Grandpas truck, my dream.

[madaca]

Well I figure it is about time I start my own build thread now that I have got the truck running and will soon start driving it.

When I was a kid I remember when me and my sister used to go with Grandpa and Grandma to the ranch in the 65 Chevy c10. Back then it was three in the tree and I remember Grandpa grinding those gears away. I have always loved older vehicles and I have always loved his 65 Chevy truck. I live in Longview, Tx. and my grandfather lives in San Antonio, Tx. My sister was supposed to get the truck but she could never get down there to pick it up and trailer it back here. She finally told me one day that if I still wanted it that I could go get it. The next week I had a truck and trailer ready to go down to San Antonio and pick it up. We loaded it up and trailered it back her to Longview. This is the day I got it home.












Truck was converted to stick shift in the floor. I still have all the linkage to turn it back to three in the tree though.


It has a 283 v8 that was rebuilt by my grandfather and uncle not long ago.



My friend gave me his old 4 barrel carb

[madaca]

i took out the old manifold and put a new one in that my boss gave me for free. He had it laying around the shop. I also added new valve covers gaskets, fuel pump, distributer, plugs, air cleaner and cleaned up the engine some.



I still plan on taking out the exhaust manifolds and painting them black to make it look even cleaner. Need to replace the manifold gaskets too.






Added some wire loom to clean it up a bit. Looks much better.



I got some holes in the passenger and drivers side corners but that is about it as far as the inside of the cab. Will fix that with some panels and redo the whole interior next month (June) sometime.

[madaca]

And so this is what the steering wheel looks like. It has too small cracks that I am fixing this weekend and I will be repainting it all white. I will take more pictures tomorrow to show the progress.

[sidthirteen]

Right on!! Glad you were able to save a piece of family history! Good luck on your build!

[joe231]

I love trucks with history!!
looks like a pretty good start...good luck and keep us informed

[austex66]

Thats awesome to get a truck with a lot of heritage behind it. Makes it that much more meaningful to wrench on...........Good luck with it!

[madaca]

I have the original note to the seller of the vehicle that I found in the truck. It basically says that my grandfather payed $100.00 down on March 11, 1978 and then it shows that he payed $450.00 on May 4, 1978 for the remaining balance. So it looks like he bought it for $550.00.

I also have the original documents of when he registered it and who the previous owner was. I think it is kind of nice to have all of this history of this truck.

The truck was converted to 6 lug wheels but i have the rusty old 5 lug wheels still that he gave me. My grandfather keeps everything. I have an extra transmission and two sets of original valve covers. I also have the moon disc type hubcaps with the chevy symbol and the other chrome ones you see on the truck. i will be painting the wheels white and put the moon type back on.

[madaca]

Oh and tonight I found out that my good friend is going to help paint it for me. I have all the paint. We just need to sand her smooth soon. He used to be in the paint and body work for 20 years. He was one of the best till he got hurt. He is a perfectionist too. I am really excited that it really has not cost me much to get this truck to where it is now and looks like it isn't going to cost me much to finish her up. I got all the paint for free as well from another friend of mine. Got some good Sikkens paint. Bright white and red. Gonna paint her all white with red and white interior. Will probably have it primered in about three weeks. Then we will slowly work on body work and then take it back for paint.

My hopes are to be able to drive the truck back to San Antonio and pull up in my grandfather driveway so i can show him that I kept my promise that I would get it running and take care of it. He is 87 I believe but still kicking and staying busy as always. When I took the truck he kissed it goodbye and I swore I saw him tear up. I have pictures of us picking it up that I will have to post later.

[Chevy Fleetside]

These trucks were originally 6 lugs and not 5. 5 Lug came on in 71. Cool history though. Feels good to have your own huh?

[madaca]

Oh good to know. So I had it backwards. I just remember my grandfather telling me they were converted. So I guess they were converted back to 6 lug maybe.

[Chevy Fleetside]

The reason most are converted, is for the disc brakes. They were 5 lug but these days you can get 6 lug rotors.

[madaca]

Worked on the steering wheel today and also sanded down part of the hood and primed it. I figure its better to do a little at a time than nothing at all and then it will slowly get to looking better.

The steering wheel off and sanded it down. Didnt sand it completely smooth but its better and I patched the two hairline cracks with epoxy.





Broke a piece of the steering wheel when I was trying to take it off. Luckily it was a big piece so I was able to put it back on with the epoxy.


Kept these pieces in the truck and painted the rest outside the truck. Primed it and sprayed it with gloss white.

[madaca]

Sanded part of the hood down with a rotary sander then primed it. Came out real smooth.











This is the only dent in the hood. I popped it out some yesterday and will fix it smooth later when I get the material for the bodywork.



Will wet sand all the primer once it sits on the truck a little while to get it as smooth as possible. I will do the rest of the hood during the week next week.

Im gonna let the steering wheel sit all day to dry before I install it. Will probably wait till tomorrow to install it. Will post more pics when I get it back on.

My intentions for the steering wheel were to not look perfect but to look better until I have money for a newer one later if I ever do decide to change it out.

[jonathan-m]

good work on the steering wheel. I just switched out the newer wheel that was in my truck for an original one I picked up last weekend. I thought about putting in a better brand new wheel that might look better than the originals, but I like the feel of these big ass wheels...and my truck is 43 years old..I think its only right that she show her age a little bit

[madaca]

Went ahead and did the drivers side fender as well. Sanded and primed. I have two holes on each fender. Both rear parts of the fenders will need to be replaced later on.

[Hillbilly Deluxe 65]

lookin good man

[madaca]

Got the steering wheel back on today. It came out pretty nice. Now I just need to let it sit in the sun so it can bake on more. Good thing about it is I can always touch it up when needed with good ol rustoleum gloss white. I put two coats of primer and two coats of paint. I sanded it down some before spraying but the material is so soft that you have to be careful when sanding or you will start to dig into the material of the steering wheel. I plan on putting a white cover over it. The kind that you wrap around the wheel to keep it protected better. Otherwise i am sure the paint will start to come off from oil and other stuff coming in contact with it. Here are some pics. The whole interior will eventually be white as well.

[70 Suburban]

its clean...but seams to be upside down.

[madaca]

LOl. I knew it was. I kept looking at it wondering which way it goes. Luckily it isnt bolted down yet. Let me go fix it real quick. Thanks

[madaca]

Ok now its correct.

[madaca]

Had some silver paint laying around so I touched up the alternator too. Looks much better. This will buy me some time till I can get a newer one later. I'll post pics after it dries good and I get it back on the truck.

[madaca]

I got the alternator installed. Looks a whole lot better than it did before. I used a duplicolor chrome paint I had sitting around the garage. It is a very shiny silver. I'll see how it holds up.

Before pic.



and after

[joe231]

Looking Good!!!

[70 Suburban]

Little by litte\le

[madaca]

I got the tires on today and took her for a test drive. Seems to be running real smooth. I had a problem with the brake lights not coming on but then I tinkered with the signal connections and got it to work. I will need to replace the turn signal connection soon. Went to walmart and my friend snapped a few pics of me. We enjoyed riding around with the windows down. Tomorrow I will be registering it and then I will need to find some seatbelts at the u-pull-it place so I can get it to pass inspection. Then little by little start to work on the body to prepare it for paint.