Cashforclunkers restoration 71' K10 Stepside

[bubbasimms]

Originally Posted by cashforclunkers

Yes I did. There is actually enough demand for the 67-72 parts they are stocking them since there were a few people doing restorations in the area. This dealership has an entire oe and aftermarket parts division with outside sales reps and delivery trucks. Its worth looking into in your area for sure.

Since it is local there is no shipping costs and they offer auto body shops discounted pricing so I got a deal through a friends shop on all of it.

I plan on using them for my new project as well.

That's great info, thank you for that. I'm definitely going to check with a few dealers around me.

[cashforclunkers]

I've drove the truck every day this week and it's going great. I've been using it to haul 69 suburban parts I've been selling off to board members. Tonight we are headed for lowes to pick up some stuff for the new house.

I also might have a plan for one of the biggest events in my life coming up soon and the 71 is involved.

I wanted to share some of the memories. I like having it all written down somewhere.



I was working at a very unlegit wrecking yard after school and during the summer between my sophomore and junior year. This was 09-10' and was during the government buy back program. I bought a 89 k1500 from the yard for $150 (running, driving) as my first truck. I replaced the front fenders and fixed the bed by grafting a set of front fender openings into the bed, then painted it. The truck was factory blue with red interior. Why would they even offer that combo?

After about 6 months I posted it online for sale to trade for a muscle car. Someone sent me an email about this 71 k10 with a 500hp blueprinted 383 and all this fancy stuff. It was half primer black and half lime green with a 80s bed and "tweeked n peaked" on the windshield. I drove 2.5hrs away and met him at a gas station. I was 16 and didn't really know any better, I handed him my keys and he left. Guy saw me coming.


He actually folded 2 sparkplugs in on themselves so it sounded like it had a cam. 3" aluminum lift blocks front and rear with hand tight chineeseum u bolts. The drivers front main leaf was broken (scary). Battery melting against the manifold because the cables were too short to use the tray. 12V wired to the burned points, and with the gearing it would do barely 50mph on the highway. My buddy went with me and on the way back he said "you need to take this thing to cashforclunkers!!!"

[cashforclunkers]

A few weeks before I was born my dad purchased a black s10 pickup. They brought me home from the hospital in it. He had it the whole time growing up and it worked really hard for a 2wd 4cyl. He sold it to the junkyard i worked at and they fixed it up and it became the shop loaner truck.

Well one day the headgasket went again so they asked me to follow them over to the yard from the shop about 2 miles away so they could have a ride back. Because the truck was being driven to its final resting place he decided to mess around, passing me on a blind corner. Well a car was coming in the other lane so he swerved and passed both of us in the far ditch at about 60-65mph and then clipped off a telephone pole and turned the truck into a taco. I watched the black chevy truck that brought me home die from the window of my black chevy 71.

[cashforclunkers]

Of course I took it to prom. That's supposed to be the best night but it really wasn't. We posed for the yearbook in it and it ended up being a full 2-page photo with barely any other vehicle mentioned in the 'student rides' section. The kid pointing to the sky was my best buddy Earl.

Earl is one of the very few people that has ever driven this truck since I've owned it. I usually have 3-4 vehicles to drive so he would borrow the truck for a week at a time just because he liked it. We dated identical twin sisters in school and made a lot of memories the 4 of us. He also talked me into getting a new job with him where I still work today.

Me and Katie didn't work out but he married Krissy and joined the airforce right out of highschool. He got stationed in NC and we barely saw each other anymore. He did come in to visit me at work one day right after I got the truck back on the road. Said he was laying under it in the parking lot before he came in and was more excited than I was to see it with fresh paint.

I'm glad he went out of the way to see me that day because it was the last time. A few weeks later he died in a motocross accident. Miss that kid like hell and this truck is the biggest thing tying me to him and the memories.

[cashforclunkers]

I got engaged!

[Ol Blue K20]

Nice! Congratulations.

[cashforclunkers]

Couple pics from the weekend at the beach and in front of our new house we have been building.

The Holley Carb on the truck has been fighting me with sticking linkage and now seems to be flooding out when the truck is off. That and I noticed a lower oil pressure I'm thinking the oil is gas washed. Need to give it the sniff test. Time for another carb and oil change. I might try the 800cfm quadrajet I got from a running 425 Cadillac. Needs valve guides too you'll notice. Hoping once the house is done and I have my new shop I can put together a vortec headed 383 out of a spare motor a heavy duty 72 k10 350 core engine I saved for it.