My Heavy Chevy

[BB64NOVA]

Okay. Hello everyone. I am new at this thread thing but here goes nothing.....I purchased this 1972 C10 a couple of years ago from my Dad's best friend. Since I have had it, I have put a little money into it on parts basically, and I would like to get it looking good as well. I have had offers on it several times, ( including a police officer who followed me home one night just to ask me if I would be willing to sell it), so I know that I have something good.

My C10 is running with a Chevy 350 bored .30 over (355), a 400 turbo transmission, and 3.08 gears. She is not the most badass truck on the street, but she doesn't do bad either. I have been trying to gather parts for the truck but I still need alot more. The financial situation slows me down, on top of the fact that I feel like I live at my job!, so it is a low budget project, and I am trying to do the best I can. Anyone who has any helpful hints or advice is more than welcome to do so, as I will not turn my nose up at good helpful advice.

The one thing about this truck that I wish was different is the fact that it is a long bed. I really like the short beds. Now, I am aware that it is possible to convert it to a short bed. I am wondering what the different ways of doing this would be. I have seen that people cut the bed down to make it short, but is it possible to cut the frame and put a short bed on it that way? I am still up in the air about the bed right now. I am kind of curious what the long bed will look like in the end. The bed floor is rusted out, so I am seriously considering putting a wood bed floor in. Any thoughts?

[suspect]

welcome to the site. if it was my truck, i would shorten it. but that's just me. the easiest way, which you stated, is to shorten the frame and put a short bed on it. but there are alot of threads and information on this site of people shortening the frame and beds, so there's no shortage of info. you'll need to shorten the frame, bed, brake lines, driveshaft, exhaust, etc. it's worth all the work, i think. do some searches and you'll find out alot. good luck.

[BB64NOVA]

Thanks. I really like the shortbed look. I think it looks more sporty.

[BB64NOVA]

I don't believe in cutting up a perfectly good dash panel, so I used a 10" sub woofer box to build a custom stereo box. I cut out the holes for two speakers and the stereo, with the help of one of my buds, and it turned out okay. I went to WAL-MART, get this, I bought one of those plastic replacement mirror sheets, and went to the auto part store and bought a chevy bowtie decal. I cut it to fit over the factory radio bay in the dash and applied the bowtie, and TA DA!! It doesn't look too bad. This is all temporary, but it works for now, and I get alot of comments about it.

[BB64NOVA]

The tailgate is ate up pretty bad..... I purchased another one that is in better condition, but it is a little banged up in places. I should be able to make it work though.

[BB64NOVA]

I started sanding on the lower corners of my passenger door and what do I find?

[BB64NOVA]

I also did some sanding on one of my bedsides, and found some body filler. I believe that it is all surface filler, so it should be workable. The bed floor is another story however. I think I am going to go with wood instead of steel.

[BB64NOVA]

I really need a windshield. The guy I bought the truck from told me that a walnut fell from the tree, struck the windshield, knocked off the rear view mirror, which, in turn cracked the dash pad......talk about cause and effect.....!!!

[BB64NOVA]

These are photos of problem areas on the truck. I am not looking forward to repairing some of these. The rain gutter is in bad shape, and whatever caused those dents by the back glass, that sucks too. Some of the rust areas on the outside of the truck shouldn't be too difficult to fix.

[BB64NOVA]

I thought I would throw in a couple full shots of the truck...The one with all matching wheels is current.

[BB64NOVA]

Here are a couple of things that I am anxious to get rid of....One, the steering wheel. I don't like it. Two, the nasty bed liner.



The guage panel is in fair condition. I think I can work with it for now. I would like to put a new one in though.



I also threw in a shot of the engine. I would like to take it out and clean it up, paint it up, and dress it up real nice. Some new performance parts like, a new carb, intake, headers, that sort of thing would be nice as well, but I have to take it slow as my budget is back talking me right now... One thing with the engine, (I'm not sure if you can see it in the pic), is that it is sitting back too far. The fan is not even tucked into the fan shroud like it should be. Could this be due to the fact that it has a 400 Turbo transmission? I'm not sure if it is shorter than the stock transmission or not.

[BB64NOVA]

I have been trying to get my hands on some of these for years and I never have seemed to be able to....However, I went to the flea market here in Indianapolis, and I found this entire set of four for $150.00. That's right, they are mine. HA HA! AT LAST!! I think they will look good on the truck. I need to have them stripped down and repainted first though.

[BB64NOVA]

Does anyone know where I can find a grille like this one? I want to cover the headlights. I think it gives it a mean look.



I am going to try to fix my carrier bearing sometime this week. I seem to have twisted the bracket right in half......oops. Hopefully soon I can have some progress taking place and can let everyone see how things are going. Good luck to everyone and their projects, and if anyone lives near Indianapolis and has any parts for sale, or even some helpful advice, which is welcome from anyone wherever you are, feel free to throw it out there. Thanks for checking out my thread.

[BB64NOVA]

I have decided that I am NOT going to try to convert my truck to a short bed.

[Bomp]

Hey,,,, Welcome aboard.

Looks like you have your work cut out for you. I like challenges personally. Helps one grow.

If you find a short bed (since your floor is gone) cutting down the frame isn't beyond reach. Plus you'll have a decent floor. Just make sure you or someone you know knows how to weld the frame back together. And a short box drive line and your good to go.