Hi

[ericlonseth]

Hey everyone, my name is Eric Lonseth. I'm 15 years old. I'm from Rocanville, Saskatchewan. i just signed up to the site and my truck is a 1986 C10 standard bed.

I bought my truck from a guy from Yorkton, a city about an hour north of where I'm from. I'd seen it advertised in the local Bargain Hunter on my lunch break one day.(I work for my dad). It was advertised a $1200 and it had listed edelbrock intake, carb, and headers and needed some TLC. I showed my dad the ad, and since we were close to Yorkton, he agreed to skip the rest of the day of work(he's his own boss) and take a look at it with me.

We went to see it and at that point, I had no experience with trucks or vehicles before, so it was all new to me. I didn't have my learner's license yet, but I wanted some wheels ready when I did.

The guy showed us it inside and out, very honest, showed us everything wrong with it and what he had added. He first said 1200 without the CD player. Soon it was 1200 with and 1000 without. A couple minutes later, it was 1000 with. I was happy, we didn't even negotiate to get to that price. i guess we didn't look to interested and he was getting desperate.

Anyways, the truck didn't run, it needed a new distributor. We told him we'd give him 100 bucks to get a new one before we came to stay in town the next week, and pay him the next 900 when it did run. Sure enough, the next week, it fired up and man was it loud. It was coming straight out of the headers and the mufflers hadn't been hooked up yet, they were just in their hangers. i was impressed. We drove it home after getting a transit permit for an unlicensed vehicle, my friend drove it and he kept shaking his head in disbelief; we had to yell at each other to be heard over the engine alone, no tunes going at all.

When I did get it home, i showed it to every man and his dog, very proud but I wondered why when I would press the gas, it only had about an inch of movement. Turns out, the nice Edelbrock carb he had didn't match the stock intake (obviously) and the secondaries weren't even opening. Well, my cousin, who has a wicked project truck of his own, and who's dad happens to be a mechanic, came over and he switched the carb for the stock rochester so I could at least drive it into the shop for fixing. Another thing about it was on the right side headers, there were only 5 bolts there, one had rattled loose. He must have barely tightened them becuase even I know that when you put them on you tighten them, and retighten them each day for a week or so, then take each bolt out one at a time and Loc-tite them and reinstall them. He was also missing the fan shroud, its a wonder someone didn't cut an arm off. Also, when he installed the CD player, he cut a custom hole bigger than the original cassette stereo hole, and there's angle-grinder slits all over the dash he must have been getting attacked by mosquitos and just wouldn't stop for anything. O well.

We also figured out that his younger brother, who had been tinkering on my truck a couple days before, had accidentally wired the solenoid positive and negative wires all on the same connector. W got quite a laugh out of that. When it was in the shop, another of my cousins came over and adjusted the choke so it didn't sound like I had it floored when it started up.

So far, I've pulled the motor and stripped the interior, and i'm waiting on a Crane Blue Racer 1064 cam to arrive so I can send it to Brandon Bearing (a specialty rebuilding shop) for block and head rebuilding. Hopes are to have the motor painted orange or black, not sure yet, and every available thing like spark plug wires will be blue, as well as every possible thing covered in braided lines and aluminum dress-up on everything possible. Can't afford a supercharger system yet, but maybe in a couple years I'll get one (or twin turbos).

The body of the truck is in surprisingly good shape for an 86, there's only rust spots on the cab corners, gas tank door, a little surface stuff on the bedsides, and that's it. Some parts will be completely replaced, like the inner front fender wells, both back fenders (someone didn't know how to use bondo), a roll pan instead of the rusty bumper, and a 2" single cowl hood. i don't know if I should shave anything like tailgate handles or door handles or taillights yet, but any suggestions might help. If you have any ideas, which you probably will(most people here are older than me), please share them, I will probably try them depending on cost and things like that, but definitely suggest something if you think of it.

Sorry, forgot one thing.....I will be trying to figure out how to post the pics I took with my phone on here, I didn't use a regular camera it was just quicker and easier. I do have lots of pictures, right from the start.

Thanks, Eric

[Jerry Jones]

That is quite an intro mister, congrats on your "new" truck. You should be able to find answers your questions on here no problem.

[ericlonseth]

Sweet sounds good i"ll probably have lots of questions as they come up, hopefully(probably) people will have answers or suggestions that's awesome.

[scotts62]

from OKC!

[ericlonseth]

Thanks what's OKC? Is it your company or some other kind of abbreviation?

[ericlonseth]

Oh wow sorry I'm kind of slow today....I just got to reading your trucks listed under your comment and seen you were from OKC sorry us Canucks aren't quite all there haha

[TDS-MN]

Welcome!! Sounds like quite a project, but it also sounds like you have some good help at your disposal as well!! Looking forward to seeing some of your pictures of the truck once you get them posted.

