Building My Grandfather's 64 C10

[64C10Fleet]

Originally Posted by CRGRS 66

Nice!!!

Originally Posted by Bomp

Looks really nice. Liked the video too.

Thanks guys!

I'm pretty motivated for now, hope I can keep up the momentum. My original goal was to have everything finished by end of 2013, but I moved the goal to end of April 2013. Plan to take it up to Ocean City, MD in May.

[64C10Fleet]

Finished patching up the floors on both sides last week.

I rounded up most of the loose parts I had sitting around the garage and shed needing a black satin finish and prepped and painted them all over the last few days.

Did a little harness work, as well. I wanted to wrap the harness in new electrical tape and it quickly became several hours worth of work as I found quite a few splices in need of repair.

Ordered my carrier bearing and all new universal joints yesterday, they should be in this afternoon.

Only one pic for today. I forgot I still had a set of these headlights a friend gave me to test several years ago. This was a prototype LED headlight designed for use in military vehicles. If memory serves, they never went to final production. I think they will look really cool mounted up front. Thoughts?

[jcramsey]

Nice work...doing a great job on you grandad's old truck! I'm just down the road on John's Island, maybe I'll see ya around town on your way to the beach one day.

[64C10Fleet]

Originally Posted by jcramsey

Nice work...doing a great job on you grandad's old truck! I'm just down the road on John's Island, maybe I'll see ya around town on your way to the beach one day.

Hey, thanks! There are a few of us on here from the Charleston area, maybe we can all get together sometime and talk trucks.

[McMurphy]

Your headlight idea is intriguing....

[64C10Fleet]

Originally Posted by McMurphy

Your headlight idea is intriguing....

They run off of 6,12, or 24 volt. Standard mil spec connectors on the back. I remember them having about a .5 second delay in switching from low to high beam, there is a piece inside the housing that actually moves to refocus the light to be brighter when you switch to high beam.

[Zane M]

Just read through your build.
Congrats on getting your Grandpa's truck. When mine died, his wife wouldn't sell his to me(but did sell it to a family friend???).
Looking forward to the rest of your progress.

[Ta2Don]

Just read thru your build... Welcome aboard... Great story... Great progress...subscribed!!!
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[jcramsey]

Originally Posted by 64C10Fleet

Hey, thanks! There are a few of us on here from the Charleston area, maybe we can all get together sometime and talk trucks.

sounds good, i always enjoy meeting new car/truck people!

[Dinos63]

duude just went though the whole thread very cool congrats!

[64C10Fleet]

Originally Posted by Zane M

Just read through your build.
Congrats on getting your Grandpa's truck. When mine died, his wife wouldn't sell his to me(but did sell it to a family friend???).
Looking forward to the rest of your progress.

That stinks. I wanted the old K5 Blazer he had, too. Unfortunately, my uncle loaned it to one of his employees and he totaled it.

Originally Posted by Ta2Don

Just read thru your build... Welcome aboard... Great story... Great progress...subscribed!!!
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Thanks, slow but steady here. Seems like there are a ton of little things that keep coming up and slowing me down. The thought of it being fully restored and drivable keeps me going.

Originally Posted by Dinos63

duude just went though the whole thread very cool congrats!

Thanks Dino, I've checked out some of your builds in the past. Very nice work, reminds me of some of the stuff I used to do. I had a truck that was featured in Minitruckin' back in 2005, seems like that was 20 years ago. I body dropped a bunch of Rangers and S10s, and even an Oldsmobile Delta 88 before that. I miss those days sometimes.

[64C10Fleet]

New parts keep arriving. Didn't realize until this afternoon that one of the universal joints is a different size than the others. Looks like the driveshafts were modified at some point.

I took a trip to the parts store and bought new seals for the rearend, along with new rear drums, wheel cylinders, and all the other rear brake parts.

I spent the day cleaning the grease and dirt off the rearend prepping to paint. I hope to install the new seals and paint it tomorrow. Well, paint the majority of it anyway. I'm going to paint the center section up to the trailing arms. I'll finish the rest when the pivots for the trailing arms I built come in.

[Low Elco]

Great Build! The sound deadener is called Peel-n-Seal. Lowes in the roofing Dept. Like 8" wide in the store or you can order bigger online. Works awesome, I have 3 rolls worth in Yeller. Keep it up!

[chevyrestoguy]

Peel and Seal works great. I recently did the area behind the dash in my '64, and I bought the stuff on a whim thinking that it might work. After I laid the first piece in and rolled it nice and flat, I was blown away. Honestly, the stuff works just as good as some of the expensive stuff out there. And, your friendly neighborhood Lowes store always has it in stock.

[64C10Fleet]

Originally Posted by Low Elco

Great Build! The sound deadener is called Peel-n-Seal. Lowes in the roofing Dept. Like 8" wide in the store or you can order bigger online. Works awesome, I have 3 rolls worth in Yeller. Keep it up!

Originally Posted by chevyrestoguy

Peel and Seal works great. I recently did the area behind the dash in my '64, and I bought the stuff on a whim thinking that it might work. After I laid the first piece in and rolled it nice and flat, I was blown away. Honestly, the stuff works just as good as some of the expensive stuff out there. And, your friendly neighborhood Lowes store always has it in stock.

