A 'virtual garage' of antique Chevy & GMC trucks from around the World

1966 Chevy 3/4-Ton 4WD LWB Stepside

Owned by

Rex "Old Truck Dude" James
Marion, Ohio

10 March 2008 Update
# 1919

From Rex :

           Here's a couple new pics of my fleet. [ Image ] One is with my daily driver, a 77 3/4-ton Chevy.

           I finally got the power steering fixed on the 1966 Chevy 1/2-ton 4WD. New belts cured the sqealing problem, and now the steering box is leaking. I'm not sure if the steering box is original or if I could find someone to rebuild it. I have put a lot of miles on it since I fixed it. I drove it quite a bit until the temperature dropped. I think when it's 5 degrees outside, it might get 25 degrees inside the truck. I need a fan shroud and new door seals also. The next job will be front axle joints. Right now it's a big two wheel drive.

           When taking these pictures [ Image ], my family and friends thought I was crazy for getting on top of my garage. I thought it would be a cool picture of all the trucks together. Plus, I wanted to see how big of a garage I really need.

          Just a note to Jeremiah from Ohio -- I think we may have met at one time. That is a cool four door. Can't wait to see it finished.

          There's alot of good lookin' trucks on this site. Maybe I'll have a nice one, one of these days.

Thanks again,

Rex James
OldTruckDude
Marion,Ohio

Keep on Truckin' !

          Cool shot. I bet it was fun taking the picture from the roof. Looks like you'll need a might big garage! ~~ Editor

3 August 2007 Update
# 1919

From Rex :

          Hello Stovebolt. Got am update for you. This is the interior of my 1966 Chevy 3/4-Ton 4WD long wheel base Stepside. I just did a little touching up on the ashtray and found a cover for the radio hole -- only until I find a good radio. I still need to find out why the speedometer quit. I'm trying to fix the power steering problem now. I took the pump off because it leaked and the belt squealed really bad at first acceleration or at higher speed. When I took it apart, I found a bolt had broken off in the engine block and the alternater was wobbling on the mounting bracket. But was still charging good.

          I have more pictures and always more things to fix. Thanks to my daughter for the computer work. I'm still looking for a 1960 or a 1961 Chevy grille.

          That's all for now.

Thanks,

Rex "Old Truck Dude" James
Marion, Ohio

          Rex added a 1964 Chevy 1/2-ton to the Gallery in August 2007 and has had a 1966 1-ton Panel in here since February 2007. ~~ Editor

13 April 2007
# 1919

From Rex :

          Hello again Stovebolt! I finally got pictures of my third truck, a 1966 Chevy 3/4-ton 4 wheel drive, long wheel base Stepside, with a 283 V-8 SBC and a 4 speed transmission.  

          I saw this truck in a county fair truck pull and I had to have it!  A friend of mine worked with the owner of the truck at a Chevrolet dealer. About a year after I saw it, my friend told me it was for sale. I took my wife with me to look at it and she bought it for me. Sweet Wife, Ay!

          The first couple years I had it, I didn't drive it much. It always had something going wrong. I drove it for about two months and the exhaust started falling off. After sitting a couple months, it needed a tune-up. I tuned it up, except for the points (which I’m not real good at). When I had the points changed, they found out the distributor was worn out. So I got a new electronic one.  Soon after, I had wiring problems. So, I got a new wiring harness.  Charging problems followed that. So, the truck got a new style alternator. I drove it a few more months and I lost the harmonic balancer. Once it was back together, it had no compression. It turns out that every exhaust valve was bent!  

          Now the top of the motor is new, timing chain, mild cam, heads, etc. The motor had the cheap chrome dress up on it that I didn't like. I found most of the original stuff for it. I changed the radiator and hoses, and cleaned it all up. [ Image ]

          I have chrome wheels that I take off for the winter months.  Living in the salt belt of Ohio, it tends to eat away at the vehicles here.  The truck looked good when I got it, but the winters here have been hard on it.  Whoever did the body and paint work, wasn't real good.  When I bought it, everything that is now painted white or chrome was painted black. As far as I know, it is mostly original except for the transmission and transfer case.  

          It is a driver that runs good now and needs the body restored, but it still gets a lot of lookers.  I have had it to a couple truck shows and a lot of swap meets and still haven't seen another one like it yet.

          Well, I think I’ve said enough for now so thanks for the space and the greatest web page. These aren’t the best pics but I hope they will do. Thanks to my daughter, Stormee, so I could get all this done.

Thanks again,

Rex "Old Truck Dude" James
Marion, Ohio

          You can never say "enough" about your Stovebolt! And thanks Stormee for helping with this. Rex also has a 1965 Chevy 1/2-ton LWB Fleetside and a 1966 1-ton Panel ~~ Assistant Editor

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