Fryer1979 '66 C-10 Build

[fryer1979]

After a long month of waiting I finally took delivery of my new project Friday the 16th. She is a 1965 Chevy C-10, 2wd, longbed, small window. The plan for her is a complete tear down for a fairly simple frame off resto-mod build. I don't want to do anything too crazy with her as she will be my daily driver when she is complete. So for now I am looking at updating the brakes to discs at all four corners, converting to a 5 on 5 lug pattern, and adding power steering. I'd like to drop her somewhere in the 3-4 range, and use some Torque Thrust wheels. I've got a 327ci to rebuild (shown in pictures), that I will use some basic performanc parts on like; Intake, cam, aluminum heads, ignition, long tube headers etc. I want to use an aftermarket EFI system but haven't decided yet which one, although I am leaning towards the Holley Commander 950 TBI systems. I've got a 700R4 trans to rebuild for her, and would like to run a posi rear end with a gear ratio somewhere between the 3.23 and 3.73 range (not decided there either). Body will be largely stock, just replace a couple bad panels, straighten her up, and give her a nice paint job with some good metal flake.

The interior is where I am still not settled on yet. I don't want to do a whole lot of modification to the factory sheet metal, but it will need to be comfortable enough to drive long distance in addition to every day. My wife's only request in my taking on this project is that I put in some creature comforts for her since we will be using his for a road trip vehicle. AC is a must then, and I am looking into other goodies like; power window kits, seat warmers, and remote door locks. Of course there will be a good ammount of sound deadening material and insulation, as other trucks I have ridden in of this era tend to give that hollow tin can feel. Our biggest contingeny point right now is the color; I am a fan of black interiors, but my wife wants to see a combination of something like a turquiose blue mixed with a cream white (something like the factory offerings).

Sorry for a long post, but it is my introduction to my build project so I figured it was appropriate. I am open to suggestions to help make this project more time/cost efficient, so if you have something by all means fire away. It will be a month of two before I really tear into the truck, mostly because there is a title issue to work out, and I need to get a few more tools in my shop. It's going to be a long build as time and money are in short supply (as I know is very common), but I will do my best to keep updated with as many pictures as possible. I have to appologise for this first round of pics though, my digital camera died the morning of the big delivery, so all I had was my cell phone camera, and the old Razer is getting to be a bit worn out. I will post some crisper pics once I get a new camera. So at long last, here are the pics:

Arrival








Is there some rule about project trucks coming with a bed loaded with stuff?

[fryer1979]

And some more:

The 327:






I may keep these trim pieces:


In the shop with my baby; 1979 Camaro Z28, formerly a rusted heap rescued from a backyard:

[fryer1979]

Not a whole lot yet in progress, but I did borrow a camera and got some more pics. A few good pics of the interior too. Also I go the bed cleared out, and started tearing down the 327.

Well, just spent two hours trying to get those pics to load, not gonna happen. I'll try again later, going to bed now.

[DPowers]

Welcome to the forum- looks like a cool project and from what I can see of the Z/28- you should be able to get this one to where you want it as well. Alot of good info here and some great people to help you out as well.

[fryer1979]

Originally Posted by DPowers

Welcome to the forum- looks like a cool project and from what I can see of the Z/28- you should be able to get this one to where you want it as well. Alot of good info here and some great people to help you out as well.

Thanks for the greeting. The Camaro has been with me for over 10 years now, she is my baby. She needs some work, but I really want to be behind the wheel of another classic before I go tearing her apart. I really am stoked about this Chevy build up, and am really looking forward to sharing stories and information as I go. Seems like a great community so far, and a much more approachable and laid back group than most other online forums I have been on.

I do have more pics to upload, I just can't seem to get them to work. I'll try again tonight.

[protrash64]

Nice project Fryer!! Guessing that it may have some interesting mods from the PO's... I see you already put that extra water pump pulley to use.

[fryer1979]

Originally Posted by protrash64

Nice project Fryer!! Guessing that it may have some interesting mods from the PO's... I see you already put that extra water pump pulley to use.

Thanks. Yes there is a handful of really odd "modifications" all over the truck. I'm hoping that through my build I will be able to correct a lot of these and take the truck to it's simple, and classic beauty. I got a kick out of the water pump pulley too, I didn't even notice my buddy had done that until I was home looking through the pictures.

BTW: still can't get any pics to load, something about a missing security bit? I dunno, maybe it is this computer, I'll have to try the other one when I get home.

[fryer1979]

Can't seem to be able to upload as an attachment, so I'll just host them from another website.





An empty, but pretty much rotted out bed.



A couple shots of the worse spot for body damage, not sure what I will be able to do with this:





And the big, empty engine bay:

[irish1966]

looks great. That looks very like the last truck I had, that I traded for a tattoo. I know, bad move on my part. I had other committments back then.

[fryer1979]

Found the vin today and learned she is actually a 1965.

[Bennydog]

Nice project I would just start over with a new hood.. much easier! Have fun!

[fryer1979]

Nothing new on the 65 yet, but I thought I might take a post to share the other vehicles in my life.

First is my baby; a 1979 Z28. I know it isn't the most popular year but for some reason I have always loved these bodies, and it always makes me laugh when I hear "those years are the ugliest Camaros ever made". I've had her for 10 years now, it took me 8 years of begging the p.o. to sell her to me, and she will stay with me until the day I die.


The second picture is another shot of my shop taken about a week before I brought my '65 C-10 home. You can again see my '79, but in the pic is my wife's hot rod. a 1994 Firebird Formula (LT1 and 4L60E). She bought this car about the time we started dating nine years ago. Also in the pic is the 1984 Z28 I got from a friend of mine who was going to send it to the junkyard in an effort to clear out his backyard. Since I got this car for free, traded this '84 Z28 for the '65 C-10, I guess then that my '65 was also free.


