Betsy - 1966 C10 Stepside :: A very long-term work in progress

[Laz]

Well, I think it's about time that I make my build thread. Kind of a scary thought, when I think about it. I see so many threads here of people progressing on a daily basis, and I know I won't be able to keep up like that. Add to that, the fact that I've finally put my build thread on a forum that I've lurked on for so long kind of adds a reality to the situation.

On the plus side, though, maybe it'll give me the motivation to more consistently work on my truck.

Anyway -- all that aside, I want to give a brief introduction...

My name is Nick and I am 32 years old. This truck has been in our family for about 25 years, give or take a few years. Suffice to say, I was so young when we got this truck that I don't even remember NOT seeing it. My dad used this truck to haul the race car to the drag strip in order to make money to put food on the table. Lots of history behind this truck.



About 9 or 10 years ago, me and my (now ex-)wife were having some issues and her car was the only vehicle we had, so that Christmas I received the best present I've ever gotten. Very familiar looking keys. Years and years of asking, and she was finally mine.

Fast forward to recent and I have finally, finally, finally started deconstructing the truck. I have grand plans of doing a full rebuild from bottom to top, back to front. Hopefully I am able to follow through with this. Follow-through has always been the biggest problem for me.

This is especially true considering that I have very minimal knowledge of cars. I have changed a rack and pinion setup in my first car, I have worked with brakes and done minor engine work, but nothing on a scale such as this. This is completely new, and scary, territory for me.

I actually started work late last year and have done very minimal since then, so I will be back-dating these updates. From here on out, everything will hopefully be as current as possible. (That is, if I manage to follow through. again, problem area, so I will need some encouraging!) I am a huge computer and video game dork, so going outside actually takes a lot of coercing, haha.


Quick summary of updates!
--------------------------
August 13, 2012 - Deconstruction officially started! I took off one fender!
October 13, 2012 - Set out to do some more tear down. Took the rusty bed out, the other fender, tail gate, and got the bed off.
July 13, 2013 - After 9 months, decided to go outside. Did more body removal.
August 2, 3013 - Even more body removal. Slow going, but I'm lazy so it's okay.

[Laz]

This work was done on August 13, 2012

Decided to finally get wrenching on my truck. Got a fender off. Called it a day and went back inside. I hope that isn't how the entirety of this project goes...

[Laz]

This work was done on October 13, 2012

Okay, time to actually get to it. Me and my dad decided to start getting the back end of the truck taken apart. We took off the other fender, and started tearing apart the bed. After removing the mat that was being used as a flooring for the bed, it turned out the bed was a very rusted sheet of steel with lots of rust holes in it. Got the tailgate off, removed the lights and got the bed off.

[Laz]

This work was done on July 13, 2013

Okay so 9 months has gone by. ALMOST AN ENTIRE YEAR! I figured it was time to peel myself off of my video games for a few hours and see what life was like outside. This time I had my son with me. So it was my dad, me and my son. It is REALLY cool to know that three generations of us are working on this truck that will hopefully be with us well past me. I hope my son can take care of it and enjoy it after I pass it on to him.

My son took the license plate stuff off and helped my dad get the rear bumper off. Meanwhile, I was in the storage shed building a southern-engineered storage shelf for all the body panels. When that was all done, we got to work at the front of the truck. We took off the doors, the front driver's side fender, the seat and some other random body panels that I should know the name of but don't.


My son and my dad investigating a stubborn, rusty bolt


My son and my dad again, working on removing the ugly rear bumper

[Laz]

This work was done on August 2, 2012

Got bored, had no games to play, didn't feel like cleaning the house or mowing the lawn, so I went outside in the 102 degree Texas heat to work on my truck. Awesome.... :|

I managed to remove a really pain in the ass bolt holding the passenger side front fender up. The bolt was rounded off and I had to buy some sockets that are spiraled and dig into the bolt head to get it to turn. Didn't work as well as I was hoping they would, but they worked, which I guess is what was important, so I managed to finally get the last fender off.

After the fender was off, I went to attack the face of the truck and took off the head lights and the head light bezel. There's another bolt that doesn't want to come out and it's holding up the front body panel thing (behind the head light bezel but in front of the radiator core support). I was hot, sweaty, tired and grumpy, so I just put my tools away and went inside. I'll worry about that bolt when it's not scorching hot outside.



And a few random inside-the-cab shots...


Yes, I hacked up the dash to fit a CD player. I'm still not sure if I regret doing that.

[1963c-10]

Welcome to the forum and great looking 66 short step side. Looks like the work is progressing nicely. Its always good to have help, especially when its the younger & older generation. And welcome to the rusty bolt club. You are sure to encounter more of them before your done with the truck.

[markeb01]

Any progress is progress, nice to see it moving along. So what are your plans once it's torn down?

[Alan's Classic]

Nice solid start. One thing at a time is progress. Lots of determination and preplanning will get it done. Not to mention all the great folks here.

[Laz]

Originally Posted by markeb01

...So what are your plans once it's torn down?

We're swapping frames on the truck. The frame currently under it is bent, hacked and pretty useless to us. We're going to give it to someone who gave me some engine parts a while back since he said he can use it for some of his stuff. The frame we're putting under it is off of an '83. We're doing that because it's already got the suspension groundwork, rear end, etc etc that we can use.

Unfortunately, due to life expenses, I can't afford to do a lot of stuff I'd like to like bagging it and a lot of other fun stuff, so what we're doing is sticking with the leaf setup from the '83 frame.

(Donor truck/frame here)

I've heard that putting a '66 body on an '83 frame is not a fun time, but it's cheaper than finding a better usable frame where I live (trust me when I say that), and it's cheaper than trying to fix the frame that's currently under it.

I don't have a complete-vision for the truck just yet. At least, nothing within the scope of reality for me. I do know that I want it lowered a few inches (not slammed, just not stock-height. I love the a good hot rod stance). As far as the motor goes, we're keeping the 350 we have in it. I'm going to see about rebuilding it and making it as beastly and legal as I can within reasonable budget constraints.

I haven't decided on a color just yet. I'm always coming up with new ideas. I've gone from wanting to paint it a pearl white to a royal blue to a matte blue to a semi-gloss or eggshell black. Honestly every couple of months I think of something else to go with.

[Bomp]

Welcome to the forum.

Glad to see you turning wrenches, pulling fenders, switching frames.
Following along.
Sub'd