64 Shortbed Fleetside/ project "VVRV" / Vintage Volkswagen Recovery Vehicle

[55reasons]

This will be a rather slow build due to my constant travel schedule.

Purpose-built C10 to haul my VW around, sometimes with my '50 BMW motorcycle, and/or recover vintage VW's for resale or restoration.

The plan as it stands:
Dually rear end narrowed to fit inside the bed with no flares.
Bagged all the way around.
10-lug bolt pattern oversized disc brakes w/ 22.5" semi wheels (Alcoa) cut down to 22" to run passenger tires.
No fancy paint, just patina, raw steel, clear coat and rubber.
Manual tranny, and a V8.
Fuel tank relocation.

Started with this 64 C10 that I picked up in Twentynine Palms, CA from cru_zn_29 on April 13th with an extra GMC hood.





I liked the shape of the GMC hood lights and openings, so I sprung for the extra hood and swapped it out as soon as I got it home.



The interior has some rust in the lower front cornersthat needs repaired, but the seat frame and springs are in great shape.

[55reasons]

So, this past weekend, I decided to fire up the compressor and take the DA sander to the original hood and see what was under the thick tan paint so I would know what the rest of the truck was going to entail.

The pass side front corner of the hood had, what looked like a huge dent, with a large chunk of body filler in it. To my pleasant surprise, I pryed out a chunk, and the whole patch came out. It was a fiberglass fill, and the metal under it was as clean as the pure driven snow. The dent that it was covering didn't bridge the body crease, so it's an easy fix.

I don't plan on using ANY body filler on this project. Even sheet metal replacement, if required, won't be skimmed over. What you see it what you get with this one. Nothing to hide.

I moved on with the sander and the more I worked on it, the more I really liked what I was seeing as the original paint started coming through.

By the end of the day I decided that I was going to do the whole truck like this. Primer, bare metal and all, will be cleared over as is.

I'm already having second thoughts on using the GMC hood now that I see the OG paint on this hood.

I'll pound out dents by hand the best I can, and fill the hole for the hood ornament and the holes in the bed for the hooks that I've already removed as well when I get to them.

I'm really liking this look so far.





I'll continue this process on the rest of the sheet metal.

For the inside of the cab, and the inside of the body panels, I'll walnut shell the metal and coat it with a quality rust preventative as I move along.

[Dinos63]

nice find!

[55reasons]

I came across this Clear Epoxy that is advertised as being designed for exactly this kind of application.

Has anyone ever used, or known anyone who has used, this particular product or a similar clear epoxy like it for coating over bare metal?

This claims to completely seal the surface. ie; no rust development under the clear unlike a traditional clearcoat finish that is prone to seepage and peeling.

http://www.squeegskustoms.com/products.html

Also, on a separate note, I was in for a rude awakening yesterday when I went to the PPG dealer in Palm Springs yesterday only to find out that PPG DX330 and all of the other DX line of products for surface prep are now ALSO illegal in the state of CA. Total bummer.

Now I gotta head to Phoenix this weekend just to get the PPG products and hopefully pick up the Clear epoxy while I'm there as well.

[jb1016]

Patina, old chevy truck, old VWs...what's not to like?? I'm subbed to this one. Sounds awesome.

[55reasons]

Ordered the SATIN Clear Epoxy from squeeg's kustoms a little while ago.

He claims there is no need for a adhesion promoter for the bare surface when using his product.

So, in order for anything interesting to happen this weekend, I'll need a portable blaster, about 50lbs of walnut shell, a ventilation hood, some wax and grease remover, and a quart of two part black epoxy primer for the underside of the hood.

Hopefully I can land all this before Saturday and get an idea how the rest of the truck will look after practicing on the hood with some new products.

[monolith]

Nice! Cant wait to see this one! I opened the door to my shop this morning and was greeted by a 69 bug that wasn't there yesterday. My buddies new project.
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[55reasons]

Originally Posted by monolith

Nice! Cant wait to see this one! I opened the door to my shop this morning and was greeted by a 69 bug that wasn't there yesterday. My buddies new project.
Posted via Mobile Device

Sweet....

Here's a pic of my RHD 55 Oval and I taken a few months ago in, you guessed it, Yuma, AZ.

[monolith]

Nice!
This is the lil guy that was smiling at me as I opened the door.
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[losthope]

Good looking truck and nice oval! wish i had a older bug ,I have a 73' but still fun just doesnt look as cool as the older ones..

[coulter]

dude i really like ur plans for this build!!! cant wait to see how this turns out
btw ever thought bout putting a 12 valve cummins in it? that would be really sweet too.. but way more expensive

[55reasons]

Originally Posted by coulter

dude i really like ur plans for this build!!! cant wait to see how this turns out
btw ever thought bout putting a 12 valve cummins in it? that would be really sweet too.. but way more expensive

Funny that you mention it! That was my original plan.
I decided that for the sake of weight on the front bags, cost, and my total ignorance when it comes to diesel engines, that I would be better off sticking with a small block.

