NAPCO C-50 Chevy restoration

[Dannny B]

I searched Craigslist for 292, hoping to find an engine for my 1960 F-600. I found a listing for a 292 Chevy in a C-50 4wd. It was in an out of the way town in the mountains and still hadn't sold. Nobody goes to Bodfish, Ca. I drove up there to look at it. It looked pretty good and the girl wanted $ 4,000. She had gotten the truck from her father before he died and she didn't want to sell it. She needed money and I bought it.
I got it without the flat bed because I plan to put a 10ft. fleetside bed on it. It had some rust on the hood but, she had an extra that was fine. It has a bit of rust in the corners of the doors but, not too bad.
I have a place up in Oregon and I'm sure that the truck will spend some time in the woods. Knowing this, I started painting the truck with Rustoleum. If I can't avoid scrapes and scratches, I can at least make it easy to touch up.

I've painted lots of stuff and the variouis vids on youtube show good methods for spraying thinned-down Rustoleum to get a very good surface.
The truck has 6 widow-maker rims,,, just like my F-600 had. it has lots of tread so, I can take my time looking for 20s or 22.5s
Reportedly, her father rebuilt the 4-speed and rear diff. It has a rockwell transfer case. Not sure about the axles. She took me on a test drive and it runs nice. It has the 292 but, I have no objection to that. I could drop in something else but, I don't plan to haul heavy loads.

I've unbolted everything that was removable. Everything is primered, painted and undercoated. I still need to do the doors. The cab is mostly painted. I'm using Valspar enamel hardner in the paint.
The engine has an MSD distributor and box. Reportedly, her father worked on the brakes. It only has a single master cylinder so, I'm going to take them apart and check. It needs new flex lines.
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a28...ps9nyw5p3i.jpg

[C10 - C90 Bill]

Looks good.

Nothing wrong with a 292. It's actually one of my favorite engines.

Keep us posted on it.

[j.kirn]

Good looking truck, the front axle is more than likely a Napco axle

[Dannny B]

I found the NAPCO sticker in the cab. I'm moving along well with the painting. The truck has the Rockwell transfer case. I learned something new while looking for wheels. You can buy wheel blanks and drill them to fit.
http://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/kuMAAO...8zI/s-l300.jpg

[sweetk30]

post up the real ebay link please . . .

do you need new stickers ? I have some extra from the ones I had made for the truck I am doing .

and I cant ever get your photo bucket album to open up for me . . .

[63 & 64 Bowties]

Here's one....

[Dannny B]

My sticker is in good shape because it is up high towards the roof. I suppose that i could put one on the glove box. Next thing I'm looking for is the fender emblem. http://www.classicpartsusa.com/produ...blems_and_Trim
I have the SM 420 trans. It is missing the long lever and release rod for the parking brake. It is also missing the little banana shaped piece that has teeth. If anybody knows of these parts, LMK.
I've got some rust in the rockers that is kinda a problem for the running board mounts. One of the running boards was lost? and replaced with something funky from another truck.

I'm getting the seat done,,, it was bad. I tried to re-install the windshield and broke it. Come to find out that the new weatherstrip is about 3 times as thick as the old one. There just isn't any way to get it past the pinch weld.
I took the sheet metal off to de-rust and paint it. The truck is so tall that I had to leave all the sheet metal off until the windshield is installed,,, no place to stand.
I have 2 Hone overdrives and an under-over 4 sp Brownie. I'm thinking of using an overdrive for the highway. I'll just use direct when the t-case is in.
I found blank 22.5 rims but, they are 8.25 inches wide. I prefer something closer to stock. Aluminum rims would really set it off nicely.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/181277587905...%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

[elpound]

Originally Posted by sweetk30

post up the real ebay link please . . .

do you need new stickers ? I have some extra from the ones I had made for the truck I am doing .

and I cant ever get your photo bucket album to open up for me . . .

Hey SweetK30, do your stickers look like this?
I was looking for a replacement for mine. I have a ford N600 Napco conversion.

