My '63 C10 "I'd rather be driving" Project

[Johnny_Lamebridge]

Hey Guys!

I've been a member here for a few months now, and I've been encouraged to start a build thread. So here goes...

I'd been looking at 60-66 C10's for a few years, but never got too close to actually making a purchase. As time passed, I decided that I really wanted a 63 because that was the year I was born. Last winter, I guess I got tired of waiting and I finally took the plunge.

I'd been watching a few C10's on ebay, and as it turned out there was one in Florida where my wife and I were heading to on vacation. I was watching NASCAR on a sunday afternoon, and my wife walked in. I showed her the auction and I asked her, "What do you think of this one?" She answered "It looks good, you should bid on it". I buy stuff on ebay all the time, but nothing as big-ticket as a vehicle... and I know its not a good idea to buy a vehicle sight unseen. It hadn't met the reserve yet, so for fun, I just bid it up to the next increment figuring that I wouldn't top the previous bidder. Well guess what? I was the high-bidder, and I'd met the reserve! Still, I figured it was no big deal... I'd get outbid by the end of the auction. Uh nope. Later that night when the auction ended... I'd bought it!

Holy crap, now what? I waited until my 3 daughters were out of earshot, then showed my wife the ebay auction again. She looked at it and said, " yeah I saw that truck already". It took a few seconds before she noticed the "you won this auction" across the page. When she clued-in... she started to laugh hysterically. I was stressing about payment and getting it home to Canada, and she just thought it was funny. Needless to say, she's the spender in the family!

We'd planned a few days in Panama City Beach (for the wife), then over to Bikeweek in Daytona (for me), then stop at Bristol Motor Speeday for the NASCAR race on the way home. In between, we picked up the truck. My plan was to pick up the truck, slap a temp tag on it, then drive it partway home, and store it until our streets were clear of slush and road salt. I was really worried about what the C10 was going to look like in person. I had convinced myself that I'd paid too much. When I finally saw it, I was kinda relieved. It didn't look too bad. Amateur body and paint, but the truck seemed really solid. The PO had the paperwork ready for me... and we headed off to the DMV.

Problem 1. I arranged temporary (15 days) insurance which is required in Ontario Canada. When I went to the DMV, after waiting for over an hour, I was told that the temp tag was for 30 days, and I would need to show proof of 30 days of insurance before they would sell me the tag. We called our insurance at home a couple times to see what we could do, had them speak to the DMV staff, but neither would give in. I called the PO to explain why the truck was still in his driveway... and he told me it was no problem etc. I spent the next hour looking at local storage places, renting a tow dolly, etc. By mid afternoon the PO was getting cranky. I decided to try a different DMV office.

Problem 2. We found another DMV in the next county over, Seminole County where our hotel was. Getting the temp tag was no problem... almost. After getting the tag ready, I expected to pay $7.50 and be on our way. The nice young lady behind the counter apologized for having to charge me 6% FL sales tax. It didn't matter that I was a non-resident, or even that I wasn't even registering the truck in my name yet. I called someone at Service Ontario (our DMV), and was told that whatever sales tax I was charged in Florida would be deducted from the sales tax I was required to pay in Ontario. I figured "no problem" and shelled out $800, grabbed the temp tag and raced back over to the PO's house.

Problem 3. I looked at the truck, and heard it run, but hadn't driven it. By now the PO wants the truck out of his driveway. I'd had a long day already, and I just want to get the truck over to our hotel so I can relax finally. The PO's asking me if I know how to drive a column-shift, and telling me its an old farm truck, blah blah blah... getting on my nerves. I get in and start it up no problem... then I go to put it in 1st, and the shifter will hardly move forward & back. I say screw it, yank it into 1st, and start driving out of his driveway.

Away we go! Right away, I was not expecting how slow the manual steering was! I almost went all the way across the far lane of traffic when turning right. What a newb! I got the truck to the hotel and parked it, had a beer and chilled finally. But I'm still really stressed about the shifter, and I can't see anything around me with little peep mirrors and sbw, and how low the gearing is, and just how primitive this thing is.

After supper I was feeling better. We went for drive together for the 1st time, to a gas station to fill up for the drive to Daytona next morning. I bought some WD40 to spray the shift linkages at the bottom of the steering column, but the problem was actually the pin that holds the shifter handle. Once I lubed it, we were good to go.

Problem 4 (my fault). I made sure to ask the PO ahead of time whether there was any issues locking the doors. The hotel we stayed at that night was in a sketchy-looking area, so I was ticked when I found the key didn't work in the passenger door. At that time, I didn't know that you could lock from the inside with the door handle, so we were parking my wife's Terrain really close so no one could open the door. Again... what a newb!

