Here We Go - 65 C10 LWB - For the Kid

[VA72C10]

Well thought out....the reason why many drop the 6cyl engines...they can look very cool and it's nice to be original....but for the same or sometimes less it's hard to beat a well tuned small block for reliability, power, and decent mileage if you have an overdrive...

[ctandc]

So I just got off the phone with the local shop where I dropped off my donor spindles / lower control arms, as I couldn't get them apart since they were already off the truck when I bought them.

Told them I wasn't in a hurry, whenever they could get to them.

$92 friggin dollars.

Really?

They've got a press and every other tool known to man.....it really took them $92 worth of labor to get them apart.

Wow.

I specifically asked the the shop guy how much it would run. He said "Shouldn't be more than $40 or so, shouldn't take more than 30 minutes if that."

Lesson learned.

Do it myself, every bit of it, from now on.

[Captainfab]

Wise thinking on considering a small block and OD trans.

Sorry to hear you got stuck by that shop. If they told you $40.00 then that is what they should have charged you. That's how I run my shop. If they had treated you right, you probably would have been back, but not now.

[ctandc]

Well time to work on the truck this week has been pretty much non-existent. High school baseball games to attend, and travel baseball season (which I coach) kicks up next month. After that pretty much every weekend will be a wash (as far as the truck is concerned) so work will be limited to weekday evenings.

I have gotten all the main caps / bolts cleaned and bagged, and I'm starting on the piston rod / assemblies. That Berryman's is the ticket for this job. The pistons look almost new after a soak and scrub with a soft bristle brush. I forgot how much I just LOVE cleaning ring grooves.

With an almost 20 degree drop in temp and plenty of rain and wind, still haven't got primer / color / clear on the block, even though it's masked and ready.

More than likely this weekend is a wash too, since my wife is throwing me a 40th B-Day party. Who knows, I may start drinking and tell everyone to leave so I can work on the truck LOL.

Right now the 230 is still on, I'm going to get all the internal parts cleaned and ready before I start buying bearings etc.

I found a 3.08 rear...but it's in NC and the gas would add an extra $100 to the price of $175. Not in the cards right now since I have to go to Georgia for a big baseball tournament in June.

I need to win the lottery.

Tonight I plan to squeak some time in on cleaning parts.

I also dropped the nasty, rusty, crusty battery tray in the Prep and Etch soak. I can't believe the difference.

I need to rig up a container so I can use the Berryman's to soak the cylinder head once I get the valvetrain out.

I'll try to throw up some pictures tonight.

[chevy_man5]

Originally Posted by ctandc

More than likely this weekend is a wash too, since my wife is throwing me a 40th B-Day party. Who knows, I may start drinking and tell everyone to leave so I can work on the truck LOL.

Put them to work! LOL Just tell them its your party, and they'll work on your truck if you want them to!

[ctandc]

Originally Posted by chevy_man5

Put them to work! LOL Just tell them its your party, and they'll work on your truck if you want them to!

Yeah well...I wouldn't let most of these people work on it.

LOL

[chevy_man5]

LOL

Oh well, it was an idea!

[ctandc]

Well, just another twist. Guess I should get used to it.
Cleaning up the pistons, and while I'm removing the rings from piston #1, I notice it's actually busted. The bottom part of the piston is actually broken apart a bit, right under the ring lands.

Nice.

So I'll probably be listing a bunch of 6 cylinder parts for those who need them, including a power steering pump with brackets.

The hunt is on for a small block chevy. I'm thinking a TPI or TBI 305/350 setup with a 700R4 will fit the bill.

[ctandc]

Well sue me, I may have access to a cheap or free rebuild kit for a 250/230. We'll see.

I finally found a place to buy pistons at a decent price, so I think I'm going to give it a whirl.

[ctandc]

Well travel baseball season is getting ready to kick in. Between that and the other obligations I have it's going to be hard to make a lot of time for the truck.

Once I'm done with the big trips we have for baseball (middle of June) I should have more money to kick into the project as well.

Still cleaning up some engine parts from the six cylinder, and still haven't decided if I'm keeping it or not.

I may post a classified ad with my six cylinder parts and see how much interest I get and go from there.

[trevrolet65]

Howdy. Nice work so far, I like your idears on the rust removal. Hey a friend of mine turned me on to DUI distributers, he put HEI in his 230cid and it really woke that motor up. They make HEI for most motors. Maybe that will help in your plans. Yeah a small block would be fun. Either way you can't go wrong, it's a chevy.

[ctandc]

So it's only been 5 years since I last updated this 'build' thread. LOL.

What can I say, life happens. Simply didn't have the time to get the truck ready for the kid's first car. So life went on and the truck sits in my back yard silently staring at me.

I ended up selling my daily driver truck, wanted something better on gas and more fun to drive. Well since the kid is in college with the truck I got him - I find myself needing a truck now and again. Been looking at "beater trucks" not even being picky, and $1000-1500 gets me a rusty beater that would likely be a huge ?? as far as maintenance. Decided I already have the '65, so onward and upward.

I have a good chunk of parts I need to get rid of. I'll post a thread when I get a chance to renew my membership here and will list them.

Moved the shortbed frame out of hiding, will degrease and power wash it in the next few days. Picked up a cheap siphon blaster that a friend used on his ongoing project, will lay big tarps down in the back and pick up some black diamond at Tractor Supply for $8 a 50lb bag, and go to town. The kid is still playing baseball, now in college, so many weekends are tied up with baseball still....but much more time during the late Summer and Fall.

Plan on cutting down the LWB bed to fit the SWB frame.

Going to check out a '87 1500 2wd Suburban 350 / 700R4 hopefully Saturday. Body is BEAT and a freeze plug leaks, but the engine runs, no smoke no milkshake and the tranny shifts. If I can score it cheap enough, I'll take the entire front crossmember with front suspension intact and bolt it to the SWB frame (no crossmember or suspension currently) I can also use the steering box, brake booster etc etc.

That year 350 is 1 piece RMS and has the block provisions for roller cam / lifters and it's cheap to convert if I want to upgrade.

Plan (you know how that goes) is to get the chassis done in the garage, then roll it out and start on the cab, then bed etc.

Tentative plan is to fix the rust on the cab with patch panels, prime and use a tan sealer on the body and paint all the trim / wheels etc flat or satin black, and get it on the road.

More to come and hopefully not 5 years from now LOL

[lumpy63]

Glad to see you're still at itSummers coming, Time to make some progress!