The Stovebolt Site Forums Project Journals Project Journals 1970 Chevy C10 - Grandpa’s Rebuild.

Looking good!
Primer, a major milestone!!!

I’ve been sanding away and body working, in between report cards for the students, parenting, hockey watching, etc! It is coming slowly as one always finds imperfections that the eye can’t see. Today I managed to seam seal the cab fully. I used a 3m heavy duty on the inner door jambs, but used SEM sealer for the drip cap and various outer seams. The SEM stuff sure seems good. I used the trailer tongue jack to lift the back of the cab, so the 2nd coat of sealer would self level. I applied a base filler coat to dam up gaps and holes, to fill the seam initially, and provide a smooth working base, let it set, and then on went the liquid sealer. It turned out ok for a first time. I will need to do a little razor work to get it where I’m happy. If I were to do it again, it would come out better as I was using a new product for the first time. Slowly plugging away here, but I’m oh so close to laying down a couple more coats of primer. I might go buy the topcoat paint this week.

Hours: 587

PS: I also included a picture of the clock I’m building out of an original hubcap of Grandpa’s. I threw the other 3 out as they were destroyed. This one wasn’t far off, but I have hung onto it for years, never really knowing why. A truck friend suggested the idea. I am glad I kept the hubcap. It will be special indeed alongside the tailgate bench. The minute hand looks silver, but is actually black as well.

I think the cab body work is done᠁
(I hope I didn’t jinx it!)

Next up, I will clean out the cab and shop area, then blast and prime the doors for their body work appointment. When I’m done, I’ll reshoot the cab, doors, and a pile of extra doodads that need some epoxy sealer.


Moving slowly, but still moving. It’s amazing how many little bumps and bruises this truck has received over its 53 years.

Hours:592

I hear you. I've been working on one rear fender that has rock dings all over it, making little bumps on the top side that need to be hammered back down. I'm creeping up on 1400 hours on my truck.

I jinxed it. I had some welding to fix some pinholes on the LH door. There was still some cab sanding and body work to do, but I think after priming it should be so close to done. I hope some light sanding will knock it completely smooth. I have blasted the doors, doodads, and then I reshot the cab and primed the doors and doodads.

Hours: 602

Crazy to think that some green might be flying soon. Next up:
Seam seal the doors, and prime areas.
Body work LH door. Reprime.
Sand out the cab and check for any spots I missed and work/touch prime.
I’m going to spray the black pieces first I think. Core, battery tray, some doodads, inner fenders, etc.

Some fun is being had here, I’m not going to lie.

Sanding, sanding, cleaning, sanding, prepping, sanding, some more, spot priming, resand, clean, clean, and clean the shop some more.

I think I got it finally.

Colour is being applied. I have to redo one inner fender as I had a thin spot on the top side. Too bad it wasn’t the underside, I wouldn’t have cared as it’s getting rubber coated. I went to respray the fender to cover the thin spot and failed to check the orientation of my gun’s spray pattern. I moved the gun sideways, and the spray was horizontal. I have a huge run. Now I have to sand it out and reshoot that piece. I am also almost out of black. My math was VERY close for the amount of black I needed and that hiccup should use it all up.

Next up, move pieces around, sand out top inner fender, respray, and move to shed. Mask the cab for interior spray, spray little green doodads, then spray cab interior, then do the exterior after curing.

Exciting times! Whoop whoop!

Hours: 623

There you go again with that nice painting area.
I'm with you on the having fun part, although sanding isn't all that fun. I'm getting close to color as well.
Looking good.
I'd be excited too.

WooHoo! After following your build for awhile, I’m getting excited too! Nice work!

Thanks fellas.

I moved out the black pieces and then resprayed the inner fender that had a run in it. All went smoothly. I then began masking off the exterior jambs, windows, holes, etc on the cab in prep for painting the interior. Today I shot the underside of the cab floor in black, sprayed the cab back wall, and inner firewall under the dash black as well. Then, I went and weeded, rooted, and tilled my mom's garden for her so she could plant her veggies. Went home had some supper, played with kids, put them to bed, and then went back for more. I painted the cab interior and a big pile of doodads with the green. I was nervous at first, but I think I will be very pleased with the final colour. I really like it in the booth, under a bright light, the flop of colour, and how sweet I think it looks. As Kermit the Frog says, "It isn't easy being green..." I really like it.

