Making some progress on OLRED66

[LILRED66]

Since we are finished with Lee's '66 K10, I was able to get to work on my '66 C20 Custom Camper. OLRED66 has been on hold while I have been working on other projects. The entire front clip sheetmetal was stolen from my shop back in December 2006, so I have been acquiring good, solid OEM sheetmetal parts to get her back together. The front fenders, hood, grille support and cowl extensions are at the paint shop now getting painted to match the rest of the truck.

I transplanted a factory 327 from a '66 Chevy C10 that has been rebuilt with a mild cam, Edelbrock carburetor and double-hump heads. I installed an HEI distributor, new battery, underhood harnesses, underdash harness and fired the motor for the first time a week ago. Man does she sound good with the 2-1/2 exhaust and 40 Series Flowmasters...much better than the stock 283.

I also installed a factory automatic crossmember, since it has been converted to a Turbo 400. I am installing a factory AM radio that I had converted to an AM/FM stereo with outputs, so I can plug in a CD changer or an iPod.

While I had the front clip off to install the 327, I repaired and refinished the inner fenders and the radiator support. I also cleaned up and put a fresh coat of Underhood Black from Eastwood on everything under the hood.

I will keep updating the progress of bringing OLRED66 back to life. Enjoy.

[joe231]

man that sucks, did they take it off the truck?

[rss396]

Nice truck. Looks good with the late model alloy wheels.

[leftcoast66]

Sorry to hear people stole the front end, that sucks. Glad your pushin on with it though. Where'd you get the am/fm radio, my dad's wanting something like that for his galaxie, curious if they have them or something that'd work.

[LILRED66]

Originally Posted by leftcoast66

Sorry to hear people stole the front end, that sucks. Glad your pushin on with it though. Where'd you get the am/fm radio, my dad's wanting something like that for his galaxie, curious if they have them or something that'd work.

I found a fellow online that does the FM conversion on classic units to keep the face the same, but the guts are upgraded. Here is a picture of the factory AM unit he did for me.

I will see if I can find his contact information and post it, in case others are interested. I tried the units manufactured by Auto Sound-USA 2-6 and they are not worth the investment, imo.

[LILRED66]

Originally Posted by joe231

man that sucks, did they take it off the truck?

No, they weren't taken off the truck, but they were conveniently removed from the bed where I had them nice and tidy/organized. Better than shopping, because they didn't have to pay!

The 4th photo is what she looked like before the theives struck.

[LILRED66]

Originally Posted by rss396

Nice truck. Looks good with the late model alloy wheels.

Thanks for the kind words. Those wheels/tires came from my '98 Chevy K2500 work truck. I put them on OLRED66 because the tires that were on it were pretty worn and I didn't have the money to buy a new set, so I opted to install this set, since the tires were nearly brand new and they were taking up space in my shop.

I have the factory caps, that I will be installing when I get the correct 1/2" double-threaded lug nuts that allow the black cap nuts to screw on to secure the caps. I kind of like the looks of the painted hubs/drums, but I will see how it looks with the factory bowtie caps and decide.

[283 Man]

Id love to come hear that motor purr!! looks great!!

[283 Man]

I hate people who steal !!!

[502tripower]

Tony, Very nice truck...To bad about the thieves...

Originally Posted by LILRED66

I found a fellow online that does the FM conversion on classic units to keep the face the same, but the guts are upgraded. Here is a picture of the factory AM unit he did for me.

I did the same thing with my factory 63' radio I had the bezel recromed and then sent the radio out for the conversion. That was ten years ago and I found the guy in Hemmings Motor News.

Originally Posted by LILRED66

Those wheels/tires came from my '98 Chevy K2500 work truck.

I have the factory caps, that I will be installing when I get the correct 1/2" double-threaded lug nuts that allow the black cap nuts to screw on to secure the caps.

I put a set of those same wheels & tires that were take offs on my 02 2500 HD. Then I tried to put the chrome steel wheels that were on the HD on my 14,000 GVW equipment trailer that had the 1/2"-20 studs. The wheels fit no problem as yours do but, the late model trucks use a "metric" stud 14mm" I think. The lug nuts that work with those caps as you stated are not available in the 1/2"-20 to my knowledge. The only way I could make those caps work was to change out the studs.

In the past I used that same cap with the earlier (80's) truck rallies but secured the cap to the wheel with a screw from the back of the wheel, the wheels had holes in the back that just happened to line up with a series of holes in the back of the cap, then used chrome lugs. On these new wheels I would have had to drill the wheel to install the caps the same way. Not such a big deal but a big hassle.

[4dranch]

Mr. Tony,
It really sucks that you have to do rework on that sweet ride of yours because of some freaking idiot. Everyone needs to load up on ammo now, because I'm afraid it's going to get worse before it gets better.

[72BlckButy]

Glad to see that you were able to bounce back after some low life set you back.

OLRED66 is coming right along, can't wait to see it completed!

[LILRED66]

Originally Posted by 502tripower

Tony, Very nice truck...To bad about the thieves...




I did the same thing with my factory 63' radio I had the bezel recromed and then sent the radio out for the conversion. That was ten years ago and I found the guy in Hemmings Motor News.





