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1966 Chevrolet C-10 (TourMater)

90K views 579 replies 104 participants last post by  Christmas Cookie 
#1 · (Edited)
I picked up a decent condition 1966 C-10 that Gmotox was selling for a friend. I was looking for a project that my wife and I could work on together (and she really likes single-cab pickups).

It was a Utah truck until a few years ago, and it still is pretty rusty in places - but the frame and everything else is in great shape - well, that is, before I spent some time lying beneath it changing oil. :teehee: Truck looks like it was hit fairly hard in the front end and had to have the doghouse replaced. Frame rails ahead of the front suspension crossmember are hosed - need to take it to a frame shop and see what they have to say about it. Truck goes down the road good - but the bed looks a bit tweaked. All-in-all, it is a 43 year-old truck, and shit happens. :d: Hoping the frame is fine or can be easily fixed - I will probably cut out the bent parts and weld in new frame rails ahead of the engine.

Here are some pictures:






It's a plain-jane 66 C-10 with a 195 hp 283 driving the rear wheels through a (I think) Saginaw 4-speed. Single-circuit 4 wheel drum brakes (the parking brake still works!)

Plans:

  • Replace braking system with modern dual-circuit power MC and disc brakes
  • All new suspension bushings, TREs, springs, shocks and add swaybars
  • Power steering if I can find a setup that isn't over-boosted like the old GM setups
  • Relocate fuel tank from cab to behind the rear axle (under the bed)
  • Cut out all rust and weld in patch panels
  • Redo the wiring harness
  • Lower 3" in front, 4" in rear
  • Nasty SBC to pose as the original 283

Looking for a MIG welder to get the party started! :naughty:
 
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#60 ·
I LIKE IT:thumb:

If you loose interest in it let me know :naughty:

If your interested I have a 283 (dissasembled for inspection:teehee:) I have been thinking of selling needs a few things but some machine work was done already ; bored .040 but not finish honed , line bore and deck checked good, power pack heads with all new seats but seats are not finished,new guides installed but not finished, steel crank from a marine engine checked out good but needs to be turned or polished.
I was going to put larger intake valves and flat top pistons in it but never bought anything
as a side note if you check with LMC or GOLDEN STATE you can get a disc conversion and still keep all the original suspension :blah:
 
#61 ·
Oh great another 10+ page thread about getting screwed............Hope not. :sonicjay:


Just kidding and cool truck, I almost bought one about 10 years ago but the owner which was a good friends grandpa with alzheimers who said he wanted $10,000 for a rusty truck that needed to be restored. Well I was told to wait awhile until he got some sense back or until he forgot about it but that never happened, I bet they scrapped it. :(
 
#71 · (Edited)
Update!

Update!
Radiator is hosed, so I took JohnnyJ's advice and bought an aluminum one from speedway.
Yanked the old radiator out, expecting a simple swap and of course, that wasn't the case. :d:


^^^ Lookit that front crossmember. Remember how I said that frame was bent? Looks like the truck was also winched or towed by the center of the front crossmember.


^^^ Out and on the ground. You're looking at the front of the crossmember - see how it's all twisted?



^^^ Oh yeah, frame needs a bit of work...



^^^ Wire brushed and ready to work on.



^^^ tacked this on to assist in bending it back to the correct shape



^^^ as straight as I could get it


^^^ Cracks welded & ground




^^^ Paint!



^^^ Size difference in radiators.

Tomorrow I'm going to continue on the frame and get the rad mounts mocked up. grabbed some 22 ga sheet and will also build a fan shroud for the electric fan I have.
 
#81 ·
LOL, dick! :sonicjay: The strap was the best way to hold the shroud in place while I marked it up for welding. :d:

Bottom rad mounts:


One of the top radiator mounts, after I welded a bolt in and ground the head off. The "stud" will be the top mounting for the shroud:


You can see the pair if you look close in this pic:



I dunno where or what that fan is from - it was butchered up and placed in front of the original fan - GMOTOX said his buddy liked to cruise the truck and added it to keep it from overheating during the Dream Cruise.

It looks like an OEM fan (warning decal) but I can't find any p/n on it anywhere - though, it looks like a Ford connector. Here's a lightened photo that shows where the fan was at:


Funny thing is, it "pulls", so with the way it was wired up, it was fighting the flow of the fan on the engine. :teehee:

One more thing - I just bought this to help me update the wiring to modern specs:
 
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