Winter Beater Build 2.0- '66 Short/Fleet BBW

[theastronaut]

It rolled over to 150k on Mother's Day.




I wasn't sure what to do with the bed when I first got the truck, it doesn't really match the condition of the rest of the truck. The inside looked extremely rough from sitting outside for the last ~8 years with the drains plugged, and it looks like they didn't shoot clear over the inside of the bed when it was last repainted so it was super faded. I've thought about swapping on a new bed, but that would be later down the road. I had some free time yesterday so I wanted to knock the worst of the ugly off until then.
I scrubbed the sides with steel wool and CLR, then coated them with Penetrol. The floor needed a lot more scrubbing with a stiff wire brush to get the loose rust off, then I rolled it with old leftover tractor enamel I had laying around. The paint was still wet in these pics, I used matte black paint so it dried duller.












Did a quick clean up on the interior.






I found a $250 boat with a supposedly good Mercruiser 165 on Marketplace. It's the same engine as the 250 but with a better cam, finned aluminum valve cover, and different intake/exhaust manifold. This should let me get the current head swapped out sooner than waiting on the machine shop.

[theastronaut]

The boat turned out to be a typical boat... problematic. The owner said that the "tires are good, we just moved it from 2.5 hours away". One tire was flat when we arrived, they pumped it up and it had a audible leak. We limped it to the nearest gas station to grab a can of fix a flat, then to a parts store to pick up a tire plug kit. Made home, then found rust in the ports when I pulled the intake. There is orange paint under the black paint on the block so it looks like a truck block was swapped in at some point; I doubt it has the hotter Mercruiser cam. At least the valve seats aren't pitted, they actually cleaned up pretty well. I'll drop it off at my machinist since it's not usable as-is.










After getting it home I noticed that it had a 90* sweep 5k tach, and factory six cylinder tachs are super rare so I was hoping I could graft it onto a block off plate and use a decal to make it look like an original tach. After getting it out and doing some research I found out that it's a generator driven tach and uses the signal from the boat's alternator. The boat had a bigger pulley than the truck so the calibration would be off, and I didn't want to swap pullies and have less charging at low rpm. So another disappointment out of the boat.








I tracked down the source of the brakes dragging- the stock drum brake master cylinder has a built in residual pressure valve that is meant to keep pressure on the wheel cylinder cup seals so they don't suck in air when the brakes are released. I wanted to replace it with a dual circuit m/c anyway, so I've been researching the best way to upgrade. A disc/drum system needs a hold off valve for the front circuit so the discs don't activate before they system builds enough pressure to overcome the drum's shoe return springs. The rear brakes don't need to lock up before the front so a proportioning valve is used to limit rear brake line pressure. GM used a combination valve with both built in, and I had a new one leftover from another project but the proportioning valve isn't adjustable. I want to be able to adjust the rear to get the most out of them without lockup, which will change with different tires and different brake pad/shoe compounds when they're eventually replaced.


I pulled the combo valve apart to see what was inside. The hold off valve simply unscrews. In the middle is a shuttle valve that activates a warning light switch in case one of the circuits fails. I deleted that. The proportioning valve in the rear was more complicated to delete, if you gut it there's a weep hole that is exposed and would need to be blocked.








The theads for the prop valve were an oddball 3/4-20 and I couldn't find a readily available adapter or plug, so I machined my own to accept a 1/8 npt to 3/4-24 inverted flare adapter. I'll use an external Wilwood adjustable proportioning valve to set the rear bias, and a 10 psi residual valve for the rear wheel cylinders. Those parts and a new master cylinder will be here later this week.









When I had my last blue '66 dad found a red '66 about a mile from their house and bought it. We went through it and got it back on the road, but he ended up selling it around the same time I sold mine so we've both been truck-less for a few years. He knew his neighbor had a blue '64 that had been in the family since '68 and had asked about it over the years, and finally got the call that they were ready to sell it last week.








His new '64. Its had a 350/350 swapped in, 5 lug swap, power steering and brakes, old Sears underdash A/C installed, has a newer bed floor, and it's fairly straight and solid. He's wanting to drop it and go with wheels/original caps like mine so we've been rounding up parts to start wrenching on it.

