Re: 1969 K10 CST Full Restoration
 

She loves to ride. Molly has taken over the passenger seat in the family car, depending on who is driving me or the wife has to sit in the back.

Re: 1969 K10 CST Full Restoration
 

Very nice truck fellas. You guys are getting me motivated to get mine going again!

Re: 1969 K10 CST Full Restoration
 

WOW! Great looking truck, Incredible build. Thanks for sharing all the fine details.

Re: 1969 K10 CST Full Restoration
 

Nice to see the punch list is getting closer to completion. It looks fantastic out in the sun....Woo Hoo!!!

Re: 1969 K10 CST Full Restoration
 

Lol! Excellent.

Re: 1969 K10 CST Full Restoration
 

Dude...nonsense, you hooked me up. Thanks for your help.

Thanks. I like stock too. She's not 100% correct for her model year, but she's very stock-y. :). Molly's main move is to run in when you're contorted on the floor under the truck and in a bind trying to fit something out of reach or blind and lick your face aggressively. Sometimes after she rolls in something gross requiring a hat to be burned.

Re: 1969 K10 CST Full Restoration
 

Thanks. And you should...and post pics!

Thanks guys...and thanks for coming along with us.

Re: 1969 K10 CST Full Restoration
 

2 successful restores, before I even got one, amazing work. So, what was the most difficult part of the restore

Re: 1969 K10 CST Full Restoration
 

Another good day. Stretched her legs a bit more. Brake lights work. Gas gauge works. Slowly shedding anxiety as we go.

Sunshine agrees with her. Couldn't be happier with the color and the flop.

....How about oldyellowssun's stealthy chase plane.

Re: 1969 K10 CST Full Restoration
 

Jim that's a tough question and we talked about it today after I saw your post. This build definitely felt harder...because we had to tread trodden ground with do overs and restarts on several occasions (and it literally took 3 months longer than we expected). There were several moments where we arrived at an "impasse". Eric should weigh in, but I suspect he may say "PAINT" in general. I don't feel that because I know he's going to nail it and luckily that's not on my plate ;). I could think of a few things that I had to walk away from and otherwise had me whipped for at least 24hrs. But probably the best answer to your question I think would be the windshield install with trim. Because we struggled on it together over a couple of days and I felt at different points mentally and physically defeated...and we had to order more weatherstrip! Eric will likely tell you that we've got it figured out now and it'll be no problem next time. Maybe he's right, but I don't relish the fight.

Edit: Thanks for your kind words by the way and for following along with us.

Re: 1969 K10 CST Full Restoration
 

From what I can see, you guys nailed it. I love it.

Re: 1969 K10 CST Full Restoration
 

OK< then I will stay away from that job, and pay a professional, if 2 qualified men have to walk away for a while, that is enough evidence for me to call for help

Mine has fought me all the way but, only b/c I wanted certain things different, some systems have gotten better over the years. But, I'm excited again to go to work every day at Dales shop and conquer something.

Just last week I had to redo a double flare on the brake line to the rear, ok doesn't sound like much, but you have your peers looking at you, so I buy donuts every day

BTW, what rubber gasket did you use? and how does your brother like it?

Re: 1969 K10 CST Full Restoration
 

Jim...we only had four double flares to do on this build...everything else was done by InLine tube. It got to be like rolling dice and trying to roll double fours on back to back rolls. So I feel you on that one.

We used Precision and I have no complaints. It's my fault we had to re-order the windshield gasket. I pulled a tear in the passenger corner with the rope.

I think my brother likes it. He hasn't seen it in person and in all honesty pics let it down. I'd hoped he could be up here and have the honor of the first drive himself but it didn't time out for it. But Thanksgiving is right around the corner and while I'm thankful for all of you on this board, I'm also thankful we have gotten this big blue baby birthed.

PS Your truck is awesome...at least there's an assembly and service manual for what we're doing.

Re: 1969 K10 CST Full Restoration
 

Thanks Dale. I love it too.

Re: 1969 K10 CST Full Restoration
 

50th Anniversary Truck. too...."Life is simple it's either Cherry Red or Midnight Blue" I don't think the windshield install is the same on any truck, you could try again tomorrow and have completely different results, you might get lucky hiring it out, or they may mess it up as well. Do the doors close OK? I used the Precision gaskets also and ended up sharpening an 1/8" punch, made several air release holes like on the later models, it helps.

Re: 1969 K10 CST Full Restoration
 

Everything is very tight...in a positive way. Of course when you open them they pop open enthusiastically and when you close them it's not a one finger affair--your heart needs to be into it.

Re: 1969 K10 CST Full Restoration
 

:ennyd::ennyd:

Re: 1969 K10 CST Full Restoration
 

well, let me say, my eagles lost....but I am sitting here degreasing my drive shaft for this weeks work.

so, we can blame you on the gasket fail? or?

Great time to give it back to your brother, with all his family around, couldn't ask for more. It's a wonderful life.... good movie

and yet we have another truck of the year, you guys have to slack off, so us lesser gifted have a chance lol

there was a manual, I just couldn't read it

Re: 1969 K10 CST Full Restoration
 

I've said it before and I'll say it again - the attention to detail and the speed and ease which you've put this together is impressive. Now get out and enjoy it!

