1969 K10 CST Full Restoration

[IronCanine]

Originally Posted by Ol Blue K20

Looks great! Where did you get the tailgate band....

Thanks. Southern Kentucky Classics. Trim Parts 9655.

[Ol Blue K20]

Originally Posted by IronCanine

Thanks. Southern Kentucky Classics. Trim Parts 9655.

It looks great. I need to order one....thanks

[MDPotter]

That is exciting! Seeing the body come back together and getting trimmed out is a huge payoff. As always, you're doing a fantastic job.

[jaros44sr]

well, who ever it is that likes the rally's, I agree! They bring alot of bling to the truck, just my opinion. But the choice Is done by the one who pays the bills.

This falls into the never ending topics of exhaust manifold gaskets or not, such as it is white wheels or argent rallys, but I don't want to open that can of worms, since you can't get the lid back on,lol

Great build so far, you guys have hit it outta the park, you've set the bar very high for the rest of us, thanks for a great build

You've got to be chompin at the bit, to drive this truck....

[jaros44sr]

sorry bud, just had to make my case

[url=https://flic.kr/p/Cf6Sza]WIN_20151216_073632

[IronCanine]

Originally Posted by MDPotter

That is exciting! Seeing the body come back together and getting trimmed out is a huge payoff. As always, you're doing a fantastic job.

Thanks. It is exciting.

Originally Posted by jaros44sr

well, who ever it is that likes the rally's, I agree! They bring alot of bling to the truck, just my opinion. But the choice Is done by the one who pays the bills.

This falls into the never ending topics of exhaust manifold gaskets or not, such as it is white wheels or argent rallys, but I don't want to open that can of worms, since you can't get the lid back on,lol

Great build so far, you guys have hit it outta the park, you've set the bar very high for the rest of us, thanks for a great build

You've got to be chompin at the bit, to drive this truck....

Thanks Jim, you're too kind...and it's my brother who wants the Rallys. It's his truck so we're obligated to at least consider his opinion .

[IronCanine]

Fenders hung. Paint is deep and hard to photograph because my ugly mug is always in the shot...oh, if only to be a vampire. Last pic is what you get when you try and shoot it straight on. Hopefully more progress pics tomorrow.

[IronCanine]

In birthday news...the rear axle turns 51 today!

[Ol Blue K20]

Originally Posted by IronCanine

In birthday news...the rear axle turns 51 today!

[MDPotter]

Looks like a perfect paint job!

[1971Stepside]

Simply. Amazing. Looks like she is fresh off the assembly line.

[IronCanine]

Originally Posted by MDPotter

Looks like a perfect paint job!

Eric definitely nailed it.

Originally Posted by 1971Stepside

Simply. Amazing. Looks like she is fresh off the assembly line.

Thanks. I wish we could do it as fast as those guys on the St. Louis assembly line.

[IronCanine]

Work bell rang...quick dinner with the girls and then off to Eric's. A couple of jobs done tonight. Got the rear bumper on along with some fun stuff. Besides the '69 plate, I threw on the Bickerstaff dealer logo that I had reproduced. It was the dealership from our hometown for the better part of the last century...Bickerstaff was done selling cars and trucks by the '80s. It took a bit to locate a period example, but we finally got lucky. Don't worry though this one is just a magnet, so no harm done. Also got the rear window in. Not as tough as the front for sure, but it was chilly tonight which made it a bit tougher than it would have been just a couple of weeks ago. We didn't bolt the seats in because we've got to get the seat belts sorted, but couldn't help throwing them in to see how she looks.

[jimbosprint]

Incredible work. I wish I could give my trucks the same quality of restoration.

[DeadheadNM]

Outstanding! Strong work guys. Better than new.

Any difficulty installing the upper tailgate trim? Repro trim clips used?

[IronCanine]

Originally Posted by jimbosprint

Incredible work. I wish I could give my trucks the same quality of restoration.

