1966 C1434 SWB Custom Cab

[clemdaddy]

cool truck... and the preservation work you're doing is great. solve one problem at a time and fix it right. i vote for the lower mileage (26k) guess, after 30 years in a barn, the truck is in amazing condition. nice job on the cluster and steering wheel.

[notsolo]

Some nice upgrades making it better than ever.

[CustomCab66]

So I'm trying to sort out a fuel gauge issue. The gauge reads a half tank when it's full. So I removed the sender and checked it with my meter. With the float down it measures .05 ohms and when it is up it measures 31.8 ohms (call it 32) . With the key on if you remove the brown wire from the sender the gauge shows over full but when you touch the brown wire to ground it goes to empty. Sounds like everything is up to par. I am leaning towards a bad gauge so now I'm waiting on the NOS gauge that I bought. I will compare the two once the NOS one shows up and post the readings I get off of both gauges.

I heard that GM changed the sender from 30 ohms to 90 ohms around 1965 or 1966. There is a chance that the sender is hooked to a gauge that requires a 90 ohm sender which is most likely unavailable now. Time will tell

[bj383ss]

Look forward to hearing how your gauge works out.

[northern 85]

Very nice truck and work your doing, what size rubber in the back? Will they go up inside the rear fenders?

[CustomCab66]

northern 85,


The tires are 275/60-15's in the rear. They fit in the up in the bed just fine as long as the truck is not overloaded to much. The panyard bar in the rear pushes the rear axle to the driver side if i remember correctly causing the drivers wheel to rub the bed. The fix would be to either shorten the panyard bar or buy an aftermarket version that is adjustable. I do have factory Auxillary Springs (G60BC AUXILIARY SPRING EQ) on the truck so it doesn't squat as much as most half tons. I wouldn't go any wider on the wheels without increasing the back spacing of the wheel itself. The rear wheels are factory 4x4 blazer wheels 15x10 i believe. The tires are 275mm wide which converts to 11.25 inches tread width.

[CustomCab66]

I just pulled my AM radio out of my truck and it is probably the cleanest one I have ever seen (next being NOS). The black paint on the faceplate is flaking off but the chrome is real nice. There is a conversion now that allows you to have AM/FM, AUX in, Bluetooth, all controlled from the original radio knobs. Here's a Thread I started although it might get bumped.

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=662208

Here are some pics of my original radio

[boat]

Good job on the steering wheel realy like the origanl look on the inside cool truck man

[CustomCab66]

My new fuel gauge came in so here's the comparison:

On the old gauge:
Post to post it measured 41.8 ohms, and the current limiting resistor measured 24.8 ohms respectfully.

On the new gauge:
Post to post it measured 38.5 ohms, and the current limiting resistor measured 21.0 ohms respectfully.

Before removing the old gauge from the truck it displayed a fuel level just below 1/2 a tank (1/16-1/8" to the left of the 1/2 mark) are u tracking.

After I installed the new gauge it was right on 1/2 a tank. The problem i was having before changing the gauge was the always reading too low. Only time will tell once I run to town and top it off. For now it appears as if the new gauge just might be more accurate (I hope its right on).

[CustomCab66]

Gas gauge works perfect. I also replaced the antenna with one I found on eBay. The antenna looks just like factory. I replaced the heater duct hose under the dash so the defrost blows out of both holes now.

[northern 85]

Any updates?

[CustomCab66]

No changes recently how ever I'm considering on installing a big block to replace the 400sbc. The 400 is starting to smoke on startup for a second or two. The 400 is already bored .040 over and another rebuild might cause extensive overheating issues during heavy traffic. My only concern is there a long tube header made for a big block in this era of truck?

[CustomCab66]

I would go with a 283 or a 327 but I do not have one available. On the other hand this 454 that I picked up for 400.00 is nearly a complete long block and it is stock bore. The cylinders still have the cross hatches from the original hone job. It probably only has 30-40k miles on it. It is a CWB engine code which is either a 73 Chevelle SS or Monte Carlo SS. I know it's only a two bolt main but 400! I've seen the short blocks go for between 500-700.

[Captainfab]

The '73-'87 headers is what I used in my '66 Suburban. Regardless of which header you use, the top flange of the frame will need trimmed slightly for clearance. If you need more ground clearance, Chevelle headers will work, but not with the bellhousing crossmember in place.

[CustomCab66]

Not much has changed on the truck but here's an update. This afternoon I installed the grille that I just bought off of the forum, what a difference the grill makes.

[CustomCab66]

Well a local church was having a garage sale for a mission trip fund raiser. I got this small compressor and hose kit for 75.00. The compressor is brand new

[CustomCab66]

Look what was parked at a local goodwill. I had to stop by and snap a shot of it

[CustomCab66]

Disc brakes finally!!!!!!!!

I found a lead on a complete front suspension w/Disc brakes off of a 71 C-10. So I took a little me time and embarked on a 2+ hour road trip with the 66 to pick it up. I made a detour in Boerne (Bernie) to take these stance photos of the 66 . Now my best friend will be the jug of Super Clean and the local car wash.

[CustomCab66]

Parts invasion

So the suspension is completely torn down and I found only one issue. The lower right A-arm bushing was trashed tearing up bore of the A-arm . Now its time for clean up and paint. After the Super Clean scrub down i tossed the spindle in my electrolysis tank over night to remove the surface rust. Then I scrubbed it off in hot soapy water dried it off and sprayed it in satin black. Sorry Guys this is a budget swap no powder coats here. The brake rotor still has the original BD sticker from the factory. I'm gonna try to make a new one and stick it on there later on after the rotor is cleaned up. To Be Continued.

[northern 85]

Awesome! Thats going to be a sweet upgrade.

[CustomCab66]

Thanks I try

I was messing around on the computer and this is what i came up with for the sticker for the rotor. Votes??

[CustomCab66]

The first image is a before and after the electrolysis bath. After the bath I scrubbed it with a wire brush. It removed about 85 percent of the rust during the bath. As impatient as i am i finished it off with a wire wheel and a drill. If my solution was new it would have removed all the rust

Second photo is after a wire wheel and a coat of cast iron high heat paint. Then i replaced the sticker with the one I made today. Oh this rotor is the original GM part cast Feb 24 1971. Haven't measured it but the minimum thickness is 1.215 (says so on rotor). For you guys still wet behind the ears the groove in the center is the cooling groove added at the factory. I've seen it on Chevelles, Trucks, Monte's, and others from the 70's.

[Captainfab]

You don't need to use those '71 control arms. They are exactly the same as your original control arms. Just the ball joints are different to accomodate the spindles.

I use straight distilled white vinegar to strip my small parts. Works good.

[clemdaddy]

nice score on the suspension. like your detail in replacing the decal, looks factory.
my inlaws live in a little town near Boerne, Comfort Texas, Next time there I will try to find that pic location… its cool

[CustomCab66]

Clem it is called Flashback Funtiques their website is down but man i wanted to shop there