1970 C10 LWB "Blu"
 

I guess its time to start my own build thread.

I got "blu" two weeks ago. I found her on craigslist and once I saw her knew I had to adopt her.

I was searching for an unmolested 64-72 southern truck (nothing registered north of NC- there is a huge difference in a lot of VA trucks as far as rust) with original paint and drivetrain. Blu was a three owner truck, staying within 12 miles of the original owner until I found her. 115K miles on the clock, original 350 4BBL, 3 on the tree Saginaw. A true farm truck with original paint, a few dents and dings but no bodywork anywhere. Only mods were dual exhaust, recovered bench seat and a Camaro steering wheel. Very clean underneath so I made the deal.

Here is the craigslist ad photo:

http://i780.photobucket.com/albums/y...ps95cff282.jpg

The interior:

http://i780.photobucket.com/albums/y...ps27346754.jpg

Loaded up for the trip to her new home:

http://i780.photobucket.com/albums/y...ps46dc7e24.jpg

And finally, taking up her bay in the garage (sorry honey, the Tahoe's going outside for a little while!):

http://i780.photobucket.com/albums/y...psd9c40fc5.jpg

The plan is to do a mechanical restoration (which should be easy as she's a driver now) and freshen up the exterior and interior while maintaining her classic patina. They are only original once! And of course the farm truck is going to lose the cowboy hat and overalls and get a little more contemporary by getting lowered. My bank account will never be the same.....

Re: 1970 C10 LWB "Blu"
 

Looks prety solid ,congrats .

Re: 1970 C10 LWB "Blu"
 

Thanks! If I'm home my wife knows I'm either in the garage working on Blu or on the computer looking at parts for Blu.... Its going to be an obsession for a little while. Seems like I'm in good company on this forum though....

Re: 1970 C10 LWB "Blu"
 

Once I got it home I started snooping around and cleaning up. It had the typical cowl packed full of leaves and pine needles:

http://i780.photobucket.com/albums/y...ps3410d6cd.jpg

And as it was a legit farm truck, everything underneath was covered in copious amounts of NC clay:

http://i780.photobucket.com/albums/y...psa8b61048.jpg

The floor pan, frame, cab mounts and everything underneath is in very good shape though (one of the reasons I brought her home). Super clean floorpans and inner rockers:

http://i780.photobucket.com/albums/y...ps4ed9a3f4.jpg

Really solid underneath:

http://i780.photobucket.com/albums/y...ps7d249ef1.jpg

very solid cab mounts and supports underneath:

http://i780.photobucket.com/albums/y...psdf81cac6.jpg

and really clean floor pan:

http://i780.photobucket.com/albums/y...psc648d54e.jpg

The only rust of concern isn't of much concern at all. Very minor pinholes in the outer rockers and cab corners. Some minor pinholes in the bottom of the kick panels at the floor and the usual bottoms of the front fenders. Nothing that needs to be fixed now though I am thinking if one of my painters can match the patina'd white, it might get fixed sooner than I originally thought.

Re: 1970 C10 LWB "Blu"
 

Great start. All these new finds is pissing me off. I gotta find me mine. . . .

Re: 1970 C10 LWB "Blu"
 

I would think you've got a good truck hunting ground in TX unless they've already been picked clean and hauled north!

There seems to be old C-10s in every second yard out here in rural NC but like a buddy said "Most of those owners don't know how to use the internet to sell them so they'll never end up on Craigslist."

Re: 1970 C10 LWB "Blu"
 

Understand. So far the ones I've gone to see are a bit too far gone for what I want, and they're pricing them out of my range. I found one today, it's about 5hrs from me, if it's still available this weekend I might make a run for it. Unmolested original paint. . . . .

Re: 1970 C10 LWB "Blu"
 

You got extremely lucky on the small amount of damage on your truck ,mine was a North Carolina truck too but it was eat up pretty bad in the typical cab areas . Congrats again ,you did good .

Re: 1970 C10 LWB "Blu"
 

Good lookin Truck!! Keep the pics coming......:thumbs:

Re: 1970 C10 LWB "Blu"
 

I like this truck for some reason. good start. Lets keep on that progress!

