ThreeQuarter's 1968 C10 Build Thread

[LT7A]

The truck and interior is looking startlingly good. And quite the wonderful backstory. I actually think you chose well on those seat belts and I actually think bIack would be too much of a contrast to the rest of your interior. GM tended to kind of match colors by family, rather than exact match in their interiors. I bet that you could soak the loose belts in a weak detergent solution, like laundry detergent and water. You could soak them for an hour and see if a little bit of the dye came out. And then you could soak them a little longer if you wanted to take more intensity out of it. You could even mix a weak solution of fabric dye with the color that you want to move them toward, if that makes sense. But I'll bet a little bit of soaking with detergent would help them blend nicely. Please understand that I haven't done this and don't want to wreck your new belts. But the ones that I've cleaned have held up very well to the rigors of cleaning. Maybe you can get a sample swatch from seatbelt planet and give it a test.

[toms68cst]

Just spent some time looking at this build thread! Great job and I love the direction you took. Nothing irritates me more than a repainted 68 without a proper white or silver face! If I could take a time machine back to 68 and order a truck it would be nearly a dead-ringer to yours.

[68bowtie]

Just beautiful

[ThreeQuarter]

Thanks…forgot to include this one…

[ThreeQuarter]

I've been noticing a vibration that coincided with road speed (not engine speed) but the frequency was higher than tires/wheels/brakes would normally produce. I had been running the original driveshaft for the time being, so I decided it was time to replace it with all new parts. No dice.

I started looking into driveline angles and it turned out that my factory setup was pretty bad. All of the u-joint angles were around 2.5deg (reasonable), but the arrangement of the angles was not ideal. After some measuring, drawing, and calculating, I ordered 1/2" worth of transmission mount spacers, 4deg axle shims, and some new axle u-bolts (because I had cut my existing ones to exactly the right length). The results were very satisfying! That vibration is gone and I can ride easy now knowing my u-joints aren't aching.

[Shifty One]

Gorgeous....there are about a million words I could use, but gorgeous seems to cover it...

[ThreeQuarter]

Aw, shucks—thanks guys! I’m happy that I’m so happy with it—not too many regrets on doing it the way I did.

Chris—I’m very pleased with the quality of the SMS seat cover. It goes a long way in completing the original experience. My cruise is a kit that came from Roger Koop here on the board. He’s in KC and I’ve visited him a few times and also had him restore my vent windows. When I got this close to the end of the project (and being the cruise control addict that I am), I decided to splurge a little on cruise. There are a few things I allowed myself to not “cheap out” with (paint, stainless windshield trim, seat foam & upholstery, cruise) and so far I have no regrets in making those calls.

Jeff—how’s is going in OK? Tornadoes all around but not at my house, thankfully. Two layoffs and I’m still in Iowa. If you had tried to tell me 15 years ago I’d still be here, I would’nt have believed you. But Iowa has some good things going for it. Winter’s not one of them.

Thanks, Shifty! GM did all the heavy lifting, I just colored inside the lines they drew.

[cericd]

Any updates on this beautiful truck?

[ThreeQuarter]

Hey Chris, thanks for checking on me. I haven’t been on the board much lately because there hasn’t been a lot of work getting done on the ‘68. Been driving it some—just turned 5K miles on Monday, which is not as much as I intended to drive it. Still need to get HVAC installed. At some point I just gotta prioritize it and get it done!

[cericd]

Glad to hear that it's getting some drive time. I need to get mine our more now that we're back in Texas. Years ago I bought some original style base trim level black vinyl seat trim from SMS but haven't had the seat recovered yet. I probably should've let them make the cover. Yours turned out great! Excellent work on the painted pine bed floor. I almost never see anyone go that route. It makes me wish my truck had a wood bed to restore. To me, nothing looks better than one of those body colored wood bed floors.

Where did you get that vintage cruise control kit? I'll bet it makes longer drive much more enjoyable.

Can't say enough good things about your truck, just love what you've done with it.

[68Gold/white]

Ben,
Good to hear from you. I hope you all are good!!!
Any of those tornados close to you?
I'm guessing you are still in Iowa?
Jeff