Bringing my Grandfather's 1972 Longbed Stepside C10 back to life

[Jiggers72-GMC]

Well done, I almost ordered a kit from LMC, I'm getting my exhaust done locally next week.

[bwl101]

Put new front wheel bearings, front rotors and pads. Much easier to stop and much quieter! Also was able to finish up the exhaust install as I got the muffler delivered Friday that was missing in the kit's box. Has a good sound and it is also pretty quiet which I am happy with. Only difficult part of finishing the install was there was an exhaust leak where the pipe meets up to the exhaust manifold. Had to straighten out the angle of the pipe as it straightens out to run under the truck. All good now!

[Jiggers72-GMC]

Well done on the exhaust,
if you can bleed the brakes to get new fluid in there that would be good,
all that grease on the upper arm kept it from rusting huh

[bwl101]

Originally Posted by Jiggers72-GMC

Well done on the exhaust,
if you can bleed the brakes to get new fluid in there that would be good,
all that grease on the upper arm kept it from rusting huh

LOL yea! Got the brakes to bleed correctly. On the side pictured, apparently at some point, the seal on the inside bearing busted that's why that area is so greased up. I wish I had taken a picture after cleaning everything up with the new rotors and bearings installed! Looks much better now and stops much easier and quieter!

[bwl101]

Dropping it off at the trans shop tomorrow for them to replace all the leaky seals, replace carrier bearing and a rear diff service!

[Jiggers72-GMC]

It will be nice to get that done, I hope they're price is fair.

[bwl101]

Originally Posted by Jiggers72-GMC

It will be nice to get that done, I hope they're price is fair.

We shall see lol, so far what they've done:

Shift shaft seal
Rear seal
Carrier Bearing
All 3 U Joints
Rear Diff Fluid Service

I'll get the final list tomorrow when I pick it up.

[Jiggers72-GMC]

I guess they'll replace the trans filter while they have the pan off ....... and fresh trans fluid too.

[bwl101]

Originally Posted by Jiggers72-GMC

I guess they'll replace the trans filter while they have the pan off ....... and fresh trans fluid too.

I already replaced the filter and pan gasket before taking it to them, but I'm sure they'll have to top the fluid off even though by now it should have had all the old fluid cycled out.

[Jiggers72-GMC]

That's right, sounds good

[bwl101]

Originally Posted by bwl101

We shall see lol, so far what they've done:

Shift shaft seal
Rear seal
Carrier Bearing
All 3 U Joints
Rear Diff Fluid Service

I'll get the final list tomorrow when I pick it up.

For this work it was $257. I got it home and it was leaking still. Took it back and with everything else sealed up it made its way out of the speedometer cable where it attaches to the transmission. They will swap that O ring or whatever it is that keeps that sealed. Hopefully that'll be it and it will be leak free after that. I felt that was a fair price for all that work!

[kev2809]

what a deal! and now you know how fresh everything back there is

[Jiggers72-GMC]

Yes, what Kev said, the speedo seals are an easy fix .......

[bwl101]

Originally Posted by Jiggers72-GMC

Yes, what Kev said, the speedo seals are an easy fix .......

Speedo seal is good now, but the shift shaft seal started leaking again today so I'll have to take it back in on Monday.

[bwl101]

I bought one of the DA short throws from Harbor Freight to help me get the grime off the paint that wouldn't power wash off. Some black stuff on the hood would not budge with a mild abrasive and pad. I didn't want to mess the paint up so I looked for other ways to help "clay" the paint without actually having to clay bar everything as that would take forever! Well I came across the suggestion of using comet to wash the truck. Man what a difference! Cleaned a ton of old oxidized paint off and got all of the hard to remove black stuff off without too much effort. I used the bug removal sponges with the white netting on them with comet and water. As you can see in the pictures what a huge difference. The front bumper looks way better too! Tomorrow I plan on washing the rest of the truck with comet, then I will apply the Meguires #7 to rehydrate the paint while maintaining the patina look! I only had time to do the front bumper, hood, cowl and both front fenders today. In the last pic it's pretty obvious the difference between the hood and front fenders compared to the door that hasn't been washed with the comet yet.

[68Gold/white]

I’d drive it!!

[68bowtie]

Wow what a difference. Looks great!!

[Palf70Step]

Great job!

[bwl101]

Finished cleaning the truck with comet and then used the harbor freight DA to put Meguires #7 all over. Worked really nicely to deepen the color!

[Jiggers72-GMC]

The truck really turned out nice, your Grandfather would be proud.

[bwl101]

Getting the Oak bed wood ready to put in this week!

[Jiggers72-GMC]

The wood looks great, nice choice in stain.

[Hawkynz]

Im amazed at how good that paint looks.

[bwl101]

Got pretty much finished installing the new bed wood. It is very tedious hand tightening 92 bolt/nut combos lol! Have 6 more to go as they are in very tough spots to get and will have to think it through getting to them. I am very happy with how it turned out!

[kev2809]

very nice!