Progress on '66 Chevy K10 lwb fleetside truck

[LILRED66]

Originally Posted by strongarm

That is an awsome truck I have a 66 k10 4x4 also and I was wondering where you got new leaf sperings or if you just used add a leaf or something

During the build, we opted to stay with the factory running gear, including the leaf springs, because they were in good, unmolested condition. I believe they are available aftermarket, but I can not speak to that for certain, because I have not purchased any for a 4-5-6 Chevy K10/K20 truck.

[LILRED66]

The build is continuing nicely. We have been burning the midnight oil, in order to get it done before school is out, so he can pick his son up from school sometime soon.

Here are a few more progress photos.

[LILRED66]

We have made a lot of progress the past two weeks. The seat will be done on Friday, as well as the finish on the red oak wood for the bed.

We are having a local glass shop install the windshield, grommet and stainless steel windshield trim for under $175.00, including the windshield, labor and installation guarantee.

Next week we plan to finish the wet sanding/polishing, body trim, mirrors, badges, exhaust and misc. punchlist items. By April 15th she should be rolling out the door for the first time.

We have over 480 photos posted at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/4-5-6ch...7602954904562/ of the entire build from tear-down to trim-out. We have another 150 photos to add of our progress over the past two weeks, so we will keep you posted.

I hope you enjoy looking as much as we have enjoyed the process.

[joe231]

Tony....all I can say is WOW, and.....that engine doesn't look stock to me

[LILRED66]

Originally Posted by joe231

Tony....all I can say is WOW, and.....that engine doesn't look stock to me

Thanks for the kind words. The engine is a stock 327 from a '66 Chevy C20, although it has some chrome Edlebrock goodies on it, otherwise it is factory down to the engine block color.

After an eight or ten hour work session, it sometimes does not look like we accomplished much, however the small details take lots of time. All in all, we are progressing rapidly and should reach the finish line in the next few weeks.

I will post more pictures as they become available.

Thanks again for the kind words.

[joe231]

Originally Posted by LILRED66

The engine is a stock 327 from a '66 Chevy C20, although it has some chrome Edlebrock goodies on it, otherwise it is factory down to the engine block color.

yeah, i was just pokin' fun 'bout your stance on "stock only"
maybe Dino could make you some "stock only" stickers
that truck looks amazing, keep it up

[RWilliams]

I've been watching your build thread, and the work looks great!

I wanted to ask a couple of questions that will help with the '65 Short Bed that I am restoring. The colour that you chose for the interior looks like the original colour. I've had a difficult time matching this with my local PPG Dealer. I have the paint codes, but they say that this is for lacquer, and no longer " in the books ". What colour code did you go with?

Also, on the transition from the outside colour to the inside, I noticed on the door skins, you wrapped the outside colour around to the inside of the door. Is this how it would have been done from the factory?

[LILRED66]

Originally Posted by RWilliams

I've been watching your build thread, and the work looks great!

I wanted to ask a couple of questions that will help with the '65 Short Bed that I am restoring. The colour that you chose for the interior looks like the original colour. I've had a difficult time matching this with my local PPG Dealer. I have the paint codes, but they say that this is for lacquer, and no longer " in the books ". What colour code did you go with?

Also, on the transition from the outside colour to the inside, I noticed on the door skins, you wrapped the outside colour around to the inside of the door. Is this how it would have been done from the factory?

Thanks for the kind words.

The owner took an original door panel to an auto paint retailer and had them color match the paint to the panel. We are not doing a "points" concourse restoration, but we wanted to closely match the factory interior color. The sheen is more glossy than the factory interior finish, as well as lacking the very slight metallic look. The actual color we used is DuPont, Chroma-Premiere, Shadow Wood Frost...I believe it is actually a blue oval color.

With regards to factory paint breaks, I researched this topic extensively through my manufacturer's reference books, Historical Chevy Truck books and the many 4-5-6 Chevy Trucks I own or have owned, to ensure there was a concensus on the paint breaks at the cap, doors, side stripe, cab, hood, grille support, front fender lips and firewall.

A dead give-away of a fresh paint job is the paint breaks at the doors and grille support. The grille support has an Underhood Semi-Gloss Black backdrop, wrapped with an Off-White ring, boardered by the body color, that carries through the front fender lip and coincides with the concentric rings around this assembly. If you look closely, you can identify the rings I am referencing.

Again, we are not making a splash into the concourse restoration realm of things, however I find it important to make every effort to maintain the original integrity, in fit and finish. My goal is to bring my 4-5-6 Chevy Trucks back to their original glory, with the exception of adding a set of mild, custom wheels and tires and a bed wood kit. I like the phrase "better than new" or "better than factory" when it comes to the quality of work, fit and finish on one of these trucks.

I understand it is all a matter of taste and I am not a hater of all the "mild-to-wild" modifications being done on these truck, but I gravitate toward the ageless approach of revitalizing them and not reinventing them. I like the quirky misdeeds the GM engineers designed into them and that is what makes them so desireable and unique when we finish a 4-5-6 Chevy Truck...it has rust-free sheet metal and many of the dealer-installed accessories of a well-optioned truck from the sixties. Back then, a truck was more utilitarian/pedestrian, to fit the needs of the construction worker, farmer, forestry service, EMT professional, search/rescue and the like, in lieu of a lot of bells and whistles, like the trucks of today.

