The Stovebolt Site Forums Project Journals Archived Journals 1965 Chevy C20 "Crusty Biscuit"

I guess it's time that I share my truck and the slow progress on the modifications/upgrades/repairs that I have done since I acquired it in April 2015. I'll start with the back story first, then I'll post up some photos.

Grandpa was getting a '65 C20 ready for me back in '85. I didn't know this until about a year later. I saw the truck on the north side of the station, but figured it was a customer's truck. It had a 283/SM420/4.57 HO52. Your standard 3/4 ton truck setup. I daily drove it and my '56 210 2-door Sedan. In '90 I swapped the 350 from the '56 into the truck, and I found an axle from a '68 C20 Suburban, yeah, the 3.54 Dana 60. That made the truck way more highway-friendly, and it got the name Mean Green, because it was just a mean truck. Mean Green got rolled in 2005 on my way to church, also being my mom's birthday. Obviously I survived, but Mean Green didn't.

I bought another '65 C20 locally, with a 283/SM318/4.57 HO52. I saw the frame wasn't in great shape, had a frame shop do some repairs, then bought a front disc brake conversion kit for it. I decided it would be much easier to install if I pulled the front clip off. That is when I discovered the frame on this truck was a far worse condition than I originally thought. Still having the frame from Mean Green, I compared the two, and Mean Green's frame was in great shape compared to this one. I was going to do a body swap, but I don't have a garage or shop, and the economy tanked, the homeless population exploded in my area, and my engine hoist and floor jack got stolen, so I stalled on the body swap.

I went without a truck until 2012, when I bought an '81 C20. It was nice and all, but I longed for the whine of the old gear box, and a truck that rode and drove like a truck. In 2015, I began searching. I found a '66 C20 with a 292/SM420/4.57 HO52 setup, up around Elk Grove, CA. The guy was cool to talk to, I got the loan from my credit union, and then he backed out at the last minute. Got my first taste of Craigslist and how things can go south.

I found my current '65 C20 locally, and it remained nameless until 2017. It was in pretty good condition except for some rust spots in the normal areas. It was a contractor's truck, at least I think it was by all of the rope hook bolt holes in the bedsides, and the rack setup in the bumpers, and what looked like a dual antenna cb setup at one point. But I got it without the rack, or the cb, or rope hooks. The PO said it had an overdrive transmission, and that had a 283. He was wrong on the engine. And he didn't tell me how to use the overdrive. I had no idea the borg warner overdrive has a free-wheeling feature. I discovered that as I was fast approaching the first stop sign with a bunch of cars in front of me, there was no engine braking to be had, the engine just sat at 600 rpms no matter which gear I shifted into. I was able to stop the truck without hitting anybody, but I learned really quickly not to follow close at all, and to allow plenty of room to come to a stop.

That weekend was a crash course in learning all about borg warner overdrives. This one is not wired in with all of the extra components that make it more of an automatic, it has a toggle switch for the solenoid, and no kickdown switch on the carburetor. I was able figure out that I can just use it as a regular 3 speed around town, and use the OD on the highway. I'll stop there for now, as the truck started getting upgrades right after this.

Here are some photos of Mean Green, and this truck (Crusty Biscuit) the day I got it.