The Egg Hauler.... not much of a build

[jcramsey]

This is Elbert, my 66 stepside. My dad bought this truck back in 2001 while I was in college. He got it from an old chicken farmer named Elbert who bought it new and used it to haul eggs from his farm in our little community to sell in another town about 20 miles away. It's a well used truck, but in remarkable shape. A few dings in the stepside fenders, a small crease in the drivers door, some well worn paint, and the typical front fender rust. (Pictures show the aftermarkerts ones, but I still have originals, which I am putting back on.) The original engine was a little inline 250. My dad pulled that motor and put a 327 and auto tranny. Fortunately he kept everything and eventually put the three speed back in, with only a few small holes in the floor to show for it. My dad mainly drove the truck around the house, and my brother and I would drive it in our community Christmas parade. I got the chance to buy it off my dad last year, and didnt think twice. He was gracious enough to let me have it for what he's got in it ( I returned the favor on the Dodge he bought off me) and I've been loving every minute since he hauled it down for me.

This isnt gonna be an earth shattering build thread. Not laying rockers or throwing in an LS motor and a six speed...all of which I'd love to have a truck to do to. This guy is too original and too clean for me to want to do much of anything to.

Only real mods thus far are a simple 3/5 static spring drop. Looking to get some 2.5" drop spindles so I can run disc brakes and make a little safer for the highway driving. Other than than...I'm just gonna drive the wheels off...

If you've read this far, you definitely deserve some pics

[jcramsey]

Few more pics of various things....

Original wood bed, date stamped 10-11-66

Stock interior... (not a fan of the seat cover, but Charleston in the summer + vinyl seats is not fun)

[jcramsey]

Was working on getting the truck drivable when the 327 decided to take a dump on me. Not sure if it was my fault or not, possibly didnt have enough coolant in before taking it for a quick spin around the neighborhood, but pulled into the driveway in a cloud of white smoke. Thought it was a head gasket, but after changing that I still had some issues so tore down the motor and discovered the crack.

As much as I hated that, I was actually glad that I now had the chance to put a 250 back in. I dont plan on drag racing or doing burnouts at every stop light, so I figured a little six would be enough to get me to the beach and back home. Plus i like the originality of having the same engine that came in the truck.

Found one up in NC that came with a set of headers and brand new Offenhauser, so I jumped on that pretty quick. Did a good cleanup of the engine, oil change and a few new gaskets and had it looking halfway decent.

Found a Holley 390 and got an HEI over Christmas and within the last week have finally got it fired up and taken a few short drives down the road. (made sure coolant was full too)

[Dinos63]

clean truck and nice work on the motor

[Tx Firefighter]

Subscribed

[jimmydean]

Wow, that interior is to die for. Nice find.

[jcramsey]

Originally Posted by jimmydean

Wow, that interior is to die for. Nice find.

Thanks jimmydean! It's so spartan but I love it.

Originally Posted by Dinos63

clean truck and nice work on the motor

Thanks Dino!

The truck needs a good cleaning all over...thinking maybe a CLR bath to clean up the surface rust a little?
Posted via Mobile Device

[Ta2Don]

Subscribed! Very nice truck and awesome history
Posted via Mobile Device

[jcramsey]

Originally Posted by Ta2Don

Subscribed! Very nice truck and awesome history
Posted via Mobile Device

Thanks Don, I appreciate it.

Wish I knew more of the stories this truck could probably tell. I've always been curious to know how long you'd have to lay your arm on the door to get it to wear like it has.

[Bomp]

Originally Posted by jcramsey

Thanks Don, I appreciate it.

Wish I knew more of the stories this truck could probably tell. I've always been curious to know how long you'd have to lay your arm on the door to get it to wear like it has.

Sounds like "How many licks to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop"
Truck has tons of character.
Subscribed.

[McMurphy]

to the board and !!!
Reading your intro made me wish I could find the very same truck we had when I was a kid, which inspired me to buy the rig I am building now.

I dont think your build has to be monumental in its scope or application in order to garner the respect of the members around here.
As far as I can tell, you just have to care about what you are doing...stay motivated....and take a moment to pop into other peoples builds and help to motivate them as well.

I like your truck, so far it looks like a fine candidate for a "back to factory" resto job !!

[aggie91]

Man that is a clean truck and some cool history. This should make for a nice driver!

[RANDY COX]

It's already white to match the eggs.unless you want brown eggs,then you'll have to paint it brown.j/k,nice original truck.i like them ole six's.

[Captainfab]

That's a nice clean stepside. That ought to make for a nice driver. You've done some nice work so far

[Raider Rudy]

Neat story & very nice truck! I've got a special place in my heart for stepsides & I hope to have another one soon. Wide tires really makes then look studly.

[jcramsey]

Thanks for the kind words fellas.

My bro sent me a few more pics he took driving it in the last Christmas parade back home.

[awbrown]

Subscribed... Keep spreading the message ....

[Bomp]

[darkhorse970]

I'm diggin it so I'm in too!
Posted via Mobile Device

[LostMy65]

What do you think would be heavier,
a ton of eggs, a ton of bricks, or a ton of feathers?
Posted via Mobile Device

[jcramsey]

Originally Posted by awbrown

Subscribed... Keep spreading the message ....

Originally Posted by Bomp

Will do... thanks for the encouragement!


Pulled the original fenders down from the rafters last night and stuck them back on. Typical rust in the bottom corners, one worse than the other. I dont mind it really, as they match the overall look of the rest of the truck and I couldnt replicate that look if I wanted. I've got patch panels for the lower corners as well. I'm not gonna paint the truck.... so my question is...what would ya'll do? Run originals as is? Put the aftermarket fenders back on? Run the originals and patch the corners?

Jeremy

[flips72]

nice truck and i too like the side boards

[dr69burb]

Truck looks good man. I think you should run the og fenders and just patch them. What trans are you running?
Posted via Mobile Device

[jcramsey]

Originally Posted by dr69burb

Truck looks good man. I think you should run the og fenders and just patch them. What trans are you running?
Posted via Mobile Device

Thanks dr...and thanks for the input on the fenders.

Trans is original 3 speed on the column.

[jcramsey]

Getting ready to put some insurance on the truck so I can drive it. No clue what the value would be...anybody got any ideas on what ballpark figure would be? $5,000? $6,000? $1.2 million?