1970 K20 Z62 Full Restoration

[chewychevy67]

Every Sunday I look forward to progress in photos. It won't be long and you'll be driving it!

[IronCanine]

Originally Posted by Louisvillekytruck

Everything looks perfect Brad.

Thanks!

Originally Posted by chewychevy67

Every Sunday I look forward to progress in photos. It won't be long and you'll be driving it!

We'll see if I've got the guts.

[DeadheadNM]

Looking good!

[cak20]

looking great! was curious on how you finished the bottom side of the cab?

[IronCanine]

Originally Posted by DeadheadNM

Looking good!

Thanks Pete.

Originally Posted by cak20

looking great! was curious on how you finished the bottom side of the cab?

We purposely saved some of the factory primer because we wanted to keep the runs (and it was in good/intact shape after clean up). We color matched that primer and sprayed those areas where it would have been exposed (under the cab, bed, and where they wrote in the wet paint at Fremont) to achieve the factory look. Any undercoating that gets on there won't go on until after assembly.

[chewychevy67]

That's some crazy detail work there. That's what I like about your build. I might have to fly back to see this gem when it's done. We can sit in your garage and look at it unless you get up the guts to take me for a spin lol.

[IronCanine]

Originally Posted by chewychevy67

That's some crazy detail work there. That's what I like about your build. I might have to fly back to see this gem when it's done. We can sit in your garage and look at it unless you get up the guts to take me for a spin lol.

Thanks Rod. You are welcome anytime. At the very least we can sit in it and make engine noises.

[IronCanine]

Big E just keeps cranking along. Hood and cowl painted. Blew in the undersides of the tubs in single stage as he has done for all the "overspray" spots. Most of this will get covered up with undercoating. And then moved on to the cut and polish on the bedsides.

To my eye the pics aren't lying (even though they're different cameras and different times of day). It does a have a fair amount of flop...and really changes in shadow.

[IronCanine]

As lucky as I feel to have gotten my hands on that NOS hood...maybe the single craziest/luckiest thing found is this complete NOS A/C kit. I did not know such a thing existed until I became aware of this one. Gunner (Atog) was kind enough to let this go after having fostered it for quite some time. He got it (IIRC) from a gentleman who worked at a GM warehouse in Michigan. It came with everything you need to put a factory A/C setup on a non A/C truck including patterns to cut the firewall and dash. It includes all controls, hoses, ducting, condenser(not pictured), dryer, harness, hardware...the works. A few pieces have a little shelf wear that needs attending to and the compressor was long ago separated from the group (though I do have a piece of its original box). It comes with a sheet listing all the included parts and an installation manual. The hoses unfortunately are all clamp style (which is not correct for my truck) and the vacuum canister is the plastic version (also not correct for my truck). But goodness, the OE hardware with factory finishes alone is gold to me.

[IronCanine]

Because of the age of this kit, I of course wanted to get some components checked out. But I was very protective of their NOS condition. Classic Auto Air or Original Air or whatever they call themselves is about all we have to work with on some of this stuff. Their communication is dismal. Their work is average at best in spite of their marketing. But I needed to test the expansion and POA valves and I knew the desiccant needed to be changed in the dryer because of the age of these components. I called before I sent the pieces to state that I wanted to be cautious about how the finishes were handled even though they weren't pristine because of the factory stamps and markings. I followed the shipping directions and further stated my request/expectations on the intake form. No communication. I called and even had trouble confirming they received the pieces. Long story short...I'm not even sure this is my original dryer. Definitely put a canister bottom on that is shorter and shaped different. Expansion valve just looks like it was spray painted. I had to call to find out what they had done...if it was converted for 134 (I was open to conversion if they failed testing and had said as much) or if they had passed testing. When I called to complain that they had charged me for the privilege of vandalizing my parts (probably too strong a statement, but it is arguable no real service was rendered), he just said find us another one and we'll make it good. Riiiiiight, sure thing...there is an NOS POA valve on eBay (same part number) right now for the paltry sum of $500. (EDIT: I am sensitive to the fact that I'm complaining pretty hard about White Post and Classic Auto Air for what might seem nitpicky things. But this is a nitpicky hobby. And these parts are so expensive to come by now. And they charge a mint for the service (such that it is) that they provide. Listening or reading or any basic communication would have gone a long way to minimizing the aggravation...(which I share in hopes of helping someone else avoid it as much as possible).

Also...FAA Benny from the board is super nice and does this kind of work. I have just had difficulty connecting with him when it was project time. If you can get him....he's the guy to use IMO.

First pics are condition as found. Last pic is what CAA sent back sans factory markings.

[68bowtie]

Wow that’s an incredible find. I didn’t know that existed either. That firewall template is pretty cool!

[1970cstblazer]

Impressive. Sorry you had issues with getting those parts looked at. I guess these vendors just don't get it.

