Bringing the '65 back to life

[racecougar]

I've been lurking here for a while now, so I figured it was about time I registered and made the obligatory introductory post. It just so happens that it will be a build thread as well.

After residing in the often forgotten backroom of the shop for nearly twenty-five years, my father and I have finally begun to work on his '65 C10. The truck is one of four that his father ordered new in late-'64 from a St. Louis dealership for his business as a General Contractor. The truck was used as a work truck for a couple of decades and passed around in the family before it went dormant in the back of the shop. Last licensed in '88, it has 64K original miles.

I hope you're ready for some pictures.

Here is the truck, laying in state, as it has for over two decades.



The first time the door has been opened in at least five years.



The first time the truck has seen daylight in a long time. I'm pulling the truck around the shop while the old guy steers. The wheels were a cheap Craigslist find that we picked up to use as rolling stock for now.



In the shop, ready to get to work.



You know, I used to be able to say that I had never vacuumed the exterior of a vehicle before. Not anymore. Here's a half/half shot taken while vacuuming the dust off the truck.



My father remembers helping his Dad install a steel sheet over the original wood bed floor sometime around '67-'68. Here we're cutting the welds attaching it to the bed to get down to the wood.




Seat, fuel tank, door sills, and floor mat removed.



Looks like we'll be needing some floor pans.



The 230c.i. sixer waiting on a new coil and plug wires. I replaced the points and condenser today, only to find a dead coil.


Pulling the front fenders, bumpers, and bed.




And that's where we're at for the moment. Since the last car we built was for me, my Dad gets to call the shots (personal preference-wise) on this one. The plan for now is to get the stock 230 running, sell it, and get to work on the body. The current thinking is that it will end up being painted satin black, and we have a 355 SBC ready to drop in place of the sixer. Eventually, he'd like it to receive a LS-based swap, but that isn't in the budget just yet. The goal is a reliable hot rod truck for my parents to enjoy, without going so far with the build that they're afraid to take it/park it places (which is what our last build, my car, turned into).

I plan on ordering new floor pans, rockers, cab supports, cab corners and a few other parts tomorrow. From what I've read on here, it seems like Top Banana is the way to go. Do they offer a member discount? As the body work progresses, I'll likely start looking toward CPP for front drop spindles, disc brakes, and a booster/master cylinder assembly.

[racecougar]

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[racecougar]

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[racecougar]

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[racecougar]

I thought I'd add a few pics of the last car we built together. This one is my toy, a '90 Mercury Cougar XR7. We swapped in a 5.0L DOHC V8 stroker with a 2.1L Kenne Bell SC, 4R70W transmission, full OBD-II engine management (tuned by me), two seperate methanol injection systems, etc. I spent my college-era weekends driving home to work on this thing. The car was stripped to a bare shell, repainted twilight blue metallic in place of the original white, and completely rewired. Only the body shell, doors, front K-member, trunklid, rear bumper cover, and mirror shells remain of the car we started with. It ran a 12.179 @ 113.58 MPH with 10 psi of boost this year, though I'm hoping to break into the 11's next year after a few mods this winter.

[racecougar]

I wasn't aware of the time limit on editing a post. The reserved posts above can be deleted.

[racecougar]

One last tangent...

A close friend of mine picked up this '64 C10 a couple years back, and we've been working on it as time allows. The stock 283 has been swapped out for a '64 300hp 327/700R4 combo, the stock seat has been replaced by one from a late-model Silverado, and it's about to receive similar rust repair work as the '65 above. We had it "together" enough for him to take it on one of our annual Hot Rods & Handlebars cruises, with my Dad as co-pilot. A couple hundred miles in my friend's '64 was all it took to get the old guy motivated to get started on his '65.

[Captainfab]

Welcome to the forum

Sounds like you have a good plan for your Dad's '65. Keep us posted on your progress.

That is cool that it has been in your family since new.

Nice work on the Cougar. I can't say as I remember seeing one of that vintage. I was surprised to see the IRS under it. Is that original or is it a T-Bird unit?

[64C10Fleet]

Brings back memories of when I started teardown back in June. Good luck and welcome!

[racecougar]

Originally Posted by Captainfab

Welcome to the forum

Sounds like you have a good plan for your Dad's '65. Keep us posted on your progress.

