1966 C10 Father Son Build

[matt_l]

Many years ago I read an article about restoring/building a car with your son/daughter. It sounded like so much fun, and I loved the idea of spending the time together, learning together, and passing on my love of cars and engineering to my son. I actually decided I was going to build my sons first car car together before I even had a son.

So I have been looking for the last couple years for a vehicle to build. The struggle was finding the right vehicle. It had to be practical and safe enough for a 16 year old to drive. No super charged big block here. It also had to be something affordable that I would not be brought to tears the first time he scratched it or god forbid ran it into a tree. The third criteria was that it had to be something we could work on without a ton of electronics. Finally it had to be something we both though was cool. You can see the struggle. We went to car shows together, looked at pictures online, and scoured craigslist for ideas.

Slowly the ideas got narrowed down, and the idea of a truck was starting to emerge. Then it quickly narrowed to Chevy or Ford. We decided either would be ok, but when it came down to it, we like the Chevy styling better.
Once the decision on vehicle was made, we just had to find a truck. And craigslist came through.

Here are a couple pictures when we drove it home on a cold January day.









Plans for the truck is to go with the lowered shop truck look. Do most of the projects on an ongoing basis while keeping it on the road.

First Phase:
Fix the major rust and get the cab structurally sound
Upgrade to a dual master cylinder and power brakes
Go through the wiring and get it safe and reliable. (current wireharness is sitting on the exhaust)
New Windshield and gasket (Not sure what is holding the current cracked one in)
Set of 4 matching steelies and white walls

Then the on to the big stuff:

undecided on bagged or static drop but going low for sure
change to 350 sbc with 5 speed manual
upgrade to 4 wheel discs
power steering
lots of body work and paint

That is the quick and dirty. I plan to get lots of pictures and share the progress.

Matt and Ben

[matt_l]

Here is Ben and his buddy max (8 in the pic, 11 now). Needless to say, we have a few years to get the truck ready!

[VictoriaHardware]

Great idea. Should be done in time for his driving test and Max will be looking forward to hanging his head out the window too.

[matt_l]

Project number one was to clean up the floor and see what shape the floor was really in under the bondo and carpet.

Here is the driver side with the carpet removed.



Here is the passenger side after the bondo and patch panels removed. The patch panes appeared to be sheet metal cut from old appliances and screwed in with sheet metal screws. The Bondo was over and inch thick in some places. I am guessing the PO though the bondo would act as a structural member and eliminate the rust.

The floor was not in as bad of shape as I expected.





My next step is to add bracing to the cab and then cut the rest of the bad metal away as I fit the patch panels in. I am going to copy the bracing Alan did in this build: http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...346597&page=37 I love the FAQ's on this board, I would not have known where to start on the floor without it.

One question, The front CAB support is in good shape, the rear cab support is totally rotted away. Do I replace the rear cab support first and then the rocker then the floor, or do the rocker and floor first followed by the cab support?

[Grizz1963]

Great post.

I so wish my stepson had even one technical bone in his body..... he really does not know the difference between a screw and a nail, so cars etc are out.

His father is 100% not interested (nice enough guy) and my wife wont let me abuse her 17 year old by forcing him out of his bedroom and away from the PC and XBox.

I trust your relationship with your family will be even stronger for this project.

[McMurphy]

and to the site, this looks to be an awesome build thread !!

I had to laugh though when I read:

It had to be practical and safe enough for a 16 year old to drive. No super charged big block here. It also had to be something affordable

and then

change to 350 sbc with 5 speed manual

Not sure that much horsepower would be very practical or economical for a teen...
I cannot assume how much experience you have had with the T5 transmissions but I had too many guys tell me they were not as dependable as they should have been, so I ultimately decided against one. The hydraulic clutch put me off too because I am not that clever of a fellow to know what I was messing with.

The beauty of this build is you have plenty of time to adjust and add, modify and enhance whatever vision you and your son come up with.

Good Luck, I envy you this project !!

[Modges'66]

Welcome Aboard!
It looks like you found a pretty decent truck to start with.
Did you go out of state for that? it doesn't look like it is from Michigan.
I had a burb 25 yrs ago that wasn't in that good of shape!
Good luck on your build, I'm sure that many good times will be had!

[matt_l]

Originally Posted by McMurphy

and to the site, this looks to be an awesome build thread !!

I had to laugh though when I read:
and then

Not sure that much horsepower would be very practical or economical for a teen...
I cannot assume how much experience you have had with the T5 transmissions but I had too many guys tell me they were not as dependable as they should have been, so I ultimately decided against one.

I am glad I got a laugh.

Yeah, it has to have some power for when I drive it! I figured I would do a mild build on the 350. The reason I was thinking the sbc 350 is that I have done one before and I want to do another.

As for the transmission, I like the idea of a manual, which manual have people had good luck with?

I have also read through your build and have got a lot if inspiration from your excellent body work. I am very new at that aspect and I learned a lot from your thread. Thanks for the inspiration.
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[matt_l]

Originally Posted by Modges'66

Welcome Aboard!
It looks like you found a pretty decent truck to start with.
Did you go out of state for that? it doesn't look like it is from Michigan.
I had a burb 25 yrs ago that wasn't in that good of shape!
Good luck on your build, I'm sure that many good times will be had!