I wish I would have started wrenching when I was young like you. Didn't really have anyone to show me the tricks or anything.

Best of luck with your project, I'm sure we'll see you around the forum!

[ericlonseth]

Thanks .......actually the price I mentioned should have been 1000 not 100 haha didn't read it over

[70cst]

ericlonseth from Ohio ... Thanks for your intro. Great info. Sounds like you have a lot of great plans for your truck. Keep us posted.

[ericlonseth]

hey everyone i just sent my engine away on monday for the rebuild, and brought my TH-400 tranny into a specialty shop in town like a mile away, and brought my rad into a shop in the next town. My engine's getting bored out, i don't know exactly what to, it had a 10-13/1000 taper so i'm assuming 30 over, and getting my crane cam put in and a long block assembled with the stock heads. Here's the specs on the cam:

Cam Timing: TAPPET @.050
Lift: Opens Closes Max Lift Duration
Intake (5) ATDC 29 ABDC 107 204 °
Exhaust 44 BBDC (10) BTDC 117 214 °

Lift: Intake @Cam 2800 @Valve 420 All Lifts are based
on zero lash and theoretical rocker arm ratios.
Exhaust @ Cam 2947 @Valve 442
Rocker Arm Ratio

It"ll be just over a week till I get my engine back, the shop will do compression tests, paint my block black, get a complete new gasket set for the rebuild (obviously), put a new oil pump in, and do a pre-lube so it's ready to stick in as soon as I put the intake, carb, fuel pump, and maybe a Weiand supercharger.

P.S. does anyone know how i can get a post going instead of just replying to my thread here? Thanks I'll keep everyone posted on any updates or new parts.

[srea76]

welcome

[old Rusty C10]

welcome aboard! Im a moderator on the 73-87 side and would like you to take your original post and the subsequent posts relating to it and post over in the forum.
When my son was your age we did a 1976 like youre doing with a 1986.
Best of luck with yours and please post in the forum... pics too
see ya there!

[ericlonseth]

hey sorry about the wait i just thought you had moved it already i'm sorry to leave you hanging......please do post it to the 73-87 forum that would be awesome....soon i'll try post some pics and i got lots of them when i do thanks

[ericlonseth]

hey everyone got my engine finished and painted black and my rad done and also painted black. My engine was bored out 30 over i think, and got stock style pistons so i wouldnt need premium gas, but i think i could have used flat tops and dialed back the timing advance. anyways too late for that. i got the same rods and crank, just reconditioned and the crank is 10 under. new bearings, rings, gaskets, cam, reconditioned heads, new valves and guides, basically completely new valvetrain. my tranny should be done soon and then i can put everything back together and get it driving. while i got a week off of school in january for recommends i'm probably going to do some sanding and grinding on the body (i practised on the tailgate). i'm painting pretty much everything black and going from there. what does anyone think of orange and black how would that look? or a completely black truck with either blue or green accent stuff like plug wires and alternator and air cleaner assembly and whatever else? i really dont know what i should do but the frame and interior is going to be black so i can get started on that anytime. suggestions would be awesome

[ericlonseth]

btw these were peoples truck pics from here. just ideas for me

[ericlonseth]

another message lol.....could someone photoshop these two pics as a black truck and as a standard blue color. that would be sweet. thanks

[ericlonseth]

hey just a quick update sorry i don't have any pics yet trying to figure that out still....anyways counting down the days got 1 week to when i pick up my engine and rad they've been finished for a while and the tranny i'm not too sure about yet.....compression is something like 140......can't wait to get my truck running again and take it for a spin......also took the back bumper off it was a royal pain it sure wouldn't have fallen off anytime by itself.....more next week

[ericlonseth]

btw my truck will hopefully look pretty much identical to the first picture i have posted there....don't know who's truck it is but i'm going to go with the same orange.....and my exhaust won't come out the back there it'll be angled out in front of my back tires

[ericlonseth]

heres a few pictures i got....i have probably a hundred but uploading them here is a royal pain....i'll be sure to include pictures of everything that needs fixing and new ones of the motor and any new parts.....i have a week off next week and i'll be starting the body work.....wish me luck!

[ericlonseth]

more pics

[ericlonseth]

more pics

[ericlonseth]

more pics

[ericlonseth]

some pics

[ericlonseth]

more pics

[ericlonseth]

does anyone have any idea what is with my heater core? i think thats what it is....theres supposed to be some hoses where this guy cut those 2 lines but what for and what to? the other hoses running by came from the water pump and intake and going to a box in the cab? i'll try get some pics of that box but im wondering if maybe somewhere along the way someone put a new heater core inside the cab???? i need help cuz if i don't need that mangled mess in my engine compartment i'd have it out tomorrow. thanks