1968 C10 Restoration - Before and After

"camaroboy68ss" (camaroboy68ss)
08/31/2020 at 15:35 • Filed to: Chevy, Chevrolet, C10, Truck Yeah, restoration

With putting the hood on the truck and only having a handful of small things left to do on the truck, I thought it would be neat to pull the truck back into about the same spot I took the first pictures of the truck when I brought it home and take similar pictures for before and after shots to see how far the truck has come in just 2 years. I think they came out pretty cool. I will do a under hood before and after once I get the inner fenders in the truck.

DISCUSSION (24)

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > camaroboy68ss
08/31/2020 at 15:39

Fantastic.

If you’re willing to share:

ballpark value before vs after, and cost of restoration (your labor not included)?

ttyymmnn > camaroboy68ss
08/31/2020 at 15:39

Nice. Did you give any thought to doing the tailgate letters in white?

camaroboy68ss > ttyymmnn
08/31/2020 at 15:44

I am planning on have a local decal/vinyl shop do the letters. I thought of painting them, but really there was no real good way to mask them. Going to wait though as the paint is still venting. This winter I will get the letter done though.

Brickman > camaroboy68ss
08/31/2020 at 15:44

Amazing! Dont you ever sell that truck. If you do, I buy it... a handful of LEGO and a root beer :P

Dash-doorhandle-6 cyl none the richer > camaroboy68ss
08/31/2020 at 15:45

Loos SO good. I think of these as the nexus point of where a classic truck meets a modern one.

ttyymmnn > camaroboy68ss
08/31/2020 at 15:46

I think it would look great either way, TBH.

KnowsAboutCars > camaroboy68ss
08/31/2020 at 15:48

Nice job!

camaroboy68ss > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com
08/31/2020 at 15:52

Well I think I paid top dollar originally for the truck on the market at that time. I paid $6k. I was rust free but the bed was trashed, the brakes were bad, interior was a mess, and it was filled to the brim with farm dirt. The big plus though was it had new shocks, power steering had been added and it had a brand new crate motor.

Right now I am currently sitting around $10-11k in the restoration. Luckily I did not have to tear the motor open and I had the transmission on the shelf already. Biggest expenses have been the new rear bed and the paint. I do have alot of stuff I have pulled off the truck I will sell when we get swap meets again locally, so I will get a little back on the investment.

As far as current value, I would say fair market would be around $30k, but I wouldn’t sell it at that price. I have joked with my grandfather as we built this, was that the only way I would sell it is that i got enough money for a 68 Corvette Roadster, and I really mean that, but I could make a profit on the truck if I needed to if the situation arises.

camaroboy68ss > ttyymmnn
08/31/2020 at 15:54

it looks alright now, but I think the letters would just be a nice little detail for the tail end of the truck. Needs a little white to match the front end being painted white.

camaroboy68ss > Dash-doorhandle-6 cyl none the richer
08/31/2020 at 15:59

I would agree as the 67-72 was the very beginning of Chevy offering more plush options to the trucks over just basic work related stuff and by 72/73 that was becoming the more “in” thing. The 1/2 tons with the coil spring rear ends ride very nice for a comfortable ride over earlier trucks with leaf springs. Its sad they got rid of the coil rears in 73.

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > camaroboy68ss
08/31/2020 at 16:03

That’s a beautiful automobile for $17k + your time, and will be a treasured possession for decades. Awesome that you got to have this experience with your grandpa. I hope you get to drive your grandkids around it in someday.

Dead_Elvis, Inc. > camaroboy68ss
08/31/2020 at 16:03

This is gorgeous! Hats off to you & your grandfather.

I’ve missed a few installments - what was the reason for going with a short(ened ) bed, vs the original length?

camaroboy68ss > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com
08/31/2020 at 16:06

It always fun when we do a car together. This is like car #5 or 6 we have restored or worked on together. Some have been flippers and some keepers. Now that this one is done and he sold his 64 Chevelle its time to start the hunt for the next project.

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > camaroboy68ss
08/31/2020 at 16:06

So cool. Jealous!

onlytwowheels > camaroboy68ss
08/31/2020 at 16:11

Did you shorten the chassis, or does the blue make the truck look shorter???

Kinja'd!!!

camaroboy68ss > Dead_Elvis, Inc.
08/31/2020 at 16:11

Well 2 reasons. One is I like short beds, but finding a good short box project that didnt break the bank was impossible and second was that the bed on this truck was pretty rough. It had been it with a forklift on one side, all the stake pockets were cracked and the floor was destroyed from heavy thing being dropped in it. So it was cheaper in the long run to replace the bed and it was cheaper to do a short box. The frame work is pretty simple, it helped that my grandfather has been shortening these trucks since they were practically new.

camaroboy68ss > onlytwowheels
08/31/2020 at 16:14

yes the frame has been shortened. Went from a factory long bed to a factory short bed.

I cover the conversion here in this post:

https://oppositelock.kinja.com/68-c10-restoration-update-part-2-becoming-a-short-box-1843550615

Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available > camaroboy68ss
08/31/2020 at 16:16

Absolutely gorgeous. I’m surprised at how quickly you turned it around. Are you going to paint the tailgate lettering white to match the front?

camaroboy68ss > Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available
08/31/2020 at 16:18

I’m going to have a shop that does decals/wraps do the letters in glossy white vinyl.

onlytwowheels > camaroboy68ss
08/31/2020 at 16:29

Was that in the original plans, or was it something that you decided later.

It just seems like starting with the short bed would have been a big savings on parts and labor.

Nice work though. I couldn’t do it. I would be making myself sick making that first cut into the chassis.

Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available > camaroboy68ss
08/31/2020 at 16:32

Ooh that’ll look great

camaroboy68ss > onlytwowheels
08/31/2020 at 16:37

It was the rough plan at the start. It was still cheaper in the end that starting with a factory short bed . A factory short box would have been double or more in initial cost that what I paid and still would have had to replace the box as this was in such rough shape. The cab and nose was perfectly rust free and pretty dent free.

CB > camaroboy68ss
08/31/2020 at 22:59

I can only guess it’ll be GM.

camaroboy68ss > CB
08/31/2020 at 23:04

Maybe, we have also been thinking of building a old hot rod and looking at 28-31 Ford Model A’s. It will be chevy powered for sure though. Have a nice 265 small block on the stand.