To reply to your question about the 16.5 tires/wheels. The 16.5 tires have been pretty well out of stock for almost ten years. There are some off road 16.5's available, however, you would not want to use them for general driving. The later model 8 lug 16" will fit right on your truck, use a 235/75R16 tire, or larger to overcome the low rear axle ratio.
If you like to spend money and make the truck user unfriendly, forget about switching the trans to a 5spd. The TH400 was an option in the '66 and later trucks, however, the engine was generally a 327 V8.
The '65 C20 Camper Special I bought new came with a 283 V8 and a 2 spd Powerglide.. A terrible power combination. I changed the trans to a TH400 in '67. Big improvement. In '68 the 283 was dead with 49k on it, I re-powered the truck with a '68 350 hp 396 out of a wrecked Caprise, 2,300 miles on it. I drove the truck for 18 years with no issues, the man I sold the truck to still owns it. I have tried many times to buy it back, he won't sell it, it is his every day truck.
The coil wire you have referred to is a very small green wire, which is a special resistance wire that allows 12v to the coil for starting, then as it warms up it chokes the voltage down to somewhere around 6v. This resistance wire acts in lieu of a ballast resister. Wm.
Is the resistance wire available, or is it just easier to use a ballast resistor?
Does anyone have a wiring diagram they can supply?
