"Midnight Rider" 1970 C10 SWB Fleetside

[omodified]

Welcome to my build thread. I have owned my truck since 2010 and I have been a member here for about as long. I have learned a lot from this invaluable board over these years and have even gotten to meet a few of you. With your help, I have been able to clean up the old truck and do some modifications here and there, all while actually being able to drive and enjoy it. Well, this year marks the truck's 50th birthday. I figured there is no better gift to it than a frame off restoration. That is where I am starting today. If you aren't familiar with my truck, please take some time to get to know her in the thread below. Today is the last time it will look exactly like this ever again.

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=483487

[1Rusty90]

Looking forward to the updates.

[gmc684x4]

Looks really clean 70 right now
What are your plans for it ?

[omodified]

Originally Posted by 1Rusty90

Looking forward to the updates.

Originally Posted by gmc684x4

Looks really clean 70 right now
What are your plans for it ?

Thanks for checking in Rusty and GMC. The plan is restomod. LS engine and static 5/7 drop. I’ll try to save as much original parts as possible. What can’t be saved will hopefully be replaced with NOS. More details to come!

[geunther]

I like what you've done so far and I like the truck. Don't change too much

[cj847]

nice truck. What is your current drop? 3.5/5?

[omodified]

Originally Posted by geunther

I like what you've done so far and I like the truck. Don't change too much

Thanks guenther. If you like it’s current state, I think you’ll like the outcome. Stay tuned.

Originally Posted by cj847

nice truck. What is your current drop? 3.5/5?

Thank you cj. Current drop is close to 3.5/5.

[omodified]

The name, "Midnight Rider"

I have never really been one to assign a vehicle a name. I had owned this truck for about 8 years, when a name just started popping into my head. At that point, there was no need for a name, but it still just kept tugging at me. When I decided it was time for the full restoration, the name started to make more sense. This truck will in fact be a show vehicle for the first year at least and every good show vehicle deserves a name (I think lol). So....

I have always liked The Allman Brothers Band. I grew up with their music courtesy of my Father. Even though these guys were from Daytona Beach Florida, they later adopted Macon Georgia as their home. They made a lot of great music there and the people of Georgia loved these guys. Now, I am originally from the Midwest (same city as Moraine Truck Plant, Delco Moraine and Harrison Radiator), but early in my adult life, I relocated to Atlanta. Even in the 1990's and 2000's, it was amazing to see how popular The Allman Brothers music still was in this area. I lived and worked right off Hwy 41. I always thought this was cool because that was where Gregg Allman was born (in the backseat of a Greyhound bus - not really lol). Ultimately, it is also where Gregg was laid to rest. During my time in Atlanta, I met a guy named Talmedge. Tal owned a blue 1971 C10 swb that was lowered with 15x10 wheels. I never really noticed these trucks before, but I'm pretty sure his truck began my affinity for them. Since then, I had always promised myself that I would own one some day. I don't know where Tal is today, but I am thankful for having met him and introducing me to the C10 life.

As you already know from reading my cleanup thread from post#1, this truck was manufactured at the Atlanta Georgia plant. From what I know, it was originally sold in Atlanta and spent all of it's life there too. That is, until I brought it home to North Carolina in 2011. The trip to buy the truck was my first time back to Atlanta since I moved away in 2004. That trip has a lot of memories for my family as we visited some of our favorite places that we missed so dearly. We have visited many times since then, but I could never live there again with all the expansion and traffic headaches. Besides, North Carolina is now our forever home. Even though we love NC, Georgia will always hold a special place in our hearts.

With all the tie-ins this truck has to my past, it seems like fate brought us together. So, I am making this truck a tribute to the music I love and all of the wonderful years I lived in Georgia.

I present to you...the "Midnight Rider"

[omodified]

**Disclosure**

When I first bought this truck, it was meant to be a Father/Daughter project. We did enjoy it together, but she has grown up and moved out. The plan was always to keep the work in house. So far, I have been able to do that. I planned to get a lift for my shop to assist with the build but I delayed that due to other house projects. Now, I have a Granddaughter and I am finding that I have less time available than I used to. I don't want my build to be another 10 years from finished, so I have decided to enlist some help. I found a guy locally that restores these trucks for a living and knows them very well. He is willing to assist me with things rather than taking over the entire build. This keeps me active with what is going on, and now I don't have to buy a bunch of equipment that I will likely never use or need again. And, I get to keep spending time doing the things that are really important - family! So, during my build, you are likely to see pics from inside my garage and inside the shop at Piedmont Traction located in Mooresville NC.

[omodified]

The Engine That Could

Took a few videos of the engine running (cold and warmed up) to help me sell later. Sorry for the sideways shots, I thought the camera would flip with the phone.

Cold..
https://www.dropbox.com/s/3qln9co4cd..._4173.mov?dl=0

Warm...
https://www.dropbox.com/s/lbn8jb7is5..._4178.MOV?dl=0


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[omodified]

The List

This is my first restoration (and maybe my last lol). Admittedly, I am also OCD and very detail oriented. I was hoping to find a list or something that would guide me through the tear down process. I was hoping this would keep me organized and would make for a nicer build thread. I bought a nice book from recommendation that I found. It's a beautiful book with good info and some really helpful tips, but it wasn't exactly what I was looking for.




I ended up not having to look any further than these forums. Thanks to member davepl for "the list". Although this checklist is for a truck with some slightly different options, it will certainly work with a few modifications. I love this board!!!

https://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/...44&postcount=7


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[omodified]

Milestone O

The first items on the list has me removing things from the engine bay. Since my wife was available to lend a hand, I thought it would be easier if I skipped ahead. So, we removed the hood first. Not a difficult task, just easier to do with two people. Four bolts out from the hood hinge to hood point and this thing was off.



