1971 C10 - First truck build

[Schoolteacherjim]

Originally Posted by 72 tigger

Will you be going with a Packers matte green? Looks like a fun project!

No Packer Green. I think we are pretty well set on a Satin Black body color.
Posted via Mobile Device

[Schoolteacherjim]

Removed the rear end today. Went really well however it did create a question of universal proportions. The first of these questions I encountered while welding custom motorcycle frames. Why is it that every weld that will never be seen looks 10x better than the welds that will be seen? Tonight I broke out the cutting torch and cut the springs. The cuts I made on these pieces of metal look like the were cut with a wonder knife. If I tried to make that cut in a piece of metal that needed to look good it would look like a head of brocoli! I guess it is another of those unanswerable questions. I guess the important thing is that the rear end is out and we can start clean-up.
Posted via Mobile Device

[Evaded]

Great project, looking forward to your progress.

Eric (Evaded)

[Toxic Orange]

Love the father and son element of the build and will be interested in seeing the build progress.

[Schoolteacherjim]

My son and I were at his last baseball tournament this weekend. Before we left we started working on the trailing arms which were very rusty in the centers. I ordered some 38" long x 2 5/8 inch 11 gauge pieces from my local steel supplier and after trimming one side on each one they fit into the trailing arms. They are all welded up and we are going to finish drilling the holes to replace the rivets with 3/8 grade 8 bolts. If everything goes well we should have the frame and other parts painted by mid week and have things ready to go back together.

[Schoolteacherjim]

Here is a picture of the piece welded in place.

[Schoolteacherjim]

Progress continues. The C notch plates are mocked up. These are from McGaughy and my only complaint is the alignment of the lower rear bolts that go up though the frame from the bottom and the lower bolt that goes in through the side of the frame. The holes are ligned up exactly and required a shorter bolt in the side of the frame that was included with the plates. Made a new brace plate that mounts under the tracking arm mount. The old one had seen better days.

[Schoolteacherjim]

Been busy since my last post. The frame from the rear of the cab back is painted and reassembled. Drove it around and everything is working great. Put a new gasket on the diff. cover and cleaned a huge plug out of the vent hose and no more diff leak!!!!!! Over the last week I cut the bottom off of my extra passenger door and replaced the inner and outer with patch panels. Also started back at school last week getting ready for the school year to begin so build time has decreased drastically! The truck will go into the garage this weekend so that I can start working on the drivers door. Once that door is done then I will go after the cab supports and rocker panels. Struggling with getting my son away from the video games and out to the garage. He should get his temps tomorrow so I am hoping that a few laps around the neighborhood will help motivate him. However, the desire to kill those zombies is pretty hard to overcome.

[Evaded]

Any more progress on you truck?