Project "Black Betty" (bam-A-lam)

[likaroc13]

After a 7-month hiatus, I was back home over Labor Day (2012) for my Grandmother's (mom's side) 99th birthday! My dad had gotten the control arms & spindles mounted. The power steering gear box would've been remounted as well, along with the new coupler/rag joint. However, we ran into a setback when the coupler wouldn't fit. My dad actually ruined the coupler trying to get it to fit. After a failed trip to Advance & much confusion about the issue, I decided to contact both Fenco and Lares to verify shaft diameters (Advance doesn't list this ). I determined which part # was correct for the coupler, which is the same one I had initially ordered that didn't fit. So they ordered two more, & it turns out the first one was wrongly boxed. Since the problem was on their behalf, they simply swapped the mangled one for the new/correct one. So, now maybe dad can get the gear box and steering shaft mated.


Waiting on my dad's friend to lend a hand with the spring installation, but here's a pic of the driver's side spindle/control arm hanging:

[likaroc13]

Was digging through an old box of 60-66 parts books & such, looking for an original owners manual from my dad's old '66, when I came across this old school Truckin' decal. Not sure what I'm gonna do with it yet.

[likaroc13]

My dad had also just picked this up to tinker with, & I had a chance to look it over when I was home over Labor Day weekend. It needs a little work, but it's in pretty good shape overall. He's not really sure what the plans are yet, but I think he's leaning towards keeping it to play around with. Of course he will probably sell if the right offer comes along. Since I don't wanna bombard my thread with pics of it, I'll post one & link you to the others:

other pics here:
http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v6...-truck%20pics/


Been debating whether I want to remove those window visors & use them on my truck. Gotta look at some more pics to figure out how well (or not) they might look.

[likaroc13]

Since things are a little slow, I guess I'll add to my story and share some more pictures during the process. It might be boring, but it pertains to the build in that it leads to how I came to own my first classic truck.

My dad owned several '64-66 trucks when I was growing up. One original '64 short/fleet he bought from an older gentleman and proceeded to fix it up. I don't have any current pictures to share, but I hope to get some scanned when I have a chance to dig through old pictures back home. He added disc brakes, tilt steering, power steering, etc., along with the 327 V8 from this truck:

my dad's first '66 C-10:



Dad drove the old '64 for several years until deciding to swap the manual 3-on-the-tree tranny for an automatic. Sadly the truck sat for several more years awaiting that process to get finished. Later down the road, we decided that we'd just fix the truck & make it my first vehicle.

[likaroc13]

While the '64 was out of commission, my dad also had a '66 short/fleet that we called "Old Blue." It was just a beater that would definitely be a contender for an ugly truck contest. It had a transplanted 350 w/ auto trans. Although it looked rough, it was reliable over many years. It was kind of an off-and-on driver for the most part. But it was always there for daily driver status if another vehicle was down. Getting behind the wheel as a pre-teen, this was the first '60-66 I ever drove. I used to take it around the subdivision, dreaming of what it would be like to have my own someday. Fast forward several years down the road, & that dream became somewhat of a reality. On many occasions I would drive the old beater '66 to high school or around town. My dad also still used it quite a bit as well. I remember many winter mornings when he'd have to hook up a heat lamp just to keep it toasty overnight, as well as to keep the windshield from frosting over before driving to work.

Dad ended up finally selling the truck just as I was finishing college. I ended up coming across it on eBay a couple years ago, so I took time to save the pictures. It had not changed one bit from the time my dad owned it. Here's a few pictures:

[likaroc13]

Unfortunately the '64 never made it back to driver status, thus it never became my first truck. Sadly, it was also sold around the same time as "Old Blue." Thus, my first truck became my '93 C-1500 short/step. I owned it for a little over 9 years, adding 100k(+) miles throughout. It started out as a factory custom conversion, but it ended up as a full-blown custom. I spent lots of money on it over the years trying to achieve happiness. It was hands-down the best vehicle I've ever owned, & I had so much fun with it. Unfortunately, I made the decision to sell it during October 2007. We had just finished college and moved to Pensacola, FL. I needed a daily driver, & I just couldn't bring myself to keep putting miles onto a truck that I took so much pride in. Since I couldn't afford to have two vehicles, I regretfully decided to let it go. I figured that this would be the first step towards being able to find my first classic truck. I'm attaching a couple pics as it looked when I sold it, but here's the link to many others:

Other pics:
http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v6...hevy%20C-1500/

[McMurphy]

Wow that '93 is a sharp looking rig!! Too bad you parted with it.
You have a great story going here too, thank you for taking the time to read my thread, so in kind I am now caught up on yours.

