Rotten 66 Farm Truck Build

[roll_the_dice]

Looks great! What a wonderful feeling first start up!...No other feeling compares really!

[jdorrough]

I've managed to find some garage time to continue checking off some body work. This round I included the hood, and some repop fenders and grill support. The original fenders and grill support were simply too far gone to rust. The new stuff is lackluster at best. I started by beating out a couple obvious dents and doing a rough fill of surface putty where it was needed. I then went to epoxy primer and high build. Sanded everything down with 320 grit and fixed any imperfections with a little glazing putty. Finished up with a seal coat of epoxy, then 2 coats of base red and 3 coats of clear. It isn't perfect but it looks good enough for me.

[jdorrough]

While waiting on the parts listed above, I've also spent time over the last couple weeks under the hood. I finally sorted out my brakes and steering. I went with POL for both but looking back I may have taken a different approach if I knew how long everything was back ordered. I'm talking months, not days. Probably due to covid but annoying none the less. After getting the Hydro-boost installed I couldn't find any pre-made or diy hose kits that I liked so I ended up going with bulk Fragola hoses and buying each Fragola fitting needed to incorporate the Hydro-boost, rack and pinion, reservoir and pump. Very pricey but ended up with a clean look. Their system is pretty easy once you get the hang of it. I learned pretty quickly not to over torque those aluminum fittings when I stripped out a $20+ elbow.

I also included an interior shot. I've got the new Dakota Digital gauge cluster installed. The steering wheel is buttoned up now that I've gotten the linkage hooked up under the hood. Lastly I put a set up lap belts in but I'm really starting to rethink the bench seat. I think I'll want to go buckets with at least a three point belt later on. I backed it out of the garage to move it from one garage bay to the other and tapped the throttle after the clutch was fully engaged. To my shock, I didn't really go anywhere fast but instead left a trail of tire smoke and black marks for my wife to enjoy on our driveway. This thing is going to be a death trap.

[88Stanger]

Originally Posted by jdorrough

While waiting on the parts listed above, I've also spent time over the last couple weeks under the hood. I finally sorted out my brakes and steering. I went with POL for both but looking back I may have taken a different approach if I knew how long everything was back ordered. I'm talking months, not days. Probably due to covid but annoying none the less. After getting the Hydro-boost installed I couldn't find any pre-made or diy hose kits that I liked so I ended up going with bulk Fragola hoses and buying each Fragola fitting needed to incorporate the Hydro-boost, rack and pinion, reservoir and pump. Very pricey but ended up with a clean look. Their system is pretty easy once you get the hang of it. I learned pretty quickly not to over torque those aluminum fittings when I stripped out a $20+ elbow.

I also included an interior shot. I've got the new Dakota Digital gauge cluster installed. The steering wheel is buttoned up now that I've gotten the linkage hooked up under the hood. Lastly I put a set up lap belts in but I'm really starting to rethink the bench seat. I think I'll want to go buckets with at least a three point belt later on. I backed it out of the garage to move it from one garage bay to the other and tapped the throttle after the clutch was fully engaged. To my shock, I didn't really go anywhere fast but instead left a trail of tire smoke and black marks for my wife to enjoy on our driveway. This thing is going to be a death trap.

Ok, wait a minute, is it me or am i seeing a pattern here, red body, blakc rims, black trim on front hood marker lights.... so a Red and Black Theme?!?!

I built my 1969 LX C10 in Flat Black with Red Highlights and the 1966 C10 will be 383 stroker with Muncie 4 speed in Flat Red with Black highlights!!

Either way, love the build!!!

[jdorrough]

Small update. I was able to salvage my old grill, bumper and radiator support brace. I didn't get fancy with it. The bumper was bent pretty bad where someone hooked a chain directly to it. I torched the worst dents and smacked them with a hammer then moved onto primer and paint. The other progress made was the A/C system from vintage air is now installed. I work alone and this was definitely a two person job. I'll wait until I can drive it somewhere to get the system charged. I think I'll cry if any of the fittings leak and I have to pull it all back out. Next up, the bed. She's rough.

[roll_the_dice]

Looks great!!...you can do "not perfect" body and paint work for me anytime! LOL

I personally like the bench seats...I don't think buckets look right in these trucks, but it is your truck...do what you are comfortable with. I did add 3 point seatbelts with my bench seat though.

[roll_the_dice]

I just noticed your US Wheels. Those are the same ones I am looking at...what center caps are you going to use?

