Updates and Stuff
 

It's been a productive week. The spring weather has been hit and miss, but it's been warm enough to knock out a few small projects on the C10.

Wheels and Tires
When I bought the truck last summer, it came with 12 year old dry rotting tires and steel wheels that had visible rust and were painted red. Replacing the tires gave me the opportunity to do something about the rust and the poor paint job. I put the truck on jack stands in the drive way a couple of weeks ago and had the old tires dismounted.

Then, I spent a week's worth of evenings stripping paint and rust. What a mess. Once the wheels were cleaned up, I shot them with high-build primer to help with the minor rust pitting. After a little sanding, I shot them with Rustoleum Steel wheel paint. The paint isn't perfect, but it fits the truck MUCH better than the old red color. There was more metal flake in the paint than I expected, but it looks pretty darn good.

While the paint was curing, I turned my attention to the baby moon hubcaps. They had some minor scratches and some spots of surface rust. I soaked them in CLR for five minutes and they cleaned up quite nicely. I gave them a couple of coats of spray wax in hopes of keeping the rust away for a while. Then, I applied a set of inexpensive CHEVROLET decals that makes them look like '47-'53 caps. Someday, I might spring for new wheels and proper '47-'53 caps. But, for now, they dress things up nicely.

With the wheels sorted, I ordered up a set of Mastercraft Stratus HT All-Season tires in 255/70/R16 and had them mounted by a local tire shop. The Mastercrafts are cheap, but they look the part and they ride nicer than the old all-terrains.

Bucket Seat Adjustment
I recently installed a set of ProCar low-back bucket seats, but they didn't "sit" quite right. I compared them to the modern buckets in my daily driver pickup and realized that the ProCars where sitting too flat. The front of the seats needed to be raised. Luckily, it was an easy fix. The ProCar slider/mounts have three mounting holes, at different heights. I had the foresight to mount them in the lowest holes. So, raising the front of each seat was as simple as removing the front bolts, lifting the seat front and rebolting using the highest holes. Now they sit at roughly the same angle as my daily driver. Much more comfortable now.

Temporary Center Console
With the bucket seats sorted, I wanted to do something with the space between the seats. I wanted some sort of storage console to corral small items and a couple of cup holders for the morning coffee. I went out to the woodshop and knocked together a console. Then, I blatantly stole an idea from the great minds here on the forum and welded up a set of exhaust pipe cup holders. I don't know who originated this idea, but it's genius!

the console isn't quite finished yet. I plan to install a cell phone charging pad in the recess in the console lid. Then, I'll give the whole thing a coat of paint to make it look a little nicer than raw MDF and steel. Someday, once the fuel tank has been relocated out of the cab and the speakers are moved behind the seats, I'll build more permanent console that extends back to the rear wall of the cab. Until the, this will keep my garbage from rolling around on the floor of the cab.

Alternator
Long time readers will know that I replaced the alternator a couple of months after I bought the truck. The replacement came from our local O'Reilly's. Luckily, it included a lifetime warranty, because this weekend, it stopped charging and left me stranded at a gas station. After a quick jumpstart, I headed back home.

O'Reilly's replaced the alternator, no questions asked, and it was an easy repair. The truck is back on the road and appears to be charging normally again. No harm done and only an afternoon lost.

Door Seals
I replaced the door seals last fall, but I wasn't happy with the way they fit. The doors were VERY hard to close, even after adjusting the striker and hinges. After a bit of reading here on the forum, I learned that this is a common problem with reproduction door seals. Some smart forum contributor found an elegant solution.

Apparently, Honda makes a set of door seals for a 2006-2001 Civic that fit these old trucks almost perfectly. And, they are more pliable than the reproductions. They're not cheap, but they were easy to install, they seal well, and the doors as much easier to close. It turns out that Honda makes pretty nice old truck parts. ;)

Here are the Honda part numbers for the seals I used:

Left: 72355-SVA-A01ZA
Right: 72315-SVA-A01ZA

Headlight adjustment
When I bought the truck, it came with a set of old replacement headlight bulbs. One the high beams was burned out, so I used that as an excuse to upgrade the headlight wiring harness and install as set of halogen replacement bulbs. The new bulbs were better, but something still wasn't quite right. At night, the dims were pretty good, but the high beams were almost nonexistent. Onc night, driving outside of town, I figured it out. The headlights had been adjusted so high that the dims were where the high beams should be and the high beams were lighting up the treetops!

So, on Friday night, I drove the truck out to my parents place where I could shine the lights on the side of a large machine shed. I parked it next to my Dad's late model pickup for comparison. Whoa! These things were all messed up. Not only were the lights aimed at head level, but the passenger side was about three feet higher than the driver side. With both sides adjusted to match Dad's pickup, nighttime visibility is much improved.

More Carb Tuning
Frequent readers will know that the truck came to me with a poorly tuned Holley carb that has caused me much consternation. Last fall, I got it tuned well enough that it would run reliably and the exhaust fumes wouldn't burn your eyes. But, there was still an annoying stumble at partial throttle, pretty much every time I shifted gears.

Over the winter, I did some reading and formulated a plan of attack. Theorizing that I was dealing with a lean condition caused by a stingy power valve, I ordered a Holley 8.5 replacement power valve. The old power valve was a 4.5. The engine pulls almost 16" of vacuum at idle. Based on that, the 4.5 power valve was opening way too late when the throttle opens, thus causing the engine to faceplant on acceleration.

