Here we go... 1969/70 Chevy C10/K20 projects

[NYCEGUY01]

The C10 will be easy to flip these days. Patina and dents are in style...

Id do a Gen3 4.8 or 5.3 and 4l60. Ebay harness and a local tuner for an off the shelf delete and tune.
Motors arent as cheap as they used to be but even one with 200k would be fine after a good cleaning.
Im not sure if stock manifolds will fit that frame ( They dont fit 73-87's ) and if not look for a set off a camaro or just buy the Holley knock offs or China headers.


6 lug makes it super easy to find wheels and tires for.
All the GM trucks and SUV's had 20's and the easy to find used tires from them will fill up the wheel openings perfectly, I wouldnt even drop it except for maybe a set of shackles to level the rear...

 

[TRD270]

Break the mold! Gen 3 Hemi!

 

[Greg]

The C10 will be easy to flip these days. Patina and dents are in style...

Id do a Gen3 4.8 or 5.3 and 4l60. Ebay harness and a local tuner for an off the shelf delete and tune.
Motors arent as cheap as they used to be but even one with 200k would be fine after a good cleaning.
Im not sure if stock manifolds will fit that frame ( They dont fit 73-87's ) and if not look for a set off a camaro or just buy the Holley knock offs or China headers.

I have a Gen 4 aluminum 5.3 in the shop, I could toss it in with a 4L60E and have a really nice, powerful cruiser. I don't have an issue with China headers, I used them on the El Camino and they were quality. I have HP Tuners, but like the Holley Terminator over using a GM ECU. Easier to tune and dial in and if you have to pay someone for a final, driving tune and a credit, the price ends up very close to a Holley system that automatically tunes itself as you drive.

We'll see.... I might just do a freshened up 350 and a TH350/700R4.

6 lug makes it super easy to find wheels and tires for.
All the GM trucks and SUV's had 20's and the easy to find used tires from them will fill up the wheel openings perfectly, I wouldnt even drop it except for maybe a set of shackles to level the rear...

My biggest issue with the 6 lug is the drum brakes, I like the idea of using the factory parts from a newer truck to get discs up front at the very least. Discs out back would be an added bonus. Factory GM wheels have so much backspacing, I'd need to run a 2-3" spacer to make them work and really don't like that. Some nice aftermarket 17's would be perfect.

I really like these trucks down low on the ground, 3/5 would be pretty aggressive but IMO would look killer.

 

[Hickey]

I do prefer a shortbed C10, but since you're flipping it I wouldn't spend the money and time. If you do come across a shortbed for it, then it might be worth it. The Chevy bedsides are a lot of work to shorten from a long bed, it's not just a simple section job. New shortbed sides are at least $1,200 to start.

 

[Greg]

I’m sure it’s against popular opinion here but I say shorten the C10 fame and go short bed. Either new bedsides or just shorten the stock bed.

I would love to shorten it, honestly.... if I were keeping it, I totally would. They look so much better! But since I'm planning to fix & flip, it just doesn't make enough sense for now.

 

[Greg]

I yanked out the nasty seat, used the shop vac to clean out all the rat sh!t and other junk inside, peeled up the floor liner and proceeded to pressure wash it inside and out. The bed had a bunch of junk in it that got cleaned out, I sprayed some Lysol inside for a 2nd washing and it looks OK. The floors at the rocker seam are pretty rusted out unfortunately and the inner roof panel has some pretty decent rust as well. I don't think it's enough for me to worry about though, it's all still solid.

There's actually some really neat pin striping that was done many years ago, apparently 'Howard' was quite proud of this truck at one point! I also removed those hideous mirrors, pressure washed under the hood and all over under the body. It actually cleaned up pretty good!

 

[Hickey]

Go Howard! 😎

 

[NYCEGUY01]

The best "profit" scenerio may be to just try and revive the current motor, Keep pressure washing, and list it for sale as is...
If it runs lower it on the stock wheels and see if it sells before the hard work starts...

 

[Greg]

The best "profit" scenerio may be to just try and revive the current motor, Keep pressure washing, and list it for sale as is...
If it runs lower it on the stock wheels and see if it sells before the hard work starts...

I'd rather put a decent bit of work into it and shoot for a fun, lightly upgraded truck with a higher sale price.

 

[Greg]

I popped the hood on the '69 K20 after unloading it and was NOT expecting this mess! It was under a tree and I couldn't get the hood opened when we found it. The PO rebuilt the 350 engine in the early 80's, spending $900 on the rebuild! Apparently the ignition switch had issues shortly after the rebuild and it was parked. Wonder if the internals are still good.... might use it in the 2WD?

Oh, the packrat's remains are on top of the mess he made.... apparently he lived his life to the end, right in the engine bay. (There's a tail & fur if you look close.)

 

[Kiel]

Packrats are funny little guys. Sorta funny. They stash all sorts of things in their nests in mines

 

[BCGPER]

How’s the rust around the windshield and the drip rails?

