Over 25 Years Later, Finally My 71 C-10 Truck Build

[lks dcvn]

Just found this build thread - LOT of good work going on there!

Keep up the good work.

[hgs_notes]

Originally Posted by lks dcvn

Just found this build thread - LOT of good work going on there!

Keep up the good work.

Thank you, I am.

Took most of the day off from work today. The weather was great and I didn't have anything scheduled, so I spent most of my time in the garage. Took some measurements for patch pieces on the bed and went back over to the sandblaster. He has steel for sale. Got a piece for the front floor edge, the bottom of the tailgate and the side panels in front of the wheel wells. He'll cut me a piece later for the front bed panel along the bottom. These pieces are cut from 18 gage.

[hgs_notes]

Then I started work on the driver door. Started by cutting along the bottom of where the door panel goes, then went straight to the skin on the back side. I left the original door hinge area on the front of the door because I didn't want to reinstall all of the inner supports and realign the hinge, etc. Then I used my cut off wheel and an air chisel to break off the spot welds for the inner braces.





Found that the window channel was bent from whatever caused the dent in the door. I straightened it out some.

[hgs_notes]

Cleaned up the bracing with a wire wheel and got a can of SEM weld through primer. That is some expensive stuff, $14 a can. I'll need it though for when the spot welds areas are re-welded.


Then I started to cut the replacement panel to fit. Here's a tip, if you don't need to replace the whole bottom for speaker holes, don't do it. The bends on the repo panel are not the same as the original doors. Not even close. I don't have the tools or experience to try and make a match, so I just used what I had to do the best I could.

[hgs_notes]

I fired up the new welder and it worked great. My skills have diminished from lack of use, and I've never done sheetmetal like this before, but I think it went well. This is a very tedious process though. Tack...tack...tack...etc...grind...tack...tack....etc...



I got most of it welded out, but still have a lot of grinding to do, and more welding, then more grinding, etc... Here is the current status of the apparatus...

[Palf70Step]

Nice work. Lord it sometimes feels jobs like these never end. I thought I would be welding/grinding on my truck's bed till I was 80. I guess being older and learning patience really helped me. YOu are making really good progress on the ole girl!

[hgs_notes]

Thanks Bill. It's going better than I expected for me being a newby on body work. Small update. Finished welding the inner door panel. Still have some grinding to do, and I'll have to plug weld the inner braces back in yet. I also got the door hinges rebuilt this morning. One of the pins was reluctant to come out, but nothing excessive hammering couldn't cure. What a difference. The new pin kit has brass bushings, compared to the original plastic ones. They are smooth and tight now. I can't imagine why anyone would spend a couple hundred dollars for replacement or rebuilt hinges. The pins and bushings are about $15 and it only took me about 20 minutes to do both driver side hinges. The only tools you need are a vice, a hammer and a pin set punch.

[nuke1]

Looking really good! there is some serious progress happening here! keep it up and in no time you will be painting.

[hgs_notes]

Took it easy this weekend. I basically didn't want to be covered in metal filings and grit again, so took a break from the grinding. Instead, I went over to the storage garage and stripped out some stuff from the original cab. All that's left is the pedals, wiper motor, ignition switch and dash pad. Then it's time to get rid of it. Oh yeahm the rear slider and windshield trim also.

[hgs_notes]

I took today off from work, mostly because I caught a cold this past weekend and my head feels like a balloon, but I took care of some personal things also. I can't let an off day go without at least some progress though. My headers got delivered today, and about 20 minutes after I signed for them, they were installed. It sure is easier when there is no front clip on. No major issues. The #2 tube rubs the top of the motor mount bracket by the frame. I think I'll pull it off and clearance that spot a bit. They hang down a bit, but I don't have a really low drop. They are in about the same position as my old cheapo headers.

They are Flowtech 31500FLT headers. Ceramic coated and should work great for my tiny small block (283).
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...K%3AMEWNX%3AIT




I also installed the alternator. Bought it off a board member. It fits, but has the wrong plug connector, so I'll have to find the right one or just put spade ends on and wire it that way.

[hgs_notes]

Didn't get much time today, but did manage to get the door skin off and grind down some welds. Also tacked in the inner door braces to the new inner panel. I found out the metal bracket holding the window glass was in tough shape. The channel for the rollers is bent up a bit and there is a crack on it. I'll have to decide whether to repair this one or canibalize one of the many spare doors I have laying around.

[nuke1]

Looking good bud, I too took a personal day, worked on the camaro, work was slow, so ...... anyways, great looking headers! very nice, door is looking good too, sure is coming along, just remember any questions just ask.

[hgs_notes]

Thanks James. I learn something or get better at something everytime I work on it. I tried to weld up the crack in the window guide and I think it turned out ok. I'll post a pic after the weld is ground down. Straightened the back channel piece better. Finished all of the welding for the inner panel and got most of the grinding done with that. Removed the vent window. Did some hammer and dolly work on the inner door flange to straighten it back out after removing the outer skin and spot welds. And I layed the new skin on to see how it fits. There are a couple little things to do before it will sit correctly, but I think it will be alright.

I ordered 50 sqft of fatmat. Got a kit from sounddeadener.com for $79 and it comes with a knife and roller. Pretty good deal. I have to go through my parts storage to see what window seals and felts I have, if any. I'll probably have to buy all of it.

There are still a few things to do before the new skin goes on, but I'm getting there. The other door should go a little better with the experience I have now.

I have a small sample of the paint I want and I'm hoping it is enough to do the firewall behind the engine. Then I can set the cab back down on the mounts and get a better idea of how stuff is fitting.

Does anyone know where to get those little square nuts that go in the doors for the door panel screws? I had a couple pop out and one that a screw broke off in I need to replace.

