Penny
 

A couple months ago, I got the opportunity to take a look at an 81 C10. A deal was arranged, but I had to focus on finishing college before I could do anything with it.

It's a Custom Deluxe, 305, 2 barrel, and probably a TH350 trans, but I haven't looked underneath to confirm that one. It has factory A/C and my favorite wheel base, a long bed.

The story goes that Dr. Pennington's father purchased the truck used around 1986 and rarely drove it due to health complications. When he passed around 1990, the truck was used around the farm by Dr. Pennington, his brother, and his son. His son also took the truck to UGA during college. After college, it returned to the farm and was parked in the early 2000s, but Dr. Pennington doesn't remember exactly why.

It was sitting for so long that some rodents decided to make the engine their new home. They chewed through most of the wiring harness, vacuum hoses, and at least 3 of the 8 spark plug wires. They also left a huge mess of sticks, twigs, acorns, walnuts, leaves, grass, and poop, lots of poop.

Re: Penny
 

Rust wise, not the worst, but definitely not rust free. Needs rockers and probably the edge of the floor pans. Also needs some help at the bottom of the fenders. The cab corners look to be pretty decent though. Of course, the interior is rough from sitting in the Georgia sun for many, many years, but that's all fixable stuff.

There's a possibility that the truck only has less than 60k original miles, but we aren't completely sure about that. It is mostly original though, and I believe it still wears the paint job from GM.

The first day I looked at it, I put a wrench on the crank pulley to check if the engine was stuck. It wasn't stuck solid, but would only go a small distance before not wanting to turn anymore. At that time, I didn't have the time to tinker with it more. This morning, I went back to the truck armed with some tools and a fully charged battery. The Pennington's haven't found the key yet, but the ignition switch must have been left in the accessory position because it can still turn the engine over without the key. Or maybe the key broke off inside? I'm not sure yet on that one. Anyways, I used one of those ignition bypass buttons so I could be under the hood to start the truck. On the first attempt at hitting the button, the engine turned over quite nicely. No funky sounds, but it wasn't firing off. I then tried the ignition switch and found that it still worked. That was quite surprising because of how many wires have been chewed through. We poured some gas down the carb and tried again, but the engine just wasn't lighting off. After some investigation, I discovered that the power wire to the dizzy has 12 volts, but the 3 wires going from the cap to the base of the dizzy have been eaten. No spark for me. At that point, I was ready for lunch and out of luck, so I called it quits for today and will try again another time.

So, what are my plans for Penny? Well, I've got to start the rust repair on Frankentruck soon, but I'd like to still have a truck to take to cruise ins and shows. Penny fits the bill perfectly for that because of the A/C.

This build will be a slow one for me and definitely on a budget. My plan is to get the engine running, fix whatever is broken mechanically, get the A/C working, and then enjoy it for a while. I might throw some lowering parts at it as well, but I haven't made that decision yet. Definitely keeping the original steelies and hubcaps.
At the least, I'll hang on to it until Frankentruck's rust repair is finished, but maybe by then I'll decide to keep it around and fix all of the rust issues. Either way, it should be fun!

Re: Penny
 

Good grab. It looks complete. You'll have fun cleaning it up. Hopefully it will run well for you. 305s get a lot of bad press, but I think that people don't understand what they were designed for and expect too much. They're meant to be a torque engine that allows you to get up to speed and then get decent mileage. If you try to push them past that, they don't do much. I'm surprised it has a two barrel, I didn't know about that configuration. I see that it's an LG9 and I couldn't find any specs on that, barely shows up on the internet. But still should run all right. When I bought mine, I drove it home 175 miles and it did just fine at freeway speed but didn't seem to have much extra. Then when I pulled the carburetor, I found that the secondaries were jammed closed. No wonder there wasn't any extra, haha. If you have a 2 barrel, you've only got primaries, so to speak, but they should be larger than the primaries on my 4 barrel, so it should run around just fine.