Re: 1970 C10 LWB "Blu"
 

Thanks guys- this forum is a great source of inspiration to build something great.
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Re: 1970 C10 LWB "Blu"
 

What a great looking project. Keep us posted

Re: 1970 C10 LWB "Blu"
 

The project continues with the initial cleanup and evaluation. I brought home a 3,800 PSI pressure washer and spent last weekend degreasing and blasting off the mud and rust from underneath.

http://i780.photobucket.com/albums/y...ps635d8c27.jpg

I got whatever undercoating was on the inner fenders, front and rear and spent hours with degreaser, scrapers and toothbrushes detail cleaning everything underneath. I put a solid 14 hrs into it. I told my wife - "they don't show you this part of the project on the hot-rod build TV shows." (notice the brand new radials- I installed a new interstate battery too- both were cooked from sitting too long at her last home):

http://i780.photobucket.com/albums/y...psd6507dda.jpg

On Sunday I decided to finally go after that terrible farm bumper hanging off the hind end. What an eyesore.

http://i780.photobucket.com/albums/y...ps9a66ff5d.jpg

Two days of soaking it with PB Blaster finally allowed me to get the bolts off with an impact gun. Then I noticed some idiot had welded it on as well. Whoever did it wasn't much of fabricator as far as looks but he was a hell of a good welder. There was a good bead on the three sides of the bracket.

http://i780.photobucket.com/albums/y...ps048534ed.jpg

It took two grinding wheels, an hour or so, a gallon or so of drinking water (it was 100 degrees with the humidity) and one ruined t-shirt (full of holes now from sparks) to get it off but it came off. I think the truck looks 100% better now even without a rear bumper. The plan is to get a factory chrome one on there. I'll have to get the brackets, tag set and everything since all the stuff I cut off was homemade. Since that'll be $$$, I'll just hang the tag underneath ghetto style while the bumper goes on the wish list.

http://i780.photobucket.com/albums/y...ps581bdd76.jpg

After a good bath the white came out pretty nice and the blue brightened up.
I'm tempted now to rush the replacement of the rockers and cab corners IF and ONLY IF my painter can match the patina of the rest of the white. (Note the black sky in the background- I was racing against summer thunderstorms every afternoon)

http://i780.photobucket.com/albums/y...ps7c8172e4.jpg

I found a bit more rust with the pressure washer. Some minor holes in the bed around the wheel wells at the bed floor. Maybe another one or two in the cab corners and rockers but I was working the metal deliberately hard with the pressure washer to see how bad things were. Still not bad.

Re: 1970 C10 LWB "Blu"
 

Even with the new stuff you found ,you are way ahead of what I started with rustwise .Hopefully the bodyshop is almost finished with the rust repair on my cab. Good luck and keep the pics coming .

Re: 1970 C10 LWB "Blu"
 

Very nice looking truck. Congratulations on getting it and bringing it home.
I was wondering if these trucks fit on a UHaul trailer, your pic proves it does!

Re: 1970 C10 LWB "Blu"
 

yes, but you can see- its a tight fit!

Re: 1970 C10 LWB "Blu"
 

Progress is going good. My work schedule has me working from home this week so I am getting some extra time on Blu this week.

Yesterday I removed the old dash pad and prepped for the new one.

http://i780.photobucket.com/albums/y...ps675bade9.jpg

It looked like the blue between the dash pad and the windshield has already been messed with so I figured I would freshen it up (and paint it black like I think I saw on AJ's!). Got it masked and prepped (just cleaned really, really well) and then sprayed it with rattlecan plastidip.

http://i780.photobucket.com/albums/y...psfcd4cbbe.jpg

I am happy with how it came out- its not perfect but I can redo it when I change out the windshield. This stuff is a rubber-type of coating and you can actually peel it right off and have the original finish intact. The matte black goes well with the dash pad I think.

http://i780.photobucket.com/albums/y...ps0dfd7f12.jpg

I cleaned up the instrument panel/cluster and changed out all the bulbs to LED. It looks good at night. Cleaned my headlight switch and sanded the contacts so the dimmer works like it should. Still need to finish cleaning out my heater box (to make sure there are no more leaves) and hook up the new hoses to the new dash defrost vents. The dash is just screaming for the correct steering wheel now....