Thanks for following the link and we will keep you posted on our progress.

[greg64]

Hey Tony I was just flipping through your progress pictures on flickr. Looks great! Although I have to wonder if you guys are spending more time with the camera than with the truck!

I was curious about the sound deadening and insulation used on the floor of the cab. Did you apply something similar to the inside of the door shells? My impression is that noise can be reduced substantially by doing the doors as well.

[LILRED66]

Between the owner of the truck and me, we manage to take lots of photos. We try to shoot some while we are working, to capture milestones, as well as after every work session, so we tend to accummulate a great number of photos.

We used Peel-N-Seal throughout the cab, firewall, rear cab wall, outer wall of doors and the backside of the door panels. I also suggest applying it to the front and back of the in-cab fuel tank, to cut down on the sloshing you get when the tank is not completely full or nearing empty. We did not do this, but I will in the future. It makes a substantial difference in the sound deadening and insulating qualities of the all metal cab.

I have been using this product for the past 4-5 years with great results and for the money and ease of application, I prefer it over the other products I have tried. We also covered all the joints with foil tape, in order to make the entire interior of the cab, as sound and moisture-proof, as possible.

Thanks for following the build and let me know if you have any more questions or comments about 4-5-6 Chevy Trucks I can help you with in the future.

[283 Man]

Tony that truck is the best build I have seen on the web in a while.Love this model of truck (64-66) its like a illness with mecant get enough of them.Nice work

[neto]

WOW! just looked at every one of those pictures. Nice work. I'm doing mine off frame also. What kind of paint did you use on your frame?
Ernest

[TimE]

Man, that is some nice photographic documentation of your progress. That truck is gonna be super nice when y'all finish it. Keep up the great work Tony!

[kdrodworks316]

WOW! thats nicer than a new yoyo. lookin good Tony and Lee. keep it coming

[66Gilbert]

Just viewed the new pictures on your other site. I have some questions. The parts that are painted black, were these painted at the body shop or painted in your shop? I noticed in one picture some rattle cans, if this is true what did you use? What kind of rear bumper is going to be put on the truck? Also I notice you guys opted for a 64-65 custom steering wheel why did you not use a 66 custom steering wheel or the standard wheel that came with most 4x4's. It would be great to see this truck hooked up to a matching jet boat or a modern toy hauler. Keep up the good work as I can't wait to see the finished product.

[LILRED66]

Originally Posted by 283 Man

Tony that truck is the best build I have seen on the web in a while.Love this model of truck (64-66) its like a illness with mecant get enough of them.Nice work

Thanks for the kind compliment. I think it will be a real nice rig when complete. We have a two page list of items to do, in order to complete and back on the road. Thanks again for the encouraging words.

[LILRED66]

Originally Posted by neto

WOW! just looked at every one of those pictures. Nice work. I'm doing mine off frame also. What kind of paint did you use on your frame?
Ernest

Thanks for the nice compliment. The owner chose a local stripping company to do the sandblasting on the frame. It is coated with an industrial quality epoxy that the company uses on heavy equipment. I am not sure of the manufacturer, supplier or product name, but it seems to be very durable.

I believe the blasting and paint were under $400.00, which I felt like was a great deal considering all the sweat equity we would have had in it to do it ourselves, plus the cost of materials.

Thanks again for your encouragement.

[LILRED66]

Originally Posted by TimE

Man, that is some nice photographic documentation of your progress. That truck is gonna be super nice when y'all finish it. Keep up the great work Tony!

Tim:

Thanks for the kind words of encouragement. This build started in November of 2005 with the owner wanting me to do a power steering conversion. It has evolved into this complete frame-off build and has been worth every minute and dollar we have both invested.

The owner is going to have one of the finest 4-5-6 Chevy K10 trucks I have every seen in person. There are finer ones out there, but we didn't sink $25K-$35K into this one. I told him I would buy it for $20K when it is finished if he is afraid he is going to get hurt on the investment and he would make his money back, plus some. He politely declined and decided it will go to his 7 year old son.

In any case, it has been a great experience tackling such a monumental project and I am getting rev'd up for the next 4-5-6 Chevy truck build, along with finishing up a few that I have put on the back burner, in order to get this truck done before school is out, so he can pick up his son at school in it before summer break.

Thanks again for all the encouraging comments.

[LILRED66]

Originally Posted by kdrodworks316

WOW! thats nicer than a new yoyo. lookin good Tony and Lee. keep it coming

Thanks for the nice comments. From the beginning, we have been saying "nicer than new" and have made every effort to maintain that theme throughout the build. Everytime we are ready to put together a sub-assembly, we make sure we check the Shop Manual or one of the many 4-5-6 Chevy Trucks sitting in the lot, to ensure we are doing it better than new. After coming this far...no shortcuts on using the factory-correct fasteners (with few exceptions) or clips, brackets, etc.

