1962..ish Beater K10

[EagleScreech]

Hello all,
I picked up this truck in Weatherford, TX in summer '17 after seeing a craigslist ad and shooting the guy a offer/trade deal. Of course, it was MUCH worse than the pictures made it seem!
I'd been itching for a 4x4 frame for my daily '66 (I blame argonaut's Big Ugly) so I secretly planned on doing a frame swap down the road, but I think the beat up look and functional aspect of this thing made me change my mind.
The frame is a 60-62 and the cab is 64-66. I don't know any history on the truck at all, sadly. Big mess of frankenstein GM parts. No title.
The good: The 283 ran, TC shifted and turned how it should in all gears, I already had a lead on a new cab and front clip in decent shape (sorta), I had a bunch of 60-66 parts laying around after building my '66, and the frame hadn't been completely hacked up.
The Bad: Horrible brushed on camo (no cool patina), SM420 didn't shift into reverse or 3/4, one driveshaft was missing the female splined end, and the cab was pure trash. No brakes to speak of and no idea what condition the diffs are in.
BUT... every single bolt I've turned has come out strangely easily, every little job on it has gone smoothly. It's like the truck is telling me to save it. It's one of the very few K-trucks and it's survived the crusher - I'd love to resurrect it for a cool old work truck.
I plan to keep it as stock as possible and reuse what I can with my college kid budget. I start nursing school on Monday but I'll get to it throughout the semester and post updates when I can. Starting this thread has been on the to-do list for over a year and it feels awesome to finally do it!

[EagleScreech]

Here's a picture of the rot in the old cab (not original) and the 2nd and 3rd pics are of the new one I scored for $125 locally. The BBW has some rot but is actually repairable and the best part - original A/C! Custom cluster too.
I have some repairs to do to the old high hump but it shouldn't be a big deal to swap it in.
I took the 1st and 3rd pics in portrait orientation on my phone so they're sideways. I'll take note and take the rest in landscape next time. Sorry!

[EagleScreech]

I looked around for awhile for some cheap rollers on facebook marketplace and scored these crappy 33x12.50's for $50.
I was missing one factory 6 lug steelie so I found another one in good shape from a junkyard for $20. Of course, I squeezed some 12.50's on a 6" wide steelie....
The 33x12.50's fit and clear everything with the factory lift. Makes me love these trucks even more!
My Dad bought a '64 K10 and is starting a nice restoration, so he let me use his original front clip for my junk. It's in driver quality shape so I'll probably trade him something for it. he has a decent fleetside bed I'm trying to score as well..
The new front end makes it look way nicer! And steelies look amazing with some meats. Wish they made some cheap tall skinny radials.

[EagleScreech]

The old cab mounts had been replaced terribly before, so I cut out the old stuff. I left enough meat to weld on the bottom and the top and threw some steel on there. Also, the cab mounts are sagged out enough that I shouldn't have to shim the bed up. Haha.

[argonaut]

Cole,
Looks like a cool project. And like all cool old pickup truck project...lots of work!

I got your message about the drawings for the front spring hangers and shackle hangers. I'll have to dig and see if I still have what I drew up. Do you want the actual autocad file, or just a pdf drawing to print and build from?

I'm curious, how do you know its a 62 chassis? If I remember correctly (and I may not) all the 60-66 4x4 frames were the same. Maybe just the cab and bed mounting perches would be different since the 2wd frames were wider and thus the cabs and beds used a wider set bolt pattern?

I haven't been very active on this board at all in the past several years, so its exciting to hear that someone got inspiration from my Big Ugly!

[EagleScreech]

Jason, I sent you a pm regarding the files! Thanks a million.

I think the differences are really minor- the shocks on 63-66 frames mount forward off the axle tube up to formed mounts on either side of the frame. The 60-62 frames have shock studs off the lift blocks up to the parking brake crossmember.
Also, I believe the horseshoe motor mounts were phased out in 63 and GM went to the good ole 3 bolt side mounts.

