Bringing My Grandad's Truck Back To Life

[jfallon83]

Hey everyone. I've been a member here for a very long time and have gotten a lot of great info over the years from this forum. I haven't posted a lot and I figured it was time to change that.

I'd like for you to meet Pop's Truck. It's a 1967 swb that my Granddad (Pop) bought brand new in 1967. My mom and her two sisters learned to drive in it, as did I. Unfortunately while I was learning to drive in it, it became apparent that the brakes were in terrible condition. Because of this, it was parked in their backyard in 2001 with intent of fixing them soon, but it didn't move for many years.

In 2014, I finally convinced my Granddad to let me have the truck. I mostly deal with Jeeps and circle track cars and he had seen what I had done to these (it hasn't been pretty) and was not very willing to turn it over to me, fearing that the truck would turn into an abomination. I pledged that everything I did to the truck would be tasteful and he finally agreed.

Last year, I put new suspension from CCP on the truck, lowering it slightly. I also converted the front brakes to discs from a 1983 C10. The new master cylinder with proportioning valve is currently in the mail and will be installed within the next few weeks. The exhaust was completely rusted out, so I will be replacing it as well, and figured that I might as well throw a set of long tube headers from Flowtech on it. These were installed last December.

The truck originally had a 283, which blew up a little over 100,000 miles into the trucks life in 1983. At the time, it was still Pop's daily driver and he managed to trade an old trailer for decent 350, which still resides in the truck. Last night, I got it to crank for the first time since 2001. See the video below. It still has the open headers, so it's loud and popping a little. As soon as the brakes are finished and the shifter linkage re-installed (it was removed for some reason before I got the truck), I hope to be able to drive it around a little. I've also included some photos of it after it was washed off a little (I read the FAQ on posting pictures but if these don't show up, let me know and I will try again).

Youtube Link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=soGqHcRjQ0A

I'm very excited to have started bringing this truck back to life. It will be a slow, but hopefully steady project. I will post here regularly to keep everyone updated and have no doubt that I will be asking a lot of questions as I go.

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/a...1&d=1429645957

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/a...1&d=1429645957

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/a...1&d=1429645957

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/a...1&d=1429645957

[Saclandman]

Nice truck. I'm sure you'll do your Gramps proud. Good luck.

[Number98]

Nice to see another Peach State truck! I will be watching the progress!

[68bowtie]

that's a keeper right there.

[swamp rat]

Family trucks are the best!

[jfallon83]

Thanks for all the compliments on the truck. My wife and I have decided that we are moving in a little less than a month. We're only going about 15 miles down the road (in traffic around Atlanta, that can take close to hour in rush hour). I've decided that my goal for the truck should be to have it in good enough condition that I can legally drive it to the new house.

A little rain slowed me down this weekend, but I was still able to get a decent amount of work done. I got a new Master Cylinder/ Brake Booster combo with a proportioning valve fro CCP and got it mounted. It looks odd having one large shiny bit in the engine bay. I got the rear brakes plumbed up, but the new proportioning valve allows me to run a direct line to the right and left front brakes and I couldn't find any local auto parts stores that had the correct length line for the passenger side with the correct fittings. I've ordered it and it should be in sometime this week.

I re-installed the clutch linkage and the shifter linkage (three on the tree) and adjusted them both. I think the shifter linkage may need some additional adjustment. I found the write up on this site and will use it to dial in the linkage late this week.

The starter is hanging up badly and not consistently engaging. I'm going to replace that this week as well. After all that if I still have any time, I'm going to try and get started on the exhaust. I'm planning on running 3" exhaust all the way back. I will most likely go with an X-pipe, a couple 40 series Flowmaster mufflers and some turn downs at the rear axle.

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/a...1&d=1430140235

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/a...1&d=1430140235

[nuke1]

Love the old truck and the story to go behind it, cant wait to see more of this truck!!

[Xeen]

What a great story and pickup.
It is a rare thing you have there, enjoy it.

[jfallon83]

More progress! The truck is slowly, but surely getting ready for the move at the end of the month.

I got a new starter and installed it. There was a lot of grease and crud on the old starter and it was an extremely dirty job, but now when I hit the ignition it fires up on the first time. While I was down there, I also replaced the main wire running from the battery. The old one looks like a critter had been chewing on it in a couple places. A warning for anyone using Rockauto.com to order items with "core" charges like starters. They DO NOT pay for your shipping to return core items or returns in general. So, for heavy items like a starter, i would actually loose money shipping it back to them to get my core costs back.

I got started on the exhaust by mocking the X-pipe up. It's being held together by some tack welds at the moment. I'm going to try and mock up the mufflers and turn downs during the week and finish welding it all up this weekend.

Last week I ordered some mirrors and a door handle from LMC. The mirrors were universal, but I liked the style so I went for them. Turns out that they are pretty low quality and I'll likely be replacing them in the future. However, they are required in Georgia for the truck to be street legal, so they are going to stay on there for now.

Next week I'm looking to re-installing the rear bumper, finish welding and installing the exhaust, check all the lights to make sure they all work and put new plug wires on the truck. Once all that is complete, it should be ready for a test drive.

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/a...1&d=1430746919

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/a...1&d=1430746919

[jfallon83]

Seat replacement: I know this is going to be a long post that basically just consisted of me rambling, so I decided to keep it separate from my "weekly progress" post.

