Sneak preview 'Charlie'

[RenoKeene]

Some of you may remember when I saved this truck from our own parts board.

[RenoKeene]

Thanks to Eric "Too Much Stuff" I was able to get the glovebox door back and was able to buy the protecto-plate...then I bought the rest of the truck, for about the price of a pair of Disney tickets.

[RenoKeene]

My brother Bruce and I knew it was special and needed saving. This is bruce's truck 'Charlie', after Charlie Hughes the man that ordered it new.
Long story but I talked to the salesman at the time (company VP now) that actually ordered the truck new for his buddie Charlie.
Me: Do you remember what the special paint color was?
Mr Mauldin: Sure, Chevelle Black Cherry. We had a car lot back then and Charlie pointed at a Chevelle and said "That color"
Me: Wow!
Mr Mauldin: Only one ordered like that I think, in 70'. Was a real pain.

[RenoKeene]

Those of you that have done this before know this a long careful process, its already been 3 years +. We have to pick and chose parts and pieces keeping aftermarket parts to a minimum which is getting harder and harder to do.
Lots of work to come to get this one right. We decided to not restore this piece factory but to build it like I did 'Rose'. Tough choice but the right one I think.
Static drop, front disks, tilt wheel etc. But trying to stay true to the org design.

[RenoKeene]

OK, OK...here is the sneak peek part. 'Charlie Lives'
The paint is a beautiful color, changes with the light. 1970 was a pretty good year.

[FL71C10]

Wow, looks nice!

[RenoKeene]

The lower trim is NOS thanks to 'davestrucks', thanks dave!

[RenoKeene]

Originally Posted by FL71C10

Wow, looks nice!

Thanks John, This ones really special!

[raggedjim]

Beautiful truck, Nice work.

Rg

[notsolo]

Wow, Great color combo, 1970 Black Cherry, 1 of a kind.. Beautiful truck. Carry On.

[cypressbog]

I've always liked that truck and sure glad someone saved it. I wondered back then and never asked, so here goes. The SPID shows marker lights but I couldn't see any raised pads on roof for them. Do you have any more info on what happened there?

[RenoKeene]

Thank you sir, carrying on.

[70cst]

One word ...

[RenoKeene]

Originally Posted by cypressbog

I've always liked that truck and sure glad someone saved it. I wondered back then and never asked, so here goes. The SPID shows marker lights but I couldn't see any raised pads on roof for them. Do you have any more info on what happened there?

The marker lights on the spid reference the side marker lights for some reason. SS tim and Bruceman68 have more info on this. The cab lights on it were aftermarket, no cab pads. Just one of the strange things about this truck. One curious thing is that there is no VIN stamping on the frame, none in either location and it is the original frame.

[lolife99]

Very interesting that the tailgate has that much white color on it.
Very cool truck for sure!

[RenoKeene]

Here is a shot of the org tailgate.

[RenoKeene]

Originally Posted by RenoKeene

The marker lights on the spid reference the side marker lights for some reason. SS tim and Bruceman68 have more info on this. The cab lights on it were aftermarket, no cab pads. Just one of the strange things about this truck. One curious thing is that there is no VIN stamping on the frame, none in either location and it is the original frame.

After further review, it did have cab lights. We always thought the holes in the roof were drilled for the aftermarket lights. Who orders a 1/2 ton shortbed with cab lights. Charlie Hughes that's who.

[too much stuff]

Originally Posted by RenoKeene

Thanks to Eric "Too Much Stuff" I was able to get the glovebox door back and was able to buy the protecto-plate...then I bought the rest of the truck, for about the price of a pair of Disney tickets.

Truck is looking good! Glad the glove box door went "home"

[zicc1835]

this one sets itself aside from the rest... very nice work bringing Charlie Back the HeartBeat goes on

[RenoKeene]

Originally Posted by zicc1835

this one sets itself aside from the rest... very nice work bringing Charlie Back the HeartBeat goes on

We are very excited to bring this back to life. Seems important on several levels.

[junksaver]

It's nice to see that truck restored vs being parted out. Great job.

[jocko]

Looks beautiful, so glad you saved it. You mentioned you sorted out that it had cab lights originally - I've never seen U01 without the cab pads before - any history on it that you know of? I just would have assumed that if it made it to the SPID, it would have been a pad cab - and if it was dealer add on (even with the original Guide lenses) it wouldn't have made it to the SPID. VERY very interesting! The first color that popped into my head was 69-only maroon metallic when I saw the Special Paint code - but Black Cherry makes more sense (notsolo's post) as it was a 70 color - not sure you could order last year's paint anyway! VERY interesting one of a kind truck. Looks incredible.

[DeadheadNM]

That's a great save. Build looks amazing already. I thought that 71/72 cabs had pads for marker lights not 70 and down. Congrats!

[CG]

I really like when the roof is painted like that. Just a bit different than the ones with door frames and pillars painted.

[Boog]

Dayem that looks good. I remember back in high school the school maintenance man had a maroon and white 70 painted that way, real similar to that one. It stood out because it was the only one like it in town. Dude Ellis was his name.
Charlie is gonna be real nice.