Grandpa's C10 Silverado Restoration Project

[ninety6]

Thought I should start my restoration project thread to track my progress. I've posted some of this info in the general forum, but i'll start fresh here.

My grandfather (Joseph) bought this truck brand new in 1986. He traded in his 68 Chevy Pickup for it. It was stored in his attached garage, and driven 39,xxx miles.

Grandpa passed in 2002, leaving this truck to my Uncle (Also Joseph). He parked it outside from 2002 until 2016, driving it an additional 24,xxx miles.

I asked my uncle about the truck this past Christmas (2015), and said if he ever got rid of it to let me know, I'd be interested in buying it from him. He told me at that time it hadn't run in about 3 years, and he hadn't had time to mess with it. A couple weeks later my uncle let me know he decided to give the truck to me for free! He said he thought Grandpa would be happy for me to get some use out of it. (And i'm also Joseph -- making this truck owned by 3 people with the same first and last name).

Last week, my dad and a friend of his loaded the ole' girl up on a trailer and brought her to me. She needs some work, but this should be a fun project!

She now has 63,457 miles. just over 2k/year.

[ninety6]

So just for kicks, the first thing i did on delivery day was put in a good battery and try to fire her up. Sadly, she didn't start. Just cranked and cranked. I sorta believed she'd just run.

But, at least now she's tucked away in her new home, back inside, next to my 93 K2500, and the 2002 Camaro SS with 19k.

[ninety6]

3/23/16
First thing I did was play a little with paint correction. The paint is oxidized all over, and was actually growing mildew from sitting so long. I can't imagine the last time this was washed. So i cleaned, claybared, compouned, polished, and waxed a strip of the hood and half a fender as a test. I was actually shocked at how well the hood turned out. Paint rescue can be done!

Though it's kinda dashed my dreams of having a blue or blue/white truck.. i can't justify painting if i can make it look this good throughout -- at least for now.

There are a couple rust spots and chips to work on, so we'll see how well those blend...

I believe this was the day i shop-vacced all the mouse junk out of the engine compartment. luckily, it doesn't appear they ate anything important.

[rusty76]

That looks great. I bet the old truck will really clean up nicely. I'll follow along.

[LT7A]

Seeing the old paint brought back to life is one of my favorite things on these projects. Somehow, old nice paint is so cool on these utilitarian rigs, even if it's not perfect. Good luck on this. I like your 93 as well.

[WE B CRUZN]

Originally Posted by LT7A

Seeing the old paint brought back to life is one of my favorite things on these projects. Somehow, old nice paint is so cool on these utilitarian rigs, even if it's not perfect. Good luck on this. I like your 93 as well.

Plus #1 only original once

[ninety6]

Thanks! It it lots of work, but seeing that paint shine again is just kinda awesome. Makes ya' smile.

Also, i've got her running! She had a bad ESC module and Ignition module inside the distributor. Replaced both, and she runs! I will always keep a jumper for ESC bypass in my dash, just in case.

My first replacement ESC module was actually defective (intermittent)-- making me chase ghosts for a couple days... eventually realized that wiggling the connector, or even just tapping the ESC box made it work/not work. Got a 2nd new one, works as expected!

So with that taken care of, i spent another 1.5 hours on the hood. i'm halfway done now. I'm sure some high cutting compound would make it go quicker - but, this is working, and less risk of screwing up the paint. So, a total of 2.5 hours with a DA buffer and Mequiar's ultimate compound for half the hood. cheaper than paint!

The sides of the truck buff out much quicker, so hopefully i won't have to spend too much time other than the hood and roof.

[Zach079xxx]

Look up wolf gang uber compound, that stuff is no joke. Hands down the best compound out there.

If you're into looking at it, here's some links.

I use this for compound cutting http://www.chemicalguys.com/Hex_Logi...fx_102hex6.htm
I use this for polishing http://www.chemicalguys.com/Hex_Logi...fx_104hex6.htmhttp://www.chemicalguys.com/Hex_Logi...ufx114hex6.htm
Uber compound http://www.autogeek.net/wolfgang-uber-compound.html

Goodluck, it is looking sweet! These products will help you save on time for sure, it's going to look like a totally different truck. Your grandpa is smiling for sure, and your uncle is regretting giving it away :P

[ninety6]

Got the hood buffing wrapped up, the compound step anyway. Will still polish, but figured i will polish and wax the whole car at once after bufffing it all out. Did the roof too, but the tan just doesn't pop at all, a little harder to see the difference....