With the new 8.5 power valve installed, the throttle is much cleaner, but under heavy acceleration, there is still a slight hesitation. That leads me to believe that the primary jets are a bit too small. The carburetor came to me with #66 jets. I have a set of #68 jets on the way. Hopefully that will clean up the hesitation without overrichening the mixture. Fingers crossed....

Re: 1965 C10 LWB Project Build Thread
 

The steelie rims look great. I have a set of K truck ralleys, but I am starting to like the steelies and caps more and more. I have a while before they go on my truck to decide, but yours look great.

Re: 1965 C10 LWB Project Build Thread
 

Thanks Bruno! I can't identify them for certain, but I think they are an old set of US Wheel Series 51 "Smoothie" wheels. They are 16" x 8" 6-lugs.

John

Carburetor Conquered and Electrical Upgrades
 

That Danged Carburetor
So, I think I finally found a solution for the cantankerous Holley carb. I threw it out the window! That's right, I finally gave up fighting the Holley and replaced it with an Edelbrock.

If you've been following along from the beginning, I'm sure you're sick of hearing about my feeble attempts to tune the Holley 600 that came with the truck. In my last update, I mentioned that I had new #68 primary jets ordered. I installed the new jets along with a new 6.5 power valve. That finally fixed the lean stumble... For about two days... It ran beautifully for just over a hundred miles. Then, the engine started surging violently at light throttle and it died completely at idle. I'm pretty sure all of my tinkering dislodged some crud and fouled the idle circuit somewhere. I'm certain that a rebuild would put back right, but I was out of patience with the Holley. Really Holley, it's not you, it's me. It's just not going work out between us.

So, mysteriously, a brand new Edelbrock AVS2 650 arrived in the garage and found its way under the hood of the C10. I'm sure the Holley could be fixed, but it was time to try something new. I pulled the new Edelbrock from the box and plopped it on the intake. And, guess what, the engine ran perfectly. Well OK, not perfectly, but pretty darned close. The engine started, idled, and ran very well. I set the idle speed, adjusted the idle mixture a bit, and set the fast idle choke speed. Done. That's it. No more tuning needed. The engine idles smooth, pulls hard through the gears, and clearly has better low end torque. Thanks Vic!

While I was at it, I installed a 1" phenolic spacer to help with the hot fuel evaporation. When the engine is hot, it still takes a bit to refill the bowls, but it's definitely better than it was before, without the spacer.

There might be a slightly used Holley 600 available on eBay soon. It would be a perfect rebuild candidate for someone who knows more about tuning Holley's than I do. It really is a nice carb. It's just beyond my know-how and patience.

Electrical Fixes - Alternator, Ignition Switch, and Starter
I mentioned in my last update that I replaced the alternator. The new one seemed to be charging OK, but occasionally, I had trouble with a "dead battery". After driving and parking, the truck wouldn't restart. Click. Just click. Then, one day, I noticed that if I tried the key a few times, it would eventually start. The battery clearly wasn't dead. I just wasn't getting reliable voltage to the starter solenoid.

I suspected the problem might be the ignition switch, because of some electrical hackery by the previous owner. So, I installed a new switch. While I was at it, I replaced the ignition lock cylinder. The old one wasn't the original style anyway. Everything worked OK for a couple of weeks, then click returned.

Then, I had an epiphany. About a year ago, I replaced the starter because the PO had overtightened both the battery cable lug and the ignition wire lug and cracked the housing. Being paranoid about cracking the new starter housing, I purposely did not overtighten the lugs. That is to say, I undertightened the lugs. They weren't lose, exactly, but they weren't tight either. I gave both lugs a bit more snugging and the mystery click seems to be solved. Time will tell.

Electrical Fixes - Tail Lights and Marker Lights
When I first bought the truck, I had a flaky tail light. I thought I had if fixed with a new light bulb, but it's always been dimmer (not as bright) as the other tail light. It dawned on me the the other day that not only was the tail light dim, but so was the brake light. That told me that problem was something that impacts the whole socket, not just one circuit. The problem turned out to be a sketchy ground. The original light bucket was rusty and the light socket was corroded. I little emory cloth got things shined up. It's working well now, but the bucket and trim ring are both pretty banged up. So, I ordered a new set of tail light housings, light sockets, and new lenses. When those arrive, I'll go through the wiring and add new dedicated ground wires to both tail light housings.

Speaking of dim lights, one of my front marker lights (the right one) has always been dimmer than the other one. A few months ago, I connected the brown tail light wire to the purple wire for the front running lights. This turns the front running lights on, even with the head lights on. The problem was, at the same time, I lost the right turn signals when the headlights were on. Since I was messing around with the tail lights, I decided to dig into the front marker problem too.

If you are familiar with the wiring of the front marker lights, you've probably already guessed what was going on. Someone, in the past replaced the light socket on the left front marker light. They reversed the two wires (marker light and turn signal). The dim right light was wired correctly. The running light function is supposed to be dim. Then, when you turn on the turn signal, it flashes MUCH brighter. Because the wires on the left light were reversed, the bright circuit was lit at the wrong time. When I connected the brown wire, I made things worse by causing a short between the running light circuit and the turn signal circuit.

