The 65 C30 Farm Truck
 

I just got this truck a few weeks ago and I figured it was time to start documenting the work. It has been sitting for quite a few years and the engine is locked up. I had a 73 GMC and the body was shot on it but it had been in the family since new (10 years before I was). I hated to get rid of the truck but it was too far gone to save. I stripped it down and sold as many parts as I could to fund this project and then saved the engine just in case. The 230 in this truck refuses to turn so the GMC will live on. The first 2 pictures show the truck that started my love for this body style, my 64 C20 and the organ donor, the family 73 GMC 2500.

About this truck-
It is a 1965 C30 with a 230 and a 4spd. The truck has very few options. It has the Thrift Air heater and 2 cab marker lights. The cable for the heater is free and the truck only has 75,000 miles on it. Unfortunately someone removed the SPID decal from the glove box so I am going to contact GM and see if they can tell me anything off the VIN. It has an AM radio in it now from JC Penny, yes you read that right, I didnt mean JC Whitney, I said JC Penny. Thankfully when I opened the glovebox the first time the radio block off plate was in there. The 230 also has JC Penny spark plugs in it, I never knew you could buy auto parts from them. The floors have a little rust but no holes bigger than 1/2", It needs lower fenders fixed and rear cab corners but for an old farm truck its in good shape. It has a Midwest bed on it with fold up sides so you can haul livestock and there is a stack of Bill Of Lading tickets in the glovebox with boxes to check for sheep, goats or cows. The crossmembers for the bed are rotted out but that should be a lot easier to fix than regular body work.

Re: The 65 C30 Farm Truck
 

That's a decent looking truck with a fairly straight body. Yes JC Penny used to have auto service centers in their stores with private label parts and tools as well.

FYI, '65's did not have SPID tags. 1966 was the first year for the SPID tags.

Re: The 65 C30 Farm Truck
 

The wife was out of town so I headed off to work early saturday morning to start the engine swap. Thankfully I work for a great company and we have a big shop so I dont have to try and push the truck in and out of my tiny garage until it runs. The overhead crane is also a lot easier than my cheapo engine hoist. I put new intake and valve cover gaskets on the 350 before I put it in. I wanted to clean it better first but I didnt want to take a chance getting water in the engine and then letting it sit. Once it is up and running I will hose it down with degreaser and try to clean it up a little more. The engine will probably come back out this winter for a good cleaning once I know everything works.

I cant wait until I can roll the windows down and cruise it with the high end stereo cranked up.

Re: The 65 C30 Farm Truck
 

Sub'd. Nice 64 btw. I had one very similar.


http://i164.photobucket.com/albums/u...psytb6x5cd.jpg

Re: The 65 C30 Farm Truck
 

Progress is slow at the moment. The truck is at work until I get it running because I need to be able to move it in and out of the garage and its a little heavy to be pushing. Ive been working on it saturday mornings and on my lunch and Ive got the new engine in and the first thing I discovered was the manifolds for the 73 hit the frame and interfere with the clutch linkage. Ive been looking for original style manifolds and havent had any luck. Last night I stumbled on a set of shorty block huggers on craigslist that are ceramic coated and unused. They were $100 and only 45 min away. I drove up to get them this morning and then headed straight to work to see how they fit. They are a little close to the starter on the passenger side and the brake line on the driver side but they clear the clutch linkage. Im not too worried about the brake line since it will get a dual master once it is up and running and I will have to bend up some new lines for that. The yard is pretty wet because we had some storms roll through yesterday but hopefully this week I can get back on it and get the wiring hooked up (all 6 wires) and finally get it fired up.

Re: The 65 C30 Farm Truck
 

Where were the manifolds hitting? I've had several of these truck with later small blocks and never had an issue. I've got one right now in a K20, 74ish 350 with stock manifolds, nothing hits.

Re: The 65 C30 Farm Truck
 

I was going to use the manifolds off the 73 but they dump out right where the clutch linkage attaches on these trucks. The clutch linkage on the square bodies attaches to the bellhousing.