She stopped running - but its a fuel delivery issue inside the carb -- no fuel getting in.. i have a feeling the needle is stuck closed so no gas is getting through...

It ran fine, a few days later it wouldn't start (but would run on starting fluid). Left it alone for 15 minutes, and it started and drove up and down the driveway. a few days later, and since then, nothing without the fluid. I did replace the fuel filter, and cranked it with the gas line disconnected, and it shot out gas from the fuel line, so its definitely inside the carb. Not surprising, as it did sit for 3 years. Going to find some tube soon to siphon out the old fuel, give is some fresh gas, and see if i can unstick the needle and clean the carb good. May do a rebuild of the carb for good measure...

[ninety6]

Finally got my hands back on the C10! I've spent all summer building an 800 sq foot deck and 320 sq ft pergola and haven't had time to work on the ole' girl.

Had a kid and wife free day yesterday, and it was raining, so the grass mowing had to wait. This gave me a chance to drain the old gas from the tank, remove the carb, and clean/rebuilt it. Did all that yesterday, and the truck ran when feeding gas into the carb, but, wouldn't pull gas through. It was late, so i worked on it again this afternoon.

Seems that the needle was stuck down (again, after my rebuild, including a new needle and seat), still not allowing fuel through. I blew a little air in through the fuel inlet and heard a little "pop" -- after which i put the fuel line in and she started right up!

Pulled her out of the pole barn and gave her a quick rinse to get the dust off, made me feel better anyway... ran up and down the driveway a few times to test acceleration and see how well it ran. I guess i did ok rebuilding the carb...

Note to self -- don't miss connecting the fuel line after rebuilding the carb. I double checked all the connections and somehow still missed the FUEL LINE -- so i had a huge puddle of gas under my truck after trying to start it. oops!

I thought i had an idle problem at first as it was idling REALLY high, but it turned out to be a the rod on the driver's side of the carb that goes back to that rubber diaphragm on the firewall. It was stuck back just enough to cause the engine to race. after unsticking it, it ran much more normal. Here's to hoping the next cold start goes smoothly!

Here's a comparison pic for everyone of the old and new gas. old gas is probably 4 years old. new gas, maybe a couple weeks old . and of course another picture after the dust-off.

[ninety6]

She had her first "job" in who knows how long. My trusty 93 has topsoil in it for another project, so i is the C10 to haul to cut up downed tree limbs to the firepit. Lighting makes her look pretty good!

[NewType72]

Gotta say the paint restoration is my
Favorite part! What an amazing job it looks incredible

[ninety6]

Had a little free time yesterday. Got all 4 belts replaced (pretty sure 3 of them were original...), rehung the exhaust bracket that had rusted through and was rattling. I adjusted the idle a little bit help with the low idle.

I rolled my first mile over on the odometer yesterday! It's soley around the yard and up and down the driveway, but it's nice to have some movement on it!

Looks like i'm down to brakes (at least one is sticky) and a brake fluid flush, and coolant flush and she'll be ready for her first road trip.

[JohnKimble]

Wow looks great. I love the paint restoration!

[ninety6]

Over the last couple weeks i was able to complete my initial round of buffing! Truck is looking pretty slick! I still need to polish and wax.

I also got a car cover to keep the dust off in the pole barn. fits like a glove.

[ninety6]

and all covered up!

the SS next to it has a cover too, but is due for a wash!

[ninety6]

And, Yesterday, on Halloween, I was able to secure collector insurance from Grundy, and take it for it's first real drive in 4 years... Drove to my mom's to meet the fam for trick or treat! Drives decent -- runs good, but i think i need to adjust timing, and replace a front brake caliper (sticky-ish).. front driver side wheel was noticeably warmer than the others after the drive, so i'm pretty thats the offender.. But i got there and got home with no problems!

So i've got my first real 20 miles on her...

Here she is getting her first gas fillup in who knows how long....

[TKCR]

First of all Welcome, I'm from Ohio too. The paint restoration turned out great!! So what are your plans for the interior, and can you post pics? I would love to see the inside of the ole girl.

