Keeping with the times - '69 K10 SWB Stepper work truck/resto mod

[JJorgensen52]

Well, I've been roaming around here with my truck for about a year and a half now, I figured it's about time I collect all my odds and ends into one thread and call it a build, of sorts

A little bit of this is duplication from other threads, but here it goes.

Starting point: Bare bones 1969 K10 SWB Stepside, 4 speed and 307. I purchased it with 67k original miles from the son of the original owner; elderly gentleman who was actually there at the plant in Tarrytown, NY when the truck was built. There is no delivery date stamped on the door, but the block is dated Dec 1968. The truck left Tarrytown and lived it's entire life in Yonkers. According to the owner, the only time it ever left the city was to tow a racecar to Englishtown in the 70's.

I had been actively searching for probably 6 months and on and off for several years prior. I went to see the truck based on a one line craigslist ad and a 20 minute phone call. I drove 2.5 hours with cash in hand, and here's what I saw:


The old girl was pretty tired looking, has had some hack sheetmetal work done over the years, one respray in black epoxy sometime in the 90's, valve seats/seals in 1987. Even the tires were 14 years old.







But, everything I had wanted to see was there, so I made an offer and bought it on the spot. The only thing that was missing were the R/V mirrors. It even came with an original chassis overhaul manual.

So, 2 weeks later with a borrowed truck and a rented trailer, I got up and hit the road early so I was in NYC with the truck loaded up and ready to roll at 7:30 AM (November 2009)

I towed it home to New Hampshire (I was in southern CT at school at the time), had new tires put on and had it unloaded at home with all the paperwork to get it registered by 7PM.


My goal for this project, long term, is to keep the very basic plain-jane feel to the truck, but upgrade and update the mechanicals to more modern standards. I use this truck as a work truck; it hauls boats and cars, it hauls wood, it hauls gravel and dirt - but I also want it to look clean and original. I'm a sucker for OEM engineering in a lot of ways, so if it was good enough for the General, it's good enough for me. With that in mind, I've embarked on the restoration and updating one piece at a time.