New in Central Illinois

[cptstickfigure]

Hey all. I've been lurking here for a while and figured it was about time I introduced myself.

I've got a '64 shortbed stepside that I picked up last summer as a parts hauler for my '51 Chevy car project. It's pretty rough around the edges, but it's mechanically sound. Mostly. My wife and I flew down to Florida to pick it up, then drove it back to Central Illinois, and, while it took us about two days longer than we expected, we got home just fine. We shouldn't have, but we did. This truck has been growing on me ever since.

Anyway, you know how it goes. A fix here, an improvement there, and all of a sudden your truck is up on jackstands and you're out of space on your to do list.

Picture time! It's still mostly stock. The previous owner swapped the old fleetside bed for a stepside. Still has manual drum brakes, but I put in a dual chamber master cylinder. Engine is a 250 (which I love) with a new 2bbl carb and HEI. I've been working on a T5 swap all winter (EASY swap that I somehow made very difficult). It's all back together, but the input shaft is binding up somewhere, so it's all gotta come back out.

The truck. Try to ignore the rust.


Almost looks okay from 50 feet. Yeah, the previous owner was a painter.


One of my favorites from the last day of driving


HEI installation