'67 Stepper "Laymond"

[slowcpe]

Just picked this one up yesterday. Got a little overwhelmed with my other truck and after running into a few obstacles, I decided to ditch that project and buy another truck. I actually tried to buy this one before but the guy never returned my call until the day after I brought the other one home. Told a buddy and he bought it to flip. We talked and came to terms last week on price.

This truck is running, which is a huge advantage to the other one, so my better half immediately likes it better. Going to rock the 250/3-speed on the floor for at least this summer and enjoy it. Its currently lowered with McGaughy spindles, blocks and cut springs.

The trip to get it was a pure adventure. Even though I've owned a C10 for a few months, I still haven't driven one yet so I was hellbent on driving this one home.

I knew the carb was shot and needed a new heater core. Went down to pick it up yesterday (an hour away) with new carb in tote. Forecast was partly cloudy and 50 so I wasn't too worried about heat. A buddy of mine and I arrive only to find the carb Summit sent me was the wrong one (so much for calling and verifying before purchasing). Called around and of course no auto parts store carries one. Plan C was to get the original carb and rebuild it but we couldn't get into the building it was at. Plan D was a go by pulling one off another truck he had stored down the road. Truck started and ran good for the test drive. Time to head home!

Got roughly a mile down road and the truck completely fell on its face. Would not get up to speed. Figured either low or bad gas so I limped to the gas station and filled her up. 1/2 mile down the road, same thing. Pulled the filter in the carb and was dirty. Out she goes! Runs great so let's head out!

Now its starting to rain. Welp the windshield wipers don't work and I can't see while driving. Someone want to tell me why I sold a perfectly good running Mustang for one of these trucks? Found that by pushing the wiper switch they will work. A "quick" swapping of driver/passenger blades and arm "persuasion", they're moving water. Back on the road.

So now I'm driving a truck with cut springs, no heat, small rear window with no mirrors, and wipers only by pushing the button. Oh yeah, I'm missing the wiper knob. Going down the road and the truck keeps popping out of 3rd. Add adjusting the Hurst shifter to my to do list.

Make it home and my nerves were shot! Pulled it in the garage and started to make my lists and get to know the truck better. Other than the drive home, I'm very happy with the truck. Its what I want and seems to be a decent platform to build off of. She's a bit rusty so its a good thing that kind of thing is in.

The project name is "Laymond" as that was my grandpa's name. He had a trucking company and owned nothing but red Chevy's. In fact he bought a '67 new and drove it to Alaska the next day for a hunting trip. This truck is kind of a tribute to him.

Plans for this winter:

Clean her up
Tune Up
New Headlights/Bulbs
Fix a couple of wiring issues
Stereo
Adjust Hurst Shifter
Mirrors
Install Porterbuilt Stage 1 Front and Stage 2 Rear when it arrives
Accuair e-Level
Possibly spray a little paint on it
Add my grandpa's trucking company logo on the doors
Drive It
Enjoy It
Plan for Future

You guys have probably stopped reading a long time ago so here's a couple of pics taken last night. Window tint is almost all off. The wheels are 18" Riddlers that I bought a couple of months ago.

[downbytheriver]

That story is almost IDENTICAL to mine. Good luck with the build.

Yeah, I told myself I would just enjoy the 250 with the 3 speed, and the next week I tore it all apart to put an LS in.

You'll be there, don't worry.

[slowcpe]

Yeah....I have a feeling a LS drivetrain will come sooner, rather than later. Hoping to be able to hold off until next winter so I can do my dropmember and brakes all at the same time. We'll see.

Spent most of the weekend out in the garage working on the truck, watching basketball/football, and recycling glass bottles It was nice and well deserved with the last couple of weeks I've been having with work.

Progress:

Finished de-tinting windows. I must be getting old because the first thing I used to always do to a vehicle was tint the windows.

Stripped the front and rear bumpers and primered them white as a temporary fix to make the truck look better. Bumpers were in amazing shape with no rust at all. Bad thing is with the contrasting color, I didn't realize how bent they were until now. Guess I'll add that to the growing list.

Been working on the interior getting it where I want. Someone had glued carpet to the original vinyl mat at one time. That's been a whole lot of fun. It's getting there though.

Next up is paint the grill hoops and insides white, new dash bulbs, swap out seats, and fix a few minor issues to finish out the interior. At least for now.

On with the pics. Nothing too cool but shows progress. Had to snap a couple of pics with the blue truck before it goes away.

[jhama78]

Cool truck, looking forward to seeing it come together.

[mcbassin]

Very nice project!

[low&slow]

Good looking truck. I'm following

[GAc10boy]

Nice project and plans! I'm in.

[Tropical Snowstorm]

Small window step side, great find! Looks like a great project.

[downbytheriver]

Truck looks great!

[hopped up]

Nice truck. Enjoy it as is ,just get it running good. Don't take it apart, and ditch it like the other one.

