65 farmtruck build
 

Hi everyone my name is Zach an this is my build thread I bought my grandparents ole 65 chevy so little history of my 65 it was originally school bus yellow with a 292 with a 3 on the tree. When my grandfather bought it it was restored an painted white with a 350 an farm 4 speed on the floor he has owned it since 1995. I bought the truck in march of 2015 an then the fun began lol first time I drove the truck was on the trailer to take it home it had a wore out tired carb that never quite worked right

Re: 65 farmtruck build
 

When I got the truck home I noticed it had three different tire sizes on it so I had the take off 265/75R16 toyo's off my 99 Z71 bought some wheels off a friend of mine they look pretty good on this ole farm truck lol I was really surprised they cleared to be honest because the spring were heated.

Re: 65 farmtruck build
 

so noticed I had a top radiator tank leak so I pulled it out went down to the radiator shop an they said its not worth fixing but they hooked me up with a new reproduction copper brass radiator and picked up my fuel tank I had them wash out same day. while I was at the radiator I decided to trash the flex fan that was on the engine an install a solid fan make sure there's no overheating issues

Re: 65 farmtruck build
 

The truck came from factory with idiot lights so along with making sure the truck doesn't over heat I found a complete gauge cluster an harness out of a yard had it shipped to the house now before I tackled this job I did tons of research on this site and others on the internet I couldn't have don't this job with out the threads of other people that had done this before me so here are some pics the most difficult was I had to repin the main plug on the driver side fire wall coz the one that came on the harness was broke luckily after all the research I did this project only took about half a day lol

Re: 65 farmtruck build
 

after the wiring harness and gauge swap in july 2015 I had a car show to go to with my dad in notus Idaho which where we are from and is 150 miles from were we live currently so I had to scramble an get a tune up, HEI swap, carb rebuilt, Edelbrock performer before we go so got it all done in a weekend before the big trip an on this trip I found out that that 350 is wore out I had to stop every 60 miles to add a quart of oil lol time for a heart transplant.

Re: 65 farmtruck build
 

Nice story and sweet looking truck.

Welcome,
I'm following along on this one.

Re: 65 farmtruck build
 

Thanks man I really appreciate it I ran out of time today ill try an finish it up to date still got the engine swap I gotta post lol

Re: 65 farmtruck build
 

So after the notus car show drove 300 miles with no issues other then stopping every 60 miles to add a quart of oil and got about 15mpg not bad for no overdrive in a 50yr old truck an a wore out 350 lol. so I was on the hunt for a new engine was looking for a 327 to swap in but I found a 350 that ran great had 120lbs of compression on all 8 cly for cheap bought the engine with truck still attached so I pulled the engine sold the truck and swapped it in runs amazing every time I start it it impresses me here are some pics

Re: 65 farmtruck build
 

an so let the tear down start

Re: 65 farmtruck build
 

degrease an paint everything

Re: 65 farmtruck build
 

time for shiny bolts lol and install

Re: 65 farmtruck build
 

had one issue that confirmed that this truck was a 292 had the engine tower on passenger side wouldn't line up right who ever did the engine before just moved the tower back with one bolt holding it into the truck so the hunt began for a correct engine tower, found one at my grandparents where I bought my truck had to pull one out of another 65 with a 235

Re: 65 farmtruck build
 

I like it....It looks very familiar, just seems to be stretched a little and sit a bit high to what I am use too. ;)

very nice truck!

Re: 65 farmtruck build
 

Thank you yes it sits too high for sure I love the ride of the long box tho thing just floats like a boat just need to drop it about 4" lol

Re: 65 farmtruck build
 

Glad to see the build thread started and moving along! Great story!:metal:

Re: 65 farmtruck build
 

Yes sir lol this was all within a year of owning the truck lol

Re: 65 farmtruck build
 

Ok got a little head way this weekend I got my custom cowl hood installed as well as sealed the bottom of the hood in paint an washed the light bezels through the dish washer lol then painted the bezels in a metallic silver even did the inside an I think it made a difference making the marker lights brighter now I just need just need to spray it white in a couple weeks

Re: 65 farmtruck build
 

That hood is sweet!

