Over 25 Years Later, Finally My 71 C-10 Truck Build

[jeremy zander]

keep up the good work!!! you have to much history to let a nother body shop cobb it up for you..!!!.,hello toMN RUST...

[hgs_notes]

I got the patches made for the kick panel bottoms. I think they turned out pretty good for some left over scraps, a tin snips, a hammer and a vise. I'll either blend them in with some putty or get some nice kick panel covers or carpet. None of the work so far will be visible after carpet, etc. They are just set in place. They'll get glued when I fire the heater up again.



I also got a pretty good start on the cab corner patch. It's hanging by one screw right now, but looks like a good fit so far. I probably won't get these glued in place until next week or so. My son has a hockey game thursady, then we leave for a tournament friday and won't get home til sunday. Plus there's that little job thing I have to keep showing up for.

[hgs_notes]

Merry Christmas. I was hoping to be able to post some serious updates here. You see, I took a bunch of vacation because I need to burn up the hours or lose them. The kids are at school, the wife is at work. So I am a man alone, with his dog and his truck. What could be a better time than that huh?


June would be a better time as a matter of fact. That is actually reading a little high. Officially it has warmed up to -9F and may get above zero this afternoon. Frostbite kind of takes the joy out of my mental therapy sessions.


I have a propane fired heater in the garage, but without the ceiling finished, it would be difficult to get it comfortable in there. The sad thing is, it's only december. The cold part of winter is still a month away. The really sad thing is that this is an improvement over the weekend we just finished. -15F and a 30 mph wind will take the starch out of just about anyone. Where the hell is that global warming at?

[hgs_notes]

Spring fever is starting to set in. But spring is still several weeks away. Most of our snow melted off the past couple days and when that starts happening I get a serious itch to work on stuff. The problem is that 40*F feels real nice right now, but it's not warm enough for adhesive to work. So the cab sits, waiting to be worked on again.

I haven't been able to move the truck for two reasons. First the snow was a bit deep around it. Second, it wouldn't start. At first I thought it was the battery because the starter would turn over for a minute and then die off. Then I figured out the starter was dying. But because it's been stuck in a snow bank since november...

Anyway, I couldn't stand it any longer. I jacked up the front pass side, popped the tire out of the ice and replaced the starter. I got a rug under me to stay dry from the soggy grass. It was a hard start, but it did eventually get running. I drove it around the neighborhood a bit and think I ran out of gas about 100 feet from the driveway.

I put a little gas in and got it backed up to the garage. I think I'll get the bed pulled off next week. It needs to wait until then. You see, we got this thaw here, but there is a 100% chance of snow again tommorow and highs in the teens for a few days. Then another thaw next week. Typical late winter weather for us.

I do appreciate the nice days when we get them. It's just too few right now. I told the wife I will not go another winter without a heated garage. She just said to get it (the garage ceiling and heat) finished. OK dear. I will.

[hgs_notes]

We've had nice weather the past couple days, so I was trying to diagnose a problem with the engine. It was starving for gas. Turns out the filter was clogged. With rust. The gas tank got some moisture in it years ago from sitting and I've been fighting it ever since. I think the boot on the pick up tube in the tank may be shot, based on the amount of crap coming through to the filter. Anyway, that tank will be replaced with a blazer style one soon enough.

On a side note, A couple I know had moved out of town. The guy was a mechanic by training, but not occupation. Anyway, he had a ferd 351M and C6 tranny sitting in the garage they vacated and offered it to me just to get it out. I have no use for it, but if I can sell it or trade it for something I need, it's well worth my time. I might be getting a ferd 9" axle for it. We'll see.

[hgs_notes]

I'm getting a Lock-right posi differential for the 12 bolt. I got a pretty good deal on ebay for it. The advantage to this style is cost and ease of installation. You don't have to remove the carrier, just the spider gears from the open diff, and slide the axles out a bit. Install the posi in the carrier and slide the axles back in. It's a locker type too, not limited slip. So the price of the unit is less than a carrier type posi and you save money on the installation costs.

I'm also rebuilding a 350 shortblock for my jimmy project. The 4 bolt main 350 that is in the jimmy will probably be built for this project. I've always wanted to build a stroker, but might just settle for a very stout 350, vortec or aftermarket heads and a shot of NOS for a trip down the local 1/8 mile.

