1982 swb c10 my first build

[lime1982]

Ok first of all I hope this forum is a bit different than another I have joined lol. I am pretty opened minded but it seemed on the other site if it wasn't a straight stock lmc build it got no respect. Ok enough of my rant. I purchased this truck through eBay memorial day weekend this year. Of course pictures looked awesome and it was a great truck, according to listing. I loved the way it looked and I was pressed for time. I drove 8 hours to pick her up and after a quick drive and look over in the dark I loaded her up and brought her home. after the first day of cruising around I knew the trans was weak but thought engine was in good shape was told it was a roller motor freshly built. I am no mechanic or Chevy guy I'll go ahead and get that out of the way but the square bodies have always been sexy to me so I figured I would get me one. My plans were to drive till fail on trans and go from there. well sure enough a few weeks after owning this beast the trans began slipping horrible. I weighed my options and decided on going with a TCI trans. Its the street rodder TH350version It was a package with a torque convertor trans cooler and all fluids included. The install went smooth however the topping off of fluid was a little bit of a issue but I will get to that later on. Well I drove with my fresh tranny about a week until Thanksgiving day to be exact and I felt a noticeable loss of power. getting the truck home I popped hood and checked spark plug wires anything noticeable after revving engine I developed a knock, a good one sounded like a bolt being slung around in the valve cover. I pulled valve cover and everything looked good so my problem is deeper in the engine . Oh well I figured now was as good of a time as any to tear the truck down and start over. I'm not sure what route I'm going to go I would love to bag the truck I am just not sure this is the right direction to go moneywise and experience wise with my first build. As of today I have pulled front cap and bed. My plans for the coming weekend are to pull cab and drivetrain. I am doing an a/c delete panel on the firewall. I know I can't budget in a new a/c system . I want to clean up firewall and rewire truck. The first order of business I Have decided is DJM upper and lower control arms and replace all steering components in the front. I am done typing here are a few pictures thank you whoever decides to follow my build I am sure ill have tons of questions.