Once I corrected the wiring, everything started working. The running lights come on with the tail lights and both turn signals work, with and without the headlights.


Electrical Upgrades - Auxiliary Fuse Block, Cell Phone Charger, and Courtesy Lights
When I installed the bucket seats and built the console, I added an inductive cell phone charger on the console lid, but I never connected the power. I was a little leery of adding one more current draw to the ignition switch. So, I added an auxiliary fuse panel next to the factory replacement fuse panel installed by the previous owner. The factory replacement panel didn't have any unused keyed circuits, but it did have an unused keyed tap. I used that tap to feed the new panel. Now, I have fused circuits for the keyed accessories I've added in the cab, like the stereo, the tach, and the new inductive cell phone charger. And, I have three more unused fused circuits for future toys. If I add any high-draw accessories, I will use the keyed tap to switch a dedicated relay to power the auxiliary fuse panel.

Next on my list was a feature we take for granted in our modern daily drivers. This truck had no interior courtesy lights. The only interior light was the dome light, powered by the rotating headlight switch. It was terribly inconvenient at night. Sometimes, it was down right dangerous. Luckily, LMC sells a simple set of door plunger switches and under-dash courtesy lights. Wiring them up was tedious, but simpler than I expected.

Basically, here's how if works. You install the plunger switches in the door jambs. Next, you tie the plunger switches, the black ground wire from each of the new courtesy lights, and the ground wire to the dome light circuit all together. Then, you tie the white power wire from each of the new courtesy lights and the power wire from the dome light circuit all together. Now, when either of the doors is opened, the plunger switch grounds the whole circuit and the dome light and the new courtesy lights all come on. And, if the doors are closed and you rotate the headlight switch all the way to the dome light function, the dome light and the new courtesy lights all come on. It's downright futuristic! I can't recommend this upgrade enough. It's really nice to be able to see to get in and out of the cab at night.

What's next?
When the new tail lights arrive, I'll get them installed.

I'm also going to replace the cooling system thermostat with a 160 degree unit and add a fan shroud. The engine doesn't really get hot, but it hovers around 190 on hot days. I'd like to see that come down a few more degrees.

Re: 1965 C10 LWB Project Build Thread
 

You've done a lot, I had to smile a little at the carburetor story, an Edelbrock is really easier there.
Your cabin is a jewel.

Re: 1965 C10 LWB Project Build Thread
 

Nice updates.

Re: 1965 C10 LWB Project Build Thread
 

Thanks Harald! I've enjoyed watching your truck come together. Your work is an inspiration.

John

Re: 1965 C10 LWB Project Build Thread
 

Thanks Scoti. I have a long way to go on the truck. For now, I'm trying to make it a bit more drivable while I chip away at the bigger picture projects. It's cruise season and I plan to enjoy the truck as much as I can.

John

Re: 1965 C10 LWB Project Build Thread
 

I feel your approach keeps things 'simple'. Far too many people tackle multiple objectives @ once that might take a vehicle out of service. Next thing you know the timing has them missing events they could have participated in.

The sound logical approach to things seems to work well. Nobody eats an elephant in one sitting.

More Shiny Things
 

Since we have family in town for Independence Day, I only had one day to play in the garage over the weekend. I didn't want to start any major projects, so I took advantage of the free day to add some more shiny stuff to the truck.

Chrome Rear Sport Bumper
I'm not 100% sure what kind of bumper the truck came with originally, but sometime shortly after it was purchased (judging by the original paint color behind the bumper), someone installed an inexpensive steel work bumper. It's similar to the heavy towing bumpers you see on farm trucks, but it's not as heavy. The bumper wasn't factory installed and I don't think it was a dealer install either. It wasn't bolted on. Instead, it was welded (and I use that term loosely) to the frame using chunks of bar stock. If the truck had ever been hit from behind, the bumper almost certainly would have come lose and destroyed the rear of the bed. Credit where credit is due, at least it was mounted straight and it fit the truck reasonably well.

Being tired of the monochome blacked out bumper, I ordered up a chrome sport bumper from LMC. It matches the front bumper I installed last fall.

The bumper installation was pretty straight forward. However, there was a problem with the brackets. They bolted to the bumper OK and they bolted to the truck frame OK. But, they positioned the new bumper way too close to the rear of the truck, like actually touching the rear quarter panels. So, I slotted the mounting holes in the brackets. That allowed the bumper to slide backward about 1/2". I think this is a bit lower (because of the downward angle of the brackets) than intended, but I like the way it fits. It hangs about 3/8" below the rear corners of the quarter panels. It's just low to provide some modest protection to the sheet metal.

License Plate Mount
I considered ordering a factory style license plate mount, but I really don't like the way they hang off the top of the bumper. So, I opted to body mount the license plate just below the tailgate. This allowed space for a chrome plate frame without crowding the tailgate. I'll come back later and add a license plate light below the bumper, shining up at the plate.

New Taillights
The original taillights were in decent condition, considering they are almost 60 years old. But, as I mentioned in my last update, they had some functional issues and the housings were a bit dinged up. So, my LMC order included new taillight kits for both sides. If you haven't replaced your taillights yet, I highly recommend it. The installation was quick and easy. And, the new lights look and work fantastic.

The new shiny parts completely transformed the rear of the truck. It looks more like street cruiser now and less like an old work truck. Two enthusiastic thumbs up! Before and After pictures included below.

