Ryan's 72 K10 Build

[ryanmctee]

I wanted to share my build with all you members. First of all, I have taken so much information off this site that I feel it's mandatory to give back. Thanks to all of you who post your experiences to this forumn. Pictures speak a thousand words, so this thread will be full of them.

A little info on the truck and build: I purchased a original owner 1972 K10 back in August 2011. I really wasn't in truck buying mode, but am a CL junkie and am always tire kicking for deals. Saw the ad, price was very right so I met the guy, and the rest is history.

The truck is very stock, except for a almost new 330 hp/350 crate motor with about 5,000 miles on it. The truck ran awesome so I figured I'd throw a coat of paint on it, put a very mild lift on it, new tires, and in a couple of weeks would be driving. Well, as with any new toy that's not the case....

Here's a few pictures of the first weekend at home:

[ryanmctee]

First order of business was replacing the rusted out rocker panel. With this being my first time doing this, I turned to the board and got tons of info. It really isnt that hard, just like anything time consuming.

[ryanmctee]

For the month of November, I spent lots of time under the truck degreasing. Didn't take many pictures of this, let your imagination run wild here. Wanted to get everything painted and cleaned up as best as I could. I removed the bed, doors, and front fenders. Next plan is a cool one; since the previous owner never cleaned nor painted the engine block I get to do this at my Dad's house with my twelve year old son.

Anyways, this allowed for an awesome weekend. Let me tell you, three generations working on a classic truck is truly something I'll never forget.

[ryanmctee]

December 19th, brought lots of sanding with the trusty DA sander. You can probably imagine what this looks like, but I know how much everyone loves pictures....

[ryanmctee]

Ordered all new wiring from M & B Electrical. Highly suggest them. Spent the weekend removing the original harness and labeling EVERYTHING. Some of the things seem obvious but re-installing two months later it really helps.

[ryanmctee]

Christmas weekend, I know, I know. It's really only another day right??? Anyways got the rest of the cab torn down. Removed steering column, windsheild, rear glass, gas tank, seatbelts, heater, vents, etc. Soda blasted the remaining door weather stripping, probably did a bunch of other things I can't thing of at the current time...

[ryanmctee]

New years weekend brought cutting out the drivers rotted floor panel. Yeah, should have done this when I did the rocker panel, but you read that I'm a junior member right? Never thought of that, but it worked out ok. Cut, fit, weld, bondo, paint and wala! New floor!!!

[ryanmctee]

More on New Years weekend: Undercoated inside the cab, replaced weatherstripping on the wind vent wings (what a joy!), and had my daughter re-screw the new instrument bezel to the cluster.

[ryanmctee]

Weekend of January 7th brought fixing the rust in my doors. The drivers front side had about a 2" round hole in the bottom of it. I really didn't want to replace the door for just that so I turned to the board for inspiration. Thanks to various board members who posted up lots of pictures on this topic, I made my way through it....

[ryanmctee]

January 21st, replaced the front bed panel. By using spreader clamps (like those that you would use for cabinet work or holding up temporary walls) this really wasn't that hard. I thought I was going to have to take the side bed panels off to do this.

[ryanmctee]

More on January 21: Repainted the original Barden bumper with some fresh okie crome (aka rustoleum aluminum enamel in a can). This thing is a tank, and I really like the old school look of a massive, heavy duty truck bumper. Also got the lights installed in the new front bumper. The new bumper is really a weeine compared to the rear....

[ryanmctee]

February 6th, the weather was perfect to get the original mirror holes welded up, filled and finally get some primer on the truck.

[LEX]

Great progress!

[ryanmctee]

Attention all: A milestone just took place in my restoration. What took several months of un-assembling, sanding, filling, and general preperation took less than an hour to prime. Funny thing, my daughter says "You leave the truck white" I thought about taking her advise for about a minute....

[ryanmctee]

January 28th, didn't get anything accomplished except for a few pictures of what I'm calling "The Home Shopping Network". I literally have new parts in the spare bedroom, under the bed, in the garage, etc....

[ryanmctee]

February 6th, another milestone. Got the interior painted. I like the way it turned out, but kinda looks weird in the pictures. Used Kirker single stage paint and a new HVLP gun. Very easy to work with....

[ryanmctee]

Weekend of February 14th, brought lots of block sanding and filling with glazing putty. This is after my second coat of primer by the way. I had never used glaze before, what an awesome product. Super easy to work with and fill slight imperfections and pinholes. Also found this truck box for $20. Trying to decide if I want to paint it white or green. Leaning towards green though...

[ryanmctee]

February 23rd, trying to figure out where the upper trim goes. I'm going with the two tone paint scheme with upper trim. Since my truck only had lower trim when I bought it, so I 've really been struggling to figure this out. I need this reference line so I can continue with paint for two tone color scheme.

Here's what I've come up with so far. I figured I would put the lock in the door since the trim sits just above it. Then I could 'spot' the upper door trim by making it level with the lower door trim. Install the door. Now I can spot the cab trim line, and put the fender on the truck for the fender line. I figure I'm going to have to put the bed back on the truck to get those lines as well. Lot's of on and off, but I don't know how else to do it.

[ryanmctee]

February 25th, brought the task of relocating the fuel tank. Not a terrible job, but a job nonetheless. Had to cut out the bedsill for the bed to clear the tank, cut out the frame crossmember, then install the tank. Think I'm going with the marker light fill method. Will post up pictures when that happens.

[ryanmctee]

Weekend of March 2nd got lots of the interior put back togethor. Got the new fuseblock installed, heater put back togethor, glove box back in, steering column in (from Kevin's Classics, highly recommended), dash pad in, and put 'peel and seal' on the floor.

[ryanmctee]

Well, that's where I am currently. Many thanks to all whom I've bugged with information requests. Hopefully my build can/will help others. I will continue to post up pictures and status reports as they come!!!

[yfs200p]

Awesome build. Youre just a few (big) steps ahead of mine. Keep up the good work, and keep the pics coming!

[ryanmctee]

March 9th got the Retro Sound stereo installed. Looks awesome, but I don't have power to the truck yet, so don't know how it sounds. Anyways, here are some pictures of the stereo in, and here's a question: I'm putting a couple of 6 x 9 speakers in the truck. Don't really want to cut into the doors, but will if needed, so has anybody put the speakers up under the dash? I think I could cut some VERY simple brackets and tuck the speakers up and away, definately out of site. Any thoughts?

Ryan

[LakeAnna]

Great build! Everything looks great. So is that a new aftermarket column you got? You mentioned Kevin Classics got a link to them?

How you like the kirker urethane so far?

[ryanmctee]

No, he's a vendor here on the board. Just do a search for him then send him a private message. Great work on the column!