[jdorrough]

Originally Posted by roll_the_dice

I just noticed your US Wheels. Those are the same ones I am looking at...what center caps are you going to use?

I don't think I'll do a center cap at all. At least that's my plan as of today. The whole reason I went with the solid black rat rod wheel was to avoid a flashy chrome look. My target color palette is blood red, satin black, and a just a touch of chrome or stainless. In keeping with the minimalist look, I simply have the stock dustcaps with chrome extended lug nuts.

[88Stanger]

Love the Color!!! Great build!!!

[roll_the_dice]

That's why I haven't bought them yet. I just can't decide what to do. I thought about putting the push through caps on or their hubcaps, but just don't know what will look better...I think I like the idea of the push through caps, but can decide that after I get a few more things buttoned up. They are a good looking wheel though!

[roll_the_dice]

Looking good! The A/C is definitely a 2 person job! Fortunately, my wife helped bolt things down while I held the inside unit. I have not had any leaks under the dash...but have at other places...funny part is where I did the work, no leaks...where I had fittings crimped from an outside source and paid $...leaks! Go figure!

[cwcarpenter98]

Looks good! You should make a trailer with the old bed if it can still bolt together

[88Stanger]

Damn fine job!!! Love the color! Great looking truck....

[roll_the_dice]

I agree it looks great! Love the setup. You are going to enjoy driving it so much. It is such a good feeling after all the work you put into it! Enjoy!

[joesscamaro]

Your truck looks like it turned out nice! Enjoy!

[Tempest67]

Wow , that is a very nice looking Stepside.

Well Done

[jdorrough]

Thanks for the kind words fellas. I dropped it off yesterday morning to have A/C charged, alignment, and exhaust installed. I quickly remembered why I'd rather do the work myself when the estimate came back. I'm dragging my feet on finishing the tailgate as I've yet to decide the "right" way to paint the raised Chevrolet lettering black while leaving the rest of the tailgate red. I'll post some pictures of whatever I decide to do. I couldn't bring myself to throw the old tailgate in the scrap pile so I decided to make a piece of garage wall art with the help of all the miscellaneous stickers I've collected over the build. I added some pics of it and the exhaust I went with. They're Borla's crate mufflers for the LS3.

[jdorrough]

The shop that installed my exhaust did a great job (Economy Auto in Ashland, VA). The X-pipe was a tight fit but they made it work and I'm happy with the sound, look and performance. After I was finally able to hear the motor notes vs the obnoxious open headers, it became pretty clear I had something ticking within the engine. It didn't take me long to find the problem when I pulled the valve covers. Cylinder #1 had a broken intake valve rocker. I'm pretty confident it was shipped that way from Blueprint, but there is no way to be sure. The piston wasn't black from firing and the headers weren't blue from heat on that cylinder. What I will say is that Blueprint Engines didn't flinch when I called them to explain the issue. They stood by their product and didn't try to point the finger back at me. I had a new head with all the gaskets shipped to my shop within a week. Honestly it ran good on 7 cylinders, when all 8 started playing nicely it's just insane.

[jdorrough]

I read different post on here trying to determine the best way to paint the lettering on the tailgate. There didn't seem to be a consensus so I went with the approach that made the most sense to me. I started by cleaning up the spot welds it was shipped with. I then primed the whole thing to give me some protection on the bare metal and to have a nice base to paint on. I then painted just the backside of the tailgate black. I put down 3 light coats. If I were to do it again, I'd dial those up to 3 or maybe even 4 medium/ wet coats. I then shot the whole thing in red. This is where the fun started. I wanted to balance letting the paint dry enough vs the clear coat window so I started sanding around the 5 hour mark. I wish I'd have waited a bit longer. I wet sanded with 600 grit which was much harder than I expected. It took me about 4 hours of sanding to get all the black showing. I sanded through in handful of spots that I fixed with a little brush. I finished by shooting a tack coat of red on the inside and clearing the whole thing with 2 wet coats. It's not perfect by any means but I'm happy enough with the final product.

[SkinnyG]

Looks fantastic

[cwcarpenter98]

Wow, that looks great!

[Low Elco]

Dang, I wish I still worked in Ashland 3-4x/yr. I'd have to see this in person! Great work!

[88Stanger]

That looks so good!! Great job!!

[The Rocknrod]

Good progress, thanks for the updates.