1964 Chevy C10

MDPotter

Promoted Users
Hello everybody, I'm a new member here and am starting to use SPI products - I've been buying from my local jobber but am a little disappointed in their tech support, pricing, products, etc. so I'm switching over to SPI. I've got 2 gallons of UV clear to spray on this truck in the next few months and plan to buy epoxy and 2K from SPI for future projects.

I've got a full time job that keeps me busy M-F, but body work has been a hobby of mine for the past few years. I'm not good enough at it nor do I have the patience to make a living out of it, but I enjoy the hands-on gratification. I'm a commercial construction estimator which means all of my time at work is spent on the computer so I get a good sense of accomplishment on the weekends working on projects.

I've been exploring the forum and have found a lot of helpful advice and thought I'd share my experience with this restoration just in case anyone else out there is working on a similar project.

Dad and I are restoring the 64 C10 he drove in high school which belonged to his grandfather previously. It sat in the weeds for 20+ years before we pulled it into the shop in 2006 and took it apart. Life happened, the economy tanked, but we resumed the project with moderate effort in 2016 and really got after it this past year. I don't have pictures readily available for all the work done up to July 2018, but they are in the archives.
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Here it is the day we brought it out of the weeds and pressure washed it. From here, we took it apart completely, even the chassis. We had everything but the fenders and bed sandblasted, then epoxy primed. As with all of these trucks, the lower 6" of all body panels were rusted out. We bought a whole new bed, new fenders, and new outer door skins. The inner/outer rockers and cab corners were replaced. The truck had a 283 which we pulled out and we dropped in a 5.3 LC9 with a 6-speed out of a wrecked 2012 Silverado, installed a stainless tank between the frame rails, added sway bars, did a 1/3 drop, and a disc brake conversion in the front.
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Here is the project in its current state. All the rust repair and bondo work is done, now working through 2k primer and paint prep.
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Sprayed Chassis Saver satin black on the underside of the hood
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Sprayed the same Chassis Saver on the firewall
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The bed is in its final coat of 2K, ready for wet sanding followed by base/clear. We also got rid of the tailgate chains and installed hidden latches and links from Mar-K and welded up the stake pockets.
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This is the collection of color samples - three different shades of blue on the old parts (hence the scratches, dents, etc.). Left half on the bedside is a Subaru blue, the fender is a lighter shade of GM Stone Blue Metallic, and the right half of the bedside is the darker shade of the GM Stone Blue Metallic and we are going with the darker shade.

I will try to post more often as the project moves forward. If all goes well this weekend, I will have the bed painted.
 
That year range was just the perfect style truck!
Won't comment on the blue as every car i have right now is a blue shade, might be a little bias.
 
Got the bed, cowl, outer cowls, bed braces, and inside face of the glove box, inner door panels, and ash tray painted yesterday. I'm pretty happy with it; they came out very clean considering my budget booth. I got a couple runs on one of the bedsides, but it should sand out and buff okay since I put on 3 wet coats of UV clear. I used my Tekna copper with 1.4 needle and 7E7 tip - 18 psi for the base, 3 normal coats followed by a 4th drop coat, then the clear at 22 psi.

Next step is to gap the doors and finish blocking them as well as re-prime the tailgate before final sanding.

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Got both doors fitted to the cab and test fitted/mocked up the seats and console. I was pleasantly surprised at how well the doors fit, considering that we replaced inner and outer rockers, cab corners, and most of the door skin (also our first restoration). The gaps aren't perfect, but this is a driver, not a show truck so we're happy with them. Also sprayed two more coats of surfacer on the doors and the hood in preparation for another blocking session next weekend.

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Got a lot of painting done this weekend. Painted the inside of the cab, both fenders, grille support, inner door panels, and tailgate. We're really excited to see the truck together and out in the sun because this blue really lights up in the sun and the picture doesn't do it justice.

I had trouble getting the gun inside the concave corners in the back of the cab, they came out very rough so I'll be sanding and buffing those out.

Also got most of the cab sanded for base/clear. Will not have much time in the next few weekends due to a vacation, but at this point all that's left to paint are the doors, outside of the cab, and the hood.

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I'm back from vacation and I've got time off this week so I'm getting a lot done. Today I painted the hood and prepped the outside of the cab for paint (finished sanding, seam sealed, masked). We're very much looking forward to having the cab painted so we can set it on the frame and from there the only parts without paint will be the doors (hopefully later this week).

Tomorrow painting the cab!

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We set the cab, hung the doors, and installed sound deadening on the cab this weekend. We made an order to LMC last night for the remainder of the parts to put it all together. Should be able to put a lot of the front end together next weekend!

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It's been a little while since my last update - haven't made a lot of visual progress and have been spending time on my 68 too. But we've mounted the ECM and fuse block, installed more of the Vintage Air system, completed the wiring at the back half of the truck, installed the bed wood and wheel tubs, and test fit the wheels off my 68 for sizing. Turns out that the wheel and tire setup on my 68 is almost spot on in terms of sizing/backspacing, so wheels are on order.

Next weekend we hope to get the tailgate and rear bumper on and continue wiring.

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