1968 C40 Dump Truck - New to Forum

[wingviper]

Hey guys! I have been searching the net for a while to try and find some knowledgeable folks on medium duty Chevy trucks and seems like I found them here. This last Christmas, my wife fanangled her family to give me an old farm dump truck they had on their VA farm. I had grown attached to it while visiting when we were dating and she was awesome enough to convince them to let it go. So now I am the proud owner of a C40 dump truck...with no clue where to start, haha.

The basics are that its got a 307 2 barrel, 4 speed manual, single rear axle. Power brakes, manual steering. 149" WB. It runs and drives but its been beaten hard by farm life. This last weekend I did some basic work to it like changed valve cover gaskets and the thermostat. My wife and I's current goal is to convert it to a car hauler if its possible, but it may not have enough usable cab-to-axle length for a rollback like we had hoped. A ramp may be the next option!

Anyways, I had some questions for you all if I may. I have seen some threads about hydroboost and powersteering, etc. I would like to put power steering on the truck and wouldn't mind an upgrade to the braking system for safety as well. What all parts would I need to complete the conversion? Any other recommendations while I am putting those in, such as disc brakes? I am looking for ease of installation, because I have other projects that need my time and money, haha. Is there a donor truck that people tend to get to convert the C40's, etc?

I am also trying to identify the gear ratio and parking brake style (its inoperative) so that I can rebuild it. Anyone know where to look? The truck is currently located 3.5 hours away so I am doing all my research online.

Also, are replacement door hinges or hinge pins available? Are they the same as the C10-30?

I figure this is a good start to get me running. I appreciate any help you guys can offer, my learning curve is very steep on this one. I just really enjoy this body style and because of the family history (my wife learned to drive stick on this thing) I really want to conserve as much as possible but give it a new purpose and life.