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Ron and Kim Plender's1964 Chevrolet C-20 Fleetside |
"Otis" |
17 May 2007 Update
# 1475
From Ron:
Got an update for you all on Otis! As you can see, we've got him still working around here. He's got our 1956 2-door sedan in tow! Our race truck (the 1950 Chevrolet 1/2-ton) isn’t quite done so we are racing the ’56 for the first part of the season.
We have been through the running gear front to back. We freshened the rear end, installed a Tremec 5 speed, rebuilt the engine and added electronic ignition, Holley 4 barrel and a set of headers. He is running fine. We also had the front seat re-upholstered. So, except for a bit of rust seeing through on the front fenders, he is good to go.
When we rebuilt the engine (292 inline 6, of course), we used the propane pistons. Here's a view from the left ... and a view from the right. Some of you may not be aware but you could order this engine set up to run on propane. It had about 9 to 1 compression. Just about right for a street engine. We had slightly larger intake valves (1.88”) and 1.6” exhaust valves installed in the head. The cam was mild hydraulic, flat tappet set up from Crower. The Holley is a 465cfm unit that fits this combination well. The exhaust is Hedman headers with good ole glasspack mufflers.
As you may have guessed we are long time Inliner International members and REALLY enjoy our 6 cylinders. The Inliners have set up their own drag race classes and (at least for the moment) the ’56 is the C/G record holder with a 13.81 in the quarter mile at 98.4 mph. It is also a 292 with more head work, more cam and more compression – but it is still a street car that we race when we can. We call ourselves “Six is Enough Racing.” Six is enough to have a lot of fun with and embarrass a lot of V8’s!!
Our best to all you fellow Stovebolters!
Ron and Kim Plender
"Arpee"
Bolter # 10720
Box Elder, South Dakota
20 March 2006
# 1475
From Ron:
Hi fellow Stovebolters. I had sent some pictures of Walter, our 1950 pickup that we use as a daily driver and also do some drag racing with. In that note, I mentioned that we also have a 1964 (Otis) that is a nice old truck, and another 1950 Chevy 1/2-ton we are building as a race truck. Well, here are some details on Otis.
We have only owned Otis for a couple of years. He is a ’64 C-20, long box, Fleetside with a 292 six cylinder, 3 speed on the column (was) and we got him from a fellow out in Oregon. The truck (he wasn’t Otis yet!) had about 66,000 original miles on it at the time. The young fellow and his Dad had been working on it, so the truck had new paint and was in very good serviceable condition.
The first things we did were to have the seat recovered and install a 5 speed transmission I happened to have laying in the corner. By now he’s Otis and much more civil to drive. From the factory, the truck was a 3/4-ton, 6 cylinder, 3 speed truck and came with 4.57 gears in the rear end – not fun driving down the road. At the moment, we are building a slightly warmed over 292 to replace the tired original engine. We hope to have that done some time next month.
We may end up using Otis as a tow vehicle for the race truck. You’ll notice that this pic is of Otis with Walter in front of our barn – isn’t that where these old trucks belong?!
Best of luck to all you Stovebolters out there working on your own projects. It’s a great way to spend your time, don’t you agree?
Ron and Kim Plender
"Arpee"
Bolter # 10720
Box Elder, South Dakota
