Project "Redemption" 68 SWB Fleetside
 

Some of you guys might remember a certain 68 I was building for the better part of 5 years before I sold it back in May. Well long story short, I got divorced and was forced to sell it! I kept my house which in the end is more important than the truck was! Seven months have gone by and I've put the pieces to my life back together, so the first order of business was to find a new project to work on. I've had a really bad taste in my mouth since selling the 68, so a couple of weeks ago I picked up another 68. I bounced around some ideas about building a different year C10 or possibly a musclecar like a Impala or Chevelle but in the end it had to be a 68 C10!

This truck is in much better shape than my previous 68 was! It still needs the front floors and cab supports replaced and like all these trucks, rockers and cab corners but the rest of the cab is solid!

I also learned a few things with my last build, first is to come up with a game plan from the start and only buy parts once and not constantly change my mind! Another was to not try and build a perfect truck with perfect bodywork and perfect paint which dragged my build on for what seemed like forever! My plans for this truck are to have a modern drivetrain, big brakes, nice interior and a ground scraping stance but with more of a shop truck patina look to the paint!

Some of the parts I'll be running-
Lq9 with a LS6 intake and Tick SNS Stage 2 Cam (currently sitting on the engine stand)
4l60e
Choppin Block Front Crossmember kit
Porterbuilt Rear Extreme Dropmember and Frame Stiffener
Porterbuilt Hood Hinges
ChubTubz and Hills Rod & Custom Fenders
Wilwood Brakes
Billet Specialties Mag-G wheels 20x8.5/20x10 wrapped in Toyo STII tires
Accuair
Buddy Buckets
Vintage Air

Should be a fun build and certainly a fun truck!

Re: Project "Redemption" 68 SWB Fleetside
 

Another pic

Re: Project "Redemption" 68 SWB Fleetside
 

How the Lq9 currently looks

Re: Project "Redemption" 68 SWB Fleetside
 

Very sorry to hear about your divorce. Glad your back on here with a great project. Motor looks awesome!!!

Wade

Re: Project "Redemption" 68 SWB Fleetside
 

Sounds like a solid plan AND Welcome back Keith!

Re: Project "Redemption" 68 SWB Fleetside
 

Thanks Wade. I got a little blindsided by the divorce but everything happens for a reason! I feel like I'm better off now and I'm really excited to tear into this truck and actually be able to finish this one!

Thanks Rob, I spent many months buried in the gym for what I call "Therapy" :lol: I am glad to be back and working on a C10 again!

Re: Project "Redemption" 68 SWB Fleetside
 

Subscribed - this will be an awesome truck ! Welcome back Keith.

I've been through those Therapy sessions myself. Keep your head up buddy.

Re: Project "Redemption" 68 SWB Fleetside
 

I'm glad you're back and looking forward to this build.

Re: Project "Redemption" 68 SWB Fleetside
 

Glad to see you back. Looking forward to the updates on here and IG!

Re: Project "Redemption" 68 SWB Fleetside
 

Sounds like a great plan.. I'm in. If you need help with any parts let me know.

Re: Project "Redemption" 68 SWB Fleetside
 

Glad to see you back at it Kieth. That's kind of funny because I was going to message you this evening to see what you were up to, then I saw this "new" build thread. Hang in there buddy, I went thru a big "D" once also. By the way, that motor looks BAD*$$

Re: Project "Redemption" 68 SWB Fleetside
 

Thanks Chad, your truck is looking awesome too! I love the paint and the direction you took with it!

Thanks Keith, I feel like myself again working on another C10.

Thanks, there will be plenty of updates as I have a lot of work to do :lol:

Thanks Kyle, if you were closer I would be dropping my cab off to you to fix the rust for me :lol: I'll definitely be contacting you next week as I have a large Porterbuilt order I'm going to need to put in! I'll send you a PM.

Thanks Jason, I appreciate the thoughts! Yeah the big "D" was definitely an eye opener! But I'm much better off now and it's on to building this C10! In the end it will be bigger and better than my last one! Sucks to hear about your motor issues. But there is no better time to go LS then now!

Re: Project "Redemption" 68 SWB Fleetside
 

I'm following up good luck with the build

Can't wait to see the finished product

Re: Project "Redemption" 68 SWB Fleetside
 

Was in for last one. In for this one.

Re: Project "Redemption" 68 SWB Fleetside
 

Thanks guys, I have been working on disassembling the truck this weekend! I got the front clip off and the glass out. The cab is almost ready to pull off the frame!

Re: Project "Redemption" 68 SWB Fleetside
 

How's the bed look on the "new" project? This things going to be sweet!!!

Re: Project "Redemption" 68 SWB Fleetside
 

Welcome back man! It's good to have you..

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The bedsides themselves are in ok shape. They have some dings and dents and some bondo in areas but overall look to be decent. I won't really know what I have until I strip the rattle can primer and bondo off! The rest of the bed is shot including the tailgate. If the bedsides need more work than I want to do, I'll just end up selling them and going with brand new repops like I did on my last truck. Having new metal is always nice :lol:

Thanks Justin, how's your truck coming along?

Re: Project "Redemption" 68 SWB Fleetside
 

The amount of work you put into the last one should give you plenty of confidence for this build. I'm all in, best of luck and welcome back!!!

