'66 Project in Texas

[Chuck Nukem]

Hey guys how yall doin? This is my first post, id been lurking on the forum for a while, but a few weeks ago i came home with this beast. This place seems to have a wealth of knowledge, and im certainly glad to be here! Its my first time restoring anything so im def gonna have some questions as i make my way through this!











the first question ive got is about the radiator. the one i have doesnt seem to match what autozone/lmc say mine is. it looks like the 60-62 radiator from this place

Mine


60-62


63-66


my truck has all the mounting brackets for the earlier radiator. Has anyone else had this discrepancy?

I also need a little help on engine/transmission identification. Im pretty sure its a 283, but not 100%. The trans, its a 4 speed with a granny gear that someone put it afterwords. What might be the best way to go about identifying it?

Thanks guys,
Charles

[198plus]

Welcome.......Looks like a pretty nice truck.

[drogers]

Welcome to the board. Someone will jump in here shortly with some info on that radiator.. I have not been at this long enough to know for sure..

[TheDark1]

Welcome, I do believe you are correct on the radiator. All of the ones I've seen were like the square one, with a top and bottom bracket to hold it in place. They may have had some cross over to other years though, I'm not an expert on anything. You'll need to get numbers off of the block and post them to have an idea about the engine. There should be a flat pad on the passenger side of the block by the head, under the a/c compressor, with some numbers stamped into it. Post all of those and someone will be able help. Nice truck, a '66 big window with A/C and V-8. Cool....
Oh yeah, if you need help or info, ask before you break something. If you don't, everyone will point and laugh. Just kidding, everyone is here to help each other.

[MXmaniac]

Welcome from Denton!

I'm pretty sure your transmission would be the SM420, but since you say it isn't original it might be the later SM465.

Here's some pages to get you started on the tranny ID:
http://www.novak-adapt.com/knowledge/sm420.htm

http://www.novak-adapt.com/knowledge/sm465.htm

[LILRED66]

Welcome to the forums from Kansas City, KS. It appears you have a good start on a daily driver or project.

The radiator appears to be from an early '60-'63 Chevy truck, which, for the most part, would be interchangeable with the 4-5-6 Chevy trucks. Additionally, if the top tank is stamped with HARRISON, you have an original or factory replacement. The HARRISON is not currently offered in the aftermarket...some care and some do not, I just thought I would let you know.

A 283 was the only V8 available in the Chevy C10 (1/2 ton) trucks from '60-'65 and the 327 became available in 1966, so you could possibly have a 327, but I would bet it is a 283, only because there were so many of them produced with the 283/SM420 combination. I would venture to say the 4-speed, granny low transmission is factory, as well.

If this is your first project, I feel compelled to offer some thoughts:

1. Have a plan...make a list of the things you want to do. Although plans change as money and time allow, a plan is better than no plan.

2. Only tackle items that keep the truck driveable, within reason...by doing so, you will be able to enjoy the truck. Many ambitious plans have fallen to the wayside, because the project sat in the garage for several months due to limited funds, time, knowledge or a combination of all three, only to become someone else's project. Try to tackle items one at a time, so you can have it back together by the end of the night or the end of the weekend.

3. There are some extremely talented individuals on this site, that make some of the difficult tasks, like bodywork, patch panels, suspension mods and painting, seems easy, so keep in mind, many of these guys are seasoned veterans or have acquired their skills over a long period of time or on a previous project. Many times, a project turns out to be more difficult than perceived and the owner loses interest or their spirit is broken because it didn't come to them as easy as it appeared when others did the same task.

I am not trying to preach, only help you avoid some of the pitfalls to acquiring a truck, that turns into a project, that turns into a burden and the fun is lost in the process.

Good luck with your project and keep us posted on your progress. We like lots of photos.

[62 short step]

Welcome! Looks like a good truck. That is some good advice mentioned above, good luck with it and have fun!

[drasticwagon]

Awesome , Have fun. I am down the highway in Haslet.

[Ynotnow817]

Nice truck. Looks like your steering wheel and mine have something in common.

[Captainfab]

Welcome to the board

Nice truck to work with.

That's some good advise Tony gave......can't add much to it.

