'79 C10 'muscle truck' Build

ssn696 said:

Excellent progress. I rescued a C20 from Derry in 1996 to tow a trailerload of (metallic) crap the movers would not take to New Mexico. It had 220,000 miles and guardrail stripes down both sides of the truck from the drunk I bought it from for $200. I'm impressed how easy the rocker and cab corner repair seemed to go for you. And I really groove on the forest green. If you need some small rust-free bits from the Southwest, shoot me a list and I'll hunt them down for you.

The C20 fell apart at 400,000 miles. Sentimentality for my first truck made me find its replacement. My son loves it, so I told my wife we have to keep it as a joint project.

Click to expand...

400,000 is a pretty damn good number I'd say. Everyone seems to have some sentimentality for these trucks, haha. My father had a K5 blazer and a barn-door suburban when i was young and I have fond memories of both those trucks.

The rust repairs were pretty labor-intensive. I don't even want to say how many hours were spent on it because it would probably make me question my sanity, lol. The job definitely becomes simpler with everything taken apart though. Having access to a forklift makes it much easier.

Originally I wasn't a fan of the green and I wanted to paint it metallic sky blue. Lately I've been starting to appreciate the fact that it's the original color and it's a little unique, so It's grown on me (that and it's way easier to just re paint it the same color).

Well, the bed is all done and painted and it's back on the truck

Here's a little before and after:


Also, I got the new engine home. Waiting on the clutch and motor mounts to arrive so I can throw it in and start bolting this front clip back together!

Well, my clutch came in... so after a few beers and a few f-bombs, the motor is in!