!965 Chevy C-10 Take 2: Project Tanya

[fryer1979]

I honestly don't remember the brand off the top of my head, I believe it is something like McGaughty's.......can't remember for sure now. I got them from Summit though. 5 inch drop springs in the rear, and 2.5 inch drop springs up front with one full coil cut out of each. In the rear the previous owner had installed some air shocks, so I inflated them to help keep the rear from riding on the bumpstops (only lifted about 1/2 inch). The fronts rode on the bumpstops, but still rode decent considering.

Last night I went in and cut out the old bump stops, and installed my new Energy Suspension 1 inch universal stops. Along with my new Belltech shocks, she rides better than she did before I dropped her. She might be sitting another 1/2 inch lower up front, but it is hard to tell. I will post pics as soon as I can get to a computer to upload.
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[redneck6]

looks very good brother , i think i will have the 64 drivable agin this weekend .

[fryer1979]

Thanks bro. You should cruise over to the 'ville this weekend. There is the Main St. Cruise (car show) going on Saturday 3-6 pm, and my Car Club is going to be there. I'll have Tanya out there with me, and we are pushing hard to get my wife's '63 Cadillac on the road for the show as well.

[fryer1979]

Well, got a few minor things done over the passed week or so. Most of my time has been spent on my wife's new car a 1963 Cadillac Series 62 4-door. After sitting in an old guy's back yard for 20+ years it only took very minor work to get her running and driving again, and man does she ever drive. We spent a good portion of the weekend just cruising, and my wife is completely beside herself (she has been wanting an early 60's Caddy since I met her 12 years ago). I managed to get my old worn out antenna replaced (can be seen in the picture below), put a new seat cover on since the old one was rotting apart beneath me, and just today I got my "Custom" trim panels installed. Even though they weren't original to my truck I still love how they look, plus they were just laying around. This is the only pick I have at the moment to put up, but will have a few more soon.

[chevyrestoguy]

The truck is looking great! There's not a more satisfying feeling in the world than to do a modification and each time, the truck gets better and better.

If it's running good, don't tear it apart yet!

By the way, do you still have the trailer mirrors that were on the truck when you got it? Or the bed hooks you pulled off? I'm trying to fill some of the holes that the previous owners drilled into the body. On the driver's door, there had been 3 different mirror set-ups in the lifetime of the truck (original 3-bolt mirror, trailer mirror, and some off-brand car mirror). I have holes everywhere, and many of them in weird places. It's got the original lacquer paint, and I want to keep it as long as I can. If I start welding all the holes closed, I'll have primer spots everywhere.

[fryer1979]

Thanks man. Yeah she is running pretty darn good for an almost 50 year old engine. Right now she is my daily driver (no plans to change that either, she is too much fun to drive), so my focus is to keep mods to weekend projects so I can keep her rolling as much as possible. I have an Olds 350 I'm pretty sure I am going to build and put in her, but I won't tear her apart until the new engine is ready to go in. Same with my front crossmember swap, when it is all together and ready to go in with all the parts I will need, then I will do the swap. I love driving this truck and don't want to be long without her.

Yes I do still have the old mirrors actually, although the two arms that hold the mirrors are just a tiny bit different from each other. They both mount similar, but one mirror sits a lot higher up than the other. Other than that they are both in decent shape. If you'd like them, you're welcome to them for just a little cash to cover shipping and such. Shoot me a pm if you're interested. Sounds like you're truck is similar to mine with all those holes, I too have the three bolts for that little post mirror on the drivers side. A little further down the line I plan on putting one of those little post mirrors back on, the clamp on peeps were just a temporary fix for me. I do not still have the bed hooks though, never thought anyone would want them so I tossed 'em. Sorry man. Shoot me a PM about the mirrors though, we'll see what we can work out.

[fryer1979]

Ok, so I have a few more pictures off my phone to share, nothing really exciting at all though.

Truck back up in the air for removal of old bumpstops:



My ugly mug, an my own personal custom ear plugs...... After running a grinder for a while, I really start getting a nasty headache from the noise. I really did not want to go through that again and couldn't find any kind of ear protection at my shop, so I made my own: torn bits of shop towel rolled and stuffed into glove fingers. They look funny, but they worked great....no headache, and no ears ringing.



My awesome wife (no she doesn't read this forum ) brought me some refreshments. Nothing like an ice cold summer seasonal on a hot afternoon. She got a good laugh from my home made ear plugs too.



My Camera on my phone was really giving me a hard time with the flash and didn't want to take any pictures in the twilight light. This was the only good one I managed to get of things going back together, all of the rest are WAY too dark to see. At least you can see a shiny new Belltech shock.



