'83 & '84 S10 Dad and Son Projects

[PurplDodge]

Those wheels look great!!

[Restoration]

koeberle04, thanks man glad you enjoyed it. Appreciate the comment.

slvrs10, sorry my grandma took them back. I know the pattern you mean and it can be really nice. I just hated the colours of those covers, puke red/brown.

mobileaudio219, they are American Racing torq thrust m's 17x8s wrapped in BFG KDWS's

Ramin'S10, thanks man, I'm really happy with them.

Got in a very long days work with my old man yesterday. Worked from 8:30am-9pm


This was the last things we needed to do before we took the truck over to Roger our painter. He lives about 2 hours away and we didn't want to tow it that far so I packed up some tools and we did the dissasembly in my grandma's driveway.

the load


Before we got started I had my dad check out the wiring. After I put the new seats in the lights by your feet would always stay on even when the truck was off. So the last week I always had to disconnect the battery after driving because I didn't want to drain the battery. Well when I put the new seats back in I squished this wire right down so it was grounded and that was keeping the lights on.



Checked out the new parts we got in. Instead of getting Roger to patch up the rust on the old fender and spend all that time on it, it was just as easy to buy a new one and cheaper. $200 for the fender and inner fender shield.


started to work, bumper off


Tailgate off



last look at my rims before I had to take them off as well


headlight bezels, bumper, grill off



passenger windows and weather stripping out



door panels outz



mirrors off



another look at the crispy new fender. $80 can't beat that. Well maybe you can, but I can't lol


door handle, locks off



bumpers. Got a brand new front bumper sitting at home as well as the air dam


out with the new and in with the old


quick comparison



glass and weather stripping out



air dam piece, not sure what this is called?



crack got bigger, soon to be even bigger



back window out for the first time in 25 years



unexpected surprise




getting there


old man taking the last bolts off the inner fender


why replaced it. It wasn't irrepairable, but it would have cost more to fix it then it would have to get a new one and we are going to end up with a better finished product. No brainer.





getting there


tail lights out


seats back out, vacummed, washed



kayla just chillin



started wiping parts down with gas again. The result of 25 mins of wiping




window out. - That is a lot harder then I expected, used the wire set



more unexpected rust







longgg exhaust lol

[Restoration]

Sorry passed my image limit in the last post. Here is the rest of the day.

almost done


no glass


both emblems off


cleaning up



quick story about these. My dad got front ended one time and had these in the bumper as back ups. Well they dissapeared after the accident and he figured they got left on the road. Found them laying inside the frame. New set of keys, woot. lol


Our unofficial sponsor let us borrow his truck/trailer again to tow the truck.


I'm so uneasy when we are towing the truck. Even though it's chained and winched down I still am just on pins and needles. Just the thought of it falling off the trailer or hell whatever makes me cringe






finally at Rogers shop



After getting there we talked for a bit and sat out on his porch and shot the shit til about midnight. I can't wait for a couple weeks and he is done all the body work. He is a good guy and a family friend so it's cool to have him doing it. Especially since he did it the last time too.

Here is a teaser pic of rogers truck. Show winning every where he goes. It's beautiful. Will get some better pictures of it in the future.


That's it for a couple of days.

[lee-mill]

good for you man, this thing is one sweet truck

[greatdane68]

Truck's gonna turn out great!!!

[Tuckin15's]

wow looks good im gonna have to do that soon lol.

[mobileaudio219]

If I can make one suggest, 1st blazer rear bumper!!!!!

I like the direction your heading in... It's sorta like your returning the truck to show room condition, like how it rolled off the line, but only with some mods to make it pop.

It's how I want to do my truck, clean and simple.... like a sport truck!

I think there's a lot of nice looking bagged, shaved, big wheeled, etc trucks out there, but I sorta like the clean and simple approach myself... I'm really glad to say I've been following this build thread!

[PurplDodge]

Quote:

air dam piece, not sure what this is called?

Its called a cowl.

