1970 One Owner Short Step
 

Ok so I have been looking for a new project lately and I was lucky enough to stumble across this one owner 1970 short step-side in original paint. I bought this truck from Sandra Appelt who was married to the original owner, Howard Appelt. Sandra was awesome and explained the story of the truck to me.

Sandra told me Howard purchased the truck from the dealership (McRobert Chev Inc. out of Houston, TX) that he worked at. Sandra had the original title (which I had to sign and give to DPS unfortunately) that shows the dealership as the original owner and the proctecto plate showing Howard as the original owner!!!! This was very helpful because the title shows being signed in 1973, so i assume that it is a truck that sat on the lot for a while before being sold. Sandra was sure the truck was new when Howard purchased it. I have not done more research, but I assume since the protecto plate shows Howard Appelt, then he is the original owner (maybe someone who knows more about this can chime in).

Sandra was even nice enough to throw in the original service books with the truck, unfortunately the original plates are long gone. This truck was originally a 350/3 speed with a tach cluster all of which are still in the truck. The motor is now scrap iron due to it sitting with the heads off for the last 10-20 years (completely rusted in the cylinder walls).

Howard really enjoyed his accessories, so the truck is equipped with spot lights, fog lights, cb equipment (actual cb radio is missing), auxiliary gauges/tach, bed cover, air shocks and more. The original color is light yellow according to the glove-box. The truck also has the original glass (soft-ray) and the glove box advised it is tinted (I can't really see the tint but does have a light green tint on the glass which I believe is correct). The original full foam bench seat is present and still in decent shape.

Unfortunately the cab is completely rusted out. The rockers are completely gone as well as the top of the cab around the windshield, cab corners and very light rust beginning on the firewall. :lol:

This is very unfortunate because even the doors are original with the vin still attached to the driver's door and striker plate on the cab.

Since the motor, transmission, cab, and doors are gone I am going to do a fuel injected 2009 LY6/6L90 build. :metal:

And here is what everyone is waiting for....pictures!

Re: 1970 One Owner Short Step
 

more

Re: 1970 One Owner Short Step
 

more first week

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more exterior/interior

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rusty motor

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Front look

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the bed and extra parts

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more extra parts...SOME ARE NEW OLD STOCK!!!!!!! :metal:

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Tear down begins! My lovely supporting wife :)

Re: 1970 One Owner Short Step
 

Awesome, I love step-sides. Looks like a good project. Congrats.

Re: 1970 One Owner Short Step
 

Nice find the title is probably the date when the loan was paid off. You've done a good job with the other trucks so subscribed and watching

Re: 1970 One Owner Short Step
 

Thanks it should be!

I appreciate it. This is my first ls swap, hopefully I can keep it on budget! Either way it is going to be sweet. Ordered the fuel cell and trans/motor mounts this week. Next week will be tear down!

Re: 1970 One Owner Short Step
 

with the help of my dad I was able to get the truck torn down and sorted into piles (powder coat vs paint). Here area the results.

the po decided to add bumper gaurds and cut the frame for the head of the bolt to clear...

Re: 1970 One Owner Short Step
 

couple of shots of the cab and interior

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The GM installed under-the-dash A/C unit and the lunch break shot.

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A couple more at lunch and then some at 3:30 when I took a Dr. Pepper break. I don't have any end of the day shots where everything is piled up waiting for the powder coater. The front clip is completely broken down now and the frame is completely stripped. The header panel (last picture) is going to need a little work. It has a little cancer on the driver's side as well as the left bed side, but it shouldn't be too bad. :lol: famous last word I know!

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last couple of pictures for the day. The left bed side has a little rot on the front edge but again this is some very nice stuff to work with. I will be tracking down some used cross sills and rear cross sill tomorrow along with some new cab mount bushings, trailing arm bushings, front sway bar and rear track bar bushings. bring on the wallet pain. :waah:

Re: 1970 One Owner Short Step
 

Subscribed. Looking good.

Re: 1970 One Owner Short Step
 

Subscribed. Going back with the yellow? Whose shop is that? Must be nice to have an open spot to tear down.

Re: 1970 One Owner Short Step
 

Looks like a killer project. Love the history and story. That cab is going to need some major love. You may be better off looking for a donor with less repair. Good luck with that. :)
Oh yeah, I love how fast these old trucks come apart.....it's the putting them back together that takes the time.
Subscribed.

Re: 1970 One Owner Short Step
 

Thank you I am very fortunate to have this one!

