Vern, my ‘77 swb Fleetside

[nlped]

I don’t really have a direction for Vern yet, but I wanted to start myself a thread to help keep me motivated.

Vern is an original paint black on black 1977 SWB Fleetside C10 Silverado. I bought it through my buddy Chad (board member CC69Rat and his Pop NoNeck). It’s a pretty damn clean 350/350 truck. It had oe A/C ( )and has p/s, p/b...it runs out good, as I drove it back to central Alabama from the Chattanooga area when I picked it up from Chad.

Here’s picks from the pickup day...

[nlped]

I immediately put it up on the lift and made myself a list of obvious issues. It had been lowered, but not correctly. The springs had been cut and musta been to low, so they twisted in the ole spring spacers . The radiator had a small leak, and all the underhood a/c pieces were missing.

[nlped]

So, I decided to remedy these problems first. I replaced the radiator with a very nice aftermarket aluminum radiator, a/c condenser, new clutch & fan, hoses etc. and since I was there...I installed a CVF 8-rib serpentine drive setup with a Sandin 508 compressor.

[nlped]

It didn’t have a front swaybar, but I have a 67 C30, that’s really just parts, that I pilphered the big a$$ swaybar off of. I got a set of the CPP shorter swaybar mounts & poly bushings. Then I threw it on to help tighten up the tugboat feeling it had on road. I still want to put a set of 2.5” drop spindles and proper lowering springs/shocks up front, but I’ve got to get through the holidays before that’ll happen.

[nlped]

Today, I also realized it has a 10-bolt instead of a 12-bolt. Didn’t they have 12-bolts in ‘77?

This rearend is a 2.73 deadleg, so it’s truly a pig but it did pretty well on MPG on the drive from Chattanooga. I may just try to track down and swap in a posi.

[Wraith]

Looks like a clean start!

[nlped]

Thanks Wraith! I just read through your build too. Very cool.

[nlped]

Well, I got a hellofa deal on a set of 2.5” CPP lowering spindles and new front springs, so I ordered them up.

[Katrina/10]

Nice work, a 77 should be a 12 bolt, somebody must have swapped it.

[nlped]

Originally Posted by Katrina/10

Nice work, a 77 should be a 12 bolt, somebody must have swapped it.

I thought so. Oh well, the 10 bolt will work out once I do a posi and a mild gear change. I bought the front drop stuff last night and I already have the flip kit, so I’ll just do the posi/gear change at the same time. Then it should be a great driver.

[HunterRotten]

That black with the '77 gold is slick!

[nlped]

Originally Posted by HunterRotten

That black with the '77 gold is slick!

Thanks Man!!! And I totally dig your Blue truck.

[nlped]

Well, since it's rainy and crummy out, I decided to go down to the garage and do some tinkering on Vern. I put new door pins in to get rid of the sag related to 40+ years of use. I also put a Comfort Grip steering wheel in to do away with the sticky stock wheel.

I also came to the realization that I'm going to need to do some work to the rear suspension. There are only 4 leafs with no overload spring, so I guess I know how the previous owner lowered the rear. I want to go back to a stock set of leaf springs and just add a flip kit so I can regain the load hauling ability, but have it match with the incoming 4.5" drop for the front.

[Dads79GMC]

Love the name and the truck. Have any interior pictures? Thanks Mike

[nlped]

Originally Posted by Dads79GMC

Love the name and the truck. Have any interior pictures? Thanks Mike

Here are a couple...

[nlped]

I’m actually doing away with that triple gauge setup under the dash as we speak. Only the temp gauge was hooked up, but it wasn’t even kinda right. It was stuck at 190 as the starting point. The stock gauge is stuck on full hot, so I put a single autometer temp gauge in. I also did away with about 100 ft of extraneous wire from under the dash & hood.

[jwilson645]

Looking forward to watching this. I'm very slowly working on my 77 lwb Big 10.

[skyphix]

Originally Posted by nlped

I thought so. Oh well, the 10 bolt will work out once I do a posi and a mild gear change. I bought the front drop stuff last night and I already have the flip kit, so I’ll just do the posi/gear change at the same time. Then it should be a great driver.

Great truck - I will tell you its a lot easier to find parts for the 10 bolt or car 12 bolt than for the truck 12 bolt, at least around here (Maine.) I couldn't even get a cover or cover gasket for mine and ended up ordering the cover online and just made a gasket.

Looking forward to seeing where this goes!

[nlped]

Originally Posted by jwilson645

Looking forward to watching this. I'm very slowly working on my 77 lwb Big 10.

Thanks for checking Vern out. Mine feels pretty slow moving too. I keep finding little things that snowball into something bigger.

Originally Posted by skyphix

Great truck - I will tell you its a lot easier to find parts for the 10 bolt or car 12 bolt than for the truck 12 bolt, at least around here (Maine.) I couldn't even get a cover or cover gasket for mine and ended up ordering the cover online and just made a gasket.

Looking forward to seeing where this goes!

The 10 bolt is my choice too. It just needs a posi to make it a little less prone to getting stuck in wet grass...for real, it happened...that was embarrassing. My wife pulled me out with the Ranger The picture makes the slope look a lot steeper than it really is.

[Rich84]

Nice start on this one..I will be along for the ride too.

[nlped]

Thanks Rich.

I was reading N2TRUX’s Elwood thread and couldn’t believe he sold it as Vern is sorta cut from the same cloth, albeit no wear as nice. I was already hooked on his Jake thread and now I want a CCSB too. My wife is going to kill me!

[nlped]

Well, I've pitched the CCSB idea to the wife and she was actually receptive... On one condition... Vern's for Sale

[mongocanfly]

I just realized I saw your truck on craigs....wish I could make room for it...its a sweet looking truck

[nlped]

Thanks Man! That's precisely my problem. If I'm going to add one, I have to get rid of one... D@mn economics!

[Tsoptich83]

Clean looking truck. Looking forward to seeing some more progress