Omodified's 1970 SWB Custom/10

[omodified]

Well, I bought a truck back in May and I introduced myself here a few weeks after. I have since done quite a bit to the truck and I have documented nothing to this point. I figured I would regret it if I didn't start doing something. So, this is the start of my build thread. I am not sure of any long term goals, but my short term goal is to have a nice driver. I bought the truck to give my daughter and I some bonding time. So far, we are having a blast. This is my first ever restoration project so I am very green. So far, I have found this website and everybody on it to be very helpful. Found out you just have to be patient and dig around here for the answers. I have always wanted one of these trucks and looked around forever to find a good starting piece. We finally found ours in Atlanta, GA. I bought the thing off craigslist pretty much sight unseen/fingers crossed. I wasn't as happy with it as I thought I would be when I got down there to pick it up. However, it was good enough not to ruin a 12 hour round trip. So, we trailered it home. Here are the pics the PO sent me and what I had to base my decision on.





Ugh, missing trim...




A little bit of cancer in the doors was all I was told about...




Interior seemed fairly original for what I knew about it at the time...




Thank goodness the dash wasn't cut up for this "awesome" radio...


Engine bay was surprisingly clean

[omodified]

After getting it home we took the entire rest of the weekend cleaning it up. Even took the seat out. Didn't get pics of it that weekend, but found nothing under the carpet except a little bit of surface rust. Exciting!

What wasn't exciting was the "other" little things I started discovering while researching on this website. Wait a second, they didn't make a Cheyenne in 1970? Oh boy, what the heck did I buy? Time to disect the SPID...

More updates soon...

[omodified]

OK, disection time.

VIN #
4X2 - correct
V-8 Gas - correct
1/2 Ton - correct
Pickup with cab with bed - correct
manufactured in 1970 - matches the previous registration
Assembled in Atlanta - cool, I guess it spent it's whole life there so far...until now.
#122,355 - uh...not very unique I guess

Model #
2X4 - correct
V-8 Gas - correct
1/2 Ton - correct
42"-47" Cab to Axle Dimension - sure I guess, never checked it
Fleetside Pickup - correct

Options
(BX2) Body Side Moulding Wide Lower - correct
(B85) Side Upper Body Moulding - correct
(DG4) Junior West Coast Mirrors LH & RH - wrong, thank goodness. Those thing are ugly.
(LS9) 350 CU IN V8 Engine 4BBL Carb - correct
(P01) Full Wheel Covers - wrong, one less thing I have to sell later.
(U08) Dual Horns - correct
(U63) Radio Push Button - wrong, got a cool tape deck though. Again, thank goodness they never cut the dash.
(V37) Chrome Bumper - correct, 2 of them in fact
(Z53) Ammeter/Oil Gauge - correct
(Z62) Custom Comfort and Convenience Equipment - OK, so that makes this a Custom/10, and not a Cheyenne
(531) White and Medium Blue - uh, what? Is this talking about the paint? This thing is black!!! Well, I guess that explains the blue paint around the SPID.
(607) Blue Custom Cloth Trim - wrong as well

Well, we have a decision to make. Good thing is that most things seem to match. I wanted to keep this truck as original as possible but I do want to add some personal touches. The truck is already lowered, which I wanted to do anyways. I like these mirrors a lot better than GIGANTIC towing mirrors. So those will stay. I researched the color blue that the SPID refers to and we have decided to keep the truck black when it comes time to repaint. Good thing the interior was already changed over to black as well cause it's in fairly decent shape. Looks like a new, updated SPID will be in order when it's finished.

More to come...

[topfooldugster]

sweet truck. Nothing is as hard to keep clean as black, and nothing looks better when it's clean. just saying. I just added the Cheyenne trim to my base model. Too many years of removing all the trim, I guess. I really like yours with the extra trim

[omodified]

Thanks Dugster!