[nuke1]

It all takes time my young apprentice!!! LOL> patience is the key, let all of your troubles disappear and go to work, that is what I do, the best medicine is this stuff if you ask me.
Just to let you know,, I saw what was under your name, I drew this 4 years ago and got it put on me!

[hgs_notes]

Originally Posted by nuke1

It all takes time my young apprentice!!! LOL> patience is the key, let all of your troubles disappear and go to work, that is what I do, the best medicine is this stuff if you ask me.
Just to let you know,, I saw what was under your name, I drew this 4 years ago and got it put on me!

Patience huh? Some would call it procrastination.

Nice tat. I don't have any, just scars. Here's what my avatar was shrunk down from. I did a search on yahoo years ago for gear head and this is one of the images that came up. I loved it.

[hgs_notes]

I really wish I had more progress to report, but what are ya gonna do? Yesterday was spent with my oldest kid and wife at the U of MN campus for a open house. She'll be going there in the fall. Just got the estimated costs...ouch. I also procrastinated on ordering the sound deadener so it won't be here until tuesday. So I just finished up some things on the door to get it ready. Followed some of nuke1 metal dressing and ended up re-welding a section. I had the butt weld slightly misaligned so when it sanded flat I could see the line of the two pieces together. I added some weld on the inside which should make it stronger.

I kind of fixed the sash channel. It had a bow to it, the channel was banged up and the glass did not fit so well in it. I'll have to order a new rubber for it. Anyway, the driver door should be finished later this week.






I was thinking about using my paint sample, but now probably won't because it takes a different hardener than what I have now, and is not the same type of paint I'll be using later, so buying a bottler of the right hardener would probably be a waste. I'll set the cab back on the mounts and start fitting up the panels as I go.

I also pulled more parts off the old cab today. About all thats left is the rear window and windshield trim.

[hgs_notes]

Busy day today. I worked until about 2:30, then headed out to the garage. The fat mat came via ups today, so I layed that on the door skin. Sure is easy to do when it's open like that.


I sprayed some primer inside the door the other day. I drilled the holes for the mirror, and tack welded the brace inside the skin.



Then I cleaned up the edges where the skin meets the inner door flange, applied the panel adhesive and set the inner on the skin. Started hammering the flange over bit by bit.



Then did it some more until it was as flat as I could make it.



I used a hockey puck as my dolly. I used a vise grips to clamp a couple spots and it did dent in the bottom edge of the skin just a bit. I little filler will take care of that.

[hgs_notes]

After getting that door back together, I had to see what it all looked like. I got a few bolts out and put a couple panels on. No adjustments have been made here, just wanted to see it look more like a truck, even for just a day or two.

[lyrikz]

your doors fit awesome.

Mine suck. Trucks looking really good.

[my67chevytruck]

great progress!

[wancosc356]

Great work man! I think I might cut my doors open like you did, just to clean it all up and put some sound deadener in it.

[hgs_notes]

Originally Posted by lyrikz

your doors fit awesome.

Mine suck. Trucks looking really good.

Thanks, it looks better from the side than from the back looking forward. It's coming back off for primer anyway. I'd like to see some progress on yours.

Originally Posted by my67chevytruck

great progress!

Thanks!

Originally Posted by wancosc356

Great work man! I think I might cut my doors open like you did, just to clean it all up and put some sound deadener in it.

Thanks, but I don't think I would recommend cutting the doors open unless you had to for rust repairs anyway. This one door was a ton of work, I have no idea how many hours I have in it, plus the frustration of panels that are not stamped the same as the originals. I'm happy it turned out, but I am not looking forward to doing the other door. This was by far the hardest "body work" project I did so far.

[hgs_notes]

Tailgate rust repair. Mine was in fairly good condition, but had some small rust spots along the bottom edge where it meets the bed floor. This was caused by the truck being used for years as a trash container. When we lived out in the country when I was a kid, we did not have trash pick up service. Instead we threw the bags into the back of the truck. When it got full we hauled it to the dump. So it sat outside getting rained on, etc. with food juices draining into the bed. Gross huh? I should apologize for that story, but it's the truth. Part of the inglorious history of the family truck.



Anyway, the repair. I had a piece of steel cut and bent to closely match the contour at the bottom of the tailgate. I cut out a slot where the rust was, all along the bottom.


I cleaned it out as best I could with a wire brush, etc. When I cut that piece out, the inner panel pushed inward a bit, maybe a 1/4", so I made a little brace from some scrap metal and tacked it in to hold it out level.



I sprayed some rust preventer/zinc primer in there as much as possible, and on the back side of the patch.


Then used the panel adhesive to glue the patch on. I used some well placed tack welds to hold it in position. And a few clamps as well.


I did it this way, mostly because I did not want to weld out 12 feet of bead on the tailgate. The patch will barely be noticed after it's installed and the bed liner is sprayed over it. It should be pretty well protected against rust also. It only took me a couple hours for the job. It was a nice break from door repairs. Let me know what you think.

[lyrikz]

That panel adhesive is pretty strong, i think you would be ok after it was linexed. I can understand not wanting to put all that heat in there by doing that much welding.

Looks good.

[hgs_notes]

Thanks Lyrikz. It is strong. Here are a couple pics after it's installed and after cleaning it up a bit. You can't see it because it is lower than the bed floor.





So with that done, I started on the second door. I've learned a couple lessons one the first one, since the panel stamping is different on the corners, I made my cut inside of that area to avoid the mismatch. I also made to top edge cut on the flat below the door panel edge. Leaving that bend in place at the bottom of the door panel area keeps it stiffer and straighter. On the driver door, I ended up doing a little pushing from the inside of the door to get it flat and straight again.



I modified an old gasket scraper to fit in the area at the bootom door edge, then just tap, tap, tapped my way across the flange. It worked great and the outer skin still looks ok.