Here's my two babies a couple of weeks later. The shorter bump stops have let the front of the pickup settle a bit more, she's looking pretty good.



As soon as I can get my 1980 crossmember rebuilt and ready to go in, the new drop spindles will get her sitting just about perfect. 2 more inches down in the front should be just right.

[fryer1979]

Oh, and just in case anyone is interested, this is what my entire week last week consisted of. Sunday we drove out to this old guy's house in the desert and brought back these two Cadillacs, one is a 1968 and the other is a 1963. My wife got the 63 and another member of my car club got the 68. The old man wanted both cars to go at the same time, and he was picky about who they went to (wanted to make sure they would go to someone who wouldn't destroy them). So once we decided to give them a new home we went to pick them up early Sunday morning. My wife has always wanted an early 60's Cadillac ever since I met her 12 years ago, so this 63 is a dream come true for her. After we got both cars back to town we set to work on getting them resurrected from their 20 year slumbers. We got two fresh batteries, did two oil changes, poured fuel down two carburetors, and BOTH cars fired right up! After a little cleaning, adjusting, checking, and tuning, we were cruising two classic Caddys that evening. The core members kind of split into two groups so we could get these two cars ready for our local annual main st show 'n shine the following weekend (last weekend). Mostly it was a bit more tuning on the old engine, a lot of cleaning, and some work with a buffer and we got them both looking pretty darn good for Saturday. Both cars need a good amount of resto work, but both are quite driveable. My wife and I spent all day last Sunday driving hers all around the country side, with still no more cash involved than the prior weekends parts for initial fire. So here is a couple pictures I took with my cell phone, my wife has tons of pics on her camera, so I may start a thread in the "alternate tinkerings" section sometime. This car sure is beautiful, and my wife could not be happier. Enjoy!

Both cars at the gas station a few miles from the old guy's house. Had to stop to check all the tie downs before making the 45 mile drive home. You all should have seen this old man, he was so happy to see his cars going to a new home where they will be getting new life and will be loved for what they are (his words). We definitely made his day almost as much as he made ours.



Late night cruising that same night after we got the cars fired up. Man those 63 tail lights are sexy as hell! I never thought I would own a car with fins, I love this thing.



After a week of cleaning, polishing, buffing, tuning, and a fresh set of tires, you would never know this car had been sitting in the desert for 20 years. I don't have any interior shots on my phone, but it is just as remarkable as the exterior. This was right as we were getting loaded up to go to the car show. Tanya is just to the left out of frame, full with cooler and yard chairs.

[SulphuriousSam]

Nice Caddy And Tanya is coming along nicely too!

[chevyrestoguy]

I love Caddys, too. I can't believe how nice that '63 cleaned up. I was not expecting that. If I didn't know it already, and you were to have told me that it sat in the desert for 20 years, I wouldn't have believed you. It cleaned up that nice.

Those cars were built with very high quality back in the day, and that's why it woke up from it's 20 year slumber like it was just a short nap. So, what are your plans for it?

[fryer1979]

Thanks guys. Yeah, even I can't believe how well the Caddy cleaned up. The pictures from my phone hide a lot of the paint issues, and the interior has wear in it in most places one would expect. Even still she is in outstanding condition given the circumstances of her slumber, and that Caddy 390 engine purrs like you wouldn't believe. I love old big cars, and have always wanted one though I was never brand specific, just wanted an old cruiser. The car is actually my wife's 100%, and it is all up to her the direction it takes (my clain to ownership is only as far as the guy that builds the car ). So far she really wants to keep her mostly stock, with a few classic custom style touches. The whole car is likely to get a pearl white paint (like the newer Lexus or Cadillac pearls whites), with either a candy red or dark candy pinkish red top (either one would have a very heavy metal flake). The wheels will likely stay sock with some detailed and polished caps since neither of us like large diameter wheels, and most of what's available aftermarket doesn't really fit the car or our style. For the time being we are likely going to just cut a coil or two from the factory springs to get her a little lower. The drivetrain is going to stay as close to factory as we can keep it, the 390 runs great and pulls strong, and the transmission shifts solid and smooth. We'll probably just rebuild them as needed. Brakes are factory power drums with a dual master cylinder, and stop the car REALLY fast, so they will probably stay as well. Plus those huge finned drums are just cool. The interior is the must undecided part for now. She really loves the classic Caddy style, so whatever we do will probably closely resemble the stock interior. May be in a newer high quality leather, or a fabric to match the original, but the cream and chocolate colors that are in there will remain. The steering wheel on this thing is incredible, so we're going to have to find someone who can repair the cracks in the wheel and basically restore it, changing it out to something else would be a crime. She wants to add an aftermarket AC system since the car doesn't have AC, and we will add a hidden audio system using a Retro Sound deck to fit the factory dash. She really wants to keep it a comfy cruiser and weekend driver. And who can blame her? This thing is just stunning all by itself! Thanks a lot for the interest guys, when I get enough pictures together to start a new thread in the "alternate tinkerings" section, I'll put a link in my signature for anyone to follow along with us.