[sweetk30]

yep . but i had them remove the pto portion of it since we didnt have one .

if need be the guy i had make them can do a few in the full redo with the pto part.

i still have some . and the warn hub stickers.

[Dannny B]

At Some time in the remote past, my '65 lost a set of duals. The spindle nuts came off and everything came out. The weight of the truck landed just on the axle shaft. This distorted the spindle tube and elongated the threads. "They" just beat it all back together. It took me an hour each to get the 2 spindle nuts off.
Fortunately, OTC makes a thread chaser for just this problem. It has interchangeable dies for threads from 4 threads per inch to 20 threads per inch. My spindle is 16 threads per inch. The v-shaped guide is made of aluminum so, it doesn't flatten the tops of the threads when you turn it. I just worked it back and forth until it cut the threads deeper into the spindle tube.
I found new / used nuts at an old shop that has tons of stuff lying around.
I made nut sockets for both front and rear. Obviously, you can't go all the way around. The cutter die falls into the key-slot.

For those of you who find yourself taking apart the front hubs, you must removed the 3/8-24 allen bolt in the CENTER of the axle. You must also use the 2 7/16 NC threaded holes in the hub to force off the hub AFTER removing the center bolt.

[Dannny B]

The wheel cylinder kits for the rear axle are Dorman 19381.
The rear axle oil seals are National 6358.
The wheel studs are Euclid, E-5683
I put the rear brakes all together and the drum wouldn't go on. I took it all apart and put each wheel stud in the lathe. 4 had runout. I bought 6 studs and pressed in 6 new and 4 old. It STILL didn't want to go together. I used a BFH and got the drum and wheels on.
I have no idea how they assembled it previously with so many bent studs.
I put it all together and bled the brakes,,, good pedal.
Next day, no pedal. It turns out that one of the front, stepped wheel cylinders had pits in the larger diameter. It didn't leak previously because, the piston and cup sat out just enough to be off the pits. When I put in new shoes, it pushed the cup back to the pits.

White Post Restorations will repair ANY hydraulic brake cyl. They press in a brass sleeve and hone it to size. They give a lifetime warranty. They charge $ 125 per wheel cyl. I considered the various options for repair. I ended up filling the back part of the cylinder with JB weld. There isn't any mechanical load so, why not?
I just need to bore it in a lathe and re-assemble.

The front NAPCO diff was almost out of oil when I drained it. It was oily around the pinon seal. I went to Hooper Rear End Exchange in Sun Valley 91352
I told them that the front diff looked pretty close to what the rear diff looked like. Amazingly, the guy brought out a seal that fit perfectly.
ABI 411330N the original seal was a C/R 25966

The headligth switch, of all things, is giving me fits. Sometimes the knob/shaft would lock in,,, sometimes not. I bought 3 new ones that did the same thing. Still working on that one.
The pinon seal installs from inside the housing. it all comes apart easily. I read the various literature and retorqued the pinion nut to 350 ft. lbs.
I still have to run up to oregon and get my second bed to do the stretch to 10ft. That's the next big project.

[Dannny B]

Progress

[C10 - C90 Bill]

Looking good.

[Classic v6 GMC's]

Looks great! Going to be a cool truck.

[Greg63]

Looks promising.
Greg.

[Dannny B]

Thanks guys. You notice that the bed doesn't require tubs for the wheels. The floor will be square and flat. Obviously, the bed will be too high to unload by hand. i'm building the typical scizzors type dump mechanism. The bed doesn't really look like it is 10 ft. long but, it is. The tires (22.5) stick out about 3 inches beyond the fenders. I'm pretty sure that plastic flare material will cover it OK.

[rkn463]

First of all, I love your truck! It's great to see the progress as well.

Originally Posted by Dannny B

You notice that the bed doesn't require tubs for the wheels. The floor will be square and flat.

