Project My First Chevy: 1970 C-10 Longbed

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Boy am I ever happy to find this forum! This is my first Chevy. I have to admit, I'm kind of excited, and that worries me just a little.

I've got a 2000 Jeep rock crawler project that I keep making more complicated, a '74-'75 International Scout II project, and a little Saab convertible that barely gets enough attention to keep it going. Money is tight. Seems like the last thing I need is another project, but I do need a pickup truck, so here goes!

Got this here 1970 C-10 Long Wide-Side for about the price of a good set of forged FSB pistons. Here she is fresh off the flatbed. Needs some work, but she's pretty much all there.



She has a 350 with stock 4bbl Rochester, TH350, and 6-lug 12 bolt. HD Coils all around. Not too sure about rear coils on a truck, but we'll see.



The body is very straight. Just some SoCal surface rust and a long, horizontal dent in the tailgate. Oh and a bent front bumper. I will be painting it with something before I take this truck out east to the salty roads.



Yeah it came with some extra wheels, tires, and several rebuildable smallblocks which I'll have to pick up after I get her running.

She's been sitting since 2003. The PO installed a new starter, and soon after, one of the starter bolt ears broke off of the engine block. He figured the only way to fix that was a new engine, which he never got around to, and so it sat. About the only attention it got was from the local rodent population.



According to the PO, that engine was installed in the '90s. With all the gunk on it, and with the very stock look of the installation, I would have believed it to be original. The dust and rat snacks and turds are gone now (from the air cleaner, too), but the thick layer of baked-on grease/ dust is proving quite stubborn. Gunk gel bounced off. My third application of Easy Off oven cleaner is in process...

Note the rodent nest in the glove compartment. They got at the registration paperwork pretty good too.


I have to say I like the look of the dash.


This was a work truck owned by horse people. Lots of dirt and hay dust caked on after sitting for years. Midway through cleaning this out, I decided to take a pic. Seems like the resto projects around here usually begin with a shovel.

Don't be hatin' on the custom plywood/ fiberglass fuel tank cover. I think a fresh coat of latex paint, and she'll be as good as new. Available for free to a good home!



Well those are all the pics I have before I did the initial cleaning and the snow hit. Hope to post more soon.