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

[lyrikz]

Originally Posted by hgs_notes

Good point, but this truck will probably never be sold. I did it this way for a couple reasons. The floor pans are adhesived in with SEM body panel adhesive. You have to use either rivits or screws to clamp it in for curing because of the location. I figured the rivits would be good extra strength so I used aluminum ones (corrosion resistant) directly into the cab supports underneath. They will be under sound deadener and carpet and will be much easier to take out later (heaven forbid more rust in 30 years) than the original spot welds were. Many, if not most body shops are using these adhesives now, as are the manufacturers. I'm not using it for any structural areas. If anything, this method is easier than welding, and will seal the metal better from corrosion (like between the floor and cab supports), and has proven to be very strong.

See, i knew i missed something. That is true. They are gluing bedpanels on now to. Good point. I like the way you think.

Have you done any of your own tests, like gluin two pieces of metal together and see how hard it is to get a apart???

[hgs_notes]

Originally Posted by lyrikz

See, i knew i missed something. That is true. They are gluing bedpanels on now to. Good point. I like the way you think.

Have you done any of your own tests, like gluin two pieces of metal together and see how hard it is to get a apart???

Nope, but there are a couple threads on the board here, I think in the paint & body section, where a board member that does body work, did some tests and posted them.

The local body guy is the one who recommended I go this route. He said they've had cars and trucks come in after collisions and the panels were still on solid with adhesive. There are rumors floating about panels popping off, but they were probably not prepped correctly for good adhesion, if it happened at all. Sounds more like an old school body guy trying to scare potential customers. If I had known about this method sooner, I would have done it years ago, without hesitation. One of the reasons I've posted it here is to maybe help out some other members that are not comfortable welding. It's not exactly cheap. The gun or applicator is about $45, and each tube of adhesive is around $37-40. I used 3 tubes here. But I did it all myself which makes me feel better about the project. I've got a jimmy that will probably get the same treatment.

[72blue]

Love the work you have done, makes me wish I had done the adhesive thing myself to my rig. could have saved some cash.

[hgs_notes]

Spent some quality time with my Makita grinder and a wire wheel yesterday. Cleaned up the new gas tank some. It really looked a lot worse than it was and it did not look too bad. It had been sprayed with undercoating. It has a few dents in the bottom, but inside looks great. I got a couple strips of galvanized steel from a local HVAC guy (free, gotta love small towns) to use for tank straps. I had to buy another can of undercoating, I ran out. I will need to get a can of black spray paint too. I thought I had some, but didn't. That will finish off the asthetics of the tank.

Before:


After:


I will need fill line, gas line, vent lines and some bolts to finish the job. I'll probably wait till the bed and rest of the body comes off and the chassis gets blasted and painted. I'm hoping to get that far before Memorial Day. Wish me luck.

[hgs_notes]

I really dove in to it today. I've got pics but will have to post them later because my daughter took the camara. It's her first prom tonight and I sneaked a picture of her in the background of my tore apart truck.

Anyway, my son and I got the front clip off, the bed and doors. I might be able to get the cab off tomorrow yet. Then drain the fluids and pull the engine and tranny soon after.

Wish me luck, I'm gonna need it.

[hgs_notes]

Pics from yesterday:






Our lives are marked by those days of significance. This was one of those days. My truck was torn apart, and it was my 1st borns, 1st prom.

[hgs_notes]

Deconstruction, day 2:


Cab gone, engine still in:

Engine gone:

Garage is kind of crowded:

[hgs_notes]

Kind of an odd day for me concerning my various projects. I have a 72 blazer tub that is planned for my next build as a 2wd blazer. I have a line on an original 2wd frame for it and stopped by there today. The owner said he wants to keep the rear axle and front suspension for another one of his trucks, which is different than the arraingement we had before, but he came down on the price. $150 for the body and frame. But I need to find the rolling gear for it. I got a call from another guy today who says he has a frame and bed for a 71-72 chevy truck. When I get back to town and take a look at it, the frame is nearly flawless, needs to be cleaned and painted. The bed is junk. $125 for the frame and it even has tires to roll it around on. So instead of sandblasting and paniting my original chassis, I'm thinking it will be easier to use this one and just use what I need from my original one.

