'67 K10 swb big block "The Mutt"

[JMD]

I started a build thread in a different area but I think this board is a better place for it

Back in 2012 I got the itch to restore a truck, mostly to keep up with my friend who thinks his '66 c10 is the coolest thing on 4 wheels (It is pretty nice actually, and I believe he's a member here). I ended up finding a '67 k20 on Craigslist that was mid way through a 454 swap. The engine was a fresh rebuild from a reputable shop so I jumped on it. Had I know what a pain a big block swap is on a k20 I would have passed, but I remember saying "How hard can it be?" as I handed over the cash.

Since the truck didn't run it had to be trailered the 40 miles back to my house. The trip home was a complete disaster, but it makes for a great story!

My good friend and his wife went with me to help load the truck on my parent's car dolly. It was a tight fit, the hubs only cleared the dolly fenders by 1/4". However, I was confident that it wouldn't be an issue.

I couldn't have been more wrong.

[JMD]

There is a reason the dolly calls for 3" of clearance on each side! But in my haste to get home before the storm (We were under a tornado watch, a fairly large cell was rolling in off of Lake Michigan) I completely disregarded the safety stickers.

We made it to the first major intersection before things went wrong. To make a long story short, the truck fell off the dolly, 2 different police departments were involved, and we didn't get home until 6:30 the next morning...still without the truck. Had to rent a flatbed car hauler the next day to retrieve it from the parking lot where we left it.

No tickets were issued, the cops liked my truck I guess Damage was minor. Bent tie rod on the truck and 2 blown tires on the dolly. What a night!

[JMD]

The tare down started almost immediately, and of course I forgot to snap any pics of the original truck

Here's how it looked after the first day...pretty gross, lots of rot.

[swamp rat]

Lol!~

Subscribed!

[JMD]

The truck was way more deteriorated than I originally thought. There was a ton of bondo and even fiberglass on the cab floor. The back half of the frame had a lot of rot as well as the bed floor. I found out later that the truck had been used as a salt spreader for many of the Marathon gas stations in this area. Again, if I would have known that I would have walked away. The giant stickers on the doors should have been my first clue...

[JMD]

I decided to go all in on this truck. Instead of just fixing her up to drive I am going to do a frame off restoration. So here's what I have to work with...

The good-
8 lug D44 front axle with Ford hubs and 4:10 gears
Eaton HO52 rear axle
Freshly rebuilt 454, 2 bolt mains, oval port heads
A TH350 and a TH400 transmission, both in unknown condition
NP205 Tcase
Nice original hood
Nice original grill and cowl

The bad-
Everything else.

Seriously most everything else on this truck is junk. I don't have the tools, time, or knowhow to save most of this stuff, so it will either be trashed or sold to somebody who thinks they can fix it.

This project just became very expensive!

[TheCougarine]

Sounds about like the 72' C20 I had, once I got into it I realized it was in much worse shape than I originally thought. It ran good and had strong surprisingly strong brakes but that was about it. Good luck on your project sounds like it will be a real mean truck when its done.

[JMD]

I found a guy close by who restores these trucks for a living, his company is called RustBelt Restorations. He's a great guy, and does beautiful work, look him up! He agreed to buy most of the original sheet metal from me and I decided to buy all new aftermarket sheet metal from him. I think it worked out fairly well! Here's a couple pics of everything loaded up and ready to trade.

[JMD]

I made a road trip to Kentucky to pick up a k10 swb frame. Yes it's a cut down longbed, but it's cheap and swb k10's are getting hard to find.

[JMD]

The axles where removed and scrapped, as were the leaf packs. Next the frame was sandblasted. I also reinforced where the frame was welded back together, and I took care of some rot.

I really need to stop buying things that are so rusty

[JMD]

Next the frame was painted with Chassis Saver satin black, and a set of skyjacker 2.5" lift Springs were hung on it. I have a feeling with that many leafs on a lightweight swb truck that this thing is going to ride like a brick...We'll see.

[JMD]

Next came the axles. Everything was torn apart and the bearings were checked for ware. Surprisingly they all looked pretty good! Since I was switching from a 3/4 ton frame to a half ton frame I needed to move the spring perches and shock mounts on the rear axle. No big deal. After some new ball joints and axle seals they were ready to be bolted to the frame, finally a rolling chassis again!