When I was a kid I did not like hard rock music, but the Ram Jam song "Black Betty" was always a favorite!

[likaroc13]

Originally Posted by McMurphy

Wow that '93 is a sharp looking rig!! Too bad you parted with it.
You have a great story going here too, thank you for taking the time to read my thread, so in kind I am now caught up on yours.

When I was a kid I did not like hard rock music, but the Ram Jam song "Black Betty" was always a favorite!

Thanks for the compliments, & for keeping up. I've still got a little more to add to the story. So here goes:


After selling my '93 C-1500, I set out looking for a nice daily driver S-10 or S-10 Blazer. My aunt had an all original '93 S-10 (2wd) regular cab/short bed with the 4.3L/Auto. I really wanted this truck but could never convince her to sell it. So, I kept browsing until I came across a nice '88 S-10 Blazer (2wd) with 4.3/Auto on Auto Trader. It was located in the Atlanta, GA area, which was 5 hours away. Since it really caught my eye, I called to get more details and ended up scheduling a time to go look at it. We drove north with money in-hand in case it was indeed what I wanted. After looking it over & test driving, I decided to bring it home. I was told that it originally belonged to an old farmer who just used it to get around town. The guy I bought it from knew him & had always wanted to own it someday. After purchasing, he added some custom touches & had it repainted. It had never been smoked in, & the interior was in near perfect original condition. Cosmetically I didn't touch a thing, but I did end up having the trans. rebuilt & added aftermarket exhaust. It was a good vehicle, which I kept for about exactly a year. Now it's another one of those I wish I still had. Here are some pics:

More pics here:
http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v6...S-10%20Blazer/

[likaroc13]

I decided to sell the Blazer because I still had this itch to find a classic truck. I ended up taking it to Cruisin' the Coast (MS Gulf) in 2008, which is the exact place where I had sold my C-1500 the previous year. I came across a lady who asked if I would be interested in any trading. She had a really cool rat rod '48 Ford F1, but she also mentioned having a '63 VW Beetle back at home. I ended up scheduling a time to check out both of them, eventually making about a 1-hour trip west to Silverhill, AL to see them. After driving both & looking them over, I started to seriously think about trading for the Beetle. The F1 needed a little more work than I really wanted to do. I also wanted something that I could rely on as a backup daily driver to the '89 VW Cabriolet my grandfather gave me. So, I decided to trade for the Beetle since I wasn't having any luck selling the Blazer. Here's some pics of the '63 Beetle:

More pics here:
http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v6...20VW%20Beetle/

[likaroc13]

I never really intended to keep the Beetle long-term, but I figured it might sell quicker than the Blazer. I ended up keeping it for about 4-months before trying to sell. I had a local guy call with interest, & he was a VW fanatic looking for an old Bug to tinker with. Needless to say, he ended up taking it home in March 2009. That freed up some funds that would allow me to keep searching for a classic truck. It took about four months of browsing around before I came across the truck I now refer to as "Black Betty," which had been living right there in Pensacola "under my nose."

Now that all the "jibber-jabber" is out of the way, maybe my next post will be more progress pictures.

[clemdaddy]

betty is a beautiful girl and needs much more of your attention. she feels neglected, or so i hear, please do your duty and get back to work.

i love the stories... and i love that truck...

[likaroc13]

Originally Posted by clemdaddy

betty is a beautiful girl and needs much more of your attention. she feels neglected, or so i hear, please do your duty and get back to work.

i love the stories... and i love that truck...

Thanks Clem, she definitely needs more attention...but therein lies the problem. I'm not around to help push things along, thus it's been almost 2 years since she was last on the road. Nothing I can do, that's just life as I know it. So, hurry up dad!

[flips72]

nice vehicles,i too will be glad to see betty back in action.

[likaroc13]

Originally Posted by flips72

nice vehicles,i too will be glad to see betty back in action.

thanks ...miss my C-1500 most, but I miss my Blazer too....as for "Black Betty", she's one small step closer!

springs installed:

[likaroc13]

was looking for this while I was home over Labor Day, but I couldn't find it...my dad texted me this photo earlier saying that he found it...this is the original book from his silver '66 pictured on page 2 of the thread

[96twodoor]

any updates?

