Hello from the home of the Big Texan (Amarillo)

[Phelan]

Howdy! My name is Ross and I'm sort of a noob to this site. I started an account here about 8 years ago, back when I actually had a 67 C-10. I'd like to say that I kept the truck and did all I had planned for it, but as life goes sometimes, that isn't the case . Over the past 8 years I got rid of the 67 (WHY?!??!?!?!) and got distracted by an '85 Astro Panel van with a 355 ci V8, an '03 HD 1200S Sportster Sport, a '95 Buell S2 Thunderbolt, and a million other little things.

My dad recently bought a '66 GMC, and I've been helping him rebuild it on our days off, so now I'm reallly gettin' the itch. The more I work on it, the more excited I get. My dad's '66 is our current father-son project, which my '67 was supposed to be years ago (On a side note, our previous father-son project was rebuilding and modifying my Dad's '93 HD FXD).

I'm currently engaged and will get married on August 11th, and will be looking for a running '67 when I get back from our honeymoon. I have big plans for one, on a tight budget, but I'm believing it'll open up more later . My dad has a welder and lots of tools, and I an imagination, so I know I can get a lot of stuff done to the truck with little cost.

I'll probably be posting here often, chiming in with questions, even much before I get one. Thank you all in advance for being part of what makes this board an awesome place for info and ideas.

That concludes my intro, but if you want to keep reading, I'll bore you with the details of my ideas, much of them for a while down the road.

My old '67 was a longwide with a 292 L6 and granny 4. My dad's '66 is a longwide with a 305-E V6 and the same granny 4, so runs, drives and even smells just like my old one did. This time I'd prefer a shortwide, though I think a longbed would be okay too if I found the right deal.

In the old days, I wanted to build a high-powered 292, but now I'd much rather put a warmed LS1 with a T-6 behind it (most likely out of a Camaro or T/A).

I'd use a late model Chevy rear axle with disc brakes and add drilled/slotted rotors. For the front I want Corvette calipers with drilled and slotted rotors, and rolling stock will be 20x8.5" SS replica wheels in matte black up front, with 22x10" in the rear, tires still undecided. Depending on which brakes I use up front, I may have to bore the center of the wheels.

I haven't decided completely on the suspension; I don't want bags, and I want a stiff Hotchkis-esque level of performance, but without spending that kind of $$$. I want to lower it as much as I can without the fenders digging into my tires in a hard turn, probably like a 4/6 drop. I'd like to build the anti-roll bars myself once I get more info on them.

I plan on removing all the trim, smooth the tailgate (hidden latch), roll pan front and rear, black phantom grille up front, and a 4" cowl hood, though I want a smoother style like the C5 Corvette cowl, so I may build it myself and ditch the center-line in the hood in the process. I'll weld the front end together, cut off as much dead weight inside the front as I can, and cut the rear of the fenders to make it a forward-tilt front end. I'll add 1-piece side windows (no more vent windows) and late model mirrors of some sort, painted to match the body, and a shaved filler neck, with a gas tank mounted under the bed. I'd like a chopped top (3"), but I don't have the skills and don't see myself paying anyone to do that for quite a while.

I'll build and add the Silverado SS fake ducts and add them to the front and rear roll pans as well, though the rear ones will also be the exhaust tips. I'll either shave the door handles or (with a lot of work) put C5 style handles in that sit flush with the door. Taillights will be converted to LED lights of some sort (not decided on style yet). I'll also add a tonneau cover to the bed.

For the interior, some late model buckets are a must. Maybe some C4 or C5 buckets, but who knows. Some of my favorite buckets were the ones in my '93 Safari parts van, which I put in my V8 Astro that I had years ago. I plan on adding a tilt wheel and power steering in it, and a center console that flows up into the dash. I haven't decided on much else.

I haven't decided on paint either, though I'm really feeling a Grand Sport style paint job, eith '63 style or '96 style. If you haven't noticed, my overall theme is a C-10/SS/Corvette hybrid of sorts.

Thanks for reading and feel free to post questions or comments about my build ideas as well as my intro .

[1ATony]

Welcome to the site