1969 GMC C10 – Doug J.

Finally Finished

I have a 69 GMC my grandpa and grandma bought new in 69 and my grandpa died in 71. My mom drove it when she was in high school and it was parked from around 1980 till the early 90s rusting away beside an old apple tree. As I was a child I drove that truck a million miles sitting right beside that tree making engine noises and dreaming. By the time I was 11 or so I was told I could have it so I started tinkering and spending yard mowing money trying to make it better learning as I went from books and magazines and stuff I learned from other people who occasionally helped me. By the time I was 16 it was mechanically sound enough to drive as I got my license even though the body was still pretty rough . I had a lot of fun cruising around in it with friends and burning rubber and they all knew how to get out and correct the linkage if I locked it up shifting between 1st and 2nd from shifting too fast with a wore out column shift as we were stuck in an intersection. Then by the time I had turned 20 life had set in . The truck set for another 20 years with not much going on except more and more rust. I just turned 42 and finally finished a total frame off restoration. I did all the work myself with the exception of the paint which was did by a great paint man and neighbor of mine. He painted each piece separate and I hauled it home a little at a time over a period of about a year and put it all back together using a lot of new parts and anything that was salvageable from the original. I’ve ended up with a truck that’s what I would have wanted it to be if I could have done it at 16 years old and with a lot of support from my wife putting up with all the late nights I spent in the garage it’s something I’m very proud of,and if my grandpa was still with us I think he’d be proud too.[lmc_story_gallery]