66 Fleetside Newbie

[Ghetto Fireman]

Hello All;

My name is Mike and am am located in the bizarre community of Venice California. I have a very clean (Arizona) 66 SB fleetside 283/4-speed.Looking to pull the motor for a rebuild and swap over to a automatic transmission 350/400 power steering and disc brakes. What issues or concerns may I encounter. I plan to leave the rest as is, kinda like the patina look.

Thanks for your time.

Mike

[pestwagon]

Look like "the Grey Ghost" when I bought it....nice. leave the patina

[TJ's Chevy]

283 is a simple engine to rebuild so I wouldn't be concerned. Swapping to a 350/400 auto is a very common swap so finding someone to help out with that is easy as well. Nice looking truck. Diggin the patina.

[tigerburns]

Welcome.
Like the truck very much. Get your mechanicals updated but otherwise don't change a thing.

[Chevy Fleetside]

You might want to look into a 700R4 instead of the 350 or 400. I wouldn't put a 400 behind a 283. It robs a lot of horsepower.

[oem4me]

Hi Mike, and welcome. Sorry your first truck purchase needs an engine/trans rebuild right off the bat. I also see from the picture that it badly needs paint and has the wrong hubcaps.
It's obvious this is not a good start, but not to worry, I'm willing to help you out. I'll bail you out for a few grand so you can put that toward another truck with a good engine and shiny paint. I'm pretty close too. Deal?

[pestwagon]

Originally Posted by Chevy Fleetside

You might want to look into a 700R4 instead of the 350 or 400. I wouldn't put a 400 behind a 283. It robs a lot of horsepower.

I was thinking the same thing. His rear gears are probably 373 or taller. Needs a OD tranny. I put a 200R4 in mine. Love it. Best upgrade yet, went from 10 without it to 15 mpg highway with my 350 GM HO 350 crate motor with HEI. A TH 400 would be a big mistake if your driving it.

[Mathew21]

Originally Posted by oem4me

Hi Mike, and welcome. Sorry your first truck purchase needs an engine/trans rebuild right off the bat. I also see from the picture that it badly needs paint and has the wrong hubcaps.
It's obvious this is not a good start, but not to worry, I'm willing to help you out. I'll bail you out for a few grand so you can put that toward another truck with a good engine and shiny paint. I'm pretty close too. Deal?

LMAO

Welcome Ghetto Fireman great looking truck. I agree with the other's I would consider a 200R4 or a 700R4.

[cv65]

Welcome you come to the right place, Im in the middle of a 700r4,powersteering project, start collecting all your needed goodies belive me there are alot of things to get together!

[Captainfab]

Welcome to the forum

I agree with going with a 700R4, even though the 283's do like rpm's. You just need to be sure the TV cable is setup and adjusted correctly. If that is not an option, I would choose a TH350 over a 400.