Need ideas where to start for 68 resto

[GMKiev68]

My son is 16 and he wants to restore my wife's grandfathers 68 Chevy. It is a gold/white LWB that has been out of comission for about 15 years. It has been out of the weather/sun under an RV shelter, and at first glance appears to be in good condition. It has always been garage kept in some way so the paint is pretty nice and the interior is immaculate. Of course the tires are shot, but beyond that it is rust free with perfect glass, and I think it is a good place to start. He has a little knowledge, and I can do pretty much everything short of getting into the engine block.

Here are a few questions I have:
Where can I find the best VIN decoder, for engine, tranny, etc.?
What is the best type of shop manual I can buy?
Other than changing all fluids, belts, and battery, what do I need to do just to get it to crank?
We just want to get it roadworthy, with a budget of about $200 a month. Is that something we could do over the next two years?

Thanks for your time and responses. All of my previous experience has been on 60's model Mustangs, so you see how misguided I am!
David

[Sinister]

Try http://mortec.com/ for decoding your motor. Auto trannies can be identified by the shape of the pan. A Haynes manual will work, and if your very serious a Factory Service Manual is a must have. Good luck and welcome to the board.

[nyncompute]

First off I would make sure all the safety equipment is in tip top ie: brakes, steering, seat belts etc. But beyond that I agree with the previous poster. You came to the right place to ask. Use the search function here liberally. It's all been asked before I'll bet!
Get you're son to do a lot of research and wrenching with you. You'll never regret that time together. Good luck to you.

[msgross]

Welcome

plugs, cap, coil, wires, fluids (anti-freeze, oil, gear oil, brake fluid, tranny fluid), tires, brakes, rubber vacuum lines are a must..rebuilt carb (or have yours rebuilt) probably needed to get it running. Get it safe and dependable and have fun with it before a full restoration. Do that when you scrape together $6-$10K....

we need pics, sounds like a great story as well...

Sounds like a "50th Anniversary" truck then... not as common as other models but cool no doubt...

[PanelDeland]

You may want to get some "Marvel Mystery Oil" and spray a bit in each cylinder.Just remove the plug and spray a bit in,then rotate the motor by hand using a breaker bar and crank snout tool.This will help free the engine up from setting.New fluids and such as above.Once it starts you will want to do a brake job( come on the parts are 15 years old at least.) I would get it to run then address brakes and safety.If it wont run there's no sense in doing the safety stuff.

After that is done you need to really think about how you will be using the truck and where you want to go with it.After that it's a matter of coming up with a plan and implementing it.

[smoked68]

Good luck and welcome. My son and I have been working on ours for about 3 years now. We did drive train first and have moved onto the body work. Lots of fun hrs. involved, and as a 60's Mustang guy myself, this truck aint no Mustang. I had to rearrange my thinking. You will have to think chevy now. But its all good, good guys here with a lot of knowlege. They have helped me a bunch.

[1966gmc]

Originally Posted by smoked68

Good luck and welcome. My son and I have been working on ours for about 3 years now. We did drive train first and have moved onto the body work. Lots of fun hrs. involved, and as a 60's Mustang guy myself, this truck aint no Mustang. I had to rearrange my thinking. You will have to think chevy now. But its all good, good guys here with a lot of knowlege. They have helped me a bunch.

I did the same thing. Drive train and now gonna start on the bodywork*shudders*

[tcb-1]

hummmm, white and gold 68? sounds like a 50th anniversery. very nice truck to start with!

[ChevLoRay]

Welcome! From the Heart of Arkansas.....geeze, I wish I had $200/mo to spend on mine...money that I knew had no other obligation.

For that amount of money, you can accomplish many things. As for manuals, may I suggest that you start with a few catalogs? www.lmctruck.com has a parts book that offers diagrams similar to a Mitchell Crash Manual. Year One has a truck parts book, as well as Brothers, and many others.

From those parts books, look for a service manual specific to your year model, just like you would for the Mustang. There's another manual that we like to refer to, called an Assembly Manual. It is a collection of pages from factory assembly manuals used to build the trucks when they were new. Running changes are illustrated, but there is no usable verbage. You will have to rely on your ability to visualize the parts they diagram and relate them to your truck. Beyond these two books, the rest are just fluff. They're good to read, and nice for their ability to provide you with production numbers, pricing, etc., but not much else beyond entertainment. If you are lucky, as I was, you might find a Dealer Sales Data Book for your specific year. These books have body styles, prices, options, dimensions, etc., that was used by the dealerships as they ordered new trucks, either for the lot or for a customer. Colors, interiors, paint combos, which tires were offered, aftermarket body manufacturers are just some of the data.

