1968 C10 Stepside Restoration Project

[rechinca]

Great work. You may have to cut up that inner cowl and repair those overlap seams. Ask me how I know on that one. It's not fun, but I am glad I removed that whole inner cowl and repaired the lower cowl. It allowed me to address those areas properly and put in better sealer. Plus I found that in many places where there was about a 1/4" gap where the lap seams had spot welds that did not capture properly. It looked a lot like your door frame. Cant wait to see the updates.

[68 C10 Driver]

Originally Posted by rechinca

Great work. You may have to cut up that inner cowl and repair those overlap seams. Ask me how I know on that one. It's not fun, but I am glad I removed that whole inner cowl and repaired the lower cowl.

Rechinca, do you have any photos of what you did? I was hoping to repair mine without cutting the spot welds and removing the cowl and repair it from inside the cab.

[Trucknut57]

When you tackle that inner cowl panel, remember, we will need a bunch of pictures

[68 C10 Driver]

Originally Posted by Trucknut57

When you tackle that inner cowl panel, remember, we will need a bunch of pictures

Ok,no problem. But I can't promise that it will be pretty...

[68 C10 Driver]

So, we have been seeing a bit of a break in the weather and it has warmed up nicely. I decided to get out ant take advantage of the sunny weather and tinker with the truck some more.

I have been able to get the bottom patch panels on the lower A and B pillars along with the driverside cab corner. My welding isn't the prettiest, but I can grind down some more of the ugliness because I was able to do the welding on both sides for strength. I also was able to get the kick panel in and do a test fit of the outer rocker.

[68 C10 Driver]

Here are the latest pics...

[68 C10 Driver]

This is a test fit of the outer rocker...

[zicc1835]

just found this build ...nice work very nice

[68 C10 Driver]

Originally Posted by zicc1835

just found this build ...nice work very nice

Thank you, I am learning a lot doing this truck.

[68Gold/white]

How are you going about cleaning the underside? Grinding, sanding?

[68 C10 Driver]

Originally Posted by 68Gold/white

How are you going about cleaning the underside? Grinding, sanding?

I start out with wire brush on the grinder to get as much of the loose stuff off, then I hit it with the 60 grit flapper wheel on the grinder.

I'm afraid I am going to eventually burn out the Porter Cable grinder, but it's still hanging tough...

[68 C10 Driver]

Another outstanding weekend and I was able to get the remaining cab corner supports welded on and the bottom of the cab epoxy primed. The Upol epoxy primer sprayed very well and went on smooth without any issues. I will seam seal the weld seams and gaps, then spray the Raptor Liner hopefully next weekend.

[zicc1835]

Originally Posted by 68 C10 Driver

Another outstanding weekend and I was able to get the remaining cab corner supports welded on and the bottom of the cab epoxy primed. The Upol epoxy primer sprayed very well and went on smooth without any issues. I will seam seal the weld seams and gaps, then spray the Raptor Liner hopefully next weekend.

great progress

[tucktuck]

Originally Posted by 68 C10 Driver

I start out with wire brush on the grinder to get as much of the loose stuff off, then I hit it with the 60 grit flapper wheel on the grinder.

I'm afraid I am going to eventually burn out the Porter Cable grinder, but it's still hanging tough...

Looking good! I'm about to tackle my cab as well...

I worked at a shop back in the day and did a lot of grinding, we killed every grinder except the Makita. Now thats all I'll buy.

[68 C10 Driver]

I took a day off yesterday and decided to take advantage of the clear skies and 85 degree weather and apply the Raptor Liner to the underside of the cab. It went on pretty good and quickly.

[68 C10 Driver]

Another shot right after the application.

[yj4000]

Looks great.

[Kronald_70GMC]

Better than new! Looks really good.

[68 C10 Driver]

Originally Posted by Kronald_70GMC

Better than new! Looks really good.

Thanks! Just one step closer.

[88Stanger]

looking great! Good job

[71cadc10]

very nice. I took a real liking to the raptor liner...I sprayed the insides of my bumpers with it. Coated the fender emblems with it...as well as the bed. very versatile stuff.

[LT7A]

Really good progress. If I didn't know, I'd guess that you had been through this kind of work before. You seem matter of fact, and methodical, and the truck is coming together nicely.

[68 C10 Driver]

LT7A, Thanks for the complement but I have only restored a couple MGs and a few motorcycles, nothing to the scale of this truck. I never had to weld like I have on the C10, or use a spray-on bed liner. I have literally watched endless how-tproject. and read through endless posts on this forum, learning all I can so I could work towards completing this project.

After the truck is done, I have a classic Mini to restore, and it is worse off than the truck!

[Carl Spangler]

Originally Posted by 68 C10 Driver

LT7A, Thanks for the complement but I have only restored a couple MGs and a few motorcycles, nothing to the scale of this truck. I never had to weld like I have on the C10, or use a spray-on bed liner. I have literally watched endless how-tproject. and read through endless posts on this forum, learning all I can so I could work towards completing this project.

After the truck is done, I have a classic Mini to restore, and it is worse off than the truck!

I would like to see a couple pics of that Mini.

[68 C10 Driver]

Originally Posted by Carl Spangler

I would like to see a couple pics of that Mini.

The Mini is just a body shell at the moment. I actually started that project before the truck. Because this truck belonged to my wife's late father, she wanted me to drop the Mini and start on the truck. I will look for some photos of the Mini when it was delivered and some of the progress I made on it. After closer inspection it was apparent that it had been wrecked and was poorly repaired.