Mike Irwin's 1966 Chevy C-10 Carryall / Suburban

Canada Day
01 July 2007
# 1982

From Mike :

           Here are some photos of my newly-acquired 1966 Chevrolet C-10 Carryall / Suburban. It is a two wheel drive model, with an inline six (250 / 292 ?) and a manual 3 speed transmission. It was formerly a column shift, but was converted to a floor shifter. The weird thing about that is that the shift pattern is backwards to a normal 3 speed.

           Driver's side front - Driver's side back - Rear

           It was purchased via an eBay auction in June 2007. It was in Lynchburg, Virginia, before being brought to central Kentucky. I do not know its history prior to that, although the guy I got it from said he had it for three years.

           The previous owner was kind enough to deliver it reasonably close to my location. That was a good thing, since, despite his detailed instructions on the "tricky shifter," I was unable to find any gear on it but third. This presented some challenges in the city traffic, but having a stout clutch helped.

           When my wife saw it, her response was to laugh. My two sons, ages 14 and 12, think it's cool. It will be a Father / sons project for us. This is the first time I have attempted anything on this scale in my 50 years.

           The general condition of the truck is very rough, with all sorts of rust inside and out. But it does run, and cruises quite nicely at 55-60 mph.

           First order of business is to fix / replace the shifter / shift linkage, and then get some decent seats in it. Then we'll start evaluating where we want to start, since there are so many places we could. The rubber around all the side windows is rotted to the point that the sliding windows are likely to fall out. So that will have to be fixed soon.

           From my standpoint, the plan is to not restore it to pristine condition, but to either do a "rat rod" treatment or a very mild custom. I want to lower it 3-4 inches, and put some lower profile tires on it. ANY advice / guidance would be cheerfully accepted.

Mike Irwin
"The Impala Kid"
Bolter # 15222
Nicholasville, Kentucky