1962 C10 "Swede" - Grandpa's Old Truck

[testerdahl]

Hello,

Before I start posting a bunch of questions in other threads, I thought I would start a build thread. I recently was given Grandpa's old truck (wife's side) as a late X-mas gift and we got it from the farm a few weeks ago. The farm is in eastern Wyoming and I'm just inside the Nebraska border.

The truck is a 1962 Chevy C10 with a stepside bed and 235 line 6 - as far as I can tell. It ran when parked in 2006 and was his daily driver for years. I believe he bought it new and drove it for around 20 years before getting something else.

Here are some pictures of it.

[testerdahl]

[testerdahl]

[testerdahl]

The plan is to get it running and fix it up somewhat. I'm an automotive journalist and regularly have press cars to drive and review, so I don't need a daily driver per se. But, I do need a back-up vehicle when I don't have a car. For those who are curious, Google "Tim Esterdahl" and you will find my stories on Truck Trend, Pickuptrucks.com and various outlets.

My thinking at the moment is to do a mix of a tribute and a restore. For example, I plan to keep all the dents and patina on the body preserved with a clear coat finish. Then, I'm going to paint the front and rear bumpers white again along with the grille. After I have someone weld the front bumper back into place.

Then, I'm going to really clean up the inside, reupholster the seat and clean up the engine bay while making sure everything works properly - brakes and clutch don't work currently. Also, need to address the duct tape on the radiator.

Finally, I want to buy a cool looking set of wheels and tires for it. Right now there is a variety of tires on it.

After it is all done, I plan on stenciling in "Swede" on the back glass which was his nickname. Ironically, my family origins are from Sweden, so it works both ways.

[testerdahl]

Yesterday, I started working on it with the goal to see if it would turn over. I started by changing the oil, replacing all the spark plugs, plug wires and battery cables along with putting a new battery in it. There was not a battery in it before and I suspect the old one is in a tractor somewhere. As with most farmers, Grandpa had a habit of swapping things whenever he needed it. For example, the plug wires were a collection of different ones from a variety of vehicles.

Anyway, got everything done and I have no power when I turn the key and no lights from what I could tell (interior cab light is busted).

I'm attaching photos of the battery, starter and fuse box. I really need to find a Chiltons for this truck and I think I'll order one now.

Any ideas on what may be the issue? I think, at the very least, I need to clean up the fuse box, but beyond that, I'm out of ideas.

[62stepside longbox]

Looks like a good project. Try cleaning up the terminals at the starter. When I didn't get any power in my truck I assumed it was some large electrical problem so I searched the whole truck and found nothing really wrong but then I just gave the terminals a good clean and bingo it worked. Get out an electrical tester and start testing for power in places such as the ignition switch. The switch should have one wire that is thicker than the rest and that should be live all the time. Oh and I would also clean up that fuse box and replace any bad fuses

[testerdahl]

Originally Posted by 62stepside longbox

Looks like a good project. Try cleaning up the terminals at the starter. When I didn't get any power in my truck I assumed it was some large electrical problem so I searched the whole truck and found nothing really wrong but then I just gave the terminals a good clean and bingo it worked. Get out an electrical tester and start testing for power in places such as the ignition switch. The switch should have one wire that is thicker than the rest and that should be live all the time. Oh and I would also clean up that fuse box and replace any bad fuses

Thanks. Speaking of cleaning up the terminals and fuse box, do you or anyone else have some good recommendations on what to use? Maybe a silly question, but I have never cleaned them up before.

[62stepside longbox]

For the larger things such as battery terminals you can let them sit in a solution of water and baking soda them clean them off with a wire brush. For the small stuff you might have to just use little brushes and some sand paper to get the terminals to bare metal.

[aerotruk63]

I have a 1960 Chevrolet Truck Shop manual and a 1962 Shop Manual Supplement if your interested. You need these two Manuals to cover all the information.

I'd stay with the stock wheels however and try to find some original caps. If you have wheels with clips I have four painted patina'd hubcaps I could let go of. Your wheels should all be black since the truck came stock that way. Only the two tone trucks had body colored wheels.

