70 gmc DIY build

[Ben IV]

Been around the forum for 20 years now (time really flies) but this will be my first official build thread. I bought this 70 gmc custom from the original owners daughter. It was sold in and spent it's life in clarmore oklahoma where I lived as a kid so I probably saw it driving around at some point. Truck came with the protect o plate and tons of paperwork going back to 1970 including for the crate 350 with 22k miles on it.

Here it is as we brought it home a little over a year ago

[68Gold/white]

Way nice!!!
Can't wait to see more pictures, and info, and work done!!!

I'm not knocking the bug deflector, but those cost you about 2 MPG going down the highway...yes, it's really THAT bad..

[Ben IV]

Originally Posted by 68Gold/white

Way nice!!!
Can't wait to see more pictures, and info, and work done!!!

I'm not knocking the bug deflector, but those cost you about 2 MPG going down the highway...yes, it's really THAT bad..

Bug deflector came off as soon as it was off the trailer.

[Ben IV]

My dad and I put on new belts hoses radiator an hei and I rebuilt the quadrajet. Took it on it's first drive in 5 years. Old man camper shell ford hubcaps and all. Then I ditched the camper shell and put on some new tires. Changed a few bulbs and it was road worthy.

[MDPotter]

That is a nice truck. Not only is it in great condition, but it's well optioned.

Clean it up a little bit, check the brakes, running gear, tune it up, and drive it!

[Ben IV]

Had been looking for a set of dog dish caps but lucked into some full wheel covers and an extra set of centers on ebay for a steal. Not perfect but matches the condition of the truck nicely. Was originally optioned with full covers anyway.

[Ben IV]

Originally Posted by MDPotter

That is a nice truck. Not only is it in great condition, but it's well optioned.

Clean it up a little bit, check the brakes, running gear, tune it up, and drive it!

Thanks. It's a 50 footer. Needs outer rockers, cab corners and floor supports. But no major body damage. Selling point was the condition and how unmolested it is. There's stuff on this truck I didn't even realize I was missing on my other truck.

[cornerstone]

That's the nicest original blue steering wheel I've ever seen. I'll be looking forward to your posts!

[Ol Blue K20]

I'm in...

[1971Stepside]

She is definitely a clean survivor for living on Tulsa time her whole life. Great truck and I like what you are doing to it.

[Ben IV]

Originally Posted by cornerstone

That's the nicest original blue steering wheel I've ever seen. I'll be looking forward to your posts!

Only a few hairline cracks on the center. Shame it's the wrong color blue though. But I need a black one now after swapping in a mint tilt column.

Originally Posted by 1971Stepside

She is definitely a clean survivor for living on Tulsa time her whole life. Great truck and I like what you are doing to it.

I was told he drove it to Washington State once a year to visit family and apparently didn't like stopping for gas since it had 3 tanks in addition to the in cab tank.

[Ben IV]

One of the very few non original things on the truck was the seat that was out of a squarebody and very uncomfortable. I found a full foam bottom seat for cheap but the guys dog had gotten a hold of it. With the cost of new foam I decided to try something different picked up some foam thick enough to cut out the chewed out areas. Cut out the areas then glued in the new foam. Turned out pretty good and cost less than $25.

[cornerstone]

Originally Posted by Ben IV

One of the very few non original things on the truck was the seat that was out of a squarebody and very uncomfortable. I found a full foam bottom seat for cheap but the guys dog had gotten a hold of it. With the cost of new foam I decided to try something different picked up some foam thick enough to cut out the chewed out areas. Cut out the areas then glued in the new foam. Turned out pretty good and cost less than $25.

I like how you cut out the bad foam all the way to fit the shape of the new foam... the same way on both sides should insure uniformity.

Does the new foam feel the same as the original?

[Scurry67]

Definitely curious on the seat foam as well. I'm in for the ride ����

[dagnabbitt]

Very cool seat repair, not sure if I have seen that type of fix before.

[Ben IV]

The foam isn't quite as dense as the seat foam but its the closest I could find in the thickness I needed. It was pretty simple marked my depth on a sharp knife cut strips front to back then went in perpendicular to the seat and cut them out. smoothed it out with a flap disc then glued in the new foam and dressed the edges with the flap disc to match the rest of the seat. DO THE SANDING OUTDOORS and compressed air is helpful to clean off afterwards because you'll be covered in bits of foam. I basically did this as a temporary measure till I get the seat recovered. Just has a saddle blanket cover on it now.

[Ben IV]

I decided to see how well the faded paint would buff out and was pleasantly surprised. Night and day difference. Couple pictures next to my panel afterwards.

[cornerstone]

Total transformation... Gotta love original paint!

[Ol Blue K20]

Looks good!

[Ben IV]

Originally Posted by cornerstone

Total transformation... Gotta love original paint!

I was surprised. It's had one repaint years back.

Originally Posted by Ol Blue K20

Looks good!

Thanks.

[Ben IV]

The truck ran fine with the stock q jet but if you let ie sit over night or even all day at work you had to crank and crank on it to start it. So I decided it was time for a tried and true holley and edelbrock intake swap. Did the valve covers too. Was pleasantly surprised at the added power.

[Ben IV]

Drove the truck like that for a while just fixing minor things on it till April of this year when things got interesting. If you're one of those save the long beds guys look away now.

I bought this truck with the intention of cutting it down. After a lot of research I had put a plan together and it came out pretty good for my first time. Disassembly is pretty straightforward except for having to drill out all the carriage bolts because the heads just spin. Found a little rust under one of the wheel tubs. I'm guessing it was caused by fuel tank#4 in the bed. Since I'm working alone I figured cutting the floor on the frame would make it easier to move. I didn't splice the floor but more on that later.

[SCOTI]

Decent looking truck. Snip away!

[Ben IV]

Measured multiple times and made templates so my cuts would be as exact as possible. But on the passenger side I had to put a jog in my cut to remove both the fuel door and filler hole for the in bed tank. I placed the horizontal cut so that it would be underneath the trim.

[lolife99]

Great project.
Keep up the good work.