It has been a real pleasure doing this build with the owner and I am certain we have both learned a lot, as well as created a friendship, due to our love for the 4-5-6 Chevy Trucks, that many of us share.

Thanks again for the inspiring comments.

[LILRED66]

Originally Posted by 66Gilbert

Just viewed the new pictures on your other site. I have some questions. The parts that are painted black, were these painted at the body shop or painted in your shop? I noticed in one picture some rattle cans, if this is true what did you use? What kind of rear bumper is going to be put on the truck? Also I notice you guys opted for a 64-65 custom steering wheel why did you not use a 66 custom steering wheel or the standard wheel that came with most 4x4's. It would be great to see this truck hooked up to a matching jet boat or a modern toy hauler. Keep up the good work as I can't wait to see the finished product.

66Gilbert:

Thanks for following the thread and the nice comments. All of the tin was painted at the paint shop we use. Many smaller parts were degreased, sandblasted and painted by us, in my shop. We use a lot of finish products from Eastwood, specifically Underhood Black, Rust Encapsulator (red, black and clear), Radiator Black and Chassis Black.

There are many suppliers of these products, but I became a fan of Eastwood because of the product variety, availability and quality. They are a little pricey, but I feel you get what you pay for in most cases...I am simply saying these are the products we use and they have worked well for us on this and other 4-5-6 Chevy Truck builds in the past.

We many smaller parts powder-coated underhood black, as well as having the bed strips and rock guards powder-coated red to match the body paint. George at Cross-Link Powder Coatings, Kansas City, KS specializes in automotive parts powder-coating and we have found him to be very competive, prompt and reliable. I will post his contact information, in case someone wants to use his services.

We are installing a factory chrome rear fleetside bumper, not a dealer-installed style rear step bumper. We like the smooth, gentle curves and look for this style bumper and also we can install factory rock guards, that match the body color.

We decided to go with a '64-'65 Custom Cab chrome steering wheel assembly, because we felt like it was the nicest of the options available. I have a few good, used factory '66 Chevy chrome steering wheel assemblies, however, we prefer the look of the '64-'66 over the others and the Custom Cab feature, which included the Custom chrome steering wheel assembly, was available on the K10/K20 trucks.

I have illusions of this truck towing a red flatbed car hauler with another retored 4-5-6 Chevy Truck onboard, however I think her working days are over, but a matching toy hauler or small vintage Airstream would look pretty grooving cruising down the highway.

Thanks again for the words of encouragement and we will keep posting photos as the build continues to completion.

[66Gilbert]

Originally Posted by LILRED66

66Gilbert:

Thanks for following the thread and the nice comments. All of the tin was painted at the paint shop we use. Many smaller parts were degreased, sandblasted and painted by us, in my shop. We use a lot of finish products from Eastwood, specifically Underhood Black, Rust Encapsulator (red, black and clear), Radiator Black and Chassis Black.

There are many suppliers of these products, but I became a fan of Eastwood because of the product variety, availability and quality. They are a little pricey, but I feel you get what you pay for in most cases...I am simply saying these are the products we use and they have worked well for us on this and other 4-5-6 Chevy Truck builds in the past.

We many smaller parts powder-coated underhood black, as well as having the bed strips and rock guards powder-coated red to match the body paint. George at Cross-Link Powder Coatings, Kansas City, KS specializes in automotive parts powder-coating and we have found him to be very competive, prompt and reliable. I will post his contact information, in case someone wants to use his services.

We are installing a factory chrome rear fleetside bumper, not a dealer-installed style rear step bumper. We like the smooth, gentle curves and look for this style bumper and also we can install factory rock guards, that match the body color.

We decided to go with a '64-'65 Custom Cab chrome steering wheel assembly, because we felt like it was the nicest of the options available. I have a few good, used factory '66 Chevy chrome steering wheel assemblies, however, we prefer the look of the '64-'66 over the others and the Custom Cab feature, which included the Custom chrome steering wheel assembly, was available on the K10/K20 trucks.

I have illusions of this truck towing a red flatbed car hauler with another retored 4-5-6 Chevy Truck onboard, however I think her working days are over, but a matching toy hauler or small vintage Airstream would look pretty grooving cruising down the highway.

Thanks again for the words of encouragement and we will keep posting photos as the build continues to completion.

Tony, Thanks for the infomation. Again, I can't wait and I do hope you post some pics of it pulling some kind of trailer.

[Dinos63]

tony you do very nice work.nice job

[1974k5blazer]

man i wish i had the money to dump into my 63, id do everything that was in this thread! same paint scheme and everything!

[LILRED66]

Originally Posted by Dinos63

tony you do very nice work.nice job

Dino:

Thanks for the words of encouragement. I really appreciate it coming from a fellow that does so much custom fabrication. We just uploaded another 100 pictures of our progress over the past few days. Enjoy and thanks again.

[LILRED66]

Originally Posted by 1974k5blazer

man i wish i had the money to dump into my 63, id do everything that was in this thread! same paint scheme and everything!

Thanks...I am glad you like it. I have become rather fond of it myself. It seems like I always do it better for a customer than I do for my own projects. I am envious of this one and I will miss her when she leaves the shop for good.