Where to start?

[ianjenkins]

Yeeeeeeeeeee haw

I recently traded a boat for a 70 c-10 long bed. This is my first project truck/car. I plan on restoring/customizing the truck but hope to do it in stages while it’s on the road. Right now, it has the original paint and 99% of the parts (except for the original engine - some nutcase put in a Buick 350 2bl). The body is in great condition – no dents or holes from rust. Rust can be found in the usual places (door skins – bed and rear tire wells). The worst rust area I can find is where the firewall and cab meet. Hopefully, I can address this when I pull the engine.

I don’t have the room, patience, or time to do a frame off restoration but I’d like to make the truck as solid as possible. I’m concerned that I’ll go about things the wrong way and end up spending more time and money in the long run.

My plan is to replace the suspension, brakes, and front end first.
Drop in a Chevy 350 this summer.
Finally, have a body shop take care of the rust and paint (inside & out).

My questions are simple:

Am I going about this backwards?

Will it be more trouble to prep the truck for painting after I’ve replaced all of the running gear and engine?

Would it be better and cheaper in the long run to disassemble the body and repair, prep, and coat the underside of the panels?

And finally, how important is it to clean and paint the frame? I don’t plan on showing this truck.


Thanks,
Ian

[PanelDeland]

Start with a notebook.You want to itemize all of the things you want to do to the truck.Generally it is best to start with running gear and suspension.Then paint and finally interior.
I would suggest reading thru lots of the posts on this BB to determine exactly what mods and how you want to do them.A continuos theme seems to work best when building a ride.For example if you want high tech smoothy go with it from the begining.Come up with a complete and comprehensive plan so that it will be easier to implement without going back and doing things over.
I would suggest doing the front suspension at the same time as the engine.That way you will have less weight to deal with.An aftermarket or later model suspension will give you disc brakes and power steering if that is what you want.I like well detailed engine compartments so the engine suspension work would be a good time to clean and paint the front frame and engine compartment panels.I would paint(or powdercoat the a-arms and other suspension parts before they are assembled.It doesn't cost much to paint these items and it will help prevent future rusting.
There are quite a few vwndors on this BB and most will talk truck all day long so you have a wealth of info to sort thru.
Welcome to the BB and Enjoy!!!