[Louisvillekytruck]

Originally Posted by IronCanine

Big E just keeps cranking along. Hood and cowl painted. Blew in the undersides of the tubs in single stage as he has done for all the "overspray" spots. Most of this will get covered up with undercoating. And then moved on to the cut and polish on the bedsides.

To my eye the pics aren't lying (even though they're different cameras and different times of day). It does a have a fair amount of flop...and really changes in shadow.

All top notch work looks great

[IronCanine]

Originally Posted by 68bowtie

Wow that’s an incredible find. I didn’t know that existed either. That firewall template is pretty cool!

Thanks. I think it's super cool too!

Originally Posted by 1970cstblazer

Impressive. Sorry you had issues with getting those parts looked at. I guess these vendors just don't get it.

Thanks...sorry for the rant. I'll try to be better next week.

Originally Posted by Louisvillekytruck

All top notch work looks great

Thanks!

[1970cstblazer]

Originally Posted by IronCanine

Thanks...sorry for the rant. I'll try to be better next week.

Thanks for letting our community know about these shady and lackluster companies, like my favorite InL*** T***.

[IronCanine]

Originally Posted by 1970cstblazer

Thanks for letting our community know about these shady and lackluster companies, like my favorite InL*** T***.

I don't think I'd go so far as to call any of them shady. It's more something we're all experiencing across the board in life (feels like). Everything is just C level or worse and there's no accountability. It's a take it or leave it, no concern for customer, half-a$$ approach. And to be honest, some of them may think they're rocking it out because they don't know any better. This is more of a "BEWARE OF DOG" situation. I have had no positive experiences with InLT nor with Old Air or Original Air or CAA or whatever they want to be called. But I came back to the well and tried to micro-manage my way through them with limited success and little consideration. It made me mad. I vented to you guys. Moving forward.

[Jason Banks]

I wish I had looked at your build thread sooner. When I ordered brake lines from Inline Tube for my 67 K20 they were not even close to correct.

Years ago(probably 20+) I had a leaf spring c10 and I got brakes from them and they were not even close either. At the time they said send us your old one and we will replicate them.

When I had the 67 K20 problem earlier this year, they didn't offer, but I asked and was able to send them in to be duplicated for no charge. The bad news is they didn't return 2 small lines and could not find the ones I had sent in. Nice huh? They had me bend up a piece of wire and give them the specifications and they remade them for me. Luckily I had taken tons of photographs of exactly what I had sent them and even how I had them in the box, so it wasn't a big deal, except for the time.

I had(still have) a horrible AMD front bed panel, made very wrong. I've decided that I'll never use any front bed panel except MAR-K ever again.

I couldn't return the AMD bed panel to Summit because I had already scuffed it to primer it when I discovered how bad it was. I complained about it on Instagram and AMD did seem sympathetic, but didn't outright offer to do anything about it. Lesson learned. Buy nothing from AMD ever again.

[DeadheadNM]

What a lame ordeal. Where do the Corvette guys get their AC restoration services I wonder? Too bad no Bat-Signal equivalent for FAA Benny.

[IronCanine]

Eric got a lot of real estate cut and polished this week and boy does it pop. The paint on this truck is waaaaaaay too good for what we're trying to do...but it is hard not to like it.

The rest of the bed will likely be painted next week. That means if all goes well, we'll marry the body and frame before Christmas. Fingers crossed on that.

The way he's sequenced this will hopefully allow us to put clean on clean and avoid the dust and drift residue that often migrates into places you'd rather it not be.

[IronCanine]

Very little happening on my end. Just trying to get ready to move the roller over to his place. I finally put a little gear oil back in the transmission to see if I have that leak fixed. So far so good on a small volume and a short time. Also put in a little power steering fluid. I have had a concern that it was going to leak too. Again, so far so good.

I was able to clean up and touch up the frame harness clips. Like the other frame clips, the reproduction examples are much different that these factory examples. Like the others, they were too short to get through the 3/4T frame thickness. And they also were shaped slightly differently and were uncoated. Maybe there are better examples out there than I ordered or have seen.

Otherwise I've been ordering all the other stuff we need to get this thing together.

[Orange71shorty]

Truck is looking fantastic and going at a great pace!

[chewychevy67]

That's a nice looking dog!

[70STOVEBOLT]

I may have missed it, but are you building this to show?

[IronCanine]

Originally Posted by Orange71shorty

Truck is looking fantastic and going at a great pace!

Thanks! They never seem to go fast enough though.

Originally Posted by chewychevy67

That's a nice looking dog!

Molly is the best. She is most definitely the boss of this operation. Mostly she keeps the riffraff out...but sometimes she makes a parts run. Best shop dog ever.

[IronCanine]

Originally Posted by 70STOVEBOLT

I may have missed it, but are you building this to show?

I think we're just building it to build it...but we'd definitely like to take it to some shows. Believe it or not I had hoped to take it to Nashville this year. (See my previous point/post). We only missed it by a few months. That October show would be one I'd like to make next year.