'65 C10 LWB Stepside. Just bought it.

[tonymunn]

Hello. I'm the new guy. Been lurking here for months. I finally decided to join since I purchased a 1965 C10 stepside this past weekend. It is in pretty good shape. There's rust in the usual places but not a lot of it. It has the 230ci, 3 on the tree with overdrive that works. It drives better than my '69 C10 w/ 327. Everything works but needs work to work better. The brake and turn signal lights are intermittent. The fan motor blows but sounds like a bearing is shot at high speeds. The shift linkage like my '69 can leave you stuck in a gear usually 1st or third. Windshield is cracked the wood in the bed looks to be the original and is currently covered with 2 sheets of flaky fiber board. If you bounce the suspension, prepare for it to keep on bouncing. The gunk on the engine is about 1/4" thick but, the engine starts with a turn of the key. My wife love it. Just getting started. I have more time than money and not a lot of time. My progress will be slow and limited to things I can do with what I have. I will be sanding and priming surface rust to make it less of and eyesore. I have no idea what path I am going to take in fixing this up. Time and this forum will guide me.

[aerotruk63]

Welcome to the board, help is free, advise comes at times with a little ribbing, life questions are only answerable by God himself, the rest we can handle. A coat of paint will make her feel better, and I'm talking about the truck not the wife. As for all the aches and pains on the truck welcome to 60-66!

[MacAttack]

Truck looks good - cool utility unit - perfect interior!

[tonymunn]

The wife loves the truck! Similar to what she learned to drive in. I've sanded the surface rust off of the hood with 80 grit on my DA sander and will spay it with Rustoleum rattle can gray primer to protect the smooth clean exposed bare metal. I have a compressor and can purchase a cheap paint gun if that is a better option?? I am the second owner and it has 90901 on the odometer. I don't know if that is 90901, 190901 or 290901?

[jchav62]

Welcome from Santa Fe, New Mexico. That's a nice looking truck you got there. The dash is cherry! I've heard the HVLP paint guns from Harbor Freight work pretty decent. My bro-in-law got one from Walmart (Campbell Hausfeld I believe) and he uses it more than his high dollar one.

[tonymunn]

Any recommendations on the type of primer?

[aerotruk63]

What's that unit for bolted to the drivers side inner fender with all the hoses. This motor has headers on it?

[tonymunn]

It was once run on propane and gasoline. The unit on the driver side fender are the propane filter lock and converter. Propane was flowed directly into the top of the air cleaner when the gasoline is shut off. There is also a MSD5 on the passenger side fender well that is recommended when using propane fuel. Propane requires a hotter spark to ignite. There is a fuel selector and a propane primer unit mounted to the bottom of the center of the dash. Propane is currently only $1.40/gal. vs. $2.90/gal. for gas. Even with the slight loss of economy it still seems like a good idea.

[tonymunn]

Yes, there is a header actually 2. The front 3 cylinders are routed to the driver side through a single muffler just in front of the rear wheel and the rear 3 cylinders are routed to the passenger side through a muffler. The rear header has an exhaust leak at the head. The two are totally separate and sounds pretty good.

[19GMC63]

Neat! Love the long steppers.

[aerotruk63]

My six with headers sounds different now that I installed a Dynomax X series muffler. It acts as a crossover unit as well as a muffler.

[markeb01]

Just a tip, other than automotive epoxy primer, most primers are not waterproof. Putting primer on bare metal will just leave you with another rusty mess down the road.

If you're going to leave it that way for a while and don't want to go to the expense of automotive paint and spray equipment, just paint it with Rustoleum flat paint instead of primer. I had flat black on my original hood for several years and it looked exactly the same when I took it off and gave it to another 60-66 guy.

[Chevy Fleetside]

[Captainfab]

Welcome to the board

All in all it looks like a good truck to work with. The interior is surprisingly clean and original. Is that propane system still operational? I agree with markb01 on the primer issue. Use either automotive epoxy primer (at least 2 good coats) or just regular inexpensive paint. You want to seal the metal from the moisture, and in your area there is plenty of that.

[tonymunn]

Originally Posted by markeb01

Just a tip, other than automotive epoxy primer, most primers are not waterproof. Putting primer on bare metal will just leave you with another rusty mess down the road.

If you're going to leave it that way for a while and don't want to go to the expense of automotive paint and spray equipment, just paint it with Rustoleum flat paint instead of primer. I had flat black on my original hood for several years and it looked exactly the same when I took it off and gave it to another 60-66 guy.

Thanks for the information re: primer. Looks like RustOleum flat gray paint for me.

[tonymunn]

Originally Posted by Captainfab

Welcome to the board

All in all it looks like a good truck to work with. The interior is surprisingly clean and original. Is that propane system still operational? I agree with markb01 on the primer issue. Use either automotive epoxy primer (at least 2 good coats) or just regular inexpensive paint. You want to seal the metal from the moisture, and in your area there is plenty of that.

The propane system is not functioning. The propane tank removed and the liquid propane hose to the filter/lockout unit has been cut.

[monolith]

Great looking truck!

There are a lot of ways to go with these trucks, and so many cool examples on this forum along with the most helpful people.

Enjoy!

[72BlckButy]

Great looking '65!

[tonymunn]

I plan to take full advantage of this incredible knowledge base. There are many ways to skin a cat. I just have to find the way that works best for me. Thank you all.

[MacAttack]

Originally Posted by tonymunn

I plan to take full advantage of this incredible knowledge base. There are many ways to skin a cat. I just have to find the way that works best for me. Thank you all.

After hang'en for a while - consider becoming a subscriber. Many benefits. Welcome to the Crazy House.

Mac.

[tonymunn]

Here are pics of areas of concern. The shock are shot all around. The passenger front fender has lots of bondo. the lower part of the grill has a small dent. The cab floor has a holes right above the support. There is no daylight through the hole. Aftermarket turn signal/hazard switch which works but does not auto cancel. Shift linkage excitement! Wooohoo!!

[tonymunn]

Last Night I pulled the valve cover, intake and headers to replace the gaskets to take care of an oil leak and exhaust leak. My mission was to drive it into work to show off to my old Ford driving coworker. Everything went smoothly. This morning while driving to work I attempted to go into first gear and there was nothing there. I got to work using 2nd and 3rd only. I looked under the hood to check the linkage and the 1-2 shift rod had broken in two. I'll mark, it pop it off at lunch and have one of my mechanical engineer of maintenance buddies weld it. Is this a common this? I guess 44 years of fatigue eventually something gotta give. The great thing about the classics is that I can open a tool box grab three or four wrenches a screw driver and complete a successful repair. I'll take some pictures.