My chevy C65 a firetruck rebuild

[old Rusty C10]

Any of you guys who have taken one of these larger trucks and cut them down and put a dually bed on it, when you cut the chassis can you explain if you cut the chassis straight then plate it and weld it or how do you do it so the chassis remains strong? I am looking at such a project and am still considering all the work

[rkn463]

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=503247

If I remember correctly he moved the springs forward and cut the back of the frame off.

[old Rusty C10]

THAT is the thread I was planning to search for later but that makes life easier that way

[old Rusty C10]

this is what im thinking of starting with

[mrolds88]

Frame rails should be straight on that truck. Should be as simple as moving the springs and associated crossmembers.

[rkn463]

Originally Posted by old Rusty C10

this is what im thinking of starting with

That looks like a good truck to work with. What can you tell us about it?

[old Rusty C10]

http://www.theshfs.org/collection/1979Chevrolet/
Im suppoused to go look at it this weekend as he couldn't get together last weekend. The fellow is kind of hesitant to sell it to me if im going to cut it up hes a real fire department equipment enthusiast and hes kind upset to see it go and not be as he left it and I have to kind of respect that as I know how I would feel if I sold my restored c10 to a guy who was going to donk it or something. Amazingly my wife is cool with me buying this truck

[buggy5872]

If you want to shortent he wheel base, moving the spring hangers nad cross members is the best option. Not difficult but remeber a tape measure is your friend and use it often.

[ETsC10]

Originally Posted by old Rusty C10

http://www.theshfs.org/collection/1979Chevrolet/
I'm supposed to go look at it this weekend as he couldn't get together last weekend.
The fellow is kind of hesitant to sell it to me if I'm going to cut it up hes a real fire
department equipment enthusiast and hes kind upset to see it go and not be as he
left it and I have to kind of respect that as I know how I would feel if I sold my restored
c10 to a guy who was going to donk it or something. Amazingly my wife is cool with
me buying this truck

Personally, I'd buy it, finish the restoration and rock her the way she is.
But that's just me...kind of a softy in that way.

I understand the owner's hesitation considering it's rare heritage (and the
PO's wishes) though leaving it in a museum rather than getting a new,
unique lease on life and the renewed admiration it will gather is not a
bad thing either.

Maybe bring him a photo shop of your plans? As with anything, it's up to you
and the owner but you might win him over with your professionalism.
BTW---thanks for the link...still haven't finished cruising the site.
Very nice museum full of really beautiful rigs!

[GM72K10]

Wow. Be a shame to cut that up. There are quite a few 70s 80s Chassis around at auction like this one, not too far from you.
Big Block, 5 speed, low mileage.
http://www.auctionsinternational.com...2&itemId=18338

[jmack91z28]

Yeah I hate to say it but I'd side with the owner too. I just couldn't see buying something that nice and rare just to cut up to put a dually bed on it. There are still a bunch of these c60's out there. I just bought mine for $1000.

I'd say stay patient and keep an eye on craigslist and other websites.

[old Rusty C10]

Tonight the stars aligned and I was able to go out and look at this truck in person. Its almost three hours away but it was worth the trip. The guy said it wouldn't start but we were able to give it a shot of ether and it fired up . I think from having it sitting and the choke being kinda screwy that's the issue . Once I was warmed up it ran like a champ. I left a small deposit as we weren't able to pull it out of the garage, so I couldn't actually drive it but if all goes well Im going to get it this week or next week

[richard2717]

I would say PO loses all say if he accepts payment. If he was that concerned about the future of the truck he would not sell it in the 1st place. I would be a little hesitant about the ether though, the more you spray the more you will have to spray until the rings are finally gone. Hopefully its just the choke or something easily fixed. Good luck with it, it looks like a nice truck.

Richard

[old Rusty C10]

well I made it home with it the seller sold me a bunch of era correct fire equipment with it and I decided im going to keep it as a fire truck.. there is actually quite a following on those things.so I will be posting pictures of it soon and finish the restoration the previous owner started Tomorrow when I get started on it I will post more questions

[C10 - C90 Bill]

Sure is a nice truck.

Keep us posted on it.

Bill

[VictoriaHardware]

Welcome to the fire truck world!

[GM72K10]

Awesome.

[old Rusty C10]

So after getting this truck home I emptied most of the equipment out of it into my van to keep it safe for the moment. I sent the truck down to the shop to get the oil changed and take care of the assorted issues it does have. The seat slammed me on the way home as the piston is shot and you cannot move the handle that is supposed to pressurize the piston. Its not a air ride seat its one of those that is like a desk chair, so after contacting everyone on the net I could find who had any dealings with Bostrom seats, I just went and bought the replacement seat they offer . We are going to try to remove the old seat and attempt to free up the mechanism and see if we can get it to work and put something else in there in the way of a piston to get that working and if all else fails, just install the new seat.
I ordered a bunch of books on the truck online and finally read the whole folder of stuff the previous owner had and I have been making some contacts regarding this truck. Apparently in May they are having a car show at the original firehouse this was stationed at and I am going to try to get out there to show it then. If all goes well the wife will follow in her car, and maybe we will spend the night out there..
If snowmageddon comes tomorrow like they say its going to slow me up but im hoping that I can fix the float this week on the gas tank, and fix an electrical issue with the rear lights
I am also going to try to find the white spatter paint that was sprayed in the compartments so that can be done this week.
Im waiting for the old owner and town that owned it to send me some pictures so I can get an idea as to the original lettering on the truck

[ETsC10]

WOW! Super subscribed...what a beauty!!!

...and I'm mega jealous too!


.

[68panelman]

Very nice! But hey, One tiny picture? C,mon load us up!!! Congrats on your new toy.

[junkmandan3]

Bob---------I'll guess somebody cranked the adjustment either all the way up ..........or all the way down and jammed it tight, on your original seat. Some, not familiar, think it's a height adjustment, but it's a proportional adjustment for your weight. There'a a plastic tab along the left hand seat rail and that should be flush with the forward edge of the rail with the driver in the seat, ratcheting the adjuster on the right side of the seat up or down .

[old Rusty C10]

So when I got the truck home from PA I took it to my friends shop to do some work on it. He works on mine when he has time as he has a full time business so it took a week to change out the seat and to change the oil. He couldn't get the truck lifted to check the front end so after he was done I took it to my local truck spring shop for that. I dropped it off at 9am and then I told the guy that it was a museum piece and that it was not imperative to get it back that day but it needed to be stored indoors due to the hoses and equipment that would be stolen if it was left out 430 Im meeting one of our members to get some parts and I get a call "Sir was there any body damage to this truck when you brought it in?" me "No it was factory new and perfect" him "oh well it seems to have been hit then"
So I fly up the GSP and get to the shop and this is what I find. Hopefully his insurance fixes it and hopefully it CAN be fixed Hamerly is no longer around and there are no parts for it, it looks worse in person than in pictures

[GM72K10]

Wow Bob that stinks. It sounds more like "seems to have been backed into something" because we don't know how to use mirrors.

[Bigasstrux]

There's still a few of these 73-90 firetrucks around, but they are hard to find. Here's a 1979 Chevy C65, with a Detroit Diesel 453T, Allison MT643 transmission, factory A/C. This truck had 2719 actual miles on it when it was hauled to my shop. The Detroit didn't even have enough use on it to leak oil yet!

[rambler]

subscribed... would love one of these rigs.. but wife says NO