Re: 1969 K10 CST Full Restoration
 

It's all Eric. The hump is the only thing that wasn't taken to bare metal. It had factory runs all over the place...Eric thought (and I completely agreed) that we should keep the factory imperfection. It got prepped and scuffed but the original painters marks were left to show under the new paint. It'll be hidden under carpet, but she still has the OE runs ;)

Seems like a solid trade. You had me at BBQ.

Re: 1969 K10 CST Full Restoration
 

Today Eric buffed out the pieces he painted yesterday. So after a school event with the kiddo and a quick dinner, I swung by and we hung the doors. Witness marks made before disassembly and a plastic lined socket made the process quick and scratch free.

Re: 1969 K10 CST Full Restoration
 

So close!

Re: 1969 K10 CST Full Restoration
 

Can you elaborate on the plastic lined socket?

Re: 1969 K10 CST Full Restoration
 

Looking more like a truck. I'm curious about the socket too.

Re: 1969 K10 CST Full Restoration
 

Too bad it's not horse shoes!

It's a trick we learned when we did the tractor (see my signature link if your interested in seeing us do something besides trucks). We painted all the components and hardware separately and then had to assemble it without scratching the paint on the bolt heads. Same thing here. Door jambs, bolt heads, and hinges were painted separately. To assemble, we put a ziplock bag (or a piece of one) in the socket or over the bolt head when tightening. It's not a 100% protection...especially at higher torque values...but it's pretty effective at minimizing the damage. In the case of the hinge bolts it worked perfectly.

Re: 1969 K10 CST Full Restoration
 

Thanks for the tip. I tried the blue painter's tape and it doesn't really help at all, never thought about a ziplock bag.

Re: 1969 K10 CST Full Restoration
 

Do the Tcase shifters for pickups come longer than Blazers? I just noticed that and I had no idea.

Re: 1969 K10 CST Full Restoration
 

I'm not aware that there were differences between the trucks and Blazers. There were several different NP205 shifters in general from 69-72. My understanding is that the '70 hump and shifter combo we are using is a one year only configuration that puts the shifter position on the midline of the truck. It came out of a '70 K20...but I believe it's exactly the same as came in our '70 K5 (length and shape). We had some clearance issues between the cab floor and the TC that I can't fully understand...but we were converting a truck to TH350/NP205 that came with a 4sp/Rockwell set up from the factory.

Re: 1969 K10 CST Full Restoration
 

Shout out to Kaehr Coatings again...popped on some door hardware that they refinished for us. I need to check Pete's 'Maker's Mark' thread and see if he's got any of these L5s for the striker plates.

...Bolted on the hump hopefully for good and laid the carpet in to relax. Eric also got the bottom of the bed shot today with our best version of factory primer.

Re: 1969 K10 CST Full Restoration
 

Eric buffed and installed the glovebox door yesterday. I couldn't resist slapping on the SPID. Thanks again Jeff (chipflyer).

Re: 1969 K10 CST Full Restoration
 

The spid looks spot on. He's laying some nice looking paint.

Re: 1969 K10 CST Full Restoration
 

As previously noted in the thread, we reproduced a '69 4x4 decal but with the NP205 shift pattern and in magnet form. Here it is in place next to board member jrdv's factory original '69 decal.

Re: 1969 K10 CST Full Restoration
 

Thanks...and you're right about the paint-it's a big mirror. It's so hard to take a picture that doesn't have my ugly mug in it. That's why you're getting mostly angle shots and nothing straight on.

Re: 1969 K10 CST Full Restoration
 

Great progress, paint looks awesome, another sweet 4x4....What are your plans for door rubber?....I bought Precision push on gaskets which are nice but the doors don't close and I don't want to shift the hinges.

Re: 1969 K10 CST Full Restoration
 

Thanks. We got Precision's complete kit (plus an extra windshield weatherstrip ;)). I don't expect a problem...but the whole deal for us right now is offer up, remove, adjust, re-install, fiddle, tinker, repeat...

Re: 1969 K10 CST Full Restoration
 

It's the repeat part that gets me, miss 1 little thing and and it costs me a day to recover, 2 of you to sort it out, better results. Thanks for the clear detailed photo's, helps alot, to see what it should look like.