Thanks, I did find it in Detroit, but originally it was a Texas truck. Don't let the pics fool you though, there is a lot of work here. I am just starting to uncover the PO's little gems.
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[jayoldschool]

The T5 isn't strong enough for a decent 350. In Camaros, you could only get it with the 305. The 350 cars got autos. In 93, the T56 debuted behind the LT1. It is a great trans, and the 93-96 ones will bolt up to an early SBC, and the 94-up are rated for 450ft-lbs. They're expensive, though.

[Bomp]

Welcome aboard.
Looks to be a great build your starting there.

[matt_l]

Originally Posted by jayoldschool

The T5 isn't strong enough for a decent 350. In Camaros, you could only get it with the 305. The 350 cars got autos. In 93, the T56 debuted behind the LT1. It is a great trans, and the 93-96 ones will bolt up to an early SBC, and the 94-up are rated for 450ft-lbs. They're expensive, though.

Thanks for the info Jay. Those T56's are spendy, I may have to keep my eyes open for a steal on craigslist. I would hate to go through all the work of putting a T5 in just to blow it up.

[McMurphy]

Originally Posted by matt_l

As for the transmission, I like the idea of a manual, which manual have people had good luck with?

I have also read through your build and have got a lot if inspiration from your excellent body work. I am very new at that aspect and I learned a lot from your thread. Thanks for the inspiration.
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Hahahahaha I feel that I have to warn you that everything you see on my build has to come with the disclaimer that I am a total newb at this stuff !!!
I have gotten in over my head (well, almost) a couple times.

I have married up a Muncie20 to my 350, and that came with some challenges of its own, which I just summed up in gtcox's thread....

Originally Posted by jayoldschool

The T5 isn't strong enough for a decent 350. In Camaros, you could only get it with the 305. The 350 cars got autos. In 93, the T56 debuted behind the LT1. It is a great trans, and the 93-96 ones will bolt up to an early SBC, and the 94-up are rated for 450ft-lbs. They're expensive, though.

Yep..... that was what I was hearing out as well.
Sadly for me the T56 was going to be a $1500 to $2000 investment for me up here in central Alaska.

Let me know if I can help you with any specific questions you may have.

[matt_l]

We got a little time to work on the truck this weekend in between Bens basketball games and the Red wings hockey game.

We got the tank out and drained. The tank is in great shape, so it will get cleaned up and put back in eventually. One question, what is the secret to not having a cab that smells like gas? On the drive home, there was a definite gas odor.

Here are some pics of the cab stiffened up in prep for all the rotten metal being cut out. I have all the passenger patch panels, so I hope to start getting them fitted in this week.




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[McMurphy]

There are a ton of tanks out there (from blazers to ford falcons and mustangs) that will fit between your frame rails behind the rear axle. That is probably the only sure fire way of getting the gas fumes out of the cab.

You can fix the problem with new gaskets and seals, but eventually it will come back.
I took mine out, and have a 30gal 90s era Blazer tank mounted now.

[matt_l]

After a long delay I finally got back in the garage tonight for a little bit of patch panel fitting. Here are a few pics of the progress.



Close up of the a pillar:



B pillar, this one the patch panel needs a little finessing to get it to fit.



Next tep I want to hang the door back on and see how close the panels are, and then I will tack them in.

[Bomp]

Looking good. Nice progress.
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[timmytimm3]

Coming along. I'm rebuilding my Father's old truck.

[CRGRS 66]

Welcome to the forum!

[da_bears_da1]

Looking good. I have not had an aftermarket panel that did not need adjusting. Keep up the good work and keep us posted. We all love pictures!

[Ta2Don]

aboard, Good looking truck and good progress, keep it up!!!

[McMurphy]

Good to see you posting again !!
Progress is all good !

[matt_l]

Originally Posted by Bomp

Looking good. Nice progress.
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Thanks, slowly but surely is the plan. You excellent work on your gages cluster/bezel motivated me on mine. I got mine cleaned up. I will post pics shortly after I get the lens buffed out.

Originally Posted by timmytimm3

Coming along. I'm rebuilding my Father's old truck.

That is awesome. has it been in the family the whole time, or did you find it and buy it back?

Originally Posted by CRGRS 66

Welcome to the forum!

Originally Posted by da_bears_da1

Looking good. I have not had an aftermarket panel that did not need adjusting. Keep up the good work and keep us posted. We all love pictures!

Yeah, some are close, one had to be totally cut apart and rebuilt.. pics to come.

Originally Posted by Ta2Don

aboard, Good looking truck and good progress, keep it up!!!

Thanks man..

Originally Posted by McMurphy

Good to see you posting again !!
Progress is all good !

You and Bomp are making such good progress you guys really motivate me to get in the garage as much as possible.... It may end me up on the couch, but it will be worth it.

[matt_l]

I am currently taking a welding class at the local community college to get my welding skills up to par before I tear into any of the major structural modifications. To my surprise, the teacher not only allows you to bring in external projects, but he encourages it. He says no better way to learn than weld on real parts. So I am taking advantage of all the resources including the CNC plasma cutter and powder coating booth.

In order to practice on the cnc plasma cutter I made a simple wine bottle holder:



I also got a new battery box fabbed up and used the powder coater. I sand blasted the parts first to get them good an clean and then show them flat black.

Hanging ready to coat:



After pulled out of oven:

http://i430.photobucket.com/albums/q...D1F7E7F909.jpg

Battery installed:

[Bomp]

You are dedicated. Nice to see your gettin' all learned up on makin' sparks
Having that skill makes it that much funner.