Back to Tanya: Once the sun starts heading down tonight, I am heading out to the shop for some prep work on the replacement grill I have for her. I really hope to have her in primer at least tonight. I'll take some more pics as I go.

[fryer1979]

well, here's a write up of an update for anyone following along. I haven't had a whole lot of extra time to get hands on with Tanya for a while, and don't have many pictures to post (and no access to the pics I have from my computer here at work). The last few weeks have been dedicated to strengthening my newly founded car club, getting Tanya and Evil Ways (my Camaro) to local shows and club gtgs (along with my wife's Caddy), and tackling some major home and house projects (new flooring going in and a complete landscaping makeover for the back yard). We'll just say time has been scarce for wrenching in the shop. But Tanya has beeen serving as a daily driver with little to no complaining, and she is still a delight to drive.

I have been collecting quite a pile of parts for a few big jobs to come up soon however, so big that I am running out of places to keep them that don't require moving boxes around to get vehicles in and out of my shop. I need to get under Tanya and find out what gear ratio she has in the rear, i am suspecting to find at least 4.11s if not 4.53s or higher the way she winds out. My other 65 has a rear ratio of 3.73 so i have been gathering parts to swap the rear ends out. Another project is new wheels and tires, well....the tires are new, but I think the wheels are 20 years old if not older. I'll save the details for a surprise, but I will say that based on the collective style I have seen here there probably won't be many fans. But that's ok, she is MY truck after all. I have also been working on getting together parts for a conversion to a disc brake front end. My conversion is based on the 73-87 front swap, with a mixture of new and old parts. Along with that conversion Tanya will go another 2" lower with lowered spindles and spacers and a c-notch in the rear (along with new shocks to replace the air shocks and match the fronts). Also I am trying to get things together to finally put some color on her, I really don't like primer gray, especially with the original color poking through everywhere. Oh, and I still have a pile of parts hanging around to pull and re-seal the engine, as well as give it a good and thurough tune up.

So hopefully, when the cold weather comes around I can finally have all of this accomplished. It's quite a bit to bite off, but bit by bit I want to get it all nailed down over the next couple months. I have tonight and tomorrow night off, so I will try to take and post some pics of what has been going on. And as you can read, I have a lot to keep me busy so I can keep posting more new pics.

[chad64chevy]

question what parts do you need to do the rearend swap?? i would just unbolt it and slide it out then slide in the other rearend! i've been reading your threads, not a lot of people comment on my build thread , i have like 10 comments other then the ones from myself! so somethings it's like talking to yourself! i like the people that do the work them selfs and are on a basic budget , i guess thats because thats what i am!! don't get me wrong if i had all the money for my truck, my truck would be done already! this heat is slowwing me down thats my reason, about the caddy love it! i would leave it stock too, polish them caps with new tires! what about the interior? are you leaving it stock or thinking about new interior with caddy emblems sewwed into the seats!!

[66-PMD-GMC]

Is it a trailing arm rear or leafs????
THIS would determine what you can do and use. The trailing arm setup needs that bar on top so a late model rear housing won't work on them very easy..
I talk to myself all the time on my build but I attribute that to me just being boreing....

[fryer1979]

For parts needed I basically mean just parts to replace the consumables. If I am going to the effort of pulling apart a differential to move it around, might as well replace axle bearings and seals, any brake parts that may look worn enough, replace the fluid, and even clean and paint the one going in. That's just how I am, hard for me to put something together and not replace things like that, then have to do it again when they need to be replaced a few months down the road. That's why it is taking me a while to gather stuff for the front end swap too. New Calipers, new rotors, bearings, seals, bushings, steering linkages, booster, master cylinder, and a good cleaning and repainting while I am at it. Might as well do it right the first time.

[fryer1979]

Here is my little bit of progress over the weekend. Wasn't much, but I spent one day hanging with some car club members, and most of the next day driving my Camaro around the north state. I used a self etching primer by Rustoleum, then a few coats of a semi-gloss white. Came out looking so nice that now I want to get my truck painted before I put it on......

all sanded and ready for primer


And finished, sorry no primed pictures....I kinda forgot about the phone for a bit.