Quote:

I like the direction your heading in... It's sorta like your returning the truck to show room condition, like how it rolled off the line, but only with some mods to make it pop.

It's how I want to do my truck, clean and simple.... like a sport truck!

I think there's a lot of nice looking bagged, shaved, big wheeled, etc trucks out there, but I sorta like the clean and simple approach myself... I'm really glad to say I've been following this build thread

Couldnt have said it better myself! I love your truck!!!

[Wicked Mayhem]

nice work.. why were you surprised to see rust behind the windows though? thats common IMO on vehicles that have seen snow/have rust other places..

dont know if you said or not, but how long will it be till you get the truck back?

[heeter_33]

nice man the progress is awesome so far. where did you pick that fender up from?

[Restoration]

Thanks for the comments and suggestions guys. It's really appreciated.

mobileaudio219, You nailed it. I love looking at bagged trucks and the really radical ones. However that's just not my personality or what I would like to do. After the paint and body work is all done I'm going to start saving for my next big motor build. Sheldon my unofficial sponsor has been telling me we can sqeeze a 454 with a turbo set up into it. That would just be too much fun. That's a year or two down the road though. I'll have to take a look at your thread if you have one when I finish this post. Next time I'm at the yard I'll have to take a look at some of the 1st Gen blazer bumpers.

Ramin'S10, Thanks lol. Was right on the tip of my tongue.

Wicked Mayhem, it's my first time taking any vehicle apart like this. So everything is a surprise for me hahaha. I'm a n00b, but learning. I'm not entirely sure how long it will take. Rogers shop is right next to his home so he said he would probably put in some late nights. My dad seems to think 2 weeks or so. That would be cool as I'm missing driving it already. I'm going to check out Rogers progress if any tomorrow afternoon.

heeter_33, I picked it up through Keystone. I tried to get it from GM but no dealers anywhere had any stocked. I lucked out because Sheldon the guy who helped us build our engine is a Keystone dealer. GM said if they could get it they would want $720 for it! Luckily I explored my options before trying GM more. The new fender fits like the original too. Couldn't be happier. Going to try and order a new grill, tahoe emblems and mirrors from them as well tomorrow.

[Restoration]

No real updates yet, Been busy working on the cabin. Spent the last few days riding the quad and 3 wheeler around and staining the entire cabin and deck and fishing 4-6 hours of the days.














did get a replacement leaf spring today, have to get the heavy duty leaf off tomorrow or whenever.





edit* oh yea and how could I forget. Almost lost the truck in a fire a couple days ago. Seriously, a fire inside of the cab. Luckily Roger caught it before it did to much damage. Will post some pics of that ish tomorrow.

[Restoration]

got a bit of an update for you guys today.

Went over to Rogers this afternoon and checked out his progress. So here is a look at, where it's at.

Filled some dents and took the paint off down to steel on the top of the bed. Where the cap was sitting the paint had bubbled all the way around so it had to go.



Roger completely remade the back panel of the bed. The old one was rusted through in a lot of places and was pretty thin so he just made up a new one that's identical. Also braced the corners with 45's so it would be stronger.




Paint was all bubbling on this corner as well. The guys who fixed the bed when I got rear ended really did a shit job. They didn't even spray any clear down at all.



Roger also welded up the wheel wells so they will be good and solid now.





He also replaced this entire lip. The old one again was rusted right through. It's a bit different then the original but I like it more this way personally.




The body side moldings had actually caught the water and rusted the steel underneath pretty bad. It didn't look all that bad but roger had to do a ton of work on the passenger side because of the moldings.






Decided to shave the antenna. So he welded in a patch. Will buy a hidden antenna later on.





He blasted both the front and rear window frames then patched the holes and majorly damaged areas.





also filled the dents on the hood from my stupid friend sitting on it. ****ing Ian...



Slid the bed back so he can finish it off nicely as well.


