Project Green Bean '74 C10 to K10

[LEEVON]

Project "Green Bean". My buddy bought this with his son who lost interest, so he made me a deal and I am going to carry the torch with my youngest son Henry. It will be a budget build, where we make systems new and reliable, and fix or replace anything that's broken, do rust repair, but not a full cosmetic restoration.

She's a '74 C10 long bed with low mileage from the original owner here in Missouri, even came with the original title. At first glance it looks like a rusty parts truck, but it is a very good builder. First off, the color and patina are amazing. The cab has no rust except a few holes on one cab corner and couple little firewall spots. The important stuff - floors, supports, rockers, are all good! The bed floor and tailgate are amazing. There is rust over the rear wheels. The right front fender is wasted, as are the inners, and left lower. All fix-able rust, nothing crazy. The interior is original un-molested with a very nice seat, and dealer add-on AC.

Henry said he liked 4x4 better so a little Marketplace search got me an already painted and gone-through rolling 1979 chassis for $1,000. Saturday we swapped the body over to the chassis on brand new mounts and hardware. The old cab bolts zipped right out and somehow I managed to set the cab down perfectly on the "new" chassis without an adjustment. It was all too easy, I hope the whole truck goes that way. We got a hand lifting the bed and front clip on this morning, and voila, it's now a 4x4.

What's next? Fuel system - parts are in transit; a new fuel tank, sender and high pressure pump assembly, regulator and lines. Then I will complete the brakes and start the drivetrain swap. I have ordered both front and rear high humps new from AMD to take care of the floor clearance problem. I want to get this mechanically squared away before cosmetics.

I have a complete 5.3L at home. I'm going to pair that with a fresh 700r4 and NP208.