"BUILD: 1970 C10 LWB--->SWB “Jumping Cholla”
 

I have always wanted a 67-72 C10 since I was in high and saw the movie Dazed and Confused, loved that black C10. I had been looking for a truck on/off over the years and have been watching the prices climb and the quality of truck go down and amount of work needed to get the C10 driving on the road go way up.

My 15 year old son recently got heavily interested in cars (specifically import super cars) and had been asking about finding a project car to work on. He would send me overpriced crap that I would nix right away. He finally sent me an offer up link with something I didn’t hate. It was an hour away, so we dragged a trailer out and took a closer look. It wasn’t drivable, covered in AZ dust, mostly complete, and the price was right so we pulled the trigger and dragged it home!

All my previous builds and modification were done to square bodies so I wanted to document the rebuild with a build thread for this 1970 C10 LWB. I have used this site plenty of times since I created an account over a decade ago and I figured its about time to contribute something to the forum in return.

Plans for this C10 is to clean off the 53 years of dust and crud stuck to everything and slap some fresh paint on, upgrade to disc brakes all around, new steering components, new suspension bushings, 3” drop in the rear, 2" drop spindles in the front, vintage air A/C under the dash, relocate gas tank to the rear, and replace the motor and TH350 with a 454 and Monster built 700R4.

Thanks for looking and following along.

Re: BUILD: 1970 C10 LWB “Jumping Cholla”
 

With it finally home, we got to work with some clean up. Had to get the toolbox off the bed and ditch the work truck side mirrors.

Next up was to clean the interior out and where the build thread got it’s title from. The previous tenant was a lovely Rat that decided to bring some security into the cab in the form of some Jumping Cholla cactus to protect it’s nest he built under the bench seat. Once we were done vacuuming the turds and Cholla (didn’t get any pics) out from under the bench everything was gutted minus the gas tank, which was removed later.

Re: BUILD: 1970 C10 LWB “Jumping Cholla”
 

-
Looks like a good start. If you are not going to use the tool box door don't trash it if it is in decent shape, they are worth some good cash.... Heck even bad ones sell for good money.

LockDoc

Re: BUILD: 1970 C10 LWB “Jumping Cholla”
 

Thanks LockDoc. I could've used your skills to unlock the tool box. I had to drill out the lock cylinders!

Re: BUILD: 1970 C10 LWB “Jumping Cholla”
 

That's too bad. The lock cylinders are pretty much one of a kind and are worth $50-$70. It's actually pretty easy to get them open without damaging the lock cylinder. I have posted the instructions on here a few times.

LockDoc

Re: BUILD: 1970 C10 LWB “Jumping Cholla”
 

Once the cab was rid of all the junk we moved focus to the rear of the truck. We pulled the bed and removed all the rear suspension and 12b rear end. After a proper clean up, we added some 3” drop springs, new trailing arm bushings, some new disc brakes, and some fresh black paint.

I’ve always had bad luck removing the center pin bolt from rear diffs. Luckily the break on this one was near the end of the threads and I was able to use a pick and turn the broken bolt out! I threw some welds along the seams of the trailing arms while we had them out and cleaned them up. We removed the auxiliary leaf spring from the rear and cleaned up the frame with a power washer for the big debris and a wire wheeled it. The rear of the frame with get a fresh coat of black paint once the cab gets pulled. We got everything installed and got her back on 4 tires.

Re: BUILD: 1970 C10 LWB “Jumping Cholla”
 

Once the rear suspension and bed were back on the C10, we had to get a picture of the family Chevy truck lineup! 85 K5, 70 C10, 14 2500HD, 03 Tahoe. I meant to do this when we first got the C10 home but needed to get a pic before the C10 was gonna get blown apart for the next few months.

Re: BUILD: 1970 C10 LWB “Jumping Cholla”
 

Back to work on Jumping Cholla. Next was the engine bay. I wanted to get that cleaned up to make it easier to pull the front clip to get to the engine and front suspension easier. This truck hasn’t been registered in AZ since 1996 and the engine pretty much confirmed this. We cleaned up all the hacked up wiring and hoses that went nowhere, pulled the hood off and removed the front clip in one piece.