Re: Penny
 

I'm looking forward to bringing it back to life. It deserves a second chance.
I'm also not looking to push a ton of horsepower through it, so a nice, smooth cruiser is what I'm looking for.
That's funny on your 4 barrel acting like a 2 barrel :lol: You needed those secondaries to really open up all those horse torques

Re: Penny
 

Yeah, I bought it to be a parts truck. But halfway home, I realized it ran and drove too nice to pull apart. After the next gas stop, as I was pulling on to the freeway, I pushed the pedal to the floor and nothing really happened, haha. I thought, well I guess that's all there is.I ended up being really glad that there was a problem with the carburetor so that I had to pull it off. I can't quite understand what got into the carburetor to jam the secondaries so bad, but they wouldn't budge. Several soakings and cleanings later, and they should be available next time I need them. It will be cool to see your truck get cleaned up. I'm a big fan of the "fix what's already there" doctrine. I'll be interested to find out what transmission and diff ratio you have. Mine was originally a 700R4 that got swapped out for a turbo 350. Turns out that the TH350 and the 3.08 gears are just about right for cruising on the highway and losing stop light starts to corollas in the city, haha.

Re: Penny
 

My guess is a turbo 350 and either 2.73s or 3.08s, but I won't be able to find out for a bit. The truck is still over 2 hours from home and I haven't gotten a plan together yet to go get it with a trailer.
This one is definitely the "fix what's already there" plan because I'm trying to do this as economically as possibly but still end up with a reliable driver that looks decent rolling down the road. Maybe I'll get it home in the next couple of weeks, maybe it'll be towards the end of July. Either way, it's on the list of things to do :lol:

Re: Penny
 

Fun looking project Christian!
I wish I lived closer to you! I would love to come over and help get that thing running. O well lol.
Looking forward to seeing updates on this one.:chevy:

Re: Penny
 

Thanks! You're just a hop and skip away, head on over :lol:
Progress will be real slow on this one. I'm still at least a month out on being able to bring it home so I can actually work on it.

Re: Penny
 

I had to return the trailer I borrowed to move all my stuff home. Since I had to make the trip down with the trailer anyways, I figured I would stop by the truck as well. I took the wheels off so that I can get some tires on it that will actually hold air and get the truck on a trailer at some future date. Probably won't be until August before I can get back down there with a trailer.

*Edit to add picture*

I'm thinking about repainting the wheels. Not sure if I should powder coat or rattle can, but either way, I want it to be in the stock or at least close to stock color. All 4 hubcaps are still in pretty good shape, so they're definitely going back on.

Re: Penny
 

My opinion, is at this stage of the game, I would use paint. Frost White is the color of your cab roof. If you're going to paint the wheels, and say the bumper, it would make sense to get that color or something close to it. It's a bright white, but not an antiseptic white that looks almost blue. So if you get a chip of it, you could probably find a rattle can that was close enough for those parts. Or go to an automotive paint supplier and get Frost White mixed up. I hope you're able to snag the truck soon so you can get some drive time in while it's still summer.

Re: Penny
 

Thanks for the info on the color. My plan would be to match the wheels to the top as I'm assuming that's what GM did as well.

I won't be able to get the truck back on the road this summer. Crunch time is coming up soon for my 3rd CPA exam, so I am not planning on bringing it home until some time during the week after my exam. That does give me time to get the old tires off, freshen up the wheels, and get some good tires on them before I go back to get the truck. Then I have to do all the wiring stuff and fix the brakes that I'm assuming will be bad after sitting for so long.

Down here about an hour north of Atlanta, I can drive my old stuff pretty much year round, unless the weather is really, really bad. I don't have a garage to park either truck in at the moment, so no reason to winterize the trucks and not drive them

Re: Penny
 

Got the old tires off yesterday and gave the wheels a wash this morning. Unfortunately, I'm going to have to replace 2 wheels. One has rusted out at the valve stem enough to where the valve stem won't seal. The other has some heavy pitting around the valve stem and on the lip, so it won't look the best either.

I'm thinking either find a pair of 15x8 steelies and do fat tires in the back, skinny up front, or find 4 15x8 slot mags. Not sure exactly which way to go because I like the look of both. It will probably depend on which I find first

Re: Penny
 

Slot mags would look great if you lowered it. But if you’re keeping her stock height maybe the steelies?

