Ah, the joy of bringing home a new toy..
Pics as soon as I can upload them to my site (
www.speedyoldtruck.com)
Truck is a light blue and white Chevrolet 2-ton "ramp truck". it has 5/10 fronts and 10 lug duallies in the rear, 20" or 22" I haven't got out the tape measure but they're big ones, budd rims. Dual speed vacuum rear. Big ramps running up the back of the cab for hauling cars/trucks, a dysfunctional electric winch, no motor, no transmission. It has the wraparound windshield so I know its 60-63, haven't received the title yet so no idea which year exactly it is.
The PO unfortunately got a little happy with the fiberglass/bondo so the cab is in lousy shape - windshield frame and leading edge of the roof is all but destroyed thanks to a fiberglass "repair" that trapped water against the good metal. The hood has a hole in the front and center (looks like it was punctured, not just rusted thru) but the vents/lights are in perfect shape and so is the rest of the hood.
I've got a lead on an older caprice wagon with a 350/TH400 or 700r4 for $50 that should power this truck nicely for the time being (eventually I'd like to go with a 6.5 MFI TD/5spd from a newer chevy) The ramps on the back of the truck are in fine shape but there aren't any ramps for getting the vehicle from the ground to the truck ramps so I figure I'll have to build those. Depending on how much use this truck sees I might even add a wheel lift so I can haul two at once.
I paid $250 for the truck and hauled it home using a friends lifted '97 Ram 1500 4x4 and a tow bar (only had to move it a whopping 4 miles).
Now, a few questions:
1) The same junkyard has an early 80's C65 cab & chassis truck that I'm planning on stealing saddle tanks from. It also has a 5 speed & dual speed rear combination, what 5 speed would this have and would it have an overdrive? I would like to be able to cruise at 65-75 on the freeway without winding the motor up to 7 grand, and I can probably get the transmission for under $200.
2) Will a 60-63 (or 60-66 for that matter) truck cab fit this truck without modification, or how much work am I looking at? Eventually I think it is a better idea to swap cabs than to repair the oodles of water/rust/fiberglass/bondo damage on the current cab. For now though I'm going to concern myself with getting it running/driving.
3) The truck needs to have the brakes repaired (some lines are rusted/missing) and I have no idea what condition the MC is in, but it is a full manual dual reserve MC...this scares me for a truck this big. Any aftermarket places sell a vacuum boosted MC for this truck, or will one from a later truck fit? Did GM ever offer a vacuum boosted MC in the 60-66 trucks?
