Questions about a 63

[Ackattack]

I was talking to my wife's uncle, and he has a friend that has several old vehicles that he wants to get rid of. On of them that peaked my interest is a 63 Chevy short bed (don't know if its a fleetside or stepside).

I'm very familiar with the 67-72s, but not so much with the 60-66s. So is the front suspension pretty much the same at the 67-70s (IFS with drum brakes). I know the rear suspesion is pretty much the same. I assume they're 6 lug, right?

What are some common rust problem areas on this era? On the 67-72s the inner/outer rocker, kick panels, floor board, cab supports, and cab corners are obvious but relatively easy to replaced, but the upper windshield corners will also rust, and they don't remake that portion.

I have not seen any pics of this truck, but the $600 asking price sounded good. I know a 67-72 SWB truck is worth $600 in almost any condition, so I figure the same holds true with a 60-66.

Assuming it's in rougher condition, I'd probably just make a rat rod out of it, but I guess we'll see. It is located in eastern colorado, so I may have my dad go get it (he lives in western KS). I'm working on moving back to KS, so I'd have a project waiting for me

[markeb01]

The 60-62 chassis is unique and different, but the 63-72's are fundamentally the same and many parts interchange. The 67-72 rear axles are wider by 3/4" per side I believe. All original 60-66 pickups have 6 lugs and drum brakes, unless they've been upgraded. Here's a thread on suspension/disc brake variances:

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=367260

And here's one about common rust areas:

http://www.stovebolt.com/techtips/bu...uide_60_66.htm

[SCOTI]

To summarize info but not be explicitor w/o exception:

60-62 torsion bar front suspension w/'X' style frame; drum brakes; 6-lug 61" 17-spline rear housing.
63-66 un-equal length a-arms/coils; drum brakes; 6-lug 61" 17-spline rear housings (63-65); 30-spline (65-66).
67-70 un-equal length a-arms/coils; drum brakes; 6-lug 61" 30-spline rear housing; some late 70 models were 6-lug 62.5" 30-spline rear housings.
71-72 un-equal length a-arms/coils; disc brakes; 5-lug 62.5" 30-spline rear housings.
73-87 un-equal length a-arms w/rubber bushings & coils; disc brakes; 5-lug 62.5" 30-spline rear housings (leaf only).

63-87 front suspensions interchange.
60-72 rear suspensions interchange but will require different back-spacing to be optimum & could be ordered as leaf or coil.

[aerotruk63]

Rust area's:

Grille support behind the headlights also along bottom edge behind the bumper.

Bottom of rad support around the mounting bolt to the frame.

Inner fenders near the rad support on top. There's two layers that corrode between.

Front fenders at the point in the front on top, in the bottom curve behind the headlights, at the bottoms rear and along the edge where the fender meets the door.

Hood, along the front edge and at the bottom rears where hood, cowl extension and fenders meet.

Door stop checks let go in these trucks which allows the door to open to far. The door then dents where it makes contact with the front fender.

Door outer skin at the bottom front and back, again two layers corrosion in between.

Inner door panel same locations.


Cab supports, more so in the front.

Cab floor predominantly drivers side under the gas pedal, running along the cab support to the dog leg of the door, same on passenger side. Everywhere under rubber mat.

The channel in the cab between the back panel and dog leg.

Top of the windshield inside of the cab.

Roof panel rain gutter more so at the windshield pillars.

Inner rocker panels, more so where the cab supports bolt together.

Outer rocker panels along the seam at the bottom.

Bottom of the cab corners.

The bottom seam where the cab floor welds to the back panel.

The box cross beams under the wood floor.

The bed strips attached to the bed sides that the wood floor gets bolted to.

Basically everywhere two pieces of metal meet.

Besides those areas, these truck's are great!

Advise: take a friend to look at it, you`ll be to excited to see the faults but you`ll end up buying it anyways cause it`s just so nice. Don`t buy any other year, you`ll just end up disappointed. ( Personal Opinion )