1966 "find and fix"
 

Just picked this up yesterday. A friends step-dad has owned this truck since 1969. After his passing it went up for sale.
The truck has 59710 miles on it, and is very solid.
250 straight six
3 on the tree
original wood in bed, still solid as a rock.
very little rust, and I mean VERY LITTLE!

Only draw back is that at some point he removed the spark plugs and left them out, so the motor is stuck.

more pics soon

Re: 1966 "find and fix"
 

Wow! Very nice truck! You're very lucky to have found a clean original truck that looks to be in great shape, let's see the interior

Re: 1966 "find and fix"
 

good starting project!

Re: 1966 "find and fix"
 

Nice score- plans?

Re: 1966 "find and fix"
 

cut wood for 5 hours today, crap I'm tired! Anyhow more pics as promised. As for as what I am going to do with this truck ? Plans are to get it running and driving first. I am mostly looking at reliability and drivability. Maybe some rally wheels. I am old school, so thinking rebuilding the stock suspension, new springs at stock height. Still thinking it out as I go.

Re: 1966 "find and fix"
 

Squirt some marvel mystery oil in each cylinder and let set for a day or so. Try turning motor back and forth it will probable loosen up.

Re: 1966 "find and fix"
 

nice truck . I would find another 250 and put in and do brakes and drive it. inline 6's are cheap because everyone takes them out to do a v8

Re: 1966 "find and fix"
 

I'm going to try to get this motor running. I think soaking the rings will free it up. It sat in a closed garage on a concrete floor since 1980, I don't know how long it sat with the plugs out, I'm thinking it is probably not rusted to bad. At this point their is nothing to loose by giving it a try.

Re: 1966 "find and fix"
 

Either the Mystery Oil or a healthy shot of PB Blaster in each cylinder should do the trick.
If that truck is numbers matching, you may consider doing a back to factory restoration on it.
All original rigs are getting harder and harder to find the older they get, and when they are discovered they fetch a pretty fair price.

Congrats though, no matter what you do with it!! Sharp looking truck :metal:

Re: 1966 "find and fix"
 

You found a really nice truck, good luck with the engine

Re: 1966 "find and fix"
 

It would be a real shame to alter the great originality of that truck. From what I can see of it, you might be AMAZED at how well that original paint (in a rare color, no less) might buff out. The original wheels/caps and the cool bed side extensions just seal the deal, at least for me. With such low miles what would be wrong with the factory springs? Sure, the brakes will need attention but the stock setup should do everything you need. At any rate, hope you don't make any alterations that can't be undone (like paint... yikes!). Can't wait to see it all cleaned up.

Re: 1966 "find and fix"
 

I agree with Sodly. I am an old school person as well. I like the old school looks..but a hotrod drivetrain. I am hotrodding the 6 banger in my truck, Just cause I can and I like to do something different. Nice truck and I second the Marvel Mystery oil part. Hope all works out. :chevy:

Re: 1966 "find and fix"
 

At this point all I can do is agree with McMurphy and Sodly. Nice Score! :metal:

Re: 1966 "find and fix"
 

Put 4oz of marvel in each cylinder today. I am going to let it soak a couple of weeks. Also found these jewels in the glove box, original owners manual, warranty book, all still in the plastic sleeve, and registration from 1969. I also rubbed out a little spot on top of front fender, I think she will shine up just fine with a little elbow grease.

Re: 1966 "find and fix"
 

If you add some penetrating oil to your car wax you can get beautiful results faster...
A small tid bit I learned recently from one of the pros around here....

Re: 1966 "find and fix"
 

Shoot some Kroil in those cylinders and rock the engine a little when you do it. Do that for a few days and it'll come loose.

Re: 1966 "find and fix"
 

Nice find. I agree with the others, leave it be with a good clean up and rub out on the paint. Don't change anything that can't be changed back. From the pictures, I don't see the need to do a full restoration yet. That truck still has some life left before a restoration. Preserve what you got and enjoy it for a long time.

Re: 1966 "find and fix"
 

Pick of engine. Added more oil to cylinders today.

Re: 1966 "find and fix"
 

WOW! Boy, do I like this truck! I too will stoke the keep it orig fire. What a beaut! I'm looking right through that dirt, and I see a real gem. SCORE!

Re: 1966 "find and fix"
 

Little soap and warm water and it looks like that engine will clean up really nice.

Re: 1966 "find and fix"
 

this truck is making me drool :jdp:

Nice find, Congrats !

Re: 1966 "find and fix"
 

Nice score..

Re: 1966 "find and fix"
 

They're only original once, and you've got a very nice example. When it warms up enough to give that truck a 100% clean-up all the way down to the nooks and crannys, you are going to be blown away at how that truck is going to look. I think that it'll be a good resource to us guys who like factory grease pencil marks and torque paint markings.

