Purchased a 1969 C10 Short Bed - Pleasanton, CA

[Luke87gt]

Wow, you guys are awesome! I’m already learning a lot.

I’ll place an order for all the tune up parts today, might even swing by Monument Car Parts in Livermore.

Hopefully they have a carb rebuild kit in stock too.

The most pressing item currently is the heavy gas fumes in the garage. It’s overwhelming and the wife isn’t thrilled about that. I need to address that first before anything else. If anyone has any tips on common sources for this, I’ll be sure to look into those. For now I can tell that the gas cap rubber is pretty brittle and cracked. Additionally, there looks to be a bit of fuel puddling between the carb and intake as mentioned above.

Oh, and if I don’t have any optional gearing, what’s default ratio?

And before I forget, oil capacity for the 250? I’ll pick up some 10W-30

[Luke87gt]

When I saw the condition of the floors, door jams, and doors, I knew I was going to make an offer…

[Luke87gt]

Also, I bought a 15” replacement steering wheel from CJPony to replace the 13” in there now. It didn’t occur to me at the time of purchase that 15” might not be optimal for 3 on the tree? Anyone have experience with this?

Also, I’ll need to find a Chevy center cap for the steering wheel. Wonder if those exist for this (4) hole style steering wheel.

[howzzzit]

Staying with points ignition will teach you how these trucks were originally designed and how they work. Nothing wrong with points ignition. It's becoming a lost tuning art. I find it quite satisfying to replace the ignition parts and set dwell and timing on an engine. I've had classics and a muscle car from the 60's. All ran points ignition. Never had a failure. I've had my 72 since 73 and still running points. It's easy to change to hei down the road if you wish. Don't forget you will need a timing light whichever way you go. It's a nice truck. Keep it original. IMO

[novaX522]

Originally Posted by Luke87gt

When I saw the condition of the floors, door jams, and doors, I knew I was going to make an offer…

Nice truck!!! Looks really solid

[Steeveedee]

That truck's looking nicer all the time. Want to sell it?
I've had points ignition engines that have gone 30k+ miles between tune ups ('69 Nova, 250 CI engine, sold with original engine and trans at 200k miles). Nothing wrong with points.

[MikeB]

Originally Posted by Luke87gt

When I saw the condition of the floors, door jams, and doors, I knew I was going to make an offer…

My 69 doors didn't look that nice 35 years ago when I bought it! Rust was already at work on the bottom inside of the passenger's door. And both rocker panels had perforations.

[Luke87gt]

So today I decide to take my 5yr old son out to help me change the oil in the C10.

Routine right? I’ve changed oil 100 times in my life on all kinds of makes/models.

Well, evidently the previous owner before me (or oil changers) decided to overtighten the hell out of the oil filter.

I put my oil filter wrench on the filter and instead of loosening, it just crushed the filter as I applied torque. Granted it was a cheap Fram filter which I’ve learned to never use because the casing is too thin. My life flashes before my eyes thinking of the hassle this could turn into. The more I try to loosen, the more the filter is crushing with the tool as it just slides against the filter.

I stare at it for 15min and come up with an idea… I put gritty sand paper between the oil filter tool and the oil filter along with a long pry bar. Thankfully it did the trick but badly bent the oil filter wrench.

When I took off the oil filter, I noticed that it came off because the threaded rod actually loosened from the engine. In 25yrs of wrenching, that was a first for me.

I put back and tightened the threaded rod as tight as I could get with with my fingers. Does anyone know the torque spec on the threaded oil filter rod? I need to torque that back down. Also, the size of the hex nut would be helpful to know too.

Next, once I drained the oil, I quickly noticed a very strong smell of gasoline in the oil. Can anyone provide any guidance as to what that could mean? I have been complaining that my garage smelled like fumes since I bought this truck but it got much stronger with the oil drain.

All is well, that could have turned into a massive hassle if the sandpaper trick didn’t work

I guess it’s all part of getting acquainted with a new classic

[68bowtie]

Originally Posted by Luke87gt

Wow, you guys are awesome! I’m already learning a lot.

I’ll place an order for all the tune up parts today, might even swing by Monument Car Parts in Livermore.

Hopefully they have a carb rebuild kit in stock too.

The most pressing item currently is the heavy gas fumes in the garage. It’s overwhelming and the wife isn’t thrilled about that. I need to address that first before anything else. If anyone has any tips on common sources for this, I’ll be sure to look into those. For now I can tell that the gas cap rubber is pretty brittle and cracked. Additionally, there looks to be a bit of fuel puddling between the carb and intake as mentioned above.

Oh, and if I don’t have any optional gearing, what’s default ratio?

And before I forget, oil capacity for the 250? I’ll pick up some 10W-30

This will help with a lot of your questions:

https://www.gm.com/content/dam/compa...olet-Truck.pdf

There’s a section for Standard equipment and one for Optional equipment. If it’s not on the SPID, you have the Standard option.

[BROWN 70]

congrats on your truck. looks to be in great condition. stay with the points, just my opinion. good luck, BROWN 70

[Luke87gt]

Originally Posted by 68bowtie

This will help with a lot of your questions:

https://www.gm.com/content/dam/compa...olet-Truck.pdf

There’s a section for Standard equipment and one for Optional equipment. If it’s not on the SPID, you have the Standard option.

Outstanding reference, thank you