To the guys with completed restorations

[Bubba4spd]

First I wish to say I have been very impressed through the years with the quality and amount of restored 67 - 72 pickups from all of you on this site. You have earned my admiration and respect. I also wish to hear from as many of you as possible as to what kept you motivated through the project and once it was completed, were you glad you stuck it out rather than just purchasing a completed truck or gone new? I now have collected 5 different project cars/trucks and it's time to make a decision whether to begin one or just pack it in, sell the all off, and resign myself to the fact that I didn't have what it takes.

[rsavage]

Long cold winters, a heated garage, and the need to do something or get cabin fever, propels me forward on projects. This is especially true now that I am retired. The only limiting factor now is money. I work non stop on them in the winter. Come spring driving them and the motorcycles become my primary focuses. Although it is nice to restore a vehicle to show quality, I've found that once completed, it doesn't get used that much. Doing a project that you can enjoy using is just as fulfilling to me. Make a list of what you need to do, pick a segment, gather the parts, and do it. Cross it off your list and move to the next. Completing a portion makes you want to move to the next. Good luck. Working on these trucks is the best therapy available.

[Beuford]

X2 with rsavage The winters here are long and cold and that is when I do most of the mecahical repairs and paint when the temps are more consistant. Only take the project as far as you will require it to be to enjoy it. I built a Camaro to show quality and ended up barely driving it because I was afraid something would happen to it. When I built my `70 C-20 I restored it to factory like condition with a few nicer interior touches for comfort but i plan on towing my camper and driving it in good weather (no snow or salt). I actually enjoy the process more than anything. Pick the project you think you will use the most and have the time and talent to complete and start on it. Good Luck
Bob

[yellow70GMC]

My truck isn't a show truck by any means, but it looks pretty good, and it's 95% brand new at this point. What kept me motivated was lurking on this site and seeing all the awesome trucks and cool projects, and all the other older trucks around town that are total pieces of sh*t made me want to be able to drive mine and laugh in their faces and say "mines better." Other forms of motivation were copious amounts of alcohol, classic rock, and all the memories i have of how much fun i used to have with my truck when i could drive it. Decide what you wanna do with your project vehicle. Do you want a driver, or do you want a show car? Once you start, spend as much time as possible on it. Mine sat in my friends yard for a year cause it wouldn't fit in my garage. By the time i started working on it again, it was pretty hard remembering where i left off. Hopefully some of this helps. Don't sell your projects! People like us need to keep this hobby alive.

[71 super]

Tenacity. If you are working on your first restore, my advice is to have a plan and stick to it. Many people start in one direction and then change mid stream and the total cost and downtime increase exponentially leading to burn out. Second piece of advice is to purchase the parts in groups. Suspension, drivetrain, interior, exterior, wiring etc. I try to create as many sub assemblies as I can, and keep everything stored until I am ready to send to paint. Once the truck gets back from paint I can assembly quickly and it seems like it goes much better. It also seems to make it faster as you don't have to wait for parts. Third piece of advice is don't have too many projects especially if you plan to get them finished. I had two trucks going a couple of years ago and caught myself robbing parts from one to the other to speed up progress and it just gets overwhelming. I have yet to go into a project with a budget, simply because it has taken me 2-3 years on average to collect nice pieces (rust free and/or NOS when possible) and I don't tally reciepts until finished so I don't become depressed until it is finished and then it doesn't matter the wife can't complain. Anyone can finish one of these trucks just have a plan stick with it and create a punch list as segments are purchased so you don't buy the same stuff twice. Good luck, you can do it.

[LockDoc]

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Luckily I don't have a lot of motivational problems because I don't watch TV, play video games, or drink beer..... I'd rather be outside working than just about anything else I could do. I've found that on some segments of projects that I don't enjoy, I have to tell myself "just do it!" but I seem to git'er done.

LockDoc

[weircc]

and for the record no restoration is complete

[Hottrucks]

make it drive and make it better...

I dragged mine out of the woods with in a couple weeks I was heading to the ice cream shop sitting on a milk crate ( yea I know not the safest) once you get to drive it you'll want it better so I use it to go get parts for itself...during this winter my job is to gather up parts and prep them for spring...as soon as the weather breaks I'm going to have my hands full but nothing takes a long time....the biggest thing I plan is to puull the clip add my power breaks, tilts steering ( 1 day) then pull the heads for the new votecs..maybe 2 days..paint the fire wall and reistall the clip.....the truck will be down about a week....then drive it...next week add the new rear axle ( ready to roll in with new brakes and gears) and drop the new bed on....2 days max!!

the secrect is to drive it then take little bites than you can swallow.....

