Bringing my Grandfather's 1972 Longbed Stepside C10 back to life

[bwl101]

Getting the 305 ready to paint. Got new water pump mounted and have ports not being used plugged. Went with a short water pump because that's what the 307 had on it. Only needed a small spacer for water pump pulley and crank pulley to line up. Plan to paint everything black other than intake manifold and carb. I have new orange tall valve covers with Chevrolet in black. Also have a matching air cleaner. My new distributor is also black. Piecing it together a little bit at a time.

[bwl101]

Got the 305 painted today, turned out pretty nice. Going to also paint the exhaust manifolds.

[bwl101]

Was able to get the new distributor and thermostat/thermostat housing on. Also was able to swap over the water pump pulley from the 307. Only had to use a small spacer on the crank pulley so the two lined up.

I was also able to install the reproduction heater unit which houses the new squirrel cage and new heater core. Making some headway for now. Just got the motor mounts and temperature sender in so hopefully those will go on tomorrow.

[bwl101]

Motor mounts and temp sender are on, waiting for new fuel pump to come in and new fastener set for the exhaust manifolds.

[bwl101]

Exhaust manifolds are on, prepping the carb and everything to be ready to go on once the engine is in the truck. Fuel pump I also on, just forgot to get a pic of it on. Also a slight preview of what the new valve covers will look like. Also have matching air cleaner as well.

[Dieselwrencher]

Nice work. You're getting closer.

[kev2809]

oooo, love that flat black with orange valve covers

[Ol Blue K20]

Looking good, almost time to install it.

[bwl101]

While waiting for a couple more parts to come in to finish up engine, installed a refurbed cluster that I purchased from a guy that does them and sells on Facebook. Looks MUCH better lol. Also got fuel pump installed, just need to hit it with some paint when I do touch ups.

[LostChord]

Great work so far, will be following along!

[bwl101]

Was able to put the new 3 point seat belts in and put the seat back in. In some angles they look blue in pictures, but the bases and the belts themselves are a turquoise, very close to truck color and also very similar to original belt colors. Also replaced the rear taillight and reverse light lenses. The old ones were faded and/or cracked. Also replaced rear side marker light lenses. Will replace the front ones after get done doing the engine swap so they don't get mangled by accident.

[Ol Blue K20]

Originally Posted by bwl101

Was able to put the new 3 point seat belts in and put the seat back in. In some angles they look blue, but the bases and the belts themselves are a turquoise, very close to truck color and also very similar to original belt colors. Also replaced the rear taillight and reverse light lenses. The old ones were faded and/or cracked. Also replaced rear side marker light lenses. Will replace the front ones after get done doing the engine swap so they don't get mangled by accident.

Very nice! Where did you get the belts? They look great and I want some.

[Jiggers72-GMC]

I like the idea of the 3 point seat belts but I don't really want them for my truck, they are nice tho ......

[bwl101]

Originally Posted by Ol Blue K20

Very nice! Where did you get the belts? They look great and I want some.

www.seatbeltsplus.com

I ordered them a while ago, but just looking at the site I don't see the GM button buckle ones anymore? I'll try to find a part number that they associate with them.

[bwl101]

Got the 305 dropped in and bolted in. Need to bolt torque converter bolts back up, then get carb on and other odds and ends on before I can try to crank it up. Hopefully will be able to crank it in the next few days!

[Ol Blue K20]

Originally Posted by bwl101

www.seatbeltsplus.com

I ordered them a while ago, but just looking at the site I don't see the GM button buckle ones anymore? I'll try to find a part number that they associate with them.

Thank you

[Ol Blue K20]

Looking good, oh the anxiety of the first start!

[bwl101]

Got the carb on with all fuel and vacuum hoses run. Radiator/fans are installed along with alternator. Now just working on making sure wires are run to correct spots and wiring is correct for power as now will be using HEI instead of coil. Hope to have some time in the afternoon to work on it to hopefully get in a spot to be able to crank it! Last pic is just a teaser of what it'll look like with the orange accessories.

[bwl101]

Fired it up tonight! Thought we had the distributor 180 off because it wouldn't turn over so we swapped it. Then tried again and it blew a huge rats nest out of the exhaust. Then realized we had correct top dead center it was just the rats nest choking the engine. A few more cranks and it was running. Sounds to be in good running shape. Will get new valve covers on and all tomorrow and then to see if the trans will work properly.

[SRU1436]

That’s awesome, congratulations.

[Palf70Step]

Nice to hear she is running.

[Ol Blue K20]

Nice! Dang rats...

[Jiggers72-GMC]

Congrats man, she's alive !!!!

[bwl101]

Got it running pretty good, just need to find tune the timing. Was planning on taking it for a spin. Went to put it in gear... And nothing. Checked the dipstick on the trans and realized it was really low, not even showing on the dipstick. Well, 5 qts later of ATF, went right into each gear and drove pretty decent considering it sat outside for the last 12 years. It has come a long way, now just need to put the hood and cowl back on and tackle some electrical stuff to get everything back correct.

[Palf70Step]