Big Rat's 1979 C10 High School Hot Rod Restooo

[Big Rat]

Well... First off let me say hi to all and introduce myself and give a little history. My name is Evan and I have owned my truck since 1998. I bought it from a friend in high school. When I bought it, it had a tired small block and a worn out TH350. Stock suspension, sittin on some all terrain 32.50's. The body, paint, and interior were all fairly clean, and I can still remember when I first smelt that little strawberry car-freshener as I sat down in my "new" truck. I liked how it looked but I'm a hot rod at heart, sooooo...... C10, meant get it closer to the deck! I proceeded to install DJM 3" drop spindles, Belltech drop shackles and hangers. I rebuilt the small block with Vortec goods and put in a TH400 with a shift kit. Un-freakin-fortunately, the machine shop didn't install the oil return plug so the engine never properly filtered the oil which blah blah blah, no more go. My poor truck got parked in 2002 and has sat ever since, till now.

To do a resto, you'll need these items;


Don't forget specialty tools


Oh, and for the body work


Okay, okay, here are the real pics
Had to make room, roll out the Nova, roll in the 79!

[Big Rat]

Now when I rolled this into the garage I had plans of just freshening up the suspension and bushings 'n such, buuuuut..... like many others, it descended into the seventh circle of frame off restoration.

[Big Rat]

I'm glad that when I was younger I spent money on suspension parts wisely, that way I could do the cheaper mods when I have kids and a wife that "steal" all my money.

The bushings for the "failed suspension freshen up plan" showed up. Poly goodness.


And a cheap mod, cutting a coil. FYI make sure to use a knife with teeth like I did to cut, it makes short work of cutting!!!


Welllllll, lets clean out and yank the bed shall we

[Big Rat]

Earlier this week my dad called and said my mom was going to throw away my other truck if I didn't come get it!!! My other truck is my grandpa's 1969 Chev C20 LWB and it sure as h3!! wasn't getting scrapped. I think it was just a scare tactic, AND IT WORKED GREAT! So I got my rig, and prayed it would be big enough to haul all the awesomeness that is a 1969 Chev!




And back safely to the Chevy Refuge... I think I might have been overweight with that big load, it looks so tiny on there!

[Big Rat]

Let's lighten up the cab for removal and take a look at what we are working with here...












WTF!(What The Ford?!) That's worse than swearing! The entire reason the engine blew and the floor rusted is all right HERE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm lucky my passengers never fell out or exploded!

[Big Rat]

Removed rear bumper and receiver hitch apparatus device. Also threw some polish on a wheel to see if I could save it. Good 'ol chrome modulars! They'll look excellent when they get some real attention.





A pic of my future, which one is next?!



And lastly, I saw this at a place I deliver cement to and just thought it was awesome and worth sharing.

[rusty76]

Man I'll be reading this.....I can't wait.

[Tx Firefighter]

Your sense of humor in this thread makes it a fun read.
Posted via Mobile Device

[Big Rat]

Thanks Rusty and Tx Firefighter. I'm going to try to keep it moving along and I will certainly keep it as entertaining as possible. So I got a weee bit more done today, after I bribed my wife to let me lurke into the garage by taking her to breakfast and a movie! It worked!

Personally, I think this is where GM should've actually installed the steering wheel.



Wow! Maybe I should try focusing and holding the camera still!



Okey dokey, let's remove that cab.





And there it is!!! Went slicker than snot on a doorknob! I'd be lying if I said I wasn't happier than a witch in a broom factory. Let's see, um, this truck build is right in my wheel house, uh, proper tools are a game changer?! Any more dopey terminology and I'll probably get banned. Seriously though, that harbor freight crane is worth it's weight in orange paint as far as I'm concerned, IMO.

[rusty76]

I never thought of taking the cab off with an engine hoist. Nice.

[muddnutz]

I'm with Rusty. I've never thought of that either. The bed but not the cab. Keep up the work
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[silvereagle07]

Nice start.
Posted via Mobile Device

[Big Rat]

Thanks guys. I'm really glad it worked like it did. I wasn't sure if it was going to work at first without damaging the edges where the drip rails attach, but a couple 2x4's on each side took the brunt of it. I didn't really get anything done today other than get the garage cleaned up and put the cab where it will sit while the chassis gets it make over.



Had to pivot the frame over to squeeze the cab over. While taking the picture I got photobombed by some wife of mine! I told her that it was for sure going on the interweb machine!

[Big Rat]

And now a question for you guys that are about 437-teen steps ahead of me, I have my original hood and it is quite straight and rust free, except the front of it. Any one know if this is a part that can be cut out and repaired? Has a patch panel been invented yet for this newly rusting part of our trucks?! I'm a extreme novice at body work(if a novice at all) but I like the sound of not spending money if I can save a part, especially the original parts from my old truck.





Oh and I saw this today! All original cruising down the road. Badged as a 327. Soooooo cool!!!

