My first c10 a 66 named “Lois”

[66 c10 Lois]

So I’ve followed a few builds over the years but this will be my first post on the forum. So back in July I picked up a 66 c10 that I’ve named Lois for $400, she has some rust issues but for the price honestly it’s worth it. She’s just a base model with a straight six three on the tree, my plan is to lower the truck around a 5/7 drop and put in a v8, 700r4, and keep the factory 373 gears but add a posi. I also plan to do some custom touches to the body (I’ll already be repairing might as well make it cooler) and I also drove up to North Carolina and picked up a 63 grille for $50 that is super straight which I’ll eventually have chromed.

[66 c10 Lois]

Here are some pictures of the new grille

[cwcarpenter98]

Welcome! Can't go wrong with a 63 grille, but I'm a little partial to them anyways

[66 c10 Lois]

Originally Posted by cwcarpenter98

Welcome! Can't go wrong with a 63 grille, but I'm a little partial to them anyways

Same here definitely in my opinion the best looking grille for 60-66 I’m still amazed I found one for $50

[88Stanger]

Great Start!!!

[66 c10 Lois]

Originally Posted by 88Stanger

Great Start!!!

Thank you!!

[Corts60]

Welcome aboard! Look forward to your build!

[66 c10 Lois]

Originally Posted by Corts60

Welcome aboard! Look forward to your build!

Thank you! Hopefully soon I can start making some progress

[66 c10 Lois]

So I went ahead and took the tank out of the cab today which I’ve been wanting to do pretty much since I got her home 😂 looked over the floors again and tried to get a better idea of what panels I’ll need to buy, looks like I could get away with getting the front floor pan halves and the outer floor piece (the one that has the inner rocker and the door sill area and whatever else I need I think I’ll be able to make. I also made some progress the past week when I’ve had time trying to take some of the house paint the previous owner had put on her, I think I need to invest in one of those Eastwood contour sct things, would definitely make stripping the truck down a loooot easier

[66 c10 Lois]

I’ve been meaning to make another post on here but I’ve just been forgetting 😂 so I went to the junkyard and found an old square body and got the master cylinder with brake booster and the power steering stuff off of it too. I also picked up a tailgate from an s10 that I’m gonna use to do my hidden latch and handle. And today I just ordered some patch panels for my cab, so hopefully I’ll have those soon and be putting them in.

[made2drag]

nice truck. I did a 86 booster and its really easy going in. Don't throw away the old master cylinder, you'll want to unscrew the plunger rod off of it and cut the end off and weld to the squarebody rod. the squarebody rod will be too short by an inch or so and the old one will have the right size hole to go back on the linkage

[66 c10 Lois]

Originally Posted by made2drag

nice truck. I did a 86 booster and its really easy going in. Don't throw away the old master cylinder, you'll want to unscrew the plunger rod off of it and cut the end off and weld to the squarebody rod. the squarebody rod will be too short by an inch or so and the old one will have the right size hole to go back on the linkage

Thank you for the information!

[66 c10 Lois]

So it’s been a while since I’ve made an update on here, so I went and picked up my v8 about a week or two ago, it was the 350 out of my parents 95 suburban that we had when I was a kid (until it burned down lol) the block seems like it’s in pretty good condition but I’m gonna go ahead and save up and take it to a machine shop so I can get it bored and get the clearance made for the bigger crank. I also found a single barrel carb at the junk yard that I just finished rebuilding today (it needed a good bit of cleaning), so hopefully within the week I’ll be able to start the straight six in the truck right now and maybe be able to drive it around while I’m building my 383.

[cwcarpenter98]

Nice! If the pitting in the cylinder walls is too deep, you might not be able to salvage that block. Definitely get a machine shop to check it out for you

[66 c10 Lois]

Originally Posted by cwcarpenter98

Nice! If the pitting in the cylinder walls is too deep, you might not be able to salvage that block. Definitely get a machine shop to check it out for you

Yeah I definitely hope I’ll be able to use it, but definitely gotta find a good machine shop in the area I don’t think it’ll be too bad though (at least I hope it’s not)

[66 c10 Lois]

Finally was able to start my old straight six yesterday definitely felt good to hear it run although it was down at least one cylinder (the plug wires were pretty trashed) I then replaced plugs and made some new plug wires (I don’t care for the yellow plug wires but that’s all I could find at the local parts store) and she runs a lot better now. Still gotta make my throttle linkage work since I’m missing parts for it and then redo my brake system and fuel system and then hopefully I can take her around the block

[66 c10 Lois]

Well it’s been way too long since I’ve posted on here, unfortunately the trucks been on the back burner lately. I did however pick up another small block not that long ago it’s a 305 that I got for $120 it’s not the 383 that I planned but that is still coming once I can afford to build an engine, now I just need to find a good 700r4 or a th400. I also need to find a good area to work on her cause I don’t have a garage and the driveway is currently occupied by my broke down daily 😂

[Stefan N]

Have you forgot us?

[66 c10 Lois]

Originally Posted by Stefan N

Have you forgot us?

Sorry haven’t forgotten! I just haven’t been able to do much on the truck in a while but I’m getting a new house with a garage so hopefully soon I’ll have some updates coming! However I did replace my old hood and started tinkering with brakes as I have the time. Still have a long ways to go but hopefully I can drive her to the new place

[66 c10 Lois]

Well it’s been way too long since I’ve made a true update or gotten much progress done on the old girl but I took her to my new home! We flat towed her behind my dads old truck and good god she’s sitting like a stink bug, I’ll need to lower the rear end but first up is finishing the new brake system and putting in the camaro tank (may as well before finishing lowering the truck). It’s got me excited seeing the truck moved and ready to be worked on!

[66 c10 Lois]

Well today I scored the back half of a cab to help repair my truck off of fb marketplace. I also got a couple hubcaps from the same truck that I’ll probably hang up. Last pic shows the area on my cab that’s rotted out

[cwcarpenter98]

Nice find! I bet you have a mouse nest up there that did all that damage

[66 c10 Lois]

Originally Posted by cwcarpenter98

Nice find! I bet you have a mouse nest up there that did all that damage

Yeah I’ve been looking for a cab for a while cause it’d be definitely easier than making that section by hand lol and that’s definitely possible my truck sat in a field for years before I bought it

[66 c10 Lois]

I’m a little overdue for an update, so I’ve had little motivation for the past while but I made a plan to have my truck at my wedding which is in October of ‘24 so that I have the kickstart I need and to make the project a tad more meaningful. So recently we’ve been trying to get my garage all set up but the past couple days I decided to tackle the front suspension and my other half decided that she wanted to get her hands dirty with me, got the upper and lower control arms taken off and starting to clean them up and get the old ball joints out. Hope to be making some fast progress I have a lot of work on my hands but I’ve got my fiancé and my dad to help. Glad to finally see some progress.

[Braunschweiger]

That's great and a nice goal.