I cut my screen for the cowl. I duct-taped it to hold it in place but when I installed it, the front edge was sagging down. I pulled it and used both silicone and JB Weld to "glue" the screen to the cowl. It came out nice- thanks to you guys on here for the DIY tip.

http://i780.photobucket.com/albums/y...ps26ee3adc.jpg

So the cowl is back on. I reinstalled the wiper arms and put on new blades (wish they were the original style metal ones but oh well, its a driver). I finally got to test the wiper motor and washer pump (both functioning properly). That's another couple of tasks scratched off the long list.

Today I'm treating some rusted areas with POR-15 and removing a cracked exhaust manifold..... When the POR-15 I applied on the cab floor dries, I can start fitting my new flooring.

Re: 1970 C10 LWB "Blu"
 

looks like a nice find. And good progress getting things started!

Re: 1970 C10 LWB "Blu"
 

Looks like a great start! Super clean for age
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Re: 1970 C10 LWB "Blu"
 

Thanks for the kind words guys....

So far I'm pretty pleased with it. I've not found anything I missed during the buying (except for the cracked exhaust manifold but that is minor).
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Re: 1970 C10 LWB "Blu"
 

The mechanical restoration continues... The goal being to be 100% functional mechanically, then start making it pretty... It'll be a while before this ugly duckling is a looker :lol:

I pulled the heater box (inside and out), cleaned out the crazy amount of leaves and debris, washed everything inside and out and then put it back together with all new seals.

http://i780.photobucket.com/albums/y...ps68eeb58b.jpg

I'm glad I went through the trouble of taking the entire system apart- it was pretty nasty and had a ton of dirt in it from the farm-truck days.

http://i780.photobucket.com/albums/y...ps077caab6.jpg

When I got it back together I flushed and refilled the system with fresh coolant. New thermostat, rad cap etc... Trying to build something reliable here...

Yesterday I got started on the door seals. New channels, fuzzies, etc. Driver's door in done - what a pain. It looks and works great but man was that a lot of work. The passenger side should go a lot quicker now that I know what I am doing (factory service manual has little to no detail on the job).

http://i780.photobucket.com/albums/y...ps0de5648f.jpg

Gave everything a really good cleanup while it was apart and lubed the hell out of the window crank and door latch/handle/lock assemblies. Everything works like new on the drivers side now and the door is a lot quieter when I have to slam it for the new weatherstrip on the cab....

http://i780.photobucket.com/albums/y...ps09c3781d.jpg

Re: 1970 C10 LWB "Blu"
 

looking nice so far, subscribing

Re: 1970 C10 LWB "Blu"
 

Looks sweet man, Im in!! Keep up the good work

Re: 1970 C10 LWB "Blu"
 

Great looking truck and great thread!

Re: 1970 C10 LWB "Blu"
 

thank ya, thank ya!

Re: 1970 C10 LWB "Blu"
 

Yesterday was a HUGE day for Blu. Second only to when I brought it/her home. (seems to have too many nuts to be a she but I'd rather call it a she than a he)

I fitted and installed the carpet. Cleaned and installed the seatbelts. Carpet looks good. I put in some nice shiny new doorsills from GMCPaul that fit really nice. Holes lined up perfectly. (the originals were just too rough to put back in with the new carpet).

http://i780.photobucket.com/albums/y...psc1c9947f.jpg

Then, to my wife's joy, Steve C (local forum member) came over and helped me put the bench seat back in the truck. This is the first time I'd been able to sit in the truck since I brought it home. I forgot how small it was. Steve was laughing. The cab is tiny. I may have to turn this into an extended cab just to get some leg room.

Then............we took it for a ride. First maiden voyage- I had only driven it onto and off the trailer and into the garage. Never left first gear... My wife was good with Steve coming along as she hasn't seen the truck drive yet either and was skeptical over whether or not we'd make it back alive.