That is cool that it has been in your family since new.

Nice work on the Cougar. I can't say as I remember seeing one of that vintage. I was surprised to see the IRS under it. Is that original or is it a T-Bird unit?

Thanks! The 89-97 Cougars and Tbirds shared the same platform (MN12), and were also closely related to the 93-98 Lincoln Mark 8's (FN10 platform). The IRS design on my car is mostly stock, but it's a combination of production, aftermarket, and homemade parts.

Originally Posted by 64C10Fleet

Brings back memories of when I started teardown back in June. Good luck and welcome!

Thanks! I've been wanting to start this project for years. It's nice to finally get going.

[Zane M]

Welcome to the site. Congrats on getting to work on the truck.

BTW I always liked the T-Bird and Cougar. Yours is a stellar example.

[McMurphy]

Well holy cow... and WoW !! on both the Cougar and your dads truck. To have an original owner rig this old is too awesome!!
I always said if I were going to own a Ford, it would be a 68 T-Bird Landau with the suicide doors !! Your Cougar is just too trick !!

So without further pomp and circumstance and to the board!!

I for one will certainly be watching this build of yours, and do please keep the photos coming !!
You guys certainly look like you know what you are doing !

[Bomp]

Welcome.
Watchin'

[racecougar]

Thanks guys. I should be ordering repair panels for the cab floor, cab supports, rockers, and cab corners today, as soon as I hear back from Top Banana. Once those parts arrive, we can really get to work.

[racecougar]

Making a little progress on the truck. We removed the bed. Ironically, it's now sitting back where the truck was stored for the past couple of decades. On Thursday, 48 lbs worth of sheetmetal from Top Banana arrived.


Dad got to make the very first cut on the cab:


Starting to fit pieces:


We're currently working on fitting the new pieces, making a few pieces that aren't available, and I just placed another order for some additional panels from Top Banana.

[ljackson]

Nice truck. And car too.

[racecougar]

Originally Posted by ljackson

Nice truck. And car too.

Thanks!

We made a little more progress this weekend. We were both on the mend, so it was a little slow going.

Cutting out and welding in new front and rear door pillars:



Fitting the floor pan:


Punching holes for plug welds:


Quitting point for today:


The front floor pan pieces have been shaped, flanged, and bead-rolled. They just need a final trim before they go in. It'll be a few weeks before I'm able to get back over to the shop, but it should start falling into place once I get time to work on it.

[losthope]

Way cool! Ill be watching! Dig the car also!

[racecougar]

After working on customer cars and other stuff for the past few weeks, I finally had time to get back to the '65 for a few hours yesterday. The passenger side floor pans still need a little final welding, but they are fit and welded in.



The front floor pan is bead rolled to match the factory floor. It's a shame it won't be seen when the truck is finished.


We removed the hood to get it out of the way. Inner fenders, grill, and core support will be removed next weekend.


Thus far, the replacement panels have fit better than I had expected. A little tweaking here and trimming there is necessary, but everything seems pretty close. The plan for next weekend is to get the kickpanel fit and welded in, then move on to the rocker panel and rear cab corner.

[Grizz1963]

Great build.

Keep posting loads of details and pics for those of us in the back of class.

I find forums and build threads the best way to share and learn.
Posted via Mobile Device

[racecougar]

Thanks! I should have more to share after next weekend.

[CRGRS 66]

Welcome to the board, looking forward to following along with your progress

[racecougar]

Work has continued over the past few weekends, but there hasn't been much worth posting pictures of. Lots of time spent getting the panels to fit correctly. The only piece thus far that has been way off was the rear cab support. I ended up having to narrow it and rework the outer angle to match the original and fit up to the floor and rear pillar correctly.

As of today, the cab supports, floor pans, door pillars, and kickpanel are in. The rocker panel has been fit, but has yet to be installed. As long as I get time next weekend, I should finish up a few plug welds on the long floor support brace, move on to finishing up the kickpanel, then hopefully get the rocker installed. After that, it's time to do the cab corner, finish up my seam welds, and get started on the driverside.

Here are a few pictures from today:





In other news, I got engaged last Friday (March 1st)! The truck now has a "running/driving" deadline of December 2014, as I'd really like it to be present at my wedding (provided that the weather cooperates on that particular day).