Re: BUILD: 1970 C10 LWB “Jumping Cholla”
 

We took over the garage, pushed the C10 in and pulled the old motor and TH350 out. I was told from the previous owner it was a 350, but when I looked up the motor casting number off the back of the block it was 330817, which is a 400SBC. Either way this motor is coming out and being replaced with a BBC. Once the motor was removed, we power washed the front and started tearing the suspension and steering out.

Re: BUILD: 1970 C10 LWB “Jumping Cholla”
 

I went through and cleaned up all of the parts we’re going to reuse (coils, arms, and engine xmember) and hit them with some paint. Then I did the same treatment to the frame.

I laid out all the cleaned up reused parts, new disc brakes and drop spindles, and all the ball joints and tie rod ends in the bed to make it easy and organized for re-install. Everything went in really well and we got the C10 back on 4 wheels again.

Re: BUILD: 1970 C10 LWB “Jumping Cholla”
 

Once we had a roller again, we moved the C10 back to the side of the house and let Mom have her parking space back in the garage. Next thing I wanted to do was to fire up the 454. This motor was originally in my 85 K5 over a decade ago before I pulled it and swapped in a LS. Since then, the 454 has been holding down my garage floor. I still have the 4wd output 700R4 that was built up with a Monster kit that i need to get converted to 2wd for this build. It should match up a little better with the 3:73 gears in the 12b rear instead of the 4:56 14bff that is in the K5.

I fab’d up a quick and simple run stand, changed the oil, rebuilt the carb, made a wiring harness, bolted the headers on, fed it some gas and it fired right up. Pretty good feeling, plus the boy got to finally hear the motor run that he walked by 1000 time in the garage. I don’t really have all the technical specs on the motor itself other than what i can see from the outside. When I had this in my lifted Blazer with 37” tires it hauled ass so I'm pretty excited to get it in this C10. I know it was installed in a 1969 C10 when I bought it from the previous owner. It’s got Aluminum Edelbrock RPM heads/Intake and a nice AC Delco serpentine kit. Under the valve covers there are aluminum rockers and it’s topped off with a 750CFM Edelbrock carb, hooker header long tubes and has a HEI distributor. Had to get an old vs new side by side pic as well. I'm not sure if the long tubes will fit in the C10, they barely fit in my 85K5. We'll see once we get it set on the frame.

Some more pics and a video on the run stand.
First run test
https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/ricbf...6bwdh52y2&dl=0

Re: BUILD: 1970 C10 LWB “Jumping Cholla”
 

Great Progress. :metal:

So you Like HF as much as I do?

Hope your Headers fit for you.:)

:chevy::chevy::chevy:

Re: BUILD: 1970 C10 LWB “Jumping Cholla”
 

Thanks. I like to use HF for basic tools/shop equipment. If this was my line of work as my profession, I would spend the money and buy better equipment. I spent the money on my MM252 years ago and it was well worth the investment. My HF 4.5" grinders are older than my 15 year old son and were only 15 bucks each, pretty good value. I'd rather spend higher dollar amounts on parts:metal:

Even if the long tube fit, I might still switch to shorty's to get pipes in line with the inside frame. I got a set of POL engine mounts on their way. Hopefully the 700R4 is getting converted to 2wd in the next few weeks. We'll see once I get it all mocked up.

Re: BUILD: 1970 C10 LWB “Jumping Cholla”
 

I pulled the cab to start working on the minor rust repairs that will be needed. The only rust I’ve found so far is on both rockers and front pillar kick panels. Looking at what other guys have done on this site to remove the cab, I built a cab cart on wheels that I can move around in the garage and a lift with a low point to lift the cab off the frame. It was a little sketchy doing it solo, but I got it done. The plan is to cut out and replace the inner/outer rockers. This will be my first real go at sheet metal/bodywork and I’m looking forward to the challenge. While I got the cab off, I’ll fill in the existing AC/Heater openings (this was an original A/C cab truck) and round out the firewall for a clean look.