The truck did great. The transmission functioned properly, shifter was good, clutch needs adjustment (all the friction zone seems to be way too high on the pedal). Brakes were........ well........ no power brakes so lets just say it stopped. (I haven't mentioned it on the thread but I did check the brakes right out. New drums on the back, fronts just turned, new shoes all around, new lines, I cleaned everything and inspected it, the brake fluid looks new, nice and clear and it has decent pedal). I've never driven anything without power brakes so I think this'll take some getting used to. Even my '67 Camaro had PB. The suspension was really, really soft, especially since this truck is spec'd with the optional heavy duty coils, front and rear. Needs shocks, too bouncy and the steering wandered just a little - I'll have to see if I can tighten it up a tad in the steering gear box. Steering wheel (that goofy Camaro wheel) isn't mounted straight. Its nearly 180 degrees out which is annoying....

Gauges all worked, speedo worked fine. Got up to temp normally (no leaks anywhere), oil pressure was normal on the gauge..

The exhaust is little annoying- its got factory manifolds (including one I had to replace) and dual exhaust (wimpy looking 2") but no mufflers- its got some kind of weird resonating tubes I've never seen before- they are too long to be glasspacks. (this pic shows the additional rot I found on the cab corner expediting its replacement)

http://i780.photobucket.com/albums/y...pscd596cb9.jpg

Its not obnoxiously loud, but on decel there can be quite a bit of popping out the back at higher RPM (downshifting), it sounds like my harley. New exhaust with some decent mufflers (I like dynomax) is on the short list.

Anyway, we drove around town for about 30 minutes showing each other all the C series trucks we knew were in the immediate area. Stopped it a few times. Got gas.... It ran good.

http://i780.photobucket.com/albums/y...ps698c03e7.jpg

The clutch pedal was sticking to the floor a bit so I lubed it up when we got back to the garage. I thought that fixed it but it didn't. It must be binding up somewhere so I have to find where.

I took it out again last night to church and it ran great there - my 7 yr old rode shotgun and loved it. Then after church we went out to dinner. On that drive it started acting up - it stalled twice and didn't want to start (both times in intersections of course). Then it didn't want to start when we left the restaurant for home. I think the float is sticking in the carb. It has a "new" reman quadrajet on it but it sat for about 9 months so the bet is everything is gummed up and sticking. I'll get a few cans of carb cleaner and a rebuild kit and go through it. I found some oil underneath it this morning and it looks like the rear main. Nuts. Not something I can do a temp fix on until I pull the engine out this fall/winter to rebuild. I'll have to keep a cookie sheet with me for when I park in friend's driveways! A small broom and dustpan for all the rust that falls out when I slam the doors too! :lol: Seriously, if I have to keep slamming the doors the way I do, I'm getting different brand seals.

Anyway- she is rolling so that kicks ass. I have the driver that I was after. Now I can put some miles on it and let her tell me what she needs.

Re: 1970 C10 LWB "Blu"
 

Sweet man, I love it. Well done, interior carpet looks great.

Re: 1970 C10 LWB "Blu"
 

Thanks, it came out pretty good.

Now that its rolling, it desperately needs a static drop to change both the altitude and attitude of the truck. Right now it still looks like a ratty old farm truck. A nice drop will instantly make it a cool old truck.

Re: 1970 C10 LWB "Blu"
 

Congrats on the drive. Sounds like after a little tinkering she'll be ready for years of loyalty. The carpet looks fantastic too. Any necessary tips you can share sinse you beat me to the carpet?
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Re: 1970 C10 LWB "Blu"
 

Looking really good. Nice work.

What's this about the cab being small though? Do you have your bench seat all the way back against the tank? I'm 6' 270 with broad shoulders and long legs, and fit just fine with the stock bench and steering wheel/column. If you need belly room, I've heard of guys pulling the steering column in towards the engine. You might just be comparing it to modern trucks, that are SUV's with a small bed. Don't do that. Appreciate it for what it is.

Also, I meant to post this photo on this page, but mistakenly added it to a different page. I saw this car yesterday at a car show. I think your truck would look great clear coated

http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r...ps449ac4d0.jpg
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Re: 1970 C10 LWB "Blu"
 

I lined up the carpet on the drivers side first- against the side of the cab, and had my wife hold it in place while I stretched it out to the other side to make sure it was over far enough. When I confirmed it was centered OK, I put the driver side door sill plate in to fix the carpet in place. Then I stretched it all the way over to the passenger side tightly and then put that door sill in. I found my seat bolt holes with a screwdriver from underneath the cab (which might be a problem on yours as low as it is). The mold of the carpet fit over the shape of the floor pretty good. It's a little wrinkled over the trans hump which is disappointing but its not too bad. Other than the gas pedal not fitting over the ball studs now there weren't any real issues.

