1961 Chevy with all the pain and glory

[metalprelude]

First Post-I've purchased my first truck and it needs a lot of work. It has rust in all the normal places and bondo in some other places. This is my first foray into a classic car and I'm sure that I made mistake by choosing this specific truck but, currently, I think it's awesome. I worked in a mechanic shop to pay for college so I have a good basic understanding of repairs and maintenance. But, restoring a classic truck is a big departure from changing the brakes on a Civic. I'm taking stock of what I like and what I don't to make a list (and budget) of what items need to be addressed first. I want to dump the straight-six and three speed in favor of a small block 350. I'm considering donor trucks/cars as I'd want an updated rear-end to handle the new engine and it looks like an automatic transmission will be easier but, I still love the manual. (Both my daily-driver and my wife's are manual transmissions.) I'm also looking at repairing the rusty panels or just replacing them. Not sure what would be better over the long term. Additionally, I need to replace the floor pans as the driver's side has some serious bondo issues and the passenger side has some spots where you can see daylight. I'm not expecting a show-truck but, I want to be proud of the final product.

I'll take any advice or opinions from those who've gone through these same issues.

Here's a picture of my son hanging-out of my new toy.

[slepysal]

Welcome from Northern Cali !! Nice truck.
You will find that the 60-62 are a breed apart,and some parts are specific to these years only .
I swapped out my rear end on my 60 with a 3.73 from a 67. Kept the torsion bars added power steering and disc brakes .
You will find plenty of info here. check out the FAQ section

[bosephus]

Welcome! Looks like a nice start,correct hood /grill and a big back window cab. You gotta love them wrap around window knee knocker cabs. Parts are harder to find and more expensive for the torsion bar front end but they work fine. The best advice I could give you is to eat that elephant one bite at a time. I would try to keep the jobs small (rather than blowing it apart)so you can still take it around the block and enjoy it to keep your motivation up. Mine is over 8 years in the making and I just got it together enough to pass state inspection last month. Any way,the people on here are a great bunch with a wealth of info and they LOVE pictures so don't be shy about asking questions. Welcome to the sickness,Bo

[verdell]

Welcome! I'm about 2.5 hours west of you in MS and my first C10 was a '61 short fleet Apache. Current one is a '60 and yes, they are different. Like a few others, I kept my torsion bars, the "pretty" hood and added power discs in the front, etc. This forum is really awesome, hope you enjoy your project!

[maydaymike]

Welcome from Jasper, AL! Looks like a good project.

[giftshopduane]

Welcome.. my .02$ If that thing runs and drives well then tackle the rot repair first. You can do it piece by piece and get away with it since the truck already has "character". As you are doing this it will give you plenty of time to collect the mechanical parts that you want to swap out.. personally I loved my 235 and 3 on the tree in my 62'. I never had want for anything more.

There's something to be said for those old stovebolt engines.

[metalprelude]

Thanks for the warm reception. I think I jumped at this one simply because it is unique. From the hood to the windshield shape, I think it's awesome.

One of my biggest questions is "Do I look for a donor car? Or buy the individual pieces?" I'd love to have power brakes and power steering. Air Conditioning would be heavenly as July in Alabama can transform anyone into a sweaty puddle.

The brakes are a big question. It currently has 6-lug drum brakes on all four corners. You have to stand on them long before you actually need to stop. Can you guys give me any feedback on the best approach? Is a kit from LMC the best option? Or should I be looking for a donor 84 Camaro?

Are there better donor options than others?

[DPowers]

Welcome to the site.
The FAQS Section will answer alot of your questions.

[Monte's62]

Before you do anything I would get those brakes working better. You have to think about the safety items first on these old trucks. If your budget allows for discs on the front great, all around even better, but a rebuild of drums will make a huge difference as well and a little easier on the wallet. Then as mentioned, work on the metal and fab work, which could be safety related as well. I also vote for keeping the bars. They ride really nice. Good luck and nice truck.

[61ChevyPanel]

Welcome. Always good to see a '61 with '61 sheet metal.

If you still have a single line master cylinder, upgrading to a newer mc probably should be one of your first projects. Not too complicated and not a lot money. I highly recommend using the brackets from member Captain Fab http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=362375. There's lots of places with disc brake kits. I just bought a McGaughys kit. I believe it was $514 for the fronts and it uses '73 truck rotors and calipers.

If you go to a strong V8, the original rear end may be an issue. After breaking parts, I went with a '64 truck 12 bolt posi. It's the same width but I had to weld on the mount brackets.

[jtrichard]

The best donors would be 71/72 or better yet 73/87 TRUCK (Chevy or GMC) not car

[The1960APE]

Good looking truck! I remember when mine was in 1 piece...lol
have fun and enjoy!

[rudy62]

Welcome from So Cal. The need for a donor truck depends upon how much you are willing to replace. Once you start, it becomes a slippery slope. I used an '80 1/2 ton for my donor. Took the whole front end to replace the torsion bars and get disc brakes with spring suspension. Used the steering gear box for power steering. I read in forums it is easier to use the steering column that was matched with the gear box, so used the one from donor truck. Also used the rear end and had to weld on the seats for the trailing arms. Had to modify parts for 63 to work on my 62. Hopefully not scaring you away from your project, because the end result is awesome. Lots of luck