Bringing the '65 back to life
 

I've been lurking here for a while now, so I figured it was about time I registered and made the obligatory introductory post. It just so happens that it will be a build thread as well.

After residing in the often forgotten backroom of the shop for nearly twenty-five years, my father and I have finally begun to work on his '65 C10. The truck is one of four that his father ordered new in late-'64 from a St. Louis dealership for his business as a General Contractor. The truck was used as a work truck for a couple of decades and passed around in the family before it went dormant in the back of the shop. Last licensed in '88, it has 64K original miles.

I hope you're ready for some pictures.

Here is the truck, laying in state, as it has for over two decades.
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y20...ps50ebad01.jpg


The first time the door has been opened in at least five years.
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y20...ps9228fb62.jpg


The first time the truck has seen daylight in a long time. I'm pulling the truck around the shop while the old guy steers. The wheels were a cheap Craigslist find that we picked up to use as rolling stock for now.
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y20...ps8fa09c11.jpg


In the shop, ready to get to work.
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y20...ps860f6343.jpg


You know, I used to be able to say that I had never vacuumed the exterior of a vehicle before. Not anymore. Here's a half/half shot taken while vacuuming the dust off the truck.
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y20...ps84f77cff.jpg


My father remembers helping his Dad install a steel sheet over the original wood bed floor sometime around '67-'68. Here we're cutting the welds attaching it to the bed to get down to the wood.
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y20...ps5fc14829.jpg
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y20...ps2bc4e09b.jpg


Seat, fuel tank, door sills, and floor mat removed.
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y20...ps8999f894.jpg


Looks like we'll be needing some floor pans.
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y20...ps842fd2e9.jpg
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y20...ps460f0e92.jpg

The 230c.i. sixer waiting on a new coil and plug wires. I replaced the points and condenser today, only to find a dead coil.
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y20...ps9ddc2dc8.jpg

Pulling the front fenders, bumpers, and bed.
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y20...pse37f56cf.jpg
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y20...psdde83f07.jpg


And that's where we're at for the moment. Since the last car we built was for me, my Dad gets to call the shots (personal preference-wise) on this one. The plan for now is to get the stock 230 running, sell it, and get to work on the body. The current thinking is that it will end up being painted satin black, and we have a 355 SBC ready to drop in place of the sixer. Eventually, he'd like it to receive a LS-based swap, but that isn't in the budget just yet. The goal is a reliable hot rod truck for my parents to enjoy, without going so far with the build that they're afraid to take it/park it places (which is what our last build, my car, turned into).

I plan on ordering new floor pans, rockers, cab supports, cab corners and a few other parts tomorrow. From what I've read on here, it seems like Top Banana is the way to go. Do they offer a member discount? As the body work progresses, I'll likely start looking toward CPP for front drop spindles, disc brakes, and a booster/master cylinder assembly.

Re: Bringing the '65 back to life
 

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I thought I'd add a few pics of the last car we built together. This one is my toy, a '90 Mercury Cougar XR7. We swapped in a 5.0L DOHC V8 stroker with a 2.1L Kenne Bell SC, 4R70W transmission, full OBD-II engine management (tuned by me), two seperate methanol injection systems, etc. I spent my college-era weekends driving home to work on this thing. The car was stripped to a bare shell, repainted twilight blue metallic in place of the original white, and completely rewired. Only the body shell, doors, front K-member, trunklid, rear bumper cover, and mirror shells remain of the car we started with. It ran a 12.179 @ 113.58 MPH with 10 psi of boost this year, though I'm hoping to break into the 11's next year after a few mods this winter.

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y20...ps27df52df.jpg
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y20...r/P1090032.jpg
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y20...e/P1110830.jpg
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y20...erior10-12.jpg
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y20...ps56cd8d25.jpg
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y20...t/P1110057.jpg
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y20...onthelift2.jpg
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y20...onthelift5.jpg
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y20...ps1de6b603.jpg
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y20...ps917172e5.jpg

Re: Bringing the '65 back to life
 

I wasn't aware of the time limit on editing a post. The reserved posts above can be deleted.

Re: Bringing the '65 back to life
 

One last tangent...

A close friend of mine picked up this '64 C10 a couple years back, and we've been working on it as time allows. The stock 283 has been swapped out for a '64 300hp 327/700R4 combo, the stock seat has been replaced by one from a late-model Silverado, and it's about to receive similar rust repair work as the '65 above. We had it "together" enough for him to take it on one of our annual Hot Rods & Handlebars cruises, with my Dad as co-pilot. A couple hundred miles in my friend's '64 was all it took to get the old guy motivated to get started on his '65.

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y20...ps1b10bb6f.jpg
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y20...ps945fd07c.jpg
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y20...to07202111.jpg
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y20...r/IMG_0844.jpg

Re: Bringing the '65 back to life
 

Welcome to the forum :D

Sounds like you have a good plan for your Dad's '65. Keep us posted on your progress.

That is cool that it has been in your family since new.

Nice work on the Cougar. I can't say as I remember seeing one of that vintage. I was surprised to see the IRS under it. Is that original or is it a T-Bird unit?