But I'm conflicted. It's becoming another vehicle completely. As it goes, the only parts from the original truck might be the hood and doors and tailgate. Does it matter? My wife is mad because I'm not using the original cab, even though it's a total mess. She said it's the heart of the truck. I disagreed, but the chassis? Does it matter? It will be a good truck that I built myself, and I feel that's where the heart of the truck really is. I'm the heart of the truck. If I don't have it, or someone else that really cares and enjoys it, that's when it becomes a pile of parts, soul-less. Am I wrong?

[hgs_notes]

Here's the $125 rolling chassis. The only problems I could find with it was a loose wheel bearing on the front driver side spindle and a repaired upper shock mount for the same corner. I fixed that up a little because the repair looked like crap. I'll take care of bearings, bushings, etc later. I should be dropping this off at the blaster thursday or friday and get it back monday or tuesday.


Here's a test fit for the new gas tank. Just looking at where that rear cross member needs to be moved to.

[hgs_notes]

After sleeping on it, I've decided to just use my frame and swap out the rear axles. The other axle is a 3.08 rear end and mine is a 3.73. Without an overdrive, it's revving at about 2700 rpm on the highway and I've been wanting shorter gears for it for a long time. My front suspension was already worked over some with new brakes, lowered springs and changes to the control arms for the lower ride hieght. I didn't really want to do that over again.

We've had rain the past couple days, so I did not take it over to the sandblaster yet, maybe saturday it'll get done if I'm lucky. Once the axles are swapped, it's a short ride down the street.

I ordered new bushings for the track bar and rear control arms, tranny mount, Gas tank felts and a new O-ring, new cab mount bolts (I already have the rubber mounts), and rear fender braces. That'll keep me busy for a few days. I also have a lock-right to install in the axle. I'm hoping a few more of my items sell on ebay so I can buy more parts, mainly headers and exhaust.

[hgs_notes]

I finally got the chassis over to the sandblaster. Should be done before next weekend. The axles are swapped so I will have a 3.07 gear now. I had to cut the rear brake line to get it off, oh well. No other major issues.

I sold enough stuff the past couple weeks on ebay to cover the cost of some new headers. I'm probably going to use the summit ceramic coated ones. But also was looking at a pair from hedman I think. It depends on how durable the finish is, I want to avoid the rusty header look.

I also figured out a simple way to make an adjustable pan hard bar. I need to check on one part of it before I post how it's done. It's so simple I can hardly believe I haven't seen it here before.

[nuke1]

Glad to hear that she is off to the blasters, and i do the same thing, sell parts for parts, it works!

[hgs_notes]

Back in Black.





Somehow, it just doesn't seem like progress when I don't do the work myself. It is progress, I know, just different. Like I told my wife today, "a weekend to tear it apart, a year to put it back together." And I might be too optimistic on that. At least I have some parts on hand to work with and keep me busy for a little while.

[hgs_notes]

I worked all day outside, and it seemed like I was getting a lot done. But as far as the truck goes, all I did was replace the rear control arm bushings, remove the spring plates for the helper springs, cleaned up some spilt oil from the steering box and repainted some spots that needed touching up. Oh yeah, I also reworked some fuel plumbing for the carb. I'm going back to using my fuel pressure regulator, and I plumbed the fuel pressure gage off the regulator discharge and gave it a fresh paint job. I'll need to make a bracket for it and I need to see if I can get a fuel filter with threaded ends that I can plumb direct also.

I did a little cleaning in the garage, fixed a couple things on the lawn mower, and other stuff. Where did the day go? If I check LFD's burb thread, he probably fabbed up an engine mounting plate and installed his 5.3 and invented a new doodad that makes it run on water.

We all have our talents, such that they are.

[hgs_notes]

I got the lock-right installed today. That went ok. Simple enough to install. The hardest part was getting one of the brake drums off, so I could slide the axle out a few inches.

[hgs_notes]

I just got a new rear brake hose for the rear end today. So maybe I'll get the brakes buttoned up in the next few days. Other than that, I've been freshening up the engine and tranny a bit. It's almost ready to set back in the frame.

[hgs_notes]

I got the fuel regulator and pressure guage ready to mount. The oil pan was off to attempt another fix of the timing chain cover to oil pan leak. That's already back in place. I switched where the temp probe goes into the intake so it is not squished under the radiator hose. I replaced the tranny dip stick O-ring and I have a new rear seal for the drive shaft yoke on order. I have new tranny and motor mounts for it too. I'm thinking about replacing the harmonic balancer because that little one is hard to judge the timing on so far from the tab. And I think I'm going to get new alternator brackets for it also.

I think it turned out pretty nice so far.

