73 K10 build
Thread Starter
TECH Apprentice
Joined: Oct 2013
Posts: 350
Likes: 25
From: North Shore MA
73 K10 build The 71 T/A is completed, and the 2000 WS6 is sold, so its on to the next project! I have this posted on a few truck forums, but this is where its at for LS swaps so I'll post up here.
I dragged this thing 85 miles home from Maine. Its a 1973 Chevy K10 4x4 4 speed. It needs some metal work, but the bed and tailgate along with all the front sheet metal are in amazing shape (for a New England truck). Its mostly the cab that needs work. Two cab corners, rockers, and typical floor work is needed. For $300 you cant complain about repairing some rust!
I love the fact that it's a 73. The plan is to do the metal work, drop in a LS 5.3 and paint it that cool new Ford Kodiak brown (or any root beer brown really) with some sort of Gold Metallic roof. I still haven't figured out what transmission I want to run yet. Right now I have a Sm465 with a 205 T case. I'll end up selling that for an automatic setup, but I don't know which one yet.
I dragged this thing 85 miles home from Maine. Its a 1973 Chevy K10 4x4 4 speed. It needs some metal work, but the bed and tailgate along with all the front sheet metal are in amazing shape (for a New England truck). Its mostly the cab that needs work. Two cab corners, rockers, and typical floor work is needed. For $300 you cant complain about repairing some rust!
I love the fact that it's a 73. The plan is to do the metal work, drop in a LS 5.3 and paint it that cool new Ford Kodiak brown (or any root beer brown really) with some sort of Gold Metallic roof. I still haven't figured out what transmission I want to run yet. Right now I have a Sm465 with a 205 T case. I'll end up selling that for an automatic setup, but I don't know which one yet.
Thread Starter
TECH Apprentice
Joined: Oct 2013
Posts: 350
Likes: 25
From: North Shore MA
Got the nose and passenger door pulled off yesterday. The radiator support, passenger fender, and hood are workable but I'm going to try and find some rust free ones. They're not all that bad, but I don't like fixing rust if I don't have to.
The next step is to remove the bed. Once that's off I'll be removing the cab to fully assess the rust situation. I'm leaning towards just putting new floors, rockers, cab corners, and floor braces in. If I could find a nice rust free cab that wasn't a small fortune I'd replace the whole thing. But then again all nice cabs around here are 81-87 cabs, so I'd need to convert it back to a 73-80 and I don't feel like doing that.
Before the nose and cab go back on I'll be installing brand new pre bent brake lines, and painting the frame and suspension. The front end will get fully rebuilt also.
The next step is to remove the bed. Once that's off I'll be removing the cab to fully assess the rust situation. I'm leaning towards just putting new floors, rockers, cab corners, and floor braces in. If I could find a nice rust free cab that wasn't a small fortune I'd replace the whole thing. But then again all nice cabs around here are 81-87 cabs, so I'd need to convert it back to a 73-80 and I don't feel like doing that.
Before the nose and cab go back on I'll be installing brand new pre bent brake lines, and painting the frame and suspension. The front end will get fully rebuilt also.
