'69 C10 - Black on Black
 

With the completion (or as complete as they will ever be) of my dad's 64 C10 and my 68, it's time to start another build. I came across this truck locally - the previous owner indicated that he had bought the truck in Arizona and he had put a lot of time and money into it but for one reason or another hasn't really worked on it in a couple years and finally decided to offload it. It's a pretty low-option 69 C10 LWB and it's got very little rust compared to most of these trucks.

This project is going to take longer than my 68 though. I was so motivated to get my 68 done that I probably neglected some things. But now that we both have our trucks, we can go a little slower on this one and go the extra mile on a few aspects. And with the wedding coming up in October, I've been spending time getting ready for that.

Here is a list of the work that has been done to it:
-Original 350 has been rebuilt to 383 and a rebuilt TH400 put behind it
-Front disc brake conversion with 2.5" drop spindles
-Rear disc brake conversion
-New grille
-Repop outer fenders
-New carpet
-Aftermarket seats
-Intellitronix gauges
-Stock replacement radiator with dual electric fans
-Side fill rear-mount tank
-Power windows (not installed)

In the beginning, we had talked about keeping this one low-budget and converting it to SWB but quickly decided to tear it apart and make a really nice truck. Our tentative plans for it:
-SWB conversion (we were able to find a factory shortbed assembly locally)
-Rear drop springs
-5 lug conversion
-Replace 383/TH400 with Gen V LT powertrain
-Boyd's tank
-Vintage Air
-Black paint job
-Install rear sport bumper
-Dakota Digital gauges
-Install factory outer fenders (already have a set from Dennis)

And a few ideas we've been kicking around:
-Do something about the seats. They provide good legroom, but the color is terrible and they just don't look good.
-Smooth the bumpers and paint them black
-Smooth the firewall
-Repair the factory radio opening or install a double DIN unit
-Altman door latches
-Paint the engine bay and cab interior a satin black, exterior gloss black

Here it is the day we brought it home:
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Re: '69 C10 - Black on Black
 

We scored a factory shortbed that is in great shape locally and got a couple factory fenders from Dennis.

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Re: '69 C10 - Black on Black
 

The truck has mostly been sitting since we picked it up in February, but last weekend we officially started the teardown.

Looking at the pictures from the previous owner, the bed looked to be in good shape and for a minute I considered cutting it down. But upon closer inspection, it's pretty rough. The bed floor has a lot of rust, the front panel is bowed, the tailgate is bowed and dented, both sides have a big dent or two, there is a huge hole cut in the floor and side for the side fill, and someone committed some sort of crime welding something on at the stake pockets. So we took the bed off and sent it to scrap, but kept a few small parts.

A few things I've noticed about the truck so far:
-It's got a 12 bolt and coils/trailing arms so I'm happy about that.
-There is some weird bracket on the passenger side trailing arm and it looks like maybe there was one on the driver side but like it's been cut off. What would this have been?
-It appears that there are two sets of holes for the bumper brackets so I was glad to see that as well.
-The rear upper shock brackets are not very secure. In fact, the passenger side bracket is loose (the rivets are wollered out in the holes) and the driver side has been welded on. Good thing we have shock relocation brackets to clean this up.

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Re: '69 C10 - Black on Black
 

Gonna be fun to watch you do another one.

Re: '69 C10 - Black on Black
 

Cool project and a nice truck to start with

Re: '69 C10 - Black on Black
 

That bracket could have been for factory load springs. THey were 1/2 leaf springs bolted to the frame. the other end came in contact with that pad when enough of a load was put in the bed. Someone had a set for sale here. Someone beat me to the punch buying them, though...

Re: '69 C10 - Black on Black
 

The SPID does have an option for HD rear springs and I was curious how that worked on coil trucks.

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Re: '69 C10 - Black on Black
 

Go to the parts for sale section. THe overload I'm talking about, just sold a couple of days ago. There are pictures.
The end of the 1/2 leaf normally rides about 3-4 inches above that pad on your bracket.
My knowledge of having heavy duty springs on any of these pickups, is the coil springs themselves being heavy duty. My 67 and 68 both have the Heavy Duty rear springs on the SPID, neither have the overload pad, like yours.
THe SPID code for the heavy duty springs on my 67 and 68 is 4G50BA

The SPID code on yours is 4G50AA. i wonder what the difference is???

My Dad had a 68 C10. It had the overlaod leafs on it, EXCEPT the leafs contacted the top of the axle tube when loaded. It road like it had NO suspension when it had a heavy load....

Re: '69 C10 - Black on Black
 

Awesome!

Re: '69 C10 - Black on Black
 

Black paint job caught my eye, I would someday like to try my hand at one as well. You going single stage or BC/CC?