Until I get my '65 done and ready to roll this 2003 Ford Ranger Edge will continue to serve as my daily driver. She's been a great truck for the passed five years I've owned her, and she has more than proved herself as a capable truck. She will be missed.


And finally my wife's daily driver, a 2007 Lexus IS 350. My wife has quite a commute to work (80+ miles one way), so we went with something that would provide a very safe and comfortable drive. Oh, and guess what? The 300 HP V6 under that hood gets the exact same MPG that her previous 4 banger econobox did, 32mpg average!

[fryer1979]

I almost forgot, I got my first parts for the Chevy the other day. Don't worry, I'm gonna get a set of aftermarket tail light lenses to cut, and they will only be in place on cruise nights. Good fun though.


And while I am still at it, here is one of the wheels to go on it. For cruise nights though I want to get a set of painted steelies with chrome caps, beauty rings, and a good set of wide whites.

[irish1966]

I really like those wheels. They'll look sweet on the truck.

[fryer1979]

Thanks Irish, the Torque Thrust wheels have been my favorites for as long as I can remember. They should be a good set of wheels for a DD.

[fryer1979]

No pictures to update with yet....but I did have a profitable visit to the local DMV. I have been waiting on title/registration information before I started putting any work into this truck. As is true to form i am a paranoid person, and didn't want to put a bunch of work into it, only to have issues trying to register it down the road, or worse yet loose it to an unknown owner. But we are free and clear, and she is officially all mine. So let the fun begin.

[irish1966]

Congrats man!!! It's never fun, when ownership is in question. I got bitten by that one badly before. Long story, but I paid some guys to work on a truck and they stole it before I could get the ownership sorted.

[fryer1979]

AAAAHHHH....Finally got to scratch the itch a little, spent a few hours yesterday afternoon taking the front end apart. It never fails to amuse me how simple cars and trucks are built. I made some pretty good progress for working on my own and managed to get pretty much the whole thing apart. Once I was satisfied with my front end disassembly I started working on the interior, but only got the seats and center console out before fatigue took over (spent all morning in the sun working in the yard). I'm gonna try and get back out tonight when I get home from work and get some more work done. Maybe even get some pictures of some of the typical rust spots that appear to be nice and clean on this truck, gotta love the high Nevada desert. Here's a couple shots from yesterday's work.

[fryer1979]

No pictures to post today since all of my work has been done from my office here at work. Today I managed to work a deal with a guy for a 1981 Chevy 1/2 ton in trade for an old rifle I had laying around and was wanting to sell. This newer Chevy will give me the parts for the disc brake and power steering swap, and it also includes a running/driving 350/TH350 combo. But get this: that motor and tranny aren't Chevy, they're OLDSMOBILE! This should be crazy fun. I'll post some pics up when I pick up the truck this Friday.

[jason65]

Floorboards look real good from the pics. Congrats on the parts truck. Front disk/power brakes are one of the best things I did to my truck.

[irish1966]

nice score on the parts truck. We need more pics man!!

[Clyde65]

Congrats on the new member of the family. Since you found out the engine is an Olds and it isnt a 327 either, do a 4.8 or 5.3/4l60 in it!

You will get everything your little woman wants and the reliability your looking for, along with the cool factor.

[fryer1979]

Thanks guys. I will get some more pics posted up this weekend.

The motor pictured above here is a 327 Chevy, the one coming in the '81 parts truct is the Olds 350. Since finances have drastically changed since i took on this project a couple months ago, the object is to just get this truck on the road as nice and as cheap as I can. As my financial situation improves I'll be able to do the upgrades that I want. Kind of sucks because I really wanted to do a build it once, build it right deal. Fortunately this cab is in really great shape and doesn't need hardly anything in the way of rust repair. I'll use the Olds 350/350 combo since they are said to be in good running condition, with a basic edelbrock manifold and 4 barrel carb I happen to have laying around the shop. Try to bang out the dents and dings as best I can with my pre-beginner bodywork skills, and cover it with some basic single stage paint (probably a red color since it covers well). I'll still post as many pics as I can, but the build will most likely end up being pretty run of the mill.

[fryer1979]

I got my first welding lesson last night! I know a lot of people have been doing this their whole life and are probably thinking "big deal", but to me it is. Growing up, no one in my family was into cars as anything more than a way to get from one place to another. Most of my family would make fun of me working on cars, and my dad was a reliable source for discouragement. Over the years I met some people that taught me a lot, and I have learned a lot on my own through trial and error, then a 12 year run as a mechanic. Through all of this I really wanting to learn welding, but never had the opportunity. The friends that would teach me didn't have the equipment, and I could never afford the community college classes. So finally last night in a junkyard in Reno Nv., I got to run my first bead. Did some practice beads on a scrap piece of 1/4" sheet metal, then got to weld together one of the brackets for my bubby's transmission cross member. I was so excited about the welding i forgot to take any pictures, but I think my buddy may have gotten 1 or 2. I'll have to check with him when I get off work.

I also got quite a bit of tear-down progress on the '65, as well as brought my '80 parts truck back to the shop. I'll get the photos uploaded from my cell phone when I get home tonight.

[redneck6]

you are a naturel on the welding , got to get a pictrue of the sticker on ur rear window , all be it a small back window lol , did i metion that the other truck i am geting is a big back window and all ready a swb . o ya and i will be needing a new hood most likly and you have dibs on old one that is on there to use as a patch panell for yours . pm me on details of the title bro . Got to love being on lock down in the am >