I really dig the idea though, and maybe in the future, the diesel could be the round 2 revival of this truck.

[coulter]

ya they would have to be some strong bags to hold that up.. You just cant beat those old 12 valves though.. super good fuel mileage and the best throttle response ever!!! o ya they last forever to
anyway good luck on ur build!! im gonna keep an eye on it

[55reasons]

Thanks for the good wishes gents!

Got the walnut shell blasting gear today with 50lbs of walnut shell to go with it.

Hopefully the Clear Epoxy top coat gets here before the weekend so I can knock at least this first panel out as a lab experiment.

I think I'll just use a black epoxy primer on the inside of the panels and spray the clear epoxy right over the black primer.

K.I.S.S. method in full effect.

....after I ditched the diesel idea, I really wanted a 09+ 5.7 liter VVTI Tundra drive train in it. I ditched that too based on cost. I have to keep reminding myself that this is a budget build and simplicity is the name of the game.

[55reasons]

From what I have dug up so far, a factory assembled Toyota 5.7 with a factory warrantied TRD supercharger makes:

507 hp @ 488 lbs used for about $3,500.

A crate Vortec Supercharged Chevy 350 with aluminum heads in stock trim weighs in at:

383 hp @ 511 lbs new for about $5,500.

My calculations are as follows:

Toyota: 507 hp @ $7.00 per hp.
Chevy: 383 hp @ $14.50 per hp.

Not trying to stir up a hornets nest, but I'm interested in some opinions on this. I genuinely dismissed the Toyota V8 idea based on comments that it would be too heavy and expensive. From what I can tell just surfing the internet, I was either fed bad info, or I'm comparing apples and oranges.

507 hp from a 488lb V8 for less than a supercharged crate 350 sounds to good to be true.

?????

**edit** ....also stumbled across a website that specializes in adapting 6 speed manual transmissions to the Tundra 5.7... Somebody better talk me out of the tree!

[McMurphy]

Hah!
Someone else building a hauler.
Unlike me though, you have some mad, but clear plans, I cannot wait to see you pull this off.

I am tuned in, if you build I will watch!

to the site and Good Luck!!

[55reasons]

Tackled the test run on the hood this weekend.

The product from Squeeg's Kustoms is awesome to work with.

Sprayed on perfectly with a 1.3 tip on the gun.



I left the front section (turn signals, etc.) of the hood untouched. I found cancer in the front corner, and with the dent on the other side, I've decided to swap out the whole front section of the hood.

Either way, this is a good test run of the finish, while it will protect the bare metal from rusting while the rest of the body gets worked out.

If I sand through all the paint on the top of the cab and it's white under there, the whole top of the cab is going to go down to bare metal before clear. The baby blue / white combo just isn't my thing.

I'm really pleased with the hood though.

Nice satin, clear finish....

[55reasons]

Not too exciting, but I landed a clean set of 17" Toyota alloys for rollers to bolt on this weekend.

Baby steps.

[55reasons]

Not too bad this weekend...

On Saturday I managed to pick up a new set of rollers and get them mounted up. For a hundred bucks with tires that fit, I couldn't complain.

Located the full-float 14 bolt rear end in Gila Bend, AZ and jerked it out of a guys back yard. Got it all home, swapped out the rollers, stripped the rear end, drained the fluid, pulled the axles, capped the end to protect the threads with PVC pipe that I opened up a little bit to thread on nicely.

The axles themselves fit perfectly in 1.5" PVC pipe, so they are sealed up off to the side as well.

Not bad for a days work, and a total of $200 for 17" wheels, lug nuts, tires, and a 1 Ton 14 bolt FF with mint gears in it.

Another stopping point until I make a final decision on the brakes. Can't narrow the rear until I decide, and I mock everything up back there.

Stock Toyota 17's with stock tires:



Took the springs off and left them in this guys yard:



Some drain, drop, and cap and seal pics:

[55reasons]

The hood(s) are still missing.

I got a lot of work this coming weekend to graft the GMC front hood section onto the original Chevy hood skin.

I haven't completely decided yet, so I might actually ditch that Chevy Hood after all and just use the GMC...

Using the GMC hood would be a lot cheaper, and easier...
But so BORING and unchallenging.

I might go the cheap and easy route though.

I need to start to button up some loose ends.
I'll be moving over to Hawaii for a while and I haven't decided if I'll take the truck to work on, or wrap it up for a while and finish it later.

Can't go wrong letting it sit here in the desert while I'm gone though..

[juanz1947]

Its been a year how's the truck doing
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[55reasons]

Thanks for asking!

Well the truck is still sitting in AZ waiting for me to return from Hawaii to get started on it!
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[Thomashsturgill]

Any updates? How has the clear coat help up?

[aggie91]

Great Start