Re: The 65 C30 Farm Truck
 

That's good to know. I've never thought that could be a problem. Guess I've been lucky so far.

Re: The 65 C30 Farm Truck
 

I've always thought that this body style looks good with a flatbed. Yours is no exception. The JC Pennys items are pretty cool. I have a Montgomery Wards NOS shift lever knob that was still sealed in the package that I scored on ebay a year or so ago. I like quirky stuff like that.

Re: The 65 C30 Farm Truck
 

Worked on the truck this morning. Today has been the best day so far. I started by raising the engine a little and removing the driver side engine mount bracket. I wasn't in the mood to keep searching for manifolds so I was determined to make the headers work. I cut out the part of the mount that was hitting the number 1 pipe and then used some scrap steel to bridge the gap. Since this was a farm truck it only seemed appropriate to use tractor parts. The scrap piece I found at work was a tooth off a trencher. I cut out the part of the tooth I needed and then welded it to the motor mount. Then I ground it down and painted it with the only paint I had laying around. Jacking the engine up also gave me a chance to get the cross shaft for the clutch linkage put in and all the linkage freed up and reinstalled. Once I had everything bolted in and nothing was hitting I started on wiring. This truck is definitely gonna need some wiring help. The wiring to the coil is really stiff and cracked in a few spots and obviously I need to shorten a few wires and convert to the later model internally regulated alternator. First step is going to be new battery cables since the truck currently has side post battery cables and they are in rough shape. I did hook a jump pack to the cables long enough to fire it up and shockingly the first thing I noticed was the radio was on and working!

The engine fired up pretty easy the first time I turned the key.

Still needs work to be drivable but getting much closer. Working on finding a radiator and I need to plug a couple vacuum leaks (note the big hose going from front to back of the carb). Also need to check the fuel tank and get a line run to the engine.

Re: The 65 C30 Farm Truck
 

This weeks work includes a special mid week work day thanks to some training that kept me at the shop all week. I took advantage of an unusually quiet lunch to pull the sender out of the fuel tank. One look at the sender told me I was probably in trouble. I pulled the tank and it is shot. I took a chance and drained the stuff out of it (and all over my boots thanks to a not so helpful co worker). Took it down to the local radiator shop only for them to tell me it will cost $100 just to tell me IF they can fix it, then who knows how much more to actually fix it. Tomorrow is radiator mounting day and Im going to take a ride by a co workers house after lunch because he has a couple spare fuel cells that I hope to mount between the frame rails under the bed.

Re: The 65 C30 Farm Truck
 

Yesterday was another successful day of work. This is a low buck build so I have been trying to trade for or buy used when ever I can. This weeks lucky find was like new 4 core radiator out of a big block 73 Nova. It is slightly wider and shorter than the original radiator for these trucks but close enough to work. I checked with the local auto parts store and they wanted $200 for a new aluminum and plastic radiator. This radiator only cost me $75 and came with a small electric fan. I was able to reuse the original upper hose from my 73 GMC donor and I cut the original mounts and extended them slightly to fit the new larger radiator. I managed to finish the bottom mounts but unfortunately everyone else was working today so I had to give up the welder so someone could actually work. The upper mount will have to wait until next weekend. I was able to fill the fuel line and carb and take the truck on a short test drive. It has been almost 4 months since I bought the truck and it feels great to be able to finally drive it under its own power. After a few short drives (as long as it will run off the fuel in the line and carb) I started cleaning up the cab. First order of business was to get rid of the as much of the mouse nest as I could. I will have to pull the seat and work a little harder to get all the nest out but atleast most of it is gone now. Thankfully they seem to have limited mouseville to the back of the seat.

Re: The 65 C30 Farm Truck
 

Not much progress to report this week. The boss locked the yard down for the weekend so I couldn't get in to work on it and I was busy with family stuff anyway. I did find time to sneak off monday and visit the local parts hoarder and pick up a fuel cell that will fit between the frame rails. I don't know if I will stick with this or not but for now it will work to get the truck mobile. As an added bonus it came with a fuel filter and some braided lines to help get it plumbed.

