shop truck project (65')

[carslut]

ive been lurking on this site for a while and figured a build thread may be useful when i have questions about this project.

i had been using a 85' c-10 for the past few years as an run around shop truck. its done well and gotten a few upgrades along the way.
after moving to CA i have discovered the Nazi emission laws make my shop truck next to impossible to get street legal with the motor mods in it. so.......
out came a sawzall and the 85' became an parts donor.





plans for the 65' are fairly straight forward.

383 SBC

edelbrock e-force supercharger

700r4

update brakes

air bags (truck came with em so why not use them)

9" with Detroit rear axle

and over all just make it an solid reliable truck im able to do run around picking up parts.

for now no heat/ac, stereo, power anything just keep it simple and make it as reliable slash fun as possible.


just the tip of the iceberg but work has started moving ahead.

i swapped over the whole front suspension/steering from the 85' c-10. wasn't much work to get disk breaks,
2.5" drop spindles and power steering installed vs. trying to rework the existing system.



i know there are plenty of guys on the road who just put spacers in to fit a power steering gear box,
but i had the items handy to do it a bit nicer.

85' steering gear box mount cut from donor and 65' frame ready to receive it.


it fit nicely and the 85' frame is just a touch larger than the 65' frame so i over lapped them on the bottom side of the
rail and welded them together.


its welded on both sided since i knocked down the face of the rails welds.


im a bit shocked how well the 85' parts fit the 65' frame


things were fine once i finished the install but i waned to make a few more changes to help with some other
mods i have in mind for this truck. so out came the saw......

this is only the start..... ill put something back into the sub frame.





i wish i had the proper year stepside bed for this cab but i dont, so ill use what i do have. if you look close enough you may
notice the blower already is looking at its new home, didnt plan the shot that way haha. i have the stock fleet side 65' bed
still and wont be getting rid of it any time soon, im just a bigger fan of the stepside look so that is what im starting off with.



need to find a few body parts along the way so if anyone in the LA area has an idea where id find parts for an 65' chevy truck
def shoot me the info. ive also got the cab and front clip from the 85' for sale or trade.