Re: BUILD: 1970 C10 LWB “Jumping Cholla”
 

Looks like my truck when I started! Looking to see the 700r4 install. Good job

Re: BUILD: 1970 C10 LWB “Jumping Cholla”
 

Dang, you work quick! I'm worn out looking at your pics, and need a beer.

Re: BUILD: 1970 C10 LWB “Jumping Cholla”
 

Thanks, Everything I have posted in the thread has already been done. I'm just playing catch up on the pics and posts. I'm one post away from being up to date on the build. My next update will be of cutting up my rockers. I've been trying to put in hours whenever I can to keep the project momentum going. It's not going to built itself

I should've added the dates to my original posts, but the timeline is below.

Bought and towed home 7/29/23
Rear suspension/brakes done 8/13/23
front clip pulled 8/29/23
Engine/Trans/suspension/steering pulled 9/3/23
Front suspension/steering/brakes installed 9/9/23
454 ran on test stand 9/14/23
Cab removed and put on cart 9/17/23
Passenger rocker started 9/21/23
Driver rocker started 9/26/23

Re: BUILD: 1970 C10 LWB “Jumping Cholla”
 

Yeah....Speedy Gonzales quick....:ito:

Re: BUILD: 1970 C10 LWB “Jumping Cholla”
 

Nice progress, you’re on a roll. Keep it up!
What engine fan will you be using? There’s not a lot of room front to rear once you have a BBC in these trucks. My last one had a 454 and it was tight. I wanted to run that serpentine setup but I didn’t want to run out of room. I think it would have cleared a trimmed Mk8 fan but I never pulled the trigger on it.

Re: BUILD: 1970 C10 LWB “Jumping Cholla”
 

I had this dual electric fan setup (I think it's a Perma Cool) in front of the 454 when it was in my K5. I kept it on the K5 when I did my LS swap, but i think I'm going to steal it and put it on the C10. The K5 is in semi-retirement at this point, so it won't mind if I borrow some parts.

Re: BUILD: 1970 C10 LWB “Jumping Cholla”
 

This post will bring the build up to date. The rocker replacement started a week and a half ago and I tackled the passenger side first. The rust wasn't terrible but and was really only isolated to rockers, toe kick, and the rear section of the front pillar. I ordered up some replacement panels from LMC and grabbed a fresh pack of cut off wheels and got to work. This is my first attempt at sheet metal/body work.

Re: BUILD: 1970 C10 LWB “Jumping Cholla”
 

After getting the passenger inner rocker installed. I moved over to the drivers side and start cutting away to rot. The drivers side was the worst of the 2. I got more pics of the drivers side during the process. I was able to get the inner rocker,, pillar, and toe kick installed.

Re: BUILD: 1970 C10 LWB “Jumping Cholla”
 

After I got the drivers side buttoned up, i moved back to the passenger to finish the toe kick and pillar.

This week I want to get the doors bolted back on to make sure I'm good on the inner rocker before doing anything with the outer. I ordered some Honda door deals based on some feedback from others recently on the forum. Once those come in, I'll trim and fit the outers and get them tacked and burned in place. I still have some pin holes that need to be filled and some grinding/sanding to do, but feel like I got 80% of the rockers done at this point.

Re: BUILD: 1970 C10 LWB “Jumping Cholla”
 

Looks good for a first-timer! :metal:

Re: BUILD: 1970 C10 LWB “Jumping Cholla”
 

Small update. Trying to keep busy while waiting for the door seals to come in (hopefully Monday). I started filling in the blower opening and rounding the passenger side firewall to match the drivers and covering the top channel on Monday night. Everything was tacked in place and burned in. I stitched welded the joint of the channel top to vertical firewall. I figured i can use body filler to float out any warpage and tacking was gonna take forever and be harder to clean up in the joint. The outer lip was all tacked and ground/sanded smooth. I Still have the stitch welds to clean up but diggin how it turned out. Next will be filling in the a/c openings and getting rid of that little bump on the top of the raised a/c panel so it matches the drivers side, cuz might as well.