Re: Bringing the '65 back to life
 

Brings back memories of when I started teardown back in June. Good luck and welcome!

Re: Bringing the '65 back to life
 

Thanks! The 89-97 Cougars and Tbirds shared the same platform (MN12), and were also closely related to the 93-98 Lincoln Mark 8's (FN10 platform). The IRS design on my car is mostly stock, but it's a combination of production, aftermarket, and homemade parts.


Thanks! I've been wanting to start this project for years. It's nice to finally get going.

Re: Bringing the '65 back to life
 

Welcome to the site. Congrats on getting to work on the truck.

BTW I always liked the T-Bird and Cougar. Yours is a stellar example.

Re: Bringing the '65 back to life
 

Well holy cow... and WoW !! on both the Cougar and your dads truck. To have an original owner rig this old is too awesome!!
I always said if I were going to own a Ford, it would be a 68 T-Bird Landau with the suicide doors !! Your Cougar is just too trick !!

So without further pomp and circumstance :hi: and :welcoem: to the board!!

I for one will certainly be watching this build of yours, and do please keep the photos coming !!
You guys certainly look like you know what you are doing ! :metal:

Re: Bringing the '65 back to life
 

Welcome.
Watchin'
http://www.clicksmilies.com/s1106/sp...smiley-018.gif

Re: Bringing the '65 back to life
 

Thanks guys. I should be ordering repair panels for the cab floor, cab supports, rockers, and cab corners today, as soon as I hear back from Top Banana. Once those parts arrive, we can really get to work.

Re: Bringing the '65 back to life
 

Making a little progress on the truck. We removed the bed. Ironically, it's now sitting back where the truck was stored for the past couple of decades. On Thursday, 48 lbs worth of sheetmetal from Top Banana arrived.
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y20...psf6ded86c.jpg

Dad got to make the very first cut on the cab:
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y20...ps17d45395.jpg

Starting to fit pieces:
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y20...psfd589392.jpg

We're currently working on fitting the new pieces, making a few pieces that aren't available, and I just placed another order for some additional panels from Top Banana.

Re: Bringing the '65 back to life
 

Nice truck. And car too.

Re: Bringing the '65 back to life
 

Thanks!

We made a little more progress this weekend. We were both on the mend, so it was a little slow going.

Cutting out and welding in new front and rear door pillars:
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y20...psf2a76363.jpg
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y20...ps6b149f2d.jpg

Fitting the floor pan:
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y20...ps1196d920.jpg

Punching holes for plug welds:
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y20...psdabb758b.jpg

Quitting point for today:
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y20...ps9a4e950d.jpg

The front floor pan pieces have been shaped, flanged, and bead-rolled. They just need a final trim before they go in. It'll be a few weeks before I'm able to get back over to the shop, but it should start falling into place once I get time to work on it.

Re: Bringing the '65 back to life
 

Way cool! Ill be watching! Dig the car also!

Re: Bringing the '65 back to life
 

After working on customer cars and other stuff for the past few weeks, I finally had time to get back to the '65 for a few hours yesterday. The passenger side floor pans still need a little final welding, but they are fit and welded in.

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y20...0/P1060166.jpg

The front floor pan is bead rolled to match the factory floor. It's a shame it won't be seen when the truck is finished.
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y20...0/P1150324.jpg

We removed the hood to get it out of the way. Inner fenders, grill, and core support will be removed next weekend.
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y20...0/P1150285.jpg

Thus far, the replacement panels have fit better than I had expected. A little tweaking here and trimming there is necessary, but everything seems pretty close. The plan for next weekend is to get the kickpanel fit and welded in, then move on to the rocker panel and rear cab corner.

Re: Bringing the '65 back to life
 

Great build.

Keep posting loads of details and pics for those of us in the back of class.

I find forums and build threads the best way to share and learn.
Posted via Mobile Device

Re: Bringing the '65 back to life
 

Thanks! I should have more to share after next weekend.

Re: Bringing the '65 back to life
 

Welcome to the board, looking forward to following along with your progress:canada:

Re: Bringing the '65 back to life
 

Work has continued over the past few weekends, but there hasn't been much worth posting pictures of. Lots of time spent getting the panels to fit correctly. The only piece thus far that has been way off was the rear cab support. I ended up having to narrow it and rework the outer angle to match the original and fit up to the floor and rear pillar correctly.

As of today, the cab supports, floor pans, door pillars, and kickpanel are in. The rocker panel has been fit, but has yet to be installed. As long as I get time next weekend, I should finish up a few plug welds on the long floor support brace, move on to finishing up the kickpanel, then hopefully get the rocker installed. After that, it's time to do the cab corner, finish up my seam welds, and get started on the driverside.

Here are a few pictures from today:

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y20...0/P1150392.jpg
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y20...0/P1150379.jpg
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y20...0/P1150391.jpg

In other news, I got engaged last Friday (March 1st)! The truck now has a "running/driving" deadline of December 2014, as I'd really like it to be present at my wedding (provided that the weather cooperates on that particular day).