Re: 1969 K10 CST Full Restoration
 

Brad just want to thank you for making time to document the build in such good detail. Doing so takes a lot of sacrifice as regards time and that’s in short supply. Your contribution to the knowledge base for these trucks is a boon to others. If there were a restoration hall of fame I’d nominate you and Eric.

Re: 1969 K10 CST Full Restoration
 

Gee wiz Pete...I don't know what to say, but thanks. As you know your K20 has always been the hallmark build for me and one I referred to often during the Blazer build as a road map and inspiration. Really our build threads are nothing more than an aggregate of stuff we have learned from other members and threads on this board. If our stuff turns out good or correct...it's because we have the luxury of building off the collective knowledge and experience of this site. They are also a thank you note for all that help and generosity. But in all honesty...this whole learning stuff and making something is way more fun than it is work...even when it's not going well.

Re: 1969 K10 CST Full Restoration
 

By my count there 12 major listing wires in a bucket seat cover:

4 straight edge wires in the seat back
1 large wrap around edge wire and 1 straight edge wire in the seat bottom
2 "U-shaped" (1 front and 1 back) for the back insert detail
2 straight (top) and 2 "wavey"(bottom) wires for the seat bottom insert detail

And there are several minor or connecting wires that connect the insert detail wires through the foam (front to back on the seat back, and top to bottom on the seat bottom).

Realistically none of these wires were reusable after breakdown and clean up of our seats. A very tedious and messy endeavor when done by hand. We also had a couple of seat springs that were no good as well. As you know the foam is "cast" to the raw metal seat frames from the factory. It's a wonder any of them survive.

Re: 1969 K10 CST Full Restoration
 

I ordered replacement seat springs (also called zig zag springs) and paper wrapped listing wire (aka spring stake wire) from wsusol.com (we sell upholstery supplies online). The seat springs have to be cut (be careful). I could not find seat springs with an OE "wavelength". We only replaced the passenger side seat bottom springs, but chose to do all five so everything was symmetrical. For the short connecting wires, we doubled a light utility wire (see wire just to left of seat frame in third pic) and connected the larger inner and outer wires in a twist tie fashion.

Re: 1969 K10 CST Full Restoration
 

We didn't want to leave the frames raw, but wanted to have a factory appearance, so we painted the frames a metallic silver. It was a little bright, so we caved and painted the area where the frames show at the bends black. The paper wrapped wire is supposed to be less prone to squeaking. We did have to remove the paper to snake the insert detail wire on the seat back (but this was the only place, paper wrapped wire worked everywhere else). And it is helpful to bend over the ends so it feeds through the sleeves of the seat cover without snagging or getting stuck in the sections that require the wire to make a turn. We added a couple of holes in the seat frames toward the seat bend to give us some extra hog ring grab points. You can see how we zip tied the bottom listing wires to the seat springs. This is the only area we used zip ties. This wire is more of a floater and we felt it needed a bit more support. These are the wires that replaced the "wavey" ones from the factory. When we finished this one today, it was late. We'll probably pop it in the sun this weekend and see if it relaxes a bit.

EDIT: I should note that our foam and seat covers were procured a while back through Tim (TruckSeats)-thanks Tim. And the covers are TruckWorld. Knowing the situation, it was one of the first things that got ordered when the project started.

Re: 1969 K10 CST Full Restoration
 

Nice!

Re: 1969 K10 CST Full Restoration
 

(NFL Films Music...A deep authoritative voice resonates....)

"...In a contest of wills, there are few that match the formidable adversary that is the windshield with deluxe trim. But on this night in Athens, GA, the surly beast met her equal."

Re: 1969 K10 CST Full Restoration
 

Congratulations on conquering the windshield. Of all the assembly tasks, the windshield is the one I always dread the most.

Re: 1969 K10 CST Full Restoration
 

Thanks. It was a butt kicker. But as they say...fourth time's a charm.

Re: 1969 K10 CST Full Restoration
 

Brad, Amazon has a supplier that sells the seat springs in custom cut lengths. There are different gauges for seat back or seat bottom. I don't know if I have any pics of the ones I bought or not, but they are supplied by HotSign Springs and looked just like the originals, with the ends bent properly to fit onto the seat frames. The small wires you spoke about that look like paper clips can apparently be procured from some of the Corvette parts suppliers, as they use them as well.

