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

[likaroc13]

As I mentioned before, I want to give a shout out to everyone that contributes to the build. Along with various reputable vendors, there are also many great members here whom I feel deserve the recognition as well. It allows newbies & other members to see the true character of this site & the generosity of many fellow forum members. That said, a huge thanks goes out to Mark (markeb01) for a set of original-style mirrors. They'll allow me to get rid of the "Dumbo" style aftermarket mirrors currently on the truck, & it'll add to the factory exterior appearance I'm going for. No idea as to when they'll get installed though, because that will require some professional bodywork. The old holes will need to be welded up, & the new mirrors will have to be mounted. Considering both doors need a little attention anyway, that means new paint will be necessary.

Couple pics:

[flips72]

great score on the mirrors and you are right about the people on this forum,really a bunch of great guys.love your dads bike by the way and his respect for the troops, they defintly deserve all the get and lots more.

[likaroc13]

Originally Posted by flips72

great score on the mirrors and you are right about the people on this forum,really a bunch of great guys.love your dads bike by the way and his respect for the troops, they defintly deserve all the get and lots more.

Thanks man! You got the red beast out roaming the hills of TN? or maybe tearing up the streets?

[McMurphy]

Originally Posted by likaroc13

The old holes will need to be welded up, & the new mirrors will have to be mounted. Considering both doors need a little attention anyway, that means new paint will be necessary.

Couple pics:

I will have to look to be 100% certain, but I am pretty sure that the doors are built with interior bracing for these style mirrors.
You may want to take a peek inside the door before you start welding up all the holes.
I am mounting sport mirrors and the back braces I made may need to be modified to work around the interior bracing of which I speak. I happened to notice the internal structure yesterday as I was starting to fit everything up.

[likaroc13]

Originally Posted by McMurphy

I will have to look to be 100% certain, but I am pretty sure that the doors are built with interior bracing for these style mirrors.
You may want to take a peek inside the door before you start welding up all the holes.
I am mounting sport mirrors and the back braces I made may need to be modified to work around the interior bracing of which I speak. I happened to notice the internal structure yesterday as I was starting to fit everything up.

Thanks Murph, yeah that's what I've read as well. I haven't looked to see if they're there. I do know the holes for the current mirrors are not in the same location, so all of those will indeed have to be welded up. The holes for the original mirrors are not visible & were filled at some point in time.

[likaroc13]

Please read:

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=583365

[65 Fleetside]

Hey Phillip, I really enjoyed reading and seeing the progress of your Black Beauty! I like the fact that you removed the bed rails and I have thought many times of adding the "Custom" plates back on the cab of my 65. Kept the badges off for the look mainly, but those plates still look so cool to me and add to the cab I think, especially on your black truck.

[likaroc13]

Originally Posted by 65 Fleetside

Hey Phillip, I really enjoyed reading and seeing the progress of your Black Beauty! I like the fact that you removed the bed rails and I have thought many times of adding the "Custom" plates back on the cab of my 65. Kept the badges off for the look mainly, but those plates still look so cool to me and add to the cab I think, especially on your black truck.

Thank you for taking the time to read through. Wish I had more progress to post, but I haven't gotten any updates in a while. We'll be making a trip back to South MS on Aug. 23rd, staying a week with the In-laws. Then we're heading up to my hometown in Northeast MS for my grandmother's 100th birthday party on the 31st. I'll be swinging by my dad's to visit, & I plan to snap a few new pics of "Black Betty."

I agree that it definitely looks better without the rails, & I'm definitely a fan of the Custom cab sails (especially on trucks with trim). I plan to eventually get '66 badges onto the fenders & ditch the '65 ones on the cowl.

[65 Fleetside]

Maybe one day I'll add the sails back, if and when I repaint the truck. I go back and forth on this one thing constantly. So many other things I want to do it first. New shocks, power steering, nope it doesn't have power steering. And maybe some decent speakers for my sound system.

[likaroc13]

Originally Posted by 65 Fleetside

Maybe one day I'll add the sails back, if and when I repaint the truck. I go back and forth on this one thing constantly. So many other things I want to do it first. New shocks, power steering, nope it doesn't have power steering. And maybe some decent speakers for my sound system.

Honestly it looks just fine without them, especially with everything you have smoothed/shaved. And that paint looks really nice, so I couldn't imagine repainting for a long time! I can't wait to drive mine again to see the difference with power steering. I still gotta figure out a sound system for mine as well. I can only stand hearing the wife sing "Black Betty" for so long! With no working radio, she used to do that when we'd take it for a cruise.