Side note- My 283 has a road draft tube rather than a PCV valve and the single ball stud boss for the old style linkage. My bellhousing is also factory drilled and tapped on the passenger side for a clutch slave.

All of that info jumbled together makes me 79.8% sure it's a 62. Anyone with more knowledge than me please jump in with some school!

[57taskforce]

Awesome truck. I’m in to see this one come together!

[argonaut]

Okay, you jogged my memory. All of that makes sense and I would agree that you have an early chassis.

Nice score on the big back window cab!

[EagleScreech]

Originally Posted by 57taskforce

Awesome truck. I’m in to see this one come together!

Thanks 57TF! I just finished my second semester of nursing school, so now I've got a bit more time to play with it.

[EagleScreech]

Originally Posted by argonaut

Okay, you jogged my memory. All of that makes sense and I would agree that you have an early chassis.

Nice score on the big back window cab!

Jason, I think that info is correct but can't guarantee it. I didn't work the assembly line in the '60s (but I wish I would've!). I got lucky to find that cab so cheap!

[EagleScreech]

Since I had to drive 40 minutes one way from school just to work on the truck, I brought it to the house I'm renting. Little did my roommates know...

I blew it immediately apart. Took a few evenings and wire wheeled and lightly flap disc'ed the scale and crap that had been there for so many years. Threw three coats of satin paint on it and called her good for now! Rattle can restoration.

Started from the back because I had to get rid of the 12 bolt that was in the truck when I got it. It needed a full rebuild and had 3.08's in it
Unloaded it for $120 and got some new u-bolts bent up out of 5/8" stock. I searched for awhile and finally the right choice fell into my lap. My brother gave me this 14 bolt from a project he had waiting in line. 4.10's!!!

[EagleScreech]

So, I tore into the 14b and swapped to discs! Grabbed caliper brackets from Ballistic Fab ($48 shipped from eBay); rotors, calipers, and pads ($100ish); and inner and outer wheel bearings. Packed the hubs and hammered in the studs. Super easy swap all around! K20 front rotors and calipers, SRW studs.
Also picked up a 1350 to 1310 conversion u-joint so I can use the factory driveshaft for now.

[franken]

So those are front calipers and disks? No E-brake? Will it pass inspection?

[EagleScreech]

For the moment, I'm going to leave all the original suspension in place just to get the truck on the road (and because I don't have a welder that is hot enough for frame work). These massive factory lift blocks make me chuckle every time i see them, too cool.
Picked up some Bilsteins for $5 each at the local swap meet. Gonna have to borrow a dang torch to get the old sleeves off the blocks.

[EagleScreech]

Originally Posted by franken

So those are front calipers and disks? No E-brake? Will it pass inspection?

I don't think it'll pass proper inspection, but i'll probably just get antique tags so no inspections needed

But, since I have to get new calipers for the front axle, I'll go ahead and grab some El Dorado calipers with parking brake provisions and swap 'em.

[EagleScreech]

I hunted for an affordable 8 lug front D44 or 10 bolt for way too long. I finally found one (10b) for free in Shreveport, so I made the jaunt in the 66 after work Monday. It looks like the titanic but it'll clean up decent. Not bad for a 3 hr roundtrip and 3/4 tank of gas!

I have it broken down all the way to the spindles now, just having a great time trying to separate them from the knuckles.

The white wheels and 7.00-16's look right!

[argonaut]

Nice work, man!
How did you decide that you wanted to swap to 3/4ton/1ton axles in lieu of 1/2ton drivetrain?

[EagleScreech]

Originally Posted by argonaut

Nice work, man!
How did you decide that you wanted to swap to 3/4ton/1ton axles in lieu of 1/2ton drivetrain?

Thanks Jason! The rear axle was given to me by my brother and that was all I needed to get on board. I also plan on actually wheeling it a bit so maybe the 4.10 gears will do better than the 3.73's that would've been in the hypothetical 1/2 ton axles I would've used.
Also, 8 lug hubs just look like they belong on an old truck like this!