I did have some issues. I had to respray quite of few of the doodads, as the paint wasn't thick enough in some places. The next issue was an overhead screw up in the cab. Painting upside down sucks. I used a siphon gun with the pot on the bottom, which helped immensely, but I accidentally have a couple stripes where the paint is slightly thicker than the previous pass. One is on the inner cab brow behind the sun visor (thankfully... hopefully you never see it), and the second one is below the rear window near the driver position. Hopefully the rear seat and window rubber hide this decently.

The pictures really don't seem to do the paint justice. The best representation is the intake tube, I think. 🤤

All in all, tonight seemed to have gone well.

Hours: 630

Looking good, Fox! My "roommate" in the shop is a '69 C-20 so your pics are looking very familiar! Check out mine -- you'll see familiar things ...

Where are these pics, John? I looked in your new journal but didn’t see any C20 photos. Love that new ‘27.

I masked the cab and got ready to shoot, then realized I didn’t back mask all the firewall holes and door jamb holes. I didn’t want any overspray getting on the interior, so I had to hack an opening in the RH door masking to get in the cab to do so. After that I re-masked the door so I could spray the outside.

The cab is done methinks. I have a few tiny specks of dust that fell on the cab roof as I sprayed (home booth with side ventilation , not downdraft), but I still think it will be ok and looks nice for a frequent summer cruiser.

Whoop, whoop! This cab should be sitting on the frame again by Monday.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/p82UVMCwkPNrDkzSA

Hours: 635

Looks great. It took a long time to get here. You need to celebrate!

Great color. My Dad's '70 GMC was that green and had a white roof.

I am falling behind you!!!

I brought Everett along today and he and I went to the shop to grab the cab. Shuffled things around and pulled the paint trailer and cab out into the sunshine. We hooked onto it with my diesel and idled it home across the highway and into town to my home shop. We removed the masking and my wife came to inspect. She pointed out one little area that wasn’t perfect, but she has a VERY keen eye. No one else today noticed what she saw, so I’ll keep that to myself! Bahaha! After viewing it in full sunlight, I am very pleased with the end result. The paint really has dual personalities. Man, it looked dark outside, but sure lightens up inside. Very nice paint.

My dad came over and helped me guide it down to the frame. No issues at all. The lifting bars I built worked beautifully. No binds, no scratches, even lift, perfect. Later on, I installed the ignition label (acc off on start), sun visor clips, and rubber door bumpers. It was a fun time. After supper, dad and I lifted the truck’s box onto my other utility trailer and hauled it to the paint booth. She’s almost ready to rock some green too. A couple minor things to address, then PPPPFFFFFFFTTTTTTTTTT᠁goes the paint gun.

Things are moving quickly in the paint department now, boy howdy.

Hours: 639

Congrats for getting to the fun part. It’s been a long road, and she is really looking good!

I have touched up and prepped the last couple spots on the box, cleaned the booth, and I believe the box is ready for topcoat. After that, I laid out the bed wood for its staining. The last couple nights I have been tinkering on the cab. I installed the brake booster and brake pedal assembly and some door rubbers. I separated the ignition from the harness, and then installed with its new chrome bezel. It’s looking good. Tonight I bench tested the wiper motor and all seemed fine, except for the washer pump. The solenoid was acting up and was continuously pumping, so I think I will remove the under dash pump and plumb in an in-line pump somewhere between the jug and the windshield. It will be easier to fix, access, and replace if need be. I created a little ground strap to run from the wiper motor plate to the cab, emery clothed the cab hole to bare metal and riveted the ground tail to the dash underside. I laid in the wiper arms loosely as well. Then I blasted the little squirters and hardware for the wipers, rustoleumed those black, and called it a night.

Hours: 647

Wiper linkage hooked up permanently, glove box rubbers, defrost vents in, brake booster /firewall rubber boot installed.

