1969 c10 build "the grinch" (gonna be pic heavy)
 

I have been building this truck for the past 5-6 months so I figured id post up the build as of now. (gonna be updating this as time permits)

The plans for the truck were pretty simple. Basically new everything except for the body. I wanted to do a patina truck since Ive never done one. (technically this is my first classic truck build) I have a 68 Cadillac and a 67 continental as well. Here is a list of things I knew I wanted for the final product.

67-72 c10 shortbed
Truck has to be Air-bagged and lay on the ground.
Original Paint
LS engine
Air Conditioning
Transport Wheels
Modernize everything but keep an original look.

I was looking for a light green 503 truck with original paint. That was basically all I wanted. I found a decently straight one on ebay and had it shipped in from KY. It was a farmers truck that hauled fertilizer so the inner bed floor was rusted but most of the normal rust spots weren't too bad. Cab corners, roof and rockers were good. the only down side (to me, for this build, was that it was a long bed.) here are a few pictures of when I received it.

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b1...h/IMG_0002.jpg

I received the truck October 14th 2015. (at about 12am) This was also the first time driving 3 on the tree! (made it a quick learning experience to get it into my shop!) put it away and went home to try and get some sleep. The next day I did a visual overview and started planing out what I was gonna do.

I choose the name "The Grinch" because the protectolate has the date of 12/24/68 on it and to me I could picture an "old man" at the dealership on christmas eve, buying himself a truck instead of presents for the family! Plus it didnt hurt the truck was green.

Pics...

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b1...h/IMG_0003.jpg

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b1...h/IMG_0005.jpg

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b1...h/IMG_0006.jpg

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b1...h/IMG_0008.jpg

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b1...h/IMG_0009.jpg

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b1...h/IMG_0010.jpg

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b1...h/IMG_0012.jpg

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b1...h/IMG_0015.jpg



I was trying to figure out what I was gonna use for the suspension first.

Originaly I was going to use all porterbuilt stuff but then I saw that the Roadstershop had a full chassis that was going to be released very soon. I looked into that and decided that would be the way to go. The Roadstershop chassis was basically a full Rolling chassis ready to set my cab and bed onto (with minor cutting, or so they said) It was all computer designed and cut and then welded up. Figured this would be a better way to go since its a fully boxed chassis that wasnt using a bunch of 40year old chassis parts. (plust it would save me a bunch of cutting and grinding) I placed my order during sema of that year. I was quoted 8-12 weeks for build and ship time. Those weeks couldn't go by fast enough!


Stock pic of the chassis...

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b1...h/IMG_0019.jpg

I then took the time waiting for the chassis to order all sorts of parts from interior pieces to exterior trim. The truck ran a drove when I received it but it was leaking oil out of the rear main like crazy...

Re: 1969 c10 build "the grinch" (gonna be pic heavy)
 

subscribed..this is going to be a fun build to follow!

Re: 1969 c10 build "the grinch" (gonna be pic heavy)
 

Here is a little SPID info...

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b1...h/IMG_0023.jpg

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b1...h/IMG_0024.jpg

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b1...h/IMG_0025.jpg

Re: 1969 c10 build "the grinch" (gonna be pic heavy)
 

I ordered a motor and trans from this company I found online called "JS SwapShop" against my better judgement I ordered a 5.3 LS engine, a 4L60E trans, PCM and stand alone harness from them. they also quoted me 4-6 weeks to be delivered from KS to AZ. That was understandable. and at this point I didn't have a chassis to put it in so I wasn't in a real hurry... This was Oct. 5th 2015

I then ordered all new exterior moldings for the truck as well as a bunch of other small parts I knew I was going to need. Brothers Trucks was pretty quick to get me everything I ordered. There was a get together at "dino's" before the goodguys show so I decided to drive it out there all stock before i made any changes. It did really good on the 25mi trip over there. This was the last time it moved under its own power...