[likaroc13]

Well, Grandmaw's b-day party went great! Hard to imagine being around for 100 years, but she's doing it & doing it well!

[LostMy65]

Originally Posted by likaroc13

Well, Grandmaw's b-day party went great! Hard to imagine being around for 100 years, but she's doing it & doing it well!

Your grandma looks great.
It's great you honor her.
Grandparents deserve all the honor we can give them.
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[likaroc13]

I also had a chance to stop by and visit with "Black Betty." She's doing just fine. Not much to show for progress. Since my dad's '66 C-10 chop top got stolen, he admitted he's just been too discouraged lately to mess with mine. I understand, as I've been just as upset about the whole deal as him. Just sucks to know there's really nothing we can do; just gotta hope luck is on our side. However, I think he's already determined to move on & build the 4-5-6 Burb.

I did snap some pics of the brake booster mounted with Captainfab's bracket. They're not the best pics, but I guess it's better than nothing!

[greg65]

Looks good Phillip. It's always good to go home.

[64C10Fleet]

Lookin' good man! Hope to be rippin' up the Lowcountry streets with you in the not too distant future!!

[Alan's Classic]

Glad you had a great trip. 100 yrs old wow!
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[Jmorales3181]

Looking good man! 100 yrs old that awesome!
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[likaroc13]

Originally Posted by greg65

Looks good Phillip. It's always good to go home.

Thanks Greg, I agree! We've started looking for opportunities to move back a little closer to our hometowns. Main reason is so we'll be closer when we decide to have kids. Apparently 10.5 hours is too far for grandma's & grandpa's to drive!

Originally Posted by 64C10Fleet

Lookin' good man! Hope to be rippin' up the Lowcountry streets with you in the not too distant future!!

Cool, bet you can hardly wait! Hope to see you around sometime.

Originally Posted by Alan's Classic

Glad you had a great trip. 100 yrs old wow!
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Originally Posted by Jmorales3181

Looking good man! 100 yrs old that awesome!
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Thanks guys!...my wife's grandfather is 94, & her grandmother is 86(7)?...my grandparents on my dad's side are early 80's, & my great-grandmother on dad's side lived to 95...my grandfather on my mom's side would've been 90 a month after he died....So, longevity is on our side! A lot of life to look forward to if the Good Lord is willing. Just not sure I can put up with my better half that long, lol!

[markeb01]

Originally Posted by likaroc13

. Just not sure I can put up with my better half that long, lol!

It's easy. Just sit her down and give her a darn good listening to!

[likaroc13]

Originally Posted by markeb01

It's easy. Just sit her down and give her a darn good talking to!

Good idea Mark!

[Jeff La]

Congrats on Grandma making 100, imagine what she has experienced in those years. Cherish the time you have with her. I can't imagine me and my wife making it to 100yo (we're the same age) she'd probably kill me before then. LOL

[likaroc13]

Originally Posted by LostMy65

Your grandma looks great.
It's great you honor her.
Grandparents deserve all the honor we can give them.
Posted via Mobile Device

Thanks! We've been having a big party for her since she turned 90. It tends to end up being like a second family reunion each year. My aunt (her youngest daughter) passed away in January, & she had always lived at home with my grandma. We were worried she might not make it to 100 after that, but she's holding strong thus far.

Originally Posted by Jeff La

Congrats on Grandma making 100, imagine what she has experienced in those years. Cherish the time you have with her. I can't imagine me and my wife making it to 100yo (we're the same age) she'd probably kill me before then. LOL

Thanks! I hear ya! It amazes me to think that she never learned to drive. I guess that has limited her experiences somewhat, but I agree that it's hard to imagine everything she's experienced over 100 years.

[Jer64]

Great thread man and I love the truck! Its perfect at the stock height, good decision! Those wedding pics turned out pretty cool with the truck in the background.
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[likaroc13]

Originally Posted by Jer64

Great thread man and I love the truck! Its perfect at the stock height, good decision! Those wedding pics turned out pretty cool with the truck in the background.
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Thanks man! I did a 360* with deciding to keep it rather stock, but I'm still sticking to the plan. I've always had custom rides that are usually lowered to some extent, but I really like the classic simplicity of these trucks when original-looking.

[likaroc13]

Nothing to report progress-wise, but I said I was keeping the thread related to what's going on in life. We celebrated our 3-year anniversary on Oct. 23. I was browsing for some other wedding pics the other day. So, I saved these & uploaded them to my Flickr account. Some are on the first page of the thread, but I believe these are larger versions. There are also a couple additional ones not found on the first page.