New Thermostat
I mentioned in my last update that the engine runs a bit hotter than I would like. Late last week, I spent an evening changing out the thermostat. I speculated that the truck had a 194 degree thermostat installed. In reality, it was a 180 degree unit. I installed a 160 degree replacement and went for a drive. The temperature never budged over 170 degrees. I won't celebrate until I get a chance to test it out on a 90+ degree day, but so far, I'm optimistic. I also have a Speedway Motor's DIY fan shroud kit to install. That should help keep things cool too. More to come on this one.

What's Next?
This week's LMC order included a few more shiny bits. I have a new rear view mirror to replace the rusty original. And, I have a set of reverse lights. The truck was ordered as cheaply as possible. The original owner didn't spring for reverse lights. I will consider this a modernization/safety upgrade. I also have the fan shroud kit that I mentioned above. That installation will take some fiddling, but I think it will be worth it.

Re: 1965 C10 LWB Project Build Thread
 

Definite improvement in my opinion.

Re: 1965 C10 LWB Project Build Thread
 

Shiny makes everything better, even a truck with flat paint. ;)

Re: 1965 C10 LWB Project Build Thread
 

Nothing wrong w/that paint option when you still get to enjoy the truck. That's what makes classic trucks so great. Shiny & slick or worn w/bruises... They're still cool & functional.

Re: 1965 C10 LWB Project Build Thread
 

It looks great, the new tail light is fantastic.

Re: 1965 C10 LWB Project Build Thread
 

Thanks Harald!

Independence Day Tinkering
 

Since I had Independence Day off from work, I spent some time tinkering in the garage.

Rear View Mirror
My latest LMC order included a new rear view mirror. The original was definitely showing its age. The mirror surface was starting to lose it's reflective backing and turning black. And, the outside of the mirror housing was pitted and rusting. Installing the mirror was simple and the new mirror looks great. My only concern is the size/shape of the mirror. The new mirror is an elongated oval shape. The original (I assume it was original) was a little bit wider and the bottom corners were pointed. So, the new mirror is a little bit smaller. Not a big deal, but someday, I may try to find a wider replacement.

Rear License Plate Light
This was a continuation of the rear bumper makeover from the weekend. I picked up a chrome LED license Plate light at O'Reilly and fabbed up a little bracket to mount the light on the bottom of the license plate frame. It does a great job of lighting up the license plate. The wiring was simple. The new driver side taillight I installed over the weekend included a pigtail (brown taillight light wire) specifically for the license plate light. It was simply a matter of tying one of the license plate light wires to the brown pigtail and grounding the other wire to the frame. As far as I can tell, this is the first time the truck has ever had a license plate light. Legal, at last!

What's Next?
I have a DIY fan shroud kit from Speedway Motors. It's been hot this summer. I've never seen the engine temp over 200, but a little extra cooling help couldn't hurt.

That last LMC order included a set of backup lights. The truck didn't come from the factory with this option. So, I'll have to cut big holes in the rear quarter panels. That part will take some courage.

And, I think I'm almost ready for a new exhaust system. The truck came with a set of old rust headers. The PO also included a set of chrome ram horn manifolds. I think I'm finally ready to ditch the headers, install the manifolds, and take the truck to an exhaust shop for new pipes. That will be a fun day.

Fan Shroud Installation
 

New Thermostat Housing
A couple of updates ago, I mentioned that I installed a new thermostat. That installation exposed a weakness in the thermostat housing/water neck. The old housing was cast aluminum and had obviously been on the engine for a long while. The sealing surface was no longer flat and had a bit of corrosion. My attempts at resealing the housing were unsuccessful. The solution was easy. I tossed the old housing in the trash and installed a shiny new chrome housing that utilizes an o-ring seal. Problem solved.

Fan Shroud
I mentioned in my last update that ordered a Speedway Motors DIY aluminum fan shroud kit. I believe the kit is actually made by Northern Radiator. Installing this kit turned out to be a much bigger project than I expected. I knew there would be some assembly and fabrication involved, but I severely underestimated what it would take to make this shroud work with the C10. If you are in the market for a custom fan shroud, buckle up and read on. This is going to be a long one...

I chose the Speedway Motors kit because of its universality. Originally, I wanted to use a factory-style fan shroud, but there isn't much factory-style equipment left under the hood. The engine isn't factory and the radiator isn't factory. So, a universal shroud was really the only choice. The radiator in the truck is a bit of a mystery. The radiator core appears to match the dimensions of the factory V8 radiator, but whoever installed it had to notch both frame rails to make room for the width of the bottom tank. I suspect the radiator is a replacement radiator for a later '67-'72 C10. Also, I'm missing the side baffle plates that the original fan shroud would have mounted to. I suspect they were removed when the wider radiator was installed. That left pretty much nothing for the new shroud to mount to. Speedway Motors sells these kits in several sizes. I chose the size that was closest to the size of the radiator. It fits the height of the radiator well, but it is about 4" narrower than the radiator core (about 6" narrower than the radiator tanks). The kit comes with two primary pieces, a large rectangular pan and an extension ring.

I began the installation by fabricating new side baffles. I used some 20ga sheet steel that I had on hand. Heavier steel would have been better, but more difficult to bend without a brake (maybe someday). I mounted the baffles to the core support using the factory mounting holes. I extended the baffles around the front of the radiator about 4" on each side. I used these "wings" as mounting points for the new shroud. To help stabilize the thin metal baffles, I welded ribs, made of bar stock, to the inside near the top and bottom.