Re: 1969 K10 CST Full Restoration
 

That thing is Sweet. I would be scared to drive it.

Re: 1969 K10 CST Full Restoration
 

Now that you two aren't busy I could sure use some help... :)

Truck looks great out in the sun and at the gas station. I bet you had lots of lookers and people wanting to talk to you.

Re: 1969 K10 CST Full Restoration
 

Thanks...I don't know about the ease and speed part though ;).

Thanks...and I am.

Nah...if your wife can put together a truck bed, you don't need us.

It was awesome...a guy came up to us before we could get out of the truck and asked about the paint. Of course I said, "this is the guy who painted it right here.." It's funny how long of a conversation we can have over something as simple as paint.

Re: 1969 K10 CST Full Restoration
 

More pics more pics....

Re: 1969 K10 CST Full Restoration
 

We only took her for gas and a neighborhood stroll yesterday. Just a confidence building exercise really. So no picturesque vistas to pose in front of...Hoping for a real 'photo shoot' this weekend.

I was able to get off work a little early today, but I used that time to really grind down the punch list. The front output leak on the transfer case was from the splined shaft and not the front seal. So while it was much more difficult to remove the drive shaft with the body on...the job was less involved than it could have been. Transmission needed topping off and we detailed a few underbits (that over time had lost their freshness so to speak). Roger Koop is sending me a new A/C canister and horn. Those two swap outs coupled with charging the A/C (which is scheduled for the end of the week) and she is officially complete. I got lots of pics, but generally they're more versions of the same stuff already posted. But how about this...I'll post a pic or two and annotate them to death. Maybe something will come up that I neglected to mention in the thread. Gimme a second.

Re: 1969 K10 CST Full Restoration
 

Here ya go...

Engine bay dissection:

1) I believe this to be the correct breather for this truck as a 69 4WD, but not as an automatic. Based on what I can gather only 1/2T automatics came with heat stoves in 69(EDIT: And to be clear, no 69 4WD truck came with an automatic, this is a mod for us).
2) FirstOwner69 was kind enough to share his pre-resto pics of his known original hose routing for A/C and heater hose and we copied it exactly.
3) Pete, I picked up the brass caps and foil Harrison decal from Zip Corvette at your suggestion. I think either the hex(like we used) or the "ribbed" metal caps could be correct.
4) The white plastic plate on the firewall through which the vacuum switch rod passes has sheet metal screws that came from our Atlanta built truck. They were clear zinc and a size larger than every other set I have seen. I became acutely aware of that when I installed them in the 69. I feel very confident that they were original to the 71...but they are a visual tension for me now as I'm used to seeing them smaller and most appear phosphated in pics of other trucks.
5) I love that that prop valve sat in a box for 50 years and now it's doing a job.
6) I usually pick an original truck that I like and copy it for finishes. I reference the 80 mile 1970 a lot. That's why we cleared the top radiator hold downs and clear zinc-ed the hood latch. Even though I have seen different finishes on both.
7) I would prefer for the tower clamp on the upper radiator hose on the engine side be positioned closer to the edge of the hose for esthetics, but that's where the rib is on the metal hose. I haven't seen it discussed, but that radiator pipe does not line up with the radiator and the thermostat housing at all...it's in the neighborhood, but that's about it.
8) On the 69s I think the windshield washer bottle could be on the fender or the core support.
9) I still don't know the rhyme or reason on the red mark on the A/C box. I replicated it with a paint brush and acrylic paint. It seemed like a way they might have done it.
10) The speedometer cable would not work if it was 1/16" shorter...I mean it's tight.
11) I don't know what the breakdown on the 4x4 dipstick is, but I'm not sure it was a thing until 70.
12) I know the battery terminal covers aren't correct, but they clean it up I think. Top post terminals are just an eye sore.

....hopefully I haven't ruined the pics with all these words.

Re: 1969 K10 CST Full Restoration
 

OK Pete...Here are some different angles (I was jacked up and took like 50 at the gas station). I'll get some more this weekend. First pic is really a bad photo, but I love how reflective the paint is.

Not to be an OE tire size apologist, but I think the thing that's the real issue visually for some folks is how narrow the rear axle is. I know the engineering logic behind staggered axles, but if the rear tires were on the same lateral plane as the front tires, the feeling of 'I need to fill the wheel well up' might be less.

The last pic really shows the exhaust tip angle and bevel well. We worked hard to replicate the factory anatomy here.

Re: 1969 K10 CST Full Restoration
 

It’s a lot of effort to catalog a build to this degree and share with others. Thanks for taking the time and hats off for upholding a sense of community that keeps many of us here on the forum. You guys have left yet another amazing legacy that others can benefit from for many years to follow.

I’ve struggled with some fasteners as regards the correct plating with some I’ve literally sorted based upon personal preference. Maybe I would benefit from pouring over corvette restorations to glean more insight. I’m glad the Zip Corvette tip worked well. The brass caps sure are cool.