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b1...h/IMG_4390.jpg


The next few weeks I decided to start tearing it down and getting the bed ready to be shortened. The bed came apart much easier than I expected. you can see how the bed floor was rusted through from the fertilizer. All of the structural parts were still pretty good.

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b1...h/IMG_0038.jpg

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b1...h/IMG_0039.jpg

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b1...h/IMG_0040.jpg

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b1...h/IMG_0042.jpg

Then the sides came off!

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b1...h/IMG_0044.jpg

Re: 1969 c10 build "the grinch" (gonna be pic heavy)
 

Man, the original frame is SOLID. You gonna keep it or sell it?

Re: 1969 c10 build "the grinch" (gonna be pic heavy)
 

It was solid. Its already gone, I was out of room and I gave it to the guy who shortened my bedsides...

Re: 1969 c10 build "the grinch" (gonna be pic heavy)
 

Can't wait to see the chassis.

Re: 1969 c10 build "the grinch" (gonna be pic heavy)
 

Sweet. Hopefully they get good use out of it. :metal:

Re: 1969 c10 build "the grinch" (gonna be pic heavy)
 

Oh man my dad looked heavy at the 73+ roadster shop truck chassis and would be super jealous to see this one coming in. Subd for sure I love the simplicity this truck has even though that won't be the case very soon :lol:

Re: 1969 c10 build "the grinch" (gonna be pic heavy)
 

Subbedxto watch

Re: 1969 c10 build "the grinch" (gonna be pic heavy)
 

The chassis is very nice... I'm glad I went that direction with it. This truck will be pretty simple as far as overall looks!

Re: 1969 c10 build "the grinch" (gonna be pic heavy)
 

Bedsides went off to the guy shortening them. He does a really good job preserving as much paint as possible. Here are the bedsides with the lines on them ready to be cut...

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b1...h/IMG_0045.jpg

and here is the difference between one cut and one original.

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b1...h/IMG_0046.jpg

Also at this time the electronic gauges showed up from New Vintage USA. They are almost a perfect replica of the OEM style gauges in the truck. I was really happy with how they looked compared to the originals.

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b1...h/IMG_0047.jpg

Again, trying to keep the whole factory look of the truck just moderinzing things is pretty much my whole "theme" of this build.

Re: 1969 c10 build "the grinch" (gonna be pic heavy)
 

With the bedsides gone still and still waiting on the chassis and engine, I decided to try and "clean-up" the tailgate. It has the most "patina" on it so I figured it would give me the best idea of what the truck was going to look like when finished.

Here is the tailgate when I started. It has some pretty rough teture along the bottom but still felt very sturdy when I pushed on it. They must have been pretty thick from the factory back then!

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b1...h/IMG_0048.jpg

I did some research and the main consensus was the CLR bath. Here is a picture of the right side done with the CLR.

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b1...h/IMG_0049.jpg

Quite a big difference from the left side. (amazing what came off)

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b1...h/IMG_0050.jpg

Here is the whole thing after the CLR bath

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b1...h/IMG_0051.jpg


I then put some satin white vinyl in the recessed letters... I thought that it gave it an older painted look because the texture of the metal behind it showed through the vinyl. you can also see that the metal was starting to dry after the CLR bath. I was hoping it would stay that darker color...

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b1...h/IMG_0052.jpg

Then one of the board members on here (Hart_Rod) messaged me via Instagram and told me about a product called "penetrol" and to try a coat of it on top to bring out the color I wanted. So I ran down to the hardware store and picked up a can and tried it...It worked perfectly... here is a "dry" picture of the tailgate. It still looks like this currently.

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b1...h/IMG_0053.jpg

I also did the front header as well. Didn't take any after pics but here is the before...

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b1...h/IMG_0054.jpg

Re: 1969 c10 build "the grinch" (gonna be pic heavy)
 

A few more parts showed up this day...

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b1...h/IMG_0157.jpg

Re: 1969 c10 build "the grinch" (gonna be pic heavy)
 

So on January 6th the engine and trans shows up...

