California Dreamin, 71 Chevy C10 4x4

[Twisted71]

Hola,

Since highschool I've wanted a 71-72 Chevy c10 4x. Well its been a long time since high school but I finally got one! paid 1k for it and its in pretty good shape. My goal is to a ground up restoration. Its gonna be tight cause the wife is starting nursing school in august, but ill scrap by I think.

I have been trollin the forums over here and pirate 4x4 to get ideas on which way I want to go. I think for this truck im going to go with a classic truck look but with some modern advancements.

Im going to redo everything I think. It has some rust spots I didnt take pictures of yet and its had some bondo work done. I cant tell all the spots yet but once I start sand blasting ill find them real quick.

Now for hte pictures




Well I had a buddy come over and we began to tear into it. So far everythings been pretty easy. There was a couple of bed bolts that I had to grind off but for the most part it came apart pretty easy. No new suprises with cancer rust, just the stuff I had already seen.

We got it tirn down so that everything was ready to come off. I've since torn the front end off and my dad brought over his trailer today and we got the bed off. I should takin the cab apart cause its still freakin super heavy so that didnt come off today, which sucked.

So im gonna have to go highjack a forklift or strip the windows and doors out to lighten the load a bit. I got access to a forklift so I migh go that route. The truck came with a 350/350. The motors is decent shape it was rebuilt awhile ago but I plan to upgrade toa stroker motor. Im thinking of dumpin the 350 for a 700r4 just for better fuel economy and running a 4 inch lift with 33's. With that Im thinking of gearing 3.73 for also increased fuel economy.

in the next few days im hopin to have the cab off so I can begin to tear apart the axles and get the tranny and xcase out of it. It has a 205 xcase in it. Im glad the previous owner did the disk conversion for me on the front already but the back needs to be done. the wiring int he front was shot so i ripped all that crap out.

Oh ya it also don't have a fuel tank. Hhaha sucks. Im thinking of goin for a toolbox / fuel cell combo. A flush mount tool box that doesn't stick up so it would break the plan of the truck bed for the smooth look. What you guys think. I have a long list of crap to do and I really haven't done this stuff since high school, but i did avionics int he Marine Corps so the electrical will come easily. I think im gonna start trolling craigslist for a decent welder so I can bang out most of the fab myself. Ill have to practice a bit, haven't welded in like 10 years. haha

Anyways, any help suggestions you can throw my way would be excellent! Thanks

Sean

[Twisted71]

some more pics



On ya cancer rust is int he corner by the passenger floor board, some bubbles ont he drive floorboard not bad and theres a spot in the truck bed that ate threw near the cab. Other then that thats it, One of the roller panels is all smashed in and needs to be replaced. theres also some minor fab work to do ont he back end, but nothing major.

[Twisted71]

p.s.s it still had the original stereo, you think I should save it?

ill post some more torn apart pics tomorrow. I need to get the cab off ASAP and get to work, hopefully this week! I dont think this things been drove since the early 90's it still had a tape deck in it. hah

[Chevy1TonFun]

Nice find. Sounds like a good plan and a great start. Good Luck with the cab removal. It took five of us to remove my cab.

[Twisted71]

So today I got to taking the doors off and I was suprised at how heavy they were. Once those were off I hit a dead end. I jsut can't seem to find the manpower right now tog et the cab off. Ill have to wait till tomorrow probably.

I have being stuck at this part!

So i took pictures with the time I had of the differnent spots I need to fix. here they are. If you guys see anything else lemme know.




So then I noticed im missing a shock! haha hwered that go?



Looks like this corner has had some bondo work done to it.

[Twisted71]

So I finally got the cab off and got the frame into the garage. Now its time to really begin to work on it. Last few days I been tearing down the drive train. Heres some pics of what I been doing. Im trying to decide where the best place to put the fuel cell is. Ill use a truck bed fuel cell / tool box combo but what about a back of the truck underneath fuel cell? Like a 19 galloner for a back up?

What you guys think?

Pics:



Hoorah for it already having front disc conversion!


My Mascott

[Chevy1TonFun]

Most people go with the fuel cell underneath.

[Twisted71]

Can you throw up a picture of how you guys are mounting them for me. Need a reference.

[Twisted71]

So I think im just going to convert to 8 lug front and rear. A 14 bolt rear with a dana 60 front. That way I will have solid axles that will never give me a problem. I plan on using this truck to tow my next project around while im building it. THis is gonna be a cruiser look good truck. The next one Im going to build will be my Pismo mash truck. Non street legal lets go do 100 mph over the dunes truck. haha

anyways some progress. I've got the rear axle off, I had to cut the u bolts because they were frozen in place. I'm having the same problem with the leaf spring mounting bolts. There also frozen in place, so I gound the head off of one of the bolts and I been beating on it but its not moving. I need a bigger sledge hammer.