Re: Penny
 

I do plan on lowering it, so definitely thinking about the slots. I wanted to put a set on my 63 a couple years ago, but I could never find a set I could afford at the time. Then I found the steelies and hubcaps for it, so that's the direction I took. I've got the farm truck look for the 63 and don't plan on lowering it ever. I'm kinda leaning towards going for more of a hot rod or street truck look with the 81. It has the sport style mirrors on it, so kinda makes sense to lower it and rock a set of slots. If I go with the slots, I won't be getting rid of the original hubcaps in case I decide to change back at some point.

Re: Penny
 

Slot mags acquired! Thanks to SouthernParts for parting with them :metal:

Re: Penny
 

Nice score:metal:

Those will look good.:chevy:

Re: Penny
 

Can’t wait to see ‘em installed!

Re: Penny
 

I agree!

Same here!

I'm going to put a little shine juice on them before I figure out some tires. I've still got a couple weeks before I can go pick the truck up. Also need to buy some shank lug nuts. All part of the fun!

Re: Penny
 

Cool, good grab!

Re: Penny
 

Started sanding on the slots to polish them up for a truck that doesn't run yet. Makes sense if you don't think about it.

Top wheel has been hit with 600 grit wet sand. These wheels still have the tooling marks when they were machined way back when. Never been sanded on until now. Should turn out pretty decent, I suppose

Re: Penny
 

Those rims remind me of some aluminum stuff that I kept clean years ago.

I used Never-Dull
It worked great:metal:

I dont know how it works Now:uhmk:

Re: Penny
 

Thanks for the suggestion, I might have to try it if the polish I picked up before I started sanding on the wheels doesn't work out.

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Finally got all 4 wheels wet sanded to 2000 grit. Going to see if I can get the tires on my 6 lug rallys swapped over to the slots in the morning. If not, I guess I'll have to buy new tires for a truck that doesn't run. Oof

But dang, these wheels look so much better. Going to do the final polish on Friday and hopefully getting the truck home on Saturday :metal:

Yes, I need to clean up the back sides, but I can do that one at a time once I get the truck home

Re: Penny
 

Great job:metal:
Those are looking good.

Lemon juice or vinegar diluted with water also works cleaning old aluminum.

Re: Penny
 

Thanks, Dwayne, I'll probably try that on the back of the wheels. They're still dirty.

I almost sold the 6 lug rallys and tires awhile back. I'm glad I didn't because I was able to have the tires swapped to the slots.

Dad and I had to install a trailer brake controller on his truck this afternoon. Picked up the trailer and noticed that the trailer brakes didn't seem to be working right. It had been awhile since they had been adjusted, so that got tightened up. The non brake axle had zero preload on the bearings, so both sides got tightened up just a wee bit. Last was to re-weld part of the spare tire carrier so it wouldn't flop around as much. Should be ready to head out in the morning!

Because of the trailer maintenance, I wasn't able to clean up the wheels and tires and finish the polish on the wheels. Maybe that'll happen some time this week. Maybe not. We shall see. I don't have any deadlines set for this project

Re: Penny
 

A successful trip has occurred :metal:

Drove down to Milledgeville this morning with an empty trailer and a set of slot mags.
The wheels fit and look great on the truck. Definitely a good choice. We got the truck on the trailer but had to pause and catch a calf that had escaped the fence. All good with the calf, so got back to strapping the truck down. I missed the dealership sticker on the tailgate until today.

Re: Penny
 

The previous owners are quite happy that the truck will be put back on the road. His dad purchased the truck in 84, so it's been pretty much on the family farm since then. It did go to Athens for a couple years for college, but came back to the farm and got parked.


I've got some parts to throw at it to see if the engine will run. Should be a fun project!

Re: Penny
 

Nice :chevy:

I really like both trucks.

So you will be Across the the Board :lol:

Instead of in one Section ? :lol::lol:

Glad to see you take on another truck:metal:

Re: Penny
 

Wheels look perfect! Glad you got her home.

Re: Penny
 

I'm going to have to learn more about squares now! All I need is one 67-72 to have all 3 body styles :lol:
I'll be homeless if I try to bring anything else home... :chevy:

I agree, and I haven't even finished the polish! Got some parts sitting in the garage to try to get her running this week.