[omodified]

So, we drove the truck into town a few times. Maybe put 10 miles on it. Came out to the garage one morning and noticed a puddle underneath the truck. Aw man, power steering fluid. The steering was rather noisy at full lock, but I find out that is typical. Time to dig in and see what's going on.

Looks like it's been a problem for some time.




It mostly seemed to be leaking from the output shaft. It appears that all the steering components are original or atleast VERY old. Ragjoint is falling apart too. I guess it's time to make the first repair. Might as well replace the pump too. No telling how old it is either.


Once I started ripping all the old stuff out I realized it was going to be easier to do this with the inner fenders out. Once I got them out, I discovered something new...more cancer. Yikes! However, after reading more in these here forums, I realize this is typical. So, these will get replaced at a later date.


A couple trips to Advance and a few parts from LMC and I was ready to go. I hope everything is as easy as this job. It took longer to get the parts in than it did anything else. I originally got new lines from Advance but they didn't fit well at all. They were pre-bent and they were heading the wrong direction. The ones from LMC had the correct bends and fit really well. Overall, a very easy job that anybody can do and probaly should.




No more leaks and the steering feels a lot less sloppy than it did.

More to come...

[FL71C10]

Did you get the steering box from Advance? Does it seem ok? I got mine from there and was just wondeirng how it will be as my truck won't be roadworthy for months.

Truck looks good though. Is that a goodwrench crate motor sticker on the valve cover?

The inner fenders always seem to rust there. They are not that expensive ($99each I think), just that the shipping kills it. Maybe you can get them at a show or swap meet to save on the shipping.

[omodified]

Yes, the steering box came from Advance. It's pretty tight and has good response.

That is a crate motor sticker. PO said a crate engine had been installed and from the looks, I would agree. He also said the engine had about 30,000 miles on it, but I'm not too sure that I would agree. Engine work is going to happen soon so I'll find out more then.

I found a place pretty close to me that stocks the inner fenders. It's about a 3 hour round trip drive but it will definitely save on shipping if I buy from them.

Thanks for checking in FL71.

[gcburdic]

Hey hey omodified.... to the boards from just south of ya in Cornelius!!!

Truck looks decent, and of course the "might-as-wells" are gonna happen as you can tell....but I'm shocked that you stayed on track and just replaced the PS box...most guys start that, and next thing you know, the trucks in a million pieces!!!

If ya can wait on that inner fender, the autofair at the speedway in April will be an easier ride to get one of those

Let me know if I can help yall out with anything, and enjoy the truck!!!

[omodified]

Thanks for the welcome Geoff. We actually lived in Cornelius before we bought up here. I don't miss Mecklenurg County at all. My Mustang got broken into right before we moved. Nice and quiet up here so far.

I probably would have it in a million pieces if I had the room here. We plan to build a nice shop out back but it's just not in the budget yet. So, we are doing this in phases. Plus we wanted to be able to enjoy driving the truck some before we tear it all apart and can only look at it.

Funny thing about the Auto Fair. I waited all summer for it to get here. I even used my last vacation day this year to go on Friday, hoping to beat folks to some good deals. All I can say is, total disappointment. There were hardly any vendors there, let alone people with stuff for C10s. The Top Banannas of the world were there, but I was looking for quality used parts like I find on the forum here. We did meet the folks from Tommy's Pickup Parts in Shelby. Very nice people. We even went to their shop. They have all the big stuff in stock that people don't want to pay shipping on. I will probably be buying those inners from them when the time comes.

Thanks for the offer of help. It sounds like we are going to be hooking up with your buddy Jesse in the next few weeks. Looks like we will drive to Raleigh to get some upper bed trim from him. Excited to get rid of the blank spot that I have now.

Maybe we'll see you around...

[lolife99]

Nice looking truck!

[gcburdic]

Originally Posted by omodified

Thanks for the welcome Geoff. We actually lived in Cornelius before we bought up here. I don't miss Mecklenurg County at all. My Mustang got broken into right before we moved. Nice and quiet up here so far.

