Where do I start? 1970 C20 Rebuild

[Longhorn 69]

Hope you enjoy your build as much as I have mine so far. It looks to be in better condition than mine was after sitting for 20+ years. My engine is rebuilt, and frame and parts have been blasted and epoxy primed and ready to bring home from body shop tomorrow. Now it is time to start piecing it back together. This forum is a wealth of info.
On another note I opened the Factory Assembly Manual Index that these fine members put together, but I do not see the heading. Do I need to do something different?

[stsalvage]

Now that is a find.Finding one with all the Brackets still attached. Man so many of us would only dream of being so lucky.If your looking to make this a really nice driver.And plan on putting some real miles on this truck.I've found out that CCP makes a 1/2 ton spindle that take the 3/4 ton ball joint and swapping out the rear end is a joy cus there all leaf springs.The new trucks from 1973--95 had leaf spring.

Lately i have found out that the 4L80E will bolt up to all are small block and big block engines.Tci makes a stand alone computer hook up that you can buy for around 600.00 a it will get you 16-to 20 miles per gallon .Plus the 4L80E has no floes,Not one bad review unless you did not changed the oil or filter ever them you have problems.But its a system that all of us should jump on and plus it has over drive And you need to do nothing Put put a trans cooler on it.I'm looking at 3 of them to put them in all my chevy trucks

[stsalvage]

The longhorn is a over looked truck.Most people use to steer clear of them.Now they are the ones coming to light.I have a 1968 longhorn with the same chrome package as yours.I've found out with in the last 5 years the bed is not to my truck But it has the tool box and is not cancer out has all the side trim I have a few dings around the tail like but easy to fix.My cab is spotless no cancer.In side its perfect.Plus it has the one paint combo that most guys are looking for the metallic Blue.Plus mine is AC as well Plus it has the 396 Full power .

[CW4B]

Originally Posted by Jacoby

I'm in the same boat as you with a 68 C10 I just inherited

My plan is:
brakes and suspension 1st
wheels & tires 2nd
powertrain & drivetrain 3rd
interior 4th
exterior 5th

I like you're plan, straight forward and simple. Now its my plan too!
Already did the brakes.
Does one of your steps involve taking it down to the frame to clean and paint as the parts go back on? My buddy does it that way, but I'm not sure I want a show room truck that I won't want to drive around.

[CW4B]

Originally Posted by Jacoby

I'm in the same boat as you with a 68 C10 I just inherited

My plan is:
brakes and suspension 1st
wheels & tires 2nd
powertrain & drivetrain 3rd
interior 4th
exterior 5th

Great plan, thanks for sharing. BTW, not sure why this is posting in a different string than I intended to post it in? Newbie me.

[CW4B]

List of options inside glove box.

[rustytruck50]

Gold Custom cloth with Orange? Interesting....I would love to see that! You're just full of little surprises!

[CW4B]

Should I start a new string for each question?

Engine not idling unless I pump the gas peddle like I'm having a seizure. I'm not sure how to trouble shoot this. So far though;

Ignition: Has an HEI distro. I replace the coil/cap and rotor, wires and plugs. Replaced the positive battery cable to starter and removed the no longer needed yellow wire on the R terminal of the starter all the way back to the resistance wire going into the firewall. The BATT wire on the HEI was wired directly to the fuse box. I haven't checked the timing, not sure how to do that.

Fuel: I added a fuel filter. Didn't check fuel pressure but I discovered that it was plenty high when I forgot to tighten one of my fuel line hoses. At this stage, engine would start and would idle OK but nearly die when starting to drive and would die if I let off the gas to apply brakes. I then installed a Carter AFB-Competition Series (9605S 3263) that my buddy had laying around. It was clean and nothing sticking, but I didn't take it apart and do anything with it - but it was recently performing well on another engine.

Thanks for any help or for pointing me to a reference I can study to figure this out.

[Steeveedee]

Spray WD-40 or something similar around the carburetor to see if there is a vacuum leak. It is possible that the outer ring on the balancer has slipped, and your timing is actually retarded. That's rare, but can happen. It does seem like a vacuum leak, by the conditions, though.

[CW4B]

Originally Posted by Steeveedee

Spray WD-40 or something similar around the carburetor to see if there is a vacuum leak. It is possible that the outer ring on the balancer has slipped, and your timing is actually retarded. That's rare, but can happen. It does seem like a vacuum leak, by the conditions, though.

I do recall hearing a hissing for a few seconds after turning off each time. I will dig into this, thanks.