[Twisted71]

Hola,

Had a wonderful week in Colorado, my vacation for this year. Got back and I had to do some work to get the leaf springs off. What a pain in the rear that was. The bolts were totally frozen. I got the rear ones loose I just haven't had time to get them off yet.

Ill keep ya posted as I progress.

T71

[Twisted71]

Today I got the rest of the frame stripped. I borrowed a friends trailer and took it over to a buddies house. From there we knocked off the leaf spring hangers.. I messed one up on accident so I need to put on a new one. Then we took off the bump stops and got some other stuff cleaned up.

Tomorrow Im taking it to pressure wash the grease and grime off the frame then its powder coating time! I found a 14 bolt rear end for $100, And I saw someone listed a 8 lug front end on craigslist Im gonna go look at tomorrow. Hopefully its a d60 that will make me a happy camper. Then I can pitch the 12 bolt and d44 front end I got. Will make me happy. I got my eye on a 454 t400 that are also for sale, both in working order for $500. Seems like a good idea to get both cores im going to need. But ill price them first in a short block new build fashion right now. Ill get pictures rolling once i get the frame back from the powder coater!

T71

[Twisted71]

new pics.

Powder coating looks great, Ordered the 6" lift will be here in a few weeks. Im working on tearing apart the axles next so they can go get powder coated next. Axles, springs at this point are going to get coated next.

[Twisted71]

got the alxes hot washed today and the tranny and transfer case also. Tomorrow ill start taking apart the axles so they can get powder coated!

[propanemudtruck]

Hey there,

you mentioned that you were going to get a set of 1 ton axles to add to the build, so why do the extra work to what you have?

Also, for a mild build, that D44 will be just fine. I plow snow with 10 bolt fronts and D44s, haven't had any major issues with the extra weight of an 8' blade or the weight of all the snow I'm pushing. If you want to run the 14 bolt rear and the D44 front you could just get the hubs from an 8 bolt D44 and swap them to your existing housing/spindles. Lower overhead and a pretty solid setup still. If you're swapping a 700R4 in for fuel mileage, you'll also retain some mileage if you keep the 44 because that 60 is HEAVY!

Nice project, keep it going!

[Conroe trucker]

Look at my build "67 SWB Chevy 4x4" in the 4x4 Projects for some tank ideas.
I may even have the name and number of Boyd Welding on there, if not someone will have it.

I would be interested in buying your old axles also.......

[elzombo]

Nice build. I want to see how this turns out.

[6772owner]

Frame looks awesome, cant wait to see more progress, keep it up!

[CTENTA1]

What ever happend to this project? Looks like it was moving steady.
Posted via Mobile Device

[nick70]

Originally Posted by Twisted71

Can you throw up a picture of how you guys are mounting them for me. Need a reference.

Here are a few shots of how one of my past 4x4 C10’s fuel set up was under the bed. It was clean, but as you mentioned about using your truck to tow with; mounting a tow package can be a little tricky.

Nice progress on the truck, it's looking good! What color are you going to go with?

Hope this helps.

[Twisted71]

Update.

I had a lovely time attaching the lift kit. Yeah no, not really, that was a pain in the butt. I have tuesday slotted now as truck tuesday so I spend a few hours on tuesdays working away at whatever. I've got the lift kit put on, I made friends with the local leafspring guy so after the springs where powder coated I got him to restack them for me for a minimal fee. Was awesome. Since then I have put the lift kit on and I am now working on wire wheeling the axles to clean off the rust. I decided to stick with the D44 front and 12b rear. Its easier. P.s Medal in the eye hurts like hell, I was wearing safety glasses but somehow the crap still got in my eye. I had to go to the eye doctor to get it out.

Pictures!

[TheWhiteElephant]

Good choice sticking with what you have. I think too many of us get starstruck and hyped by the D60/14bolt combo that we all want to stick it under our trucks not realizing that it really is more than we "need" in most cases.

Keep up the great work.

[Gene]

Nice job, looks like you replaced alot of bolts with Grade 8 bolts. People told me that was overkill, but might as well go strong while you have the chance. Cant wait to see more of your progress.

[CTENTA1]

Nice to see this project moving along. Keep it up. It's looking really nice.

[Twisted71]

SO i had a hell of a time getting the drum's off of the axle. I had to beat and pry and , yeah it was ugly. Anyways turns out the pads were frozen onto the drums and the pads were falling apart. So we had to beat the drum until all the pieces of the pad fell out so we could get the drums off. During this time we undid some of the brake lines, yeah there was water in them. So im looking to need to redo the rear and front axles. Brakes, seals everything. Anyone got a good place as to where I can get a rebuild kit. Both the front and rear are geared for 4.10 atm with a 6" lift do i need to go lower, with 35" tires wont that lower my gear ration to like 3.73? Im just gonna cruise this thing so I dont need anything over the top.

Obviously ill need a c clip elimateor kit etc etc. I have a friend who builds trucks for fun that I will probably get to redo the axles for me. Hopefully it wont cost me a ton of cash. Anyone got any advice?