Best to go around the truck and clean all the electrical connections especially ground straps. Tedious job but it's usually the grounds that screw everything up.

[testerdahl]

Ok, I cleaned the ground contact on the head with a wire brush. Also, cleaned the negative connection on the starter and cleaned the cable coming from the ignition switch.

Then, I cleaned the fuse box and pulled out each fuse, replaced it with a new one as well as cleaned each individual wire into the fuse box.

Still no power in the cabin and no lights.

Now, I have my battery charger on the battery I bought and the red light says it is charging. This is curious to me. Could I have gotten a bad battery from the store??

[aerotruk63]

Did you connect the wire from the voltage regulator to the battery? That's the wire that runs across the rad support and connects to the positive side of the battery.

[testerdahl]

Originally Posted by aerotruk63

Did you connect the wire from the voltage regulator to the battery? That's the wire that runs across the rad support and connects to the positive side of the battery.

Ah-ha! I did not. I initially thought it was just an extra ground cable and didn't see it ran over to voltage regulator.

I'll have to run to the store and get some more wire though since it isn't long enough to attach to the positive battery cable.

[aerotruk63]

Change Batteries instead for opposite posts.

[testerdahl]

Oh happy day. Thank YOU for your help. She turned right over!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wfSoyOxNe-s

[Bomp]

Congrats on getting the engine started. Great start.

[testerdahl]

Originally Posted by Bomp

Congrats on getting the engine started. Great start.

Thanks! Now, I just need to fix the clutch, address the "no brakes" issue, tires, wood bed, paint and a new seat. You know, the "short" list.

[testerdahl]

Thought I would update this thread since I've finally gotten to working on Swede. My main focus is driving him and this means brakes and clutch. After going through the parts, the decision was to go new. New on everything that is.

I've put in these new parts:

• Master Brake Cylinder
• Clutch Slave Cylinder
• Wheel Cylinders
• Rubber Brake Hose
• Brake Shoes
• Brake Drums
• Brake Hardware as best I could

I've gotten hung up on a few small irritating items like the parking brake strut spring and the brake return springs. I ordered a full replacement hardware kit from O'Reilly and only one spring worked - the return springs did not. Also, I ordered a new parking brake strut spring from Napa only to find out it doesn't fit. I've since ordered a new one from Classic Parts along with a shock mount post (passenger side has no shock and looks like Grandpa pulled off the mount post).

During this process, I've bought several new tools, a new air compressor and learned PB Blaster is my new friend. I've also learned I'll never do drum brakes again and when these go out, I'm ordering the disc brake conversion kit. Finally, I've learned getting parts is easy, getting the RIGHT part is not so easy.

Below are some pics of the drum brakes before and after. Each backing plate has been sprayed with brake parts cleaner and wire brushed.

Today, since I'm waiting on parts, I decided to clean up the old wheels and get them ready for new tires. I'd like to put some Ansen Sprints on the truck, but I'm going to hold off for now. I have a sneaky suspicion I'm going to find more things I'll need to purchase as I clean up the interior. My plan was to go black and I still might. I washed, scrubbed and then wire brushed the wheels. Then, I found 2 cans of old Kilz primer. I figured what the heck and coated all the wheels. I'll likely toss these wheels at some point anyway, so I figured no big deal if the Kilz doesn't hold up. It is an oil-based primer and it may hold up just fine. I'll either stop at the store for black paint or keep them white. Haven't decided yet.

I'm gone for a full week on the road and when I get back I'll finish reassembling the brakes (if the parking brake spring fits), bleed the clutch and brakes, put on the old wheels and drive to the muffler shop and tire shop. Hopefully, everything will go smoothly and I'll post in a week or so about actually driving the truck.