[chevyrestoguy]

The grille turned out nice! To really make it pop, you could get one of those letter kits from Brothers or The Truck Shop for the Chevrolet logo. Black letters on a white grill look cool.

[chad64chevy]

fryer.. that grille is awesome good job!! and i'm the same way when it comes to putting new and new used parts on my truck and my whole frontend and rearend its brand new! i do need to do the brake for the rear don't know if i what to keep the drums or go to disc! i don't see a big differents in disc other then the looks and they cost more!! but i'm going to do a hydro boost for sure, so what do you think i should do drum or disc??

chevyrestoguy.. thanks for that info. i'll need to put that on my list too. i have an aluminum grille that i painted silver with black painted headlight bezel!!

[66-PMD-GMC]

Originally Posted by chad64chevy

fryer.. that grille is awesome good job!! and i'm the same way when it comes to putting new and new used parts on my truck and my whole frontend and rearend its brand new! i do need to do the brake for the rear don't know if i what to keep the drums or go to disc! i don't see a big differents in disc other then the looks and they cost more!! but i'm going to do a hydro boost for sure, so what do you think i should do drum or disc??

chevyrestoguy.. thanks for that info. i'll need to put that on my list too. i have an aluminum grille that i painted silver with black painted headlight bezel!!

I paid $14.99 each for calipers and $14.00 for pads, $19 each for the brake hoses for the front. That is what it cost to make my brakes new. The wheel bearings made it slightly higher.
I found wheel cylinders for 9.99 each for the rear and 14.99 each for the front.
Looking at the math I would venture to guess that disks cost about the same to rebuild.
I got my spindles and rotors on flakes list for $75.
There is a disk rear for $150 right now too.
Check around, there are deals and inexpensive ways of improving your truck.

[chad64chevy]

well, i got my front all done with 6 lug rotors, i was wondering what i should do for the back!

[66-PMD-GMC]

Never checked out 6 lug disk brakes for the rear. Are kits available or would it be cheaper to go with bigger drums off the 6 lug 67-68 trucks?
That might be a way to go.
On my truck, the majority of the braking comes off the front unloaded or without a trailer. I opted for the 13" rear drums and my truck screeches to a stop.
Are disks advantageous in your application chad64?

[chad64chevy]

well i'm not to sure what i what to do! i can rebuild my drums with all new parts for around 200, and disc brake kits i've seen on ebay for 444! i know that i'm going with a hydro boost set-up too! that is what will increase stopping alot, it's more about looks i guess, and money,LOL!! like i've said i don't see the differents between rear disc or drums!!

[fryer1979]

Originally Posted by chevyrestoguy

The grille turned out nice! To really make it pop, you could get one of those letter kits from Brothers or The Truck Shop for the Chevrolet logo. Black letters on a white grill look cool.

That's actually exactly what I was thinking. I think LMC has the lettering kit too, and I have a couple of other things I would like to order from them as well. They'll probably go on around the same time the grill does.


Thanks for the compliments guys.

As far as rear brake suggestions go.....Personally I plan to keep mine drums for a while. I have no intention of making my truck some wild street machine or corner carver, so aftermarket kits don't interest me (let alone the larger diameter wheels almost always required to utilize those kits). Maybe as my fabrication skills improve I will figure something out, but I want to keep it 6 lug, and cheaper is better for me. Plus I have driven rear drum, front disc combo cars and trucks for years, never really found myself wanting or needing more.

[fryer1979]

Been doing a lot of work, and have a good stack of pictures to be downloaded to my computer and uploaded onto here. Tomorrow night is Friday for me, and I have a three day weekend, so I am hoping to finish up some of my projects and get a bunch of pictures posted up. Cool stuff coming, stay tuned!

[fryer1979]

finally some pictures to post.

Here she is right before pulling her apart for some work, it's been a couple weeks now without her and I really miss her already. She is VERY dirty in this picture, I have been driving her all over and up and down a few mountain dirt roads, and have had no time to wash her off. Poor girl. I'm going to have to make some time once I get this little paint project done.


First round done (started with the door frame). Shows the original paint, and that this truck probably had some really cool patina before someone rattle canned her in cheap primer.


Complete upper portion of truck is all done, was really hard to get a good shot of it though. The sun really shines in the shop in the afternoon.


Oh, and you guys HAVE to see this dude! I have never seen a moth this big around here, but this guy was close to a 6" wingspan sitting here like this (the square on that carpet is only 12" x 12"). This was from the night I was working on the grill. He keep running into the light above my shop and falling onto the tin roof, I thought someone was throwing rocks at the shop.