The next couple days were fun. The drive to Daytona was good... nice hotel on the beach... lots of bikes... lots of noise! We parked the Terrain and cruised around in the C10. We even took the C10 for a drive down the beach for some pics. On the Friday afternoon, we headed up to Jacksonville where we had a hotel reservation.

I guess I should've mentioned... before coming to Florida I'd looked into some storage facilities that I thought we might use, but I was afraid to book anything in case the truck broke down. My plan was to get to Fletcher Mini Storage in Fletcher NC, by 4pm on the next day... Saturday. We would put the truck in an indoor storage unit, then head for Bristol the next day, then home the day after that.

Problem 5. We were up and ready to go before daylight on Saturday morning. I was worried about potential electrical problems, so I wanted to avoid running the headlights... and it was foggy, so we decided to wait until 8 am to head for Fletcher NC. We had eight hours to do a six hour drive. No problem, right? Wifey waited until I started the engine, then she headed out, over to the far side of the highway to get gas and wait for me. As soon as she drove away, the engine died. I couldn't get the engine re-fired. My wife was across the highway wondering where I was, and finally came back after about 15 minutes. I checked the choke, checked for spark, sprayed quickstart (that I found in the glovebox) down the carb, etc. Wife noticed that she didn't smell gas (she's pretty sharp sometimes). There was still gas showing on the gauge, and I did see gas when I disconnected the fuel line... Anyway, I ran across the highway to the gas station, bought a jerry can and a gallon of gas, ran back and poured it in. Tried to start...she cranks but no fire. After a few more minutes I don't care if I flood it, and I start pumping the crap out of the gas pedal. It starts right up!

We head out... after filling the tank. We hit the I95 and head north. I have the GPS, and my wife is following. I figure 65 is good speed, and at 70 the rearview mirror shakes bad enough that I can't see whether I've lost the missus. We stop for gas after about 2-1/2 hours or so, filled up, and got some breakfast.

Problem 6. We get going again, running 65-70, and the GPS dies! I was having trouble with the cigarette lighter jack, so I figured maybe the GPS was running on battery then died. I knew I was going I95 to I26. We carried on until I needed gas again (3 hrs max per tank). We tried the GPS in the wife's car but no deal. Oh yeah, our Blackberries didn't have US data plans on them either, duh! At the gas station, I check a map and realize that we have a loooong way to go still to reach fletcher by 4pm. I take off, and run steady at 75-80 mph. The poor 283 is screaming with the 3.73 gears. When we start getting closer, this start getting pretty hilly! I'm racing down these mountains with a single master cylinder, and wondering whether a tierod is going to let go. Finally, I see a sign for Fletcher, but I don't have the GPS to tell me where to go. I had to choose to turn left or right off the Interstate. I turned right, and less than a mile up the road... we found it. We pulled in with 10 minutes to spare... and they were CLOSED. I couldn't believe it. Luckily, the family that owns the place lives nearby. We called the number on their sign, and the lady came right over to let us in. Sweet!

We were both happy to get the truck put away, and forget about it for a while! We stayed in Asheville that night, then headed for Bristol for a cold, wet Sprint Cup race, then home the next day.

Fast-forward to 6 weeks later. I borrowed a buddy's pickup, and rented a U-Haul trailer and dragged it down to NC. Way cheaper than a one-way over the border rental. Nice quick 12 hour drive. We had the C10 loaded and heading north on the same day. We put in 16 hours that day (wife's a trooper), then a nice 6 hour drive to Erie PA on sunday for some nice R&R, a soak in the hot tub... oh, and a shopping spree at Harbor Freight. We would have to wait until Monday to cross the border into Canada and complete the importation process. That went smoothly... except for one thing.

Problem 7. When I got to Service Ontario (our DMV), I was informed that whatever sales tax I paid in Florida is between me and the Seminole County Tax Collector. I tried to plead my case with the Tax Collector, and the Dept of Revenue, but no way. So I guess I can add that $800 to the price of a truck that I already thought I'd overpaid for.

I rationalize it like this: I could've bought a lower-priced truck, but I probably wouldn't have been able to spend the summer cruising around in it, like I have been. And we really had a lot of fun on these trips! It's only money...well at least that's what the wife says. LOL

We got the C10 home. All I needed to fix was the horn to pass the safety certification. I've been driving it daily, and having lots of fun.

So far, I picked up a 63 steel grille to replace the 64-66 grill that the PO was running. I'm hoping to get it chromed.

My plan is to put it away for the winter and concentrate on getting the stance how I want it. Probably a 4-6 static drop, power brakes, and steering. I'm also planning a BBW conversion. Oh, and a T5 or T56 before I blow up the 283.

We'll see how it goes after that.

Holy smokes... sorry for being so long-winded!

Here's a couple pics: