The Phoenix Rises

[Wrecker55]

OK ,I like what I see on this board so I'll show you what a no talent carpenter can do with the ashes. For those that haven't seen my 64 C10, this is what happens when a fuel line springs a leak......all kinds of excitement happens, glass melting, tires blowing out, wires melt and starter tries to fire up, air bags popping.... you get the idea, and 1 of those little fire extinguishers don't did nada to a roaring gas fire.My neighbor is the fire capt. said let the boys put it out, only took em 15 mins to find the place, guess the think black smoke wasn't enuff, could see it 10 miles away

[Wrecker55]

It was insured,Grundy, hell of a good company if I say so myself. Bought the salvage back 500 bucks. basically the body was toast(pun intended) but the frame and drive train was ok. I sold the body to a guy that thought it would make a cool rat rod, I had a 55 1st series wrecker that I got from my dad a few years ago ...so I decided to put the cab and wrecker on this chassis.Sold the motor and tranny from the 55, cleaned up the 64 chassis

[Wrecker55]

I had to replace the non-fire proof air bags and front tires, cleaned her up and brushed a little por15 on ,seems to stick great to the ruff surface but peals right off bare metal, so some shiney black rattle can will cover that. I had a free 73 1/2 ton sitting here so I stole some parts I needed such as tires and other things

[Wrecker55]

OK ,just to let you know i'm not that fast I started this last Dec.and it's been a few months since I worked on her, lack of job makes for slow progress so it's what ever I can get done that don't cost me at the moment. Anyway it has a bigblock, hughes turbo 400/w2400 hughes converter, 12 bolt diff , narrowed with eaton posi and strange axles, 3.73 ratio. Tubular a-arms with dropped spindles, frame was back assed with coil overs and notched, 30 gal blazer fuel tank. I mocked up the cab and dog house to make sure of clearance for the motor and tranny. The body went on ez, only had to widen the front mounts a inch or so, and moved the rear mounts to fit, made new crossmember for the rad support, Oh, BTW i'm learning how to weld as I go along on this, figure now's a good time,any how everything fits with a little trim over the tranny

[Wrecker55]

mocked up a bed with wood to see what looks good for the boom, was way long so I wacked a few off the end, still not sure what way I'm going here so it may change again, boom sits to high 4 my liking

[Wrecker55]

Got excited with the bed so it's gonna sit till the end. I figured motor was good but took off the manifold a saw water from the fire guys so I had to tear her down. Big surprise here, my 496 stroker turned into a cast crank 69-396 last time my motor builder changed the cam, thank you so much Reaper's Racing of Prescott Valley, Az, of course he has disappered since and have heard many more similar stories from others since. Gotta stop trusting people so much, my bad. Anyway need new crank and rings and bearings, just so happened my new motor guy needs his vette seats reupholstered so we worked out a trade and only cost me material for the seats to get my 396 freshened up

[57ToyBox]

What a story!!... and that is so cool you took the time to get pictures of your truck Bar B-Q.
I'd never think of grabbing the camera... I'd be looking for a place to lay down and cry, cause my baby is going up in a cloud of black smoke.

Your next project is looking good.

[Kim57]

Very cool. Sorry about your engine woes.
Kim

[hdhracerx]

Really like the stance and direction of this truck. Also, like the simple pinstriping line. That, with the more open wheel wells reduce the height of the truck and give it almost a sectioned look.

I especially like the front bumper(s), and would love to find that set up for my truck as well?

Can you tell what the front wheel/tire combo is on there in the pics? Seem to fit perfectly in that wheel well. Is the fender radiused to clear the tires?

(I just purchased a 54 that had a full chassis upgrade about 15 years ago, so it can sits fairly low and still drive well. Thinking about lowering it a bit more and actually making it look a bit like a period stock car. If I do go that route, big meats on 15" steel wheels will probably be the way to go).

I'm thinking also about trying my hand a bit at the seat upholstery as mine has a rotted out stock cover that smells a bit bad. Any recommendations for the first time on this type of seat? Oh, and I want to lower the seat a bit too - 2" or so. What are your plans for the interior?