[SpudWrench]

Why not throw a small block v8 instead of going through the trouble of boat motors. The sbcs are a dime a dozen and getting cheap again now that everyone is LS swapping the world 😂

[theastronaut]

I did that with the last one, just want to do something different with this one. A turbo 250 with Holley Sniper will make an easy 350-400hp and be a lot more interesting than a small block. Or throw H-beam rods and forged pistons in it and make 5-600.

[Paul Y]

Really like both of these trucks!

Whilst I am a V8 guy love the fact you are going Turbooooooo on the 6.

Look forward to the next update on both your own and your Dads truck.

P.

[theastronaut]

Got the dual circuit m/c swap finished up a couple weeks ago. I ended up chopping the combination valve in half and plugging the rear of it. I forgot that with the shuttle valve removed that the inside would no longer be separated front/rear, so chopping off the rear half and plugging it was the only way to turn the combination valve into just a hold off valve. I used a CPP 1" master cylinder, Wilwood prop valve in the rear line, the residual valve is down at the crossmember where the new rear line crosses over, and the hold off valve is mounted in the front line near the master cylinder.









I drove it up to a Festiva meet in Asheville last weekend, first time it's been more than 15-20 miles away from home. I put about 270 miles on it in a couple of days with no issues, and it easily handled the really tight and curvy highway 178 between Pickens SC and Rosman NC. While I was in Asheville I picked up a set of seats that a friend of mine had grabbed off Marketplace for me a few months ago, they'll be a perfect fit for my '92 Capri build.

[The Rocknrod]

Interesting few months. Cool stories on the boat, engine and brakes.

[theastronaut]

Not much to update, just been driving it. I drove it full time a couple of weeks ago for about a week and a half while I had the interior out of my usual daily for deep cleaning/detailing. I've put a bit over 2600 miles on it now.

I installed a set of Koito H4 headlights plus a relay harness last week. Huge difference in visibility at night compared to the old sealed beams. I tried a set in the Miata last fall and liked them so I stocked up on them












The truck has been getting right under 15 mpg with mixed city/highway driving. I ran across this site in one of the C10 groups on facebook, and picked up an HHR fan to do the conversion last time I was at a Pull-a-Part. This should help mileage a bit and eliminate the fan noise at 50+ mph. Right now the fan is the loudest thing at highway speeds.

http://www.66c10.com/electric-fan/

[theastronaut]

Got the fan installed, it's working great- better mileage (best so far is 16 mpg vs 14.5 before e-fan) and keeps it cool when sitting. I used an aluminum adapter in the upper hose to mount a Ford Festiva/Mercury Capri fan switch that cuts on about 210 and cuts off at 200, didn't want to drill and tap the thermostat housing to add an extra sensor. I had to trim a little bit off the HHR shroud flanges to get enough clearance at the water pump pulley, but it clears now.






Some shots of the Koito headlights.










I picked up an Air gauge from a C10 group on FB, then restored the face and cleaned up the rest of the cluster. Still need to T an airline for the gauge into a rear bag. Also would like to find a six cylinder tach.




One thing I never did when I first got the truck on the road was the starter. It worked and reman parts are iffy nowadays so I left it alone. The starter drive started slipping so I found a kit on ebay that had all the parts and I rebuilt it myself. That starter drive also started slipping, so I've swapped it out and it hasn't had any more issues since.




I've been wanting to add an overdrive trans, but didn't want to cut up the floor or floor mat to add the usual T5, so I started exploring other options to keep it column shift. Originally I wanted to find one of the optional Borg Warner OD units and add it to a Saginaw 4 speed but the OD units are hard to find and the parts needed to make them work aren't cheap or easy to find. I found about the 81-87 Squarebody NP440 OD 4 speed and decided to go that route, and a local friend sold me one that's really clean. Since it has the same input and output splines and bellhousing pattern it'll be a direct bolt in other than shortening the driveshaft (maybe a 67-72 driveshaft is the correct length?) and make new shift rods with heim joints to tighten up the shifter feel. I'll either use a pull cable or solenoid/switch for the reverse lever.




In my searches for 250 parts I ran across a pic of this intake from South America that fits a Weber IDF/Dellorto DRLA downdraft two barrel. I already had a spare near-NOS 48mm DRLA Tri-Jet and an extra stock manifold, and a Bridgeport, and aluminum stock...




I figured I could mill a flat spot on the manifold, bore holes that matched the carb barrels, and make an aluminum adapter plate to bolt the carb to, but I found out quickly that the exhaust heat passages go all the way to the top of the stock carb mounting boss. I think I could still make it work with some brazing and extra machining, but it's probably not worth the effort since the eventual goal is MPI/turbo.