With the baffles in place, I removed the cooling fan and temporarily mounted the rectangular pan. I marked the center point of the water pump pulley on the shroud. Then, I dismounted the shroud and cut out a circle large enough to clear the fan blades. The challenge was that the fan blades were larger than surface of the pan. The pan is about 18 tall and about 22" wide. The last two inches of each side are angled (flared) toward the radiator. That gives you an approximately 18" x 18" face to work with. In order to accommodate the 19" diameter fan blades, the circular cutout (about 20" diameter) extended beyond all four sides of the pan. It was just as ugly as you can imagine. I prettied it up later on.

The next step was to add the extension ring to the face of the pan. The pan is 2 5/8" deep. The 3" The extension ring is intended to be mounted to the face of the pan, extending the depth of the shroud to 5 5/8" inches. That was more depth than I needed. So, I recessed the ring about 3/4" into the surface of the pan. This served three purposes. One, it made the shroud shallower. Two, the structure of the pan helped to keep the extension ring round and significantly stiffened the ring. Three, it helped to visually "integrate" the two pieces together. Instead of looking like two pieces cobbled together, they now look like they were meant to fit together.

Once the two pieces were joined, I removed the baffles, gave them a coat of flat black paint, and reassembled the whole thing in the engine bay.

The part that I didn't expect was the fiddling time involved. It took A LOT of test fitting, cutting, bending, adjusting, and cursing to get everything to work together. I lost track of how many times I removed and reinstalled the baffles, the pan, the extension ring, and the fan. All told, I have about 30 (not a typo) hours of garage time into this silly fan shroud.

On the plus side, I like the way it turned out and it seems to do its job. I took the truck for a test drive. Out on the open road, the temperature never climbed over 170 degrees. Around town, it never climbed over 180 degrees, even sitting still in traffic. I will keep an eye on the temperature on the next 90+ degree day to verify the results.

What's Next?
I need to get the truck ready to go to the exhaust shop, hopefully in the next couple of weeks.

I have a fuel pressure regulator that needs to be installed. The fuel pressure provided by the mechanical fuel pump is just on the high side of the recommended pressure for the Edelbrock carburetor. The regulator will keep me in the safe zone and prevent the needle valve from getting overpowered.

The backup lights can wait for a rainy day. Besides, I'm still building up the courage to drill those giant holes in the back of the quarter panels anyway.

Re: Fan Shroud Installation
 

Allow me to help solve your mystery radiator. The previous owner of your truck did the same garbage that the previous owner of my truck did. Hacked the frame rails to fit the 63-66 v8 radiator into the inline 6 location. You currently have a inline 6 upper radiator mount that has been bent up to make the v8 radiator fit.

The inline 6 radiator sat between the frame rails and had some shrouding between the radiator and the core support. There was no fan shroud since the fan was basically next to the radiator.

The v8 radiator, and optional heavy duty radiator for the inline 6s sat on top of the frame rail up against the core support. The v8s used a short water pump and shroud with the side baffles to mount the shroud.

You shouldn't have a problem with what you came up with, so I wouldn't worry about trying to change things unless you just wanted to make it look more original again.

Re: Fan Shroud Installation
 

Very interesting. Thanks for the information. So, the V8 radiator actually sat higher in the truck and used different mounts? That would explain why the current mounts fit so poorly.

Re: Fan Shroud Installation
 

Yup, it sure did. I put mine in the correct v8 spot. Eventually I'll get around to repairing the frame rails

Re: 1965 C10 LWB Project Build Thread
 

My plan for a new exhaust system escalated quickly!

When I bought the truck, it had an old rusty set of headers. I hate headers, especially old rusty ones. Luckily, the PO included a set of chrome ram-horn style exhaust manifolds. They were brand new, in the box. He bought them for another project and never got them installed. Long-term, I planned to replace the headers with the ram-horns and take it to my favorite local exhaust shop for a proper dual exhaust system. Short-term, I hacked off the obnoxiously loud 3" FlowMasters and welded on a pair of quieter 2 1/4" mufflers and a pair of turn-downs just behind the cab. That was much better, but the mufflers hung too low and the exits where too close to the cab for my liking. The temporary exhaust got me by for a season, but it was time for something better.

I mentioned in my last update that I was hoping to address the exhaust system in the next couple of weeks. On Tuesday, I called the exhaust shop to setup a appoint for sometime next week. That would give the whole weekend to remove the headers and install the new manifolds. The conversation with the cool custom exhaust guy went something like this.

Cool Exhaust Guy: "How about tomorrow?"
Me: "Wait, what? Tomorrow? Umm, I don't think I can be ready that soon."
Cool Exhaust Guy: "OK, how about Thursday?"
Me: "Umm, that might work. Let's try for Thursday."

I absolutely wasn't ready for that conversation. There's no way I could be ready over night, but I was cautiously optimistic I could get it done with a couple of evenings of work. I wasn't sure it was really doable, but I wasn't going to pass up a chance to get the exhaust done sooner rather than later.

