Thanks Joe, I didn't have anything better to do.
 

A friend at work offered to sell me his 1970 C10 LWB for $500. It ran but needed brake work. At the time my wife was commuting with our daily driver and I was commuting on motorcycle. With winter was fast approaching, I figured what the hell its only $500 and it will keep the rain out of my boots. I Drove home standing on the brake petal at stop lights(making faces), and had to push it into the garage after the starter crapped out in my driveway at the end of the trip. I knew what I was getting for $500 and still had/have no regrets.

Went through the brakes, bought a new starter, and drove it on days when the bike was unbearable. After a Year or so of burning oil and fouling plugs I decided to get a long block crate engine for $2400, which has been great. Then of course the only downside of driving the truck was it looked like a turd with a classic combination to two tone primer and rust. A couple coats of paint should be quick and easy, rrriiiiiight? Don't answer that.

Yeah, spraying a couple passes of color doesnt take too long, but the prep was killer. I was tapping on the lower doors and rockers and rust was raining down, and I knew paint wasnt sticking to that for long. So, fire up the cut off wheel and lets get to it.

Re: Thanks Joe, I didn't have anything better to do.
 

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nice right :lol:

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I had already done the engine swap and bought the ralley wheels. I didnt need to drill many spot welds to get the rocker off. It was ready.

Re: Thanks Joe, I didn't have anything better to do.
 

Found the rocker pics before removal.
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LMC inner and outer rocker and cab floor patch. How did they fit? Refer to my sig.

Re: Thanks Joe, I didn't have anything better to do.
 

Moar

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I have so many pics its hard to keep em all straight. The last two are rust prevention in the areas that will never see the light of day again. The Black is Southern Polyurethane epoxy.

Re: Thanks Joe, I didn't have anything better to do.
 

Cab Floor patch install, lower door pillars. The gray is Upol weld through primer on top of the cleaned spot weld area. I think the pillars originally had bolts holding them to the frame through the cab floor, but I was fresh out of bolts and holding the welder. ;)
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Re: Thanks Joe, I didn't have anything better to do.
 

Third pic is me using wax and grease remover on the mating surfaces.

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Re: Thanks Joe, I didn't have anything better to do.
 

The front of the rocker got boogered up more than I would have liked. After test fitting the door, the bottom front corner of the door was binding/hitting the rocker, so the door wouldnt open all the way. That crease should be sharper on the rocker stamping. That had to be pushed in without messing up the curvature of rocker that would be visible with the door closed. Third pic is the underside of the cab looking for pin holes and cleaning up for epoxy. last pics are the passenger side, ill just show a before and after on that side. Used the same proceedure as driver side, same patch panels etc.

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Re: Thanks Joe, I didn't have anything better to do.
 

Lets skin some doors.

Grind the edge and drill spot welds. Its rusty mostly at the bottom which I cut out and use another LMC patch panel.

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Re: Thanks Joe, I didn't have anything better to do.
 

The creases of the patch panel are so poor that I try to keep as much of the original and hide the seam around the bottom corner. You cant see the seam unless you lay down and look up at the bottom of the door.

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I either didn't take pics of the assembled door shells or have misplaced the pics, but its a pretty simply process folding over the edge of the outer skin onto the inner door shell and then drilling holes for spot welds. Both inner door shells went through a vigorous wire wheel session and sprayed with epoxy.

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One tip I would give is to measure your wing window gap, that's the distance between the inner shell and outer skin, before you remove the skin. I'm not happy with the amount of space I have between the wing window rail and the outer skin.

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Re: Thanks Joe, I didn't have anything better to do.
 

Here is my one man hood puller. With the foam(swiming noodles) and rubber coated motorcycle tie downs I have used it on the painted hood. Loosen your hinges from the fenders but leave the bolts in, lift slightly until tension is removed from bolts, then carefully remove hinges completely. Put shop towels the legs of your hoist and lower hood. One person can lift the hood by placing your palm on the inside edge of the hood where the hood latch is secured. Place a blanket on a level area, and the hood will stand up on end. Oh, don't try this on a windy day.

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I have a picture gap in the build here where I removed the cab and sent the frame to get blasted and painted, but this pic pretty much sums it up.

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It is epoxy and clear and only cost $400. Another coworker hooked me up with this company that blasts a paints semi trailers. I was impressed with the results. It looks like it was powder coated.

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Wow garage got pretty messy here, I'll clean up later Ma.

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Complete front suspension rebuild using moog parts from rockauto. New springs, shocks, wheel bearings, SS brake lines, new steering box(the old ones not bad?), core support, I'm sure I'm forgeting something.

Re: Thanks Joe, I didn't have anything better to do.
 