[lyrikz]

Im gonna respond and say your doing a good job.. Keep up the work... What you will notice as your doing the build is you seem to just be getting deeper and deeper with no end, then you will round the corner and the finished poduct will start to appear....

Im also responding because it sucks when you put up pics of your build and no one responds to them ..... like mine.


Good job yo.

[hgs_notes]

Originally Posted by lyrikz

Im gonna respond and say your doing a good job.. Keep up the work... What you will notice as your doing the build is you seem to just be getting deeper and deeper with no end, then you will round the corner and the finished poduct will start to appear....

Im also responding because it sucks when you put up pics of your build and no one responds to them ..... like mine.


Good job yo.

Thanks. I know I'm not really doing anything revolutionary here, so I don't expect a lot of input. It's a good record for myself. I am doing some things I haven't seen here before though, like panel adhesive, and I think most people will really dig my new track bar, might have that on here in a day or 2.

I'm actually surprised how easy it's been so far with the cab off the frame. It's not that hard, but seems like a huge step. Just have to have the space for it and the patience.

[lyrikz]

Originally Posted by hgs_notes

Thanks. I know I'm not really doing anything revolutionary here, so I don't expect a lot of input. It's a good record for myself. I am doing some things I haven't seen here before though, like panel adhesive, and I think most people will really dig my new track bar, might have that on here in a day or 2.

I'm actually surprised how easy it's been so far with the cab off the frame. It's not that hard, but seems like a huge step. Just have to have the space for it and the patience.

Kinda in the same boat... Im not doing anything fancy, but am doing a lot it seems... I didnt really do much of anything until i got this truck... I have done some body work, but not welding in new panels and all that stuff... Dont let it get ya down like i do if no one responds... You got alot of lookers and we all love pics.... Maybe go post on my page so i dont feel so alone. AHAHHA

[hgs_notes]

Originally Posted by lyrikz

Maybe go post on my page so i dont feel so alone. AHAHHA

Done.

[msgross]

lot of work there... more than i've done in the last year... do you have a deadline?

[hgs_notes]

Originally Posted by msgross

lot of work there... more than i've done in the last year... do you have a deadline?

Are you crazy?! A deadline? Personally, I think that as soon as a deadline is set, a project is doomed. What I have is motivation for the time being. That and I'm not nearly broke every payday like for so many years in the past. These things will nickel and dime you to death. For instance, I bet I spent $20 in paint, $10 in brake cleaner, $10 in small fittings, $13 for oil pan gaskets, $20 in new fuel line, $221 in sandblasting and paint of the frame, over $20 in a brake hose and I still need to fix the steel line it connects to, I probably lost a gallon of tranny fluid, that was new about 100 miles ago, the list goes on. That's just the past week or so. I'm selling parts to help offset stuff, but still need to buy headers and exhaust pipes, an electric fan control, alternator brackets and new belt, my throttle cable is messed up, my kickdown cable doesn't connect because the bracket isn't right for the edelbrock carb. I also need to get the gas tank filler figured out, I'm sure that won't be free either. And these are just the things to get the engine back in, done right and looking good. This was a running, driving truck a month ago.

I'm hoping to have the engine setting back between the frame rails by this weekend. Then work on the radiator support and exhaust. Hopefully I can put the cab back on in early July and get the bodywork rolling on that. Realistically, if I can have this ready for paint by next spring I will be thrilled beyond belief. If I can drive it in and out of the garage by fall, that would be awesome. If neither of those things happen, so be it. I just love working on this stuff.

[hgs_notes]

There is one thing I really need help with. I want a set of headers with heavy flanges, 1-5/8 primaries, heavy wall tubes, long tube or shorty style that fit well and don't cost over $300 for coated ones or about $150 for non-coated.

I've spent hours searching this board, sent PM's to members who I thought did this and had nothing but dead ends so far. Everyone I contacted that posted that they installed what I want to install said they changed it later or don't remember what exactly they installed, no part numbers.

One guy says a certain header fits great and someone else will say it won't. The ones that everyone says will fit great have all been 1.5" primaries or thinner flanges, or chrome (I don't want chrome) or the finish doesn't hold up well, or any number of things. I would get painted headers and get them coated by a local shop if needed. I don't even care if I need to clearance by the frame a little. I just want access to the spark plugs, don't want them hanging down to far, and not cost $500. Is that really too much to ask?

[my67chevytruck]

looking good. keep at it....