The 65 C30 Farm Truck

[69 C10 LWB]

Another day of progress. Despite being sucked into actual work I spent most of the morning at the shop getting my bed mounted back on the truck. I had to finish up the hold down brackets and will probably have to make some changes to them but the bed didnt move at all on the ride home. Speaking of the ride home, the 40 mile round trip to work was thankfully uneventful. The truck drove good and and runs nice and straight down the road at 55.

[SBPage1]

That looks awesome and you can definitely see your artwork coming together! 55mph? That’s pretty darn good! My 61 C30 is like driving a tractor and can barely crackl 45 mph! Thanks for the updates...cheering for you from Nashville!

[straight6chevyguy]

It really looks like it's coming together!
Keep up the good work!

[69 C10 LWB]

I got the bed primed and the first coat of paint on it this weekend. I was also able to get it bolted back down so its driveable again. I had to pull the bolts from the bed so I could cut them down and weld the nuts on one side. Now I start on the wood. I have this toolbox that came off a service truck after someone got a little too close with the crane. Trying to decide if I want to mount it to the truck of not. I will have to do a little trimming to get it slid up closer to the front of the bed. What do you all think? Box or no box?

[SBPage1]

Hmmm...my vote would be no box. Keep the box in storage for a spell and circle back to it later. You are creating a masterpiece it’s this truck!
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[Captainfab]

Personally, I think the under bed boxes between the cab and wheels looks better. Could that box be modded to work under the bed?

[69 C10 LWB]

It would be a lot of work to make it work under the bed, although I do agree that those look better. If I modify this one I may just cut the top down and use it to access my fuel tank. My thought was narrow it to the width of the frame rails and attach just the top to the rear crossmember so I have a way to fill the tank that will still support some weight.

[straight6chevyguy]

I think the tool box looks good.

[RDrancher]

Looking good!

Have you found any speakers that make that radio listening worthy? I had one of those in my old CTL and it sounded like a transistor radio I had back in the 60's.

[69 C10 LWB]

I’ve got a couple Sony speakers that work ok. It’s not the best sound but that is probably because I’ve got the speakers stuck in the cab corners behind the seat. For now I have music, the radio was free and I didn’t have to cut the dash.

[RDrancher]

On another note, we spent the last week vacationing in a cabin on Lake of the Ozarks. Hadn't been to MO since I was a kid, but it was as pretty as I remembered. We had an absolute blast and caught some nice fish!

[69 C10 LWB]

I still have a few lights left but most have been converted to LED now. Got a new headlight switch from NAPA, they had one in stock! I found some clearance lights that look similar to the factory lights. I am going to order one and see if it will mount in place of the original. The chrome housing has seen better days. I also replaced the leaking front wheel cylinder.

[69 C10 LWB]

I have all but one board mounted on the bed and I started working on the sides today. Trying to figure out what configuration I want to run. I have all the original stakes but Ive only cut 2 down so far. Id like everyones opinion on how long to make the sides. The boards I have on hand are 2X8 but the sides will actually be 1X6 to match the originals.

[RDrancher]

I've always liked the look of a two board high full stakebed with removable gates. If you're going with just sides I vote for the version shown in the second pic.

[350TacoZilla]

Looks great man! I also like the 2nd pic best out of ones shown, only other combo I might try if I was you would be the long bottom board like pic #1&2 and the short top board like pic #5

[69 C10 LWB]

I finally got a chance to install my new idler arm yesterday. I took a chance on the one sold by LMC. Made in china but looks stronger than the factory part. I tried NAPA , Carquest and Oreillys but they all quoted me $250+. Greased all the zerks on the front end and she drives pretty good now. Judging a car show with some guys from work today so probably wont get much else done this weekend.

[69 C10 LWB]

I ordered a remain starter for my truck last weekend. New was not an option so I had to settle for a Chinese reman. The first one was in the wrong box so I had to wait for the right one. I installed it only to find the nose cone was about 1/8 thicker in most dimensions and it hit the flywheel. They sent my old one out to get rebuilt and hopefully I can pick it up tonight. I also noticed under all the grease and oil I’ve still got good paint on the bellhousing

[69 C10 LWB]

Last weekend I made some progress on the bed. I think Ive changed my mind about the sides again. I saved all the original hardware and kind of like the look of 2 boards with the removable steel spacer. Also had to take a minute to get approval from a couple of my friends.

[69 C10 LWB]

I got the sides mounted on the truck today. I still need to clean up the stakes a little bit and paint everything but I think its lookin pretty good. I made the front boards from 2X6s to protect the back of the cab if anything slides forward and the sides match the original 1x6s so I can keep the metal strips from the original bed. It lines up perfectly with the body line on the back of the cab. Im going to use the brackets from the fold up sides to reinforce the front corners. Im also going to weld washers to the front stakes and use that for antenna mounts. Also found out that the shifter boot from a B&M Megashifter fits the park brake pretty well and should help keep some of the fumes out of the cab.

[straight6chevyguy]

I always thought about making a model of my 65 doing the same thing your doing but I've never done it.

Should look great when your done.

[69 C10 LWB]

I don’t know if it will look great but it will atleast satisfy the 60-66 addiction until the salt is gone off the roads and it warms up a little.

[69 C10 LWB]

Thanks to a brief break in winter I was able to get out and enjoy the day. I spent the morning at the junkyard looking for new seats for the truck. The original bench is still usable but not in great shape. The cover is ripped, half the foam is gone thanks to the little four legged critters that called it home for a while and half of the springs on the driver side are broken. I walked the yard 3 times looking for a truck that still had all the windows up. I was willing to use off brand seats but thankfully discovered these in a 99 Silverado. One of the things that pushed me to these seats was the built in belts. The aftermarket seat belts I put in my truck are uncomfortable and kind of a pain to deal with so these will be much better. I will have to modify the brackets for the center jump seat a little to clear the trans tunnel but these seats fit great and are much more comfortable.

[straight6chevyguy]

I generally don't like the look of newer seats in old truck but yours actually look pretty good.

[SBPage1]

Looks like it coming along great!!!

[69 C10 LWB]

I generally prefer the original bench as well but mine needed so much work and the seat belts I put in were so uncomfortable I was willing to give these a shot. I specifically looked for non power seats in honor of the original and I think once I get the center jump seat in it will look more like a bench and more original.