Long Time Lurker

[WamboJambo]

Hey all! I've been around for about a year and kept waiting until my truck reaches a "presentable" status to make an introduction post, but let's be real; that day will never come and I'd like to actually be a participating member of this great community.

So I bought a 1978 Chevy C10 about a year ago and have been lurking here ever since. It's the absolute base-model, as barebones as a truck can get. Regular cab, no A/C, power windows, or power brakes. 250 inline 6 with three-on-the-tree. And I love it. I've been doing small cosmetic fixes on it since I got it because this thing is rock solid, but I'm starting up a slightly bigger engine project so I'd like to get this out of the way so I can get to asking stupid questions (I promise I'll try to research beforehand!)

Here's a lot of pictures from the day I bought it:

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I know it's a rusty old POS, but it'll be good bodywork practice for my other project vehicle, and since I'm new to all this I need all the practice I can get. I'll reply with pictures as it is today.

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[WamboJambo]

And here are some pictures as it is today:

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[WamboJambo]

(also engine pic, but it's a work in progress)

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[AuroraGirl]

I think you over estimate HOW rusty these trucks can be. Yours is not a rusty pos! Its just patina.

Wanna see rusty?

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[WamboJambo]

Oof, yikes. Yeah, I remember your post about it being nice to have floorpans; I've still got those luckily! Good luck with that, better get sharp with a welder

 

[Shorty81]

I like it Wambo. Keep it original.

 

[WamboJambo]

I like it Wambo. Keep it original.

Against a lot of advice of people in this forum I decided to hack up the dash for a radio (not willing to drop big money on a retrofit with bluetooth and half the features), so I'm not doing a great job so far; definitely keeping the inline 6 though, it's interesting enough since not a lot of people have it

 

[Vbb199]

Looking good

 

[AuroraGirl]

Against a lot of advice of people in this forum I decided to hack up the dash for a radio (not willing to drop big money on a retrofit with bluetooth and half the features), so I'm not doing a great job so far; definitely keeping the inline 6 though, it's interesting enough since not a lot of people have it

Thank you for being alive. You may consider a 292 if you want to keep the inline but want power. I dont know much about the engine but Id imagine bore and stroke are the difference? I really WANT to put one into my truck.

And yes, I wish I had a floor pan.

 

[Vbb199]

Against a lot of advice of people in this forum I decided to hack up the dash for a radio (not willing to drop big money on a retrofit with bluetooth and half the features), so I'm not doing a great job so far; definitely keeping the inline 6 though, it's interesting enough since not a lot of people have it

Wish you wouldn't have.... I have a little 20$ Bluetooth device that allows me to keep my factory radio and listen to my tunes from my phone.

 

[Vbb199]

Auto zone.

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[WamboJambo]

I know, it hurt me to do it...but there was no radio whatsoever, so that would involve finding a factory radio and going ahead and wiring all that in just to keep the dash original, and I didn't think it was worth the effort. I've never intended for this to be a "restoration" project, this is more of a daily driver/work truck for me; saving the GTO for the "proper restoration". At this point, what's done is done. I definitely had an internal struggle for months though

 

[Vbb199]

I know, it hurt me to do it...but there was no radio whatsoever, so that would involve finding a factory radio and going ahead and wiring all that in just to keep the dash original, and I didn't think it was worth the effort. I've never intended for this to be a "restoration" project, this is more of a daily driver/work truck for me; saving the GTO for the "proper restoration". At this point, what's done is done. I definitely had an internal struggle for months though

Bleh. I'm just giving you ****.
It's a pet peeve of mine.
I will say in my 89 however, there's a pioneer that fits with no cutting.

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Nevermind it's crooked... Lol I didn't install that.

 

[WamboJambo]

Thank you for being alive. You may consider a 292 if you want to keep the inline but want power. I dont know much about the engine but Id imagine bore and stroke are the difference? I really WANT to put one into my truck.

And yes, I wish I had a floor pan.

From what I understand the 292 was actually a whole different block; I bought Leo Santucci's "Power Bible" or whatever and he differentiates them as "standard low deck" vs. "heavy duty tall deck". I definitely know that the motor mounts don't line up and that the deck is taller; uncertain if you could bore out a 250 to a 292, but I doubt it. The swap is totally doable from what I've read, just a huge drop in fuel economy.

They're cool engines though, leaves a crazy amount of space in the engine bay and is nice and torquey. I've been climbing right in and sitting on the wheelwell to install my headers and intake, it's pretty neat

 

[WamboJambo]

Oh and I forgot to mention when I posted the engine pic, but luckily despite it being a 1978 the previous owner appears to have already swapped out the integrated head or an older one, so that opened up a lot of avenues for modification without having to replace the whole head.