On two separate pallets, not strapped or secured down. I would have refused the shipment but he already had my money and I figured I'd never see anything if I sent it back. After trying to call and talk to someone about the damaged shipment all I was able to do was communicate by text message. Of course, they say they strap them down and secure them to a solid pallet and blames someone else. (I'm sure the shipping company didn't un-strap them and put them on pallets that were falling apart...) The power steering pump was crushed beyond usage, the front fan was cracked, the idler pulley was cracked and the oil pan had a chunk out of a reinforcement. I was told that he would file a claim on the shipping insurance and he would send me out the new parts promptly. I then asked about the PCM and stand alone harness that was also part of the package I had purchased and he told me that they ship seperately from the freight items and I would be receiving them via UPS shortly.

How the engine showed up..

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b1...h/IMG_0056.jpg

and the transmission...

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b1...h/IMG_0159.jpg


crushed power steering pump

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b1...h/IMG_0158.jpg

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b1...h/IMG_0162.jpg


busted fan

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b1...h/IMG_0164.jpg


cracked pulley

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b1...h/IMG_0163.jpg


oil pan reinforcement damage

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b1...h/IMG_0165.jpg

So instead of waiting for the replacement parts to show up, I decided to just order everything new myself and chalk this one up as a loss... Good thing is, I used electric fans so I didn't need the mechanical one, and I needed a different oil pan, and power steering pump anyway... so it wasn't too bad. I ordered the parts and started getting the engine and trans cleaned up and put together so I would have them ready to set in the chassis when it arrives...

Re: 1969 c10 build "the grinch" (gonna be pic heavy)
 

sweet build...:metal:

Re: 1969 c10 build "the grinch" (gonna be pic heavy)
 

I would've been seething if my stuff showed up like that man. You're lucky it wasn't worse!

Re: 1969 c10 build "the grinch" (gonna be pic heavy)
 

Very lucky that most parts weren't needed anyway but I agree with hewfil1 as well, seething and ready to ring someone's neck

Re: 1969 c10 build "the grinch" (gonna be pic heavy)
 

If it wasn't half way across the country, I probably would have made a trip over there to sort things out...

Re: 1969 c10 build "the grinch" (gonna be pic heavy)
 

Still worth it. It's the heart and soul of your build. Can't have it showing up like that.:metal:

Re: 1969 c10 build "the grinch" (gonna be pic heavy)
 

Great Progress. I will be following

Re: 1969 c10 build "the grinch" (gonna be pic heavy)
 

I'm in. I'm torn between the No Limit and Roadstershop chassis!!

Re: 1969 c10 build "the grinch" (gonna be pic heavy)
 

I'm sure there are a few people looking for him based on the forums and other places I've seen. Looks like I wasn't the only one screwed... Its all fixed and pretty now ;)

Thank you!


There is a big difference in both chassis' The Roadstershop one is a step above in my opinion. A few reasons being the Laser cut rails and computer designed notches allow for more strength than any mandrel/or regular bend. The eccentric cams for the alignment are extremely nice to have instead of shims and spacers. And the simplicity of the chassis is nice to me. I haven't used the No limit parts but they look like high quality so I am only going off of what experience or things I wanted in my build.

Re: 1969 c10 build "the grinch" (gonna be pic heavy)
 

Next up was prepping and cleaning up the engine.

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b1...h/IMG_0160.jpg

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b1...h/IMG_0058.jpg

I changed all the normal items while I had it out. Every sensor was replaced... knock, cps, temp, etc... New water pump, idler and tensioner pulley. Changed from the drive by wire to a cable system so it got a new Throttle body with new sensors. Deleted the manual fan.

Painted the trans as well while it was out.

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b1...h/IMG_0057.jpg

Then the engine and trans were put back together.

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b1...h/IMG_0169.jpg

Re: 1969 c10 build "the grinch" (gonna be pic heavy)
 

Next up was the wheels and tires. I wanted to keep the old school look so I decided to go with a set of the 22" GM transport wheels.

