I’m documenting my 1976 Chevrolet K10 and plan to use this section to follow its eventual restoration. This is the starting point: what the records say, what is known about the truck today, and the questions still to answer.
The truck
A 1976 Chevrolet K10 4×4, long-box regular cab with a Fleetside bed. The Vintage Vehicle Services report identifies it as a Scottsdale Bonanza, built in Oshawa, Ontario.
Project stage: documentation and restoration planning. The truck’s arrival in Missouri is owner-confirmed. This page does not yet record a completed hands-on inspection or restoration work.
Documented factory configuration
The following details come from the two-page Vintage Vehicle Services report dated September 9, 2026. It is a modern archival report, not an original 1976 build sheet.
- Production and shipping: both March 5, 1976, at Oshawa, Ontario.
- Model: CK10903, 4WD half-ton long-box regular cab; E63 Fleetside.
- Engine: LF4, 400 cu. in. four-barrel V8, rated 175 hp in the report.
- Transmission: M38, three-speed automatic, explicitly identified as THM350.
- Rear axle ratio: GT4, 3.73.
- Paint and interior: 12 Frost White; 26E Blue Knit Vinyl Bench Seat.
- Trim and package: Z62 Scottsdale and YG8 Bonanza.
- Dealer named by the report: Dorsey Chevrolet Co., Tekoa, Washington.
These are the truck’s documented original specifications. The report does not establish whether the transmission or axles now installed are original, and its dealer field is not a surviving retail sales contract.
The VVS report lists PA1 deluxe wheel covers for this truck. We have not yet identified their exact original design. The later GM parts catalog includes PA1 applications for K10s, but that alone does not tell us which covers were fitted at Oshawa in March 1976.
What is known about the truck today
Owner-reported current condition: the truck has a non-original big-block engine. Its original 400 is missing. Numbers on the replacement engine cannot identify the missing original engine.
The present transmission, axle markings and other component details belong in a separate as-acquired condition record. Factory specifications will not be used as a substitute for photographing and identifying the parts actually on the truck.
History and the personal story
March 5, 1976: production and shipping date listed by Vintage Vehicle Services.
September 9, 2026: date of the Vintage Vehicle Services report identifying the truck and its original configuration.
Owner update, October 20, 2026 (CDT): the truck’s arrival in Missouri was confirmed by its owner. October 20 is the date of that update, not an established arrival date.
The ownership and family story will sit alongside this documentary timeline, with recollections identified as recollections and dated records identified by their source. It will remain separate from conclusions about factory equipment.
Spirit of ’76 research: the VVS report calls the truck Scottsdale Bonanza and does not explicitly identify a Spirit of ’76 package. That wording alone neither proves nor disproves a separate Spirit claim. The graphics, trim and package history remain a distinct evidence question.
As-acquired baseline and restoration plan
Proposed first step: preserve a dated record before changes are made. That baseline should cover the exterior, cab and interior, engine bay, visible identification marks, missing parts and known modifications, using existing photographs first.
Safety and condition findings, parts identification, preservation choices and restoration decisions can then be recorded as they are made. A planned task will be labelled as planned until the work is actually completed.
The final restoration scope, component choices and finish decisions are not recorded here as settled.
Project journal
October 20, 2026 · Documentation review completed
The retained VVS report was checked against both pages. The March 5 production and shipping dates, LF4 400, M38 THM350 and GT4 3.73 rear ratio were reconfirmed. This was a review of existing evidence, not a new factory discovery or a restoration milestone.
October 21, 2026 · Opening the parts crate
I opened the crate of parts in the back of the truck today. Inside are two stacks of plastic crates, boxes, wrapped items and several larger loose pieces. Other privately retained photos show wrapped pieces on the bench seat and small-parts organizers on the cab floor.
These photos add the crate and close cab views to the truck’s as-acquired record. The contents have not yet been fully identified in this record; the photographs alone do not establish fitment, completeness or originality.
The two crate views below are privacy-edited website copies, with shipping and order labels obscured. The cab photographs remain in the private project record.
Future entries will use the date the work occurred and distinguish inspection, research, planning and completed work. There are no completed restoration jobs recorded on this page yet.
Evidence and references
Vehicle-specific source: Vintage Vehicle Services Inc., report dated September 9, 2026, pages 1–2, retained privately. The original report images and ownership paperwork are not reproduced here.
Current engine status: owner-provided information, kept separate from the VVS report.
Related RareTruckInfo references: 1976 Canadian and Oshawa Trucks, 1976 Chevrolet Pickup Powertrain Guide, and How RareTruckInfo Research Works.