Father / Daughter ’70 Short Bed Resto…

[ezrider01]

Earlier this year my Daughter, 16 at the time, was watching me finishing up with my 1972 Corvette Resto Mod project. She said, “dad…I really wish I could restore my own vehicle like you did the vette”. I replied….”sweetie, you can do whatever you put your mind to”… and here our journey begins on this project.

I asked my daughter to decide what kind of vehicle she would like to make her own and enjoy for many years to come. Couple months later she cam back to me and said she really liked the ’70 Chevy or GMC. She decided on a Chevy C10 shorty fleet side, metal floor. I said “metal floor”…let’s do wood for a really great look…but she wanted what she wanted.

Another month or so went by and we finally located what “seemed to be” a workable baseline project out in GA….we live in the southwest…Rio Rancho, NM. So July of this year it gets to us…started the major disassembly out in the carport in case any critters made the journey from GA…no issue there.




So finally my wife, daughters and I moved the truck into the garage to continue disassembly. I know pics of projects speak 1000s of words, so I will try to post updates often.

Our plan for this project is to take it down to the frame and do a complete restore. The frame and body panels will be fixed or replaced to rid of any and all rust. I will do a 100% engine and tranny rebuild and put it mostly back into stock form. We plan to level out the stance…convert to disk brakes in front and 5 lug all around. PO had 22” wheels, looked good but went to 20” wheels already, personal preference. My daughter hasn't fully decided on body moldings yet, definitely will be in a mid night blue scheme. My main priority will be safety and reliability and yes it will be costly but it will be fun. Enjoy the story and pics.

[ezrider01]

August 2016, Disassembly Update:

Deeper I go...the more rust I am finding...

[ezrider01]

September 2016 Update....Moving right along:

I am taking the cab with me to another shop I use for the fab work i need to do.

She's getting close to bare frame...my daughter is learning a lot on how all the parts come together (or in this case how they come apart)...not to mention the uses of tools!!!

[ezrider01]

November 2016 Update:
So we can officially say we are now in RE-ASSEMBLY stage: bare frame has be media blasted and brought to bare clean steel. Frame sealed and etching base colored (black) primer frame coats (2x) applied. Moved back into garage. Rebuilt rear end and converted to a 5-lug system while frame was out.

[ezrider01]

A-arm and trailing arms returned from powder coating shop....Rear end coming together....things looking good. moving on to the front end.

[ezrider01]

More November 2016 Updates on the Cab and Bed:
As I stated in the intro...I wanted to remove all the rust...note the last pic showing the patched work areas to remove the cancer.

[ezrider01]

December 2016 update: Its starting to look like something again.

[ezrider01]

More on the December 2016 update...also, My daughter seemed to have abandoned me...and HER project.. Should have expected it...getting to cold for her in the garage i guess...lol.

[Bigdav160]

Looking Good. When you purchase a Suburban you'll find those metal workings skill invaluable.

[ezrider01]

Hey Bigdave...thanks for the post. Since your also a Vette guy...I'll share my latest resto-Conver project I alluded to earlier...converted a 1977 to a 1972 body style...more me with the chrome!!!

[GR8-68]

Cool story and project.. Might have it put into truck section though

[LockDoc]

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I will move it to the '67-'72 pickup forum.

LockDoc

[ezrider01]

Oh snap...my bad, I though I was in the truck area...thanks for putting me in the correct location.

[yuccales]

Looking great so far! Enjoying the pics.

[Camaroguy]

Very cool build! We are currently doing something similar as well....http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=724379

I was curious, what tank did you use?

[Hook'em]

Any chance you are looking to adopt a middle-aged son?

[TexasLS1]

Cool thread, that's awesome that she is involved (at least when it's warm out lol)! I'm trying to involve my 9 yr old daughter in working on my truck too. Lots of good progress on yours already, looking forward to updates!

[joeydurango]

Originally Posted by ezrider01

also, My daughter seemed to have abandoned me...and HER project..

Could always just let it sit in pieces for a while to see if her interest reignites! If she goes off to college without saying anything about it, well, you've got yourself another nice ride...

[ezrider01]

Originally Posted by Camaroguy

Very cool build! We are currently doing something similar as well....http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=724379

I was curious, what tank did you use?

===========================================
This is what I found to best fit on my second try as I wanted a side fill as opposed to a bed-floor fill location....just another eBay purchase. You do have to notch the frame a bit for good neck filler connection. Mounts right up to the existing 4 holes in the rear most position between the frame rails...you do have to remove the small cross-member from that area...no worries serves no structural purpose Hope this helps.

[Camaroguy]

Originally Posted by ezrider01

===========================================
This is what I found to best fit on my second try as I wanted a side fill as opposed to a bed-floor fill location....just another eBay purchase. You do have to notch the frame a bit for good neck filler connection. Mounts right up to the existing 4 holes in the rear most position between the frame rails...you do have to remove the small cross-member from that area...no worries serves no structural purpose Hope this helps.

Thank you.

[ezrider01]

Lol....

[ezrider01]

Originally Posted by joeydurango

Could always just let it sit in pieces for a while to see if her interest reignites! If she goes off to college without saying anything about it, well, you've got yourself another nice ride...

==========================

Very true....but I need my space back so I cant let er sit....lol.

[ezrider01]

So I thought I would reach out to the community in hopes for some help regarding my "VIN" confusion as related to this project.

I purchased this vehicle out of GA on a Deed of Sale only...No Title was available as the State of GA does not require title to register for this year group and after the original owner no longer transferred title...yea I have done some research already. In my title search, the GA DMV did send me some info that had the Title # once assigned to this vehicle...and it was registered and titled in GA last as a 1970 Chevy C10. According to GA, they will not send me a copy of the last known title as they do not have a file of it. ?????? confused.

YES...Lesson Learned....Never purchase a vehicle W/O a title!!!!!!!

So now I am being faced with having to go through an arduous Surety Bond process to get her titled here in my state of New Mexico.

So my cry for help is this...the only VIN information I have been able to confirm is the plate on the door jam, which matches the stamped portion of the VIN on the frame, (both locations on frame)...which also matched the number on the glove box door label.

So all my numbers match on the truck...HOWEVER...those numbers do not make any sense with any "Decoder rings" I have read to date (even the service manuals)...I am thoroughly confused and frustrated cuz it seems like by these numbers I may not even have a 1970 Chevy C10 base...I do realize this number was originally built with a V6 and different tranny...I am okay with that.

So can anyone help decipher this VIN please? CS149B822602

[joeydurango]

From what I can tell, looks like a 1969 2WD 1/2T pickup, built in Baltimore, originally with a 6-cyl, number 822602 made.

Worst case your truck is off by a year - '69 instead of '70. Unless I'm missing something. What are you worried about specifically? FWIW, my first '72 ended up being partially a '71...

[ezrider01]

Hey Joeydurango...thanks for the first reply...

My only worry is documenting the project correctly...yep there goes the engineer in me...lol...I just want to ensure I can answer the questions properly when my surety bond inspector guy comes to validate the numbers....that I have some logical explanation as to what the numbers don't make sense to a 1970 truck. I'd be ok if I have to register as a '69. Thanks again for the info.