1969 c10 build "the grinch" (gonna be pic heavy)

[I Have No Idea]

I have been building this truck for the past 5-6 months so I figured id post up the build as of now. (gonna be updating this as time permits)

The plans for the truck were pretty simple. Basically new everything except for the body. I wanted to do a patina truck since Ive never done one. (technically this is my first classic truck build) I have a 68 Cadillac and a 67 continental as well. Here is a list of things I knew I wanted for the final product.

67-72 c10 shortbed
Truck has to be Air-bagged and lay on the ground.
Original Paint
LS engine
Air Conditioning
Transport Wheels
Modernize everything but keep an original look.

I was looking for a light green 503 truck with original paint. That was basically all I wanted. I found a decently straight one on ebay and had it shipped in from KY. It was a farmers truck that hauled fertilizer so the inner bed floor was rusted but most of the normal rust spots weren't too bad. Cab corners, roof and rockers were good. the only down side (to me, for this build, was that it was a long bed.) here are a few pictures of when I received it.



I received the truck October 14th 2015. (at about 12am) This was also the first time driving 3 on the tree! (made it a quick learning experience to get it into my shop!) put it away and went home to try and get some sleep. The next day I did a visual overview and started planing out what I was gonna do.

I choose the name "The Grinch" because the protectolate has the date of 12/24/68 on it and to me I could picture an "old man" at the dealership on christmas eve, buying himself a truck instead of presents for the family! Plus it didnt hurt the truck was green.

Pics...



















I was trying to figure out what I was gonna use for the suspension first.

Originaly I was going to use all porterbuilt stuff but then I saw that the Roadstershop had a full chassis that was going to be released very soon. I looked into that and decided that would be the way to go. The Roadstershop chassis was basically a full Rolling chassis ready to set my cab and bed onto (with minor cutting, or so they said) It was all computer designed and cut and then welded up. Figured this would be a better way to go since its a fully boxed chassis that wasnt using a bunch of 40year old chassis parts. (plust it would save me a bunch of cutting and grinding) I placed my order during sema of that year. I was quoted 8-12 weeks for build and ship time. Those weeks couldn't go by fast enough!


Stock pic of the chassis...



I then took the time waiting for the chassis to order all sorts of parts from interior pieces to exterior trim. The truck ran a drove when I received it but it was leaking oil out of the rear main like crazy...

[MMcMasters]

subscribed..this is going to be a fun build to follow!

[I Have No Idea]

Here is a little SPID info...

[I Have No Idea]

I ordered a motor and trans from this company I found online called "JS SwapShop" against my better judgement I ordered a 5.3 LS engine, a 4L60E trans, PCM and stand alone harness from them. they also quoted me 4-6 weeks to be delivered from KS to AZ. That was understandable. and at this point I didn't have a chassis to put it in so I wasn't in a real hurry... This was Oct. 5th 2015

I then ordered all new exterior moldings for the truck as well as a bunch of other small parts I knew I was going to need. Brothers Trucks was pretty quick to get me everything I ordered. There was a get together at "dino's" before the goodguys show so I decided to drive it out there all stock before i made any changes. It did really good on the 25mi trip over there. This was the last time it moved under its own power...




The next few weeks I decided to start tearing it down and getting the bed ready to be shortened. The bed came apart much easier than I expected. you can see how the bed floor was rusted through from the fertilizer. All of the structural parts were still pretty good.









Then the sides came off!

[Hewfil1]

Man, the original frame is SOLID. You gonna keep it or sell it?

[I Have No Idea]

Originally Posted by Hewfil1

Man, the original frame is SOLID. You gonna keep it or sell it?

It was solid. Its already gone, I was out of room and I gave it to the guy who shortened my bedsides...

[WarMonger]

Can't wait to see the chassis.

[Hewfil1]

Originally Posted by I Have No Idea

It was solid. Its already gone, I was out of room and I gave it to the guy who shortened my bedsides...

Sweet. Hopefully they get good use out of it.

[NewType72]

Oh man my dad looked heavy at the 73+ roadster shop truck chassis and would be super jealous to see this one coming in. Subd for sure I love the simplicity this truck has even though that won't be the case very soon

[Ol Blue K20]

Subbedxto watch

[I Have No Idea]

Originally Posted by NewType72

Oh man my dad looked heavy at the 73+ roadster shop truck chassis and would be super jealous to see this one coming in. Subd for sure I love the simplicity this truck has even though that won't be the case very soon

The chassis is very nice... I'm glad I went that direction with it. This truck will be pretty simple as far as overall looks!

[I Have No Idea]

Bedsides went off to the guy shortening them. He does a really good job preserving as much paint as possible. Here are the bedsides with the lines on them ready to be cut...



and here is the difference between one cut and one original.



Also at this time the electronic gauges showed up from New Vintage USA. They are almost a perfect replica of the OEM style gauges in the truck. I was really happy with how they looked compared to the originals.



Again, trying to keep the whole factory look of the truck just moderinzing things is pretty much my whole "theme" of this build.

[I Have No Idea]

With the bedsides gone still and still waiting on the chassis and engine, I decided to try and "clean-up" the tailgate. It has the most "patina" on it so I figured it would give me the best idea of what the truck was going to look like when finished.

Here is the tailgate when I started. It has some pretty rough teture along the bottom but still felt very sturdy when I pushed on it. They must have been pretty thick from the factory back then!



I did some research and the main consensus was the CLR bath. Here is a picture of the right side done with the CLR.



