70 Long bed Build thread

[Mr Handy]

OK I thought I would just start a thread for my truck...
70 long bed, 283, got more paint on it then anything I have seen, but not to much rust.

The plan is to do a little work to the engine, new heads and Dizzy. Do the body work and get her painted... at some point do a little drop to get her sitting level... and make it a little easier for the wife to get in and out... yea that's a good excuse... tidy up the interior and have the bench redone...

Color Scheme will be Medium Green, with white roof and white below the trim... interior will be painted green, with white interior parts... just simple, with a little deviation from stock... I want to run 67/68 trim as well...

Yesterday came the first parts order... Skip White Distributor, Plug wires, gasket set, Head bolts, and a bunch of patch panels from Classic Parts... inner and outer lower door both sides, front fender rear both sides, and inner roof... already have the rockers and cab corner... passenger corner has already been done...

Now I'm a little scared at how much this is gunna cost... but I'm seriously excited to get my hands dirty and learn... I'll post up some pics of the truck when I get a chance... This is my first step into metal and rust beyond cleaning up old tools, I'm a wood guy but I think I have a good teacher.

[Ol Blue K20]

It's been 2 1/2 hours where's the pics?

[Square_78]

Welcome to the Forum!

[Mr Handy]

Originally Posted by Ol Blue K20

It's been 2 1/2 hours where's the pics?

HaHa Pics in the morning when the sun comes up... Had an issue where the truck and the camera were in 2 locations.

[Mr Handy]

I'm totally a noob, I just noticed there is a build sub forum... maybe a mod will see this and move me over.

[Mr Handy]

Here are some pics, this is what im starting with... should be fun...

Some rust around the doors, and found some bondo and rust on the front lower of the front finder, going to have to find the patches for that... looks like I can get the lower for the right, but have to buy the bigger patch for the left side... anyone know the best place to get those patches? I ordered all my Other patch panels from classic parts... they should be here next week.

[Ol Blue K20]

Looks like a good start, might be easier to find good fenders rather than patch panels

[Mr Handy]

Did a Few things today, the battery ate it yesterday... started up just find in the am, went out in the afternoon to move it and nothing... battery was just gone... so got a new battery today, and new tail lights, one was burnt out so I replaced the pair.

and then the fun stuff, I took and installed my $10 horns I got at the swap meet... My First Mod!!! we think the horns date from the 30s some time, but wired them up and they sound great! untill I get a new steering wheel, I needed a place to mount a horn button, and a PO had glued a radio knob into the cigarette lighter hole... popped that out and put in the button... ran the buttun through a relay so as not to blow up the button...

nuff said how bout a couple picks, and some videos of the no brakes jeep doing a little brush fire controll

[Bomp]

Sounds like a fun project.
I'll keep looking in.
Posted via Mobile Device

[oldschool18]

Looks like a pretty solid truck......I got a 70 long bed that I almost have down to a bare frame as we speak and I was going to go with the same colors scheme but not the green. Good luck and takes lots of pics......WE LOVE PICS

[Mr Handy]

Ok Here come some more pics....
Cleaned and degreased the engine, installed HEI, replaced left motor mount. Painted air cleaner, I just could not stand how sad it looked, and I had some primer and orange paint sitting around, its not perfect, but will do until I can get some chevy orange and do the engine work... painted the horns as well but they will get striped down again and I think painted body color.... who know the inside of the hood would look so good after a wire wheeling and some CLR.

found a guy 10 miles from me selling some emblems from a CST/10, so grabbed them. All I really needed was the bowtie so I could make a wood one, as my hood is a 72 and didn't have one... also grabbed the cst/10 emblems and the 8-350 as they were in nice shape and he wanted $20 for the lot, not sure what I will do with them, but my buddy has a c20 with a 350 so he may get the 350 badges.

made the wood bowtie today and have some spar varnish drying on it... the bowtie on my 01 tracker has been in the FL sun for 2 years now and still doing good... hahaha its the same can of varnish.

I think that's it, here come the pics.

[Mr Handy]

a few more pics

[yuccales]

That's not a bad looking truck at all.

[Mr Handy]

the UPS man Brought me my new pan hard bar from ECE today so I climbed under the truck and got the new bar installed... pretty straight forward... pulled the old bar out , cleaned up all the hardware with a wire wheel, and installed the new bar.

as my old bar is bent I really didn't know how long to make the new bar, so I got myself a ratchet strap and a tape measure and found myself a couple points and got the axle centered up to within 1/4" as far as I can tell...

the alignment is out, pulling to the left before the new bar, and after the new bar.... still pulling to the left but not nearly as bad as it was... I'm quite happy so for.

[ERASER5]

Nice truck. I like way you are cleaning up parts and just making things look clean. What makes you say it is a 283? By '70 GM was using 350's and all the 283 and 327's that I have seen (original anyway) had an oil fil/breater tube in the intake manifold. Of course anything can be swapped around and look different than original.

[Mr Handy]

It's a 283. Looked up the block numbers and such... originally the truck was a 307. Also My good friend that I traded with Pulled the 283 out of a 65 Nova 2 and dropped it in the truck a while back So the engine has parts form both on it.

Thanks. the cleaning is 2 fold. First it makes me feel better, and make me feel like I'm getting something done on the truck. Second it makes it easier to work with out getting dirt, grease and oil everywhere, and it makes it much easier to find leaks and other issues. Not to mention when guys stop you and say "hay, nice truck" and I pop the hood I don't have to hide my head in shame...