I probably would have it in a million pieces if I had the room here. We plan to build a nice shop out back but it's just not in the budget yet. So, we are doing this in phases. Plus we wanted to be able to enjoy driving the truck some before we tear it all apart and can only look at it.

Funny thing about the Auto Fair. I waited all summer for it to get here. I even used my last vacation day this year to go on Friday, hoping to beat folks to some good deals. All I can say is, total disappointment. There were hardly any vendors there, let alone people with stuff for C10s. The Top Banannas of the world were there, but I was looking for quality used parts like I find on the forum here. We did meet the folks from Tommy's Pickup Parts in Shelby. Very nice people. We even went to their shop. They have all the big stuff in stock that people don't want to pay shipping on. I will probably be buying those inners from them when the time comes.

Thanks for the offer of help. It sounds like we are going to be hooking up with your buddy Jesse in the next few weeks. Looks like we will drive to Raleigh to get some upper bed trim from him. Excited to get rid of the blank spot that I have now.

Maybe we'll see you around...

Yikes....where'd ya live in Cornelius??....I know we want to move out where we have a little more room....maybe when home sales rebound?!?!?

I think you are going about your rolling resto right....it's a better way to do it, and you can enjoy it while saving up for the next mod....My new motto is if I cannot do it in a weekend, I'm not doing it

You know...Fall Autofair isn't great, but do know that Top Banana is actually a board vendor here, and does carry quality sheetmetal....and if ya tell them what you want, they bring it to the show....so no shipping....Also know...the Spring Autofair is like 3-4 times bigger with lots more truck parts there...I've walked like 10 miles at the last one...YIKES my legs hurt!!!!

Let me know if ya need help, I'm not that far away...be glad to help out

[FRENCHBLUE72]

Welcome to the board keep us posted on your progress..

[omodified]

Thanks Lolife and French!

Geoff, we used to live near Washam Potts and 115. If you're looking to move, let me know...my wife works for Remax and would be glad to help out.

Thanks for the confidence booster. Good to hear that I am doing something right.

Also, good to hear about the Autofair. Maybe we can meet up and make the 10 mile hike together.

Thanks again for offering help.

[omodified]

So, next update...

I didn't mention before, but the previous owner was paralyzed from the waist down and was not physically capable of cleaning most things on the truck. He even told me he couldn't remember the last time it was even washed. The hood had an incredible amount of oxidation on it. I brought a buffer home from work and went to town. It cleaned up really well and looked like a totally different truck.



Also, thanks to member Lynnfield and Jurassic-1, the truck is no longer a Cheyenne imposter. Thanks guys!

[omodified]

Next thing I wanted to do was go after the interior details. It seems like one of the first things in there that people tackle is the instrument cluster. So, i went to ripping it out. It was pretty simple to remove. Even easier to take it apart. Once I got it apart, I noticed the lettering on the gauges were almost a rusty color. Looking around the forums, it would seem it should be white or kind of green. I rubbed on the lettering a bit and to my surprise, I ruined it. The lettering more or less smeared. Then I read that it was screened on there and brittle to begin with. Dang! So now I am looking into just building a new cluster. I started with a used piece from member otsenre. His gauges had no rust on the letters and they still looked sort of green. Plus, it had some extra wire hanging off the back. Weird! Well, I cleaned his gauges with windex and q-tips. They came out perfect. Then I replaced the lens and bezel with new ones from LMC. Firgured out the wire attached was actually a fiber optic cable for the column indicator. Bought a new one and replaced it too. Last, I finished it off with bright white LEDs that I found on Ebay. All I can say is, it was absolutely worth it!

[omodified]

When I ordered parts from LMC to upgrade the cluster, I wanted to make that shipment worthwhile. So, I had them throw in a few extra goodies. So here, I installed that stuff.

The old dome light was yellow and cracked and the light was burnt out. So I bought this nice chrome one with LED and installed it with a new harness. Now we can read in the dark.