Thanks for your input guys, really appreciate it.

I did some research yesterday and I read a lot of posts on different forums where people complained about Peel n Seal melting and/or coming loose in hot climates. Others talked about how great the stuff worked and seemed really happy with it. I live in SC and the inside temperature of the vehicle easily reaches 130 degrees in the summer, so the negative comments concerning heat left me thinking it might not be the best option for me. In the end, I don't want to hear anything inside the vehicle; I want to be able to hold a conversation without having to shout.

I called up a good friend that runs a stereo shop and asked for his opinion. We talked for a while about my end goal for sound deadening and came up with what he says is the best solution. So... he recommends I buy two bulk packs of Dynamat to do my firewall, floor, rear cab wall, and inside of the doors. He said I should also put in the "bubble wrap stuff" (I can't remember the official name) and jute for the carpet.

Seems I always start out thinking about doing things the cheap and easy way on this truck and then end up going the exact opposite direction, haha. At least I'll get the material at cost this time, can't complain there.

[64C10Fleet]

My wife and I celebrated our 11 year wedding anniversary today. I think we were even more excited about dropping the final payment on my daily driver. No truck payment equals more money to put in the C10.

It was 83 degrees here in Summerville, SC today. I took advantage of the beautiful weather and put a full day in on the truck. My youngest daughter and I took a parts run this morning that lasted over 2 hours. We had to go to several different stores to find everything I was looking for. I picked up the rest of the parts to complete my rear brakes (shoes and self adjusters) and just about everything I needed to complete things under the hood. Got an upper and lower radiator hose, battery and cables, throttle return spring and bracket, oil pressure switch, exhaust manifold donuts and downpipes, factory replacement terminals, and a bunch of brackets to hold down brake lines and wiring... it was like Christmas all over again.

This evening I jumped online and ordered the inner fender seals, firewall grommets, and radiator core support mount set from Brothers.

And as if all of that wasn't enough, I logged into LMC and ordered new bushings for the factory panhard, heat sheilds for my spark plug wires and all the hold down brackets, a heater seal kit, and one of those universal coolant overflow kits.

Best part... I got all that stuff for under $300. Well, the battery was under warranty so I just had them swap it out.

Got the hood hinges and springs installed today, along with most of the stuff I bought for under the hood. Also started on the rear brakes. I finished installing the shoes and all the new hardware, but the drums seem really tight, even with the adjusters all the way in. I think I might take the drums and have them turned tomorrow morning.

[notsolo]

For sound deadening I used this( www.lobucrod.com ) over the top of Rattle trap. Truck is looking sweet.

[64C10Fleet]

Originally Posted by notsolo

For sound deadening I used this( www.lobucrod.com ) over the top of Rattle trap. Truck is looking sweet.

Hey! Thanks for sharing!!

[64C10Fleet]

I realized last week how much I've neglected the forum over the last couple of weeks and made a promise to myself to post an update by the end of the weekend, so here goes...

For the last couple of weeks I've been going through the wiring under the hood and in the cab and fixing all the half-ass splices. I replaced a lot of the terminal ends with some factory replacements I found at a local auto parts store, had to buy the special crimpers and all that stuff.

I finished rebuilding my heater box and installed it on the firewall along with all the new grommets, weatherstripping for the fenders, and new core support mounting set.

Sorry for all the crap pics, it was getting dark and I was in a hurry.



Last weekend I decided to try to tackle the exhaust. I bought (2) 2.5" U bends and a 10' section of 2.5" pipe and a couple hangers and u-bolts and came up with this...




I read a lot of posts discussing running the exhaust on the outside of the frame rails and decided to go that route. Next weekend I plan to install (2) 40 series Flowmasters and run the pipes out the side, just in front of the rear tires.

Out of everything I've done in the last couple of weeks, I think this is the coolest. Maybe because this old gas tank brought back a lot of old memories.



When I was 14, my dad brought home my first car on a rollback. My dad was a plumber and traded a new toilet, and the cost to install, for a '65 Ford Falcon. My dad's first car was also a '65 Ford Falcon, so we were both excited about the project. I busted my butt on that car for over a year. It was a rust bucket, but we replaced all the brakes and did a few things to the engine to make it reliable. Just before I turned 16, my dad bought me a Jeep and sold the car. I think he was afraid something that old wasn't the right choice for a brand new driver. You know, no power brakes, no seat belts, the list goes on...

At some point, we decided to buy a new fuel tank for it. When my dad sold it, we had not installed the tank and he decided to keep it and sell it. The guy that bought the car wasn't interested in the tank, he just bought it to use the body panels.

Two weeks ago, I was reading through the forum and found where a few guys were using the same gas tank in their trucks for rear mount. That same night, my dad called me and said, "Hey, I bet you'll never believe this, but I found that old gas tank for the Falcon in the back of my shop when I was cleaning it out today. It doesn't have any rust on it, so I decided to put it on Craigslist and see if anyone was interested." I told my dad about how I was just looking at Falcon tanks online for my truck and he told me he would bring it down with him when he came this weekend.

