Ridge's 1972 c10 lwb

[Rtull32]

Here is the new ride in all her glory...

Hopefully this video works out
1972 c10 walkaround: http://youtu.be/71FOAMbQMgM

350 motor has less than 5k miles transmission is th350 with shift kit and a Hurst Pro-Matic 2 shifter 3.90 gears in the rear. Interior is in great shape heater works AC is brand new just needs to be wired in and filled with freon. As far as interior goes it needs a radio and a dash pad. Exterior is in pretty good shape minus paint. No major rust only surface rust. Needs a new passenger side fender and a new grille (If any on has a lead on on it'd be appreciated). I have also considered replacing the roll pan with a chrome bumper anyone have any info on how that is done? My first order of business will be to sand and primer the rust until I am able to have it painted, I am debating painting the bed to match the truck or bed lining it (will eventually have a tonneau cover and WILL be used from time to time). I will also be giving it a full tune up and dressing up some wires in the engine bay. From there I plan to dress up wires under the dash, hook up the ac, and wire in the new stereo. Hopefully by that point I will be pretty close to ready to take it to a body shop and begin the paint. That's all that's in the works on it for now, other than that...drive enjoy repeat!

 

[kgblazerfive]

fan shroud

 

[warrpath4x4]

FYI your looking for a 70 grill not a 72

 

[K85 Octane]

FYI your looking for a 70 grill not a 72

was just going to say that

nice truck, there's a couple others working on 67-72 C10s here too. I love 'em!

 

[diesel4me]

Those wood grained door panels look like the "Cheyenne" versions I could only find one "NOS" one in stock back in 1984 when my '72 K5's doors were stolen..


They searched nationwide,only one at a Chevy dealer in OK had one on the
shelf..my truck had just the one RH side woodgrained panel,and one "regular" plastic base version on the drivers side after that!...they could only find pickup doors to replace my stolen ones with too,they had to chop the window frames off to make them fit the Blazer..

I bet that thing boogies!...a guy I know had a '69 C-10 much like yours ,that had a later 400 SB with 305 heads on it swapped into it,with a TH350 that shifted hard,had 3:73's in the rear--it could squeak 2nd gear just past idle when cornering after a stop,you really had to use a feather touch on the throttle or it'd light them up like nothing!...nice truck,it'll be fun to see how you restore it..

 

[Rtull32]

fan shroud

Yes that will definitely be added very soon!

FYI your looking for a 70 grill not a 72

Thanks for the info. May I ask what the differences are?

was just going to say that

nice truck, there's a couple others working on 67-72 C10s here too. I love 'em!

Thanks man I got a deal on this one I couldn't refuse I'm already very happy with it!

Those wood grained door panels look like the "Cheyenne" versions I could only find one "NOS" one in stock back in 1984 when my '72 K5's doors were stolen..


They searched nationwide,only one at a Chevy dealer in OK had one on the
shelf..my truck had just the one RH side woodgrained panel,and one "regular" plastic base version on the drivers side after that!...they could only find pickup doors to replace my stolen ones with too,they had to chop the window frames off to make them fit the Blazer..

I bet that thing boogies!...a guy I know had a '69 C-10 much like yours ,that had a later 400 SB with 305 heads on it swapped into it,with a TH350 that shifted hard,had 3:73's in the rear--it could squeak 2nd gear just past idle when cornering after a stop,you really had to use a feather touch on the throttle or it'd light them up like nothing!...nice truck,it'll be fun to see how you restore it..

I wish the door panels were in a little better shape there is some pretty deep scratches in them. It will definitely through you back in the seat and light up the tires at a stand still. I'm going to have to be careful...burnouts are fun but tires are expensive!

 

[diesel4me]

The 69-70 grilles look like yours...here is what the 71-72 grilles looked like factory..you may need all the trim around the grille to swap the later style grille to your '69,far as I know the fenders should be the same,but I'm not 100% sure of that either...

 

[max 02]

71 and 72 grills are plastic egg crate style.

Nice truck!

 

[Rtull32]

Thanks now I have a decision to keep the original look vs the current look! The goal is to keep it looking as original as possible.

 

[warrpath4x4]

Thanks now I have a decision to keep the original look vs the current look! The goal is to keep it looking as original as possible.

you also dont have a 72 bumper, see the lights in the bumper on the photo diesel4me posted

 

[NorCalKid]

The 69-70 grills like you have are all one piece of metal with a small plastic insert the 70-72s are pretty much the same with the center cut out. All of them are stupid expensive to buy new but, they pop up on craigslist (at least out here) pretty often.