Here is the look of the wheels that were on it when I received it. Ive been told that the caps are from a nova or chevelle. I kind of like the look of them over the normal truck caps so Im going to use them on the new wheels.

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b1...h/IMG_0060.jpg

And the transport wheel
(not my picture)
http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b1...sportwheel.jpg

Since the wheels are white from the factory ill just have them powdercoated white.

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b1...h/IMG_0059.jpg

I put a nexen 265/35R22 tire on them as well.

To put the caps on, I used a set of cap clips I had purchased from a guy off of instagram. They went on pretty easy and allowed the cap to snap on and they are very secure.


Clips installed

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b1...h/IMG_0172.jpg

Cap Installed

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b1...h/IMG_0062.jpg

I think they look pretty much how the OEM ones did just with a larger wheel surface.

When I had popped the old cap off of the wheel I had noticed that the wheels were painted white with a brush at some point in time. I had done some research and from what I could fine these trucks came with either white or a silver wheel. I wish I knew what this one had from the factory!

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b1...h/IMG_0168.jpg


So with that, I purchased another set of the transport wheels and had them powdercoated the silver color just in case I want to go that route. I do like the white on there though.

Re: 1969 c10 build "the grinch" (gonna be pic heavy)
 

Bedsides showed up!!

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b1...h/IMG_0055.jpg

Heres a wheel and tire behind one of them to get an idea...

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b1...h/IMG_0167.jpg

Re: 1969 c10 build "the grinch" (gonna be pic heavy)
 

Sweet build!

Re: 1969 c10 build "the grinch" (gonna be pic heavy)
 

Killer build plans. I want to see that new chassis. Sounds like a great product. Subscribed.

Re: 1969 c10 build "the grinch" (gonna be pic heavy)
 

Thanks! your hood hinge brackets worked awesome!

Thank you! Its coming up!!! Just trying to keep this thing in order of how it happened!

Re: 1969 c10 build "the grinch" (gonna be pic heavy)
 

Pulled the seat out to send it to my buddy to get redone... As far as the interior goes, I am going to keep the original light green but change everything that was dark green to black. (if you knew me, this is a big stretch for building anything other than a black on black vehicle)

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b1...h/IMG_0065.jpg


I was looking for a greenish plaid material to do the seats in and wanted to use one like the "highlander" pattern but couldn't find any with the right green color. and all the ones I could find were too much of an olive green color.

I was researching "green plaid interior" on google and I found that in 1976 Cadillac used a green and white plaid for the calais sedan and coupe... Checked with SMS Auto Fabrics and they had some OEM material!!! they sent me a sample and it was perfect! I ordered a few yards and then went to my local Trim Store and picked up a hide in black for the rest.

Here is the seat prior

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b1...h/IMG_0066.jpg


And here is the OEM cadillac plaid. It has white background, with green and black stripes for the plaid. It even smells like an old Cadillac!

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b1...h/IMG_0170.jpg

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b1...h/IMG_0171.jpg

Re: 1969 c10 build "the grinch" (gonna be pic heavy)
 

Dude, that's NOT cool. People like that suck!

Re: 1969 c10 build "the grinch" (gonna be pic heavy)
 

Tuned in....

Re: 1969 c10 build "the grinch" (gonna be pic heavy)
 

A big semi-truck showed up out back with a giant crate!!!

Inside the truck, in the crate.

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b1...h/IMG_0067.jpg

The crate was massive! made the forklift look tiny!

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b1...h/IMG_0068.jpg

Front end

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b1...h/IMG_0175.jpg

Rear end

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b1...h/IMG_0176.jpg

Set in its home for the next few months...

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b1...h/IMG_0177.jpg

Un-Boxed

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b1...h/IMG_0069.jpg

Nice detail on the front crossmember

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b1...h/IMG_0178.jpg

It took a little longer than expected with this chassis, it was March 11 2016 when it showed up. It took 17 weeks from order time to delivery. I was told 8-12 and understood there was 3 major holidays in between this time. Overall I am very pleased with the chassis. A few minor changes had to be made but all-in-all its extremely nice.