Thanks. I'm just grateful for all the help and insight from this board. If it turns out nice, that's a huge reason why.

Originally Posted by DeadheadNM

Outstanding! Strong work guys. Better than new.

Any difficulty installing the upper tailgate trim? Repro trim clips used?

Thanks Pete. Don't know that it's better than new...maybe the paint is. I won't steal Eric's thunder on the trim. I think he may have it hacked and might post in the trim thread (or this one) about his approach.

[OLDYELLOW]

Originally Posted by DeadheadNM

Outstanding! Strong work guys. Better than new.

Any difficulty installing the upper tailgate trim? Repro trim clips used?

Yes, and we used repro trim clips. First try the clips didn't catch. So I took a small triangular file and squared up the holes. Then spread the clips quite a bit.

[IronCanine]

Eric spent the day prepping the hood. The deeper he goes the better it looks.

[IronCanine]

Just odds and ends tonight. The electrolysis tank does a pretty good job of pushing off paint as well as rust. Here you can see the orange and the underlying factory medium olive coming off the mirror arms. It definitely eases the cleanup a bit. Minimal drama on the install of the mirrors tonight. Also got the console and seats mounted (save for a few bolts because we ran short). As recommended on the board and as we did for the Blazer, a soldering iron is a great way to punch the carpet holes and keep bolts and screws from winding up the fibers. Also as with the Blazer, I elected to go with a later style three point seat belt set up. We bought them through Seat Belts Plus and got the new buckles that mimic our style. I did spend some time looking for original belts, but in the end I didn't have it in me to find a date correct set and then have them rebuilt. I also know I wouldn't wear 'em if I did--these I will. It's an easy enough add later if it becomes an issue.

[cornerstone]

Cream of the crop, top shelf beautiful.... Who in their right mind wouldn't want to drive this truck?

So have you guys given any thought to a third project truck? If so, any speculations as to what it would be?

[IronCanine]

Originally Posted by cornerstone

Cream of the crop, top shelf beautiful.... Who in their right mind wouldn't want to drive this truck?

So have you guys given any thought to a third project truck? If so, any speculations as to what it would be?

Thank you very much...gonna put fluids in tomorrow and do some systems checks and see what happens. Hopefully we'll be driving before too long--unfortunately she's proven to be a very unwilling patient to this point...so expectations for smooth sailing are low. In the meantime, we're just chipping away at the stone.

With regard to what's next, I've got a '70 K20 on deck that Eric and I will do at some point in the future, but right now I'm just hoping we can get this one done before Thanksgiving.

[DeadheadNM]

Awesome guys. Eric thanks for the follow up. A lot of us have had problems with those darn trim clips - sounds like de-burring is the way to go. Pete

[rowdy11]

Looks fantastic! How did you get your VIN plates to look so shiny?

[IronCanine]

Had hoped to start early this morning but stuff came up and I didn't get to the shop until mid afternoon. Started loading her up with fluids (some of which quickly found it's way to the floor). I am committed to the tower clamps though these failed me today. As with the Blazer I'll order more and hope for the best.

...As you can see we got the upper belt molding on. Scored a batch of OE clips from Woody (southern parts-thanks!) that we cleaned up and re-used. Eric laid the holes out way back during the pre-fitment days per the assembly manual and the process was pretty uneventful. The threaded clips were tough at the driver's side B-pillar and at the last clip on the front fenders...but we got em on. More tomorrow.

EDIT: I should note that all of our side molding is Mar-K. The profile of the OE fender trim is different from the re-production trim at the door side. It's subtle, but different. We had some decent OE fender trim and originally planned to refinish it in order to have the correct profile there. Part way through the process, we didn't feel like we could get a symmetrical enough appearance to mix and match and elected to just use the reproduction piece.

[IronCanine]

Originally Posted by rowdy11

Looks fantastic! How did you get your VIN plates to look so shiny?

Thanks. The plates were polished as you would any stainless steel part (like the window trim or hub caps).