1970 C10 SWB: Where do we start?

[BarryV]

Hello all,

This 1970 C10 SWB is a father-son project, and we are very excited to get started. Neither of us are experts at anything, but we are not afraid to turn some wrenches and fix cars when needed.

Truck details:
This truck has sat for about 10 years in a field in eastern (dry) Idaho, so it has some rust and dust.

Body:
Rust in rockers and some sheet metal. Surface rust on cab floor. Some rust on front of inner fenders. Body is extremely straight. Someone painted the truck white over yellow.

Drivetrain:
No engine or tranny. VIN says it had a 6cyl. Son wants a 350 with a 4 or 5 spd manual (not a truck 4spd). I would be fine with a temporary 350+TH400 just to get it moving, but because of the rust issues we might want to spend more time on body work right now.

Shop space:
None at the moment. We can get the truck into our garage, but there's not a huge amount of space to work in it.

My son and I need to come to an agreement on investment (time and money) and "how soon do you want to drive it" vs. "how nice do you want it to be". Maybe we can drive it while restoring?

This is an open question to anyone with 2 cents ... where do we start? Or better yet, what would you do?


Take a peek at what we got!


BarryV

[Cash3481]

Welcome to the board and congrats on your first post!

Find a proven, running driving combo from someone thats changing theirs.
running projects see more work than non running ones. IMHO

check all the wiring and brake lines for visible damage. make a list of wants and needs. Then sort the needs out to safety items 1st and everything else after that.

This is a great oppertunity to teach:
1. Wear of personal propective equipment
2. Safety
3. Realistic goals
4. Budgeting

dont let him cut in a Porterbuilt rear section on the first day. LOL

Good luck on your project!

[gsxrdoug]

What's an LS1 vs 350 cost? Could be an avenue. Along with the engine, go through your brakes, checking pads and lines to make sure all is in order. Nothing worse than going and not being able to stop. Also good time to pop the rear diff cover off and replace oil and seal.

Most of all have fun. Life lessons are more important today than ever before.

[Already Gone]

I'd get the mechanical aspect of the build done first. Once the truck is mobile then you can decide how deep you want to go into the body work and paint.

[BLT gmc]

I agree with Cash3481. I would make the project run and drive safely, then I would work on the cosmetics. I have seen a phenomena many times before when it comes to restoration projects- Body people start with the body restoration and mechanics start on the mechanicals. Having the project run and drive I think is important. Good looking project, Bruce

[Xeen]

Welcome to the board.
I agree with the guys you need to make sure it is mechanically excellent and then worry about the rest later.
Start with the brakes, suspension and steering, make it right and tight.

There are some very important things you need to figure out about the direction of the build.
Is the truck going to be a daily driver or a weekend cruiser?
Are you staying with stock suspension or do you want it lowered.
There is a lot to cover here so get comfortable.

The stock drum brakes aren't the greatest, it would be in your best interest to upgrade to front disk brakes minimum and add rear disk later if you want even more stopping power.
You can accomplish the front disk upgrade two ways.
1) If you plan on lowering the truck more than 2" in the front then buy after market drop spindles, rotors and calipers from CPP.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/1971-1972-CH...item3cde003684
1a) Find someone parting out a 1971-72, 1/2-3/4 ton c10 and get the tie rods, center link, idler arm and idler arm support.
If it is there you might as well grab the master cylinder, prop valve, all associated bracketry on the firewall, power booster, and the connecting rod hooked to the brake pedal, get the whole smash.

2) The second option if you aren't going to lower the truck more than 2" in the front is to get everything in (1a) plus the spindles, rotors, and calipers.

Don't even try to reuse the used calipers take them down to O'reilly's and exchange them for rebuilt ones for $20 apiece and chances are the rotors aren't going to be any good so get a set of OEM quality replacements and some ceramic pads while you are at it.

While you are there it if you don't have power steering get the power steering box, pitman arm, collapsible steering shaft, and hoses.
You basically need to grab everything out of the front of the truck that became standard equipment in 1971.
Try not to mix and match 1971 and 1972 brake parts because they changed a bunch of stuff in 72, so get either all 71 or all 72 parts, if you go 1972 you need to grab the suspension cross member and everything attached to it.
If you don't have a front sway bar get one out of a c20 or c30.
It would be a good idea to go to 5-lug front and rear, so no matter which way you go with the front brakes you are gonna want to get a 5-lug 12-bolt rear axle out of a 1971-72 c10, try to get one with either a 3.42:1 or 3.73:1 gear ratio, don't pay more than $100 unless it is Positrac.
If you go with all used stock 1971-72 parts the whole smash can be had for around $500 ($700 if you are getting a positrac rear axle) total and it is money well spent.

When you go to replace the brake lines go to Inline tube for the best bang for your buck. http://www.inlinetube.com/

Feel free to send me a Private message with any questions you may have.

[BarryV]

Thank you all! Keep the advice coming!


Needs:
Power steering, power disk brakes

Wants:
350, 4 or 5spd manual, positrac, driveable sooner rather than later.


The advice so far is looking like safety first (brakes and steering), fun second (engine, tranny, and drivetrain) and looks a distant third.


Barry

[Xeen]

If you want to do a 4.5/6" drop there is a grand slam kit for that from CPP that will save you a few bucks if you do it all in one smash.
There are standard kits and then modular kits for big wheels.
http://www.classicperform.com/

[davepl]

My suggestion, and I base it both on what I'd do anyway and more importantly on the educational and bonding aspects of this project, is to make it a reliable driver first.

Don't worry about body, paint, upholstery, or any of it. Spend your money on getting it to run like new, cool like new, stop like new, and ride like new. Or at least like a 3 year old truck and not a 43 year old truck.

Tires, brakes, suspension, a carb rebuild, any of those things are not wasted because they'll all still be there when you attack the cosmetics later.

On the educational side, it'll also teach basic tuneup and shadetree repairs. It also shows that safety comes first.

[Blue/72]

Cool to see somebody got this truck. It had been sitting craigslist for quite a while!

[hugger6933]

I am a mechanic by trade but a body man by accident. I own a body shop and have since 1987 and I rebuild wrecks and restore old muscle and trucks for fun. My advice is along the line of the others setting aside the lowering stuff that is a personal taste thing that I don't get into, but make it safe first suspension ALL of it. Shocks, steering,brakes, springs[they will weaken over time causing sag].
After your sure it will stop , steer, and do both of those in a straight line safely then your or his quest for extra power can begin.
i would start with a drivetrain that you know is good, buy from some one you can trust. If you don't have a relationship with some car/truck guys now /here is the time and place to start building that. You can easily find a good 350/350 combo to put in there from some body doing a LS upgrade and have a good running truck. I would be careful on tearing down the truck for paint and body at first. The inclination is to do so I know that is standard operating stuff around my place as well. It is fun to do a tear down but lots of project never get past that point. That is why we are try to tell you to get it driving cause it is a lot easier to stat motivated on a project that you drive and think about while cruising down the road in. I too will be happy to help answer any question I can. Like I said I have a body shop, am a mechanic by trade be fore being a body man,my dad came to my shop about six months after I started building wrecks so I have 20+++ years of farther and son project experience, plus my son work for me for a couple of years too so I have experience their as well. Come to think of it I am over qualified to deal with you. No just kidding of course, I am always happy to help. Also welcome to you and your son. [I usually only do this in the paint and body section]Happy Sanding. Jim

[BarryV]

Originally Posted by Blue/72

Cool to see somebody got this truck. It had been sitting craigslist for quite a while!

He was asking too much! Nice guy though...

[Dcm]

Congrats on the truck. I'm a newbie on here myself and in the short time I've been here, I've learned that these guys know their stuff and are more than glad to help. The for sale section of this web page seems to always have a ton of good used parts to choose from. Happy restoring!
My truck is in almost identical condition to yours. It's cool to see a father/son team tackle a project like this.

[leddzepp]

Make it run first. See how the brakes function and how it steers, and go from there. He wants to drive it and you have no shop space, bodywork shouldn't even be a consideration right now.

[Tinkermc]

Welcome to the Forum and it is nice that you supplied pic's. I must agree first step is get it running and driveable. Drivetrains can be had here from a part out truck or an upgrade but there are many places to source one from. Good luck and have fun.

[yuccales]

That's not a bad looking truck. Going to be a fun project for you two.

[BarryV]

Will any of the suspension parts off of a 1973 C10 fit onto a 1970?

I can get a good deal on a 1973 C10, and was wondering if the disk brakes, PS, PB, and rear end would swap right in.

As I understand it there were major changes in 1973, but I am not sure *how* major they were!

If there is a FAQ that discusses this kind of stuff I would happily read it. I was unable to find anything on it as of yet.

Thanks!

Barry

[Nitis]

I think the front clip will bolt right on

Might consider an LS swap. Not sure what they sell for in your neighborhood but something to consider. A used takeout could run the same as a new 350 maybe less but of course there are the intangibles.