Quite a big difference from the left side. (amazing what came off)



Here is the whole thing after the CLR bath




I then put some satin white vinyl in the recessed letters... I thought that it gave it an older painted look because the texture of the metal behind it showed through the vinyl. you can also see that the metal was starting to dry after the CLR bath. I was hoping it would stay that darker color...



Then one of the board members on here (Hart_Rod) messaged me via Instagram and told me about a product called "penetrol" and to try a coat of it on top to bring out the color I wanted. So I ran down to the hardware store and picked up a can and tried it...It worked perfectly... here is a "dry" picture of the tailgate. It still looks like this currently.



I also did the front header as well. Didn't take any after pics but here is the before...

[I Have No Idea]

A few more parts showed up this day...

[I Have No Idea]

So on January 6th the engine and trans shows up...

On two separate pallets, not strapped or secured down. I would have refused the shipment but he already had my money and I figured I'd never see anything if I sent it back. After trying to call and talk to someone about the damaged shipment all I was able to do was communicate by text message. Of course, they say they strap them down and secure them to a solid pallet and blames someone else. (I'm sure the shipping company didn't un-strap them and put them on pallets that were falling apart...) The power steering pump was crushed beyond usage, the front fan was cracked, the idler pulley was cracked and the oil pan had a chunk out of a reinforcement. I was told that he would file a claim on the shipping insurance and he would send me out the new parts promptly. I then asked about the PCM and stand alone harness that was also part of the package I had purchased and he told me that they ship seperately from the freight items and I would be receiving them via UPS shortly.

How the engine showed up..



and the transmission...




crushed power steering pump






busted fan




cracked pulley




oil pan reinforcement damage



So instead of waiting for the replacement parts to show up, I decided to just order everything new myself and chalk this one up as a loss... Good thing is, I used electric fans so I didn't need the mechanical one, and I needed a different oil pan, and power steering pump anyway... so it wasn't too bad. I ordered the parts and started getting the engine and trans cleaned up and put together so I would have them ready to set in the chassis when it arrives...

[mooseknuckles]

sweet build...

[Hewfil1]

Originally Posted by I Have No Idea

How the engine showed up..



and the transmission...




crushed power steering pump






busted fan




cracked pulley




oil pan reinforcement damage



So instead of waiting for the replacement parts to show up, I decided to just order everything new myself and chalk this one up as a loss... Good thing is, I used electric fans so I didn't need the mechanical one, and I needed a different oil pan, and power steering pump anyway... so it wasn't too bad. I ordered the parts and started getting the engine and trans cleaned up and put together so I would have them ready to set in the chassis when it arrives...

I would've been seething if my stuff showed up like that man. You're lucky it wasn't worse!

[NewType72]

Very lucky that most parts weren't needed anyway but I agree with hewfil1 as well, seething and ready to ring someone's neck

[I Have No Idea]

If it wasn't half way across the country, I probably would have made a trip over there to sort things out...

[Hewfil1]

Originally Posted by I Have No Idea

If it wasn't half way across the country, I probably would have made a trip over there to sort things out...

Still worth it. It's the heart and soul of your build. Can't have it showing up like that.

[rincones]

Great Progress. I will be following

[rustylew]

I'm in. I'm torn between the No Limit and Roadstershop chassis!!

[I Have No Idea]

Originally Posted by Hewfil1

Still worth it. It's the heart and soul of your build. Can't have it showing up like that.

I'm sure there are a few people looking for him based on the forums and other places I've seen. Looks like I wasn't the only one screwed... Its all fixed and pretty now

Originally Posted by rincones

Great Progress. I will be following

Thank you!

Originally Posted by rustylew

I'm in. I'm torn between the No Limit and Roadstershop chassis!!

There is a big difference in both chassis' The Roadstershop one is a step above in my opinion. A few reasons being the Laser cut rails and computer designed notches allow for more strength than any mandrel/or regular bend. The eccentric cams for the alignment are extremely nice to have instead of shims and spacers. And the simplicity of the chassis is nice to me. I haven't used the No limit parts but they look like high quality so I am only going off of what experience or things I wanted in my build.

[I Have No Idea]

Next up was prepping and cleaning up the engine.





I changed all the normal items while I had it out. Every sensor was replaced... knock, cps, temp, etc... New water pump, idler and tensioner pulley. Changed from the drive by wire to a cable system so it got a new Throttle body with new sensors. Deleted the manual fan.

Painted the trans as well while it was out.



Then the engine and trans were put back together.

[I Have No Idea]

Next up was the wheels and tires. I wanted to keep the old school look so I decided to go with a set of the 22" GM transport wheels.

Here is the look of the wheels that were on it when I received it. Ive been told that the caps are from a nova or chevelle. I kind of like the look of them over the normal truck caps so Im going to use them on the new wheels.



And the transport wheel
(not my picture)


Since the wheels are white from the factory ill just have them powdercoated white.



I put a nexen 265/35R22 tire on them as well.

To put the caps on, I used a set of cap clips I had purchased from a guy off of instagram. They went on pretty easy and allowed the cap to snap on and they are very secure.


Clips installed



Cap Installed



I think they look pretty much how the OEM ones did just with a larger wheel surface.

When I had popped the old cap off of the wheel I had noticed that the wheels were painted white with a brush at some point in time. I had done some research and from what I could fine these trucks came with either white or a silver wheel. I wish I knew what this one had from the factory!




So with that, I purchased another set of the transport wheels and had them powdercoated the silver color just in case I want to go that route. I do like the white on there though.