[johndawelder]

WEIRCC......... Thats for sure......... Just the love I have for these trucks kept me motivated. I've loved the 67 ever since they were new,and I was there, LOL

[big_al_71]

I planned and had a vision of kind of what I wanted. Wrote down a list of parts that I needed or wanted to upgrade. Once I had all the parts or at least the majority so that there would not be any down time because waiting for parts we began to tear it apart. started in one area and we worked our way all the way up from the chassis to the interior. It was completed in less than four months and now every month I find something to upgrade like tomorrow we are redoing the rear end on it better gears, posi unit, bearings, seals etc. Make a list, plan and execute...

[Fitz]

71 Super has it right. Tenacity...tons of it. I did everything on my 67 truck except primer and paint. I bumped out every dent, welded every hole, rebuilt every piece of my truck. I took it down to a bare frame and slowly and carefully put it back the way I wanted it. The floor in my garage is polished like a dancefloor from the backs of the 20 or so blue chambray shirts I wore out sliding around under that truck without a creeper. I've been burned by hot metal, cut by sharp metal, and calloused from all the times I turned a nut with a wrench over the three years this project took. There isn't one spot of bondo on my truck. Not because it doesn't have a place but because I did not want to take that shortcut on MY TRUCK. Tenacity. Buckets of it. Everytime Ricky racer in his Honda with the coffee can muffler went by and the truck was in pieces I wanted to pass him, just spank him like a red haired stepchild in a stock looking stepside with a monster big block making so much noise it broke every piece of glass in his tin can import as I went by; cutouts belching enough fire to turn the paint on the side of his ride into charcoal cinders. Oh, Yeah!

Well, it's done. The last thing I need to do is charge the A/C. Yeah A/C. I live in Tucson and from mid May to Mid August the temps often go to 110 and higher, but with a 640hp big block I just don't care about how much power it loses. I'll still spank ricky at the drags and give him 2 seconds change.

Is it worth it? You bet your backside it's worth it. I don't care what motor you have or what wheels you use or how you paint it. If you built it yourself like I did mine you earned your bragging rights and you get to drive YOUR truck. Not somebody else's, YOURS! How great is that?

[pat 70/71]

Baby steps, thats how I think a lot of these truck get completed. The finished product always looks impressive and as everyone on this site knows can be expensive. but, if you complete the restoration your self. man, thats the best!I stay focused on the job at hand. thats what works for me. I complete little tasks and keep it fun. both my trucks are complete and look good. drive great I will tell you they will never be done! I'm going to re cam the truck on my avatar because I love working on these wonderful toys. My advise to you is to keep one truck, and start your restoration now. focus on the fact that If you don't start you will never finish anything.( I for one hope you start) have fun "jus sayn" Pat

[Bubba4spd]

Well I'm sold, this weekend I will clean out and ready the garage for the 68 chevy stepside. Feb 1st will be my offical start date as it will take me that long to move all the other crap out and get it organized. All of your suggestions are excellent as I expected they would be and I hope to continue to hear from all/more of you because I surely will need your help.

The plan is to build a dependable daily driver for work and grocery store duties. I'm more into sound and simplicity than horsepower but it does have to have a slick shifting 5 speed and a highway gear for the 50 mile a day transit. I've noticed many of you have started build threads, this looks like a good motivational tool as well, I'll do the same. Also many of you have sharp eyes and catch issues early so I hope this happens to me also. Can't wait to get started!

Thank all of you for help!!!!!!

[Hottrucks]

ok start the build thead but you have to tell us more about your 68???

does it run?? then DRIVE IT!!!!!!!!

[Bubba4spd]

She does start and run Hot but I have not tried to drive it. As is she's basically a dog. The carb slobbers fuel badly due to a horrible past rebuild and it smokes (blue) like the Queen Mary. Also all four tires are beyond holding any air and I have already purchased a 72 frame with 5 lugs spindles & 3:73 open rear so I hate to put new tires on the existing 6 lugs with drum brakes. The existing rear is a posi 4:11 6 lug. I've had my eyes open for a better truck to start with but with thoughts of parting this one out but with so few original options, not a lot to part out except for the bed. The previous owner was not a mechanic by any means and the truck is not safe to drive. I've owned the truck since 05 and have collected many parts including a front grill (owner got drunk and didn't see the tree in his yard), a beautiful 68 hood, used chrome front bumper, stock aluminum 5 lug rims, the fore mentioned 72 frame, spindles, control arms etc etc. and a few other parts. What I do not like about the existing truck is the driving position / steering wheel. The steering column needs to be cut down or something and the wheel moved well toward the dash and the bench back. Maybe I'm spoiled but my 99 silverado 5 speed stick sets up perfectly for me.

