1965 C10 LWB Project Build Thread

[JohnIL]

For the second year in a row, my son and I attended the Southern Illinois Truck Showdown in Marion, IL. Last year, we took my '65 C10. My son is now a college freshman, just down the road in Carbondale, IL. So, this year, he drove over in his '77 C10 and we took both trucks to the show.

The attendance numbers haven't been announced yet, but there were LOTS of cool old trucks on display. The forecast called for rain and thunderstorms all day. But, the weather held off until late afternoon, when the show was winding down.

It was a good event. Lots of trucks and lots of friendly truck people. A good time was had by all. It was fun to visit with my son and spend the day immersed in the world of old trucks. We're already making plans to attend next year's show.

[SCOTI]

Nice! Good that the weather held out.

[JohnIL]

I finally "broke the seal" on the brake conversion project. I've been looking at this stack of parts for well over a year, just waiting for some time to put the truck up on blocks. All the parts came in the form of a front disc conversion kit and a power brake conversion kit from Speedway Motors. Most of the kits appear to be from CPP.

I'm only a couple hours in, but you can see my progress in the pictures. I have the driver side spindle knocked off and the spring removed. Ball joint removal comes next. This thing still has the original 1965 riveted upper ball joints. The driver side upper ball joint is plenty sloppy.

Once the ball joints are out and the A-arms are cleaned up, I plan to install new lower A-arm shafts. At the same time, I plan to move the shafts 3/4" forward to add some additional caster. Full disclosure, I stole the idea for the suspension experts here on the forum. My goal is for the truck to track down the highway more like a modern vehicle.

The front suspension will go back together with new spindles, rotors, calipers, and tie rods. Then, I'm replacing the original style single-reservoir manual master cylinder with a dual-reservoir power unit and new brake lines all around. While I'm in the brake department, I'll replace the rear wheel cylinders and brake shoes.

My hope is to have the truck drivable again before I have to mothball it for the winter. I'll do my best to add updates as I make my way through the project. Wish me luck!

[SCOTI]

Good upgrade.