Re: 1970 C10 LWB "Blu"
 

No belly problems but I'm 6'-6" and there just isn't much leg room.... Its alright, I'm not planning on any cross-country trips with it.

That bug does look cool!

Re: 1970 C10 LWB "Blu"
 

Lol. Ok, 6'6"... You get a pass to say the interior is small
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Re: 1970 C10 LWB "Blu"
 

Been working on the truck whenever I have time- been travelling a lot for work..

Here's the latest (nothing really picture-worthy), mostly mickey-mouse type of stuff:

Gave up on the quadrajet (the donor carb was junk and corroded beyond being of any use, even after soaking for a week in carb cleaner) and bought an edelbrock 600 cfm, vac secondaries, electric choke. Autozone had the carb in stock and it was supposed to be a direct fit but I start reading through the book at home and discover I need an adapter plate for it to mount on the stock intake which of course needs to be ordered. Grrr.. so the truck will sit for the weekend.

I took the time to finish cleaning the backside of the intake and engine and got it detailed pretty good. Nothing but bare cast iron and what's left of the original chevy orange paint now.

I installed the window seals on the passenger side. Much easier. The driver's side was learning side and was a PITA. The passenger side went it in less than half the time and with a minimum of profanity. I am still having to slam the doors with ridiculous force to get them closed. If this keeps up I am trying a different seal. This is embarrassing and unnecessarily beating the heck out of the truck.

I had to drill out one of the bottom screws on the door panels on each side (seized and then stripped the head, even with the impact driver). The driver side drilled out clean and the nut was re-useable. Not so lucky on the passenger side- In the battle to get the screw out, the nut welded/tacked to the backside of the door skin came loose. I need to "glue" a nut on the backside maybe to snug a screw in there. I got replacement screws from LMC. I also got some escutcheons for the door handles and window cranks. They seem to work well but look goofy- they look like big plastic donuts with an odd shade of blue. I'm keeping them on for now as they eliminate any door rattles (important with all the door slamming!) but will get something else when I go to black panels. So for now, the doors are freshened up and done.

I bought an aftermarket lap belt from LMC so I can go three wide on the bench. It doesn't look factory but will do the job for now. Got black too, as that is the way the interior is going so its mismatched, but oh well. It was a PITA to install with the bench seat in, even with my gorilla length arms.

I got my headlight bezels painted flat black. Look nice.... Makes the grill look older... Cleaned up my grounds on the headlight wiring. One side was loose. Headlights are both coming on with full brightness now. Check that off the list.

I drilled out, tapped and replaced by gas pedal ball studs. I got the spacing too far off (it was tough to drill out the broken screws) so I had to elongate one of the holes and put a nut on the other side of the firewall. I spaced up the studs with some washers to compensate for the added thickness of the new carpet and underpad and the pedal seems to be good now.

I'm using my tap and die set a lot on this truck... Glad I have a good one (MAC Tools kit).

Finally yesterday I made an attempt to change the transmission tailsection extension gasket and rear seal. Everything came apart easy except I quickly learned that the tailsection will not come off the tranny body without opening it up (should have googled that first dang-it). Bolted it all back up and refilled it with new gear oil. I hope the gasket that is in there doesn't leak worse now or that tranny has to come out. Bummer... The factory service manual isn't very helpful for this truck. There is very little detail or even mention of most jobs I have had to do. I hate to say it but I might need to get the chiltons book too.

I am running out of these basic maintenance/road worthiness issues to do on the truck (not even sure what to do on it today- my wife is shocked). I need to start driving it....

I think I'll drill out my factory air cleaner today. I am going to retain it to keep everything looking stock but want better airflow so I am going to drill out the bottom and the firewall side to open it up.