More inline 6 activities- I picked up a couple of spare engines down near Columbia SC from forum member Jay (Lugnutz65). The rear airbags definitely came in handy to keep the axle off the bump stops on the way home.






The truck isn't babied, these are the reasons I didn't tear out the steel floor and replace it with a new wood floor, and why I wanted air bags to add hauling capacity but still be lowered. As I'm typing the bed is full of scrap wood and a set of wheels/tires. That's dad in our all original 43k mile '74 in the first pic.














I welded up a tow bar adapter that goes in place of a Festiva bumper that my VW tow bar will attach to, and used it to tow an '89 Festiva to a friend's house in Kentucky last weekend. I met a guy in Asheville on the way up to deliver a '64-65 Deluxe seat cover that my dad made. After dropping the car off we met up with more Festiva friends nearby and made our way to a Festiva meet near Columbus Ohio. The truck did great on the 1,109 mile trip, and even held 70-75 mph uphill when towing the car. Gas mileage wasn't great while towing uphill at those speeds, it only got mid 12's but the terrain between SC and KY is full of hills. It got 16 mpg on the way home at 60-65 mph.













As of tonight it has 158,980 miles on it, only 445 shy of 10,000 miles since I got it on the road 13 months ago. In true beater style, it's usually a few shades lighter whenever I finally get around to washing it.

[SCOTI]

Thanks for continuing to share the updates & info behind the tweaks being done. Such a cool ride.

[cwcarpenter98]

I love seeing other trucks continue to be used as trucks even after some tasteful modifications. How many looks did you get towing the Festiva?

[1971 GMC SHORTY]

[QUOTE=SpudWrench;9087418]Why not throw a small block v8 instead of going through the trouble of boat motors. The sbcs are a dime a dozen and getting cheap again now that everyone is LS swapping the world 😂[/QUOTE
250 Are Great Running Engines I had one In my 65 An It ran so Good But only Had Original 65000 Miles Back in 1991 Had Had a Few V8s to put in But That Straight 6 was So SWEET

[joesscamaro]

Thanks for the updates and glad the truck held up well while being used.

[theastronaut]

Originally Posted by SCOTI

Thanks for continuing to share the updates & info behind the tweaks being done. Such a cool ride.

Thanks, I've been having a blast with it.

Originally Posted by cwcarpenter98

I love seeing other trucks continue to be used as trucks even after some tasteful modifications. How many looks did you get towing the Festiva?

Quite a bit, although it attracts a lot of attention by itself. Lots of gas station stops where people couldn't believe I was towing with it, and even less when they found out it was a stock 250.

Originally Posted by 1971 GMC SHORTY

250 Are Great Running Engines I had one In my 65 An It ran so Good But only Had Original 65000 Miles Back in 1991 Had Had a Few V8s to put in But That Straight 6 was So SWEET

This one only has around 23k miles since it was rebuilt in the early 90's. It uses next to no oil and has zero blowby, the valve cover is rusting around the oil filler/breather cap hole

Originally Posted by joesscamaro

Thanks for the updates and glad the truck held up well while being used.

It keeps trucking right along, for the most part... had some issues with the ignition system lately but that's ironed out now.

[theastronaut]

After a few months of searching I finally found a vintage camper shell that fits it pretty well. Been wanting a shell so I could upgrade from camping in a tent when going to Festiva meets. I've started building a half wall to fit under the hatch with the tailgate open to mount a 5k btu window AC unit for summer trips. According to the previous owner was on a mid 60s F100 since new or nearly new and always stored in a barn/shed. It's wood framed and has zero rot. I haven't found any manufacture markings on it or old sales brochures of matching shells so I'm not sure who made it.


















Shiny new parts, found a killer deal on a new Borgeson 12:1 quick ratio power box on ebay. Can't wait to get this installed, the stock steering plus extra caster with wheel spacers that ruin the scrub radius geometry really make it hard to steer in parking lots. I've located a set of pump brackets locally but still need to go pick them up.




Took it to the local Father's Day downtown car show, and got to see Jay and his super slick truck again.






Dad and I drove the truck to lunch one day last fall and spotted the Google street view camera car so we followed it down a few roads. I finally remembered to check street view to see if it captured us following it.