[Tx Firefighter]

Originally Posted by Big Rat

....<snip> While taking the picture I got photobombed by some wife of mine! I told her that it was for sure going on the interweb machine!...</snip>

We are all cool with you being from Utah. But, really, how do you support building old trucks and all those wives ? Obviously you have so many of them that you don't even know their names.

hmmm...I might out to move out there and get me a few of them. I could be "Utah Firefighter".

[Big Rat]

Originally Posted by Tx Firefighter

We are all cool with you being from Utah. But, really, how do you support building old trucks and all those wives ? Obviously you have so many of them that you don't even know their names.

I just say, "Eh! WOMAN!" At which ever one is walking past and, well, being that I am the leader of my commune, they relish in the fact that I am even gracing them with my words. I'm also a truck driver so I have to divide my time between all the lizards too! Okay so, my wife just snuck up and read this and now I'm in trouble guys. I have to go.

So I made progress on one of my projects today. Time was limited so I had to pick, truck, or this...




Then I buttoned it up. Finished product and one happy little girl.



And this was the scenery I got to observe, all in all, a fairly pleasant evening.



Oh, and this is just, well, my kind of thing!

[Tx Firefighter]

Fixing that hood rust is very doable. Since its basically flat, making patch panels won't be much of a challenge.
Posted via Mobile Device

[bikeman59]

Seeing good build pics never gets old. Well done and well written. Looking forward to following this.

[rusty76]

I can't wait to see this thing up for Truck of the Month....! I enjoy reading this one.

[maxxxy]

Your humor hooked me! Im subscribed for entertainment value alone. The truck is just an added bonus!

[Big Rat]

I'm all for patching up that cancer! Guess I better get learned about sheet-metallin. Looks like Ima hafta do me a some google searchin, which is kind of silly being that the main results always return me back to this AWESOME forum!

I agree with you there, bikeman. I'm always on build threads, and there is nothing like one that keeps your interest peaked with good amounts of description and involvement. Funny thing is most of the pictures are taken with my phone. No such thing as a crappy cell phone pic anymore now that we have 80 gajillion mega-pixel cameras. No need for my Nikon I guess.

Whoa Rusty! ToTM?! First, Thanks for the vote of confidence, second, thanks for the anxiety of now knowing how big of shoes I have to fill to try to compete with some of these absolutely flawless trucks on here! Seriously though I would love to have a truck that would even be considered in the running against some of these rigs!

Thanks Maxxy. I'm glad there's other people out there with a sense of humor. IMO I always like the build entertainment value all by itself, but when the person puts a little into the presentation it keeps me wanting to check back more often.

Holy mother, my typing sucks. Tip-Don't watch Family Guy and try to type if you have to look at your fingers while typing, IT TAKES FOREVER! Backspacing every other letter!

[Big Rat]

I probably should have done this at the top but better late then never. When I start reading a build thread I'm always curious what direction the build is intended on going. So I am going to state my intention for this build. I'm going with an 'ol skool resto here. 1979 Chevrolet Scottsdale C10 Fleetside SWB. Carbureted SBC w/ Vortec upper half and TH400 w/ shift kit to get me cruisin down the road. Eventually I'd like to get a motor in there that is worthy of my name and a 4l80e(minus the "e"). The underhood will be clean and tidy like Mary Poppins magic by way of some smooth inner fender wells and matching firewall. 5/6 Static dropped and c-notched sittin on stock style custom backspaced rally rims wrapped in BFG Radial T/A 225/60-15's up front and 295/50-15's out back. Brown and white two tone paint with white cab and all original trim and grille. Interior-brown and tan, also all original. Chassis and components will be POR-15'd and then if all goes according to plan, I'll be flat broke and bankrupt and sittin pretty in my '79!!!!!

Oh and just a heads up, this build will be slower during the weekdays so I apologize if the progress goes up and down like a roller coaster. I do promise however that I will make every effort to hit it hard on the weekends so that this thread will stay alive and active. My motivation is high, but my wife is hot, so I always have some sort of personal dilemma when I try to go to the garage! Thanks again everyone.

[Low Elco]

What you need... are mountains. Love it so far, I think LMC sells the front cap for the hood. Next time you move the cab, I chained across the front seat bolt holes. Worked like a champ, especially after the oil line I forgot to unhook ripped itself out of the cluster. What's next?

[Big Rat]

Originally Posted by Low Elco

What you need... are mountains. Love it so far, I think LMC sells the front cap for the hood. Next time you move the cab, I chained across the front seat bolt holes. Worked like a champ, especially after the oil line I forgot to unhook ripped itself out of the cluster. What's next?

Yeah I wish we had at least some hills or something to break up the endless miles of vast plains! Oh nice idea on the seat bolts! Lots of clever fellers on here! I'm just going to keep stripping down the frame till it's bare. Then cut and install the c-notchesesss, then get to cleaning and Por-15'nin. Oh and for everyone tuning in for the entertainment, I've got some ideas involving children and power tools!

[68Timber]

Great start, subd.