[hgs_notes]

I took most of the day off from work so I could play a bit. I was able to borrow a stud gun and slide hammer from a body shop around the corner from my house. That thing is very cool. So simple even a caveman like me can do it. I had two kinda large dents under the rear window and another under the cowl, then a few little ones on the cab. I also had 3 small dents on the fender that I did not take picks of, just more of the same. Just some more hammer work and it will just need a light coat of mud to level off. Not bad for a newbie.

I brought the truck back over to the shop to return his tools and get an estimate for some welding. He gave me a great idea for filling a lot of the small holes from trim pieces etc. Use the stud gun to fill the small holes that the stud head is big enough for. Then just grind those smooth. That will save a lot of time on the fenders I have. Anyway, it looks like I'll be bringing the truck over to his shop on monday for some work. There is a crack on the pass side rear wheel well because that brace in front of the wheel well is gone. There are holes in the bedrails from the PO installing a camper or something, and I have the stake hole patches that need to be welded. They will also fill the holes I can't do with the studgun on the fenders. He said they will probably charge me about an hour for that. Sounds like a deal to me.

[hgs_notes]

I'm waiting for a warmer day to do a little more adhesive work. I have my patches made for the kick panel area. I have a seam to take care of on the floor patch, and I want to reinforce the area where my floor patches meet the rockers. I also want to open up the inner rocker from the underneath and clean, then coat the inside of the rockers. I think I'm going to have the bodyshop weld the one cab corner in. It'll soon be time to dismantle.

[lyrikz]

Originally Posted by hgs_notes

I'm waiting for a warmer day to do a little more adhesive work. I have my patches made for the kick panel area. I have a seam to take care of on the floor patch, and I want to reinforce the area where my floor patches meet the rockers. I also want to open up the inner rocker from the underneath and clean, then coat the inside of the rockers. I think I'm going to have the bodyshop weld the one cab corner in. It'll soon be time to dismantle.

IM not gonna lie, i just looked at the pics and didnt read, but are you gluing all the panels in????

[hgs_notes]

Originally Posted by lyrikz

IM not gonna lie, i just looked at the pics and didnt read, but are you gluing all the panels in????

The only thing glued in so far is the floor pans, which are also rivited to the under floor brace front to back. I also glued a small piece to plug a hole for the fuel line, since I'm moving the tank out back. I will also glue the 2 small pieces I made for where the kick panel meets the floor. There was minor rust there. That's about it. I was considering the cab corner too, I'm just doing a small part of it, but decided to have someone weld it in for me so the body lines are good. The only glued panels that will be visible are the bottoms pieces of the kick panels, and they may end up covered by new kick panels with speakers too.

[hgs_notes]

Oh yeah, I also glued a patch for where someone cut a hole for the shifter, which will also be supported by bolts through the low hump cover I made.

[hgs_notes]

Just adding some pictures of dent repairs on a fender. Not pefect, but way better than before. I'm getting all of the holes filled maybe today. I'm going to do the smaller ones here in the next hour myself. Also a picture of my 21st anniversary present. Now isn't that what a garage is supposed to look like?

[hgs_notes]

Spent $50 at the local body shop getting the trim holes filled on the fenders, and stake pocket patches welded in. They also filled holes in the bed rail and fixed a crack in the wheel well. I also got a lot of free advice. Money well spent I think. I'll probably take the cab over there sometime soon for some welding also. The only other rust repair to do is the bed floor. I'll put some pics up later of what was done and the bed floor rust.

[oldblue1968chevy]

looking good!! what kidna rear tank ya gonna get blazer or fuel cell,,

[hgs_notes]

Originally Posted by oldblue1968chevy

looking good!! what kidna rear tank ya gonna get blazer or fuel cell,,

Maybe neither. I might go with this:
http://www.tanksinc.com/index.cfm/pa...rod/prd113.htm

I don't have the cash for a fancy aluminum or stainless fuel cell, but summit has some like this:
http://store.summitracing.com/partde...5&autoview=sku

[hgs_notes]

Pics of stake pockets, bed rails, fenders after filling all the holes.

[msgross]

only $50! good deal... most shop won't talk to you for $50...

[hgs_notes]

Originally Posted by msgross

only $50! good deal... most shop won't talk to you for $50...

It's one of the advantages of living in a small town in a rural area. That's the hourly rate. I think it actually went up. Last time they did some work for me it was $45, to re-install the plastic body trim on the wifes denali door. And they let me use their stud gun and puller. They offered to let me use their adhesive gun too, but I got a deal on ebay for one. They don't like doing rust repair, but will work with me on small jobs like this one.