I spent this afternoon installing the gas tank, modifying the stock Falcon fuel sender to match the C10's fuel gauge, and running fuel lines. I guess I won't complain about my parents keeping old stuff from now on, hehe.

Oh, and notice my trailing arms still have not been swapped for the new ones I built, grrrrr. I have been waiting on the front pivots to arrive for over a month it seems. On back order everywhere!! Summit is supposed to ship this week, I'll keep my fingers crossed.

[jcramsey]

Lookin good man....awesome that your dad still had that tank. Keep it up!
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[64C10Fleet]

Originally Posted by jcramsey

Lookin good man....awesome that your dad still had that tank. Keep it up!
Posted via Mobile Device

Thanks!!

Finally finished up the wiring under the hood last night. And I turned the engine over for the first time in the truck. Really excited about starting it in the truck for the first time this weekend!! I just need to clean a few things up and make sure everything is anchored properly. Might try to fab up a new alternator bracket this evening.

[64C10Fleet]

Wow, where to begin!? I really neglected updating this thread for a while.

I'll start from the last post...

I got a 30 day notice from my job on January 31, my last day was March 2. I had another job lined up to start almost immediately, but I changed my mind. I made a deal with my wife. We decided we would pay off all the bills (excluding the house) and I would take some time to build my truck.

I think one of the first pieces I worked on since last post was the radiator shroud. I wanted to build a fiberglass shroud because the shroud that came in the truck was a hillbilly fix that should have been tossed a long time ago. Looked like they took the original shroud and riveted some pieces of aluminum siding to it. Here's a shot of the shroud during buildup, it actually turned out really well in the end.



After I installed the shroud, it was time to start the truck up to idle and fill the trans with new fluid. This is where things went south. I decided in my infinite wisdom when doing the engine build that I would not have the trans rebuilt. Bad idea. I finished up the brake lines and began attempting to fill the trans. Trans would go into reverse, but not drive. I pulled it and dropped it off at the trans shop for rebuild, Friday, one week ago. The guy I chose to do the rebuild has been in the business forever. He lauged when I dropped it off and said, "Man, this is gonna be fun. I don't think I've built one of these in 30 years."

The next day, Saturday, the family and I drove up to Myrtle Beach for the Pee Dee Street Rodders car show. Before I go any further, they had a really great turnout this year!! I didn't get a chance to walk around and look at everything because I had three nagging women in tow and I spent a good bit of my time at the Tommy's Pickup Parts booth. Here's a few shots from the show...









There was a little bit of everything at the show, very impressive.

I ordered all of my sheet metal that day and walked away with a few pieces to get me started. I told Tommy I would drive up to NC this past Friday to get the rest of the stuff. I did, but on Tuesday I decided to order all of the remaining parts needed to finish my truck. Tommy had a truck load for me this when I got there. He and the family were great to work with and I don't think I'll shop anywhere else from now on.

[64C10Fleet]

...Okay, so last Monday I sent out the first shipment of trim for straightening and polishing. GKing Polishing in Indiana is probably the best I've come across over the years. Greg does a really great job, so of course I wanted him to bang out my grill, side trim, and all the other little pieces around the truck. If anyone needs his contact info, let me know and I'll hook you up. I'll post pics when I get everything back.

On Tuesday, I dropped my seat off for upholstery.

And I also got the first of my small pieces back from paint this week. Plan is to cut everything in, do all the small pieces, and then do all the bodywork and block the sides while everything is together. Keeping with the theme of driveway building, we decided to paint the truck in the driveway, too. Here's the first of the parts...





Not bad for the old driveway.

I started working on another sleeve, as if I didn't have enough going on with the truck. My buddy knocked this out in about 4 hours. Uncle Sam wearing a gas mask and the National Ensign. I'll go back for more in a couple of weeks.



I got my transmission back yesterday, plan is to install it Monday or Tuesday and get this thing moving under it's own power again. I'm sure I'll need to do at least one celebratory burnout.

Oh, and I got my caps in for my wheels this week. I wasn't sure if I liked them when I saw them online, but I think they look good on the truck.



I have a ton of pictures of rusted metal from where I began installing the new rockers, but I'll spare you.

Hope you are all well!!

[dantimdad]

Great build!

I have a 65 falcon as well.

What did you do to the fuel sending unit to make it work with the chevy gauge?

I was planning on using a falcon tank and couldn't figure that part out so I ditched the idea. If I could make it work it would save a bunch of money.

Thanks,
Steven

[64C10Fleet]

Originally Posted by dantimdad

Great build!

I have a 65 falcon as well.

What did you do to the fuel sending unit to make it work with the chevy gauge?

I was planning on using a falcon tank and couldn't figure that part out so I ditched the idea. If I could make it work it would save a bunch of money.

Thanks,
Steven

Man, I just typed up a whole page write up on how to reside the sending unit to match, but my fat fingers hit the wrong button on the iPhone and I lost it.

Send me a PM with your number and a good time to call tomorrow and I'll call and explain the process.

--Josh
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