Re: '69 C10 - Black on Black
 

Probably BC/CC. I'm just not a single stage guy.

Re: '69 C10 - Black on Black
 

MDPotter, well!! .. it's about time you got busy again!!!:lol: man! that is a nice base. I look foward to following along ...:ito:

Re: '69 C10 - Black on Black
 

So glad you're starting another truck build! Black will be more challenging (or so they say) but I bet it'll be as sweet a ride as the others!

Re: '69 C10 - Black on Black
 

In for the ride!

Re: '69 C10 - Black on Black
 

The truck is torn down about as far as we are taking it. Every body panel, with the exception of the fenders and the tailgate, is at the blaster right now. One of the previous owners had butchered a hole in the trans hump for a shifter so we'll have to patch that up.

We've changed our approach on this one. After listing the 383/TH400 for sale for some time we just couldn't get the money out of it to make an LS swap feasible so we're going to keep the truck more original and try to cut the cost a little bit and make it more affordable for the eventual buyer but still make a nice truck. So that means a few things:
-Keep the 383/TH400
-No LED lighting
-Clean (pressure wash) and wire wheel the chassis in preparation for Chassis Saver (front portion has already been repainted)
-Full Vintage Air system (compressor that came with it is compatible)
-Repair the dash so an Autosound radio can be installed
-Cab rust repair
-Install a thicker radiator and aluminum shroud and fans
-Convert to top fill tank
-Re-integrate the side marker lights in the bedsides (someone had made an attempt at shaving them previously)

Other ideas we're undecided on:
-Paint the seats that came with it or use the bench seat frame from my 68, get new foam and a cover
-Keep the Intellitronix digital gauges or restore the cluster from my 68
-Single stage or base/clear paint
-Keep the floor shifter or convert to column shift

Next steps: frame shortening, rear suspension drop, frame cleanup and paint.

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Re: '69 C10 - Black on Black
 

Looking forward to the build!

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Wow, as beat as that truck is, and it's got that crazy front drive on it. Who knew? I would recommend an OD trans. Makes the highway much nicer.

Re: '69 C10 - Black on Black
 

We have all the receipts from the previous owner and it's sad that after all that expense it's still only half done. That serpentine drive cost as much as the rebuilt 4L80E I put in my 68.

Re: '69 C10 - Black on Black
 

Did they throw in the chain saw, that they used to cut the hole in the trans hump???:lol::lol::lol:

Re: '69 C10 - Black on Black
 

Sure sign of a struggle. I didn't take a picture of the patch that was over it - some kind of shiny tin riveted on.

Re: '69 C10 - Black on Black
 

Progress on this truck has been slow - getting ready for the wedding and the rear end swap on my 68 has been taking up time the past few weekends. We got the cab back from the blaster and dove into rust repair. I've kind of been dreading it, but once we got going it wasn't bad. This truck has less rust than my 68 and with the experience on that one we got a lot done in a day. Also got the frame shortened.

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Re: '69 C10 - Black on Black
 

Good progress. Tell me it is better the second time around? I about pulled the trigger on a short 4x4 this weekend, but space is my issue.

Re: '69 C10 - Black on Black
 

Oh yeah, the project in general goes much faster and easier with all of the lessons learned. To be specific, I can do the rust repair on these trucks at least twice as fast this time around. The quickest/easiest way to do the cab is to use a cutoff wheel to take off the outer rocker, then you can see what you're working with underneath. Then cut everything out of the way (as little as needed) and start attaching the new sheetmetal.

Re: '69 C10 - Black on Black
 

Looks good!

Re: '69 C10 - Black on Black
 

Spent some time on the chassis on Saturday. C-notch is ready to go in - cuts are made and holes are drilled. Also installed the 5" drop springs, new u-bolts, new upper and lower spring retainers, and removed the old upper shock mounts. After all that, gave it a pressure wash and degreaser outside and getting ready to paint the frame. Still need to do some more degreasing and a little wire wheel work, but it's close.

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Re: '69 C10 - Black on Black
 

Wasting no time on another awesome build. What part of the western slope? I grew up there

Re: '69 C10 - Black on Black
 

Your making me want to start another one. They are a lot of work, keep it up.

Re: '69 C10 - Black on Black
 

Yes they are. But 2nd one goes a lot easier!

Re: '69 C10 - Black on Black
 

I blame him for the same thing LOL. I'm thinking 4 x 4 for the next one...my wife isn't thrilled

Re: '69 C10 - Black on Black
 

Our better halves will never understand. It's just time and money though, what's the big deal?

Re: '69 C10 - Black on Black
 

Saturday was very productive for us on a few different projects.