[Hottrucks]

sounds to me like I would be bring that 72 frame in to clean it up and put the aliminum wheels on it!! once you get that clean find a vortec to drop between it...once you have all the hard work done clean up the bottom of your cab and roll it on to your clean safe roller and get to driving it

theres a mod you can do to push the colum into the dash or find yourself a tilt

If you want to bag that rear let me know I would use it for mine...I have a 3:08 and doesn't work for what I want to do

[Mondo]

I was going to restore a 72 SWB fleetside but when I added everything up I saw a lot of nice trucks that were close to what I wanted (nice clean daily driver) and a lot cheaper.

I can't weld or fabricate (basically I can remove and replace stuff) so I looked for a truck that had the major stuff done... found a 67 (which looks better to me) that had a frame off resto a few years earlier. It never really got complete but had disc conversion, vintage A/C, gas tank in rear, tilt-wheel, later year parking brake set up etc... Basically the expensive or serious stuff.

Over the next year, I lowered & painted it (minimal bodywork) a different color, R200 tranny, chrome rallies and the reupholstered interior from my 72 along with a stereo & 1 piece windows. I never had to get my hands greasy and pretty much drove it during this process.

I admire the guys that have the patience, skill and determination to start from scratch but I don't really have the room for a project and with family committments etc.. it's just not in me.

Good luck mate!

PS- I still have the 72 out back

[knsmodels]

Ive always been good at looking at the big picture....when I start something I am good a visualizing what it will look like when it is done and this keeps me psyched to keep going.....this "logic" has kept me motivated thru my truck and my Chevelle which I am in the middle of redoing....good luck with it

ps I am to anal to let anyone else work on my stuff anyway when done of there are any flaws I have no one to blame but myself...lol

[Mondo]

Man! Those models (and garage) are awesome... and you get paid to do something you love

[phipp13]

Its not the kill.. Its the thrill of the chase! Jmho phipp

[Bubba4spd]

Keep the good suggestions coming, I was so excited after spending half the evening cleaning out the garage I couldn't fall asleep for planning this thing out in my head.


Hot - Thats kinda the plan I had, blast, repaint, and build up the 72 frame & driveline before even touching the 68. Maybe by then I will have found a better donor cab and just sell off the 68 while it's complete instead of ripping it apart then having a mess on my hands. Made that mistake more than once.

Mondo - I would have liked for something like that to had fallen into my hands but on the other side of the coin, I'm driven to actually start and complete atleast one automobile project in my life. Where can I find more pictures of your truck?

Phipp - I hear ya dude!

[Bubba4spd]

How does the ride quality & comfort of your restored/upgraded C-10s compare with the newer trucks?

[rsavage]

My 70 shortbed 4X4 rides like a 40 year old straight axle short wheel base leaf sprung vehicle. Definitely not a long distance comfort cruiser. My 66 is a 2wd and actually rides pretty well. Has a perfect cam lope and sound but keeps you busy shifting. The 70 suburban is also a 2wd and rides well. I hope that works out as my summer cruiser with this winter's addition of PS, PB, and a 200r4 OD. I'm sure that you can make these trucks handle with lowering, harder bushings, sway bars, etc.- I just ended up keeping stuff more like it was built never expecting them to ride or handle like my 08 Ram 4X4.

[Bubba4spd]

rsavage - I've always heard that a trailing arm rear suspension rode well which is basically what your confirming with your 66. Do you enjoy the 327?

[dhaymaker]

I work wayyyyyy too much, so the hours I'm working takes away from my hobby time. I don't get to put in the garage time I would like, but one thing I found is just pick something and DO IT! Even if you just pick one thing and treat it as a project of its own, you'll be pleased when you get it done and you'll be ready to pick another piece to start in on. Next thing you know, a lot of work is getting done and you're seeing the progress. The hardest thing for me is when I'm making progress and something happens, if I'm away from the truck for a while, I gotta' get myself started again.

So, GO TO THE GARAGE AND GET TO WORK!!