I like your decision to take your time on freeing up the engine. I'm pretty confident that your cylinders are going to be OK, but keep oiling them. You want to make sure your rings are free because a stuck ring can snap when you're trying to break it loose. You have a real advantage with your 6 cylinder. It's much easier to ensure that the entire piston and rings are getting oil due to their vertical position. V-8s can be a little more challenging because the oil wants to drain to the lowest point because the piston is sitting at a 90 degree angle. You may even want to consider yanking the valve cover and taking a look and clean the gunk if necessary. Put fresh oil (find one with a high level of zinc in it or add a ZDDP additive) in it and and find a pre-oiler and pump fresh oil through the lifters and get the cam lobes oiled before you fire it off. Chevy 6 cylinders are amazing engines that are incredibly durable. I think that your engine is going to be just fine.

That truck is a time capsule, keep it original.

Re: 1966 "find and fix"
 

The only change I am considering is going to a duel master cylinder set-up, mainly as a safety issue . I may do rally wheels, but if I do I am going to keep the original wheels and hub caps and store them.

Re: 1966 "find and fix"
 

nice find. Hopefully the engine will work out for you. I agree with the rest. Clean it up and drive as is.

Re: 1966 "find and fix"
 

Look at that interior!
Clean it, get it running, and drive it.
Nothing more.

Re: 1966 "find and fix"
 

MAJOR SET-BACK!!!:whine:

Decided to take off valve cover before I tried to turn engine over. WOW, what a nasty mess, I never dreamed it would rust like that! Rust particles were an inch deep around valve springs. I vacuumed up and blew off the rust and sprayed with blaster. I then removed lifter cover, no better there.
I would really like to rebuild this motor, but at this point I don't even think it would be possible to disassemble it.
If it was hot tanked do you think it might come apart ?
Pics - not for the squeamish LoL !

Re: 1966 "find and fix"
 

How the heck? Kids and a garden hose? "Fill er up!" Sorry to see that. :(

Re: 1966 "find and fix"
 

If you sealed it up and filled it with vinegar. Maybe it'll loosen up?

Re: 1966 "find and fix"
 

WOW !! Wonder if truck has been under water in a flood. Check to see if transmission and rear end are the same way.

Re: 1966 "find and fix"
 

no flood, interior is fine,

Re: 1966 "find and fix"
 

I have a very nice 292 that will bolt right into that truck... and it ran when I took it out.

Re: 1966 "find and fix"
 

That definitely needs to come apart now. I would pull the intake/exhaust and remove the head. If the cylinders look like that, pitted cylinder walls, you might as well give up on that engine. Pits can be so deep it wont clean up with a .030 bore, but then again maybe the bores didn't rust ? If you do rebuild it have block and head Magnufluxed for cracks. Water can crack anything when frozen. Its very odd to see rust on the outer part of the head like that though, its almost like it was poured into the engine. I hope its OK.

Re: 1966 "find and fix"
 

It is weird, the rust is almost like sand. It is dry, it just vacuumed up. The rockers were not pitted at all, after I sprayed blaster on them the rust seemed to just rub off. It was suggested that maybe it had a blown head gasket that caused it to rust up like that. I deliver parts for a local auto parts store, I am going to check with the machine shop for their opinion.
Thanks for the offer on the 292, but that is a little far for me.

Re: 1966 "find and fix"
 

Wow! Hopefully it'll clean up nice...

Re: 1966 "find and fix"
 

Crud...I've never seen them that bad! lol. While yer at it ya might consider taking a flashlight and looking at the cylinder walls...and maybe even pull the pan to see what shape the bottom end is in...Either someone put a ton of water in there....or I don't know what the heck! lol. Jese! I have a 292 that sat in moisture for 13 years and runs great. You could buy a crate engine 250 and call it good. Re-paint it the oem green and no one but you would know the difference. :chevy:

Re: 1966 "find and fix"
 

I would think a good machine shop could hot tank it and get it apart for a rebuild, I would be worried about the cylinder walls getting pitted...

Hope it turns out for the best...

This might change your plan to start with if the engine is not salvageable. But do a V8 swap and keep everything else as you planned...just a thought...

Re: 1966 "find and fix"
 

I talked to several people today, a couple were mechanics. Two of the mechanics thought it was sludge in the motor from inferior motor oil that dried up over the years, and drew moisture. I am going to pull it and tear it down and go from there.

Re: 1966 "find and fix"
 

Drained the old oil today. Probably was a quart, maybe two of antifreeze in the oil. I am hoping maybe it is only a blown head gasket. I also pulled the distributor, finally a little good news, the oil pump shaft was clean, just covered with oil. The old oil looked red in the sunlight for some reason. Oh well the saga continues......

Re: 1966 "find and fix"
 

VERY nice truck, and I'm looking forward to seeing it running around here, since you don't live that far away. I hope you're able to get it running without too much more trouble. You may get by just pulling the head off, seeing how everything else looks, and going from there.
Again, congrats on finding this truck!