Re: Penny
 

Got some tinkering done the past two evenings. I replaced the radio capacitor and wiring harness bit in the dizzy that had been chewed by the rodents. Also replaced the cap and rotor while I was in there, but probably didn't need to as they were decent with only a smidge of corrosion. The rotor still has Made in USA stamped in it, so another indication that this truck may only have 57k original miles. I finished up the spark plug wires earlier this evening, went to start it, and proceeded to turn the ignition cylinder to the lock position and I don't have a key.....
Looks like I'll be taking the steering column apart in the next couple days. I can at least clean up the steering wheel a lot easier that way, so I guess it works out

Re: Penny
 

Well, I can't believe it, but I guess I have to because I was listening to it. Penny fired off this evening for the first time in 20 years. I got the column apart enough to take the ignition cylinder out and was able to use some pliers to turn the engine over. Sure enough, with a little brake clean, she fired right up. All the gas cans were empty, but we had some 40:1 fuel mix for an old leaf blower that doesn't work anymore. Poured way too much in and she fired right up. Took Frankentruck for a spin to get some gas and some dinner then came back to check the gas tank for any leaks. Poured about a gallon and a half in the tank, haven't noticed any leaks yet, and proceeded to fire Penny up again. Sure enough, that carb idled, although high because of all the vacuum leaks, and pulled fuel from the tank. Didn't hear any valvetrain noise either. Boy, am I happy about that. I'm going to get a new key cut this week, start cleaning up the rest of the rodent poop, and figure out which vacuum lines I need to get the carb straightened out. I also need to change out all the fluids. We will see what I can get done this week while fighting some of the Georgia weather.

Re: Penny
 

Great news.:metal:

I used to buy Vaccuum hose by the roll.

That was several years ago.

I wonder how much it has gone up. ??:lol::lol:

Re: Penny
 

Probably a good bit. I might try to salvage what's not chewed to get just the basic stuff that's needed to make the engine run right. I was thinking of removing a lot of the emissions stuff that probably doesn't work currently. I'm glad it doesn't have a smog pump though!

Re: Penny
 

Was going to work on Penny after work today but the rain showed up not long after getting home. Oh well. That did give me a chance to check for any leaks on the floor from the roof, doors, or windows. Fortunately, I didn't see any evidence of water coming in from those areas. Unfortunately, there's a puddle of green in the passenger floor. Yup, I believe the heater core has gone bad. Oh well, just another thing to fix. Hopefully not too hard to do though

Re: Penny
 

Glad to see you still working on the trucks Christian, keep up the good work.
Exciting to hear that pennys engine runs!

I just got back to working on my 76 and hope to have it running soon.

Re: Penny
 

I'm always tinkering with something :lol: It was very exciting to hear the engine run again. I hope you can get that same excitement soon on your 76!

Re: Penny
 

I have the key situation figured out. I pulled the ignition cylinder out to get the code and had LockDoc cut some new keys for me. They showed up today so now I can start the truck with a key instead of some pliers :lol: I still need to finish putting the steering column back together, but the local parts stores didn't have the lock plate removal tool in stock. One will show up tomorrow and I'll get it back together this weekend.


I changed the oil yesterday and added some trans fluid today. The engine sounds good and the trans does shift into reverse and drive, but reverse is a little slow. I didn't want to overfill it, so I'll add more if needed once I can get the engine up to temp.

After that, I started taking the front accessories off to gain access to the remainder of the nest. Turns out I still have the original 305 in the truck. An exhilarating 140 hp. Maybe I should throw in a better cam and a Quadrajet for some more power? Probably should get it back on the road before I do that though.

Re: Penny
 

Life sure has been full of activities this month. Took a little time this evening to vacuum up some of the poop on the engine. Already looking a lot better! Still have a bit more behind the dizzy to get though. I did have to take off the ac compressor and power steering pump and brackets to get all of the nest out of there

Re: Penny
 

More progress this evening. Mouse nest is gone, front accessories back together, next up is cleaning up all the rotted and cracked vacuum hoses. Just going to start with the bare minimum to get it to run and idle properly, then figure out what else needs to be hooked back up

Re: Penny
 

Nice progress so far! Yeah I would throw and RV cam in it and just enjoy it. Even the 350 in my 86 only has 165 hp. No big whoop. But I’m never in a hurry.