I decided to go with the dark green metallic bottom and light green/yellow metallic for the top and most likely saddle interior. And yes the big open gravel parking lot was very nice to strip it and my cordless imact helped a lot!



Thanks! It is a great story and I am glad to have all of it. I am in the market for a good used cab...this one is too far gone which is a shame because it is all original sheet metal. I also found a used right door because the right door has rust/cracks around the hinges as well as the bottom.

Update:

today I picked up a 5-lug rear end today to swap axels with. Also ordered my fuel cell from John at DBRods in Taylor. I had him build a 27gal so I can get better weight distribution and so I dont have to fill up as often:lol:

Ordered some parts from Mar-K for the bed, all new hardware for the bed as well as hidden bolt strips and new angle strips.

Just recieved the trans cross member from early classics as well as the new motor mounts/stands.

Sorry no new pictures yet. Maybe monday!

Still searching for a 5 lug cross front cross member with disc brakes.

Re: 1970 One Owner Short Step
 

Looks like a fun project and should be a great driver with the plans you have for it. I'll be following along. You guys didn't waste any time on the teardown! Maybe I'll get my 1st truck done before you finish this 3rd one... NAH!

Re: 1970 One Owner Short Step
 

Haha well this one is going together quickly, so you better hustle. I am sure you will have plenty of time to get to it next weekend :lol:

Update. So a lot has happened since I last posted. The sheet metal has been blasted and primed so body work can begin. The bedsides are good, but I had to replace all of the cross sills and the angle brackets (the brackets that attach to the bedsides for the wood bed). I found a donor cab, but unfortunately I will have to replace the floor, cab corners and rockers. Big money here we come (unfortunately). I have my LY6 and 6L90 in the shop and will be test fitting everything next week. I should have the harness back in two weeks and hopefully by then I will have a rolling chassis to drop everything into. I have a powder-coated frame and front cross member. I converted everything to 5 lug and disc brakes. The spindles are Early Classic 2" drop spindles. I bought a set of abandoned (new) rear disc brakes that I am working out placement on the rear-end. I ordered a set of hidden bolt strips from Mar-K and received them yesterday as well as a radiator and trans cooler from Speedway.

I am still deciding what wood I will be using for the bed...synthetic that I don't have to worry about tearing up vs. oak. I want to be able to use the bed when I need to, but I really like the look of hardwood. Fortunately I will have time to make this decision.

I will be using Jeremy from LSX Unlimited in DFW for my harness and initial tune VAT/Emission delete.

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here are a couple of pictures of the motor/trans

Re: 1970 One Owner Short Step
 

That is an awesome power plant! very nice score. Sounds like you have a plan to get this truck on the road soon.

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Thanks. My dad set me up with it.

Here are a few examples of the colors I am going with (I borrowed these from the forum):

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I am going to pair that color combo with dark tan/saddle interior:

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I suppose I missed a few pictures of the truck completely torn down, but here it is going back together, powder coated frame, early classic trans cross member, spindles. new disc brakes in the front and drums in the back. freshly painted a-arms, trailing arms, sway bar, track bar, and rear end...it has been a busy couple of weeks.

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New tie rod ends and sway bar bushings. I ended up having to trim the lip of the frame where the A/C sits, but just a bit. Thought I would also include a shot of the early classic motor mounts in place. I just used the stock small block mount holes and drilled new holes in the front cross member.

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I stripped the driver's door so I could take it to the sand blaster...unfortunately they ended up blasting off my door vin! I was super disappointed. The door was fairly rough, but I was saving it since the tag was original...oh well I can't reinvent a 44 year old tag. These are the shots where I mocked up the steering. It is all in place waiting for final assembly and then the front end alignment shop. Also a shot with the freshly painted trailing arms in place. You will see the carrier bearing bracket still in place, but I ended up taking it out and will be putting in a one piece drive shaft tomorrow. With the mounts in the stock location, I ended up getting a 54" drive shaft (including the u-joints) I will post pictures and measurements when I get a chance.

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A shot of the new shock absorbers and drop springs. I ended up playing with the adjustable track arm until I could get the rear-end to sit evenly under the frame. It was not too difficult, just took a few minutes and a little playing around. After I got everything square, I took the wheels and tires my "1970 Burn Victim" donated after it got some new ones and began turning it into a rolling chassie so I could drop the motor in. And just like majic, there it is! It has made this swap so easy with the cab and front clip off.