Incidentally, I noticed that the fuel pump was squirting fuel seemingly out of the seam on the pump itself. That's the next job, then I'll check for vacuum leaks and go ahead with the idle mixture and speed adjustment.

[CW4B]

Originally Posted by rustytruck50

Gold Custom cloth with Orange? Interesting....I would love to see that! You're just full of little surprises!

Well, 1970 was pretty eclectic. Even for farm trucks I guess.

The original gold cloth is pretty much dust now.

[stsalvage]

The list is right there.really good.Me i'm not one to tearing something down to really make it pretty.To much of a chance some one liking the truck more then you do and stealing it.Or you get some people that have envy and they just want to damage something you have.Plus if you get it all fancy.Every nick ding will make it where you don't want to drive it.if you live in a state that gets gofe ball hail or really bad sand storms.No i leave it the way it is.You could just put a clear over what you have.

Fix the roof the white know one will see but the Hot Sun.

If you have money to spend a new engine re pop harness and a light harness would be the best the engine harness will come with the old distributor harness or you can order the one that has the HEI harness 1 wire the Light harness deal with the ALT your Voltage regulator and your head lights and blinkers makes them more brighter..

Plus its just a peace of mind knowing your electrical is all good.if your Main harness in rise your truck is all intact and not one cut on it your good to go.

Me i buy the rear tail light harness they make a trailer harness for are truck now for 21.00 and its a plug and play system M&H makes the re POP harness Stay away from Painless.

M&H is a Factory replacement for are trucks.

Even tho yours is a 1969-70 i use the factory harness for the 1971-1972 unless yours had the side makers that blinked when your right or left turn single was used.

I like having my side makers blink I wish the rear blinks as well .It just tells the people on the side of you witch way your going.I love that safety option for the 1971-72 chevy and GMC trucks

[Coley]

The major fork in the road is coming....lol so get ready and beware.
That work involves tearing that thing down to the ground to do a hopeful restoration.....and the other route is a 'rolling restoration'..
They are very personality dependent but mostly they are cash/time/life/space dependent and require a lot more thought and reflection than a lot of guys give it.
Note that classic truck history is full of disassembled project trucks in boxes for sale on craigslist everywhere....so something to consider for others that have gone before, lol.

You've got a good model there to start with either way.

As for that carb problem:
Ok, the truck looks like it hasn't been used much so I'll bet that carb is full of crap, crud, varnish etc.
Check the number on the carb (drivers side-vertical stamping) and pick up a carb gasket kit for it...they are pretty cheap.
Then take 15 minutes and remove it from the truck.....and take it into to a nice clean workbench area.
Then I would gently disassemble the carb and carefully remove the top air horn to see what your float bowl situation looks like inside.....you will find this very interesting (easy) stuff...just take your time and be mindful of the simple disassembly tasks....easy to do.
Regardless tho'...I would carefully clean ever internal surface, passage, air hold, part etc with the carb cleaner and seriously blow it out with compressed air...including carefully removing the 2 idle/mixture screws on the front.
Then carefully re-assemble it with the new gasket kit.
You can easily check your float levels and internal operation, etc once you have that top air horn off the carb.
Then re-install the idle/mixture screws and turn them out about 2-1/2 turns to start.
That will get your vehicle to start up ok and get ready for some tuning.
The point is....these carbs are great....when they are clean.
They are not full of 100 gears and parts like a transmission...they are primarily a flow device and need to be cleaned and set to give you a good result...and they easily get out of this zone if they sit for a long time and don't get used much.
(note: something in that PCV line doesn't look quite right....disconnected near the carb? or?...open vacuum port?..do you have a better close up pic (or two) of your carb set up?...maybe without the air cleaner)
Usually, even the simplest of top to bottom cleaning procedures (not even a full rebuild) using carb cleaner and compressed air get these carbs immediately running/operating 50% better right out of the gate.

Remember tho'....before you start tuning....check and set your timing....make sure you have somewhere (at least) around 10° before you tune the carb.
Regardless......always remove it and thorougly clean it to start......and whatever you do, don't try to do it while leaving it on the vehicle.
Not only will it not yield much in the way of results...you will probably waste more time and be more frustrated attempting to do it under the hood.
Take the 15 minutes...pull it if off and enjoy the cleaning and investigation process at a work bench.

Nice truck!!

All good
Coley

[davepl]

Just sticking my nose in the middle of this thread because I scrolled through and looked at the pictures and that's a sweet truck to be starting with! Great color, big block, and a Longhorn to boot!

Enjoy!

PS: Here's my Longhorn so you can tell which way I went. This is several years and tens of thousands of dollars, mind you. You have to love the -process- or it'd be stupid.