Re: Project "Redemption" 68 SWB Fleetside
 

Thanks, I am pretty confident about this build! I learned a lot on my last build, most of what I learned is what not to do! This time I know exactly what I want and what I want the truck to look like when it's done. I have my game plan down, now it's about collecting parts :chevy:

Re: Project "Redemption" 68 SWB Fleetside
 

My tires are here, waiting on the wheels to come in!

I'm running 255/40/20 front and 295/45/20 rear. I like the look of a little meatier tire in the rear!

Re: Project "Redemption" 68 SWB Fleetside
 

Keith, I am really glad to see you back on the board and starting another build. It was sad to see you sale your last truck. I am definitely onboard for this build, and can't wait to see the progress. Good luck man.

Re: Project "Redemption" 68 SWB Fleetside
 

Glad you are back with us C10 guys Keith. I loved your last truck, so I'm looking forward to following the progress on this one.

POP

Re: Project "Redemption" 68 SWB Fleetside
 

Keith what process did you use to clean and paint your engine? I have an lq4 and it's quite the pig.

Yours looks nice, I'm hoping to get mine half as good lol

Re: Project "Redemption" 68 SWB Fleetside
 

I'm glad to see you back at it Keith. I'm sorry about hearing about the whole situation you went through. I can relate to your "therapy sessions" too. I've been there once before too.

Re: Project "Redemption" 68 SWB Fleetside
 

I'm in..

Re: Project "Redemption" 68 SWB Fleetside
 

Thanks Mark! Yeah I hated selling my other 68 as well but everything happens for a reason. I'm currently stripping the truck down to the frame and collecting parts for the build. I have to say, I'm very jealous of your truck. It came out amazing and you know I love that Torch Red paint :metal:

Thanks POP, feels good to be back. Love the progress on Chad's truck. That paint looks amazing!

I cleaned the block using Gunk engine cleaner and a lot of elbow grease :lol: After that I took a wire wheel to the block and cleaned off any surface rust and flaking paint. I then painted the block with KBS Coating Rust Seal since it withstands high heat and seals the block up from further rust. I went over the entire motor, heads and all with KBS's Fusion Etching Primer and then top coated it with their Motor Coater Chevy Orange. I'm really happy with how it turned out. Just spend some time making sure the block is clean and I'm sure yours will look pretty darn good.

Thanks Scott, at least I can say I'm in the best shape of my life now :lol:

Thanks for following, once I get the cab off and my parts start rolling in, I should have some real progress going on.

Re: Project "Redemption" 68 SWB Fleetside
 

Got my ChubTubz in yesterday from Hart_Rod, these are really nice! Just need a little bodywork and then ready for paint!

Re: Project "Redemption" 68 SWB Fleetside
 

:metal::metal::metal: Glad you like them! I will get your hood brackets shipped to you by this weekend. Thanks again!

Re: Project "Redemption" 68 SWB Fleetside
 

Glad to see you picked up another C10 Keith! I'm looking forward to following this build as much as the last one. It looks like you have a good start on it already.

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Thanks Rob :chevy:

Thanks Duane, I pretty much have the entire truck stripped down at this point! Just need to pull the cab off the frame and as soon as my suspension parts come in I can start building the rolling chassis!

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Pulled the passenger rocker off yesterday! Got to love rust :lol:

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I also picked up some buddy buckets off the parts board! They are in pretty good shape but I do plan to recover them! The cloth doesn't look nearly as good in person as it does in the picture :lol:

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Gotta love those buddy buckets!! I was very fortunate to find mine from Scott. They just fit the era of these trucks. Looks like your rollin right along.

Re: Project "Redemption" 68 SWB Fleetside
 

Welcome back to the scene - this build will probably go much smoother. I know how the 5+ year builds drag out trying to make everything perfect and constantly changing your mind. That engine looks very nice, but I really liked how your other one started out as a BB build.

I feel your pain in all this, I just got divorced too - I was able to keep my truck, but lost the house!

Re: Project "Redemption" 68 SWB Fleetside
 

I've been waiting for this thread to come along, glad you were able to get another one! I'm excited to see the progress. Sorry to hear about the divorce, no one wants to have to go through that. But kudos to you for staying active and pulling yourself back up on your feet.

Re: Project "Redemption" 68 SWB Fleetside
 

Thanks Jason, I'm a big fan of buddy buckets. Once I saw the bench seat was shot in this truck I went on the search for some. When these popped up on the parts board, I pulled the trigger.

Sorry to hear about what you went through Adam. Going through that definitely sucks and I never want to do it again. I'm happy to be back building a truck, but hopefully this one doesn't take 5 years :lol: Saying that, I'm not going to set a timeline to finish this truck as I know how these builds go. Something always pops up and I don't want to put to much pressure on myself and get burnt out. I have a solid plan for this truck and I plan on sticking to it this time! I liked the big block I had in the other truck too but I really wanted a modern fuel injected motor that could give that big block a run for its money.

Thanks, staying active is the only thing I could do. I buried myself in the gym to the point where people were actually asking me if I slept there :lol: I can't wait to get some progress done on this truck though. Right now I'm trying to figure out the best way to tackle the rust in the cab.

Re: Project "Redemption" 68 SWB Fleetside
 

Great progress! Your "HartRod hood brackets" shipped on Saturday, :D. Thanks again! :metal:

Re: Project "Redemption" 68 SWB Fleetside
 

welcome back brother, engine looks great

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Thanks Rob, I got them today!

Thanks Hector! Feels good to be back at it!