1962 Chevrolet C-30

	Owned by James Stepp "speed 6351" Bolter # 6150 Elko, Nevada

October 2013
# 1477

I had to dismantle my ol' 62 Chevy 1 Ton. My brother in Reno built me a '74 Chevy 1-ton, so we used my '62 Chevy's 355 in it. I sold the cab to a friend down there and we scrapped the rest. The truck was so beat up; we pulled off what was salvageable. I really miss that truck but I couldn't afford the kind of money and time it would take to keep her on the road. ~ Speed

20 March 2006
# 1477

From James:

             This is my 1962 Chevy C-30. I found it while helping a friend bring in a load of firewood a couple of winters ago. On the way out, I spotted it backed up to a fence by the road. So on the way back, I stopped to look it over. While I was walking around it, a guy arrived and said it was his truck. I asked if it ran and he said it did but needed some work (and he wasn't kiddin'!). From what I could see, its main problem was a hole about the size of a softball in the passenger side of the windshield, a rusted out floor on the passenger side, about two tons of junk in the back and four flat tires.

             I asked him if it was for sale and he asked what I'd offer. I said I only had a little money with me. He asked "Can you go $200 for it?" I told him I only had $93 to my name and he replied, "I'll go get the title."

             I left the truck and went back to town and returned two weeks later to bring it home. A friend and I put a battery in it, aired up the front tires and three of the rear ones, added five gallons of gas and headed for town. I stopped at the next ranch down the road and borrowed their air hose to get the sixth tire inflated.

             The truck seemed to run okay but none of the gauges worked so I could only tell the oil pressure was over 10 lbs (the lifters weren't collapsing), it wasn't overheating (no steam from under the hood) and I was getting terrible mileage (I ran it out of gas twice on a 75 mile drive). The brake pedal was very low so I drove very conservatively.  I noticed it didn't slow down a bit going up the last grade to the summit (good news) but I let the truck slow at the top and went down the other side in third gear, using the E-brake for a little added help as needed.

            Since that drive, I've built a 355 four bolt main engine for it, installed an HEI distributor, had the Quadrajet blueprinted and worked, replaced two of the brake flex lines and the master cylinder, replaced the windshield, replaced the gas tank and added a second one, added a boom, re-worked the stock racks, added a grille guard, had the seat re-upholstered, added a stereo, installed an 85 amp alternator and a tach, re-floored the passenger side, rewired nearly the whole truck, put new tires and wheels on the front and installed better mirrors. I changed the carrier and gears from a 5.14 to a 4.10 ratio.

             I plan to add power steering and a brake booster when finances permit.

             Now it's reliable, very versatile and FUN to drive! It's still pretty ugly, but I love it.

If you don't learn to laugh at trouble, you won't have anything to laugh at when you are old. ~~ Will Rogers

Thanks,

James Stepp

Speed has a lot of trucks (you can see those listed in his profile!); coming and going. In the Gallery he has a 1952 Chevy 6400 Dump Truck, a 1954 GMC 350 Flatbed, and a 1957 GMC 100. He had a 1962 Chevrolet C-30 that is still in the Gallery but no longer with us and he recently sold his 1957 GMC 2-Ton 350 Low Cab Forward Dump Truck.

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