He had to take the paint off right down to the steel below the left passenger window and the back of the cab. It had all bubbled up because of the fire, more on that later though.



welded up both sides. The seam just kept cracking. We would get them fixed then 4 or 5 years later they would crack again. It should be good and solid now.


When Roger was welding the top of the cab he said once or twice he went right through the steel and some hot sparks fell down into the cab. Well one got into the insulation behind the jump seat trim and set a blaze. He said he stopped welding for a couple of minutes to pick up the phone and was looking at the truck as he was talking on the phone. Then all of a sudden he saw the paint bubbling and was just like "oh shit" went and grabbed the hose and put out the fire. No major damage just some wire and a trim piece and well the paint but that is what it's there for anyways. Man oh man it could have been bad though. Here are some pics of the damage






Luckily a junk yard here has a truck with that colour trim piece in perfect condition so the damage was only about 5$ in cost lol. Shit I shouldn't laugh I just jinxed myself.


here are just some more overalls


















Everything done right now is just rough filling and patching. He hasn't even started to sand or get things ready to prime. So please don't criticize to much. He said he might have it primed towards the end of next week. Will probably update again then. I'm so excited to have it back on the road soon. I think I mentioned this before but Roger only does classics. The car before mine was a '72 cuda and the one before that was a 1950 ford pick-up. So I'm incredibly happy he is doing the truck for us. Him and my dad go way back like 30 years or so now I guess. It's nice that my dad has all these friends that can do such great work and for great prices too.

Took some pictures of Rogers truck today. Will post those up in a few.

[Restoration]

So here is Rogers truck. It's so beautiful. He has detailed it down to the smallest things, it's just incredible. It's a show winner and he has a room full of trophies to prove it lol. It puts my truck to shame at the moment that is for sure.





CLEAN!












He drives it on the regular too. It's definitely not a trailer quuen. Just beautiful.


forgot this in my last post. Picked up these clutch bushings. My clutch pedal squeaks so much right now. Can't wait to replace them.


Also brought home the drums with me to blast and paint.


That's it for a bit.

[MaveRankus]

His truck is awesome. Love what your doing with this truck.

[fdimeroller]

his truck is awesome, your truck is very tastefully done . looks good. i dont think i saw anyone ask yet, but your pictures look really nice, what do you shoot with?

[bza]

looks good man. where in ontario are ya?

[lackofskills]

Not bad at all. Can't wait for more updates.

[heeter_33]

his truck looks just amazing, and yours is coming along great too. good thing he caught that fire early.

that pic of you on the trike are you wearing that netting stuff cause of the flies up there or what

[Restoration]

Thanks for the comments guys.

bza, I'm from Kingston Ontario about 3 hours out of toronto.

heeter_33, yea man the deer and horse flies are just ridiculous in the bush. It's about the same as constantly being swarmed by bumble bees.

[x98zq8x]

awesome truck i really enjoy your thread!

[S10wannabee]

the truck is coming along nicely, and it will look real nice with minor modifications and those wheels.. its nice to have someone like that helping out...!

[coats04]

nice thread
nice truck

imho i would do a ls1/t56 and a 2" drop. and move south,way south


good job man!

[PurplDodge]

Looks like Rogers doing a great job on your truck!

[Restoration]

^ Thanks guys, appreciate the great comments.

Quote: Originally Posted by coats04

nice thread
nice truck

imho i would do a ls1/t56 and a 2" drop. and move south,way south


good job man!

the move south way south had me laughing. I did drop it 2/2 already. If I went 4/4 that would just be to much and I wouldn't be able to drive it. Right now this is my only source for transportation so I have to keep things moderate. Once I graduate college (soon) I plan on making this my weekender and I will get a full size truck for work. When that happens a Big motor will be coming, turbo (s), brake upgrades, coil overs, transmission, 4 link, ford 9" and even more. None of that will happen in the very near future though. All down the road and just dreams right now. I'm tapped out right now as well. I've dropped a lot of money into this truck in the last 6 months so I'm done for a bit after paint. I just want to be able to drive it and enjoy it for a bit. When it goes back into the garage in october/november for the winter season I will start making some more changes.

