The Holy Grail

[monolith]

Ever since I became aware of the 60-66 1 Ton Panels I've wanted one something fierce.

Today I acquired one.

65 GMC-built in Fremont,Ca. The 305 V6 has been replaced with a beautifully running Goodwrench crate 350, still has the old 4 speed with the band brake on the floor(love it!)

Dash is completely unmolested, VERY little rust in this truck. Body is very straight. Dash, gauges, lights, signals, horn all work. Steering is tight and responsive, tranny shifts nice and tight.

Interior is clean, wood floor is in great shape, steel runners as well.

Things that need work are: drivers side door is stuck- wont open at all, it is very slightly ajar- but wont pull out or close all the way whether the exterior button is pushed, the inside handle is used, both or niether.

Has an old thrashed bench seat, no seatbelts.

Has a leak in the left rear wheel cylinder.

Has only 1 hood spring, hood has minor denting and 2 holes where a hood ornament used to live.

Front bumper's a bit banged up, rear bumper has a makeshift tow hitch welded to it.

Windshield's cracked, rear door hinges seem loose, rear window rubber needs replacing.

It's running split rims.

I'll probably throw my white spoke wagon wheels on for now, take care of the brakes, hood spring and doors, and drive it for a while- long term plans are to convert it to a 4x4, maybe a diesel, and make an "Expedition" vehicle out of it- something that I can drive overland and go camping in- nothing extreme- just plain, simple, bulletproof, reliable.

The craigslist pics:

[losthope]

cool find!! theres a guy that drives one around town here that owns a bbq restraunt does bbq catering delivery....business logo on side panels , they look real nice did up!

[Maxxd07]

Great looking project, I also think just about any panel is cool!

[HillfromTn]

Great find ! Panels make cool project vehicles. So many posabilities...

[1Bad62Pro/Street]

You have chosen... wisely.

[jocko]

Originally Posted by 1Bad62Pro/Street

You have chosen... wisely.

now that's some funny stuff....

Congrats, very clean looking truck and I like the overland backcountry rig idea!

[66Gilbert]

Originally Posted by monolith

I'll probably throw my white spoke wagon wheels on for now, take care of the brakes, hood spring and doors, and drive it for a while- long term plans are to convert it to a 4x4, maybe a diesel, and make an "Expedition" vehicle out of it- something that I can drive overland and go camping in- nothing extreme- just plain, simple, bulletproof, reliable.

Yes, convert it to a 4x4. Great idea!!

[monolith]

Selling my house, so I've been packing and moving stuff to storage slowly so I don't have to move everything all at once- It's cutting into my "Truck Time."
At least now I don't have to rent a van.

Cleaned the dash this morning with some Purple Power. Swept the back out, removed some homemade speaker mounts, WD40'd all of the hinges and locks. Gonna replace the wink mirror and try to find a proper dome light. I got some Visors from a later truck that I was going to dye black and put in the Rekker, but a couple weeks later I found a period black pair- so the blue ones will go in this truck.

The usual PO's rats nest of wiring- looks like mostly stereo stuff- I'll be cleaning it up soon.Aftermarket temp,volt and oil pressure gauges all work, I'll probably try to do something with the gauge panel to spruce it up a bit eventually

Carpet's coming out so I can swap seats and assess the floor- which looks good under the parts I've lifted.The fuel line hanging down went to the gas can that I used to get the truck home- didn't use too much fuel- though I could certainly see the difference in level from when I started the trip (about 25 miles)


Extra seat is in better shape than the one that's installed- it's a matching color, so I'll probably recover the bottom and call it good til I get a pair of suitable buckets. I'll be doing some light sanding on the floor to smooth out the rough spots, then refinishing it in black again. Truck's obviously been resprayed,apparently some time ago. It was originally white, but I'd like to try to preserve as much of the current paint as possible- any tips or tricks?


I missed this damage on the initial walkaround(I was concentrating on getting it running)- any advice on repair? Now I see why the hinges seemed loose.



Pics of the engine bay soon to come...

[HillfromTn]

Here's what I did with my gauge cluster. It was very inexpensive, and I think it looks good. Mine was in about the same shape as yours when I started...

[Corts60]

great score man! Is it just me, or are there no heater controls at all on the dash?

[kieth]

Originally Posted by HillfromTn

Here's what I did with my gauge cluster. It was very inexpensive, and I think it looks good. Mine was in about the same shape as yours when I started...

Heres what I did with mine......Kieth

http://kieth.smugmug.com/Trucks/66-G...258658_X8WmmMg

[monolith]

Nice dashes, guys!