[jdl71]

Sub'd. I think the Ansens would look great on that truck. If you do decide to toss the stock steel wheels, please try to sell them on CL or something first. You'd think they would be a dime a dozen but so many have gone to the scrapper they are getting hard to find. I would not waste money on a Chiltons or Haynes manual though, the Factory service manuals that aerotruck referenced are soooo much better. And please tell me somewhere on your list is replacing the fuel filter/lines that are spraying gas all over the hot exhaust manifold in the video.

Seriously though I like what you've done so far, thanks for sharing and look forward to following along.

P.S. What's the story on the 'binder in the driveway?

[66ChevyMax]

Really cool story, and looks like a fun project, good luck

[testerdahl]

Originally Posted by jdl71

Sub'd. I think the Ansens would look great on that truck. If you do decide to toss the stock steel wheels, please try to sell them on CL or something first. You'd think they would be a dime a dozen but so many have gone to the scrapper they are getting hard to find. I would not waste money on a Chiltons or Haynes manual though, the Factory service manuals that aerotruck referenced are soooo much better. And please tell me somewhere on your list is replacing the fuel filter/lines that are spraying gas all over the hot exhaust manifold in the video.

Seriously though I like what you've done so far, thanks for sharing and look forward to following along.

P.S. What's the story on the 'binder in the driveway?

Yeah, I fixed the fuel line. Turns out there is a flow direction on the fuel filter and, naturally, I had it backwards. LOL. I've also replaced all the fuel lines.

I'm not going to worry about manuals at the moment. My Father-In-Law has a manual for a 1956 which he spent hours working on. Also, my wife's uncle has a mint 1964. Between the two of them, they could take apart these trucks and put them back together.

Ah-ha... You saw the 1963 International C1200. It was the first old truck I bought last year and then was gifted the Chevy for an X-mas gift. Sadly, I have to sell the 'Binder basically to pay for parts for the Chevy and a carport as well. I sold it to the Chief Engineer for the Toyota Tundra/Tacoma and I load it up on Thursday night to head for Michigan to deliver it. Toyota loaned me a Tundra to use to tow the truck out there.

Along the way, and this story gets cooler, I'll be stopping in Sioux Falls, SD to interview a guy who hand-carved an exterior and interior for a 1950s Ford. It runs and drives just fine. That story will be a feature story in Truck Trend Magazine as well as my towing the International to Michigan. I'll try to remember to put links here.

Here is an updated photo of the Binder after I spray canned it one day. I was bored and wanted to clean it up.

[testerdahl]

Originally Posted by 66ChevyMax

Really cool story, and looks like a fun project, good luck

I just checked out your project and holy cow! I messaged the editor at Truck Trend to see if I could write about your truck. Fingers crossed.

[testerdahl]

Really happy day today. Over the weekend, I was able to finish the brake and clutch job and drove him around the block. He backfires and pop when giving it good throttle input, but drives normal cruising. This issue is next on my list.

Anyway, today, I drove it home from the tire shop.

Simply amazing what a new set of tires will do on an old truck. I ended up going with the local Coop down the road and got a set of Cooper Discover A/T3 and new Pacer Mod steel rims with chrome caps/lug nuts. The tires are a good highway as well as all terrain.

The rims were a compromise between the really pricey Ansen Sprints alloy wheels and basic white steel rims. The old rims were tube rims and while I could have put tubes in the tires, I opted not to. With the amount of other work piling up, I just couldn't pull the trigger on the Sprints at the moment. I'll likely go back to them down the road. The brakes and clutch jobs were simply more expensive than I thought with the amount of new tools and parts I ended up buying.

I'm really happy with the look and this was a BIG upgrade! Now onto the next item on the list.

[TJ's Chevy]

Looks great! Motor sounds good! Carb kit and tune up outta make it last forever!

[jdl71]

Those Cooper AT/3s are good tires. I've had several sets. American made, excellent longevity and much less than a BFG.

[testerdahl]

Alright guys, I'm drawing a major brain fart. I ordered a new glove box insert and am ready to put it back in. I can get the insert in, but I can't figure out for the life of me how the door goes back on. I feel like it is really easy and I am just missing something. What am I doing wrong???