Bucket

[tpost01]

So, I found this pile of rust that included a 71 C10 LWB. Much like the 70 LWB I had 25 years ago as a kid.

500 bones, with an extra partially dismantled rusted small block (which was the original). Starts and runs great, the TH350 doesnt slip at all, and it is stable and smooth at 60 MPH. It just looks like a bag of 72 year old smashed ass.

The inner fender wells, core support, and frame (So far as I can tell) look pretty solid.

Heading to Vegas tomorrow and decided to take the trailer and see about a new cab, fenders and hood while I'm there.

I am aiming for this to be a daily driver in reliable condition within a few months. So I can work on my current daily driver more (the Jeep next to the truck). Eventually, it will have the brown (or goldish) and white two tone paint, an updated interior, AC and a good stereo system. but for now, it is a driveway (butt ugly) princess... My texas plates should be here in a couple weeks though!

[thelonerife]

wow, Is that truck from up north?

[sanford66]

I don't think i've seen one that rusty for a long time, looks like a lot of good parts though. Joseph

[mblackburnjr]

Wow! Looks like an ohio truck. It appears to be a good start and it seems like you have it planned out already. Good luck and you have came to the right place. Welcome aboard!

[tpost01]

The Previous Owner claimed it had been here on the central coast for its whole life. I am about 10 miles north of Pebble beach and the moisture content of the air here is amazing. In the summer very thick fog doesnt burn off until 2 in the afternoon almost daily.

So just about every potential project hereabouts is a basket case. I am really hoping this guy in Vegas will cut me a deal on his Cab, Hood and Fenders. I am gonna try to get them all for $500...we'll see how that goes though.

There are a few good parts on it, that I will be getting rid of in the future. Once I get the most pressing needs taken care of (Rust).

Thanks For the Welcome mblackburnjr!

[GASoline71]

Look how thick that bondo is in the last pic!

Gary

[RenoKeene]

Welcome from Central Florida! I was stationed at Fort Ord in the 70's and you are right about the fog, also party'd at the beach in Seaside many a night! Thats when the public hated GIs and all we had was each other, I'm glad things have changed.

[Bert W]

Ouch! Good Luck Doctor!

[mcbassin]

Welcome to the board! I always wondered about coastal trucks. I would think that salty fog would turn them into land ships. That is some crazy rust. I've never seen a fender like that.
You live in some beautiful country out there. I spent a few days in that area a few years ago, it was a great visit for sure. There is a member in CA that has some of the parts you need including a nice cab HERE. Good luck!

[tpost01]

Yea, The rust is crazy, but the funny thing is, it is mostly on the painted surfaces. The Inner fenderwells have some surface rust but nothing special, same with the core support. I havent ripped out the carpet yet, but I believe that the floor pan is actually in decent shape. Compared to the rest, the rockers arent even that bad (still need replaced if I was going to keep this cab though) We will see though.















I think the most challenging part of this project will be the lack of space. Here in Fort Ord the Army is kinda nuts about their housing areas and if they see an obviously non-op vehicle or a large pile of parts in the driveway I will get no end of nastygrams. My garage is full of my other stuff (4 dirt bikes, 3 quads, and one street bike) so I cant use it. Its going to be fun trying to swap cabs in the driveway with no one noticing. Driveway Stealth Build is soon (hopefully) underway!!!

I want this shot as my avatar pic once I figure out how to do it!


Woohoo! figured it out! Lets hear it for public education!

[domeier]

Hey - double bow ties!

[FRENCHBLUE72]

Damn that thing has some cancer.... Welcome to the board...

[black_sheep454]

Wow, that's a rusty truck. Looks like ya got a lot of work and fun ahead of ya.
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[69C-owner]

so was the bedside toolbox an option on regular longbeds? i thought it was only longhorns, i've always wanted to find a lwb bed with the bedside box's to drop onto my 69

[Already Gone]

This truck is somewhat worse but It is rusted just like a truck I looked at in Oceanside Cali that had been in that area since new.
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[fine69]

That is for sure a sea salt rust area truck. Seen a few before. Rust spots are weird.

[D.PASSMORE]

Originally Posted by RenoKeene

Welcome from Central Florida! I was stationed at Fort Ord in the 70's and you are right about the fog, also party'd at the beach in Seaside many a night! Thats when the public hated GIs and all we had was each other, I'm glad things have changed.

Thats not a Cali truck or it spent it entire exsistence parked on or near the beach - Big Sur, Pebble Beach, Asilomar Beach, Carmel area in general. Funny, I was stationed at Planet Ord in the early eighties, 7ID, 9th Infantry Regiment - "MANCHUS' ". Great memories...

[Already Gone]

Originally Posted by 69C-owner

so was the bedside toolbox an option on regular longbeds? i thought it was only longhorns, i've always wanted to find a lwb bed with the bedside box's to drop onto my 69

Like this one ?

[tpost01]

Hookay...

Back from Vegas...New years there was a blast

Also swung by Pahrump and picked up the cab and hood for 550 bones - minus the 100 that I won at the Mirage and it wasnt a bad trip.















A problem with this cab is that the drivers side door seems really weak. I can easily squeeze the inner and outer skins much closer together with only moderate hand pressure.





There is a crack near the top of the inner door and the window frame is quite loose as well.



Now I am kinda stuck, as in where should I start?

I used it for a run to the dump and it ran well, untill it got fully warmed up then it was trying to die on me at stoplights. I got back home and seafoamed it (Smoke show had the neighbors outside staring ).