We got the bed assembly, hood, and doors back from the blaster finally. We did a little more cleanup on the frame and disassembled front and rear to some degree to get a better finished product. The bottom side of the bed, front and rear rotors, bed skirts, and overall chassis got two coats of Chassis Saver. The previous owner had already cleaned up the front end and painted it, but didn't paint the spindles or rotors so we sprayed everything.

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Of course, with the wedding coming up I've been working on various projects here and there. I'm building an arch and it's pretty simple - just 4x4's and 2x4's stained and will put it together at the venue instead of trying to haul it assembled.

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Another project that I'm eager to work on is the 93 C1500 we picked up a few months ago. It's in such good shape; trucks like this are hard to find. It's an old forest service truck and the previous owner lowered it and put on a 94+ grille and polished the paint. The steering column had various issues - the main issue being that the ignition was worn out or broken and so the rod that connects the ignition to the switch down lower on the column was disconnected from the ignition so in order to start it you basically just had to push the rod downwards and hence it's kind of a pain and also not secure. So I picked up a tilt/shift column from a junkyard and we got it swapped out in about an hour which was pretty fast. This truck is going to mostly sit around waiting to be torn into, but it was a good deal and a body style my dad wants and we will get into it next year.

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I figured while I was off topic I thought I would share a couple pictures from my bachelor party a few weeks ago. We went over to Denver and did a few things, but the highlight was the exotic car drive we went on. Back when I lived in Denver I did a couple drives with a different company, but this place was a notch above. I signed up for a Lamborghini Gallardo and showed up and they upgraded me at no charge to the Huracan Spyder and my best man took the AMG GTC Roadster. If you haven't been in one of these cars, I highly recommend it. The moment you get in the car, you can feel all the hours of R&D and the quality level and understand why these cars cost so much. The Lambo is loud and the interior is like sitting in a cockpit, whereas the AMG is quiet and feels more like a luxury sedan. The experience was awesome - you don't have a copilot, but there is a pilot car. The road we took is just out of Golden into the mountains so lots of turns and a few straightaways. These cars are high-end pieces of automotive art, but they are machines and can break down though. I thought there was something off with the way the Lambo was shifting and brought it to the owner's attention when we stopped to trade cars halfway, but he wasn't concerned. Well my best man got in it with me behind him in the AMG and blew a transmission line on a straightaway. I got on the radio right away and there just happened to be a pullover area and there was a trail of fluid on the road and some smoke. The cameraman stayed with the car while myself and my best man got into the AMG and followed the owner back to the shop so he could call a tow truck. The owner was in a Mercedes crossover SUV and I could not keep up with him back to the shop. It was quite the experience and a ton of fun, and my buddy can say that he broke a Lambo. All said and done, they are letting us reschedule for another day which was really cool of them. Highly recommend Oxotic in Golden.

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Re: '69 C10 - Black on Black
 

Man, that looks like some fun! I gotta remember this after I start my next project and then find myself in the situation where I need another bachelor party...

Re: '69 C10 - Black on Black
 

What an awesome time that must have been! Immediately I went to their website and looked into pricing and details. Next, I showed my son the 105 mile tour, and mentioned all the car options and he said, "We have to do that..."

The bucket list just grew again. :metal:

Re: '69 C10 - Black on Black
 

No need to wait for a bachelor party to do it! There are companies like this in all of the big cities.

You won't regret it. We just did the 25 mile drive and I was happy. Besides the price, I was nervous to be liable for the car for very long...

Re: '69 C10 - Black on Black
 

I'm happy to say that cab rust repair is complete. It's one of the tasks I dread on these trucks, but you have to do it. Also shot epoxy on the underside of the cab, wheel tubs, hood, and front bed panel. It's kind of a race against the weather right now as it's going to be harder to keep heat in the booth soon due to the weather cooling off.

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Re: '69 C10 - Black on Black
 

It is looking great. I don't miss rust repair...

Re: '69 C10 - Black on Black
 

very nice!! glad to see you recovered from "the party"...:lol: :ito:

Re: '69 C10 - Black on Black
 

Back from the honeymoon and working on the truck a little bit. Driveshaft is in, c-notches are installed, and new top fill tank is in place. If anyone wants a lightly used side fill LMC tank, let me know. We prefer the top fill.

Also did some work on the bed floor. It has quite a few dents and we filled most of them. This isn't going to be a show truck or else we would have gotten a new floor. So we filled most of them and recoated with epoxy - you can see the filler spots where the primer flashed. Going to cover with Raptor liner in the next few days. The weather is cooling off here so we'll either be heating the booth or working on everything except the body from here forward.

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Re: '69 C10 - Black on Black
 

Let's get lower so the C-Notch is really worth it :)