Re: 1969 K10 CST Full Restoration
 

I know you and I have had this conversation and I think this is as good a place as any for a group discussion....but I do think there is a lot to learn from Corvette, Camaro and Chevelle guys. Fasteners and construction methods carried over...and they were building these cars at the same plants that made our trucks. I know this type of restoration may not be as fashionable right now, but I do see value in getting this info nailed down. Those car guys got serious sooner when a greater number of the assembly line workers who knew (and original unmolested cars) were still around. I love watching Patrick Glenn Nichols on YouTube break down a Chevelle based on originality and plant specific methods. Tell me you wouldn't love it if there was a ChevyLand YouTube channel, or JoesJunk, or Jocko, or Mel, or Wes, or fill in the blank.

Re: 1969 K10 CST Full Restoration
 

Are you listening Discovery Channel? I’d like to see Jocko do an interview with of all the above mentioned experts.

Re: 1969 K10 CST Full Restoration
 

X2, it would be a great show!

Re: 1969 K10 CST Full Restoration
 

Here's a step I omitted from the build thread, that I thought I'd throw in now--mainly because I haven't seen this issue discussed on the board. On both the Blazer and this truck, the reproduction door jamb switches were longer than OE and in fact too long for the doors to close properly. I shortened the switches on this truck as I did on the Blazer. It's not too much trouble to deconstruct the switch. The plunger, the sleeve and the spring all require shortening. You lose the ringed part of the plunger shank that engages the plastic stopper in this process, so I added some new grooves for retention. I glued the plastic stopper on after shortening and reassembly, using a clamp to hold it closed and keep pressure off the glue while it dried. Our donor cab was a '69 A/C version, but it was a base trim level...so we had to drill and tap the hole (I don't guess I had to tap the hole, but I did). The final pic is during fitment (after shortening) before the fenders went on.

Re: 1969 K10 CST Full Restoration
 

We installed the horn and new A/C vacuum canister that I got from Roger last week. As you know I had to replace the horn because our original one didn't work and our original vacuum canister got dinged by the hood. When I was thinking about how we were going to deal with the clearance issue on the canister, I took a look at pics of my 70 K20. The angle of the bracket was much flatter than our bracket...and also flatter than the pics of other KE A/C trucks that I've collected. Unfortunately it was the only pic I had of a 69/70 KE A/C truck with the "can"-ister version of the reservoir. All I had were pics of 71-72 trucks with the plastic reservoir. And a search of the the board and the internet at large was surprisingly fruitless. In the end, we didn't flatten the angle as much as my 70, just enough to comfortably clear.

Re: 1969 K10 CST Full Restoration
 

A 72 Blazer rolls into Eric's shop this weekend. I'll enjoy just being a spectator on that one. But it means that after a final spit polish and detail today she had to leave the nest. So we trailered her up and took her to a little truck and car daycare not too far up the road. It's nice and warm. She'll have some new English and German friends there...and though there aren't many trucks, at least she's got a few GM cousins to hang with. My brother and his family are headed up tomorrow and will get to see her complete (in person) for the first time. And he'll get to put mile #5 on her....and however many more he wants.

Re: 1969 K10 CST Full Restoration
 

Truck looks amazing! Great job!!!!

Re: 1969 K10 CST Full Restoration
 

I'm going to run into the same problem on my door switches, do you happen to know how much you took off?

Is your buddy going to document the blazer build with a build thread?

Re: 1969 K10 CST Full Restoration
 

Looks great Brad. Done! Lmk if Eric intends to maintain a build thread for the Blazer.

I encountered the same issue with NOS door jamb switches. We were able to shove the “sleeve” deeper into the thread nut that affixes these to the jamb. The OEM ones looked as if the same had been done to them.

FWIW I’m still awaiting a photo of an AC-equipped 70 Jimmy for bracket comparison.

Re: 1969 K10 CST Full Restoration
 

I guess it had to leave the nest eventually. LOL. looks fantastic!

Re: 1969 K10 CST Full Restoration
 

Thanks Doug.

I don't have an exact measurement for you. I would say take off 50% of the sleeve and then reduce the other pieces accordingly.

Eric mentioned that he might start a build thread on the Blazer--I know the owner won't. That one won't be a full nut and bolt...but definitely more than a re-spray. I think they'll know what it'll be once they get into it (as we all do).

Thanks Pete. That makes sense on the NOS switches...I'm not sure that I could have pushed the sleeve in on these...but maybe. And thanks for always being a ready and capable resource.

Thanks Dale. (I like the new avatar pic BTW)...it may seem silly, but one of the things I'm happiest about on this handoff is the dry concrete under the truck. It took a bit, but she holds her fluids. Even the Blazer had a weep on a couple of transfer case bolts.

Re: 1969 K10 CST Full Restoration
 

The new avatar pic is Blues first trip to the cabin since the accident (7 years )...thanks for liking it.

Re: 1969 K10 CST Full Restoration
 

It occurred to me that I hadn't posted a before and after pic set like I did in the Blazer thread. This is ridiculous but I like it. Before and After....;)