The wife has a cold sense Saturday. I have a bunch of patch panels accumulating. Being that I'm not sick come this weekend I hope to start cutting out some rusty sheet metal and getting things closer to paint... The plan is to get all the metal work done, rattle can prime as I go. Rebuild the extra heads I have and decide what else I want to do to the engine. find money to buy paint supplies. Then pull the engine and while it is out clean up prime and paint the engine compartment and the rest of the truck... I plan to sand to bare metal, body fill, Prime, and Paint... Might need to plan that for a long weekend or 2...I may focus on under the hood first, get the motor back in, and then focus on the rest of the truck... After I get that done I will most likely strip one panel at a time, fill and prime, that way I don't get caught with to much bare metal to get coated and get rust forming... Florida Is a rust making paradise.

[Mr Handy]

Well I keep saying I'm a woodworker. Time to put my money where my mouth is and show off my new tool chest... My wife got tired of my sockets rattling around in the plastic craftsman box that travels with me in the tracker when I pull the trailer, and when I'm too lazy to drag it out and put it away...
She wasn't buying my theory that as long as they rattle around I wont have any car trouble, but the first time I leave it home something will break.

[Ol Blue K20]

Gorgeous, you made it?

[Mr Handy]

Originally Posted by Ol Blue K20

Gorgeous, you made it?

Sure did... not only did I make it, I milled the lumber it is made from...
Rosewood and Red Eucalyptus. Salvaged from the dump here in Tampa/St Pete. I work with a company that takes trees that are being cut down for other reasons, storm damage, road work, and so forth, and mill them into usable products. This is some of the wood I have milled.

[Ol Blue K20]

Originally Posted by Mr Handy

Sure did... not only did I make it, I milled the lumber it is made from...
Rosewood and Red Eucalyptus. Salvaged from the dump here in Tampa/St Pete. I work with a company that takes trees that are being cut down for other reasons, storm damage, road work, and so forth, and mill them into usable products. This is some of the wood I have milled.

I'm very impressed... and repurposed wood to boot.... beautiful and cool.

[Mr Handy]

Another Saturday of work done on the truck. Replaced the Muffler. and swapped back in the 6 lug shafts, replaced rear bearings, and gave the rear end new oil.

I went to the swap meet last weekend and picked up a used muffler for $3 yes $3. the truck currently has a cobbled together exhaust so this muffler is to keep me rolling while I save for a new dual exhaust setup... this was my first time welding, I think I did pretty good. blew a couple of holes but was able to fill them pretty easily I cant think of something better to learn on then a beat up exhaust. the muffler that we on Betsy had a few to many rust holes to be functional.

Then we attacked the rear end. Cleaned up the original shafts, pulled the 5 lug shafts out. Had my friends son take one of the drums down to the car dealer where he works and turn it down... was scored up pretty good. Replaced wheel bearings on both sides with repair bearings. Got everything back together without to much issue in the posi rear end, bolted it back up and filled it with oil... In all I think it took about 10 hours to get it all done, including a trip to the parts store.

I found out I have 3.08 gears. It was amazing to open up the rear end and see how clean and beautiful everything was in a 43 year old truck...

only took a couple pics yesterday, may try and get the pics off my phone and up here for yall later.

[Mr Handy]

Ok here are a couple pics.
Next is sheet metal and a pair of blocks in the rear to get her leveled out a little... I'm thinking 1.5" blocks then in the future I will do drop spindles and disks up front and 3" springs in the rear... that should give me a 2.5/4.5 drop and get here sitting nice.

Been measuring her now that she is on all the same rubber, and she is an inch lower front driver, and an inch higher driver rear... I know this truck has been used, but that quite a chevy lean... I know the PO was cut off and took it over a ditch and into a field, and for sure got all 4 off the ground... the frame looks fine, no bends, I guess its just tweaked a bit...

Trying to make sure I have the rear end centered, been measuring from the nut on the drum backer plate to the rivet for the shock mount. Im thinking I need to measure to the opposite side and see how close it really is, I think its 1/2" out still.

[Mr Handy]

Well another Saturday worth of work done. last week I replaced the bearings and put the old axles in the rear end... the races were somewhat pitted on the old shafts and I could not stand the thought of grinding up my new bearings, so I ordered a new set of axle shafts on Monday night and they arrived of Friday! picked up some new wheel posts, and a rear end gasket.
Dove in again yesterday, drained rear end, pulled shafts, installed new shafts, buttoned her back up with new gasket, filled her back up and was done in an hour and a half without rushing.
After that I went to installing my 1-1/16" sway bar that was given to me, along with new bushings. so got out the cutting wheel and air hammer and got the rivets out and the sway bar mounts in with grade 8 hardware. and got the sway bar installed. then I looked at it and realized that I installed the brackets backward... so back out they came and in they went again... big difference, definitely more pre load on the bar when brackets are installed correctly.
She is a happy truck right now. Corners like a champ now... And no bearing noise from the rear!!! its a beautiful thing! Coveralls are worth every penny. you can get all dirty working on your truck, and not get dirty looks when you go get lunch. not to mention the wife is happier when it comes to the laundry.

[Mr Handy]

Well not much work getting done on the truck the last week or 2, been broke and my buddy that's helping me with the work is out of town on business... however I have been working on something else... Strung it up last night...
The guitar is for a friend of mine that is in the Navy. His wife asked me to make it for him, he has no idea.

[Ol Blue K20]

Nice and nice of you to do it