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

1968 Chevrolet Stepside

Owned by Daryl Smith "DB Smith" Bolter # 14133 Mountlake Terrace, Washington

01 November 2007
# 2103

From: Daryl :

           Here's an update on the ol' 1968. The motor is complete and installed and the cab is coming along pretty well. It should come together pretty quickly now. A lot of the work on the other body parts is done, but they still need paint before assembly. I have most of the other major mechanical parts (carb, headers, trans, shocks, etc.) so the money won't slow me down to much from here on.

           I have a few shots for you (finally) of the three donor trucks. At this point, I have the short bed frame done and it really looks nice. I'm building the engine. Here's a shot of the interior.

           I have included a shot of the "before" of the motor and one of how it looks now. It's a 1968 327 4 bolt. I had it bored to .030 over and line honed. I used a new Scat steel 350 crank and TRW forged pistons, so it will end up at 355 CI. I will be using 76 CC 2.02 S/R heads and an Edelbrock manifold and 600 CFM carb. The compression should end up around 8.7 to 1.

           I'm using the front clip and doors from the 1968. The cab is from the 1969, and the frame and bed from the 1970.

           On the 1968, I haven't had this one long. I just call it "The '68." It's a decent running straight 6 with a Saginaw 3 speed and a Hurst floor shifter. Since this photo (above), it's become a "Frankentruck" since it is running the camo front clip off the "Turtle" and I've been swiping good parts off of it and putting on the leftovers just to keep it on the road.

           The 1970 - "The Turtle" - This was a daily driver for me for a few years. I painted the camo on just to hide the rust. The cab was more rust than metal. It had a tired old 250 straight six and three on the tree. It served me well, but it was time to retire this one. She barely made it to my brother's farm where she was dissected. The frame has now been completely rebuilt and is waiting for the drive train and body.

           My 1969 - "Homer" -- Another old daily driver. I ran this truck for years and just did what it took to keep it running. When he was retired, he smoked so badly that environmentalists would have cringed. He's been an organ donor for a while now, hence the missing headlights, master cylinder, and a bunch of other stuff. Here's Homer's dead 327 engine as she looked during his dissection. You can just get a glimpse of my brother's '69 parked beside it. He another member of the Ol' Chevy Truck Club.

            She's getting better !! More soon -- and check my web site for updates!

Daryl

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