Although now it will fire with starter fluid, but it wont keep running. Going to pull the fuel filter and the line from pump to carb and see what I can see. either way though, I am debating with myself on where to start with this project...

If I start with the bed (just stripping, throwing in a patch panel over the rusted tool box opening, and priming it, then rhino liner) or should I start with the cab and render it totally undriveable right off the bat as I locate seats, tilt steering column and pull all the parts out of the cab that is on it now.

I want to minimize the time that it is an obvious project (IE no cab mounted, or no front clip) due to the Base housing regulations. But I need to start showing some signs of improvement to keep the wife happy (she gets unhappy with perpetual non-op projects)

My immediate plans are to tweak my little cab dolly ( didnt realize that the rear frame mounts were further apart from the fronts ) and take down all the christmas crap that the wife had me put up, so I will begin really diggin in on this project the following weekend.

Game On!

[mcbassin]

That new cab looks super solid! I would love to have one like to start with. Major upgrade for a great price too.

[tpost01]

Thanks, mcbassin! I was pretty happy when loading it up on my trailer! The wife just looked at me like I was crazy!

OldSkool: I lived in Oceanside for about a dozen years...Man I miss San Diego County!

Well, all I got done this weekend, was pick up my Q-jet rebuild kit, clean out the new cab a little, and took off old dash pad that was trashed. I had to completely rearrange the garage to fit the new cab into it. Then it was Ball joints on my Jeep YJ...That is a pain in the ass. Especially when the Autozone rental press was jacked up, and Auto Zone gives you the wrong ball joints!!! Spent alot of time wrestling with that fiasco. Well, at least now I know how to do them and next time will be pretty easy (I Hope).

I assembled my new HF blaster, and next weekend, I am going to try to get started on that new cab. I am going to pick up some aircraft stripper and see how well that works and see which is the most economical route to go...I might try sandpaper, but I doubt it...Takes to darn long, or so I imagine, I have never attempted any form of body work before, What seems to be the consensus, Chemicals or blasting, to take it down to the bare metal?

Do I even need to take it down to bare metal? I am certainally not planning on fixing every imperfection and the bed is just getting a rhino lining anyhow. I am planning on it being in primer for the next few years. Do I need to blast off all the surface rust? Or just use some chemical on it? I will be playing with some hammers and bondo, only until I have had enough, then I am just gonna leave it, and call it done, and take it to get black primer shot on it.

[tpost01]

Well, in the last few weeks, I haven't been able to get as much done as I was hoping. Also, I had to divert a large chunk of money I had been planning for this project into my Suzuki dirt bike (new valve train and piston isnt too cheap, along with the valve job and cylinder honing... $715)

When that came up the Wife made me put together a list of all the money I had been spending in the garage

My Bucket has cost me $1307.77 to date (this includes everything on the truck) but I also got some new tools to use on the truck: Blast Cabinet, Engine Hoist, Engine Stand, and a few other things.

All in all, the war department is tightening my belt for me

That means this build will be going a much more budget oriented route.

So, I will be doing all body work myself, Well with my kids help there. And I will not be getting any fancy stuff (Tank relocation, updated seats, tilt steering, AC) for quite a while.

Anyhow, Here are some shots of my progress so far.

This was my diagnosis tool to see which was bad the temp gauge or the sending unit. (Turned out to be the sending unit, even though it was still adjusting resistance based upon temperature...wierd)




And here it is with the new sending unit and a new section of wire in there. (old one had
partially melted to the manifold)

Paint and Body! My kids helping me out!


Definately an improvement!


I will have some more pics of the new cab this weekend. Last thing left to do before sandblasting is removing the windshield and back window.

[tpost01]

Well...it has been along time...

I was sent on temporary duty to India for three months. Then when I returned, I had more temporary duty on the east coast for about a month. Then back to CA and I had 2 weeks to PCS (Permanent Change of Station) my family to Muscat Oman... this left me three days to clear out all the "Project work" in my garage (Parts count against the weight limit for military moves). So I had to sell my small block and a few motorcycles. Then I started to work on my truck...

All my big plans went out the window and it was a 3 day sprint to get as much of the new on as I could. I wasnt able to get many pics, and I apologize for resurrecting an ancient thread...but it is still a work in progress.

And also I apologize for the photo sizes...Still cant figure out how to resize them the way I want...

The Garage before...Just a bit over the weight limit for Military moves...


Some of the parts I acquired:


New Bed, had some filler in it, but I think it is better off than my old one:


Starting on Day 1...with young helpers!


Progress:


After having to rewire the rear lights and weld up the drive shaft support...getting a bit late...



Morning Day 2... 1st ever attempt at paint...



I just ran out of time with my little 110v Air compressor and my Harbor Freight sand blaster... so i tried to concentrate on the interior...


Preping to pull the old cab:


Night day 2:


Mid day on day 3 after finishing up the new cab (brakes, steering, electrical, doors innards, new glass, etc.): old cab in its final resting place.


So this is a before:


And this is after:

I never imagined Flat black and chocolate brown would look good together... especially with the green steering wheel

And this is how it sits now...as it has since last September when I left the states. I miss my truck and I am eagerly looking forward to next summer when I PCS again...Hopefully back to the states!

[mcbassin]

Very nice work on the cab. I bet you are happy to have that pile rust behind you. keep up the hard work.