1970 swb c-10

[jmking9]

Finally getting around to starting a build thread. First, a little history on the truck. I bought this truck in 1996 when I was 14. It was a 70 Long bed with a 350/350 that was in really good shape. A friend of my dads owned a little car lot and took it in on a trade. He knew I had been looking for a 67-72 so he gave us a call the evening he traded for it. An hour (and an empty savings account from mowing yards) later, I had purchased my first truck. I drove it daily through high school and the first year of college. Then it sat for several years without being drove much. I always wanted to make it a shortbed and restore it myself. It was just a matter of having the time/space/money to do it. I have been working on it slowly for about 4 years and have recently made a strong push toward finishing it. I will add pics and descriptions untill I get caught up with where it is today. First a couple of pictures from when I first got it.

[jmking9]

Junior Prom

[jmking9]

The first thing I did was rebuild the tired 350. Some specs on the motor:
*355ci
*Edelbrock RPM aluminum heads
*Edelbrock RPM air gap intake
*Comp cams Xtreme Energy 284 cam
*Comp 1.6 roller rockers
*Edelbrock 750 carb
*MSD dist/ign
I had the transmission rebuilt and b&m 3500 converter

[jmking9]

Found a shortbed frame. Sand blasted and painted it with eastwood chassis paint.

[jmking9]

I blasted all the frontend parts and completely rebuilt everything. I also installed a ECE 4.5/6 drop kit and disc conversion and Inline Tube brake lines.
A few pictures from the frontend assembly.

[jmking9]

A couple more of the front end

[jmking9]

Some pictures of the rear suspension. 6in ECE springs, shock relocaters, super track bar. Rearend is a 3.73 Posi BTW

[jmking9]

Rolling chassis completed. Wheels are REV Classic 100 20x8 front with 255-40-20 toyo proxis. Rear is 20x10 with 295-40-20 toyos

[jmking9]

I sold my long bedsides and bought a set of reproduction short bedsides. My floor was in very good shape so I cut it down and re-used it along with the wheel housings and front panel. A reproduction tailgate completed the bed assembly

[jmking9]

bed

[jmking9]

Made a couple of small changes in the look of the motor.

[jmking9]

CPP power booster, master cyl, and prop valve Pic is from when I did a mock up a while back. I have to run a vaccum canister due to the size of the cam.

[jmking9]

Got the truck put together in the spring of 2012 and drove it like this all through the summer. I put quite a few miles on it, and got alot of the bugs worked out. It runs and drives great. This made me really hate the thought of taking in apart for paint and body. But I did it anyway.

[jmking9]

Thought I'd throw in a couple pictures of my son in the truck last spring. He LOVES sitting in the truck and pretending to drive.

[lolife99]

Very nice!

[jmking9]

Last fall I took it apart and did the rust repair on the cab. It wasn't too bad, outer floors, braces, cab corners, and rockers. (You know, the usuall) Everything went together very well.
Once i had this done I reasembled the body to make sure everything lined up. I replaced my doors with a really nice set that I bought from a board member Joes Junk a few years ago. My doors were in decent shape, but these were perfect. Since the truck is already a collection of parts anyway, it didn't bother me to use these on it. i plan on repairing my original doors and keeping them for a future project. heres some pictures from the final mock up. Took several late nights to get the panels to line up. They arent perfect, but they werent from the factory.

[jmking9]

Next was paint. I started with the cab. I am using PPG omni for my epoxy and high build. This is the first vehicle I have ever painted. I have known all along that I wanted to do the paint work myself. Since I have done everything else up to this point in my shop, I figured I would give it a go. I painted several practice hoods untill I was confident in my technique. Then dove in...

[jmking9]

Cab roof blocked out and ready for sealer.

[jmking9]

Completely painted the interior. Color is 526 med gold

[jmking9]

This is after the Color and clear went on the cab. Again, PPG 526 gold/White base and PPG 2021 concept clear. I am very happy with the results. It is not going to win an award at SEMA, but its better than I ever imagined I could pull off in the shop with no booth.

[jmking9]

Next was the fenders, doors, cowl, and hood

[jmking9]

Hung some of the front sheetmetal. Its starting to look like a truck again.

[jmking9]

And this is where I am as of today. Finished painting the tailgate yesterday. All I have left is the bed. After the bed is painted, I will try my hand at cut and buffing. This part makes me nervous, but I figure no guts no glory. It looks pretty good as it is, but i want to make it even better. I guess i'll cross that bridge when I get to it.

Once I get the body assembled, I'll roll it out in the sun and get some better pictures of it with a real camera. (instead of the crappy cell phone pics)

Anyway, My goal is to finish the truck this summer in time to drive it about an hour and a half from here to Branson MO for the Shepherd of the Hills Cruise. Not that there is anything really special about this show, I just needed a goal. We'll see...

[72BlckButy]

Love this project!!!

Hope to see it around this year.

[jmking9]

Brown left this on my porch yesterday. I opened it up and it looks like fun. Does anyone know if I would just be better off renting the crimper tool from AAW or is there a better option?