The 69-72 fenders are the same so you can swap whatever year grill you want on there with

 

[Rtull32]

Thanks for the replies around here you don't see parts for even 80s vehicles much less early 70s. Most of my parts will have to come from eBay/forums, try to avoid places like LMC if at all possible!

 

[Rtull32]

Got the first order to start some underhood clean up started should be here tomorrow and ready for some weekend work.

 

[warrpath4x4]

http://www.classicparts.com/

this is where i order most of my stuff from when i cant find second hand

 

[Rtull32]

Was able to take some time today to dig around a bit more to find out where my problems are I may have missed. Thankfully no big surprises! Truck is pretty solid only rust is in the rockers which will need to be replaced and a small spot in the pass floor pan that doesn't seem to have rusted all the way through. Going or get some quotes on having this done by a body shop vs doing it myself. If I do it myself I won't be able to do that portion until mid summer after I have settled in to my new house and am able to buy a welder. Either way I plan to pull the seat and carpet enough to get a glimpse of what lies below this weekend. Here are some pics of the investigation.

Also looks like the cab support could use a replacement

Some bondo work by the PO

And the gas tank and makeshift speaker mounts behind the seat

Also looks like the frame was modified when the roll pan was installed so will have to figure out how to mount a chrome bumper on them

More to come tomorrow when the underhood clean up begins!

 

[Rtull32]

Before it was all cleaned up.

Air cleaner mocked up.

New Spark plug looms all installed

All cleaned up minus a few wires as I'm needing some connectors and some bigger wire loom.

Old Spark plugs were pretty worn out.

Today I will finish up and change the fuel filter clean the carb and change the oil and it should be good to go. The air filter will also sit much higher come Tuesday (hence the longer stud) I ordered a 7/8" drop base plate and it sits to low, so I ordered a 9/16" raised that will be here Tuesday.

 

[Rtull32]

Finally got the oil filter off today!

My new base plate for the K&N was installed and sits much better.

Lastly I got the carpet ripped up and will continue to wire wheel and figure out where will need replacement metal and what can be saved. Will have interior cleaned up over the weekend so it can be taken to a body shop Monday for a couple quotes.

 

[Rtull32]

Got a bit more done to the truck this weekend, got the grinder and wire wheel out and dug in.

Driver side:

And under the drip rail on driver side:

Passenger side:

Small spot in the middle:

All of the "patches" are metal welded over rust so no rust was ever cut out just covered up.

Over all not to bad will be trying to take her to a couple body shops and get some quotes on repair tomorrow. Due to work space and welding experience I don't feel comfortable making these repairs my self.

Also had a bit of smoke today which I haven't noticed before.

https://vimeo.com/118445207

I hope to be able to get some steam cleaning done to the engine and trans soon as I have noticed some leaks, however there is so much gunk and grime I can't find where it is coming from. That's about it for now.

 

[Rtull32]

Only got a quote from one shop today, most around here won't even touch older vehicles. Have a line on a couple more I'm going to hit in the morning but as of now it's looking like about $750 in labor and $250 in parts. If all goes well I will pull the bed and let them get to work on it soon.

 

[Rtull32]

Decided to wait on any rust repair as there may be some welders come available at work where I can get it done free. I have also thought about trying to learn and do it myself but who knows how many hours of practice it will take for me to be satisfied with it (I can weld good enough to stock metal together but never have welded sheet metal especially not on cab corners!) I took the truck to have the underside and engine bay steam cleaned to help with finding my oil and trans leak. I crawl under it tonight to find they didn't even touch the undercarriage! They sure as hell charged me for it though! I had hoped to spend tonight finding and fixing the leak. There is so much grime I don't know where to start! My best guess is the oil pan gasket and the oil plug. On the trans I have no idea I know it's leaking but not near as fast as the oil is. So I guess I will be taking the truck and a change of clothes to the car wash Saturday (supposed to be 83 degrees).

The hold down clamp on the distributor (Delco distributor) was loose so I tightened it up and I'm almost positive the timing is off. I would really like to get some more performance out of this truck so I'm debating on a performance ignition system now and swapping it over later or waiting until I get settled into the new house and begin replacing the engine (I say replacing because I want the truck drivable until the engine is built). I will be looking for either a big block or a 350 I could build a 383 out of. Either way that's a minimum of 2 months until I have to make that decision. For now the plan is to fix the leak and install some gauges which I should get done this weekend. After that I will just be collecting parts (while I have money before it startsgoing tothe mortgage!) until I have a garage to tear it apart in.

The truck will be staying with a carb.... what would you put in it and why? 383 or 454. Also keep the th350 which seems to have a shift kit or upgrade to a th400?