[ninety6]

Haven't decided on the interior yet.. for now, just leaving as is. Dash is a little cracked up, and carpet is stained, and seat actually has some burned spots from the sun. But it's original. Eventually I'd like to get it cleaned up with a newer seat cover and repaired or replaced dash panel. Other than that, clean up and maybe a little paint here and there should clean it up. door panels and headliner need some work too.

I'm really an all black interior type of guy -- but, being a brown/tan truck, that just doesn't make sense. so i will probably go with really dark brown for anything i replace.... as long as i still plan on not painting the truck.


Tonight I cleaned up the old paint protection film in front of the rear tire (one of them, will do the other another day...) I'd tried various things to clean it up, but it was VERY stubborn. Finally got tipped off to the wonder wheel / whizzy wheel... and tried one. i was pleasantly surprised how well it worked. An hour of work, and it looks new again.

[ninety6]

Did a little photoshoot last weekend after being able to get all my whips clean at the same time..

[ninety6]

Today, I installed a little enhancement item: Keyless Entry. I didn't want to spend much, so i got a cheap Keyless Entry system on amazon for $15.99. It's a YeuYeuZue brand import, with poorly translated instructions. Took me a while to figure out the wiring, but i've got it all hooked up and working. I no longer have to use the key to lock/unlock!

I hooked up the lock and unlock outputs to the light-blue and black/white wires coming from the driver door switch. I tried hooking up direcly to the lock motor, but this truck doesn't work like that -- locks wires are grounded when not "in use" -- so you have to hook prior to the relays -- in other words, mimic pressing the button on the door as opposed to just sending 12v to the lock.

That doesn't make it any harder, and is probably better -- but i just planned to wire it differently and it didn't work.

All is good now, and i tapped in to the parking light wires with the light output so they blink on lock and double-blink on unlock. Pretty sweet!

here's a video with it working.. (not a how-to install video)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kpN-VSR9L48

[MTCK]

Cool truck and story. Love the brown.

[Omegadog]

Two words and my 1st post...da am! Nice job there young fella! Grand Pappy would be proud. Carry-on!

[ninety6]

Finally got some time to get a little something done on my ole' truck! The wife went "camping" with a couple friends (staying in cabin/lodge... so i say camping loosely), and the little one is with his Grandma for the weekend.

A few weeks back i took the C10 out on some errands, and decided to run her on the interstate for about a mile -- to see how fast she'd go -- knowing my brake was still not right. Well -- any faster than about 60 and it pulled HARD to the left and vibrating, and i couldn't safely drive about 65. Just a test.


Today I finally addressed the sticky front brake. My original thought was caliper, but i did some digging to learn how to diagnose caliper vs. brake hose -- since the brake hoses are 30 years old, i thought it was possible it might be that.

Turns out, it was. Front driver brake hose was clogged up - under the metal clamp that holds it to the upper control arm. I cut the hose in pieces to figure out where the bad spot was. I replaced both for good measure . The driver side was real bad, and the passenger side wasn't so hot either -- a little cloggy in the same post -- under the metal clamp.

Suprisingly, i really didn't have much trouble getting brake lines, calipers, etc apart. The only real trouble was just getting to them -- it's really hard to work on that connection on the frame... Different method on each side, but i was pleased with how relatively easy it all came apart and went back together.

Used a poor man's bleeder tool (plastic bottle and some plastic tubing), bled both sides to get out the air and the old brake fluid. Tested the brakes, all is good!

Took her for a cruise/test drive -- turns out, its drives much easier without the brakes "on".

Took her up the highway again for comparison sake, and had no trouble getting to just under 85 (though GPS says the speedometer is 2mph fast at 75). Smooth and easy, even with the 305.

So, while the work is never ending, the truck is officially roadworthy now. I think my next real item is to replace the coolant hoses -- they are a little puffy. I should have done it when I flushed the coolant and replaced the thermostat -- not sure why i didn't.

Need to get back to polish and wax as well -- but i think the wife will shoot me if I don't polish her new to us (2007) Escalade first.....

[ninety6]

Oh yeah, and more and more i'm regretting putting the black wall out on my tires. I think i'm going to have them all swapped around to the white letters are out.

Also -- i hit my 100th mile today since i got the truck in March of 2016. Hopefully i can get a thousand or so miles on her every year.....