'69 C15 to C10 Georgia Build

[jhcolli]

Well, after 11 years of tinkering I am finally going to finish this truck in 2015. I think. lol

The truck was obtained by my Uncle as payment for putting in a new driveway for a guy in Albany, GA. I remember riding in the truck as a kid and when he took ownership it had a 350, three on the tree and got about 8 MPG with the 3.73 gear. The truck is a 1969 GMC C15 Custom wideside and had a 292 L6. It was purchased new by a furniture store in Albany, GA for light local deliveries. The VIN indicates the truck was built in Ontario. One interesting thing about the truck is the "Custom" script emblems it has above the door handles. I believe Manes sold reproductions at one time, but I don't see them anymore. I love the look and plan to have the ones I have refinished and installed on this resto-mod.

I hounded my Uncle for years about buying the truck because it was sitting in the backyard for years with **** stacked up on it. In 2003, he finally caved and gave it to me for free. My father-in-law and I started the tear down and it was going to be a simple rebuild to get it running and drive it as is. I would have been ahead of my time with the patina look because it had significant surface rust and the bed was in really bad shape.

I was in the Air Force and living in DC at the time with the truck in Marietta, GA. I would come down on weekends to work on it and when I pulled the intake off, I found this lovely surprise.



Yeah, that is a rat nest. My Uncle cannibalized the truck to fix other vehicles and took the distributor out and stuff a rag in the hole. Rats pulled the rag inside the lifter valley, chewed it up and made a nest. WTF?!

We pulled the motor and cleaned it up. Installed new oil pump, screen, pickup and pan. I put an Edelbrock intake and carb on it with an HEI and the bastard fired up and ran like a sewing machine. I junked the manual three speed for a 700R4. When I started this project, GMC radiator core supports and grilles were super expensive and hard to find. I decided then I would convert the trim over to a Chevy C10 because it was much cheaper.

We patched a lot of rust holes in the body and scraped the bed. I searched for years looking for a donor bed before I said screw it and bought a complete bed from LMC. A lot of interruptions, loss of interest and money delayed the project up until now. I had a good sales year .

Now it is on. I've got a storage unit full of new parts from LMC, an LS376 480HP crate motor and trans on the way, Accuair e-level air system,CPP and Porterbuilt suspension parts.

I am going backwards a bit on the build because now I am going fuel injected and lowering the truck. I'll have to sell a few parts (gas tanks, both cab and rear), old bumpers, six lug American Racing wheels and tires, original trailing arm rear suspension, and the motor and trans are already on craigslist.

Here are some early pics when we first started.

https://plus.google.com/photos/10051...MDg1smujpX4jgE

Two of the hardest parts are picking wheels and paint color. I'll post new pictures as we progress.