Re: BUILD: 1970 C10 LWB “Jumping Cholla”
 

Honda door seals get here yesterday so I threw them on the passenger side, clamped/screwed in the outer rocker and hung the door to check all the fit and gaps. I had to trim and modify the rocker a little bit, but I expected that to the be the case. These Honda door seals are a perfect fit. The gaps and door sill looked good.

I ended up getting new cab corners and a high hump trans cover so those will be next on the list. I want to get the cab corners in place before I burn in the outer rockers.

Re: BUILD: 1970 C10 LWB “Jumping Cholla”
 

Progress update from the last couple of weeks.
Got the outer rocker on the drivers side complete. I really had to modify the replacement panel to get everything to line up and the door to close correctly.
I also replaced the driver rear cab corner. There was a small bit of rust I wanted to get rid of and I had already bought the panel. This was the most challenging replacement panel to date. Rode the struggle bus getting the radius corner to meet up correctly. End result looks good and I'm happy with how both sides turned out. I just need to burn in the outers on both sides, right now I just have them held in place with some self tapping screws.

I also finished the last of the firewall shave. Filled in the AC holes and any other random holes that won't be used for putting the truck back together.

Re: BUILD: 1970 C10 LWB “Jumping Cholla”
 

I cut out the low hump trans tunnel and got the holes drilled for the high hump replacement. I'll probably throw some rivnuts in to make it removable.

I was hoping to be done with replacing rusted sheetmetal, but the boy and I pulled the windshield and rear sliding widow and found more rust at the bottom of the rear window channel. I had a feeling there was some rust behind the drivers bottom corner just from the rust stain when the window was on the truck. I'm not finding any after market replacement channel so I'm going to have to bend some up. If anyone knows a vendor that makes some, please let me know. I already messed around with a couple of scraps, I can get a good radius but getting the 90* bend for the channel in the right spot is difficult. Luckily there is only a few spots that need to be cut out and replaced. Most of it it surface rust that will get cleaned up with a wirewheel.

I really wanted to get this cab sand blasted and sprayed with some epoxy, but I need to get this last bit of rust out first. I'm not sure if I want to put the slider back in or go with a solid piece of glass. I haven't really found any rebuild kits for the sliders, they currently slide but with too much effort. I think it's original based on a lot of comments I've read about the OG's being aluminum frames and not black.

Re: BUILD: 1970 C10 LWB “Jumping Cholla”
 

You did more rust repair in 4 months than I got done in 2 years. We have so far had exactly the same issues. I also thought I finished my rust repair and decided to remove the rear window to find the channels rusted. I did a very poor job but I didn't know where to get the metal in a rush.

I wish I had your skill, fantastic work.

Re: BUILD: 1970 C10 LWB “Jumping Cholla”
 

You had me at LWB. Don't get me wrong, I like a well built short bed, but not everybody can date the short, cute little sister, haha. For some of us, the long bed is much more easily sought and found. They have their own charm.

The build plan sounds cool. I certainly get the 454 plan. But discovering the 400 would have me thinking about big block cubes in a small block package and weight. Can't go wrong either way.

Re: BUILD: 1970 C10 LWB “Jumping Cholla”
 

Thanks for the compliment!

Re: BUILD: 1970 C10 LWB “Jumping Cholla”
 

Not to disappoint you....but I've been leaning toward doing a SWB conversion ;) The sheet metal skills I've learned from the rust repairs has given me the confidence to tackle shortening the bedsides. I always wanted a SWB from the beginning, they're just harder to find and way more money upfront, so I settled for the taller sister with hopes of ditching her for the shorter sister with the better butt :lol:

As for the 454, if I didn't already have the complete ready to run motor in my garage, I probably would've done something with the 400SBC. I was pleasantly surprised to find it was a 400 when looking up the casting number. The boy and I will do something with it after this project is done (or close to it).

