1966 Chevy 1/2-Ton Stepside

	Owned by Tom Clements "taclem" Bolter # 21768 Preston, Idaho Talking about this truck in the DITY Gallery

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From Tom :

This is my 1966 Chevy Short Stepside. I have owned the truck for a little more than a year. I bought it for $400 from my Brother-in-law.

This truck started as a long wheelbase Fleetside. My BIL put the cab on a short wheel base leaf-springed frame.

The bed he had for it was a 1955 with fenders that looked like they were flattened and hammered back out. When we found this old truck, the sunroof was already there -- otherwise there would be no hole in the cab roof. I'll leave that for now.

My BIL had a few engines around that I could put in the truck, but I opted for a 292 that has electronic ignition. So it is somewhat newer and has a granny 4-speed at this time. I have a car type Saginaw 4 speed that is being rebuilt to go in later.

I bought a 1978 swb Stepside 4x4 for $150. I removed the bed and sold the rest for $90. So now, I had a bed for my '66. Wasn't sure how good it would look, but now, I think it looks great.

I filled the fuel doors in each fender and moved the gas tank from the cab and also patched that hole. I found a good windshield in a farm truck that I cut out for $20. I found a complete heater control for another $15. (I really like that scrap yard.)

The cab and front clip were from a Texas truck but still had the usual rust in the regular places.

At present it has 10" wide ralleys, but I would like to add some deep chrome reverse wheels and lower the front to achieve the stance we had in the '60s.

I haven't replaced the wood bed yet but did buy a roll-up tonneau cover from Truxedo. They were the only ones I could find that would make a roll-up for a Stepside bed. I didn't want snaps and wanted some sort of support because of the snow load we get here in SE Idaho.

Later, I would like to change the brakes to disc in front with a new steering column at the same time. My Brother-in-law did the body work and paint so all in all I have kept my cost down and can save the money for more work in the future.

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