Re: The 65 C30 Farm Truck
 

Last weekend I didn't get much work done. I cut the old hitch off which took way longer than it should have. Farmer John welded a cutting edge from a bucket across the frame rails and then welded a piece of 1/4 in angle iron on top of that. I tried using a plasma cutter to hack it off but due to co worker abuse it wasnt working at 100%. I ended up using a cut off wheel to get inside the frame and cut where it was welded to the sides. Then 2 hours with an 4in grinder to get rid of the rest of the welds and the frame is almost back to normal. I also spent some time re bleeding the brakes because I have a wheel cylinder leaking and the master cylinder ran dry.

Re: The 65 C30 Farm Truck
 

This weekend felt much more productive. I found some scrap steel to make a tank mount and I was able to get my fuel cell mounted temporarily. I still need to finish the plumbing but that should be pretty easy. I welded up a frame to support the fuel cell from some 2 in square steel tubing that I bolted to the frame in the back. I cut a hole in the bed floor to fill the tank and I will make an access door to cover it once I start work on the bed. I also got the alternator from my 73 wired up so the batter will charge and the light on the dash even works.

Re: The 65 C30 Farm Truck
 

Another successful saturday mixed with a little disappointment. I had to get a few pictures with the sides folded up before I started taking the bed apart. I started by cutting the nuts off the hold down bolts for the side. Problem 1 the bolts are rusted into the bed. No problem I have pry bars and cut off wheels. I can get everything loose. Problem 2 the steel stakes are rusted into the bed frame. Problem 3 almost all the wood is rotted. I broke several boards trying to pry the stakes out of the pockets. I broke through the bed floor in a couple places. And last and certainly not least, the previous owner almost burned the truck down!!!! There was part of a bottle rocket laying in the front of the bed next to the burned lower boards. When I looked at the truck in May it wasnt there. When I picked it up in July it was. That means someone got a little careless over 4th of July. I finally decided to take the bed off in 1 piece and deal with it later. I took the truck from work to the house so I can work on it more than just saturday mornings. I got my fuel cell mounted up and some new lines so it doesn't leak so the truck is officially mobile for more than a few minutes at a time.

The truck has made one decision for me. I was debating swapping the Eaton rear axle for the 14 bolt out of my 73 GMC 2500(3.73 with a limited slip). After looking at the u joints, leaking wheel cylinders, checking the gear ratio(5 something) and the play in the axle, the Eaton is on its way out. I havent had a chance to measure the 14 bolt but hopefully it is close to the same width.

Re: The 65 C30 Farm Truck
 

Not a lot of progress the last 2 weeks. Last week I got the bed off and got it home. A little wipe down on the dirt in the interior was about all I had time for. This morning I cut the old spring perches off my 14bolt and ground one side smooth. My grinder was too hot to hold by the time I was done so finishing the other side will have to wait. I need to run by the 4X4 shop and get a new set of perches and some u bolts now.

Re: The 65 C30 Farm Truck
 

Would you mind taking a couple pics of the ebrake cables on that eaton while you've got the bed off?

Re: The 65 C30 Farm Truck
 

Lostmy65 put a 14 bolt under a 66, albeit single wheel. Starts around post #53 or so:

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...=428035&page=3

Re: The 65 C30 Farm Truck
 

JDL71, this truck has a trans mounted drum e brake, sorry no cables.

Re: The 65 C30 Farm Truck
 

A few pictures of the latest work. First off the trip home. A start on exhaust to keep the neighbors from complaining too much - straight pipe is better than headers. Cleaned some of the stuff off the dash, not sure what it was, but it was sticky and nasty. And luckily my little truck is just big enough for a real axle.

Re: The 65 C30 Farm Truck
 

Thank you anyway.

Re: The 65 C30 Farm Truck
 

Cool truck. Digging it. I’m late as usual but I’ll watch.