You may have noticed I'm working in one bay of my garage. Heres why. 68 Camaro on the rotisere(actually thats going onto the body cart)

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I had one of those really awesome tailgate dings.

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Here im opening the tailgate to rust bust.

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Re: Thanks Joe, I didn't have anything better to do.
 

I sand blasted the tailgate and entire bed using one of those little 25 gallon blasters from eastwood, way better than the wire wheel. The problem is the is the deadman nozzle and any valves with media going through wear out pretty quick.

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I cut the tailgate apart at the top inside portion where it's really flat. That made it easier to line up and smooth later. The entire inside of tailgate was epoxied like the door shells. I'm using 1/4" self tapping sheet metal screws to hold the center together, then removing one at a time and welding the hole shut. The top seam is a butt weld and the edges are spot welds. Cab is on the rotisere in the background getting ready for primer and block sanding.

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I really liked the patina on that wheel well, liked getting rid of it.

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The bed was pitted but in good shape, except for the area closest to passengers door, it had pin holes a needed a patch. LMC to the rescue, just kidding, the patch panel had me shaking my head in disbelief. Maybe I got one for a Toyota by mistake.

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You can see the pleats don't exactly match, I ended up cutting it along the pleats to adjust the alignment. I would not buy this patch again. Your better off getting some 18 steel and fabricating it your self.

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Re: Thanks Joe, I didn't have anything better to do.
 

At this point in the build I stopped taking as many photos, I was on a mission from God.:cool:

I spent a lot of time adjusting panel gaps, block sanding, mocking up trim, etc.

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Re: Thanks Joe, I didn't have anything better to do.
 

Life got in the way a little bit, had five kids :mm:, changed jobs, sold one house and bought another, and moved two car projects in pieces. The truck was actually a roller by then but the Camaro is still in as many pieces as a car can be.

Here is the truck Yesterday.

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I plan to retouch some areas on the paint that got damaged in the move and a couple spots on the two tone white that is a little thin. Never spray your truck in a poorly lit garage at two in the morning. This was my first paint job and it shows, but I learned a lot and its not a $500 beater anymore :metal:

Re: Thanks Joe, I didn't have anything better to do.
 

Nooooice!

Re: Thanks Joe, I didn't have anything better to do.
 

Thanks man, Im going to post some more interior and engine bay pics when I get a chance.

Re: Thanks Joe, I didn't have anything better to do.
 

Very nice!

Re: Thanks Joe, I didn't have anything better to do.
 

I love a complete one man garage build. Ya just gotta love the dedication and jack of all trades attitude it takes. Hats off sir!:metal:

Re: Thanks Joe, I didn't have anything better to do.
 

Agreed! This was better than watching one of those tv shows. Great job. Now, let's see that Camaro...

Re: Thanks Joe, I didn't have anything better to do.
 

Not bad at all for the first crack!

Re: Thanks Joe, I didn't have anything better to do.
 

Thanks for the encouragement guys.

I felt pretty good about spraying the color because I have sprayed a lot of epoxy primer, but the clear was a whole new animal for me. Bright light when spraying clear is a must and I really needed a couple more coats. After I touch up the blemishes on the color I want to wet sand the exterior and respray the clear.

My 4 year old son is on me almost everyday about working on the Camaro he’s a miniature gear head already.

Re: Thanks Joe, I didn't have anything better to do.
 

Nice looking truck
Yes good to get them learning wrenches young
I get my boy out helping when i can
He helped pull a motor and tranny out of a parts truck

Re: Thanks Joe, I didn't have anything better to do.
 

What a transformation. When can I drop off my truck for you to paint? :rolleyes:

Re: Thanks Joe, I didn't have anything better to do.
 

That's a steal for $500! I'm curious, how much time from when you started the work to where it is now? Kudos to you for finishing it with as many life changes as you went through.

Re: Thanks Joe, I didn't have anything better to do.
 

I bought the Truck in 2012 and started the tear down in 2013. I went through a lack of motivation after moving into the new house in 2015. The truck just sat waiting for me to reassemble it. Put the engine and rebuilt transmission in last summer. New wiring, Brake lines, side markers and lenses it all takes time. I don't like to rush when I'm turning wrenches. It's supposed to be fun for me and when I get stressed out it defeats the purpose. Most the time I have to research how do things. My wife asks "How do you know how to do this?" and I reply "What makes you think I know what I'm doing." Admitting that I don't know keeps me open to learning and thats partially what this project is about. That, and its a cool truck for a great price. Now when I start my Camaro, hopefully, It will go faster with fewer mistakes.

The trucks still not done though. Next up got to seam seal the drip rail and windshield opening so I can install the windshield. I just bought a SS bolt set for the bed, a new front bumper, and the wiring under the dash is not going to install itself. I'm ready for a road trip though, so no more breaks.