Re: 1969 K10 CST Full Restoration
 

Sprint to the finish. Looking great.

Re: 1969 K10 CST Full Restoration
 

That is solid info. Thanks. I searched the board and actually used a board member's recommendation on wsusol.com. The springs were the same gauge wire, just the wavelength was different. And we did have to cut them to length but it wasn't a big deal. I honestly didn't look for the small "paper clips" (that is a very good way to describe them btw), because by using the wire we did, we could easily set and level the inset detail by tightening or loosening the twist. Since they're together and look good, I'm probably not going to revisit those things. But I've got another set of seats to do for my K20...I will remember your recommendation.

Re: 1969 K10 CST Full Restoration
 

Thanks. Won't be long. Bummed though, we're going to miss Maggie Valley. Wasn't for lack of trying.

Re: 1969 K10 CST Full Restoration
 

A/C is buttoned up and ready for charging (I hope). The condenser wasn't a dead ringer for the original (though it was basically anatomically correct). We are staying with our original '69 hard lines, which means hoses and clamps. Jim (FirstOwner69) has been very gracious and shared pics of his original truck to use as reference. And I have many times--again here with A/C hose length and routing.

Re: 1969 K10 CST Full Restoration
 

Seats buttoned up with freshly phosphated mounting brackets. Ready to go in just waiting on final paint and rear window install.

Seeing the '69 only (or maybe '69 and a few '70s) smooth rearview mirror cover (Thanks Madkidd007) installed makes me wish I'd tried harder to come up with a '69 only perforated headliner. You gotta pick your battles and I wimped out on that one I guess.

Re: 1969 K10 CST Full Restoration
 

I love the look of these 12 points on the hood latch. Unfortunately I don't have a pic to confirm that these were ever on a '69. I sent a lot of bolts in to get plated and all were sourced from either a '69 or '70. Sadly, at this point I can't remember which these came from. I like the look so much I think I'm going to let them ride unless someone tells me it never happened.

What I think is unusual is that on the '71 one owner (that we tend to lean on as a reference because it's a one owner original) has the "anchor head" version of these...but they are only in the top two (core support side) positions...the others are 6 point. I only had these two in my re-plated stash, so I suspect a similar situation on the truck from which they were pulled. Do you think it'd be because the grille was attached at a different point on the assembly line from the latch? I've seen trucks where they(hood latch bolts) were all 12 point. It just seems like another oddity to just have the two.

Re: 1969 K10 CST Full Restoration
 

I know for a fact of a 72 in Hull that’s original with these bolts. When I seen them I was confused as I never seen them myself

Re: 1969 K10 CST Full Restoration
 

The Falcons looked crummy today so it was a good day to work on some small jobs. I got a R59 battery topper and an NOS Delco Eye...actually I had to get two...(Apparently the inside of a truck tool box in Georgia gets pretty hot)... My original plan was to remove the yellow and repaint the lettering red, then mill the NOS Eye down to fit the topper. But I couldn't get the paint to look right. So I changed gears...

Re: 1969 K10 CST Full Restoration
 

I removed the clear plastic from the one that got a little goofy in the tool box and milled it to fit the repro Delco Eye. Cut it to length and polished the bottom back to clear.

Re: 1969 K10 CST Full Restoration
 

It's a simple group 24 battery. I took the topper around to a couple of stores and picked the one it fit best. It still required a little refinement and adjustment of the terminal holes to get it to seat all the way down. Still needs a little green tape under the eye to make it look spot on. (Looked for those NOS Delco spring ring terminal ends like ChewyChevy67 found--those things look so cool...no luck though).

Re: 1969 K10 CST Full Restoration
 

And went ahead and cut the carpet and installed what could be installed. It's as far as it can go for now. Just paint for a bit.

Re: 1969 K10 CST Full Restoration
 

I didn't know a battery topper existed. Pretty cool.

Re: 1969 K10 CST Full Restoration
 

I am blown away by your attention to detail and knowledge in achieving the true definition of a restoration here.