I wont be reusing this hood but I still wanted to be careful with it for resale. It has a few spots that need repaired like the typical corner dent and the better than typical bow down the center.

[omodified]

I mentioned that I wasn't reusing my original hood. Well, for the last 5 years or so, I have been hoarding parts for my anticipated build. I have some really nice stuff stashed away which I will reveal in due time. The objective for this build is to use very little aftermarket parts. Keep my GM vehicle GM, right? A few years ago, I found a hood locally on the FB Marketplace. It was a really nice score. It's an original hood with one repaint, but there are no dents and no bow down the center. The sellers dad had taken it off of his truck years ago in lieu of a cowl induction hood. It had been hanging in the rafters all these years and the truck was long gone. He no longer had a use for it. I looked it over for the original markings and spot welds and it looked legit. So I brought this $100 hood home!

[omodified]

Hinging on the Balance

Next were the hinges. 3 bolts per hinge and they were off.






The hinges are in good shape. Keep pile!




Even though they seemed tight, the drivers back corner of the hood would never align correctly. So, I will send these off to be repaired and refinished at a later date.

[omodified]

I Made My Bed, Now I Have to Lie in It

I noticed that removing the bed was not on the list. No better time than now to start removing it. First up is the rear bumper. This thing is a driver at best. A couple of dents and faded chrome means it going to the scrap pile.




I replaced the bumper bolts years ago, so they came apart easily. Four bolts, disconnect the license plate light and bumper off...




Rear side marker are lights out next. I will keep these since I bought them as NOS and they barely have any miles on them.




Next up are the tail and reverse lenses and taillight trim. The lenses are in okay shape, but I can do better - sell pile. The taillight trim is garbage.




Tailgate removed will make the bed lighter to lift off...




It took four people, but we got the bed off with no issues. Removed the bumper brackets first. Then, four bed mounting bolts and disconnected the taillight harness. Two mounting bolts were missing so it's no wonder that it was rattling for years. Overall, the frame and the underside of the bed is in really nice shape. Just a little dirty.

[omodified]

I already knew going into this build that the bed would need some attention. Ideally, I am doing as little metal work as possible. The bed has rust through spots where the panels come together. The rear wheel covers have metal missing around the mounting surfaces that was painted over. The floor has quite a few dings and the front panel has a little warp.












The underside of the bed is actually very clean.





For the most part the nuts and bolts came right apart. There were only a few that I had to persuade. The ones I had trouble with came right off with a sharp chisel bit on the air hammer. There were a few that were hard to access. I used the dremel on those.




Bedside bolts came out easily too.




The passenger bedside is actually very nice. No rust through that I see anywhere. Just a small crease where the back bumper got it at some point. Keep pile!






The driver bedside wasn't so nice. I found a fairly large rust hole behind where the wheel cover mounts to it. Junk pile.

The wheel covers are rusty and dented. Junk pile.

The bed floor is repairable. Pretty nice actually. Sell pile.

The front panel is warped and rusted through where it mounts to the floor. Junk pile.

Bedside trim is straight. Great for a driver. Sell pile.

Taillight harness. Junk pile.

Tail and reverse light housings. Sell Pile.

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[omodified]

Wood You Keep this Bed?

After blowing everything apart, this only helped to solidify the decision that I was struggling to make. Switch to a wood bed? Now that I have decided not to keep this floor, I think the answer is a YES! Here is what I have in mind. I am leaning more toward the last picture. Need to research staining colors and techniques.

[KMC3420]

Following along, great looking truck but slow down. You’re making the rest of us look bad.

[omodified]

Originally Posted by KMC3420

Following along, great looking truck but slow down. You’re making the rest of us look bad.

Thanks KMC and welcome! A little each day is what I promised myself. I expect the teardown to take much less time than the build up. So, I'm going for it! Keep checking back.

[omodified]

I really got lucky being able to keep the passenger bed side. Putting the bed back together will be a little easier since I already have some nice parts stored away for it. Thanks to member billsbowtie and Dean Johnson at The Chevy Truck Farm in Tennessee for the nice parts.

[omodified]

I'm glad that I started with the bed. When I step back and look, it seems like a lot has been done already. I know I have a long way to go though. The frame looks to be in really nice shape. It should clean up nicely.










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[omodified]

Stripping the tailgate down. I mentioned before that I wasn't keeping this gate. It is a decent gate with no rust, so somebody will want to buy it. I wanted to take it apart to see if I can reuse the latch rods.

Tailgate band will be a nice driver for somebody. Tailgate handle and latches are decent. Sell Pile

The trim got bent while removing. Chrome pitted pretty bad on handle trim. Junk pile

Latch rods aren't rusted and look really nice. Keep pile.

[omodified]

Made some more progress today.

Removed washer and overflow bottles and mounts. These were NOS when I bought them and they are still really nice, so I will be hanging on to these.






Disconnected and removed the battery. The battery looks nice but it's getting close to being out of date. I'll keep it for now and check it out later.




Removed upper radiator mount brackets.




Removed fan and shroud. Going LS so I won't be needing these two items.




Drained and removed radiator. Removed hoses. Blocked hoses to heater. Only one little spill and that was while recovering the antifreeze into the waste container!

[MDPotter]

I will be following along for this one. What a cool truck - I really like the black with the trim and the wheel/tire choice. Are you keeping it black?

[omodified]

Hi MD and thanks for stopping by. Thanks for the compliment! I really love the rally wheels/tires on these trucks too. I just cant bring myself to running 18s or 20s. They just look too big unless the truck is bagged. Yes, the truck will be staying black.