Re: The 65 C30 Farm Truck
 

My parents were in town for the night and I spent the week in Atlanta for training so I only had a little bit of time in the garage. I did manage to fix my throttle linkage. I used a couple zip ties as a temporary fix so I could move it and that has been replaced by something a little nicer. Thanks to a well timed post I saw on here I found some plans to build a nice linkage assembly that should be trouble free and much better than just the factory threaded link. I also made a temporary tube for the pcv valve, since I will have to change it slightly when I get my new valve covers cleaned up. I put on a cheapo seat cover I got from wally world so I dont have to deal with the dirty sticky stuff on the back of the seat. I also made a light to work with since the days are getting shorter. I took a led light I got from the hardware store for $5 and stuck a magnet on the back for a work light. Since these trucks are all metal it will stick anywhere and it is super bright.These pictures were taken with no other light.

Re: The 65 C30 Farm Truck
 

Made a little progress in the last 2 weeks. Temps have been dropping so my first priority was to get some coolant in the truck since I filled it with water when I put the engine in. I filled it with water because I wanted to make sure the used radiator didnt leak and I knew the heater core may have to come out. I pulled the heater box off the firewall and cleaned it out, surprisingly there was no sign of mice inside. The heater core had been leaking though so I was glad I pulled it out. A call to Oreillys and and a new core was ready the next day, I could have had it the same day but I didnt want to drive across town to pick it up.

I spent today grinding the last of the old spring perches off my 14 bolt so I can get it ready to go under the back of the truck. Hopefully I can get the new ones welded on and actually drive this thing before it snows.

I have a bunch of little things I want to do like fix the wiring for the ignition and the alternator but I have been forcing myself to leave it as is since I can do it this winter while the truck is in hibernation.

Re: The 65 C30 Farm Truck
 

Like most of our projects progress has been slow. I made some room in the garage so I can move and work. Now that work is closed on weekends it is harder to go up there to work on the truck. Work at home is slowed by a lack of tools and equipment. I got everything ready to roll the axle out this weekend and hopefully tomorrow I will get the 14 bolt rolled into place. With Thanksgiving coming up things have slowed at work so I am taking a day off this week to travel and it will give me a chance to stop and get some new u bolts made. I already have the welder we use at work set up to come over some time in the next week or 2 to weld the perches on for me. I was pleasantly surprised this afternoon when I started taking the u bolts loose. I was able to get the first one off with out too much work and I didnt have to cut it.

Re: The 65 C30 Farm Truck
 

This truck continues to surprise me. I pulled the drive shaft before I rolled the axle out and noticed that one of the clips on the front drive shaft was missing and the cup wasnt fully seated. I managed to get 3 of the u bolts off with a ratchet and only had to cut one of them. I rolled the old axle out and rolled the new one in. Now if I can just get u bolts this week I will be set. Im also going to get a new master cylinder this week so I can do the brakes since I know a couple of the lines will break while Im working on them. Does anyone know If I can bolt a normal dual master to the firewall? The bolts on mine are at an angle and most of them are straight across.

Re: The 65 C30 Farm Truck
 

You can bolt on a dual reservoir manual master cylinder using the 2 bolts on either side of your original master cylinder. Since you still have drums all around you will want one for a '67-70 C20 or C30.

Re: The 65 C30 Farm Truck
 

Some days just don't go as planned. This weeks work started last weekend. I ordered new u joints and a carrier bearing and a master cylinder. I usually go to Oreillys for all my parts because they are close to the house and the guys that worked there were always helpful. Noticed I said worked, because the guys that work there now have a hard time finding the front door.