And᠁I did this to the bed wood.

Some before and afters. I can’t wait to brand these things in three weeks. Next up, paint the box.

I also tracked down a fellow on another site that has created a pdf of the alphabet for the font on 67-72 truck tailgates. I have passed it along to my buddy in preparation for the laser-ing of the horse brands.

Hours: 649

Hours: 652

Box painted.

Nice work Fox, trucks looking great. What did you use on your bed wood?

Thanks.
On the bed wood, I used a Minwax ebony stain on Mar-K's red oak.

Sir, What's the significance of "XXX hours" at your every retrojournal entry? Why? This is your hobby right? This takes up the "white space" in your retirement years preventing boredom, right? You don't pay yourself, hourly, right? I mean anyone that ventures in this hobby knows, or should know, it takes much $ & time to complete. By the way, your work is through, concise, and good! Thanks fox. V/r, Nick

Thank you.
Haha! I don't worry about the retirement thing. This truck bug has wormed in pretty deep and I have a line of projects to keep me busy until I'm too old to go on.

As for the hours, that all goes back to when I finished my first project. When I completed my 51 GMC, the appraiser asked how much money I had sunk into the truck, so I presented him with my binder of receipts and totals. He then asked how many hours I had into the truck as I built it myself. I said, "Hours?! Good grief, I don't even want to think about it."

He said, "You'd better think about it. It's part of the appraisal process."

Since then, I've tracked hours. It is scary how much time goes into them. I'm becoming more of a night owl, as that seems to be the time I can work on them with my kids growing so quickly.

Sir, Got it! Makes sense relative to appraisal purposes & my projects will be passed down to my next of kin, so hadn't thought on that angle. Thanks fox. V/r, Nick

This past week has been busy. We took our kids to ride the ole train in Stettler. It was fun. Report cards have kicked in at school and I've been busy, but I am still finding some truck time.

I have been slowly installing Kilmat in the cab. I have the back wall done. I am slow, but I want it straight and true, not slapped on haphazardly. I lightly blasted the inside of the cigar lighter and cleaned and lubed, cleaned again, and then installed it in the dash. I began wiring up the replacement interior light. I installed the new ignition tumbler and its new key. I have blasted, prepped, and painted the vent panels. I am just using rustoleum on these pieces in black. I moved the box (and front inner fenders) home from the paint shop after a few days of curing. It's really good, not perfect, but really good. I can see a couple issues, but the untrained won't notice. Trained would have to look closely. 😎 I suppose I'm my own harshest critic. I installed the tailgate rubbers; I love these little instant gratification jobs that take a minute. Then I cleaned the booth and began hanging the doors and rear tubs for topcoat. I shot those tonight.

Hours: 658

Next up: more Kilmat, rubber spray underside of inner front fenders, hang doors once cured...

Man, this stuff is fun. The rusty phase sure sucks. Hang in there fellas, if you're dealing with rust!

Kilmat running low. I have 3 sheets left, but I will try to utilize those for the doors. My pa-in-law has some insulation tape that seems pretty good. He used it on his ‘47 Stylemaster, so I think I’ll use it on any remaining gaps on the cab floor, firewall, and door skin area. The cab already sounds deader when I move around inside it. I lightly scuffed and used 3m undercoating for the front inners and hung one the other night. I can’t locate the 2nd inner fender large washer bolt combo, so the LH side is off for now. It’s around somewhere.

Tonight I went to the paint shop and picked up the doors and rear box tubs. The install went quite well. The dimples I put on the hinges and doors worked beautifully. This was a fun step tonight boy, oh boy.

Hours: 663

Looking really good and I’m glad you finally reached the fun part. This is supposed to be fun, right?

This is the fun part, seeing it all come together. Man you are really making progress, with luck you may be able to take a cruise before summers over. FUN, FUN, FUN....

This was nerve racking, but it went well after we got everything lined up. I was able to get a pdf of the tailgate font from a fella on another forum that he created using the tailgate letters as a pattern. My pal and I used it to create a couple numbers, the kicking R, and the quarter circle to complete the brands. We ran out of time as his boy’s baseball games were rescheduled, so we had to shut it down and watch some ball. I have two more boards to laser, and then I’ll be ready to start sealing the boards.

