Project Goldilocks, '66 C10 SWB BBW Build

[theastronaut]

After restoring a '65 C10 at work ('65 C10 Build Thread), I wanted to find one to build for myself. I didn't want a show truck like the '65 turned out to be; more of a solid beater that was nice enough to tinker with and drive as found. I hunted around and looked at a lot of truck, and nearly bought a red/white '66 swb/bbw (went and looked, couldn't get together on the price, called back the next day and upped my offer, he accepted- then sold the truck within the 30 minutes it took for me to get there!) before my dad told me about this one. I knew our mechanic is into 64-66 C10's and that he had a pretty nice project truck but I never thought to ask about it because I assumed he was going to finish restoring it eventually. He had even mentioned that he had a friend that he was trying to talk into doing the metalwork for the truck. Anyways, my dad was talking with him and mentioned that I was looking for a solid 64-66 to drive. About a week later, he calls my dad and said after thinking about it, he would be willing to sell his project truck to me if I was interested in it so he could work on his other '66. I'd seen the truck before but never really looked at it up close. Out of all the trucks I've looked at locally, its definitly the straightest and most solid of all of them by far. He had already had the frame and all suspension pieces blasted and powdercoated satin black. The suspension is fully rebuilt and has new front disc brakes and 2.5" dropped spindles. The rear axle has been rebuilt and has 3.08 gears and 3" dropped springs. And since he's out mechanic, of course we already trust that all the work was done correctly. There's nothing I'd do any different with the frame and suspension if I'd done it myself (other than lower it a little more). I also got the original wheels in the deal.

My plans are to finish running the brake and fuel lines on the frame, install a bolt in C notch and 5 inch dropped springs in the rear, add 2" springs to the front, and install front and rear sway bars. I'm going to keep the original wheels on it for now and run narrow-redline tires from Diamondback Radials. It came with a new GM crate 350/290 hp engine but its already on craigslist for sale. I've tracked down the original matching numbers engine and trans but if I can't buy it back then my plans are to use a Vortec 4200 from an '06-up Trailblazer/Envoy. They come with 290hp and 277tq stock. I'm planning on doing away with the factory computer/efi and having an individual runner intake made so I can run three-two barrel Dellorto side draft carbs. The ignition will be Ford EDIS/Megajolt. As for the body, there's a little bit of rust at the bottom of the kick panels and one of the fenders that I'll have to fix. The paint is good enough to fix and blend a few areas and drive as-is.

So there's the story, here are the pics.

One of the loads of parts. (and don't park near newly licensed high school kids!)


The refurb'd frame.




All new suspension. Late model steering box already installed.












New bumpers. Although the front bumper has the right shape, the mounting holes are too far apart for the thru-frame bolts. Don't know what its for?


The cab.


The PO had started to shave the firewall but thankfully only got as far as removing some paint.


Perfect sheetmetal on the bed.





Rust free doors. The PO had started scraping paint off the bottom of this one, will have to blend paint into these areas.


More parts.


Original aluminum grill.


I'll be updating the thread as I have the time and money to make progress. Updates may come slow for awhile, especially with the 95 degree+ heat and high humidity we've had lately.

[198plus]

Nice find

[theastronaut]

Last night I got some lights put up in the barn I'll be working out of. It's been too hot lately in the daytime to do much outdoors so this way I can work after the sun goes down.



Some shots of the rust. Not bad for our area, and none of the other trucks I looked at were anywhere near this solid. The first pic is the worst spot on all of the truck. I'll probably section the rocker in the door jamb (so the cuts/welds/paint blend won't show on the outside) to get to the inner panel rust.








Solid rockers!!




Inside of the bed is in great shape. I'll see if I can salvage the bed rails and have them powdercoated.


Not even any surface rust on the inside of the bed panels.


Solid cab corners.




New wood for the bed was also part of the deal. IIRC, its Hard Maple. Will get a black stain and sprayed with a satin clear.


And the best part of the deal (drumroll please!) The pair of original 1966 SC license plates that were the original tags on the truck. The original owner had taken them off and stored them under the seat in the original mailing envelope all these years! Our state allows YOM tags to be reregistered so I'm going to clear coat them to preserve the paint and run them.


That's all the pics for now. I've been working (inside in the A/C!) on polishing the grill (just getting the milky haze off, not stripping the anodizing) and cleaning/polishing the dash knobs. I've got the gauge assembly apart for cleaning and detailing and should have it back together soon. The next steps will be to get the fuel and brake lines run on the frame, installing the rear C notch and 5" drop springs, and staining/clearing the bed wood so I can install the bed on the frame. Then I'll move on to the cab/interior.

[Alan's Classic]

Very nice!! DROOL

[SFTorange]

I'll be tuning in for this one! Looks great, and I love the color

[chevyrestoguy]

After the last truck you did, I am completely tuning in to this build.

The body on that truck might be the nicest original sheetmetal I have ever seen. I don't even count the forward sections of the rockers and cab floor as being an issue. My truck is from the California desert, and even mine has some rust there. If you look at the way the truck is designed, there's no way it can't rust there! The water has no place to run out.

[theastronaut]

Thanks guys!! I wasn't too sure about the color til I saw this pic of a '67 Nova SS. Didn't take me long to decide that I liked it and wanted a set of redlines! I'm planning to eventually get a set of 18" steelies made to take the original hubcaps, and a set of 18" redlines from Diamondback Radials for the truck. I'll run the stock wheels for now until I can justify spending ~$2500 on tires and wheels.