Good luck, and it sounds like a time for some bonding.....

[GMKiev68]

My son is down at my in-laws right now and he gave me the VIN and Model #.
VIN is CE148A122663
Model# is CE109834A

The truck was bought from a dealership in Troy and used for the family business. It has lived in south Alabama its whole life, so it should be rust free underneath.
It also has factory air.
It is a V8, can someone please help me to know where the Engine #'s are stamped on the block. Would they be on the plate in the glove box?
Thanks for all the help so far!
David

[smoked68]

Mine had a 307 from the factory. I am afraid I toasted it many moon ago...My second rebuild (engine) was with my dad on this truck. I learned a lot from him. He taught me the basics on my 66 Mustang, then a 75 900 Kawi. Now my son and I are Doing a 97 SVT Cobra and rebuilding my wrecked Hayabusa. Good, good times, between the arguments over "Vision". Its give and take. I give the money and he takes. I love it.

[too much stuff]

If the engine is a V-8, 327 or 396 would be listed in the glovebox. Can you tell if it is a big or small block?
The casting number is on the back of the block where the trans bolts up. Towards the top. You would have to see it from the top. Not very easy to do. Any pics? Inside the glove box door will give you your options with the codes.
Sounds like a good start. Eric

[R.L.]

I think all the answers I had to contribute have all ready been given, except, WELCOME to the board!

[GMKiev68]

My son found the Engine casting number, but it does not match anything on Mortec. It is the number on the driver side up by the transmission just like they describe. The first three numbers do match the other 68 engines they list.
Here it is:
3919801, he says it has GMI after it.
He also told me it has a Rochester 2 Jet carburetor, that doesn't sound too sexy!

He is from Ukraine and has been here about a year so it was fun trying to get all the information over the phone from him! I will go down on Friday and take some pictures.

Other things I know are:
The colors are Saddle and Off White.(No 50th huh?)
It has a Power Glide Transmission
127" Wheel Base
Auxilliary Spring equipped
and the ever exciting Push Button Radio and Rear Step Bumper!
He says there was more of the tag in the glove box but the bottom part is missing. He did not see anything listing the Engine size.
He was hoping for a 427 and that is the number he was looking for, but he found no three digit numbers on the plate.

Thanks for the support,
David

[GMKiev68]

Okay, should have researched the number a little more. Google is a great thing!
He got the casting number off of the Cast Iron Intake Manifold!
It matches with a 68 327 with 210 horsepower(how dissappointing!!!!)
At least we know where to start!

Sorry if it is bad etiquette but below is the link where I found the info.
http://www.chevy-camaro.com/parts/ch...des-intake.htm

[msgross]

The 68 327 had 240 HP and the 307 had 200...

pull the number from the front pass side of the block, near the head on a flat piece of the block...

and I have to do this now...


just kidding though, we love pics..

[GMKiev68]

Sorry!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
It is hard to take pics when you are 200 miles away. The truck will not make it to my house until cotton picking is over, which will be sometime in January I hope. I will try to get some pics up over the weekend once my son gets home. I have a 64 1/2 Mustang that only needs some cosmetic restoration, and he decides he wants to ressurect this old truck! I don't know how this all started for you guys but the bug has bittten us both now, I am glad we found you.

Now that I have the basic info I need to START to research everything, I will become more acquainted with the search function!
Many thanks for a great start here on the forum and I'll be talking to you soon!
David

[joekewl_chevyfreak]

im 16 and i'd give anything to be able to rebuild mine with my dad or grandpa, You and him are very lucky. I use LMC's decoder. Sounds like a very interesting starter truck, with factory ac and a V8, mine is the bottom of the totem pole compared to that

[sameyrasmea72]

3919801 shows to be a intake manifold casting # for a 307.

did you ever find the block casting #? A a SB it should be around the arrow point on the block right around where it attaches to the trans.

[GMKiev68]

I am new to this, but all the info I have found indicates a 327 or a 307/327. I explained to my Father-in-law where to look and they are going to check in the morning. Thanks for the picture. I told them to look around the top transmission bolt on the driver side. It will be stamped into the block.
Thanks again,
David