Re: 65 farmtruck build
 

Heck yeah dude my buddy jason built it for his 65 suburban then had another one made by a custom shop

Re: 65 farmtruck build
 

:agree:

That looks really nice and will really be good once it is white!:metal:

Re: 65 farmtruck build
 

Yup give me a couple weeks an it will be lol

Re: 65 farmtruck build
 

Ok all I have done some painting on the hood and 300 miles later here we are

Re: 65 farmtruck build
 

Ok after the 300 mole trip for a car show in my truck I went on another road trip from southern Idaho to Winnemucca NV for a very special part I been looking for 10 months for this part but I am now a proud owner of this beauty this is a a833 np440 4speed overdrive out of a 81-86 c10 factory hurst shifter bellhousing everything I need for the swap this winter :)

Re: 65 farmtruck build
 

Finally got my a833 all cleaned up painted up everything looks good inside new side cover gasket and reverse switch.

Re: 65 farmtruck build
 

Finally got my rallies powder coated and wrapped them up in 255/70R15 grand prix shoes im so glad to be back on 15's lol

Re: 65 farmtruck build
 

Alright gents its overdrive time!!! first things first got to take out the old farm speed trans tunnel first then drive line trans to bell then bell to engine then the fun begins time to cut out the bellhousing crossmember. took me a while to cut all 8 rivets out but finally got it then it was time to get the NP440 ready to go in.

Re: 65 farmtruck build
 

Its in finally overdrive in my baby!! had to use a th350 crossmember fit like a glove only issues I ran into was the holes on the crossmember to the holes in the frame where 1/2" off of eachother. so to make sure I was square with the crossmember in the frame I got the four rear holes to line up two on the bottom an the two on the top. so I put the bolts in those holes and tightened them down now I drilled the crossmember for the bottom holes and drilled the frame for the top of the crossmember. the second issue I ran into was I had to remove the rivets and put the e brake crossmember 1 1/2" below the frame rails.

Re: 65 farmtruck build
 

alright next is to button up the floor then waiting on the drive line

Re: 65 farmtruck build
 

So as I wait for the driveline to come back from the shop I picked up some lowering springs from a buddy that bagged his 71

before pic was with the jeep springs and air shocks

after pic is with the 71 springs with air shocks dropped the truck an other 2.5"

Re: 65 farmtruck build
 

don't get any better than keeping it in the family! beautiful rig

Re: 65 farmtruck build
 

ha ha, that is so common with these "farm" trucks, they would slap anything on them to keep em going, mine was a three legged dog as well

Re: 65 farmtruck build
 

what year engine is that, just wondering if it's a flat tapid and two piece rear main seal or roller cam and a single piece rear main seal?

Re: 65 farmtruck build
 

Thanks gregski and yes not only did it have miss match tires on all four corners the soild aluminum wheels where 8" on the front an 10" on th e back

Re: 65 farmtruck build
 

awesome, another convert! next step for the both of us with this tranny would be the hydraulic clutch setup, we will need a different bell housing for it, but could be worth it

Re: 65 farmtruck build
 

dang son, you do good clean work!

Re: 65 farmtruck build
 

It came.out of a 76 3/4ton 4x4 farm truck 4 bolt main flat tappet cam two peice rear main. I wish it was a roller cam block

Re: 65 farmtruck build
 

Hahaha thank you sir

Re: 65 farmtruck build
 

Haven't been on here in a while but truck update driveline is in clutch feels great shifts really really smooth. best part is I can cruise down the freeway at 80mph @ 2400rpm could not ask for anything better next thing I need for the np440 is a speedo gear @55mph my speedo reads 70 mph lol

Re: 65 farmtruck build
 

Ok so as im just tinkering on my truck for now I decided to add in door jamb switches very easy an quick install and I must say im very happy with it. the switches I used I got from napa they are a 5/16 not a 3/8 and just splice into the white wire going to the dome light.

Re: 65 farmtruck build
 

Been awhile since I posted haven't done much to the truck except drive it truck runs and drives great I am in the process of building a roller cam 383 vortec for it got the heads done with LS1 valve springs and light port and polish work just bought the block waiting on the rotating assembly. after the engine is in I can focus on buying a 5/7 drop with disc swap.