Chevyrestoguy, you're right about the rust issue. These trucks also didn't have very good seam-sealing from the factory so the seams just held moisture inbetween the panels. I'll be using weld-thru primer and plenty of epoxy seam sealer in the areas I can get to while I'm doing the metalwork.


One more pic of the truck. I came across the glove box door while digging through one of the boxes of parts and discovered that it still had the option code sheet on it! Decoded the vin and found out that the truck was built in Atlanta. The "custom group" option name is on there twice with two different codes; anybody know of a list of these codes and descriptions for each code?

[72BlckButy]

Beautiful project!

[collins10672]

the z61 is the custom cab package which includes aluminum grill,stainless steel windshield trim,custom cab plates,stainless trim on dash knobs,deluxe horn ring,and tutone white door panels.the z62 is the custom comfort package which includes passenger door lock,passenger side sunvisor,driver and passenger armrests,deluxe seat with full depth foam and heavy duty springs,and heavy duty cab insulation including heavy duty undercoating.v37 is the chrome front and rear bumpers which also included matching chrome hubcaps.custom cab trucks were normally stamped on the kick panel i.d. plate with the z61 trim code,but when they also included the custom comfort package the z61 was supeceded with the z62 trim code.your truck is saddle metallic and white tutone.i hope this helps and btw i am so jealous,just kidding that is a super project and i can't wait to see you work some of your magic on it like you did the blue 65.

[theastronaut]

Collins, thanks for that super sweet expaination of the option codes! Thats exactly the kind of info I was looking for!

I started on the gauge panel a couple nights ago. Got the frame blasted and in primer, let it dry overnight then wetsanded and painted it last night. I'm not too happy with the silver paint I bought (it didn't turn out anything like it looked on the cap- its basicly slightly duller than that ugly fake chrome paint) so I'm going to repaint it a little bit duller silver to better match the original paint.







Here's the insides of the gauge panel. I cleaned all the dust out and took the speedo face off to clean/wax it. The odometer just happened to be at 99,999.0 miles.




I made new lenses for the warning lights by taking sheets of translucent plastic from a local hobby shop and cutting them to fit. Had to stack a few together to make them darker and I wetsanded the top layer with 2500 grit to knock the shine off and match the original sheen better.




Needles repainted, warning light lenses and the speedo background reinstalled.




And all back together.

[SulphuriousSam]

OK....Your last build just made me sick...with jealousy! So since I'm a glutton for punishment I will force myself to keep up with your new build

[Captainfab]

Another nice project truck

I'll be watching this one also......you do some amazing work!

That front bumper you have with the holes too far apart.....that is likely a Suburban/Panel rear bumper.

[dthela]

wheres the rust? that's not fair! lolol

[theastronaut]

Thanks dudes! I never would have thought I'd have as many people following this as there is!

I bought myself a birthday present; a floor shift steering column to use if I put a vortec 4200/5 speed in it. I'll rebuild it and probably shorten it a few inches for a little more room in the cab. How hard is it to find the bearings if it needs them, or can I go to a local bearing shop and get them there?



The wires are cut but I've got a good switch and harness to use in it.

[theastronaut]

Originally Posted by dthela

wheres the rust? that's not fair! lolol

I'm still looking for it, will let yall know when I find any!

[Captainfab]

I believe Classic Parts has the bearings. Other suppliers could have them as well, that's just who I prefer to buy from.

[SCOTI]

Originally Posted by theastronaut

....Didn't take me long to decide that I liked it and wanted a set of redlines! I'm planning to eventually get a set of 18" steelies made to take the original hubcaps, and a set of 18" redlines from Diamondback Radials for the truck. I'll run the stock wheels for now until I can justify spending ~$2500 on tires and wheels.

PM sent.

[theastronaut]

Originally Posted by Captainfab

I believe Classic Parts has the bearings. Other suppliers could have them as well, that's just who I prefer to buy from.

Thanks, I'll check them out!

Originally Posted by SCOTI

PM sent.

So I was seriously hoping that I was going to open the message and it was going to say that you had a used set of 18's for sale... cheap...

Thanks for the info you sent though!

[theastronaut]

Shot of the original seat. Going to take the covers off to wash them and sew a new upper panel in back rest.

[yote1234]

im in!!!!!!!! just read through your last build.... b e a u t i f u l ...

[padresag]

that front bumper may be for a 60-62 if the inner holes are about 32" c-c
ron

[theastronaut]

Thanks Yote! I really want to get a professional photographer to do a photoshoot of it. My lame attempts at operating a camera really don't do the truck justice.

Padresag, I'll measure the distance between the mounting holes on that front bumper when I get home tonight and post up the measurement.

[padresag]

Originally Posted by theastronaut

Thanks Yote! I really want to get a professional photographer to do a photoshoot of it. My lame attempts at operating a camera really don't do the truck justice.

Padresag, I'll measure the distance between the mounting holes on that front bumper when I get home tonight and post up the measurement.

I blew it that one with the 32" centre is a rear sub bumper. I have 2 many bumpers around and I thought that it was off the 62. the one that have off the 62 is the same as the 64--66 that I have. sorry about that
ron

[theastronaut]

No problem man! I just went out and measured it and got 44.5 c-c which should make it a 60-62 suburban/panel rear bumper. I guess I'll sell it since I can't use it.
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[theastronaut]

More goodies came in the mail today. New pair of German Bosch H4 headlight housings, 80/100 watt Hella bulbs, a pair of 50 amp relays and sockets, and a pair of ceramic H4 connectors. This will let me make a 10 gauge headlight relay harness to take the load off the stock headlight wiring and get full voltage to the headlight bulbs. These should light up the road pretty good. We live about 15 miles out of town in the country so there's plenty of critters in the road to avoid at night!