Finally getting around to starting a thread on my ongoing project. Like a few of us here, I bought a pickup with no real goals, just make a nice cruiser out of it. And now I'm in so deep I wonder if I'll ever come out the other side. It all started with the purchase of a 1979 C10 (Big 10) stepside for $900 that I could have driven home if not for the iffy brakes, so a buddy towed it to my house. This is actually a truck for my son (if it lasts that long, he's 7):
As I got crawling around it checking what needed work, I found some of the front-end components were shot. By the time I was done tearing stuff apart, I was down to the front crossmember. Then the ideas started flying.... "If I'm going this far, I should lower it, put in a dual exhaust, maybe some motor work, etc." This was going to be expensive to put back together. Then the snow started to fly, and lacking a garage, progress ground to a halt.
Lucky for me, Craigslist never closes so I spent the winter scrounging for parts. That's when I came across this beauty for $850, another 1979 Chevy Sport. The bed and cab were toast, but it had a 350 mated to a 700R4/NP208 (not original obviously), 4" lift, good running gear, nice frame, and good fenders and doors:
So I figured "How hard could a body swap be?" and began stripping this one down in late winter and early spring. By mid summer I had sold the doors and fenders for $250, another $150 for a scrap run with the hacked bed, cab, and other parts, and was left with a frame, extra motor, and tranny/t-case that I didn't know the history of.
So I took to the task of putting in new brake and fuel lines and putting some POR-15 on the frame topped by some tie-coat primer and POR Chassis Black. in the meantime I was offered another parts truck, a 1980 3/4 ton Chevy that had a rough body but good axles, a TH400/NP205 that was known to be good, good fenders/hood/doors and a SM465/NP205 to go with it - all for $250! how could I say no?
The same buddy towed that one to his place, and I cut the parts from the truck right on the trailer. Two days later we towed it ot the scrap yard where they lifted off everything I didn't want. I kept the tranny and t-case for my project, sold the axles for $300, and still have the hood/doors/fenders. (Sorry, no pics of this one).
That brings us to the present. now that the frame is prepped, I'm going back to tearing apart the first truck to finally move the body. The first task is to get the known-to-be-running 350 out and cleaned. I did this this past weekend, covering myself in grime. But it's done, and I can actually get excited about forward progress again. In the photo is my $100 engine hoist (I love Craigslist):
And a shot of the aftermath (the rest of me looked similar). The photos don't do me justice. The wife wouldn't let me in the house in the state I was in, but fortunately I hooked up a kitchen sink outside last summer (with cold
and hot water) as part of our outdoor kitchen, so I made my mess there instead:
I hope to be posting more in the coming weeks with this streak of nice weather they're forecasting. But just to be safe, don't hold your breath...
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