Re: BUILD: 1970 C10 LWB “Jumping Cholla”
 

After watching the Dbacks beat up on the Phillies in Game 6, I went out to the garage to see about making some new window channel. Looking forward to Game 7 of NLCS tonight.

I had bought (2) extra Inner Rocker Panels LMC PN 38-9041 when I first started on the Rocker replacement and didn't end up using them on the rockers. I actually cut 1-1/4" strips off them to use on the firewall top wire channel cap. Anyways, I still had them laying around and they already had a much larger "Z" channel bent in them so I started with that and made some cuts and bends. After a couple of scrap test on some 20ga, I got a good idea of where to clamp the metal in the vice and beat it to the shape I needed. I cut up some the LMC panels since it already had a near perfect match to the radius on the rear window and bent a single 90* to make the smaller Z to match the window channel. On my second adjustment on the thicker 18ga LMC metal, I nail it down and repeated the 90* bends on some more pieces. I think it turned out pretty good and should work for the couple of places I need to remove rust on.

Re: BUILD: 1970 C10 LWB “Jumping Cholla”
 

I'd say you got the contour right. Nice work using scraps.

Re: BUILD: 1970 C10 LWB “Jumping Cholla”
 

Thanks, I'm reading your build thread now, pretty cool history to it's start.

Re: BUILD: 1970 C10 LWB “Jumping Cholla”
 

I've been working on replacing sections of the window channel this past week and finally finished it yesterday. It wasn't too difficult and glad to have it checked off the rust list. Other parts of the channel have some minor surface rust that I will get cleaned off too. I got all the rust holes and missing metal (mostly on the vertical channel lip) removed and replaced on the bottom rail.

Re: BUILD: 1970 C10 LWB “Jumping Cholla”
 

After I got the bottom channel done, I moved on to the passenger bottom corner. These were a little bit more tricky since they had radius/dished corner.
Once I nailed down the process on the passenger side, I hit the repeat button for the drivers side. It took me a bit to figure out how to do the radius dish in the corner and settled on welding in a small piece and filling the edges with spot welds. Once I had the general shape, I took a carbide burr to it and got the final shape.

Re: BUILD: 1970 C10 LWB “Jumping Cholla”
 

Lastly, I got the gas filler neck opening shaved as well. I used the passenger side to help shape the contour of the patch. As an old trim carpenter I knew once said "Little caulk, little paint, make it what it ain't". Some body filler should help smooth all these patches out.

Passenger cab corner is the last piece to replace before sand blasting and epoxy. I cut took much off when I did the drivers side a few weeks ago. It probably doesn't need to be cut out, but there is some rusty edges, I already have the patch panel, and might as well at this point. Definitely only gonna cut out as little as possible. The drivers side gave me a bit of frustration getting it lined up correctly.

Re: BUILD: 1970 C10 LWB “Jumping Cholla”
 

Great idea with the inner rockers

Re: BUILD: 1970 C10 LWB-->SWB “Jumping Cholla”
 

I had mentioned in an earlier post about converting this LWB to a SWB. I moved the C10 into the garage on Thursday night and I started the middle frame surgery on Friday and finished it up on Saturday. The whole process went very well and I'm happy with how it turned out. I watched plenty of videos on YT and looked at threads here on how to do it and I thought this was the best way I saw it done. I took my time laying out the cut lines and cut short of the lines to give me plenty of metal to remove to get a perfect fit. After about 8 mock ups, I was happy with the fit. The boy and I spent a lot of time measuring the frame to make sure it was straight, level, square. Once all our diagonal frame measurements were good, I burned in the welds on the outer frame, alternating between sides and only doing 3-4 inch sections at a time. I sanded down all the welds on the outer frame and repeated the same process on the inner sides. I was pretty happy with the penetration from the inner welds that came through on the freshly cleaned outer. While those welds were cooling down, I cut up some fish plates to weld on the inside. I sanded down the inner frame welds and clamped on the fish plate and burned them in.