Customs Went off the deep end on a '63 c-10

My work truck wore out so I took a short break from my 35 olds project to build a daily driver C10. I thought I would just pick up a decent beater and clean it up a bit, bag it and focus on mechanicals for a month or two and then just drive it- Instead I found a really badly put together truck with really nice paint for a good price. It had horrible wiring (masking tape connections?), bad brakes, goofy stance, hacked up frame, exhaust made out of flex pipe, kmart wheels, engine swap gone totally wrong, shitty pep boys accessories, that clunky B&M rachet shifter that is in every truck I have ever bought, a fast and furious steering wheel, etc. . .but this amazing dark green paint.

I thought I could just do a bunch of weekend projects and end up with a nice enough truck but one thing led to another and here I am 7 months later with this-

Sectioned front crossmember up 2”, cupped lower arms and installed bags, pie cut upper arms, lowering spindles, all new bushings, moved crossmember forward 1”, rackandpinion on custom brackets, custom motor mounts, moved engine forward 3 inches and up 2, restored van tilt steering column, 63 impala wheel, steel wheels, disk brakes, master cylinder, new plumbing, new wiring routed through conduit, filled and smoothed firewall, custom trans mount and crossmember, sectioned and flipped rear crossmember, lengthend to move rear wheels back 1.25, dual 3 gallon tanks and compressors, manual air valves, mustang gas tank under bed, "S'd rear frame up 7", custom bag mounts, custom panhard bar, raised rear bed framing and rear sill, cleaned and detailed engine, holley carb, distributer, rams horns, intake with hidden pcv, 700r4 trans, custom exhaust (check where the tips exit), new drive shaft

Trucks are fun, you’re never going to win the ridler award, they still are awesome even a little beat up, they look completely transformed when dropped, my 8 year old loves it, etc. At this point I am also just glad to have a car of any kind – I shared my wifes for the last few months and it was getting ridiculous.

still to do- I am making a gauge panel, installing a widened mustang split bench seat, rubber mat floor, stereo, painting interior and dash, some new glass, oak bed, tubbing front inner fenders for that last 2" of drop . . . but all of that can wait for a while. It’s time to just drive and enjoy and get back to the olds.

I didn’t take any progress photos and wasn’t going to post this one at all, but I am pretty happy with it and wanted to share. More pictures once I wash it.

 

DAMM!

 

This thread needs a "before" picture.

 

Very nice look . Awesome truck

 

Can never go wrong with a nice C10 Chevy.... looks great.

 

digg'in the tail pipe treatment

 

Dude.

 

Part of me does not want to see the "before" pic. I take your word for it. Nice work.

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wow! pimptastic! I also dig the pipes treatment

 

Wow! That color is dynamite.

 

That's sorta what I said - DAAAAAMMM!!!!!

Love the tail pipes sneeking out the back and such...

 

That rocks - whats the specs on the wheels and tires? Want to use them for my 65 burb

 

F'n badass!!!!!! Nice work...

 

I'm not a fan of '60's chevy trucks but gotta say I love this one! Gorgeous!


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Cool - yep, soon as you touch one part just about everything has to be changed too

 

Thanks all. I think we all get sucked into longer projects and lose track of the idea that they can actually get done. Getting this one on the road makes me remember that at some point my 10 year project is not just a big sculpture and needs to get on the road.

C10's a re a whole world . . . there are a lot of guys who have figured out how to chop a littlle here and there out of the frames to make them drop and drive better. There are also a lot of aftermarket suspension and crossmembers to buy and make it easier but I am too dumb for that and like to cut up what I have. I did things a little different with the z'd (or actually s'd) rear frame. But most of the other stuff is received wisdom from other peoples trial and error.

Wheels are vintiques smoothies 6x15 and 7x15 with rim rings and 49(?) checvy caps - painted where they are usually chrome. The color of the photos is off a bit. The light metallic green is 60's Ford ivy gold. I saw a super clean survivor mustang in factory dark green with a metallic ivy gold interior sit for sale for a year once because it was a color combination that was so era perfect for mid '60's that current tastes couldn't handle it. I plan on keping this a long time so I thought maybe I should copy that idea on purpose.

It's the opposite of "re-sale red". Maybe "take it to your grave" metallic puke green.

 

OMG!!! Love that thing... 100% Gorgeous!!!

 

Beautiful truck man.

Nailed it, hard.

 

Very nice,well done.

 

Killer!

 

Very nice job, Love the color combo and the attention to detail. I always wanted to remove the factory tailgate chains but could never figure out a better solution. I used clear plastic tubing covering the chain with a piece of black velcrow wrapped around to keep the chain from scaring the nice paint(it looked O.K.). Thanks for posting pictures of your truck, I should have never sold my 64. Gary

 

I have a C-10 pretty close to yours....nice truck!

 

yes you do! I like your factory trim . . . maybe someday. If I was starting from scratch I would probably get rid of the tailgate chains - but it was already painted.
I have to try and get rid of the paint in the chevrolet letters- I am not sure how to do it without screwing up the green paint.

 

The exhaust routing is killer.

 

without chains....

 

WOW!!!

 

Nice job, how about some pics of the suspension work?

 

Damn that's a sweet truck! I live c10s

 

I tell the young guys around here..."Can't find a project? Did you see that C10 Chevy pickup for sale?"
Usual answer: "Naw, I want a roadster, or a '36..."
My recommendation: "Buy that Chev pickup, clean it up, wheels...engine, pipes...paint. A guy NEEDS a nice truck."

Didn't fly with my ex wife. Bought my '55 F100, she bitched, I said "Jam..." and she did.
Got my F100 running, moved into my shop, married a beautiful young customer, and she helped me detail the new truck, and we lived happily ever after.

I repeat: "A guy NEEDS a nice truck." <Praise the Lowered. This is miles beyond 'nice'.>