1968 C10 Stepside Restoration Project

[68 C10 Driver]

So I have been able to get out and work on the truck between entertaining the kids. I finally got rhe chance to clean up the floor a bit, now to clean up the passenger side.

[1971Stepside]

Looks great. Good work.

[68 C10 Driver]

Thanks for the complements everyone. I will pick up steam again after Memorial Day. I want to sand the passenger side floor so I can get a good coat of epoxy primer down.

[Carl Spangler]

Looks great!

[68 C10 Driver]

Originally Posted by Carl Spangler

Looks great!

Much appreciated! I will start on it again after the Memorial Day holiday. My goal is to have this cab painted by August!

[68 C10 Driver]

So once again the weather was really great! We just got back from St.Augustine, FL and it seemed like a good day to get to sanding the passenger side floor. There was a pretty good amount of surface rust under the paint. This didn't surprise me as I was told by my wife that her dad would wash out the inside of the truck's cab with a hose. He believed that as it was a work truck, that was an acceptable method to clean it.

So after some sanding, I hit the floor with some Rust Mort...that is definitely some potent stuff. I will let that do its thing overnight and hit the floor with the self etching primer. I will eventually spray the floor with the epoxy primer to better seal it. after that I will work on the upper portion of the floor (inside firewall) and epoxy prime that as well.

[68 C10 Driver]

I forgot to mention that I am retiring the Muncie 3 speed that came with the truck. I decided to go with this Muncie M20 4 Speed. I picked it up rebuilt, and I believe from the numbers on the case it is a '67 or '68. I was also able to pick up this Hurst Competition Plus shifter for under $100, and also got the shifter handle that will work with the bench seat. I'm going to try and use the reverse light switch made for the M20, according to the multimeter, it works great!

[68 C10 Driver]

Making further progress on the floor and interior firewall area. had to stop to apply more Rust Mort. Once it dries, I will lightly scuff and paint with etching primer.

[Trucknut57]

It really is turning out nice and smooth, wish I had the patients to do any type of body work.

[RCbowtie69]

Great build, keep up the hard work. Keep on truckin''

[68 C10 Driver]

Thanks Trucknut57 and RCbowtie69!

In all seriousness, I attribute my body work abilities to all those hours in my youth building model airplanes. With models, you have to use putty to hide seams and then you have to sand everything to get a good surface to paint. This truck is just a bit on a larger scale, but the same principle.

[1971Stepside]

You may find it much easier to pull the dash to repair those sections

I agree with Grumpy. Drilling out the pinch welds on the dash will save you a bunch and maybe finding a donor cab with that section the is good would be a good way to go. You have it down and are doing great work so either way you will get it done.

[68 C10 Driver]

Originally Posted by 1971Stepside

I agree with Grumpy. Drilling out the pinch welds on the dash will save you a bunch and maybe finding a donor cab with that section the is good would be a good way to go. You have it down and are doing great work so either way you will get it done.

I agree with you, but unfortunately there are no donor cabs in my area available that I can rob from. I'm going to see what I can do without cutting the dash out. I know that is not optimal, but I gotta do with what I have. My dash is in really good shape and I don't want to risk ruining it.

[Grumpy old man]

Originally Posted by 68 C10 Driver

I agree with you, but unfortunately there are no donor cabs in my area available that I can rob from. I'm going to see what I can do without cutting the dash out. I know that is not optimal, but I gotta do with what I have. My dash is in really good shape and I don't want to risk ruining it.

Well I'll give you credit for doing all the work to save that cab , To bad your so far away ( about 350 miles ) I have a few parts cabs I'm using for my builds that I found when they were still cheap . a few bolts and some spot welds to pull the dash could save you a ton of time and a better result in the end ...

[Grumpy old man]

contact member heehawracing , he's down your way and may have what you need ?

[68 C10 Driver]

Originally Posted by Grumpy old man

contact member heehawracing , he's down your way and may have what you need ?

Thanks Grumpy, I appreciate the lead. If I find I cannot get things how I want without pulling the dash, I will look at removing the dash and contacting Heehawracing.

BTW, I did do a test fit of the carpet yesterday...

[68Gold/white]

Good job on the dash removal! I’m glad you decided to go that route, it will help you out , a lot!!!i have removed a couple, only hassle is, all that drilling...
Great rust repairs, you’ve accomplished!!! You’re a great inspiration for the rest of us!!!

Lol, looking for are to the “after” pictures of the inner dash repairs!!!
Carry on, man!!!

[Southpaw69]

I got to learn how to weld with my truck as well. You had a lot more and it looks great. Rock on sir.

[68 C10 Driver]

Originally Posted by Southpaw69

I got to learn how to weld with my truck as well. You had a lot more and it looks great. Rock on sir.

I had zero welding experience before this build. YouTube has been a great teacher! I greatly appreciate the positive comments from everyone. It really helps to motivate me.

Thanks!

Cheers-

[68 C10 Driver]

So back to repairing the rust on the area up under the dash. Because of the compound curves, this was a tricky patch panel to create. Fortunately I keep an old inner fender around for that purpose and it came in handy. But the panel I am putting together will actually be several pieces when it is all said and done.

The largest panel was the most difficult to create and that is now welded in. I just need to get my welds ground down a bit more...they will not be flush for added strength and besides, no one will ever see it unless they remove the dash again. The gaps up under the windshield opening will be sealed with seam sealer.

[68 C10 Driver]

The outside area was easier, but time consuming because I had to make several parts and weld them in place, again because of the complex bends and angles.

This looks ugly now, but it will get massaged down into a nice seamless look. I wanted to somehow eliminate the seam here anyway just to prevent future water intrusion which leads to rust.

[May70]

That turned out nicely

[68 C10 Driver]

Originally Posted by May70

That turned out nicely

Thanks!

[68 C10 Driver]

So I know that I will be painting the interior of the cab, thus painting over the Lizard Skin. My thought is that I want the smooth looking kick panels, as the doors will also be smooth because they are not coated with the Lizard Skin. As you can see in the photo there is a pretty definite texture to the kick panel shown.

So I will sand the kick panels a bit (not removing all of the texture) and spraying with high build primer, sanding. and using a glazing putty to smooth it out.

[68 C10 Driver]

So I sanded and used filler primer and some glazing putty to smooth out the driver's side kick panel, also removed the remaining seam sealer from the rain gutters to day and applied some Rust Mort. Once that dries I will prime and sand.