1971 C10 - First truck build

[Schoolteacherjim]

I should start by introducing myself. My name is Jim and I live in Green Bay, WI. I found this forum a few months ago and have been reading and reading and reading since. Over the last month I have been actively looking for a decent C-10 to work with.

On Monday, July 8th I purchased a 1971 C10 Cheyenne. Truck is a LWB, 350, Automatic with a posi rear end. My son (will be 16 in a few months) and I are going to build a mild custom. The plan is a lowering kit, body work and paint, and a custom interior.

By the time I left the parking lot of the shop where I bought the truck I was convinced that the truck need power steering.

Engine runs great, transmission seems smooth, rear end needs a new seal.

After getting the truck home we went over it from front to back and top to bottom and created a parts list and a to do list.

Started searching Craig's list for parts. Attended the Iola swap meet yesterday and picked up some patch panels and new wheel houses for the bed.
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[Schoolteacherjim]

Body is very straight. The only dents are small dings around the tail lights. We will replace the rockers, cab corners and supports and the lower 6" of the doors. We did purchase a used passenger door as the one on the truck is rusted out at the upper hinge area.
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[Schoolteacherjim]

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After we loaded up the patch panels at the Iola swap meet we made an hour drive to buy power steering for the truck. We found a C20 camper special that is being parted out. We were glad to see the truck had the 350 with a short water pump just like our truck. Got the steering box, pump, hoses, pulleys and all mounting brackets for $100. My son and I spent two hours pulling everything apart. I would like to meet the engineer that designed the bracket for the pump. I would like to ask him to explain removing the bolt that goes through the bracket and into the motor mount! That bolt took us longer to get out than anything else.
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[Schoolteacherjim]

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As far as the build plan, my son found several pictures on the web, but the one below really stood out and as we talked about a plan for what we wanted as a finished product he kept going back to the black truck. I really like the stance and look of the truck with the long bed.
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[Schoolteacherjim]

We are planning on going trimless. If someone needs the Cheyenne trim let me know. I do have the upper bed piece that is missing in the first photo.

Today we cleaned all of the steering parts, removed the steering box on our truck and we installed the power steering box and mounted the pump bracket. Took longer to get the motor mount bolt to thread in than it did to change the steering box! The pressure hose had one bad end so I have one coming to the auto parts store Saturday morning. I will post pictures tomorrow.
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[stsalvage]

My one question did you buy a new box or did you use the one from the 1972 is you used the old one your fine the new ones at the auto parts store are junk.you don't get the sharp turning like the old boxes use to offer i have a 1971 Cheyenne 1/2 ton payed 650.00 for mine it needed almost every thing from under the frame replaced.But i'm now left to have my box rebuilt have the front end and the rear leaf springs to be Rebushing and have the front end have all new bushings as well and changing all Ball joints

[STOCKISH]

Originally Posted by stsalvage

My one question did you buy a new box or did you use the one from the 1972 is you used the old one your fine the new ones at the auto parts store are junk.you don't get the sharp turning like the old boxes use to offer

The steering boxes at the parts stores are just re man used boxes. The steering radius will be no different. Maybe the box wasnt installed correctly? Ive seen people install new boxes and have 2 turns one direction and 4 the other way! Definately wont turn well that way!

[Schoolteacherjim]

I used all of the used parts. I did have to replace the presure hose and I bought new belts. After about two hours of work this morning we now have POWER STEERING. This thing was great to drive but now - WOW. I got lucky and someone not long ago decided to get this truck up and running. The front and rear brakes were rebuilt and everything under the front end seems to be in great shape. It is rusty and when the lowering kit shows up next week I am sure we are looking at broken bolts and nut breakers. My son and I plan to start cleaning bolts tonight and starting a daily dose of WD40 for everything that needs to come loose. The plan is to clean everything that we have to put back on and I will powdercoat all the parts that I can.

When I installed the steering box I rotated the shaft from stop to stop and counted the number of turns then I turned it back half of that amount to find the center of the box. When we installed the box on the truck we made sure the wheels were centered as was the steering wheel. The truck turns great from left to right and the steering wheel is centered!

[Tinkermc]

Welcome to the forum, it is a nice lookin ride 4 sure

[Schoolteacherjim]

Originally Posted by Tinkermc

Welcome to the forum, it is a nice lookin ride 4 sure

Thank You. It is a pleasure to be here. I have been a member of a motorcycle forum for several years and it is always very helpful to have the advice and support with projects that these forums provide.
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[Schoolteacherjim]

I tried to post some more pictures last night but found that when I take them with my camera they are way too big. I will get some pictures with my I-pad today.

We started taking trim off last night and worked until the Mosquitos were biting through the spray. We have the front fender trim and two small pieces on the cab drivers side.
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[ChevLoRay]

I have a couple of photo programs and I find that re-sizing the photo to approximately 1600x1000 (or so) will be easily loaded to the website.

Oh, to the forum!

[Schoolteacherjim]

Here are a few more pictures of the truck.

