Project Derail

[Mazoh77]

I started my C10 journey about three weeks ago when i bought Gertude. Gertrude is a slow, rusted out rusted out work truck and is exactly the kind of project i wanted.

https://imgur.com/vkoQSVA

as i dug into it it became clear that she needed a whole new cab in a big way. i'm a welder, i can fix it, but as i joined various facebook C10 groups i came across a very nice cab for sale.

https://imgur.com/a/HK4lq

i took a look at it and decided to buy it on the spot because the 450 i spent on the green cab was WAY cheaper than all the panels and shipping i would have to cough up to properly fix my blue one, and that's before all the welding supplies and extra electrical cost it would take to weld mine back up proper.

the guy i bought it from (a solid guy who i would call a friend now) had the rest of the truck and was going to make a trailer out of the bed and frame. after doing a ton of reading about the legality of a cab swap i offered to trade him my enclosed 5x8 trailer for the rest of what was left of the green truck, and just rebuild that whole thing instead. so here i am three weeks into C10's and i have two trucks. the plan right now is to drive and use the blue one all winter as is and work on the green one as i have time. it has been quite a trip already just getting everything to the house.

https://imgur.com/cfI4FUd

https://imgur.com/gVkuH2R

i had to take my only other car (a 1977 chevy nova hatchback) to lowes and pick up some lumber and hardware to rig up a quick gantry to try and get the thing outta my bed. i don't own an engine hoist and this made better financial sense (money is gonna be tight with this build)

https://imgur.com/Y2RcIcb

i had to weld some chain to the cab to get a solid lift point

https://imgur.com/ddGp2HT

it worked, but just by the skin on our teeth. turns out i need more supports for my sketchy home made gantry. that bar across the top was straight when we started.

https://imgur.com/1SyZf06

https://imgur.com/DG8TRt0

https://imgur.com/HlDVHUU

https://imgur.com/6KHDWoh

i also got a running driving straight 6 and three speed in the deal too! i want the green truck to be more of a commuter so an inline is just fine with me for now.

https://imgur.com/NyXVDfM


a couple days later with some convincing i got my dad and brother to come out with a flatbed and get the frame,parts, and bed. we forgot to grab a come-along so the shop owner was awesome and helped push it on with a forklift

https://imgur.com/HcqzaT6

after all that i fabbed up a quick cart to set the cab on so i could roll it into my tiny little garage. i didn't realize the cab frame was wider in back so i had to add that extra wide piece. it ended up working great!

https://imgur.com/emXn1Za

https://imgur.com/3xG8EN0

now that the cab is in my shop i can start doing the little bit of metalwork it needs before it's ready to be re-attached to the frame (which is now in my yard, i'm THAT neighbor now, haha)

and one last shot of how crammed my space is for the time being.

https://imgur.com/6vMop0K

i call this project derail because i'm not even working on the truck i originally intended to. funny how things turn out sometimes, right? once the green one is in decent driving shape i'm gonna either fix up or sell the blue one. haven't decided yet.

i didn't grow up working on cars, i only really started about a year ago and there is a LOT that i don't know. i'm going to have a lot of questions and i know the old threads on this site are a goldmine of great information about these awesome old trucks, i promise to try and find that info before wasting anyone's time asking things that have been answered 6000 times. i'm really excited to get started.