1968 C10 Project "The Twin"

[CAMAROBOY68SS]

While my this project is now complete, I figured I would share all the photos of the truck and its transformation.

I found this truck on craigslist for sale back in July of 2018. I was looking a truck to tinker with and drive to work in the winter here in the PNW. I was mainly looking for a 71/72 Cheyenne as both my grandfather and great grandfather have had a couple of them when I was little and growing up. Plus the factory disc brakes and 5 lugs was a nice thing to just start with, but really any clean 67-72 would do.

That's where this truck came along. It checked all the boxes I had. Was a very rust free cab and nose, doors never cut for speakers, was an original full trim truck, and ran & drove. It just needed some brake work and a few other mechanical things. The bed was the worst of the metal on the truck. The previous owners were using it as a work truck for artificial lawns and while loading a pallet, the forklift had smacked the passenger bed side and then dropped the load onto the metal floor pretty well ruining it. The truck had spend all of its life in so cal and had only migrated to Oregon a few months before I bought it, hence why it was so rust free, but it was an original 2 tone Custom cab truck.

Made a deal and drove the thing home with 2 and half working brakes.

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Once getting the truck home, fixed the brakes, flushed the fluids, touched up a few bare spots, swapped out the door panels & steering wheel and promptly began driving the truck. It was just a sweet running little truck. Replaced the door seals before winter and just overall had a blast owning this truck.

[CAMAROBOY68SS]

While having a blast driving the truck, one morning after a very heavy rainstorm and hopped into the truck to go to work. I noticed the passenger side floor was dark and felt over there and it was full of water. The windshield seal or rain gutter sealer had failed. Was not too surprised as the truck has spent so much time in nice sunny so cal it was not used to the wet weather in Oregon.

This seal failure was the tipping point off the cliff to start really restoring the truck. So in July of 2019 the tear down began.

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Since the bed had been smacked by that forklift and all the stake pockets were busted. Made the call to take the long bed off and sell it and cut the truck down. My grandfather was helping as well since I had the truck stored at his place and was chomping at the bit to cut the frame down. He has been cutting these trucks down since the mid 70s. This was going to be truck number 15 or 16 so it was as simple as a weekend in the shop and the frame was done.

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With the frame bolted together loaded the truck up onto a trailer to have a certified welder weld up the joints and add a fish plate on to truly finish the frame up. Welder also fabbed up a new exhaust system to the rear axle as the old glass packs needed to go. Swapped to Flowmaster mufflers.

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From now with the frame done, started fixing a few of the worst dents and dings on the truck prior to pulling the panels off the truck.

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While tearing down the truck, this is where the theme and name for the truck start forming. Along with this 68 C10, I have a 68 Camaro SS/RS that was my first car. My grandfather and I restored the car together. Starting when I was 8 years old, he taught me all the skills needed to restore a classic Chevy.

Since this truck was a 68 as well, decided that it would be cool if they were similar color schemes, same wheels and tires as well as drivetrains. The camaro is a all numbers match small block 4 speed car. While the truck had a small block and truck 4 speed, I had a M21 Muncie 4 speed out of a Chevelle on the shelf that I decided to swap into the truck. So these pics are on kind the first fitment and kind figuring out shifters. The big thing was the truck was a factory high hump. I found a buddy with a low hump floor he bought for the rockers and I bought and cut the low hump out and made a bolt in low hump section to better work with the Muncie 4 speed.

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While figuring out the 4 speed swap. I had bought all new sheet metal to build a new metal floor short bed. So grandpa and I worked on getting the aftermarket metal fitting together. I originally tried to use a NOS tailgate I had picked up and a original front panel but they just didnt want to play nice with the after market metal so sold them both and bought repop pieces and they took way less fitment to get all the gaps looking good.

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With the transmission sorted and the new bed assembled. It was time to start stripping the old paint off the truck. Started with the top and fixing the handful of tiny dents along the back of the cab.

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Once started on the cab top, kinda started hopping around. From there started pulling the nose apart and yanking the motor out to clean it up and paint it proper chevy orange.

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As soon as the motor was out, pulled the doors off and loaded them up along with the front end sheet metal to have them stripped. Everything came back really nice and not needing much bodywork outside of the areas I had straightened before stripping.

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At this point is where the project really goes off the rails. That pesky little shutdown hit about this point and at first I kept my distance from my grandparents place for a little bit to see what happening. I would still call over and talk with him. He would say he was getting bored and go out and tinker on the truck. I was fine with that as it was keeping him busy and staying at home. What finally ended me staying was when I called him one night after work and he informed me he got so bored that he figured out how to pull the cab off the frame by himself and had yanked the cab off. So now the project was a full frame off. I promptly started going back over to really get to working on it as well as watch him from taking the project farther than I wanted, now looking back I am glad that cab came off the frame. It really made things alot easier from that point.

Since the frame was now just a roller, cleaned and POR-15'd the whole thing.

[tutone]

Welcome to the board. Nice truck and some good work you've shown so far. Hard to beat early camaros, too.

[CAMAROBOY68SS]

Now that the frame was cleaned up, turned back to the motor and getting it all dressed up and dropped into the frame along with the 4 speed.

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With the motor and tranny set back into the frame, measured the driveline put in a order for a 1 piece driveline, ditched the 2 piece.

At the same time it was time to really finalize the bodywork. Got the top, fenders and grille piece all done and it was time to start masking everything to paint the white area of the truck. Made a make shift booth in the shop to shoot the pieces.

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Once painted here was the results once unmasked. Then after a couple days it was time to start remasking to paint the jambs.

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For the next stage of painting the truck, was able to rent a spray booth to lay down the Medium Blue Poly. So masked up the new white paint and all the main exterior surfaces to spray all the jambs and inside the cab. Also tore the bed apart again to be able to paint the inside surfaces easier.

[CAMAROBOY68SS]

With everything masked off, loaded the parts into the trailer and off to the booth we went. Grandpa suited up and laid down the blue and clear on the jambs. Forgot to snap pictures before any of the jamb painting, but here was the results after yanking out of the booth.

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Brought the pieces home and then unmasked the jambs. Then bolted the doors back on, as well as hung the front fenders off the cowl, so the metallic paint would all match. Masked off the inner bed sides to then paint the exterior.

The loaded it all back up and hauled to the booth. We filled the space up, but was able to move around and get everything. Grandpa then suited up again and sprayed the remaining panels with the blue and clear to finish up the big hurdle of the project.

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Was great to get everything back to the shop and finally unmask everything to finally see the new two tone. We cut and buffed the panels as well as start bolting some things back on. First thing was the heater a few other firewall items.

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While putting something back onto the cab, we then went to the hardware store and bought a couple boxes of stainless bolts and then took turns on the polisher and polished the heads of every bolt going into the bed. Then it was time to finally put the bed together for the last time.

[a.c.ward]

amazing job on the truck, love the two tone blue and white combo

[CAMAROBOY68SS]

With the bed reassembled and had as much as we could stick back on the cab it was almost time to place the cab back on the frame. Pulled the cab and the frame outside for some pictures before mating them back together.

[CAMAROBOY68SS]

After that little photo session, it was time to slap the cab back on the frame. Didnt take any pics of the process as it I was more worried about not scratching or damaging anything as we put it back down on the frame with some wood and a couple of floor jacks.

Luckily everything went perfect and got the cab set back down on some new cab mounts.

[CAMAROBOY68SS]

With the cab back on the frame it was full steam ahead on reassembly. Started putting the doors back together and getting the dash reassembled, got the gas tank stuck back in as well.