As soon as I got home from work on Tuesday night, I headed straight for the garage. I started by trying to remove the headers. Before I committed to this whole thing, I wanted to make sure the rusty header bolts would budge and, if they did budge, I wanted to make sure they wouldn't just snap off in the heads. This was my biggest fear. The PO's lack of follow-through actually worked in my favor this time. When he installed the headers, he didn't bother to tighten the bolts. Some of them were literally only finger tight. To my surprise and great relief, I had the headers unbolted in less than 10 minutes. Next, I used a reciprocating saw to slice apart the temporary exhaust. So far, so good...

It was time to pull the rusty old headers out of the engine bay. There's not way this part was going to go smoothly. Not a chance. After all, the headers where intended for a gen 1 Camaro, not a gen 1 C10. The passenger side header dropped out through the bottom without much fanfare. But, the driver side header couldn't go up without removing the brake master cylinder and couldn't go down without removing the clutch linkage. Either way, I was opening a can of worms. I flipped a coin and removed the clutch linkage. This turned out to be a good thing considering the lousy condition the linkage was in. With the linkage out of the way, the header finally gave up and exited the truck for good.

What I didn't mention before now is that I've never worked on a clutch before. I've always worked with automatic transmissions, so I had no idea what I was doing. Time to learn something new! The clutch linkage went back together OK, but the clutch pedal just flopped around. There was zero tension. Upon further examination, I discovered that the PO didn't bother to tighten the adjuster nuts on the clutch push rod. <start of rant> I'm beginning to think that maybe he didn't own any wrenches. If he did own wrenches, he was too lazy to actually, you know, turn them! The only thing holding the push rod in adjustment was the rust on the adjustment threads. I'm lucky this thing hasn't left me on the side of the road stuck in gear. <end of rant> Once I cleaned up the rusty threads and tightened the adjuster nuts, the clutch started clutching again.

Meanwhile, back on the exhaust project, I pulled the shiny new ram-horns from the box and threw them on the engine. That all went well. The manifolds came with new shiny chrome hardware and even included the necessary exhaust gaskets. It really is nice to work with quality parts. Once I got the new manifolds installed, I realized that the spark plug wires were too short and were laying directly on the manifolds. That was OK. I was ready for bed anyway. It was midnight and I had work the next morning. The plug wires could wait.

I did a bit of quick research before work on Wednesday and found some references to a set of plug wires that were made for an HEI distributor and were long enough to route down behind the engine and under the ram-horns, just like the factory used to do it. AND, my local O'Reilly's just happen to have a set of them on the shelf. This is all MUCH better than my usual luck. The plug wires are OmniSpark part number 9373. Just tell the guy at the counter that you need plug wires for a 1975 Corvette. No kidding, it has to be a Corvette. The rest of the 1975 small block line came with points instead of HEI.

After work, I installed the new plug wires and they fit much better than I expected. I wish I had the 1975 Corvette plug wire looms, but a few judicious zip ties should keep the wires corralled away from the new exhaust. I got the truck running (VERY LOUDLY) and loaded on the trailer just as the sun disappeared for the night.

First thing this morning, I dropped the truck off at the exhaust shop. The shop owner was happy to be working on a classic truck. I'm sure he gets tired of replacing rusted out mufflers on late model commuter vehicles. With any luck, I'll be able to pick it up by noon tomorrow. All of this happened so quickly that I didn't get any pictures of the shiny new manifolds or the freshly hidden plug wires. I'll add some pictures after I get the truck back home in the garage. But, I can tell you that the engine bay already looks much better. No more rusty headers and rats nest of tangled plug wires.

More coming soon...

New Dual Exhaust System Complete!
 

And, now we have pictures!

The exhaust shop delivered on their promise. I picked the C10 up, complete with its new exhaust system, this morning. I'm very happy with the results. As I expected, the shop did an excellent job. The new pipes are tucked up as close to the frame as they can get. And, the new mufflers are tucked neatly up under bed, in front of the rear end. The pipes terminate with tasteful chrome tips flush with the rear bumper. From the rear, it looks 100% hotrod. The sound is throaty, without being obnoxiously loud. I definitely like these mufflers.

I'm also including some pictures of the engine bay that show the new ram-horn manifolds and the absence of plug wires. Now, I have space to do some more engine bay clean up. New chrome bits (valve covers and air cleaner) coming soon.

Re: 1965 C10 LWB Project Build Thread
 

Looks like a clean install from this perspective.

Re: 1965 C10 LWB Project Build Thread
 

Thanks Scoti. Perspective is hard to capture under a vehicle. It's really difficult to take undercarriage pictures without a lift. They did a really good job with the installation. The pipes are almost perfectly symmetrical and they go to great pains to avoid unnecessary joints and welds.

Happy Birthday C10!
 

OK, it's not really my C10's birthday. The truth is, I have no idea what day my C10 rolled off the assembly line. But, it is my 1st anniversary with the truck.

One year ago today, I drove down to Missouri and brought back the '65 C10. Over the past year, I've done quite a bit of work to the truck. And, more importantly, the truck has given me a lot of enjoyment. The truck gives me something positive to daydream about and it gives me a good reason to be productive in the garage after work and on weekends. These old machines are memory makers.

So, here's to old trucks! Happy birthday C10!

Backup Lights & Camera
 

I've been on the road, away from the garage for a couple of weeks. But, before I left town, I had a weekend tackle a couple of fun (and functional) projects.

