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|Project Little Grey|

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#1 ·
Hello S-10 Forum! I am recently a new member here and I have an 85 short box standard cab pickup. I have owned it for about 10 years and it has been a slow work in progress. The truck is about 80% complete, but this thread will bring you up to date from the beginning. I hope you all enjoy.

This is the day I brought her home. 305 engine w/stock manifolds, 700R4 trans, open diff 3.08, roll cage, extreme rims with new rubber, 91 front end conversion.



This poor 305 was so beat it leaked every kind of fluid and constantly puffed blue smoke out the tail pipes.



Didn't take me long to take it all apart.





Here is a picture of the roll cage. I was going to keep it in for looks but turns out the only seats that will fit between the cage rails are Summit Pro Racing Polly seats. Not Comfy! Also looks like the cage was build out of fence posts.



A few days later I had most of the truck apart. Attached it to a car tilter ( you can kind of see it in these pictures.) and blasted the frame, floor of the cab and firewall. Threw on some epoxy primer to boot.


After blasting, painted up the back half.



Here is the '79 350 I purchased for $250, mostly torn down. It's a two bold main block and had smogger head on it. The motor came from chevy van.


The only thing from this motor that I kept was the block and crank.



I had the block hot tanked and clean up by a local engine shop, Precision Performance Motors. They zero decked the block, spun the crank 10/10, bore it .030 over, new cam bearings and freeze plugs. Cost $450





Here is the motor partly assembled. I'm running a stock bottom end and rods with forged Speed Pro flattops, 305 HO heads from a 88 TPI Camaro.


Motor all assembled!


Put on a Summit alternator bracket with aluminum under-drive pulleys.



Dropped the Motor into the truck with mounts from Jaqs that run. Also fond my self a T5 WC from a Camaro. Motor fits tight fit with the Moroso oil pan, had to cut out some of the frame. You can kind of see my Griffin radiator and Flex-a-lite dual fans.


You can see how low the oil pan is in this picture.
 
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#2 ·
#3 ·
Patched up the drivers side floor pan and painting the interior black instead of the original puke tan color. I put down some heat reflecting and sound deadening insulation. Its similar to Dynamat, but cheaper. I picked up a roll of it at a local swap meet, I cant remember the name of the material off hand.



 
#4 ·
Put on some brake goodies too.. SSBC rear calibers and drilled rotors.



And a little peak of what might come next.





With most of the mechanical work down, its now time to start on the body.
Here is a picture of the shop, Kap10's truck to the left.


I had an extra pair of hands to help sand. Thanks Laura!


Almost done. Have to block with 400, Prime, wetsand with 600 then its off to the body shop for some selear and paint!


I think this is my favorite picture of the weekend! Mine V.S. HIS
 
#8 ·
Mounted roll pan and aligned the tailgate.


I wasn't 100% satisfied with the fitment of the roll pan. I didn't like the gap that is between the bottom of the tailgate and the top of the roll pan. If I make it smaller, then the tail gate hits when opening/closing.

Here is a pix of the patch work I did. Threw down some seam sealer.


A shot of it while in the process of wet sanding


Roll Pan finished and primed. The box was hit in the rear when I purchased it, I straightened most of it out. Can still see some remnants of the collision.


Looking down the side, Straight like glass.
 
#9 ·
Taped, washed and tacked, ready for final prime.





Spent some time on the wiper cowl. What a PITA with all the louvers.
Sanded down with 120


Wiper cowl and fuel door are done. Not the best picture, but it gets the point across.

I think at this point I am done body work. I decided to not refinish any of my many tailgates, instead I'm just going to buy a new one from LMC ($89.99).




All my parts from Summit, LMC & Brown's of two rivers..


Just have to get the truck painted and start the assembly process.
 
#10 ·
Ordered my paint from TCP Global.

Graphite Gray Metallic for the bottom
http://www.tcpglobal.com/restorationshop/rsp2105.aspx

Firemist Orange for the stripe
http://www.tcpglobal.com/restorationshop/rsp2914.aspx

Sterling Silver Metallic for the top
http://www.tcpglobal.com/restorationshop/rsp2101.aspx


Getting my paint on!



Transported the box over to the neighbours and set it up on his lift. Didn't waste any time, started putting down the colour.


Taping off along the body line and spraying the second colour.


