This is a 1966 Chevrolet C30 pickup with a 9 foot stepside that was converted into a tow truck by Weld Build of Wyandanch Long Island in July of 1966.
I bought this truck in the fall of 2008 on Long Island from the 3rd owner. He bought the truck thinking he could use it to tow his race car to Riverhead raceway each weekend. He decided to go with a ramp truck instead. The 2nd owner was some kind of flee market dealer who used the truck to pull a trailer to all the local flea market shows. The original owner was a repair shop in Bronx NY where it sat most of its life in front of the station.
The truck has 30,000 miles on it; 27,000 when I purchased it. Unfortunately it does have its fair share of rust which I am currently working on. I replaced the push bumper with a stock bumper because the push bumper was bent. I replaced the dried out old 19.5” tires and gave her a complete brake overhaul. The original 327 engine runs great and is looking forward to a pair of Flowmasters to bellow through. The transmission’s power take off was leaking for some time, so now I need to rebuild the 4 speed transmission because she lost the synchro in 2nd and now 3rd is starting to go. Other than that, all of the equipment works fine including the towing equipment and all of the lights.
Currently everything has been taken off the bed so I can repair the rust, clean off the many layers of paint and re-paint the equipment. I continue to drive the truck while I rebuild her. I plan to work on her in two stages. The rear part of the truck I plan to have finished over the winter. I hope to have the cab and front end finished by the summer of 2011. I want to have her ready for the many cruise nights I go to where the young kids call her Tow Mater and the older guys remember when they drove or needed a tow truck. I am still amazed how often I am asked for help when someone’s car needs assistance at these cruise nights.