I love how the font matches the tailgate.

Way to tease us all.
I for one am dying to see all those bed boards in place with the cool lettering.

Thanks, I am too Kevin. I really think it will be a “cherry on top.” Tonight I installed the left inner fender, remaining kilmat installed inside doors, battery tray installed, rad and tubes installed. Guess where I found that inner fender bolt᠁on my bench. In a bag. Right in front of me. I’d looked there I swear 5 times.

Man looked I guess!

Next up, hang the front fenders, cowl cover and paint those.

Hours:665

My eyes are green with envy! That etching is gonna look sharp. Nice work.

I just spent part of Canada Day in Breton at the local show and shine after visiting with Fox, I can tell you the brands that are etched into the wood are amazing and the C10 is looking pretty cool too!

Thanks Doyle. It was great you could make it out. A few of my other buddies were kicking around and they really admired your 1 ton.

I have been busy lately. We went houseboating in BC, camping in the mountains with my family, camping at the lake with my brother and his family; it has been a whirlwind lately, but things are getting done.
Front fenders and cowl cover- painted.

Tailgate letters masked and painted low gloss black, tailgate masked and painted green. The letter stickers don’t quite fit the aftermarket gate perfectly. I wouldn’t use them on a tailgate if it were me. I used the stickers as a mask for the paint job. I had to slice and dice to make them fit properly. Some were too tall, some too narrow, some too wide, reproductions rearing their head again. Ugh. I stuck the letters to my jeans prior to make them not so sticky. We will see if it works.

Rear inner tubs rubber lined.
Bed wood laser wrapped up.
Bed wood sealed with 3 coats of clear varnish.
Bed wood assembled in box.
Interior progressing- first pieces of 1/2” insulation laid down on floor. Back cab wall insulation applied over kilmat.
I applied some more sound deadening tape on the door skin inside.

Slow, but busy at Fox Rods.


Hours: 685

Wow the painting is really coming together looks amazing!
The bed wood with the brands lazer etched on is going to bring a lot of attention to your build.

What a great night. My uncles and dad came over tonight and we hammered this out. Tightening all the bolts prior to the lift took a while, but good times were had by all. Only I bonked my head on the bolts under the wood. I will have to shim the cab slightly, but it went very well! The couple brews after were well earned. Fun fun.

Hours: 687

Well, my use of the stickers bit me in the posterior. With the size discrepancy they didn't work as well as I had hoped, especially the ones I had to cut to size. The letters were "ok", but there was some minor bleed through, and the "sticky" removal technique caused more work in the end. The slight bleeds I tried to "fingernail" back into the green, but it wouldn't move much. If it did, sometimes it would discolour the green and caused it to look terrible. The microscopic fuzzies from my jeans technique were able to be removed by cutting them with a fingernail. I wouldn't recommend this. The paint was simply too hard to work as I had left it too long.

So...

I masked the now black letters, sanded out the errors in the black, and then remasked, following the green as a guide in most places, but in some breaking new trail- especially the T. If you look at the picture with the E & T you can see how poorly it turned out. Little bleeds, flecks of white, etc. Ugh. It was brutal and I had to sand out some green that was very tough to blend in such a small space. Then, I re-prepped the now green tailgate. This in turn cost about 8 hours. What a tedious task. Cutting painters tape to match, and recutting, matching, checking, sealing, etc...

In hindsight, I should have painted the whole gate final paint coat and then painted the letters. My sticker plan didn't work very well.

As for those reproduction stickers... some don't fit worth spit. If you buy them to apply to your 67-72 Chev/GMC... buyer beware. Some were a very poor fit. I can see why so many tailgates have the letters deleted or are simply body colour.

Also, an FYI for anyone buying a reproduction tailgate: the C is different on the aftermarket gate. The lower left of the C is sharp (like an L), whereas a stock gate will have a rounded lower left corner. Think your stick on letter stickers will match this discrepancy? HAHAHA! Oh, poor you! I posted this elsewhere, but figured it would be very useful on this thread. I attached one photo of an original C.

