose...now live in Hollister.

Good friend of mine lives out in the Valpico/Sycamore area.

Nice looking truck, btw !
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Cool; I used to live near Hollister (kinda) on the other side of Mt. Madonna in Watsonville and near the hills of Prunedale area. So I am familar with Hollister Hills.

I went to Tech School in San Jose and used to work part time at a club in Santa Clara. Used to travel Hiway 17 in my 77 Z28 and my 84 Z28... fun times!

Where is the Valpico/Sycamore area? I know Sycamore is near Woodland, right? I used to live off of Valpico Rd. in Tracy, so I was confused. Lol.

Thanks for the compliment on the truck. Makes me smile!

[MikeS.]

Nice looking truck, keep us informed.

[Captainfab]

You will need the power steering box from a '68-'87 C10,20 or 30 truck, Suburban or 2wd K5 blazer. Plus you will need the power steering pump, pulleys, brackets and hoses that will work with your particular engine. Be aware that in about 1980-81, the style of the hose fittings changed from SAE to Metric with an O-ring.

Originally Posted by Blue_Aura

Good to know. So I will just get the booster and the bracket until I am ready for the disc conversion then. Since it is a 62, I don't have the same options as 63 and up.

How about converting to power steering? What all would I need for a 62? I know that I could get a power steering box from a lot of different trucks and that your bracket can be fabbed up pretty easily to my frame (I hope). Then it's just a mod to the steering column, right? Power steering will definitely be on the list of top items to do to the truck, ha ha.