The two-tone complete with one coat of clear to lock in the metallic.


Putting down the body line stripe and the finished box!
 
#11 ·

Here is the new tailgate with the first colour down.


Masked and ready for the second colour.


Two-tone complete with a layer of clear & the body line masked.


Finished tailgate!


Painted up the inside of the hood.



 
#12 ·
Painted the insides of the doors and fenders.


With the door jams, insides of doors / fenders painted I assembled the truck to paint the outside.

Masked and ready to go






Gunmetal Grey applied...


 
#13 ·
nice truck man, keep it up and welcome to the forum...
 
#14 ·
Cleared the bottom colour on the cab and finished the top base & clear.








Back home for some TLC. Aligned the doors and fenders and installed all fasteners, door springs, etc. Installed weather striping and driver/passenger door glass as well as door handles.



Installed the weather striping around the windshield, wiper mechanics along with motor. Installed wiper cowl but had to remove it while aligning the hood.
 
#15 ·
Finished fitting the hood and installing the wiper cowl for what I thought would be the last time... Until I went to drive the truck back over to my neighbours to paint the orange stripe.

I was being dumb and went for second gear and that's about when the hood flipped up, smashed the windshield and took out the wiper cowl. Luckily the $400 Good Mark cowl hood came out relatively undamaged, just a few paint chips from contact with the windshield.



Now on to the better part of the weekend, more paint!


First masking line


Pin masked, now for some sanding and prep


Prep done and truck covered




One coat of silver followed by two coats of orange mist


Now for some clear


De-masking


Ta Da !!
 
#16 ·
Took out the gas tank sending unit to inspect two things. 1. why it was leaking 2. why the float no longer worked.

Turns out that the O-ring that seals the sending unit to the take was either the wrong size, or it swelled up from the crappy ethanol enriched gas. Replaced it and used some RTV silicone to avoid future leaks. Also fixed the fuel float. I think I hooked up the fuel pump wrong once a-pon a time and this shorted out the little circuit that the float connects to. I wish I took some photos for you guys of how I fixed it..

With the tank sealed up it was time to install the box.



 
#17 ·
A friend of mine has the rims for sale. I'm not 100% sold on the staggered 18/20 rim size, but to be honest I cant beat the price. I don't think I will ever find a set of Billet Specialties rims this nice with rubber for $1000 any where else. First thing would be to replace the 255/35/20 on the back with something with more sidewall to even out the look. Maybe 255/55/20...

Here are some pictures of the rims mounted on the truck.











 
#18 ·
Found myself a new wiper cowl to replace the one that got damaged when the hood flipped up on me. Started working out the dents and such. It's from a red blazer so I sanded down the clear to the base coat and then gave it a quick shot of sealer. Some small dings filled with filler and sanded. Hit the bare metal spots that came through with etching primer.


Covered it with hi-build primer


Close up of the pesky louvers. I think this cowl came out better then the one I smashed up...


Still need to block it out, prime again and then sand with 400 before paint.
 
#19 ·
Installed under hood insulation.


Everything went smooth until I cut out the holes in the insulation to keep the cowl hood functional.


The insulation now sags slightly around the cut out. I'm afraid that with the hood closed any air moving through said holes will catch the insulation and pull it further away from the hood structure possibly ripping it.


I'm looking for ideas on how to attach the insulation to the hood around the opening. I've tried wire loom, some small plastic clips, black hockey tape, old window molding. Everything I have tried either doesn't stick to the insulation or looks like ass. Looking for ideas... HELP!!
 
#20 ·
Installed new head light adjusters and brackets. Installed the center structure and hood latch.


Hood aligned and latched, how it should have been before I went for a rip.


Test fit the grill, all looks good.


Started going through the headlight and turn signal harness. Right side has been gone through and re-taped and re-loomed, notice the new black look compared to the original.
 
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#21 ·
Went to install the new door tumblers and ran into a little snag.

New tumbler kit from LMC on the right, originals on the left I removed from my brothers truck.


I seem to be missing the "Z" bracket and the two clips seen in the bottom left of the image.

Fresh from Phoenix, Door lock brackets and clips.



Also been working on my inner finders. Dolly out some of the dents, used some filler to make it look like new.


Primed up


 
#23 ·
u got a heck of a deal on the rims....
 
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