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You can see where I had to trip the lip of the frame so the A/C lines come off of the compressor. Despite what I have seen on the forum, I wanted to see if the truck manifolds would fit...and TRUST ME, THEY WILL NOT. :lol: The right side would fit with some trimming on the top frame rail, but the left will not fit at all. You would have to trim the top and the bottom. I didn't want to have to trim the frame at all. I am trying to keep this thing on some sort of budget, so I will be sourcing a pair of Trailblazer manifolds. I really like the Doug Thorly's but I don't have a spare $600 to drop on them. You have to draw the line somewhere...or at least I do.

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A shot of the motor sitting in with the carrier bearing bracket out. Looking forward to hooking up the one piece tomorrow or Thursday. A shot of the truck manifold with the motor mounts, they cleared there just fine, just not anywhere else :waah: Also a shot of the left side with the motor in. This was fairly simple and strait forward with these mounts. The last picture is just one of all the pretty suspension...might was well get some pictures in while it is still clean!

Re: 1970 One Owner Short Step
 

Moving right along!

Does that 6L90 have an overdrive? I'm not up on the newer technology, anything newer than the turbo's....

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I was concerned with the drop I would run into clearance issues. With the mounts in the top location (there are two locations) I have no problems. The truck pan sits almost even with the front cross member as well as the transmission pan. I attempted to take several pictures of this, but it is a little hard to see. I ended up having to drill a hole in the center of the transmission cross-member since the transmission I am using only has one mounting bolt.

All of the sheet metal has been to the sandblaster and is now primed and waiting for body work. I ended up using a different cab, which still needed a bit of work, so it will have a new floor, to include a high hump to clear the transmission, rockers and cab corners. Since I will be using aftermarket air, I will be cleaning up the firewall a bit and closing up the old air-box holes.

This has me all caught up for now.

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Thanks! The newer stuff goes speeds, then parts quality/weight rating.

4L60 is a 4 speed (4 part of the 4l60) 1/2 ton transmission and 60 represents something...I am not reakly sure what, but it is what comes in all of the 1/2 ton trucks, suburbans, tahoes. Different versions of this transmission go back to the 90's where the turbo's left off.

6l60 is the 6 speed of the above mentioned transmission-very common in the newer tahoes

4l70 came in the Trailblazer SS (6.0 400 hp ls2 motor)

4l80 is the standard 3/4 ton transmission-4 speed with 80 representing a heavier-duty transmission

I am not sure if they make a 6l80

6l90 6 speed heavy duty transmission. Comes in most HD 3/4 ton trucks. As far as I know this is the beefiest transmission GM offers with the gas motors.

As I am sure you know the top gear is over-drive in all of these transmissions.

Take all this info with a grain of salt, I am still learning anyone feel free to jump in and correct any mistakes/add any info that is valuable.

Re: 1970 One Owner Short Step
 

>>>As I am sure you know the top gear is over-drive in all of these transmissions.<<<

Actually no i didn't know they were all overdrive so i appreciate it. I cant remember which doesn't require electronics but i know it was the earlier ones cant recall the model.

I ran many turbo's growing up, then a Toyota pickup from 82 though 1995, a 95 S10 with 4 banger and manual from 95 through 2005, and a Dakota after that, so basically with the exception of my 72 K20 I've owned from 94 to current so i have little to no experience with the newer Chevy drive trains. ...What can i say.. Other than its been really hard for me to not go buy a brand new Chevy truck as of late, they are looking really nice. LOL!

Re: 1970 One Owner Short Step
 

Do you have a link to these motor mounts? Are they not an adaptor, just straight to the frame and motor? Did you use a factory oil pan? considering the same swap, I'm very interested, and I like yours. Nice work! also, it seems that your AC compressor hits right in the dumb flipped up spot on the frame and you just chopped it out. Am I seeing that right? (If so, great, I hate that spot.) Again, looks real good.

Re: 1970 One Owner Short Step
 

Everything is looking great! You are really scootin' along on this one. Just a few weeks and you have already about caught up with where my progress is! Guess I'm going to have to get a move on mine, but that filling/sanding/filling/sanding... is hard to get motivated for.

Re: 1970 One Owner Short Step
 

http://www.earlyclassic.com/catalog....ry=New%20Items

These are the motor mounts and the transmission cross-member is right under it. You can easily use any auto cross member though. I did use the factory oil pan with these mounts and I think it clears just fine. the pan is about even with the cross member. The ac compressor did hit right at that lip, so i just trimmed it out of the way. It made things pretty simple with the cut-off wheel. I just took it nice and steady and it trimmed out fine. Thanks for the compliments. I am learning as I go, this is my first swap...