DD week 8- 10k miles

[Jrainman]

My 68 daily driver has just reached the 10 k mark in 8 weeks of driving ,I am happy to say the 68 is holding up very well , other then some routine maintenance stuff and a rear differential change out to 3.08 ratio last week end from the 3.73 . that is all that has been done.

Actual total miles on the truck is unknown other then the transplant 350 is from a 81 Van , backed by a TH 400 that I replaced fluid and filter operates well.

I will be doing upgrades and part replacement as the 68 is driven about 200 miles daily .

[cleanfreak]

I've got the same driveline in my 68 , been wanting to do thee same rear end swap. How much difference did it make , acceleration , fuel mileage , highway driveability , are you happy with it?

[Alex V.]

Sweet! Wish I had en excuse to drive mine that much.

[bhc41051]

Nice truck; are you going to drive it in the winter?

[Grumpy old man]

Many guys find out these old trucks are just like boats ,aircraft ,snow machines and motorcycles/atvs in the respect that they run and drive better when used daily . Let one sit even after a restoration and you'll constantly be dealing with little issues .

[Jrainman]

Originally Posted by cleanfreak

I've got the same driveline in my 68 , been wanting to do thee same rear end swap. How much difference did it make , acceleration , fuel mileage , highway driveability , are you happy with it?

after one week with the 3.08 I will say 3,73 are ok with speeds under 60 mph , the 3.08 are suited for what this truck is needed for ,acceleration is not as good but is very good also still climbs grades very well overall sweet spot now is 68-73 MPH verses 55-58 mph with 3.73 its the decel witch is much improved so you can glide along nicely when you take your foot of the pedal .

MPG is really the same but I am roughly traveling 12-15 MPH faster then before in the same RPM range. my average MPG is 18.8 MPG

[Jrainman]

Originally Posted by Alex V.

Sweet! Wish I had en excuse to drive mine that much.

Yes I plan on driving all seasons , I am good for roughly 50 to 60 k a year , I work out doors so I wont be driving in the snow. ,I will say the truck came with general Grabber HST 60 tires and they are excellent in the rain .

[Jrainman]

Originally Posted by Grumpy old man

Many guys find out these old trucks are just like boats ,aircraft ,snow machines and motorcycles/atvs in the respect that they run and drive better when used daily . Let one sit even after a restoration and you'll constantly be dealing with little issues .

Totally agree with your opinion on more use , it took me about 2 weeks to dial everything in , every day it just ran better and better , I do have some upgrade though to do ,like front springs are original although it has been upgraded to disc with a 2 inch drop spindle.

[Pillow]

Good stuff man! Keep her rolling. 200 miles a day is a commitment.

I was doing 80 miles a day in my C-10 this winter/spring for about 3 months. Really not that bad at all. But I did end up adding a Kenwood single DIN HD radio (AL mount that is sold on here by a member - top notch!) and a replacement center speaker (2 - 4.5" co-ax style on a custom plate), really helped in slow traffic... But mostly listen to talk radio, so nothing really exciting sound wise.

The LS 5.3 and T5 manual has been excellent. 3.73 gears, but I have a shimmy in the front end that needs addressed before I go over 65-70 (shakes). The 3.73 does match up perfectly to the T5 gears though IMO.

Add: IMO a posi/limited slip is needed in the rear for bad weather. In any snow, even with good BFG A/T KO tires and 2 sand bags, the rear end is all over the place. Shoot I can get stuck on wet grass. It is sad. The posi is on my to-do list and I imagine the same for you in PA.

[Alex V.]

Originally Posted by Jrainman

MPG is really the same but I am roughly traveling 12-15 MPH faster then before in the same RPM range. my average MPG is 18.8 MPG

What? You're getting almost 19 MPG with that gas guzzling Gen IV SBC and non-overdrive transmission? How can that be possible without an LS/4L60 conversion???! *insert sarcastic look*

[XwalkerX]

good to see another daily driven c10

[sawyerrm]

subscribed, would like to hear more about daily drivers

[Ringo934]

Mine 1969 is my daily driver as well. However, I work and live in the same town. No highway miles unless I'm headed to Lubbock with the Kids. I will be driving it to Houston for the next Lonestar Throwdown.

[sawyerrm]

So what are you DD guys doing for insurance? Hagerty generally won't cover driving to work, grocery store etc. so do you just have "regular" insurance with only liability and drape a religious medal around your rear view mirror hoping no one hits you?

[Jrainman]

Originally Posted by sawyerrm

So what are you DD guys doing for insurance? Hagerty generally won't cover driving to work, grocery store etc. so do you just have "regular" insurance with only liability and drape a religious medal around your rear view mirror hoping no one hits you?