After prep, I resprayed the black. I waited for a few hours after the last coat for it to tack up quite a bit, and then I CAREFULLY removed my masking. What a tense moment, but in the end I am quite satisfied with the result. With my error, it actually helped raise the black letters to the previous paint height, which helped hide the transition between green and black.

During that fiasco, I finished installing the insulation. I am working on a firewall rubber mat to cover the rest of the firewall. The new carpet only comes up to the top of the toe board and then stops. This rubber will slide under the new carpet. Fit, mark, cut, enlarge holes, fit, mark, cut, double check, try again.

While all this was going on...
1. E Brake and rubber pad installed. This thing fought like a bear to go in. I glued the rubber in place on the pedal. I can't find the chrome trim piece. I thought I ordered it.
2. Reinstalled brake pedal rubber and glued it down. Installed its fancy chrome trim.
3. Installed tailgate once cured with standard hex head hardware while the original type bolts are drying in their paint after sand blasting.
4. Bumper and license plate recess installed.
5. Fuel door installed in the wood.
6. Began looking at the plan of attack for the wiring harness...

A lot of hours. It doesn't look like much, but that's truck building I guess.


Hours: I have to add up all the tallies on the shop board. There are a pile of them! I bet 20...

Today I did a few things.
1. Mounted the tailgate latch and rods inside the gate. Double checked things, added a little rubber strip on the backside of the gate to stop rubbing on the straps. SLOWLY close it up, and click! It closes beautifully with nary a rattle or shift. Very pleased with its operation.

2. Continued and, I believe, finished up the firewall insulation and rubber install. Drilled holes for the AC unit, throttle cable, pedal mount, etc. Sprayed some adhesive down and laid it in. It looks quite decent. Perfect? No, but it’s up under the dash and I have more things to install and thus hide the imperfections!

3. Assembled and installed the 2 AC vents in the dash. What fun!

4. Installed and retweaked the travel of the throttle pedal. Full travel achieved and in a comfortable position too.

5. My kids wanted to play trucks in the C10 cab as I had it out on the pad in the sunshine. Yep, yep!

Updated hours: 708

Something is wrong with this picture? The bottom is fairly straight across the camera, but the rad support has a big dip to the right?

It's just the perspective of the photo. The rad and hoses have a bit of pressure on them causing the slight push/pull on the core support.

Well, it has been a while, but things are getting done. I will upload photos later, as I have a lot to type and didn't want to do it on my phone. I have a pile of hours burned up lately so let's get started:

1. I drilled and mounted the front bedside braces on the box. I had forgotten all about them and wish I had drilled the holes for them during mock up. Live and learn. They were a pain, but I got them in. Drilling against the underside of the bed wood on the sill was awkward and not fun.
2. I began pulling wires for the body harness. I bundled everything up, then noticed I needed to create a plate to have the wires come through in the firewall. I made it, painted it, installed it, pull wires through, and grommeted it in place. In hindsight, I should have spliced the new wires into the old plugs, but I'll do that on the next truck, I guess.
3. I pulled wires to the back and hooked up the tail lights, back up lights, fuel pump, fuel sender. I left a tie in for the license plate light.
4. I finally finished painting the hood. It was a fiasco. The first attempt had every issue you could think of while painting. Runs, sags, tiger stripes, mottling, a couple fish eyes. It was a mess. Temperature control, operator error in application, dirt, I just wasn't doing well enough. So,I got another layer of block sanding and prep in as I sanded the whole hood, top and bottom, down smooth. The second attempt is really good. Perfect? No, there is a slight pebbling/ orange peel, but it is really good. I'm happy with it.
5. I installed the front A/C components by the radiator and then modified my battery tray clamp to hold the lines where they came through the core support.
6. Installed the A/C unit under the dash and routed the hoses. The OLD AIR HURRICANE system directions could use more pictures to be honest.
7. Installed the Custom Auto Sound radio I bought. I had to bend their strap substantially to get it lined up to support the radio's back.