Thanks again guys, it's cool to get some feedback from other who love this as much as I do. Should have another update later this week.

[Tuckin15's]

Your truck is gonna be so nice when its done i cant believe how much you pay attention to detail and how it looks i am truly impressed with this build it might not have bagz or be a crazy ass mini truck buts its definitly a sick truck dude keep up the good work man!

[Restoration]

^ thanks man appreciate that. On the subject of bags and drops. Played around with ps for a couple of mins tonight




ordered some more parts. trying to get an original grill with the chev insert. I know you can get them through lmc but they charge an arm and a leg to ship to Canada and I always get with by customs hard. I was looking at their catalouge and laughed when I saw they have the clear chevy badge grill inserts priced at $40 and reproduction grills are only priced at $60. Looking into buying some mirrors and headlight bezels as well.

Next update will probably be Friday. Going to check out the progress (hopefully primed) and also going over to Sheldons to blast the drums and paint them.

[mobileaudio219]

Quote: Originally Posted by Restoration

^ thanks man appreciate that. On the subject of bags and drops. Played around with ps for a couple of mins tonight




ordered some more parts. trying to get an original grill with the chev insert. I know you can get them through lmc but they charge an arm and a leg to ship to Canada and I always get with by customs hard. I was looking at their catalouge and laughed when I saw they have the clear chevy badge grill inserts priced at $40 and reproduction grills are only priced at $60. Looking into buying some mirrors and headlight bezels as well.

Next update will probably be Friday. Going to check out the progress (hopefully primed) and also going over to Sheldons to blast the drums and paint them.

I will probably be the only person who says this... but don't bag it!

[fdimeroller]

yea, dont bag it, but thats deff not what it'd look like bagged

[JChapoton]

Quote: Originally Posted by mobileaudio219

I will probably be the only person who says this... but don't bag it!

I concur

[greatdane68]

I say don't bag it also.

[CatDaddy52]

Looks like Dad & his homies are havin' as much fun as you are on this project!!
Doin' a real nice job.............
BTW.....I like the PS bagged look, myself!!

[Tuckin15's]

umm im not sure on the bagging idea but im excited to see it primed.

[Restoration]

^ That makes 2 of us, wanting to see it primed that is. I just did the ps drop for fun. I don't have any plans of bagging it in the future. Just keeping my eye open for a 454 block for cheap.

CatDaddy52, thanks man. Yea it's hard to get my dad to start a project but once he gets into it he loves it.

[x98zq8x]

DONT bag it

[mobileaudio219]

Like I said before, there's a ton of really nice bagged trucks out there, but the current stance just really looks at home on this truck...

Bags wouldn't fit the personality of this truck...

EDIT: I'm glad to see that others agree with me, and more importantly, you do...

[OneLowSdime]

i would also say dont bag it. the only way i would bag it, is if u bag it without eliminating ur inner fenders or cutting the bed AT ALL....very very clean 1st gen leave it with the stock look. i would honestly shave the doors while ur doin all the bodywork n shit. itll be worth it.

[fdimeroller]

Quote: Originally Posted by OneLowSdime

i would honestly shave the doors while ur doin all the bodywork n shit. itll be worth it.

x2 i was thinkin the same thing

[AmericanMuscle]

very clean.

[mobileaudio219]

I wouldn't shave the door handles either...

I'd make it look like it did when it rolled off the assembly line, but with a few improvements.

[DCSHOECOUSA]

great project man its looking amazing......haha i hear ya on the deer flies though man they're frickin brutal....they are the true meaning when you hear of people dying from exposure in the bush

[Restoration]

^ lol for sure. I heard a story about a bunch of inmates escaping this prison one summer, and they tried and lay low in the thick bush/forest. The cops would surround the area they were in and just wait for them to come out. After a day or two the bugs were to much so all the inmates surrendered.

mobileaudio219, you and I are pretty much on the same page. Honestly to shave the antenna that was a big decision lol. I was going to, and then I wasn't, and then I was going to, and then I wasn't. Finally I decided to hell with it, let's do it. I know quite a few people shave the door handles and tail gate handle but that's just a bit to modified for me personally. I rather put that money towards my next motor as well.

