I think it would be safe to say that most of us reading this who have a classic truck have a truck that's considered a daily driver. Sure there are the restos and high-dollar custom builds, but honest old trucks still probably outnumber the "nice" ones, right? My '72 C-10 is definitely a daily driver both in its mechanical state (a good thing) and in the looks department (a bad thing). Even though it's been the guinea pig for plenty of tech articles here and is actually almost "done," the exterior still looks like it could be a yard workers truck! Despite all the suspension, brakes, and drivetrain stuff I've done to it, its expanded foam/Bondo filled (really) rust holes are still covered in spotty white rattle can primer, which looks great with a wadded up rear bumper, broken grille, andfaded/oversprayed/cracked marker lenses ... not.
Well, I finally got sick enough of the truck's fresh from the junkyard look that I bought a few items from Brothers Truck Parts to make it look like it isn't waiting to be hauled off for a tax deduction. I didn't want to even start getting crazy with body and paint yet (even though I should) since I'm trying to finish the Bumpside, but since the LS swap I have been driving the truck quite a bit and wanted to be a little more proud of what's on the outside to go along with all my other hard work inside/beneath. So, a new grille, grille surround, headlight bezels, marker lights all around, taillight lenses, bumpers, and necessary hardware were ordered, and I set aside a weekend to tackle the small exterior beautification project. I also added a passenger front fender and inner fender to the list since now would be a great time to replace these items with the all too common battery-side rot.
Most of the items on the list are really easy to replace like marker lights. Two screws and twist the lightbulb back into place and voilà! I did, however, opt to go for the Cheyenne-style deluxe side marker lights to add a bit of class to my plain Jane. Just be sure to order new screws and such if yours are crusty. The hardest part was probably fitting the new grille inner to the new grille surround. Not because it was that hard, but because it should almost be a two-person job because of the size of the grille. That and just taking the time to line up all the rivet holes in the grille with the ones on the stock brackets takes a little bit of patience. Also, some trimming on the inside of the grille surround at the fenders might be required to avoid paint scratches, but it seems like it might vary truck to truck. The bumpers went on without a hitch (Brothers has those too!), which included new brackets and gravel pans in the rear as well as the license plate box and lamp. The new bumpers made a big difference in the "wow" department for sure.
Here are the parts we'll be using in the exterior makeover. We have a fender, inner fender, grille surround, grille inner, front and rear bumpers, and marker lights all the way around. Most all of these parts are simple remove and replace items, which makes for a big change in little time.
Had I not replaced the fender and inner fender the rest of this stuff could have been done in a day, but I had to add some rattle can white primer to the fender, which led to touching up a bunch of other areas on the truck and spread into another day of working on it. By Sunday afternoon the truck was ready to roll-in style. Summer is here. Don't put something like this off any longer; it's so simple and produces great results!