Oh, and this needs a cheap aluminum shell on it and you could turn it into a Farmtruck clone

 

[Greg]

How’s the rust around the windshield and the drip rails?

Oh, and this needs a cheap aluminum shell on it and you could turn it into a Farmtruck clone

Minimal rust in those areas, mostly on the floor pans at the door jamb, plus some on the inner roof panel.

 

[85CUCVKRAWLER]

The C10 will be easy to flip these days. Patina and dents are in style...

Id do a Gen3 4.8 or 5.3 and 4l60. Ebay harness and a local tuner for an off the shelf delete and tune.
Motors arent as cheap as they used to be but even one with 200k would be fine after a good cleaning.
Im not sure if stock manifolds will fit that frame ( They dont fit 73-87's ) and if not look for a set off a camaro or just buy the Holley knock offs or China headers.


6 lug makes it super easy to find wheels and tires for.
All the GM trucks and SUV's had 20's and the easy to find used tires from them will fill up the wheel openings perfectly, I wouldnt even drop it except for maybe a set of shackles to level the rear...

I use BP Automotive for my harnesses. Man, they make a great product for a great price and are super helpful on the phone. I would highly suggest them. Also, the harness is basically the hardest part of the swap so this make everything super easy.

https://bp-automotive.com/

I know this doesnt help Greg in GJ, but the Pull N Save in south SLC/Magna will sell you a complete LS with trans for $500 out the door. You have to pull it but they do let you use their chain hoists to do it. Although, in my experience the main reason the truck is in there is either its crashed or the engine/trans died. So make sure to check the motor before pulling.

 

[NYCEGUY01]

I use BP Automotive for my harnesses. Man, they make a great product for a great price and are super helpful on the phone. I would highly suggest them. Also, the harness is basically the hardest part of the swap so this make everything super easy.

https://bp-automotive.com/

I know this doesnt help Greg in GJ, but the Pull N Save in south SLC/Magna will sell you a complete LS with trans for $500 out the door. You have to pull it but they do let you use their chain hoists to do it. Although, in my experience the main reason the truck is in there is either its crashed or the engine/trans died. So make sure to check the motor before pulling.

I have the BP cooling fan control harness and relays in my C10.
Works just like stock GM.
Runs both SPAL fans on low with the A/C or when the ECM triggers it and then both on High speed when the ECM gets to that temp.

Ive used a couple harnesses from 150tunes.com (Wayne Hartwig) now and been pretty happy.
The stock ECM I bought from him was bad out of box though. (His only reply was not to weld on the truck, which I actually hadnt at all, instead of try to make it right so take that for what its worth).
The harness was pretty dang nice though. Plug and play and all brand new. He added my cruise control wiring and ran them where I wanted on the harness etc..

 

[Greg]

I used a PSI Conversions harness with a ECU from them that had VATS removed and a base tune for my El Camino L33 5.3. The harness was very high quality, if I did another LS swap with a factory ECU, I'd run a PSI Harness again.

 

[Spork]

I'd rather put a decent bit of work into it and shoot for a fun, lightly upgraded truck with a higher sale price.

Engine/trans/brakes and I think you've hit what most people want done. I'm torn on painting, I think I'd leave the pantina even though it's 3 colors I think there is some draw to the old look. If it doesn't pull what you want then paint it.

 

[spaggyroe]

Pro-Tip...
When you go to sell them, make sure to use the term "BARN FIND" in your listing.
That's easily worth an additional 5k.

 

[Thursty]

Pro-Tip...
When you go to sell them, make sure to use the term "BARN FIND" in your listing.
That's easily worth an additional 5k.

And cover it with dust. That crap adds at least another 2k.

 

[Greg]

Made some progress on the C10, the seller mentioned that it had ignition switch issues, the switch had been pulled apart, pieces were missing, the remnants were hanging from the wires and there was no key. I bought a new ignition switch and key at O'Rileys and started going over the wiring under the hood. The battery cables were questionable at best and the main power wires that supply voltage to the fuse box were cut for some reason.

After connecting all the wires, the starter began turning over.... and it was spinning the engine! Ignition switch was off though, so that was great.

The starter bendix was stuck out! I climbed under it with a pry bar and tried to work it loose. Now the starter only occasionally sticks! I now have power at the fuse block now, the wipers work and the ignition switch seems to work like it should.

Still, it would turn over but even with starting fluid, doesn't even bother to try starting. I checked for spark and it has spark at the coil into the distributor, but no spark at the plugs. I checked the points and they look decent, the rotor spins... thinking the capacitor may be shot? I'm not sure I want to mess with it much more.

I think I'm going to pick up a running 350 engine and swap it in, along with a TH350 trans. Add a decent HEI distributor, toss some Vortec heads on it, a decent flat tappet hydraulic cam, intake for Vortec heads and a Holley carb and a pair of headers, then yank out this poor, neglected 350 and 465. I think I can do all this for around $1500, which isn't terrible.