The old mirror was original but the glass was pretty beat up. It was really hard to see out of. So, it got replaced.



When member thelonerife sent me the new fiber optic cable, he was also nice enough to include deluxe washer and headlight knobs. Thanks dude.



Last, the previous owner only had one key to give me and it was not an original. I thought one key was odd because I would swear GM vehicles came with a square ignition key and a round door key. Then I find out that these trucks only came with one square key. However, the key I was given did not work on the door locks. I had no way to secure the truck. So I called the locksmith out. I had him key the door locks different from the ignition. Once I was able to get the correct code for the key, I ordered new original GM keys and had them copied to work with the new locks. Here they are with the old key and my new owners manual.



Thanks for checking in...much more to come!

[lolife99]

Excellent progress!
Did the "Custom/10" emblem cover the holes left by the "Cheyenne" emblem?

I have a friend with the exact problem.
('69 truck with Cheyenne fender emblems)

[omodified]

The studs for the Custom/10 emblems were in the exact same location as the Cheyenne emblems so, no leftover holes!

[omodified]

The 6" speaker story...

So, the PO told me that this awesome radio with tape deck option actually works, but no sound would come out of it. Since he is in a wheelchair, he could never investigate it himself. I looked up under the dash and there was no speaker. No wonder there is no sound. However, there is an awful (and I mean awful) amount of wires coming out of the back of the Kenwood. I traced what appeared to be speaker wires out the back, down to the floor, under the carpet, and they stopped under the seat. That's what prompted us to take the seat out and to our surprise, a 6" Pioneer speaker was just laying there with magnet struck firm to the floor. I attached the closest speaker wires and voila, sound! Man, the only thing that could be better now is if the Kenwwood was actually a pullout. Well, it works for now until I can get something else in here for sounds.

Here's my little 6" friend.

[omodified]

Looks like the quadrajet is leaking a bit of fuel. Truck seems to run out good but there is a slight hesitation. Apparently the leaking is fairly common. Picked up some new parts to remedy the situation. Now, I just need a rainy day...

[omodified]

Got some new reading material in the mail. Should be able to put this to use right away!

[omodified]

Having a weird problem with the headlights, at night of course. They intermittently flash bright/dim. I've had a few cars that the lights would go dim when idling but this problem seems to be opposite of that. They are bright at idle and no flashing. Driving 35mph, the speed limit changes to 45mph. I hit the gas and the lights go dim until I let off the gas. Weird. Started by replacing the old alternator. No telling how old the thing is. I chose to go back to the orginal low amperage stock replacement for sake of the old wiring and external regulator. Also gonna try to replace the headlight switch.

[omodified]

Headlight switch I bought from O'Reilly's wouldn't allow me to push the headlight knob all the way in. I could push it in when the switch was out of the dash. However, once the switch was installed, I couldn't push the knob in all the way. So, I had to abort that mission. The new alternator is in, but I haven't driven at night yet to determine if it's been fixed.

[omodified]

I was told that my license plate light was not working. So, I got underneath and took a look. To my surprise, the wire leading to the license plate light bezel was just hanging there not plugged in. Then I noticed there wasn't anything to plug it in to. I would say it was cut off, but I couldn't tell where from. So I splice in to the rear side marker. I made sure to use a nice butt connector and capped it tight with heat shrink. On the other end, I installed the female connector for the license plate light which O'Reilly's had in stock. Turned out pretty good.



Turned the lights on and plate light didn't light up. Seeing that it is a one wire hook up, I assumed that either the bulb was bad and/or the bezel was not grounded well. So I removed the bezel. I took it to work and media blasted it. I painted the outside black and the inside white. It definitely looks as good as new. Bought a new bulb. I used some metal polish on the lens and got rid of the cloudy yellow tint. Put it all back together with stainless hardware and it works great. As small of a part as it was, it was a good feeling to actually restore something instead of replacing it.