[likaroc13]

Originally Posted by 96twodoor

any updates?

not that I'm aware of...unless my dad is secretly doing something without telling me ...this month officially makes 2 years since I last had it on the road...you know, almost every time we get a newbie here with their recently purchased drivable truck, many of the guys will chime in saying not to dismantle it right away...instead, enjoy it for a while...I agree with that suggestion & had mine to enjoy about 8 months or so before the rear end swap...then I got to drive it a couple more times before the front tear down...things have been at a snail's pace since...I do really miss being able to drive it, & I'm anxious to get it back with the upgrades...but now that it has been so long, I tend not to think about it as much (like a distant memory, lol)....but I know it's in good hands where it's at...& it's paid for & not costing me anything to sit there....that said, it does still pain me to see all these other folks making progress & enjoying their rides

[bigblack66]

This month makes 2 years for me as well. She just sits in the barn waiting for funds... Damn I miss my truck. But, she will be done before my wedding next year, even if she's not pretty, she'll be there. It was your wedding photos that made me want to be sure that it happens. I mean I picked my girlfriend up from highschool in that truck. We have to leave the wedding in it.

[jcramsey]

sweet truck...hopefully you will be able to have it back on the road soon. i know how it is to tear it down and just have it sit. mines apart, but hopefully will be back on the road soon.

maybe i'll see ya around Charleston sometime....I'm out on John's Island

[likaroc13]

Originally Posted by bigblack66

This month makes 2 years for me as well. She just sits in the barn waiting for funds... Damn I miss my truck. But, she will be done before my wedding next year, even if she's not pretty, she'll be there. It was your wedding photos that made me want to be sure that it happens. I mean I picked my girlfriend up from highschool in that truck. We have to leave the wedding in it.

awesome! glad to know I was a bit of inspiration...be sure to let me know when the wedding photos are done, as I'd love to see...and it really does make your truck a lot more sentimental if using it in the wedding

Originally Posted by jcramsey

sweet truck...hopefully you will be able to have it back on the road soon. i know how it is to tear it down and just have it sit. mines apart, but hopefully will be back on the road soon.

maybe i'll see ya around Charleston sometime....I'm out on John's Island

thanks! good to see another local on the board....you make it out to Bessinger's or any of the other shows/cruise-ins?

[jcramsey]

Originally Posted by likaroc13

thanks! good to see another local on the board....you make it out to Bessinger's or any of the other shows/cruise-ins?

Havent been to Bessinger's before...when does that happen? I have went to Coffee and Cars up in Mt. Pleasant a couple of times though.

[likaroc13]

Originally Posted by jcramsey

Havent been to Bessinger's before...when does that happen? I have went to Coffee and Cars up in Mt. Pleasant a couple of times though.

I haven't made it to Cars & Coffee yet, but I heard about it through the guys in the local VW Club (i used to have one)...Bessinger's is every 1st Wednesday of the month, however they just had the last one for a while this past Wed...they should get started back up once winter passes by...some of the guys from Street Rods Unlimited put on a cruise-in at Northern Tool on Rivers Ave. in North Charleston...it takes place on the 3rd Saturday of the month...here's a link to their website:

http://www.streetrodsunlimited.org/index.html

if you go to Meetings & Events, they have a calendar listing various shows & cruise-ins....I'm gonna try my best to make it out to the show next weekend at the Fire Museum near Tanger Outlet

[likaroc13]

well, I was able to visit "Black Betty" once again over the Christmas holiday...still nothing new to report...guess I'm gonna have to hook some jumper cables to my dad's nipples to get him cranked up again,

I was able to go through some old photo albums while I was home. I first tried scanning the pics, but they didn't come out quite as clear as I wanted. So, I used the wife's I-phone to snap pics of the pics, ha.....I started an album and will continue to add to it if I come across more pics. I literally grew up around these trucks, from the time I was in diapers until now. Guess the '60-66 bug rubbed off on me, .

here's a link to the album:
http://67-72chevytrucks.com/gallery/...y.php?cat=1817

[likaroc13]

my dad sold the '66 "pro-street" referenced in post #49...a guy down the road from him was interested, so he let it go...now it's back to searching for a Pro-street chassis for the silver '66 chop top


and this is the '64 short/fleet referenced in post #50-52:





I'm told the guy my dad sold it to still has it. I'm not sure of it's status, but I'd love to own it again someday if possible.

[clemdaddy]

yep... i could easily hang with your dad.

though his focus clearly needs to be on that beautiful betty.