I'm gonna have to go the cheap route (as usual) on the dash spruce up- so replating it might be out of the budget- though it looks fantastic, Kieth.

Cort- that pull knob to the left of the glove box is the heater control- I think it just has a smaller knob than I'm used to seeing- though it matches the glove box pull knob, so it looks like it could be stock. I haven't actually tested the heater yet, I may run out and do that tomorrow.

[monolith]

Settled in the new place-I downscaled to an apartment, so now I'm a "parking lot mechanic." been daily driving the panel, the heater works, but now the lights are acting up. Changed the oil in the tranny and diff-the rear was amost dry, but the gears don't look damaged, so I guess I caught it in time. Gonna drop the tank next-been running it with a pair of 5 gallon gas cans in the passenger footwell. Gonna do a tune up, replacing wires, cap and rotor before the weekend and ground the hell out of all of the lights-maybe get a relay kit from the car and truck shop
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[oem4me]

Originally Posted by monolith

Gonna drop the tank next-been running it with a pair of 5 gallon gas cans in the passenger footwell. ]

Ha!, that sounds safe. You don't smoke, do ya?

[monolith]

Originally Posted by oem4me

Ha!, that sounds safe. You don't smoke, do ya?

Nope-and I drive with the vent and windows open all of the time- I smell less gas in the cab than I do driving my 66
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[monolith]

New tank for "The Tank".
Finally got a workspace for my trucks again!
My buddy Jake owns Aero Tanks in San Bernardino. I went to him to see about getting a custom tank made and he got bitten by the 60-66 truck bug. So he designed and built a 50+gallon tank for my panel and showed me how to install it. He even built the tank with return fittings and a drain bung for when I convert the truck to diesel.
tank mocked up before welding.
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[monolith]

These tanks are aluminized steel, made in the good old USA. Mine has a skidplate on it as well.

Test fitting before final build.

I had to cut away my exhaust-they'll now exit in front of the rear wheelwells

Fill will be through the floor just inside the rear doors. This is a marine cover that's watertight so no fumes will enter the truck
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[erock805]

Big flippen truck...cool man.

[BR3W CITY]

I would agree with getting a relay kit for the headlights. When I bought my 66 the po had put halogens in, but left it wired up straight without a relay. Not surprisingly I found melted wires not long after.
Besides relays are cheap.

[jtj143]

Very cool!!! 50 gallon tank will be a huge help. Does it have 8 lug hubs? I don't know what's with the gas cans inside the truck, the po of mine had two mounted in the rear.



Perhaps my sister has been lighting our beacon which, I've just remembered, is grail shaped.

[monolith]

Originally Posted by jtj143

Very cool!!! 50 gallon tank will be a huge help. Does it have 8 lug hubs? I don't know what's with the gas cans inside the truck, the po of mine had two mounted in the rear.



Perhaps my sister has been lighting our beacon which, I've just remembered, is grail shaped.

Lol! Naughty Zoot!
Yes, 8 lugs-eaton ho52(or maybe 72 but I dont see a support bolt on the dropout.
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[monolith]

Installation: make sure all of the taillight wires are out of the way, jack the tank up, center it carefully, endure searing hot metal shavings showering down upon arms and body as you step drill 8 holes through the tank mounts and frame.

Go absolutely mad trying to fish the bolts and washers down through the holes.

Hook up fuel line,new aftermarket gauge, put gas in tank and do donuts around the parking lot without spilling gas all over the inside of the cab.

This pic was taken at bumper level-the tank is tucked up there really well.
Jake can build custom tanks for just about any application
For more info on these tanks check out www.Aerotanks.com.
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[pdxhall]

50 gallons?!? That's about $150-200 a fill-up. Not to mention the weight on the rear. Maybe you can pull some wheelies now.

[mr57]

So your driving range is what now?? 200 miles???

[monolith]

Back to work on the panel-been driving it pretty much daily. Lubed the suspension, ran vinegar through the radiator for a couple of days, flushed it twice and put the proper coolant mix in it. New temp gauge, new gas gauge, pulled the front bumper, going to install an offroad style bumper with a warn winch box welded to it-still have to mock that up, but I got a great deal on a couple of bumpers. Gotta cut the rear tow hitch off and get a real class 3 or 4 hitch installed. Going to roll in some bedliner.
The headlights are giving me fits. I've replaced the switch and the dimmer, and I still have to jerry rig the headlights. I'll be replacing the grille with a known working unit tomorrow and see if that does it.
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