Good luck with it!

[Wrecker55]

Hdh, 64 is wider than the 55 so yea, had to radius the fenders to get it all to work, tires are 10.5 31 BFGs on stock rims. you can get pretty nice seat covers that are ez to install, but if they stink you need to take it to a shop to replace the padding i imagine. Get a junkyard seat thats in good condition, lot more comfy than the 1 you have.Mines getting a full new interior, but leaving the the outside alone. Dang miss those days at Pleasure Point dodging the waste floaters as we surfed, always seemed to have a rash?

[hdhracerx]

Pleasure Pizza offers up Floater Friday specials I think still... Have to get down there on the 3rd and wear my rash guard...

Nice seat! Someone with some skills stitched that up. The creamy frame looks pretty tasty too.

I'm going CHEAP on this out the gate, so we're going to try and do it ourselves, but more than likely we'll end up redoing it more than once... Thanks for the heads up on the foam. Since I'd like to lower it anyway, perhaps trimming it down a bit from where the factory sets it is one way to achieve that. I'll post our "job" when we get there - which will be fairly soon initially, because my daughter is going to be all over the inside of Daddy's "new" truck...

Thanks!

[Wrecker55]

MMMMMMM, floater friday? thx, did the seat myself, its a hobby of mine

[Bigblue29]

Wow! Very nice truck... Never seen a wrecker bagged like that before! Looks good!

[joe231]

I'm sorry to see the '64 gone, but it is sacrificing for a very cool project.
Keep up the good work

[Strodder]

Getting caught up with this thread. What a shame about you truck going up in smoke. The new project is going to be nicer.

[Wrecker55]

Thx to all you guys, the 64 was my all time fav hot rod I've ever had, always got crowds when I parked it, and it was wicked fast, but it's only stuff and life goes on, rebuilding it is fun and I'm learning new skills, can't ask for more than that

[daverod]

Damn that sucks. I think I'm going to be a little more careful now that I saw that. I like your attitude. And life goes on. The new trucks going to look way cool. Can't wait

[dieselarmy13]

In

[fryco]

Originally Posted by Wrecker55

Thx to all you guys, the 64 was my all time fav hot rod I've ever had, always got crowds when I parked it, and it was wicked fast, but it's only stuff and life goes on, rebuilding it is fun and I'm learning new skills, can't ask for more than that

sorry about the 64, that thing looked wicked... but, that wrecker will be sweet also. (i'd still be weaping like a 10yr old girl).. lol... good luck!! where you guys find good headers to fit these chassis. i had to have mine made..

[OrrieG]

Can you put up a couple shots of the winch and boom? I have a soft spot for old wreckers too and am curious if it has a sidewinder type winch. It is going to be nice. Thanks

[Wrecker55]

Originally Posted by OrrieG

Can you put up a couple shots of the winch and boom? I have a soft spot for old wreckers too and am curious if it has a sidewinder type winch. It is going to be nice. Thanks

It's a old Ramesy PTO with starter motor diving it off a fan belt, Pop's built it in59

[Wrecker55]

Originally Posted by joe231

hey, you didn't have a glass fuel filter did ya?

no glass filter, suspect it was fuel line developing pin hole leaks, happened on my work truck a few weeks earlier,NAPA was happy to replace it 4 free

Originally Posted by orgalmeister

OK I love the "new" truck build. But I gotta ask, did you at least roast some weenies waiting for the FD to arrive?

LMAO, didn't have a weinnie stick 15ft long, it was a HOT fire

Originally Posted by fryco

sorry about the 64, that thing looked wicked... but, that wrecker will be sweet also. (i'd still be weaping like a 10yr old girl).. lol... good luck!! where you guys find good headers to fit these chassis. i had to have mine made..

Had my headers custom made, very pricey!!! 2in primarys. 3.5 collectors w/Extreme race muffs

[c10addict]

Cool build... Subscribed..

[daverod]

Now I know. I thought it would be a pain.

[joe231]

hey, you didn't have a glass fuel filter did ya?