Since it was cheaper, lighter, and easier I decided to switch to rear disk brakes. The brackets are from RuffStuff Specialties and the calipers are off a '75 k20. The front calipers are also off a '75 k20. More details about that later when I start plumbing the brake lines.

[JMD]

I started cleaning up the 454 and figured out how to make it fit in the truck without modifying the firewall. I know there are several ways to skin a cat, but this is how I chose to do it...
-Stock crossmember with small block engine mounts
-3/16" spacers between block and engine mounts (for oil pan clearance)
-Headman shorty headers
-Everything is moved forward 1.5" (to clear firewall)

Unfortunately I don't have the adapter to bolt my NP205 to my TH400, so the TH350 will have to work for now. I think it'll be ok behind the big block for awhile, and if not, I'll just have to put the 4L80E conversion higher on the to do list I did put a shift kit in the 350 just for peace of mind though.

[JMD]

Here it is all mocked up.

[DeepOceanStepside]

Sub'd for a fellow Michigan truck owner!

[JMD]

Finally reinstalled some of the accessories. I received my headers and valve covers from summit, and got the core support and radiator mocked up. It's starting to look like a working engine again!

[JMD]

Since my original '67 was too far gone (for me anyway) I picked up a really nice '68 cab off craigslist. The rockers have been replaced and the rest of the cab is virtually rust free! Never thought I'd find that in Michigan.

In reality the cab is from Arizona, the gentleman I bought it from spends his winters with family in AZ. To finance his trips he buys rust free classic parts in AZ and sells them to suckers like me in the rust belt for double the price. Not a bad business model

I'm sad to see the small rear window go, but now I can have a sliding rear window so I don't feel too bad.

[JMD]

Unfortunately someone mangled the radio slot. I fixed that by welding in a patch panel...poorly Yes I know it looks like garbage. It was my first time welding a butt joint with thin metal, and I had to do it blind folded since I didn't have a welding mask. Don't worry, I'll make it look pretty later on down the road.

[JMD]

Time to start some body work! I need the cab painted and bolted to the frame before I can start any wiring, so today I had it sand blasted and sealed.

[JMD]

I picked the cab up from my paint guy today. The sandblaster found some thin spots that will need to be taken care of, and there are several small dents that need to be filled in before I send it off to get some color sprayed on. We're supposed to get single digit temperatures here this week, so I don't know how far I'll get in my non heated shop.

[BrianG]

Subscribed... Wow, reading through this build, it was almost like reliving the last few years of my life. I never did a build thread for my truck (well, its not done yet) but if I did, it would have went a lot like yours.

[JMD]

Originally Posted by BrianG

Subscribed... Wow, reading through this build, it was almost like reliving the last few years of my life. I never did a build thread for my truck (well, its not done yet) but if I did, it would have went a lot like yours.

Hopefully you have a heated shop! Right now this project is on hold until I can find a better way to keep the truck warm during body work. The tiny wood stove in the corner of my shop just isn't cutting it.

[BrianG]

Originally Posted by JMD

Hopefully you have a heated shop! Right now this project is on hold until I can find a better way to keep the truck warm during body work. The tiny wood stove in the corner of my shop just isn't cutting it.

On hold over here for the same reasons. Can't wait for warmer weather!

[JMD]

Finally got around to plumbing some brake lines. The 3/16" stuff was easy, but 1/4" was kind of a pain. It didn't turn out too bad for my first time so I'll live with it. Really not looking forward to bending the 5/16" transmission lines or the even larger fuel lines...

[JMD]

For you guys with lifted 4x4s, what are you using for front brake hoses? Even with a small 2.5" lift the stock hoses weren't even close to fitting. I couldn't find any longer ones so I had to settle for hoses from a newer Chevy and they had to be modified to fit the '75 3/4t calipers I'm using. The hole for the banjo needed to be drilled out to 7/16". I couldn't think of any reason this would affect the performance of the brakes, so I went with it. We'll find out in a few months if that was a good idea or not!