Re: 1970 C10 LWB "Blu"
 

Not much going on with the truck lately- been working on the driveability and getting the bugs out. I gave up on the quadrajet and put on an edelbrock carb. As soon as the carb got fuel the truck fired up and ran great. The first test drive (picking up my little guy from after-school care) went great with no problems. I got brave that evening and took the truck out to a church event. Ran fine there. Not so good coming back. On the drive home it started popping and farting under load. I'd have to back off the go-pedal and let it clear then go again. It kept getting worse and worse until it finally died a mile from the house. Crank-crank-crank but not even trying to fire.

I got a buddy to tow me back to the house with his suburban (at least it was another chevy). Starting fluid wouldn't do anything so that told me I had an ignition problem. I had 12V at the distributor (HEI) but nothing at the plugs. I guessed the coil was gone so pulled the cap to remove it. I figured I'd inspect the rest. Underneath the rotor was complete crap. Corrosion everywhere. The mechanical advance was seized from rust, the vacuum advance wasn't working. I'm surprised it ran as well as it did as long as it did. The previous owner put a new cap, rotor and wires on a distributor that was completely shot.

It was so far gone I just ordered a new one from Jegs. Should be at the house when I get back from this work trip and we'll see what's next.... I'm going to be nervous about going out in it without a chase vehicle (my wife) for a little while.

Oh well, that's why I got it- to work on it. I just wasn't planning on so much exercise from pushing it so much (off the road, in and out of the garage....)

Re: 1970 C10 LWB "Blu"
 

And hey- good news! My custom painter buddy saw the truck and said they could match the patina when I replace the rockers and cab corners. He's got a satin clear that he says will preserve the existing finish without adding any shine. Sounds like a winner.....

Re: 1970 C10 LWB "Blu"
 

New distributor is on. Once I had the timing right (its been a longggg time since I did a distributor swap and I was out too many teeth), it fired right up. I got brave and took the truck out and it ran good. I thought I heard some pinging under load so I checked the manual for the timing spec (I had put it at 8 degrees when I set it). Factory spec for my engine is 0 degrees so I backed it down to 2 and its much better. Fixed an exhaust leak off the RS manifold and quieted that down. Went for another ride today and apart from finding a minor fuel leak at the pump fittings, all was good.

I drilled out my factory air cleaner everywhere its not visible (back side by the firewall and underneath) to improve air flow but still look stock. I spent way too much time wetsanding it with 400 paper and spray bombed it with Plastikote Hot Rod Black Lacquer. It came out pretty good. I need to get some factory decals to finish it off. Having some new parts on there is making me anxious to pull the engine, freshen it up internally and really make it look purty under the hood.

I'm going to keep driving it now, get it reliable enough to go anywhere, anytime and just work on little things here and there. I have to slow down the spending for a bit until I am sure I won't need any more mechanical stuff. Like said elsewhere on the board. I don't want to be a dumbass and blow my budget on new marker light lenses and decals only to have something else go on the engine. I'm starting a big, extended duration project next week at work where I can bank some extra money that will go towards lowering with spindles, coils and blocks.

http://i780.photobucket.com/albums/y...psd08ac28f.jpg

http://i780.photobucket.com/albums/y...ps51449e8a.jpg

Re: 1970 C10 LWB "Blu"
 

The latest.... Chased after a misfire/stumble under load with a set of new wires and plugs this morning. Ran the wires behind the manifolds. It was a huge pain in the rump but looks great finished. Still a bit of a bird nest up by the distributor (why don't the wires ever come in the proper length?) but I think I can straighten it out some more. Need to replace that crappy looking temporary fuel line and the vacuum advance hose now.

http://i780.photobucket.com/albums/y...ps96dd81b1.jpg

http://i780.photobucket.com/albums/y...ps6f9a17ef.jpg

Test drove it and its running PERFECT. Nice and smooth throughout the RPM range in all three gears. If it didn't leak oil as much as it does I would leave it alone and just drive it.

Next step is to back off the parts spending a bit and just drive it. I've got about a hundred miles on it now since the last problem so maybe I've got the bugs worked out. I'm starting a major power plant outage tomorrow that will have me out of town for weeks but will give me a chance to bank a bunch of extra money. Money to lower it or get ready for the rebuild. Maybe some of both...

Re: 1970 C10 LWB "Blu"
 

Cool looking truck. I like the idea of keeping the patina like it is.
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Re: 1970 C10 LWB "Blu"
 

Nice base to start with!! Looks super clean!!