Project Pops (1980 C10 Build Project)

[palposity]

In 1980 my wife's Grandfather walked into a Chevy dealership in the Southern Tier of NY and purchased a brand new Chevy Scottsdale C10 pickup truck for an extra truck to have around the farm. Stripped down no options except an AM/FM radio and what seems to be an upgraded leaf spring package in the rear (believed to be original). In 1989 my wife's Grandfather passed away, and my wife's Dad inherited the truck with 40K miles on it. My father-in-law used this truck for the past 20 years as an occasional driver and it rusted like crazy. We did a patch job on the body back in 2000, but 9 years later it is now rusted beyond belief. The truck now has 66K original miles on it and still runs like a top and starts right up on the first hit regardless of how long it has been sitting.

My father-in-law has given up on using this truck as it is too far gone rust-wise. I have transported it to my large pole barn to begin restoration. I began by taking the front fenders and bed off and hauled away for scrap. The frame is also rusted out. I have purchased a 1986 Chevy C10 truck with a blown engine and solid body as a parts donor. I am going to use the rust-free frame, bed, and cab floor from the donor truck and combine it with the cab, and drivetrain from the project truck to make one good truck. I know I need to get some pics posted.

I would like input from anyone who can give me a good place to buy some paint for the frame as well as replacement bushings for the leaf springs and other suspension parts I will probably need to replace during the first phase of this project. I would like to use some site vendors for this forum, but, being new here, I don't really know who to go to yet. Thanks!