Backup Lights & Camera
This project is both fun and functional. The truck left the factory as a base model, with almost no options. The original owner didn't bother to pay for frills, like backup lights. So, I ordered a set of repo backup lights from LMC. The installation wasn't too difficult. By far the hardest part was working up the courage to drill the giant holes in the factory quarter panels. The wiring was tedious, but not difficult. I added a new circuit to the auxiliary fuse block I installed earlier this summer. The Saginaw 4-speed transmission had a faulty backup switch. After replacing the switch, the backup lights came to life. The new lights are a welcome safety improvement and they look pretty sharp too.

While I was wiring up the new backup lights, I took the opportunity to add a modern convenience, a backup camera. Last fall, I installed a touchscreen stereo with a camera provision, so that part was already done. To simplify the installation, I chose a camera that mounts to the license plate mounting screws. It was just a matter of running the camera's input cable into the cab to the stereo. Then, I tied the camera's trigger wire into the new backup light circuit. Now, when I shift the ancient clunky Saginaw into reverse, the camera wakes up and displays on the stereo screen, just like our modern daily drivers. This is another giant leap forward in terms of safety. The mirrors on these trucks are pretty pitiful, compared to modern vehicles. The additional visibility the camera provides is a huge improvement. Now, between the camera and the mirrors, I can see both the rear corners and directly behind the truck.

What's Next?
I'm getting the truck ready to attend the LMC Southern Illinois Truck Showdown on Sept 2 and I have a few small projects I'd like to complete before we go.

• New Water Pump - I have no idea how old the existing pump is. A new one is cheap insurance.
• Engine Bay Cleanup - I already started this when I replaced the exhaust system and rerouted the plug wires. There's a long way to go. I want to install new chrome valve covers and air cleaner to replace the old rusty ones. I want to clean up the vacuum hoses. I want to relocated the cooling overflow tank. And, everything needs a good cleaning. The engine bay is no where close to perfect, but there's no reason it can't be gussied up a little bit more.

Re: 1965 C10 LWB Project Build Thread
 

LED's for the back-up lighting?

Re: 1965 C10 LWB Project Build Thread
 

Nope. They're incandescent bulbs. I think they're probably standard 1156's. I thought about LEDs, but I don't care for the looks of the LED panels. I like the factory style lens better. So, I went with stock replacement taillights and backup lights. If I ever decide to go LED, I'll just swap out the bulbs for LED equivalent bulbs. We did this on my son's G-Body Elco and I like the results. Brighter lights and less current draw, but with a stock look. Modernized, but keeping the classic aesthetic.

Re: 1965 C10 LWB Project Build Thread
 

Exactly. I like the appearance of the traditional lenses w/brighter output that requires less power draw (thus heat). Same thing for headlights as well. I do not care for the 'retro' LED front lighting that alters from the old-school headlight look. Absolutely no Halo style.....

Re: 1965 C10 LWB Project Build Thread
 

I'm with you 100%. Halo's are cool on full-on autocross builds, but I don't like them on restos and restomods. Not my style. Holley makes some nice stock-looking LED headlights, but they're crazy expensive. I'm hoping the price will come down over time. In the meantime, I'm pretty happy with the HD replacement bulbs and wiring harness from LMC. They're much brighter than the original bulbs. They're hot, but the HD harness comes with heavier wiring and a relay that keeps the higher draw off the original truck harness.

Water Pump Replacement & Engine Bay Cleanup
 

If you're a long time reader, you know that my truck has a 1979 low-hp detuned 350. It's certainly nothing special, but that doesn't mean that it has to look like garbage. I had no history on the water pump, but it was covered with rust and scale. A replacement was only $45 at O'Rielly. That's cheap insurance to make sure coolant is flowing as it should. And, it gave me an excuse to tidy up the engine bay while I had the accessories off the front of the engine.

The new water pump got a coat of Chevy Orange. While I was in the neighborhood, I knocked the loose paint off the front of the engine and gave it a fresh coat too.

Then, I replace the rusted (formerly chrome) valve covers and air cleaner. To dress up the chrome valve covers, I painted the raised center section to match the engine color. To dress up the chrome air cleaner, I added a "350 Turbo-Fire" sticker, like the one's Chevy used in the '60's and '70's.

Next, I replaced the PCV hose with a custom bent hard line to get it off the top of the shiny new valve cover.

Last (and this doesn't show up in the pictures), I painted the radiator overflow tank flat black and relocated it in front of the radiator. It looked very out of place in the engine bay. Now, with the black paint, it disappears behind the front grille.

Now, I just need to spend some time with soap and water washing away the dust that has accumulated on the firewall, core support, and inner fenders. It's not perfect, but it already looks MUCH better.

Re: 1965 C10 LWB Project Build Thread
 

I can see this is how I will work on mine. Little bit at a time. Do a handful of small things in a weekend and still enjoy driving all the while. Truck looks great.
Rob

Re: 1965 C10 LWB Project Build Thread
 

Thanks Rob. That's exactly the idea. At some point, I'll have to take the truck off the road for longer periods for bigger projects (disk brake conversion, transmission swap, body repairs, etc.). But, my goal is to be able to enjoy the truck while I'm working on it. Of course, it would be more efficient to just tear it all apart and do everything all at once, but that would disable the truck for years. This way keeps the truck drivable. I like to drive the truck, even if it's nowhere close to "finished".