I tell the guy behind the counter I need 3 u joints and a carrier bearing for my truck along with a master cylinder for a 67(converting to dual reservoir). They only have 2 u joints in stock, they will have to order one, no big deal Im in no big rush. He goes to get those 2 from the shelf and comes back with 3. I pay for and take the 3 u joints. That was last saturday. Go back monday for carrier bearing and master cylinder. Master cylinder didnt show up, no big deal Im in no rush and its close to the house. I go back tuesday and everything is there, except the master cylinder is a reman( I ordered new) and the carrier bearing is just the bearing not the assembly(and it was the wrong size). They check part numbers and like magic the bearing I need is in stock(yellow box). They reorder the master cylinder. I come back thursday, they finally have the master cylinder. He comes back and the carrier bearing is in a white box now with a different part number. I try to pay and his cash drawer is empty, so he tells me it will be 10 min atleast before I can pay with cash. Ok I can put it on a card, so not a big deal. He returns all the parts and restarts the transaction except my $5 off coupon was a one time use only so now he has to ask grumpy the other guy at the counter how to do it. Grumpy and grumpy start in on how theyd be better off if they got fired and how their wives dont give it up anymore so they dont care if the wives get mad when they get fired. WTF???? I take the parts and head home. Fast forward to today. I install the first u joint. I get ready to install the 2nd cap on the first u joint and it is missing a bearing. I look all over the bench and it is not there. I try to take the first cap back out and I cant because the cross is bigger than the old ones I took out. I destroy the first u joint trying to take it back out. I go to check the 2nd one and the clips that hold the caps on are missing. I load up all the parts I got and head back to oreillys. I returned everything and the guy asks why. I told him the u joins didnt fit and the service has been the worst I have ever had anywhere.

I go 1/2 mile down the road to Car Quest and try my luck there. The guys behind the counter welcome me as I walk in and and seem happy to be there. They look up all my parts and they have most of it. I get Spicer U joints(instead of the cheap $h!t oreilly brand) and a National carrier bearing(again not a cheapo oreilly). I still have to order the master and a couple brake hoses. He has the master cylinder at another store but wont have the brake hose until tuesday because its not a common part. I tell him I will be back tuesday and he is able to ring everything up at once and I was able to pay cash.

Yesterday I sold the rear end from this truck to someone else for use in a 62 C30. He thinks the 5.14 gears will be better because he has an 80s 1 Ton rear end and his truck wont pull itself in 4th so it must have 3.50 or 3.73 gears. I think he needs to do a little tuning but I just need the room in the garage so off it goes. This weekends adventure ends with a couple new u joints installed and a master cylinder removed and a little more room in the garage. The old u joints look like they havent seen grease in a while. I still have the one u joint I messed up since I should have checked it better before I tried to install it. If you notice on the bottom of the boxes there is a dead give away which u joint is better.

Re: The 65 C30 Farm Truck
 

My thoughts on Oreillys is its the wal mart of auto parts. They might as well just open the back room up for self service, if you know exactly what you need and want it cheap they're fine. If you want something of quality, need someone to cross a part number, or heaven forbid open a paper catalog, forget it. Fortunately I have a locally owned NAPA here in town where most of the parts guys have been there 20+ years and know what they are doing, don't mind getting the paper books out or opening packages if needed. Unfortunately though, I see way too much Chinesium in napa packaging.

Re: The 65 C30 Farm Truck
 

I have high hopes for Carquest. All the parts I bought say made in USA and as the guy behind the counter was getting my parts I noticed they have a counter covered in parts books. I’m not talking about random catalogs of cheap tools either, the one that was closed on the end was for Walker exhaust parts. I couldn’t make out any others but they looked pretty well used. The shelves I could see were stocked with Moog parts and the counter with the books is built on top of Dorman cabinets.

Worst case scenario I still have a small locally owned parts store close to work that will look up( in books) and special order parts. When I was looking for exhaust parts and radiator hoses the guy we usually work with pointed to the back and said go find what you need.

Re: The 65 C30 Farm Truck
 

This weekends fun consisted of bending brake lines. I got a stack of brake lines from Car Quest and got to work. I cut the front brake lines so I could slide a socket on and unbolt them from the wheel cylinders and t fittings. I also removed the line that runs to the rear and moved it to the driver side of the frame. Surprisingly there was only one fitting that I couldnt get loose, the steel line that goes into the rear brake hose. I still need to make a bracket to hold the rear t fitting on the axle and some support for the front lines to keep them away from the headers and make the front brake line that runs to the passenger side.