[youngrodder]

That's funny about following the Google truck. That read truck from the show is awesome. Love the BBW and stance.

Marc

[theastronaut]

Finally got around to building a more substantial hitch than the one it came with. I used 1/4" wall 2.5" tube, 1/4" plate, and split a 2.5" tube diagonally for braces. It mounts using existing holes and is mostly hidden- nothing hangs below the bumper or bed sides.










It was a tight fit getting the receiver tube to clear the bed and the drop hitch to clear the bumper. Ended up being 1" higher than the trailer ball when the trailer is level, I can live with that.




Also installed a trailer brake controller. I wanted something as hidden as possible with proportional braking, Redarc's Tow Pro Liberty fit the bill with a remote mounted box and only a small control knob to mount on the dash. I had already wired it for a four pin trailer harness, so I bought a 4 to 7 adapter/socket and only had to run a wire for the brakes to the socket.









First trip with the hitch and controller fitted- 690 miles round trip to a Festiva show near Raleigh NC.






I stopped at a truck stop on the way home to weigh it.. it was a bit heavier than I was expecting, and explained why it was more sluggish than I thought it would be. It did really great flat towing the other Festiva, I didn't think the added 1300 pounds of the trailer would make as drastic of a difference as it did, but I've also added the camper shell since then and it's pretty hefty. This is about the limit of what the 250/3 speed can pull and reasonably keep up with traffic. The weight ticket was with me out of the truck and off the scales, about 1/8th tank of gas, and some parts and camping equipment in the bed. Add my 170 pounds and a full tank and it was just under 7500 pounds. The rear air bags and relocated shocks handled the added weight with no issues- zero sway or instability even at 80 mph, but its underpowered or at least undergeared when you hit steep hills- the wide ratios of the 3 speed means you can't downshift unless you drop to 45-50.

[Braunschweiger]

Great implementation and the team looks great, that's quite a bit of weight.
I'm from Germany and we're only allowed to drive at a maximum speed of 100 km/h/60mph with a trailer and special approval.
You're pretty fast on the road, have the strict speed rules in the federal state been relaxed?
Don't get me wrong, for us Europeans the USA stands for 55mph and there are police everywhere to monitor it.

[theastronaut]

Originally Posted by Braunschweiger

Great implementation and the team looks great, that's quite a bit of weight.
I'm from Germany and we're only allowed to drive at a maximum speed of 100 km/h/60mph with a trailer and special approval.
You're pretty fast on the road, have the strict speed rules in the federal state been relaxed?
Don't get me wrong, for us Europeans the USA stands for 55mph and there are police everywhere to monitor it.

The nationwide 55 mph limit hasn't been in effect since the mid 90s. Our usual interstate speed limit is 65-70 on interstates in my state, but its very loosely enforced around here; its common to drive 80-85 in the left lane in 65 mph zones. I only saw maybe 3-4 state troopers on the interstates on my last trip to NC and back. Out west the speed limit is 80 on some of the interstates. Anyone can tow a trailer, no special license or permission needed unless its over 26,000 pounds. I could only find speed restrictions for towing "house trailers" in SC, those are limited to 45 mph. I pretty much stayed in the outside or middle lane at 60-65 mph on my way home, but on the way to the show I met some friends in Asheville and they were running 70-75 most of the way to Raleigh, but the speed limits in North Carolina are higher than in South Carolina.

[Braunschweiger]

Thank you, it's very nice that you enlightened me, it gives you a better impression.
I always wish you a good trip.

[jhrusk]

Love the truck John. Glad to see you enjoying it. I saw you cruise by in PF while we were in a restaurant. Hope you are doing well

[LT7A]

I saw your reply to my query over on your old 66 that directed me here. I've read a few of your threads and I'm not going to go all fanboy on you, haha. But I do want to call out that among the skills that other people have mentioned, that I like how matter-of-factly you approach your work. I would get overwhelmed by all of the things needing to be fixed on some of the projects you take on. But you just identify where you want to start and take one thing at a time. Cool to watch. Also I wanted to mention your inventiveness. You come up with ways to produce things that aren't available or to bring a better finish or outcome than would otherwise be possible. Much appreciated that you are telling us about these things and posting the pictures.

[PowerdbyChevy79]

I love this truck.. I follow you on FB.

[MikeN]

I got to see this truck up close yesterday - what a sweet C10!