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Getting Started On Our 1967 C10 Project Last Chance

We all have that bucket list truck we want to own or build. For me, that truck is a 1967-’68 patina 503 light green shortbed Fleetside C10, Project Last Chance!

We are going to build this truck in multiple phases. Phase 1 is to get the truck on the road for the Hotrod Power Tour in June of this year. With the help of some awesome sponsors and partners, I think we can make this happen! Phase 2 we will get the rust repaired and patina blended so the truck is 100% solid, add a coilover suspension setup, big brakes and a turbo.

Powering Project Last Chance is a low-mile LS1 and 4L60E we pulled out of a ’99 Z28 Camaro. Holley Performance is helping us out with the company’s black mid-mount front runner kit, high rise cast aluminum intake, 92mm throttle body, some slick two-piece valve covers to hide the coil packs and oil fill cap, and to make it all run we have its Terminator X Max harness.

Keeping this LS1 and 4L60E cool will be a Champion LS radiator from George over at Leadfoote Racing with high flow SPAL 2044 fans and external transmission cooler.

Dakota Digital will help us keep on our systems by providing its new RTX instrument cluster that has an old school feel with new technology. Because we will be road tripping this truck in the summertime, we will need a reliable A/C system. Vintage Air is providing its SureFit system for a non-A/C truck so we can add factory style A/C vents and keep that nostalgic look.

Helping me with wiring, exhaust and wrapping up the details before the road trip will be our friends over at C&K Metal located in Bunnell, Florida. Let’s get started!

1967 Patinaed C10
The truck spent its whole life on a farm in Louisiana before making its way to Florida 10 years ago. It even still has the old-school farm bumper.
To add to the ruggedness of this truck, we are keeping the original brush guard that came in the pile of parts.
Uncut dash in a 1967 C10
It’s hard enough to find an original paint truck, but to find one with an uncut dash is a bonus.
Patinaed C10 Project Last Chance
An engine hoist makes quick work of removing the bed with one person.
The cab requires a little more work when disconnecting steering linkages, wiring and plumbing, but it is removed just as easily as the bed.
Patinaed C10 cab
The cab and bed are tucked away in our two-car garage.
Stripping all the suspension components will be much easier with no body parts on the frame. It’s also much easier to move around at this point.
We decided to remove the 300-pound custom made farm bumper. While the extra weight would help with traction, the bumper would hang too low for our liking.
Once the rear trailing arms are removed, we can slide our original 3.73 posi rear end out from under the frame on a furniture dolly.
Turning our attention to the front suspension, we removed the stock drum brake spindles.
Now it’s time to punch out some rivets for a few frame components we need to get rid of. A cutoff wheel and air hammer makes for an easier removal process.
The frame is fully disassembled and ready for B-n-J Powdercoating.
I cannot say enough good things about this shop. They were awesome to work with, and I can’t wait for the next project with them.
The guys at B-n-J Powdercoating were more than happy to help unload the chassis.
Excited to get this frame blasted and powdercoated!
Mikey at B-n-J sent me this picture shortly after we dropped the chassis off of the frame freshly sandblasted.
While the frame was away, we turned our attention to the rear end. The truck only had 30,000 original miles and was driven on the farm. The condition on the rear end looked almost brand new and the previous owner resealed the axle. All we did was clean it and paint it.
All parts are back from B-n-J Powdercoating and ready for assembly.
To start the assembly process, we replaced the crossmembers we removed.
We then installed our trailing arms and rear end, and began to cut the frame for our C-notch kit. (The C-notch was on backorder, and we did not receive it until after the frame came back from powdercoating.)
Once we cleared the frame enough for the C-notch, and we were happy with the placement, we painted the bare metal and bolted it in. We also installed our lowering springs and shocks with upper shock mount relocation brackets.
Turning our attention to the front suspension, we start with assembling our control arms. Here we are pressing in our lower ball joint. We then installed the control arm cross shafts. We are lowering the truck with drop spindles, spring and shocks. Soon we will be replacing with a coilover setup.
Sometimes you need an extra hand while installing the lower control arm. Here I am holding the lower control and U-bolt in place while my tech starts the top lock nut.
The truck came with a disc brake kit for the front and rear. We decided to paint the calipers with a high temp gloss red to keep everything looking nice and clean.
The rear calipers went together easily. Once we had the calipers in place, we ran our stainless steel brake line kit.
I can’t say enough good things about this Boyd Welding fuel cell. We ordered an in-tank fuel pump, sending unit, fuel lines, fuel filter and AN fittings. Installation was very straightforward, and the tank along with all parts are high quality.
Now that we have the frame assembled, we can turn our attention to the LS1 and 4L60E. With this being a low-mile drive train, there wasn’t much grease and grim to clean up.
The engine and transmission already had a coat of silver paint from the factory, but we decided a high gloss black would look much better.
The F-body oil pan on the motor did not clear the crossmember. We went with Holley’s 302-3 LS Swap oil pan to solve this issue.
The Holley 302-3 oil pan gave us the clearance we needed to get our driveline set. This pan also has two oil return ports that will be handy for future power upgrades.

SOURCES

PRODUCTS

Boyd Welding
www.boydwelding.com

Dakota Digital
www.dakotadigital.com

Holley Performance Products
www.holley.com

Vintage Air
www.vintageair.com

SOURCES

People

B-n-J Powdercoating
www.b-n-jpowdercoating.com

C&K Metal Hot Rod Shop
www.candkmetal.com

Leadfoote Race Products
@leadfooteraceproducts

 

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