John

Southern Illinois Truck Showdown
 

Over the weekend, my son and I took the C10 to the 2nd Annual Southern Illinois Truck Showdown in Marion, IL. I didn't get many pictures because we were so busy talking to people about their trucks.

The show was fantastic. There were hundreds of classic and custom trucks in attendance. This is, by far, the largest show we've ever been to. We had a great time. We met tons of great people and saw tons of great trucks. The 60-66 era was well represented!

We met Robbie from United By Trucks. If you haven't seen his YouTube channel, you should check it out. After meeting Robbie in person, I appreciate him even more than I did before. He's gracious, sharing, and passionate about old trucks. He treated my son and I like old friends. He's an excellent ambassador for the classic truck community.

We live about four hours from Marion and we had to make the drive over night. So, rather than driving the C10, we opted for towing it behind my daily driver pickup. That feels like a cop-out, but I didn't want to take the chance of breaking down along the interstate in the middle of the night.

My goal is to have the truck sorted well enough to drive it to next year's show. That means that I need to get cracking on the power disc brakes and the overdrive transmission.

It was fun weekend. Now it's time to get back to work on that truck!

Spring has finally arrived!
 

The Expanded-Use Antique license plates on the C10 "wake up" on March 1. So, over the weekend, I roused the truck from winter hibernation. I connected the battery, pumped the gas three times, hit the key, and the old small block jumped back to life. It was definitely good to hear. I warmed up the engine, took a quick spin around the block, and pulled back in the driveway.

There's still salt on the roads, so that's about it, until we get some spring rains to wash away a winter's worth of sodium chloride. There's rain in the forecast this week. So, soon...

I have a mountain of parts for the truck, but I don't know how much I'll have time for this spring and summer. Over the winter, I had carpal tunnel surgery on both wrists. Once that started to heal up, I dug into a kitchen remodel that I promised my wife over 20 years ago (Better late than never?). I hope to have that wrapped up before the Easter family gathering. Then, it's C10 time, right? Not so fast.

This is my son's last summer at home before he goes off to school and we have a lot of work that needs to be done to his car before it's ready to travel (and sit in a parking lot for nine months). We need to focus on finishing the bodywork on his 1983 El Camino and getting it all one color, even if that color is primer gray. We also need to install the snazzy new cruise control unit he got for Christmas.

Just because you can't have too many trucks sitting in the driveway, I picked up a GMC OBS utility truck a couple of months ago. It needs some mechanical work, so it can start earning it's keep. I don't think I'll bother posting much about the OBS on the forum, but you never know.

And, because that's still not enough trucks sitting in the driveway, my son (yes, the same son) is working on buying a square body Chevy. He says he wants a pickup to drive to school so he can keep the El Camino safe at home. He's paying for the pickup with his summer job earnings and he wants to try to fix this one up himself (with a little bit of help from Dad, of course). It's hard to argue with a teenager who is actually taking personal responsibility for his own ride. Assuming he gets a truck purchased, this one will definitely end up with a build thread on the forum. And, if a square body does materialize this spring, it will very likely jump in line ahead of the El Camino.

With all of that said, here's what I have stockpiled for the '65 C10:

• Power Brake kit
• Front Disk Brakes
• Front suspension bushings, tie rods, etc.
• Power Steering kit
• New Steering column
• LED Headlights
• Hidden tailgate latches and support cables

That's a lot of work and there's no way it's all getting done this summer. There are too many other competing priorities. For now, I'm going to install the Holley RetroBright LED headlights and the tailgate hardware. That may be it for this year, but these minor improvements will add a lot of safety, functionality, and convenience. I'll do short write-ups when I do these installs. The more time consuming work may have to wait until the boy is off to college.

Anyway, I'm glad that spring has arrived. It's finally classic truck season again!

Re: 1965 C10 LWB Project Build Thread
 

That's a pile-o-work on the docket! Despite that, there's a bunch that should occupy too much time/effort to knock out so hopefully things go smoothly.

Kudo's to the young-gun for his direction as well....

Another Addition to the Fleet
 

We have a new addition to the family truck fleet. My son scored a 1977 C10 long bed over the weekend. It's nowhere near perfect, but it's a good starting point and it was in his price range. Now, he's impatiently waiting for his bank account to recover so he can start buying parts. Once he does, I'm sure there will be a build thread shortly after.

It came with a newer drive train, theoretically from a late '80's van. It appears to be a Vortec 350 and a 700r4. We'll run the block numbers soon to verify the specifics. It has been converted from TBI to a carb. It carries 50 lbs of oil pressure and it sounds good.

His plans include getting fixing the mechanicals, preserving the body, and pick away at the past sins, as funding allows. It has lots of good (not too far gone) patina and he plans to keep it that way. He even likes the mismatched yellow hood. With any luck, this will become his daily driver when he wanders off to college this fall.

Oh, and the red wheels are DEFINETLY getting repainted. He plans to go back to the stock white color. The original hubcaps needs some polish, but they're all in pretty good shape.

Re: 1965 C10 LWB Project Build Thread
 

Nice!

Re: 1965 C10 LWB Project Build Thread
 

A nice truck, he'll have a lot of fun with it.

Re: 1965 C10 LWB Project Build Thread
 

Thanks gentlemen. He's pretty excited to get started. He just needs his summer job to pick back up so he can make a little cash. In the meantime, he has plenty of free clean up work he can do.