Background: How the project began...
 
.....Well, my story begins with this 1976 Chevrolet Scottsdale Stepside Truck that my Dad bought new in November of 1975. He bought it from the factory with a 350 V-8, and a 3 spd on the column. The truck came with the vinyl stripes factory. He added the cragar 'look-alike' wheels and the exhaust stacks, among other things. As i remember the truck, it was awesome. But, to my disappointment, the truck was sold in 1985: this picture, being the picture used in the ad to sell the truck. Ever since the truck was sold, I always said that I would one day replace it. Well, after selling an extremely fast sportbike, I decided that i was after a stepside of my own.
 

As the story goes on, I searched the internet for trucks all over the country when I came across this ad; of which the picture did the truck no justice at all. So, I ended up buying it: a 1975 Chevrolet Scottsdale Stepside. The truck was located in Lebanon, Kentucky and I am in Clarion, Pennsylvania; delivery would not be easy. After much consideration, my father and I decided to use his 1997 Kenworth hauling a 45' flatbed trailer to haul the truck home... and sure enough, 26 hours later, we had the truck home. While your riding in a truck for over 10 hours, you've got a lot of time to think about things. I arrived at something very ironic: my father bought his '76 stepside a month before his 21st birthday and I also bought my stepside one month before my 21st birthday... hmmmm... just makes you think.
Well, here's a picture of the truck after I got it home and unloaded. The truck is very solid and really did not need anything at all. The body and frame are vitually rust-free, except for a couple isolated places. All the pictures on this page show the truck in the form that I brought it home from Kentucky.
Truck Exterior
The stacks on the truck are 4" in diameter and are held on with clamps on the bottom, as well as at the side of the bed. The truck also has various exterior lighting; such as cab lights, running board lights, and extra brake lights underneath the tail gate. The factory lights in the stepside fenders have been removed and filled in.
The wheels on the truck are vintage american racing wheels, 15x10". Tires all around are 275x60x15's.
From behind, you can see that the orignial rear bumper has been replaced with a diamond-plate bumper that has been terribly mangled in some way or another. Futhermore, the tail-lights are from a 1980 or newer chevy truck (and are forsale, email me), and the tailgate chains have been replaced. Also, for some odd reason, the rear window has been only tinted on 3/4 of the glass...
On the front of the truck, you'll find a set of fog lites that are wired into the low beams and of course, the 'Mack truck' bulldog hood ornament. The factory grill has also been replaced with an aftermarket.
Here's a shot of the bed inside. The planks have been replaced with pine boards and the strips between them are the stock metal ones, that are suffering from rust. The toneau cover is totally custom and uses two wood bows to support it.
 
Truck Interior
Inside, the truck has been fitted with aftermarket carpet, as well as a custom headliner: both of which were not part of the Scottsdale package. On the column, you'll find a Grant GT aftermarket steering wheel, as well as an autogauge tachometer. The door panels have been replaced as well.
The man who 'restored' the truck previously (not the guy i bought it from), decided to remove the four small stock gauges and replace them with three aftermarket gauges. The dash has also been recovered.
 
Under the Hood
Under the hood is a heavily built 350 ci. small block chevrolet engine. It has a set of hooker competition headers, a holley intake, a holley electric fuel pump, edelbrock performance series four bbl carb., and edelbrock elite series valve covers and air cleaner. I've been told that the engine has been rebuilt with all performance parts, and by how it runs, i do not doubt this.
A majority of the hoses have been covered with some sort of kit that did not turn out well. The ignition system has been upgraded, but i have yet to investigate exactly what it has been upgraded to. In my restoration project, i don't plan on rebuilding the engine at all; just changing it cosmetically. This powerplant is backed up by an automatic transmission.