Time for parts to start going on!!!!

Re: 1969 c10 build "the grinch" (gonna be pic heavy)
 

Sweet! Let me know if you need any ChubTubz.

Re: 1969 c10 build "the grinch" (gonna be pic heavy)
 

OMG that is so nice..

Re: 1969 c10 build "the grinch" (gonna be pic heavy)
 

It sure is! I just sat next to it and admired it for the first night! all of the technology that went into this chassis is amazing... computer scanned to make sure nothing would interfere, laser cut rails, eccentric alignment cams, adjustable trans cross member... its definitely a work of art alone. I was trying to find someone to nickel coat the entire thing but no one had a big enough tank to do the entire chassis.

Re: 1969 c10 build "the grinch" (gonna be pic heavy)
 

nice!

Re: 1969 c10 build "the grinch" (gonna be pic heavy)
 

So I couldn't wait any longer and the next day I put the new front CPP big brake kit with the cross drilled and slotted rotors and drop spindles.

The only thing was Roadstershop only sells this chassis with the wilwood pro spindle so your only lug pattern option is 5 on 4.75. To them this is a common bolt pattern in the hod rod industry, to me, it is a small camaro bolt pattern. I wanted something larger and I also wanted to use the transport wheels. This left me with the dilemma of finding a spindle that worked with the chassis that was designed around a different spindle. I had been in contact with roadstershop and wilwood and both of them telling me that their part was a mustang II spindle, I figured that the CPP Mustang II Big Brake Kit and spindle option would be my only hope. They have a drop spindle and a hub assembly that uses a 6 on 5.5" bolt pattern and that is exactly what I needed.

Once those were installed the front wheels and tires went on easy.

Next was the ford 9" third member. I went with a 3:70 gear ratio. I have two tahoe's with basically that gearing and similar wheel/tire size and they do great all around town and on the higway. I dropped it in for now just so everything could roll around without binding. I didnt want to fill it with any gear oil or put the seals in yet because I didnt want to have to pay for the Chem-strip cleaning fee at the powder-coater!

The only issue was the rear end was shipped with 5 on 4.75" axles. (I had specifically asked for axles with a 6 on 5.5" bolt pattern but hey who listens to me) Anyway with the offset of the transport wheels I decided to use an adapter to go from the small lug pattern to the big lug pattern. That way if I ever wanted to put a nice deep dish billet wheel on here all I would have to do was remove the adapter and put the old spindles back on up front. So I had to order a set of custom adapters that had to be milled to fit what I needed. as you can see in one of the pictures below, the only wheels I had laying around with that bolt pattern were a set of weld draglite skinny's, I just needed them temporarily.

After it was roll-able, with the tires and wheels on, I then dropped the engine and trans in... Using new Poly mounts everywhere...

Shes a roller with powertrain!!!

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b1...h/IMG_0179.jpg

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b1...h/IMG_0070.jpg

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b1...h/IMG_0180.jpg

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b1...h/IMG_0071.jpg

Next up will be taking some measurements for the drive line and finding a set of headers that will clear everything!

Re: 1969 c10 build "the grinch" (gonna be pic heavy)
 

I set the front and rear bumpers on, just to see where they would set. looks good to me! I did have to fabricate new front bumper supports because the ones i had were too long to fit with the new chassis.

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b1...h/IMG_0072.jpg

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b1...h/IMG_0073.jpg

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b1...h/IMG_0074.jpg

Also, I found a set of headers that will work. They are sanderson LS shortys, they seem to clear everything and look pretty good to me!

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b1...h/IMG_0075.jpg

The new Aeromotive Phantom in-tank fuel pump showed up along with the fuel filter (not pictured)

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b1...h/IMG_0076.jpg

Re: 1969 c10 build "the grinch" (gonna be pic heavy)
 

Very nice! You're doing it right