Help me plan my 64-66?

[picklito]

Sorry, no pics yet cuz I don't have the truck yet!

With the '70 Big Block Dirt Bike Hauler (BBDBH) comfortably on the road as a mostly mechanical/non-cosmetic daily driver... I'm starting to watch the ads for a nice 64-66 short fleetside. This will be a new truck series for me...

I'm gonna need a lot of help. Please.

ALL the 60-66 are nice, but I LOVE that forward A-pillar and symmetric door window of the 64-66. It will be a frame-up, "tastefully upgraded original." Not going to worry about original nuts and bolts and date codes, but I want it to be a solidly 60's-style hot rod. First thoughts, since I can do this part easily:

350-383 one piece rear, roller cam, serpentine belt.
aftermarket EFI
200-4R trans
PS, power discs, static drop

I have found some 16"x5" 6-lug steelies that I'm itching to run with a narrow white wall tire.

Oddly, my biggest unknown is how to do the A/C? In this series of truck, am I looking for an A/C cab, or will any cab convert easily? Or, am I simply better off going with an entire aftermarket A/C system in a 64-66? I can do my own A/C work if that matters.

Let's just start with that. Thanks in advance.

[siggyfreud]

Honestly I'm not even sure what the factory A/C setup look like. I have my vintage air unit sitting on the shelf waiting until I'm ready, but it looks like a fairly straight-forward setup. The biggest downside is that it takes up a lot of room under the dash, and just recirculates air, so you'll need to bring in new air from time to time.

I like your other plans, and they're pretty similar to what I'm doing in my build, at least in terms of the motor, trans, brakes, and drop.

I support this plan .

[Clyde65]

If you can find a swb with factory air, that would be best. old Air Products can help you restore the factory air setup.

Vintage Air has the best aftermarket unit, so it really depends on what you find as a builder.

[63burban]

Vintage AC

[Arekusu]

I have vintage air on my 64 with a big block and it works great. If you're not familiar with the system, it'll take the levers that the "deluxe" heater / vent provides and makes the levers electrically control the fan speed, and heat / AC of the vintage air box. It's nice. I have a roller big block with decent lift and it still works just fine. Since you're putting a 383 in it and don't seem too concerned on original engine compartment, I'd recommend this route. Also, I've never used old Air products but the vintage air kit has worked great for me.

Check out my build thread for learning points so you don't have to do things three times like I did.

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=348850

I did a frame off on mine as well and it's really not hard. If you're young enough with a friend and both have good backs / legs you could pull the empty cab off the frame with just the two of you.... (pre built dolly for the cab at the end of the frame so you're really not carrying the cab all that far.

Find a truck with a good hood / mostly solid cab. It's the only thing they don't make for these things unless it's fiberglass.

LMC truck is the most expensive but sometimes have the parts that the others dont.

Pre fit everything before you commit to primer and paint.. this is especially true if you buy aftermarket stuff or parts / panels off of another truck.

I personally say ditch the 350 / 383 and go with an LS1 / LQ4. Decent junk yard motors can be about 1200 with everything to run one (if you find the right yard) minus a transmission. It'd be a solid driver, better gas efficiency, more power, fuel injection.

If you like the 350 / 383 idea still ( I still do old school too) look into "FiTECH" fuel injection. A lot of people are starting to get on that train. I purchased one for my 57 Cad that I'm going to run a blow through turbo system on. I'll post results once I get that installed.

If this is your first frame off, research the bolt sizes that are commonly used on this truck.. There are a few that are used over and over again. Then go to mcmaster carr dot com and order some bulk boxes of these bolts in the grade and coating you'd like. I say this because I know I must have dropped at least a grand running back and forth to ACE hardware for bolts.. it's small cost when you get them but boy does it add up.. especially if you do everything with grade 8 like I did.

I'm sure you know you can bolt up brakes and spindles with the correct ball joints up to 1985 (?) on the front of a 64 and up. That will also get you front disk brakes on the cheap.

For rear disks, look to Captain FAB on this board.. it's been a while for me on here but he had rear disk brake brackets as well as hydro boost brackets for 64-66 trucks the last time I checked.

I hope this helps and doesn't come off as to "preachy". Good luck in your search for a truck. If you have questions send a PM. I'm not on here too much anymore as my truck is done. But on Saturday mornings while I drink coffee I sometimes stop in to help if I can. See ya!

Alex

[The Rocknrod]

I like the Old Air sliding controls, but they wont sell it separately.

[picklito]

Originally Posted by siggyfreud

I support this plan .

Well then I'm off to a good start!

[picklito]

Originally Posted by Arekusu

II hope this helps and doesn't come off as to "preachy". Alex

Oh heck no! That's all great "been there done that" advice. It is my first frame-off, but I've done enough hot-rodding to really hear what you're telling me. Especially stuff like buying bolts in bulk, and I'm already a frequent McMaster customer!

I'm not set on the 350/383 thing, it's just that the drivetrain part of this will be the easy part for me, so I just threw the first dart there. What I mostly need to learn is what 'other' features should the truck come with so that I can build my own. For example, it won't have originally had disc brakes, but I know how to do that. I don't care if I find a truck that's already been disc'd cuz I'll be going through that on my own anyway.

On the other hand, getting a "good cab" to start with is important... so I need to learn what features that cab must have for my exact build... and A/C is looking to be the critical feature. I hear some of those boxes and vents are pretty tough to find.

