Another '63 Restomod Build

[0ldSoul]

Well we sold our previous truck before having to move again (military), and I missed it since we saw it drive away. With moving and buying a home, I don't regret it - it's got us to where we are today.

Anyhow, fast forward nearly 3 years and we found another kneeknocker. This 63 was in Idaho and, according to the seller, appears to have been an Idaho farm truck its entire life.

The plan is to have it on air. We're going to cup the control arms and do a mild c-notch, but the Chopping Block rear half and cross member look pretty sweet!

For get up and go, we're thinking an ls with either a 4l60.
Power steering and disc brakes all around should make it comfortable and safe to drive.

The 8 hour drive from Vegas to Idaho Falls was... long driving through Nevada is boring - not much to see!

[B]Here's a picture of the C10 on the trailer

The view from our hotel room

Grabbing coffee and donuts for the roadtrip

and finally, home

[0ldSoul]

Well, the interior is done

Got right into it and began removing the front clip

[DPowers]

Good looking solid truck.

[0ldSoul]

Nice thing about the long bed is we have a place to put all the parts haha


I can't describe the amount of caked on dirt


and what on earth is that welded to the front crossmember!?


Front clip off, and lots to do!

[0ldSoul]

Steering box and linkage removed


Always a fun time with ball joints


time to clean up again


....and get everything dirty again

[0ldSoul]

Sorry for the picture dump, but this is just to document the progress put in, day after day..
What's that saying? Good work isn't cheap and cheap work isn't good?




Our daughter helping out

[joesscamaro]

Making good progress! Looking forward to more updates.

[SCOTI]

I'm in to watch. Looks like a decent starting point.

[rbruno68]

Nice to see another 63. What is the two master cylinders? At least it looks like two bolted to the firewall.

[SkinnyG]

Excellent time to pancake the crossmember.

Or go Porterbuilt, or NoLimit, or something....

(big grin)

[0ldSoul]

Originally Posted by joesscamaro

Making good progress! Looking forward to more updates.

Thanks Joe

Originally Posted by SCOTI

I'm in to watch. Looks like a decent starting point.

It's not terrible, definitely one worth saving!

Originally Posted by rbruno68

Nice to see another 63. What is the two master cylinders? At least it looks like two bolted to the firewall.

Yeah.. we wondered the same thing lol

Originally Posted by DPowers

Good looking solid truck.

Thanks, we're going to rock the patina look for a bit.

Originally Posted by SkinnyG

Excellent time to pancake the crossmember.

Or go Porterbuilt, or NoLimit, or something....

(big grin)

Going to cup the front control arms for now, but we are looking into eventually doing the Choppin Block dropmember and rear backhalf

[0ldSoul]

I've been off this week, so I've been able to work on the truck more than ususal.
We're going to try doing the vinegar bath on a few parts.. we've done it on a previous build but I can't recall if it made a noticeable difference or not, so we'll see.


Moving onto the front crossmember


Primer

Paint

[0ldSoul]

Firewall done, for now. We'll eventually cover that hole from the '2nd' master cylinder


Can't wait to see gold grade 8 bolts against that shiny black!

[PowerdbyChevy79]

Subscribed...

[0ldSoul]

Crossmember is back on and got some items ordered over the last couple of days.

[joesscamaro]

Looking clean!

[rbruno68]

Looks great. The frame and firewall really cleaned up nice.

[0ldSoul]

Originally Posted by joesscamaro

Looking clean!

Thanks Joe! Any update on your 65?

Originally Posted by rbruno68

Looks great. The frame and firewall really cleaned up nice.

Yes they did, we were amazed at how much better it looked. Although it's time consuming and one can easily lose time sanding away, it's part of the fun and satisfying when you see it all come together with some fresh paint at the end.

We do plan on moving onto the middle of the frame next. For now, the plan is to figure out how to lift the cab - at least some - to thoroughly get the frame and cab mounts as well as replace those body bushings while we're at it. We're looking at the OE rubber since I've read the poly bushings can be stiff.

[0ldSoul]

So, I read this was a popular upgrade: 1973-1987 LCA u-bolts

Step drill bit and 9/16 bit took care enlarging the crossmember holes

[SCOTI]

Yes..... They are a good idea. Moving the lower arns slightly forward is as well.

[rbruno68]

How did your bolts/nuts fit up against the top side of the crossmember? I used a die grinder and tried to move the holes away from the crossmember and they were still very close and hard to get a socket on.

[SCOTI]

Originally Posted by rbruno68

How did your bolts/nuts fit up against the top side of the crossmember? I used a die grinder and tried to move the holes away from the crossmember and they were still very close and hard to get a socket on.

Same issue. I recall final tightening was via open-end wrench.

[0ldSoul]

Funny you say that, when I mocked it up for that picture, I was wondering if that would be a problem.

I'll try the slow going open-end wrench, but if need be, thanks for the die grinder idea.

[SCOTI]

I took a 'hammer on ball-peen hammer' approach as well as needed. A couple of good clean whacks helped.

[0ldSoul]

Originally Posted by SCOTI

I took a 'hammer on ball-peen hammer' approach as well as needed. A couple of good clean whacks helped.

Noted!