The Stovebolt Site Forums The Parking Lot '60-'66 Trucks Making 64 highway ready

I am looking at a 64 C-10 project truck as a daily driver.

1964 Chevrolet C-10 short wide bed (fleet side) 230 cu in, 6 cylinder manual 3 speed trans

It is very sound with little to no rust. A great truck to start with. It runs and drives perfectly right now but is 100% original.

In order to make this my daily driver it would need to be modified to make it highway compatible. What are the least number and most economic changes I could make to have it ready for interstate cruising?

Transmission?
Rear end?
Both?
Anything else?

Suggestions on what the donor should be for anything I replace.

I am also considering replacing the 6 cylinder with a V8. Haven't decided yet.

Keep the 6, install a T5 in place of the 3 speed. Put on a set of radial tires & drive it.

add dual master cylinder,split brake lines,maybe do headlamp upgrade

Really.. Dont be in a big rush to pull a perfectly good truck apart. If it "runs and drives perfectly" as you stated, thens whats the rush? DRIVE IT AS IS. Get a feel and liking for what it was in the begin with. If you need togo 90 mph down the hiway all day, then find a different vehicle to suit your purpose. Give it a minute as it is, you might justl like it?? JMO

I have a ‘65 with the 230 and a 3 speed. I can cruise comfortably at highway speeds all day. Upgrade the brakes, install seat belts if you haven’t already. Better lighting and call it good.

I am still negotiating with the current owner and have not driven it yet. The truck is about 100 miles away. I am working on aligning with the owner on a good day to show up and inspect/purchase the vehicle. I am assuming their description is accurate as to the condition and drive-ability of the truck. I told them my intent to make it a daily driver. He says he regularly drives it but is the one that indicated it struggles on the interstate. He indicated best sustainable speed is about 60. I have to drive about 20 miles on the interstate one way to get to work. I am hoping I can keep everything original but wanted to know what I was getting into if it won't work as a daily driver. He also indicated he has a 66 with the T5 transmission and it made a big difference.

I hope to pick it up this weekend.

Find a Borgwarner 3sp OD transmission like was offered FROM THE FACTORY and change NOTHING. Just unbolt the 3sp and bolt in the OD. You do have to do some very minimal wiring.

A very simple, in-expensive make-over for the '63-66 GM trucks is to switch out the front end assembly, cross member, etc., with one from a '73-81 C10. The entire assembly is held in place by 16 bolts and can be done in an afternoon. All the bolt holes line up except for one that has to be elongated. This swap will give the vehicle modern power steering, power brakes.
A late model, '88 or later V8 with a rebuilt 200R4 AOD trans and a GM 343/372 10 bolt rear end will complete the modernization of a tired old truck.
I prefer the '88 and later engines because they are great engines that last for over 200K with very little problems. All of the emission nonsense other than the PCV system can be eliminated because the truck is smog exempt. The 200R4 trans is a non-computer controlled trans that is the same size as a TH 350.
If you want to really up-grade your truck you can do what I did to my '64, I put the '64 body on a '98 Z71 chassis. The truck drives and handles like a new one. At 70 mph the tack shows 1900 Rpm. Wm.

I agree with Evan except that a stock 64 3 speed transmission is the "stubby" version of the SM318. The SM319 Overdrive unit is about 5" longer. A driveshaft modification would be required.
Fred

An overdrive transmission will make your truck more enjoyable on the freeway. I put an nv4500 behind my 230 and ran it like that for years. A t5 or a 3 speed overdrive as previously suggested will do the job nicely.

As far as brakes go, just make sure to maintain them and you'll be fine. I could lock up all four wheels on my '63 when I had drums and the single reservoir master cylinder. I think the biggest benefit to disc brakes on a daily driver is no adjustments to maintain proper braking power. Of course, if you're hauling heavy loads in the mountains or racing, I'd say go discs no questions asked.

If you go with an overdrive transmission, make sure the OD gear is a good match for your rear axle gear. A good running inline six can handle the OD if the numbers are right but will bog the engine for lack of HP if you get it wrong.

That is definitely a nice solid looking truck. Good luck this weekend and keep us posted if you strike a deal or not.

My 66 GMC was stock, 6 cyl, 4 speed manual trans, 3.73 rear end and was driven cross country more than a few times. I drove it on the freeway at 60-75 mph often.

Sorry, cannot be done. I think you need to sell it to me.

No, seriously I have driven a '63 and a 68 before that one for many years on the interstate daily. They've both been long gone for more than a couple decades, but the speed limits haven't changed any since then. As long as it's in good mechanical condition, I wouldn't worry one bit. Upgrades can always be done later.

Nice find.

John

I had a '63 C10 for a long time. I drove it all over the Western United States. I had the 283 and started with the 2 speed Powerglide, but later upgraded to the TH-400. Final drive was still 1:1 on both. I had a 3.73:1 rear end. I got a lot of speeding tickets in that truck. It didn't mind the freeway one bit. I won't mention that time in 1981 on east bound I-70 headed out of Denver at well over 100mph. :-)

My current truck is a '62 C10. It started life with a 235, 3 speed, and a 3.90:1 rear end. I didn't know it then. When I got it, it had been converted to a later model 250, an SM420 4 speed (a factory option), and still had the 3.90:1 rear end. It would do 60mph comfortably, but any higher for anything other than short bursts just to pass was a struggle. After the 250 died, I dropped in a '63 327, but the rest was the same. No gear changes meant no change in speed, just more power to do it. Rebuilt the rear end and dropped in a set of 3.38:1 gears (a factory option) and it loves the freeway now. It doesn't have the same low end torque I had with the 3.90:1, but I have enough horsepower with the V8 to make up for that.

Bottom line is that these are old trucks. Expect that and you will love it. They can be set up to run the freeway, if you use the right parts. Even factory parts like mine. You don't have to get too crazy trying to make it into a Modern Freeway Cruiser. If that's what you want, go get one. These are old Farm Trucks, but can handle the freeway if needed.