That is interesting, I had about decided the same for the bed in my 68 but not knowing the final tire size or what full compression would look like on the springs I was afraid to loose the wheel wells. On the 68 I had to raise the bed about 5 inches off the frame to line up with the cab, is yours similar? Also what size 22.5 tires are you running and what is the wheel width?

Keep up the great work!

-Richard

[Dannny B]

I'm figuring 5 inches also. That will give me room for the dump system. The tires are 9:00 --22.5 because I need the same circumpherence as the fronts. They are 8:25--20 mud & snow. I wanted mud and snow for the rears but, didn't find any in 9:00
I have 2 different wheel widths. I didn't measure them. I had to put the skinnies to the inside to make sure that I have clearance for chains.
I have 6 leftover widow-maker rins with snow tires. I might keep a couple for spares.
The mixed rims are all that I could find. I'm happy to have splits / tube type on the front because I can drop the pressure in sand.

[350TacoZilla]

First off I love the truck man! I actually just posted about getting info on those front fenders because I want to try and mold them to make flares that match all around for tire coverage maybe that would work for you guys too.


Are your rims split rims or split ring rims? If split rims you couldnt give me a set to lower or raise the pressure in, split rings on the other hand aren't as terrible but I know people still dont like them especially when try to seat the tire for first time.

I'm not sure if bolt pattern is same but m939 trucks came with 11r20 goodyear G177 radials on them, split ring wheels with tubes but the tires themselves are made to be tubeless. You can find these tires pretty easy, I had them but went to 425's for flotation.
Your fronts remind me of the old armstrong M&S pattern, samson has them in 9.00-20 and 10.00-20 if you went back to 20's all around, they also make some aggressive tread 22.5's but not in a 9.00-22.5

https://simpletire.com/samson-10.0020-10069-2-tires

https://simpletire.com/samson-9.0020-90049-2-tires

[350TacoZilla]

The 11r20 that I was suggesting is the skinny tire to the left and on my truck with a 14L cummins they sank in soft fields, the 425's had wheels that tucked them under truck pretty far so no problems with the bump steer. I was not suggesting you go to super singles or anything like that.

[Dannny B]

Only in my dreams do I find rims with such a nice offset and width.
I'm guessing that you have an NTC 300 or something similar. My 292 doesn't weigh anything. You definitely need all the flotation you can get for the weight.
My truck is mostly just for play. My place in Myrtle Point, Oregon is close to the Oregon sand dunes but, I don't see anything but flat sand in the future.
I'll be up on the logging roads poaching feral cattle. I built a BIG underground pit BBq and I need some practice.

They do sell 8.25 X 22.5 blank Aluminum rims on E-bay. I thought about it but, there is far too much offset for the inside dual to clear the spring.

[C10 - C90 Bill]

Looking good.

[5Tractorguy]

That is one neat truck! I'm glad you kept the original wheels too... Out of all these conversions I see I think this one is my favorite.

[Dannny B]

Thanks, Jake. I HAVE the original wheels,,, widowmakers. I'm keeping them with the thought of putting chains on them for mud and snow. The tires aren't good enough for the highway,,,, probably 25--30 years old. These are the ONLY 10 lug wheels that I have found. Split 20s on the front and 22.5s on the rear.
I still have to do the floor of the bed. Since the truck will end up in Rainy Western oregon eventually, I'm planning to just use galvanized sheet steel.

[5Tractorguy]

Originally Posted by Dannny B

Thanks, Jake. I HAVE the original wheels,,, widowmakers. I'm keeping them with the thought of putting chains on them for mud and snow. The tires aren't good enough for the highway,,,, probably 25--30 years old. These are the ONLY 10 lug wheels that I have found. Split 20s on the front and 22.5s on the rear.
I still have to do the floor of the bed. Since the truck will end up in Rainy Western oregon eventually, I'm planning to just use galvanized sheet steel.

That wouldn't be a bad idea... it would save you from having these ones getting marred up from the chains.
More than anything it's just having the steel wheels. More times than not I see them dang alcoa's on these trucks, can't stand those things on old iron. Cool truck though.

Got some work cut out for it in Oregon?