Re: The 65 C30 Farm Truck
 

Are you doing your own flaring or using sticks with the ends already on? Looks like a little of both in your pic. I just replaced every steel line on mine, bought a 25' roll of 1/4in tubing and a handful of nuts. I'm curious how yours turn out, hopefully better than mine did. Multiple leaks.

Re: The 65 C30 Farm Truck
 

jdl71 -
I am using sticks but I flared one end of most of them. I got the closest length and then trimmed one end. I noticed a couple of the original ends looked a little off so I hope I don’t have any leaks. I have a cheap flaring tool and I am using Nicop? lines from car quest. It is all they had in stock and it is some kind of nickel copper mix that is somewhat soft. It flares and bends easy so hopefully any imperfections will seal with enough torque. If there are any issues I am going to buy a decent flaring kit off one of the trucks and redo them.

Re: The 65 C30 Farm Truck
 

I spent a good portion of yesterday trying to bleed the brakes on the truck only to realize I am an idiot. Hopefully someone can tell me where the problem is but I managed to find a good solution. I used a vacuum bleeder to get fluid to all the wheel cylinders but I still had no pedal. The last 3/4 to 1 inch of travel at the pedal would start to do something but not much. I pulled the master back off and plugged it to bench bleed it a second time and it seemed fine. That is when I saw the problem. The pushrod only sticks through the firewall about 1/4 inch. The master I got has about a 1 inch counterbore in the piston. The pushrod wasnt actually touching the piston until the pedal was almost on the floor. There werent enough threads to just adjust the pushrod out so I ran up to the hardware store and bought a coupling nut, a fine thread bolt and a tap. Trying to find a fine thread coupling nut late on a saturday afternoon the weekend before christmas is like trying to find gold. I bought a 3/8 nut and drilled it out and retapped it with the correct 7/16-20 threads for the pushrod. Then I cut the head off a bolt and threaded that into one end. I installed my new pushrod and I now have brakes.

Now for the question. When I did this on my 64 I just installed the new master cylinder. No work other than adding another brake line to the rear.

Is there a difference between the round and the square single master cylinder?
Is there something wrong with the new master cylinder I got? Is the piston supposed to be flush with the end of the bore? 67 C30 master cylinder.

Re: The 65 C30 Farm Truck
 

Well at least you got it figured out so when it happens to me I'll know what I'm dealing with. :lol:

For your 14 bolt swap you may want to consider a swap kit from Barnes, or fab one up like it. The perches and top plates are predrilled for scooting the axle forwards or backwards. Might save you from having to make a new driveshaft for the axle snout difference. https://www.barnes4wd.com/14-Bolt-Ax...mbo_p_127.html

Re: The 65 C30 Farm Truck
 

I can't see a reason why the piston wouldn't be flush with the end of the bore.

Re: The 65 C30 Farm Truck
 

I have been looking around and it looks like there is a big difference between the round and square master cylinders. I didnt take a pic of the old one after I took it off either truck but I found a few online. Looks like the square master actually extends through the firewall and the round one sits flush.

The piston on my new master cylinder sits flush with the end of the body but it has a hole bored in the piston and the pushrod sits inside the piston about 1 in.

The difference in pushrod length was only about 1/2-3/4 in even though it looks longer with the extension I made. Most of the extension is threaded onto the old pushrod.

Re: The 65 C30 Farm Truck
 

All of the '67-'70 truck master cylinders have the deep bore in the back of the piston. They are also designed to be used on a drum/drum braking system.

Re: The 65 C30 Farm Truck
 

Thanks for the reply captainfab. Is there a difference in the round vs the square master cylinders? When I did this swap on my 64 with the round master I didnt have to do anything other than bolt on the new 67 master cylinder.