The original seat is in very bad shape. My granddad wore a large hole on the driver side and busted a few springs. His solution for this was to cram a throw pillow in the hold and then cover it all up with a seat cover. This actually worked really well, but the seat cover was hideous. On top of this, I've never really thought the factory seat was that comfortable, so I decided it was time for an upgrade.

I used to work for U-Haul and in several of the GMC C6500 "TopKick" trucks, there were bench seats that had bolstering support built in the sides. I always thought these seats were incredibly comfortable and would go doze off in them on my breaks. I've been casually looking for one for the C10 for a few years now, but the only ones that I've found have been $400+ and none of them were in mint condition. I'm just not gooing to pay that kind of money for a used bench seat.

Last week, I was just checking the "free" section of craigslist for any good deals and came across one of these TopKick bench seats. I jumped on it and went and picked up the seat. It's not in perfect shape, but is in much better condition than the original and I have plans to eventually get it reupholstered when the truck gets repainted (several years from now). Plus the price was right.

Took the old seat out and found some buried treasure. I love finding old receipts and documents in the truck. I'm sure to my granddad it's all just trash. However, I think it's kind of fun to find it. The big score for this week was a gas receipt for $12.01 for 17 gallons of gas.

The amazing part of all this is that I put the seat from a 1999 GMC C6500 in the 1967 C10 and it bolted into the factory bolt holes. Well, the front 2 anyways. I had to drill and add weld nuts for the rear two bolt holes, but I was still shocked at how well it fit in the old cab. I am fairly certain that I am going to remove the headrests. They're uncomfortable, block a large portion of the window and I just don't think they look good in the truck.

Here's some pics and at least now I will be riding in comfort.

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/a...1&d=1430748716

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/a...1&d=1430748716

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/a...1&d=1430748716

[cooperhw]

Originally Posted by jfallon83

Seat replacement: I know this is going to be a long post that basically just consisted of me rambling, so I decided to keep it separate from my "weekly progress" post.

The original seat is in very bad shape. My granddad wore a large hole on the driver side and busted a few springs. His solution for this was to cram a throw pillow in the hold and then cover it all up with a seat cover. This actually worked really well, but the seat cover was hideous. On top of this, I've never really thought the factory seat was that comfortable, so I decided it was time for an upgrade.

I used to work for U-Haul and in several of the GMC C6500 "TopKick" trucks, there were bench seats that had bolstering support built in the sides. I always thought these seats were incredibly comfortable and would go doze off in them on my breaks. I've been casually looking for one for the C10 for a few years now, but the only ones that I've found have been $400+ and none of them were in mint condition. I'm just not gooing to pay that kind of money for a used bench seat.

Last week, I was just checking the "free" section of craigslist for any good deals and came across one of these TopKick bench seats. I jumped on it and went and picked up the seat. It's not in perfect shape, but is in much better condition than the original and I have plans to eventually get it reupholstered when the truck gets repainted (several years from now). Plus the price was right.

Took the old seat out and found some buried treasure. I love finding old receipts and documents in the truck. I'm sure to my granddad it's all just trash. However, I think it's kind of fun to find it. The big score for this week was a gas receipt for $12.01 for 17 gallons of gas.

The amazing part of all this is that I put the seat from a 1999 GMC C6500 in the 1967 C10 and it bolted into the factory bolt holes. Well, the front 2 anyways. I had to drill and add weld nuts for the rear two bolt holes, but I was still shocked at how well it fit in the old cab. I am fairly certain that I am going to remove the headrests. They're uncomfortable, block a large portion of the window and I just don't think they look good in the truck.

Here's some pics and at least now I will be riding in comfort.

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/a...1&d=1430748716

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/a...1&d=1430748716

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/a...1&d=1430748716

Awesome. Nice to have that family history with the truck. Really like the look of that Topkick truck seat.

[jfallon83]

I got some issues resolved last week and found a few more that I have to get squared away.

Since installing the headers, my 180 degree plug wires had been pushed up against them and slowly burning, so I haven't been able to keep it running for more than a few minutes at a time. I solved this by putting on some Accel shorty plugs and then used an MSD cut-to-length kit with 90 degree boots to route everything out of the way. I used some cheap Morosso wire loom brackets and think it came out looking pretty good. I've attached some pictures.

I finished routing all of the exhaust and tacked it all into place. I couldn't run it the way I had initially planned without cutting a cross member, so it took some reworking. I'm happy with the end result and the 40 series flowmasters sound good (even with all the leaks due to the tack welds). I've currently got the system off of the truck so that I can finish welding up the entire thing.

Re-installing the bumper was very straight forward. I also determined that several of the lights are not working, so I'll need to troubleshoot them as well.

However, I have come across two more pressing issues:

1) My brake lines are leaking in several places. I tried to bleed the system and couldn't get the air out. After investigating a little, I found several hard lines rotted and a couple dry rotted soft lines. I've ordered an entire stainless kit from CCP and some new soft lines from Rockauto.

2) I had the shifter linkage dialed in for a couple weeks now. I went to run it through the pattern this weekend and it jammed worse than it ever has before and none of my normal tricks are working. It will only go into 2nd and 3rd gear. I think the jam may be in the column. I'm going to have to take off the steering wheel this week and see if I can't figure it out.

I've got 2 weeks before our big move, so I've got to rush and get these little gremlins out of the system.

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/a...1&d=1431354092

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/a...1&d=1431354092