69 Longbed c10 restoration

[Sparky dave]

I then held the patch in place using my magnets and after a bit of jiggling slowly started spot welding all corners of the patch

[Sparky dave]

Slowly slowly with the welding pushing with a screwdriver to align everything up as I go and allowing time for panel to cool to cut down warpage

[Sparky dave]

You can see here the area to the left I also replaced but didn't photo was a simple curved patch, I didn't need to slit that one.

[Sparky dave]

Maybe some people would think this repair was not worth doing or it would be better to buy a proper patch panel but being in the uk the postage costs more than the item and the companies Iv been to won't do combined postage either ( it's something to do with how the pre paid import duty works)
So even though it's still cost more than I thought to restore this 69 and I'm far from finished yet. it's not cost me a fortune and maybe if I'm lucky as long as I keep choosing the most financial economic route and not just the easiest "buy everything " route I will keep my money in my pocket or my truck lol. That's how my brain works anyway

[Sparky dave]

and wait for it!

[Sparky dave]

After the lead work

[Sparky dave]

Here's the back of that same repair. There was a bit of cancer here too

[Sparky dave]

So I welded in a patch here too. Had to draw a line here and say it was not worth copying the manufacturers folds and spot welds I mean I think this is a very lucky fender as it is having all this treatment and pampering

[Sparky dave]

All the holes in the panels for the trim had been welded up and this left dents where the metal had shrunk so I beat them straight as I could with the knocking stick and then gave it a bit more lead treatment

[Sparky dave]

You can never have too many pictures

[Sparky dave]

Then the whole pannel was cleaned and epoxy primed again, scuffed down ready for a scim of body filler to iron out the minor imperfections

[Sparky dave]

2 coats of epoxy primer over the body filler to seal it in and 3 coats of filler primer later and there you go 3 weeks work on the fenders! But when I read these blogs it seems like everyone gets jobs done much faster than me

[Sparky dave]

We're all up to date on the progress now so posts will be much slower as I'll be reporting in real time now, and it's winter and cold here so progress will be slow untill Spring. If you got this far thanks for reading and if I'm doing anything wrong or you can tell me anything before I run into trouble. Help is greatly appreciated as like I said before I'm still a novice and never even seen an American veihcle under the bonnet untill I bought this one. Peace out dave

[zicc1835]

nice work ....nice progress....winter is where I get more done in the heated garage or GARAGGE as USE GUYs say it.... summers are at the Jersey Shore...

[Sparky dave]

Thanks. Yes a waste oil heater is on my Christmas list, if I get a little heat in there I'll move out of the house.
I'm from up the north of England so I say it garidge ( say it fast and that's how I sound)

[zicc1835]

Originally Posted by Sparky dave

Thanks. Yes a waste oil heater is on my Christmas list, if I get a little heat in there I'll move out of the house.
I'm from up the north of England so I say it garidge ( say it fast and that's how I sound)

garidge fast got it ... i like it.....Levon spends his days countin in the GARIDGE by the motor way.... so says Mr. E. John ...have fun

[Sparky dave]

Ok so been in holiday mode for a while now and the weathers not been great but Iv done a job Iv been putting off for some time now. Iv mounted the b and m shifter in position and installed the centre console. It still needs its top coat of gloss black paint but it's all working and I even got a test drive around my yard!

[Sparky dave]

The shifter was bolted down to a sheet metal bracket that I welded to the transmission cover which was in the correct location so the hole in the center console matched up for the shifter boot and surround. It was one of those slow tedious jobs making sure everything lined up but it's done now

[Sparky dave]

Another pic out in the yard just giving her a winter start keeping everything ticking over. Oh I forgot to mention Iv done some wiring so the electric Windows, door solenoids and reproduction sterio are wired in now. Feels like it's getting close!

[zicc1835]

the console looks great I plan on adding one with my bench ...plan is to put a diigital media receiver ...Blue tooth apple play GPS etc ....I havent even finished the frame yet so it will be some time before I even think any further on it.... nice progress on your project my job keeps getting in the way

[Sparky dave]

Originally Posted by zicc1835

the console looks great I plan on adding one with my bench ...plan is to put a diigital media receiver ...Blue tooth apple play GPS etc ....I havent even finished the frame yet so it will be some time before I even think any further on it.... nice progress on your project my job keeps getting in the way

Tell me about it if just bought a house this week which needs renovation but still want the truck ready for spring! These trucks swallow up more time than I thought. I still love them though. I’m going to flick over to your build and have a read now

[raggedjim]

Nice work so far. When I first started messing with these trucks nobody made any repair panels so your repairs bring back good (maybe bad???) memories!

Good luck, Rg

[Sparky dave]

Originally Posted by raggedjim

Nice work so far. When I first started messing with these trucks nobody made any repair panels so your repairs bring back good (maybe bad???) memories!

Good luck, Rg

Thanks roger it’s deffinatley teaching me to be patient that’s for sure. Thanks for looking take care dave

[Sparky dave]

Been a while since I posted on here but if been ticking along nicely on the truck. If been using the truck for over a year now. Whilst all the time taking care of things that need to be done. The wiring is reliable now and all the electrical systems including gauges work. If for the spedo working with the 700r4. ( it just needed a new cable). The new dash bezel came today so I installed it and got the interior back together and clean for the summer.

[Sparky dave]

Here are a couple of the interior pics it's looking really nice now and all the missing components in the dash are now in place