[Steve Kelly]

I bought a 72 step that was hit on the with a 6 cyl also bought a 95 sububan with low miles to get my v8 auto. Bought a 67 for the front end and what ever else I need in parts, also 6 cyl auto.

[slowcpe]

Thanks for the compliments, I really like this truck so far. The goal is not do anything for the time being to take it down for an extended period of time. I'm going to enjoy it this summer and start building my drivetrain. Once that's done and all my other parts are collected, then it will be time to tear down over the winter. Then later will be bodywork/paint.

Steve Kelly, I've got a buddy that basically does that along with flips these trucks. The beauty of him is I get to rob parts without having to bring a whole truck home. My deal with her is as long as nothing sits outside I can have it. In other words, I'm not aloud to bring anything else home.

I need to get motivated and get the blue truck sold. After watching a Street Outlaws marathon last night, I now have the urge to turn that truck into a turbo drag truck. If that happens I will need to sell my open bow boat for one with a cuddy cabin since I will be permanently living in the garage and not allowed in the house.

Well not too much progress has been made on the truck in the last week. However I've been planning and purchasing. Plus I keep upgrading the garage with tools and such as I get aggravated when I don't have what I need or can't find it.

Last weekends project was reconditioning a 10' workbench/cabinet and storage cabinet I picked up from a buddy of mine. Now I have a place to put all the parts I take off AND have workbench space.

I did work on the interior a bit. I think I finally got all the leaves that were stored in the kick panel vents out. A few tries with the vacuum and a couple of trips to the parts store with the vents open and they should be all gone. I also tried to get the remaining carpet glue off the original vinyl mat and basically going to throw in the towel and purchase a new one.

Yesterday my '67 door handles I bought off of here and interior LED bulbs arrived. Next weekend should be productive as I will be working on some of the mechanical bugs and upgrading/cleaning up my dash.

[67cheby]

looking forward to the build !

[Mr Chevorlet]

That is a nice truck, and i love the wheels you have on it.

[Bennett68C10]

Nice looking truck, looking forward to what you do with it

[Low Elco]

Look forward to seeing the next step!

[RenoKeene]

The truck is super cool and I love the suicide mission story, been there, done that....several times.
Might as well build yourself a bunk bed out there in the shop because when the Mrs. figures out you have 'The Sickness' you'll be living out there anyway.
As long as you have a cooler, a TV and a computer (for buying parts) you should be ok.

[slowcpe]

Originally Posted by RenoKeene

The truck is super cool and I love the suicide mission story, been there, done that....several times.
Might as well build yourself a bunk bed out there in the shop because when the Mrs. figures out you have 'The Sickness' you'll be living out there anyway.
As long as you have a cooler, a TV and a computer (for buying parts) you should be ok.

A bed is about the only thing I'm missing. I've got a beer fridge and microwave plus being in the custom audio/video business my garage is setup with a big screen, surround sound, wifi, and full automation via my phone and ipad

[slowcpe]

Not a huge update, but figured might as well. Picked up a "work bench" from a buddy that I decided was too ugly to put in the garage so I decided to strip it and paint it. Turned out decent but I still have to make a top for it. Apparently it used to be a buffet table. Considered since it has a drain to turn it into a parts washer, but it seems I can buy a HF one for the same or less money. Nice thing is it gets me a little over 10' of work and cabinet space.

Before



During



Semi-finished

[slowcpe]

I also started on the interior. Again not much accomplished other than LED bulbs in my dash. Still planning on pulling the gauges and do a thorough cleaning/painting but wanted to see progress. I will also be re-painting the glove box.

Plans are to dye a maroon bench seat black and send this one off to get recovered in black/white houndstooth, put manual windows/locks back in, finish restoring my '67 3-spoke steering wheel and as much '67 correct interior pieces.

Here's my interior with a quick cleaning



Before (yes the lights are on but only 2 bulbs weren't burned out)



After

[GAc10boy]

Looking good!

[mcbassin]

Dig the work bench.
Nice work on the cluster too.

[slowcpe]

Well my shipment from Porterbuilt came in yesterday. The quality of their welding is unreal! A little disappointed that the rear shockbar does not have the PB logo in it like the photos on their website, but that's very very minor.

The guy is suppose to come and get the blue truck this weekend so its getting close to time to tear it down.

Also hopefully ordering my air management sometime next week. I haven't completely made up my mind yet but more than likely going to bite the bullet and go with Pro Performance's Stage II kit with AccuAir's e-Level w/Rocker Switch and i-Level kit. Keep going back and forth on whether or not to get the leveling kit now due to short term budget, but I'm pretty sure I'll be glad I did once the truck is back on the road.

On with the pics

[GAc10boy]

Sweet! Looking forward to seeing it laid out.

[slowcpe]

Wasn't quite ready for this but it was deal I couldn't pass up. Going to wait a while to put in. Still got some odds and ends to pickup.



Complete '05 LQ4/4L80e with 50k. I'm pretty excited and can't wait to see it sitting in the truck.