Thanks!

[Arekusu]

A year or so ago I thought there was a guy hand making the center AC vent (where the ashtray goes) and it looked pretty good.

I really wouldn't worry about finding an original AC truck. To me , it's just extra work for something you're going to more than likely convert to a 134 system anyway. The "deluxe" style heater (3 levers vertical sliding) is easily converted with vintage air. Minus painting brackets, getting the AC charged and flexible hoses crimped (at car quest or a hydraulic shop).. the install took an afternoon.

Finding a good hood is also a priority. A lot are rusted bad or have bad damage. I went through 3 hoods.

Move the gas tank out of the cab. I got a new stock one and put it in the cab and it still leaked a little and made everything smell like fuel. The 60-66 community is at a pretty good spot now with aftermarket between the frame rails fuel tank. Some have ince intake fuel pump provisions. You could even mod a tank for an in tank fuel pump from "Tanks Inc." fuel pumps. There are also some pretty nifty fuel doors / through the wood gas caps to choose from now.

Look into clear coating your bed wood. It's a pain, but it's less maintenance, and it looks damn good. Stacey Davids from "Gearz" did a video on one of his builds a few years back and that's where I got the idea on how to do mine. My bed is almost always complemented on for how much shine it has and how deep it looks. I wash it and use a bit of spray wax on it with a microfiber towel .. done.

American Autowire wiring harness. I put one in my truck. It was straight forward. I now have blade fuses instead of glass. Buy it through amazon if they have it, maybe ebay. It's a lot of the time cheaper than summit / jegs.

I paid around 3,000.00 for just my paint, primers, and clear total. I did my own work and made mistakes .. aka more paint / product. It's not cheap. So going to pay someone to do a "show quality" ish paint job is going to be even more pricey. If you do your own work... buy paint in big quantities. Try to prime everything at the same time, and then when you're ready, paint everything at the same time. Paint can look different depending on what season it was shot in. (shooting paint outside). The pigment stays closer this way. Even though it's damn close, every quart of paint is just a tad different. Use the same final primer or final sealer of the same color on everything. This will affect the final color of the base coat.. just a little if it's not the same. You want at least 2-3 coats of clear on your truck.. but remember to look at one normal coat lays out to in mils and make sure your doors have clearance. Some of that high solids clear lays on THICK.. and will also roll right off as soon as you open that super tight gap on your door. You will sand off 1/4 - 1/2 the clear you put on to make the clear flat looking like a mirror. At least I did because I'm not pro.

Dont forget the sound deadening. I rubberized undercoated, everything that didn't have pretty paint on it, then I tar papered the inside floor pan, then ensolite foam .. look at raam audio for the cheaper version that isn't boom mat or whatever gimmick is now being marketed.

Buy the 60-66 assembly manual. Even if you're not going with a stock ish resto. Why? Well if you're replacing that inner and outer rocker panel it shows how the factory did the spot welds.. so at least you know your truck is as solid as your welding / fab skills are. It's also a nice reference on how things are suppose to go together. A lot of these trucks were owned by people that used them as equipment.. because of this, they've been made to work or modified. It's kinda nice when you can see how something is suppose to go from factory so you can fix it to standard or figure out how to make it work best.

(Buy the LQ4, conquer wiring doubts, save money on fuel, get more power and 6 bolt mains, add turbo later for stupid power, win at life).


Ok, huge paragraphs over. lol

Alex

[picklito]

Alex,
I read your build thread. Very nice and super helpful. For sound deadening the '70 I stripped the inside and sprayed Lizardskin, both the heat and sound products. So far so good on that. A couple questions:

Do you have any pics of the various dash knob layouts I might come across?

Any input on 64, 65, or 66 as a starting point?

[Arekusu]

Hi picklito, (coffee in hand lets do this!)

I did look into lizard skin too (I didn't want to pay for it), if you don't have any of that stuff left over some guys used white paint and some sort of powdered glass beads. .. very fine stuff, mixed it together and got similar results. I think that was listed on hotrodders dot com?

Ah, theastronaut did a write up - http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=511370

Dash knob layouts. Hmm I want to say the factory equipped stuff should be pretty standard. But farmers and the city of "insert town name here" may have added other unique setups like what I saw in the parts yards of Albuquerque. I'm sure others may have more correct info on that.

A picture of my dash is attached. Minus the color, line loc switch and tach, that's pretty close to stock.

Which year to start with? For me I didn't really care, it was more about the shape. They all look the same. I think some may have more deluxe cabs than others. I want to say 1966 was the only year a V8 was offered in the 1/2 ton base model, the other years were all L6. I think 66 was the first year AC was offered as well? It's been a while for me on that stuff.

[The Rocknrod]

Originally Posted by Arekusu

... I think 66 was the first year AC was offered as well? It's been a while for me on that stuff.

1961, 1962, 1963, 1964 and 1965 had a 283 V8.

[picklito]

Thanks guys. As for year, I'm leaning toward whatever I find in a price/condition I can work with. Anything from drive home to tow it to get a trailer and pile on the parts. There will probably be some parts trucks too. Caught my eye:

https://sfbay.craigslist.org/pen/cto/5466413955.html

[Arekusu]

Originally Posted by The Rocknrod

1961, 1962, 1963, 1964 and 1965 had a 283 V8.

I stand corrected.