[Schoolteacherjim]

Pictures of the Steering Conversion parts. I did not need the upper fan pulley. I did take all of the nuts and bolts for all of the parts. One note that the splined end of the power steering box is a larger diameter than the standard steering box. Luckily we kept the splined end on the steering box and removed the two bolts that held the rubber mount to the steering shaft. The one picture shows the difference in size between the two steering boxes.

[junkyard]

P.M. sent

[Scamlee]

Awesome truck!! I'm in the same boat as you are. I'm deep in the restoration of my first truck and it's also a '71 C-10. Great learning experience, You're lucky you found some good donor truck! I had to order most of my new parts from Eklers and from around town. Post more pics

[Schoolteacherjim]

Originally Posted by Scamlee

Awesome truck!! I'm in the same boat as you are. I'm deep in the restoration of my first truck and it's also a '71 C-10. Great learning experience, You're lucky you found some good donor truck! I had to order most of my new parts from Eklers and from around town. Post more pics

Thanks. I will get more pictures posted in a day or two. We have ordered a few parts and are waiting for our lowering kit and new body mount kit. I have new front and rear cab supports that I will put in as soon as the body mount kit arrives. I have four more pieces of trim to remove and we have also started the WD40 bath on the suspension parts and bed mounts.
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[Scamlee]

I gave my truck a 4" front and a 5-6" back lower and I really like the look. Cutting C-notches in the frame was not easy but essential. I also had a huge problem with rust. My truck came out of Utah right next to the !SALT! Lake. Air tools and Knock-er-loose is a must. I STRONGLY suggest replacing as much suspension parts as possible! If a used part is questionable, now's the time when its all apart to replace it with something reliable and not mess with it again.

[Schoolteacherjim]

Originally Posted by Scamlee

I gave my truck a 4" front and a 5-6" back lower and I really like the look. Cutting C-notches in the frame was not easy but essential. I also had a huge problem with rust. My truck came out of Utah right next to the !SALT! Lake. Air tools and Knock-er-loose is a must. I STRONGLY suggest replacing as much suspension parts as possible! If a used part is questionable, now's the time when its all apart to replace it with something reliable and not mess with it again.

Thanks for the info. The kit we ordered is a 3.5/5.5 drop with 4 new springs, drop spindles for the front and new shocks. We do plan to replace rusty parts and also replace bushings (especially in the rear where everything is really crusty looking). What size tires are you running? I am looking at 255/60-15 in the rear and 235/60-15 in the front.
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[Scamlee]

I also got new springs for all four corners and drop spindles. They work great and they were easy to install. What company are you ordering from? I don't know what tires I'm going to use yet. I haven't gotten to that point. For now, I am still using the stock wheels. I'm in the middle of bodywork so I don't want to get them dirty, also I don't have a good idea of what to put on. I like the tire size you have, but have you found any rims that you liked?

[PanelDeland]

WELCOME!!! Jim I suggest you toss the WD40 to the back of the toolbox and get some better penetrating oil.I like PB blaster ,Kroil or a 50/50 mix of acetone and ATF.WD40 stands for Water Dispersant Formula #40.You'll have a lot better luck with the above.I hope you have a good breaker bar and cheater for the rear spring bolts.The PB will be available at your LAPS(local auto parts store).You might get lucky and find some Kroil but I doubt it.

[Schoolteacherjim]

Originally Posted by PanelDeland

WELCOME!!! Jim I suggest you toss the WD40 to the back of the toolbox and get some better penetrating oil.I like PB blaster ,Kroil or a 50/50 mix of acetone and ATF.WD40 stands for Water Dispersant Formula #40.You'll have a lot better luck with the above.I hope you have a good breaker bar and cheater for the rear spring bolts.The PB will be available at your LAPS(local auto parts store).You might get lucky and find some Kroil but I doubt it.

I do have a few cans of PB Blaster. I have been building customs out of old Honda 750s for a few years and have found that WD40 is a great cleaner/rinse. Then before trying to break things loose spray the PB blaster -give it a try I think it works better than just the PB blaster by itself. When I was under the truck wire brushing all the bolt ends i realized that several of the nuts are pretty big. I did have to buy a new set of impact sockets as my current set only went up to 1".
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[Schoolteacherjim]

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PanelDeland, read you post scripts and this one
"You can lead a horse to water but you can't saddle a duck"
Reminded me of one of my favorite playground rides!
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[Schoolteacherjim]

Made some more progress over the last few days. Removed all of the wood and rails from the bed. Used a crowbar on the wood and blue wheel to cut the bolts. Made a cart to hold the bed and this afternoon my son and I lifted the bed with the aide of the engine hoist and my wife drove the truck out and rolled the cart under the bed. After some more PB Blaster I was able to loosen all bolts except the U-Bolts that wrap around the axle and the lower shock bolt. The shock mounts are very rust and if I put any pressure on them the mount will snap off. I do have new mounts coming as well as new U bolts. Tomorrow the plan is to remove the drive shaft and block the frame up so we can remove the axle. Then I will cut the u-bolts and we can start cleaning the frame and parts to get them ready for paint. We should have visits from UPS, FedEX and USPS over the next four days! It will be like Christmas in July!

[72 tigger]

Will you be going with a Packers matte green? Looks like a fun project!