Its a Daily Driver, yes its a solid truck but, far from perfect so its not a High dollar restored C10. just a nice clean truck , I carry a regular policy but ,its what is called a agreed amount policy, Not your usual market value policy and also I carry a extra glass policy within the fire,theft and what I call Rut season policy.

So as a update I am a click shy of 24,000 Miles since my last post , I have had 2 issues so far , I had gotten a bad tank of gas ,so had to replac the filter and clean out the carb , and just recently had to replace my Voltage regulator ...

I dont Hope no one hits me ,I enjoy driving my truck every day and I will tell you a little secrete ,I get more respect on the road with my c/10 then I ever did with any of my modrern drivers I put more miles on in 1 yr then most do in 4 or 5..try you will find it quite rewarding in many aspects as far as daily driving goes

[Ringo934]

I just have regular insurance. She's my daily driver. If something should happen and I'm at fault, it was fun while it lasted. I'll pay out of pocket to rebuild it myself. It's not the ideal situation, but I do love driving my truck everyday. I do rack up more miles than any "Collectors Insurance" would allow. One day, I will retire her and do a full restoration like she deserves.

[midniteblues]

Way too go man!

There is a older fell'a down the road from me he has a 67 that looks like your twin. He restored it in the late 80's and dd all through the 90's till about 01-03. When it just got too rusty for st. Inspec. Anymore. Now its just a yard ornament that he
Wont let go of.
Treated winter roads here will kill it in very short order.
My kid drove his most of last winter but washed it out every week. But it still took a beating and it shows.

Being white it'll show it big time.
Get yourself a pump sprayer and drain oil up the underside of it.

That sure is ALOT of mi.....have fun with it but be very carefull,all the 2 wheel squares i had were death traps on the winter roads

[davepl]

Originally Posted by Grumpy old man

Many guys find out these old trucks are just like boats ,aircraft ,snow machines and motorcycles/atvs in the respect that they run and drive better when used daily . Let one sit even after a restoration and you'll constantly be dealing with little issues .

I've wondered about that. Seals and other things literally could dry out from lack of use and start leaking, but wiring doesn't go bad from sitting, so how do things accumulate if they're not fluid based?

Let's say your turn signal cancelling breaks. If it's a once-a-month vehicle, it's easy to fix that next month, and it just gets added to the list of stuff that needs to be fixed. If it's a daily driver, however, you're not going to manually cancel that for the next 30 days, so you fix it.

I think daily driving not only reveals things that need to be fixed, it's a forcing function that makes you fix most of them too. That's my theory, anyway.

[In The Ten Ring]

I started driving my 1975 Pontiac Bonneville during college after it sat without even been turned over for at least a decade.

Now it came right back to life and didn't seem to leak anything, but oh boy, the problems I encountered!

It always seemed to lose some key system when I had some girl on a date, every single time! Overheated, heater core leaking, starter went out, lost brakes! Each instance was on a different date. I think my car was a version of "Christine" and her jealousy.

Now my truck has sat for 11 years now but this time, I am fixing everything that might go out before it hits the road.

[sawyerrm]

First time to drive my truck to work in the rain, we don't have much here is CA, first in many months. Anyway, unless I was really careful, tires spun every time I pulled away from a stop sign or traffic light. Is this just due to 70's technology, oil on road that hasn't washed away or my crazy driving?

[In The Ten Ring]

Light rear end might the be culprit there, I had that happen once in college with the Pontiac. I need to go up a steep hill (paved) but it had been raining, my rear wheel spun and could not get traction. I had to go around and approach that friend's house by a different route.

What kind of tires do you guys run out there? "Summer slicks?" My daily driver's tires are near completely bald, great gas mileage this summer but no place for the water to go if it rains.

Getting new tires next week. 4 years on one set!

[rcazwillis]

Originally Posted by sawyerrm

First time to drive my truck to work in the rain, we don't have much here is CA, first in many months. Anyway, unless I was really careful, tires spun every time I pulled away from a stop sign or traffic light. Is this just due to 70's technology, oil on road that hasn't washed away or my crazy driving?

Tires make a huge difference. Good tires will help in this area a ton.

[sawyerrm]

A follow up to my "rain" question. My truck is too big for the garage so it is parked out front. I use a cover to protect from sun damage, leaves and discourage mischief. I'm thinking the cover does more harm than good after the rain because of condensation.

[67ChevyRedneck]

I don't think I could drive my truck in the winter in northeast PA. Actually, I KNOW I wouldn't because my 67 was parked winters when I lived in NY. Been in SC since 1999 and it's great driving my toys year round. I recall having to crawl under and replace, mufflers, fuel, and brake lines on cars that were barely 10 years old that were NY DD's.

You're braver than me, but I absolutely despise rust of any kind, so props.