My wifes dads truck

[Old Truck Man]

My wife has the 1966 3/4 truck hed dad bought new in Dec 1965. It is a 292 engine granny low four speed with 456 gears. Its all original paint everything except for the wheels & rims. it originally had 17.5 in wheels. It now has 16,s. Any road its pretty much rust free. amazing for a truck that was bought new and spent its first 8 years in Rockford ill. The heater must take the cold air from the cowl vent and runt it through the core . With a 160 degree thermostat it was marginal. So it wasn't driven in winter and avoided the salt. A few years before he died of cancer Debbies father gifted her with the truck. It was her daily driver until gasoline went past $4 per gallon. So she parked it and went to driving a 65 1/2 ton with a six three speed and 270 rear gears. Any way here are some pictures of it today. Later today When my wife returns home She will post a few scanned pictures of the truck and her and her little sister when the truck was brand new.

[1963c-10]

Very cool.......looking forward to some of the old pics too!!

[MikeS.]

Originally Posted by 1963c-10

Very cool.......looking forward to some of the old pics too!!

I agree on all accounts.

[b.sharp]

You should switch some things out and make this one a daily driver to get better gas mileage for her. It could be done with bolt on parts that could easily be put back to factory later on. I bet she would be much happier driving her dads truck. I know I would. Great looking ride though and awesome wife to drive an old truck.

[Old Truck Man]

Originally Posted by b.sharp

You should switch some things out and make this one a daily driver to get better gas mileage for her. It could be done with bolt on parts that could easily be put back to factory later on. I bet she would be much happier driving her dads truck. I know I would. Great looking ride though and awesome wife to drive an old truck.

She drove it for 5 years until the gas got to pricey. She would load 7500 lbs of feed in the bed and it never had a bit of trouble. Yes we have been thinking & discussing about doing something along those lines. maybe a taller rear gear ratio, 17.5 or 19.5 tires & wheels. add on under the dash air cond and power steering. Maybe even swapping the 292 for 250 or a V6 vortec engine. I reciently sold the 65 she was driving. so she is now driving a 2004 jeep grand Cherokee.

[1963c-10]

Id leave the 292 in there personally.....

[rideblue00]

i kinda like the idea of the vortec v6. what kind of milage would that get?

[TJ's Chevy]

That's so cool! Neat history to. Look forward to more pictures.

[64chevtruck]

Originally Posted by 1963c-10

Id leave the 292 in there personally.....

Of Course!

[markeb01]

Thanks for sharing! Great truck, story, and wife! Personally I'd keep the original drive train and build something else more practical for daily use. Having survived intact this long it's kind of a shame to convert this one into something else.

[Old Truck Man]

Here are pictures of Debbie and her little sister with the brand new truck. Debbie is the brunette she was 7&1/2 years old in the picture.

[HumphreyMurdoch]

Man that is a really awesome story! Drive it daily or occasionally, as long as you guys keep it.

[65sbss]

Sweet truck. The history makes it special. Why not just change rear end gear and drive it?

[Old Truck Man]

Originally Posted by 65sbss

Sweet truck. The history makes it special. Why not just change rear end gear and drive it?

That would work. however Debbie wants air cond and power steering. did you ever try and find power steering and air cond brackets to fit a 292 six. Ive never seen any. We are getting old and cant take the heat and need power steering. here is a picture of Debbie today.

[64chevtruck]

OTM, I think CaptainFab sells power steering brackets for those motors here on the the forum, I could be wrong about the name so Ill check now but I think thats it.

[Captainfab]

I do not make any power steering pump brackets, just the adapter plate for the steering box. There is a guy that makes some nice power steering pump brackets for the I6 engines and sells them on ebay. He might even make AC brackets, I can't remember for sure.

Originally Posted by 64chevtruck

OTM, I think CaptainFab sells power steering brackets for those motors here on the the forum, I could be wrong about the name so Ill check now but I think thats it.

[65sbss]

Upgraded mine and momma loves it.

[b.sharp]

Old truck man, After running through your personal collection of parts pictures. I am sure you have all the parts needed to put something together. I wish you were a little closer. I would love to come hang out for the day and walk around that place. Maybe when things slow down a little with the kids activities.

[cg285]

there are a/c brackets on ebay

[factorystock]

Originally Posted by Old Truck Man

Its all original paint everything except for the wheels & rims. it originally had 17.5 in wheels. It now has 16,s.

Thanks for posting the vintage photos, a new '66 C 20 in color should bring back even more memories. Black and white photos show heavy duty 16" lock ring wheels.

[factorystock]

A color shot of the 16" lock ring wheel for a C 20. Wheels and hubcaps are critical to the original character of any vehicle.

[Old Truck Man]

Originally Posted by factorystock

A color shot of the 16" lock ring wheel for a C 20. Wheels and hubcaps are critical to the original character of any vehicle.

I was under the assumption that my wifes truck was originally equipped with !7.5 wheels. In the mid seventies it had red painted 17.5 wheels & tires. Maby her father had installed 17.5,s in a attempt to increase the rear gear ratio? The 456 gears are low! By the time her father gave her the truck it was equipped with 16.5 tubeless wheels & tires. I replaced the 16.5s with 16 inch tubeless wheels. I have dozens of 16inch lock ring rims however I don't think I have even one hub cap to fit them. I still run two and three piece rims on some trailers & trucks. I break them down & fix them myself. I also have a set of 17.5 wheels. Thanks for the info.

[Old Truck Man]

Here are pictures of some 3/4 chevy rims and one split rim 6 hole 15" half ton rim. The first second & last pictures are 17.5S There are two different dezigns of the 17.5 rims. the center is different. the same with the 16inch rims the red wheel doesn't have a drop center. the three piece rim to the left of the red one is a 15" that came on a 62 GMC 3/4 ton. The 6 lug 15 split is mounted on my tilt top trailer.

[61_FL_Apache]

Great pictures and story.. Thanks for sharing!

[factorystock]

Originally Posted by Old Truck Man

Here are pictures of some 3/4 chevy rims .

Thanks for posting photos, I find period rims to be an interesting subject. There are different versions of wheels, even though the sizes are the same. The 17.5" wheel attached to vehicle is a 1960 thru 1968 version of the 17.5" The 17.5 sitting loose is the 1956 thru 1959 version. The center sections have a different offset, due to straight axle vs. IFS suspensions. The white 3 piece 15" 8 lug was the 1960 thru early 1965 wheel (this one was recalled by GM and replaced with 2 piece 15" 8 lug). The 16" 2 piece 8 lug (red wheel) came out in 1965 and used thru 1968. The white 16" 8 lug with bumps is the 1969 thru 1972 version. The main reason for lock ring wheels is you didn't need a machine to stretch the bead of a heavy duty 8 or 10 bias ply tire over a rim, you just slide the new tire over the smooth end of the open rim and then install lock ring. The other reason is tubes ( required on lock ring wheels) hold air pressure better in rugged conditions ( driving over curbs or large rocks). Tubeless tires are more prone to loosing air pressure in rugged use.