I put a set of those same wheels & tires that were take offs on my 02 2500 HD. Then I tried to put the chrome steel wheels that were on the HD on my 14,000 GVW equipment trailer that had the 1/2"-20 studs. The wheels fit no problem as yours do but, the late model trucks use a "metric" stud 14mm" I think. The lug nuts that work with those caps as you stated are not available in the 1/2"-20 to my knowledge. The only way I could make those caps work was to change out the studs.

In the past I used that same cap with the earlier (80's) truck rallies but secured the cap to the wheel with a screw from the back of the wheel, the wheels had holes in the back that just happened to line up with a series of holes in the back of the cap, then used chrome lugs. On these new wheels I would have had to drill the wheel to install the caps the same way. Not such a big deal but a big hassle.

I agree with your decription of the situation with the later model wheels and caps, however I found a company online that has the 1/2"-20 double threaded lug nuts that are made specifically for securing later model wheels and caps to the 1/2 ton (1/2" studs) and 3/4 ton (9/16" studs) on our trucks.

I will post a picture when I get them installed.

[LILRED66]

Thanks for all the encouragement from you guys here on the forum. I enjoy and am inspired hearing/seeing other's work and results, so we all benefit from this forum in a positive way.

[jchav62]

Tony,

Awesome work as always! All your trucks are looking killer. I'm sure those people who stole from you will get what's coming to them.

[kizer]

I didn't comment on this thread yesterday because I was so pissed hearing about your tin being stolen.

I guess all that could be done is just roll with it and continue building I suppose. Your truck looks really nice and I hope mine when ever I get that close looks as nice.

[ol Curt]

Originally Posted by LILRED66

I found a fellow online that does the FM conversion on classic units to keep the face the same, but the guts are upgraded. Here is a picture of the factory AM unit he did for me.

I will see if I can find his contact information and post it, in case others are interested. I tried the units manufactured by Auto Sound-USA 2-6 and they are not worth the investment, imo.

Tony,

Was it this guy by chance?

http://www.turnswitch.com/radio1.htm

[olsofti]

Lookin' good!

[LILRED66]

Originally Posted by ol Curt

Tony,

Was it this guy by chance?

http://www.turnswitch.com/radio1.htm

Not the same guy that I used, however looks to be another good source for this type of work. I put the site in "My Favorites" for future reference. Thanks for the link. I will continue trying to locate the contact information for the fellow I used.

[LILRED66]

Here are a few shots of the donor 327. I also changed out the '66 Custom steering wheel and chrome ring assembly for a '60-'65 Custom steering wheel and chrome horn ring assembly. I also changed out the factory Warning Light dash cluster for a factory cluster with gauges and a factory tach. While I was at it I put in a new factory underdash wiring harness, specific to factory dash cluster with gauges. I will post some pictures of the dash and steering wheel soon.

[ol Curt]

Originally Posted by LILRED66

Not the same guy that I used, however looks to be another good source for this type of work. I put the site in "My Favorites" for future reference. Thanks for the link. I will continue trying to locate the contact information for the fellow I used.

Hey Tony,
Where do you mount your speakers?

[jonathan-m]

Originally Posted by ol Curt

Hey Tony,
Where do you mount your speakers?

This is completely unrelated to this topic, but I wasn't wearing my glasses when I read Ol Curt's Screen name and I had to do a serious double take

Anyways, that's a beautiful truck as always tony!

Jon

[LILRED66]

Originally Posted by ol Curt

Hey Tony,
Where do you mount your speakers?

BCKNBLK has them mounted in the front area of the lower door bottom...done by the previous owner...I don't cut holes in my doors anymore. That is a great location, as evidenced by modern day truck speakers still being located in the lower door area.

LILRD66 has them mounted in the kick panels, via the plastic kick panel speaker covers, available at: www.lmctruck.com, www.classicparts.com, www.bowtiebits.com, www.oldchevytruck.com and many other aftermarket truck parts suppliers.

OLRED66 has a dual speaker retro unit in the factory speaker location under the dash, available at: www.lmctruck.com, www.classicparts.com, www.bowtiebits.com, www.oldchevytruck.com and many other aftermarket truck parts suppliers. I have also taken a factory speaker chassis and installed a pair of small factory GM speakers from one of my early nineties trucks, to preserve the integrity of the interior.

My first '65 in '81 had a pair of 5-1/4" rounds mounted in the sheetmetal above the fuel tank behind the fold-down center console, as well as, a pair of 6" x 9" in the front area of the lower door bottom and a pair of 5-1/4" rounds in the "B" pillars at ear level. This system sounded the best but it required cutting 6 large holes in the interior sheetmetal...I would never do that now.

I have seen some nice box-style speakers that are low profile to fit under the seat on either side. I mount/locate speakers now, in order to not disturb the interior sheet metal. It sickens me to see the hack jobs I see on trucks I have acquired, to the doors, back panel and radio opening.

I see a lot of custom behind-the-seat speaker boxes, especially when the fuel cell has been relocated out of the cab, as well as, center console units to house speakers. I prefer to stay factory, unless it is a bolt-on, that can be removed and not diminish the integrity and originality of the interior.

[LILRED66]

Jon:

Thanks for the compliment.

[LILRED66]

Here are a few shots of the truck with the '98 Chevy K2500 take-off wheels and tires. I installed the correct lug nuts for the 1/2" studs on the '66 C20 with dual threads to accept the black cap nuts. I like it better with the caps than without...even though I liked the look of the painted drums/hubs.