Thanks again for all the comments guys.

I stopped by Rogers today to see how things are coming along. He said he didn't get as much done as he would have like to but he has it rough primed right now. Still has a lot of sanding to do.

He explained to me he primed it and then sprayed a bit of black down. Then he will use a rough sand paper (220 I think) and sand it until the black is gone and it's all smooth. If there is any big scratches or gauges the black won't sand away so it's easier to see the low/high spots. Then he will fill any spots that need to be filled, spray primer again and then sand it with alot finer grit, and then paint. I think that's how he is going to do it, if I understood correctly. He will spray the red, then tape it off and spray the black, then 4 coats of clear.


anyways here is some pics, again this is just rough primer right now, not sanded at all.












Roger also got the new fender and inner fender shield on. It fits really well.



































This is what I was talking about with sanding the black away.













Helped Roger move the bed back so he could paint the back of the cab and front of the bed as well.
































My 2" block(s)







Couple more pictures in a few minutes.

[-YumYum97s10-]

Truck is looking amazing man! can't wait to see it painted and put back together!

[Restoration]

edit* thanks -YumYum97s10-, appreciate that man.

Sorry a bit overkill on the pictures I know. I've just never seen the truck like this before and want to remember this whole process.

Pulled out the last bit of weather stripping while we were there. My dad glued it into place in the corners 7 or 8 years ago so it all ripped and is garbage now. Have to order some more tomorrow.



my old man scraping away the left over glue/rubber


While we were doing that Roger made this replacement barbecue grease guard. I was really impressed he knocked it out in no time at all.


and one last pic before I see it painted


stopped by Sheldon's on the way back to blast/paint my rear drums, sorry no pics right now.

He just got this old firebird in, building a motor for it,


still working on this one as well


I love stopping by Sheldon's. Today he was putting together an 800hp small block chevy drag motor, and get this, with nitrous that bumped it up another 500hp. So that's 1300hp total. I hope I get to see that car go down the line. He was also working on a 600hp motor out of a camaro that ran on pump gas.

Also took some pictures of his truck/logo. Sheldon is a really good guy and more or less my sponsor and has helped me/us out a lot. So I want to pay a bit of respect to that fact and get a vinyl made of his logo and put it in my rear windshield.

[slvrs10]

Truck looks good.

BUT...

A GSX just sitting in a field like that???? Is it a true GSX, or just added the badges?

[mobileaudio219]

looking good man!

I can't wait to see the paint done!

[V8Blaze]

this is going to be one great looking truck. Keep the pictures coming

[Restoration]

slvrs10, honestly I'm not sure. I'll have to ask Sheldon next time I'm over there.

Thanks V8Blaze & mobileaudio219.

Just trying to get some things wrapped up this week before I get it back.
I have to get the windshield sorted out with the insurance company. Go pick up the weather stripping for both doors. Order the new grill, mirrors, headlight bezels, tahoe emblems, Tail gate bumpers. Get in touch with 3M trimline about the body side molding or pin striping, haven't decided which way to go yet, leaning towards the stock body side molding. Also finish up Sheldon's logo for the rear window and get the vinyl made. Also have to run over to the junk yard and pick up the replacement rear jump seat trim that was burned. Still have to blast and paint the rear drums. Finish sanding the rear window trim and paint it. Get pricing for the sound dampening materials. I'm sure there is 10 more things I'm forgetting. Just trying to be prepared while I have all this down time. Hoping to go on a pretty big road trip on August 24th so the plan is to have everything done by then. (knocks on wood)

sorry no pictures today. Maybe tomorrow.

[Tuckin15's]

love the update man cant wait to see it painted.

[Slappy McNasty]

its looking good man, real top notch work!!!