I think it's better all around. I get to do more of the work myself. I get professional help when I need it. They tell me what needs to be done and will even take the time to teach me some. And they are right around the corner from my house. I can drop the truck off and walk home.

[hgs_notes]

Haven't worked on the truck much, but did get a new ceiling on the garage.



The man-cave is coming along, but it's a lot of work. I had to take a lot of things out to make room and it just doesn't go back as easy as it came out. Lights go in different spots. This one was $1 at an auction and my wife bought it for me. Sweet!


I have all summer to get insulation in and find a heater before next winter.

I also stopped at a junkyard and found a 71 C-10 that had not been molested yet. It had a perfect dash wiring harness, no splices and looked very good. Also had a good headliner and trim that wasn't warped. I pulled the radio and cargo light with switch and a couple other goodies. Everything together cost me $20.

[hgs_notes]

The last time I drove the truck, something happened and it's running like crap. I thought it was the carb. I have a holley that has always been a bit of a pain, so I bought an edelbrock from msgross and installed it, only to find the problem still there. I had planned on the carb swap anyway, so no loss there. So I looked for vacuum leaks, but found nothing. I decided to check the timing again but the timing light wouldn't work. I switch the lead from #1 plug wire to #7 and the light worked, switched it back, no go. So tomorrow I'll be installing new plugwires, cap and rotor, reset timing and see what happens.

It's supposed to warm up and I think I'll get back to work on the cab. I want to finish what I can and then haul it over to the body shop for the last bit of welding.

[jay-dawg]

great progress...watching this thread for sure!

[hgs_notes]

Got the new cap and rotor and plug wires installed, which took care of the major idling issues. The old wires were installed around the time I got married, maybe even the year before. I just had my 21st anniversary, I guess it was time. I'm still having issues with the fuel filter clogging and uneven fuel pressure. It's caused by rust coming from the gas tank.

I did some searches here and found a thread by frizzle fry:
http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=234732

I went to the junkyard a few minutes later and found an ok tank from a 75 blazer. It's got a couple dings in the bottom, some surface rust, but the inside looks good and it has a sending unit. It should be a 25 gallon based on the measurements and it will actually be lower profile than the 72 style blazer tank.


It's warming up so I'll get back to work on the cab soon so the body swap can move forward.

[hgs_notes]

Nice and warm yesterday after work, so I got my little homemade kick panel patches glued in, and filled a hole. The screws are just there to hold it while the adhesive cures. They'll come out and all the little holes will be sealed up.

I also got the studs ground off the back of the cab. Next step is to haul it to the body shop to get the corner welded in.

I'm seriously considering making a panel to fit in the corners so the floor is flush there, no pockets to hold crap and make it rust. Then I'd just leave the area where the cab support meets it unsealed for drainage, or even open it up somemore to allow cleaning. Any thoughts from the board?

[lyrikz]

Originally Posted by hgs_notes

Nice and warm yesterday after work, so I got my little homemade kick panel patches glued in, and filled a hole. The screws are just there to hold it while the adhesive cures. They'll come out and all the little holes will be sealed up.

I also got the studs ground off the back of the cab. Next step is to haul it to the body shop to get the corner welded in.

I'm seriously considering making a panel to fit in the corners so the floor is flush there, no pockets to hold crap and make it rust. Then I'd just leave the area where the cab support meets it unsealed for drainage, or even open it up somemore to allow cleaning. Any thoughts from the board?

Looks good. Just seems a little bit ghetto riviting a floor in... Whats the process behind that? If i saw a truck i was gonna buy and say the floor rivited in, id probably turn the other way...

[hgs_notes]

Originally Posted by lyrikz

Looks good. Just seems a little bit ghetto riviting a floor in... Whats the process behind that? If i saw a truck i was gonna buy and say the floor rivited in, id probably turn the other way...

Good point, but this truck will probably never be sold. I did it this way for a couple reasons. The floor pans are adhesived in with SEM body panel adhesive. You have to use either rivits or screws to clamp it in for curing because of the location. I figured the rivits would be good extra strength so I used aluminum ones (corrosion resistant) directly into the cab supports underneath. They will be under sound deadener and carpet and will be much easier to take out later (heaven forbid more rust in 30 years) than the original spot welds were. Many, if not most body shops are using these adhesives now, as are the manufacturers. I'm not using it for any structural areas. If anything, this method is easier than welding, and will seal the metal better from corrosion (like between the floor and cab supports), and has proven to be very strong.