1970 Chevy Longbed CST/10

[Jim70Chevy]

So it has been years but I am finally ready to get my longbed on the road. I have been gaining knowledge from this board for years and now I thought I would share the progress as it goes. I am by no means a professional so any and all suggestions or comments (well mostly) are welcome.

I started this whole project with a plain jane 1972 Chevy longbed that had been hacked up by the PO. It did have one thing I wanted ... 5 lug wheels. It also had a fair number of spare parts so was as good a place as any to start.

This is the 72 I started with. I really liked the front end of the earlier trucks better and I wanted an A/C cab (preferably not cut up). Power breaks and power steering would be a plus as well.

[Jim70Chevy]

So after some looking a friend of mine found this gem in a field. It was a one owner 1970 CST/10 with AC cab and a bunch of options.

And so it begins!

[Jim70Chevy]

So we struck a deal and brought her home (garbage and all).

Time to get to work.

[Jim70Chevy]

Here are some more pics. Did I mention that we also brought home more yellow jacket nests than I could count? The clean up process was frequently interrupted to take care of these nasty (an understandably angry) critters.

[Jim70Chevy]

It cleaned up pretty good but it turned out the engine was in need of rebuilding so, with the help of a friend, we turned a stock 350 into a 383 stroker. This was my first complete engine rebuild and my last. Next one is going to be a crate motor.

[rsgt]

That looks like a really good truck.

[68bowtie]

nice looking project!

[Jim70Chevy]

Thank you! So life got in the way of continuing the project for several years and even a couple moves. It ended up sitting in my garage for much of that time. Well a few weeks ago I finally was able to start on it again. I can't wait to get it back on the road.

[Jim70Chevy]

So first steps are to address the body and wheels. I have always liked the black steel wheels with white lettering and a smooth body (no trim). So I got my rims powder coated and some new rubber on them. Also removed the trim and started looking at the issues in the body. I am no body/paint guy so I will be learning as I go. Lots of Youtube watching going on and some book reading too. Removed the grill and going to start welding up some trim holes. I will post more as I do it. Hopefully this weekend.

[Jim70Chevy]

Well had a few hours of daylight tonight so I got the grill apart and treated the aluminum with oven cleaner to remove the anodizing. Sure does make it look worse. Gonna have a a lot of hours hammering, sanding and polishing in my future.

[Jim70Chevy]

THIS just arrived today. Gonna need it.

[Jim70Chevy]

Got my wheels on the truck today. Like the look but need to get the stance better. The back needs to come down a few inches. Still working on the front grill. It's going to take quite a few more hours of sanding and polishing.

[Jim70Chevy]

Got the fenders and hood off to see what I am dealing with. Mostly surface rust except by the drivers side door. looks Like there is some rust holes inside the cowl letting water inside the cab. Not sure what to do to access that area. Do I cut a patch of the side of the cowl and then weld it back after the repair? Time to do some research.

[Jim70Chevy]

Oh and I found that wrench my friend and I lost in the truck years ago. There it is.

[swamp rat]

Now I can see the whole picture., both sides of the cowl have the home made brackets.

[Jim70Chevy]

Home made brackets?

[Jim70Chevy]

Got the headers off today and sent out for ceramic coating. Also got the drivers side of the cowl panel cut so I could access the vent and seam area. Looked like a rats nest in there. Rust wasn't too bad but there are some areas that definitely need addressing. I washed everything with rust remover and got it ready to start working on the patch.

[Jim70Chevy]

I cleaned up around the rust holes and used a hole punch to look for more. I found a few more areas that need patching.

[Jim70Chevy]

Before I start cutting and welding I decided to take a look inside the truck to see if anything was gonna catch fire. That would be bad. Well, one thing led to another and when the day was done I had cleared out almost everything inside the truck including the gas tank. Can I say now that I HATE removing seat belt bolts.

[swamp rat]

Bottom pic in post 13 shows some kinda angle bracket screwed into the outer cowl

[Jim70Chevy]

Those are factory are far as I can tell. They support a rubber shield between the door and the fender. Still not sure if they are needed but they did come with the truck. I will post a pic tonight of them.

[Jim70Chevy]

Turns out those are the stock Inner Dust Shields. I found them for sale on Classic Industries J1016 - 1967-72 GM Truck Inner Fender Dust Shield Set. I have attached pics of mine.

[swamp rat]

I think maybe they were an option because most of the trucks don't have them.

[WannaBe68]

QUOTE "Gonna have a a lot of hours hammering, sanding and polishing in my future" QUOTE

I know this is not a big deal in the overall scope of this build, but I would love to see a play-by-play and how-to of the work you are going to do on the grill. Mine needs some attention, but I'm a bit hesitant messing with something made of an alloy called "unobtainium". Don't want to screw that thing up!
Thank in advance!

[Jim70Chevy]

Be happy to show you how it goes. Guessing there will some mistakes along the way but hey maybe I can learn them so someone else doesn't have to. I already started hammering some of the dents but I can get some pics together as I go.