[62gmc910]

Couple of identification tips 283s had a no or a tiny balancer , SM420s reverse is beside 4th , SM 465s reverse is beside 2nd. NICE score on the truck and as tony said 60-63rad but i believe the support was drilled for that rad right up to 66?? if you have cooling issues I think a 76 ish Nova cross flow rad will fit between the inner fenders cross flow is way more efficient

[816allen]

Cool truck man!

[Chuck Nukem]

Well boys....time to resurrect one from the dead! I have made some progress over the last 5+ years...getting ready to tie this one up

[Chuck Nukem]

I should preface this with the fact that I did not know how to work on cars let alone restore one when I bought this...I bought it to learn and if I knew then what I know now I would have bought the stinking complete rocker panel....I was too dumb to buy a new one so I made that piece....

[Chuck Nukem]

So this is the part where it took me a week to sandblast the frame because I didn't know that my air compressor wasn't big enough to air up a lawn mower tire.

I got a big 80 gallon to do the body....still took forever.

[Mathew21]

Great progress! Keep us updated.

[Chuck Nukem]

Part of the reason that progress got delayed was that I got tied up finishing school. The main reason is that I started to get in to little British cars. I happened on a pair of basket cases and have been restoring one of them simultaneously with the truck. It is a Lotus Europa and the neat thing about these little cars besides that they are mid engined is that they weigh between 1300-1500 lbs depending on which one you run. The black one is a '72 model that got pulled out of the Gulf of Mexico and you can tell from the gas tanks! The green one is a '67 that is a very early production car. It is missing many of the modern comforts that we take for granted these days such as....adjustable seats and windows that roll down. The windows are actually plexi glass pop in pieces.

[Chuck Nukem]

So I decided to swap to an '86 front end to get discs. I bought the 6 lug rotors off summit. I am keeping power steering from the '86 as well. Instead of chopping the frame I decided to CNC a spacer bracket out of aluminum. Hopefully I will have the front end changed over this weekend... I am dying to bolt panels back on!

I also picked up the 17 gal LMC frame mount tank. Fit like a charm!

[Chuck Nukem]

Finally got the discs fitted and all the suspension restored. My bracket seems to fit just right. I guess we will find out how I did when alignment time comes...

Going to be welding the duals up this weekend. I got some 40 series flowmasters to go on it. Might get the cab on the frame before April at this rate!

[MOONLIGHT CUSTOMS]

Originally Posted by Chuck Nukem

Finally got the discs fitted and all the suspension restored. My bracket seems to fit just right. I guess we will find out how I did when alignment time comes...

Going to be welding the duals up this weekend. I got some 40 series flowmasters to go on it. Might get the cab on the frame before April at this rate!

I love that steering box bracket

[DPowers]

Very nice

[aggie91]

Nice work so far. Bracket looks good for the steering box. What are the bodies on the Lotus cars made out of, looks like it could be aluminum or fiberglass?

[Chuck Nukem]

Thanks guys!

The cars are pure fiberglass. The shells probably weigh about 150 lbs. Two people can easily pick one up. I am bonding an aluminum honeycomb/ carbon fiber fire wall in to the black car to replace the now disintegrated factory MDF "on fire" wall. Lotus were pioneers in value engineering! It was once said that the founder of Lotus got disqualified from a race for painting a piece of paper with aluminum paint and using it as a "bulkhead" in a race car. I have never driven one of these little things but they are reputed to have gravity defying handling. The frame on them is made form 16ga steel...the same as the door panels on our trucks! I am going to run a ford zetec (original engine was a ford block with a lotus cast head. Ford kept the bellhousing pattern all the way to the first gen focus....used zetec was MUCH cheaper than rebuilding the old engine). Stock power for the original was 105hp. I am going to run yamaha r6 throttle bodies on the new FI engine and ditch the cats so I am expecting to see 140hp or so. Should be plenty quick for 1500 lbs.



On the truck front I am going to get to work on machining up a serpentine belt bracket system to hold the power steering pump and an AC compressor. Does anybody have a part number for a good sized 134a unit they could recommend? I have been digging through rock auto's later chevy selection and found a few possibles, but haven't decided on anything yet.

[clemdaddy]

love your truck. hope you plan to get back on it soon because you have done a lot of excellent work and it would be a shame to not finish. you know i think you'll need something to tow those little cars around with, when they break. just saying... love your truck.

[Chuck Nukem]

Thanks! Cars are definitely on the back burner and the truck will be done first...It was my first project after all!