New to your forum and thanks for allowing me to register and learn from you all. I've spent a great deal of time here the last couple of weeks reading through your forum. I have absorbed some valuable information for my project so far and have seen some incredible looking vehicles you all have.
My current project is a 1977 C65 Dump Truck. We purchased this truck over a decade ago for our LLC. At the time we were in the process of buying up foreclosures and neglected properties to add to our property management portfolio. After redeveloping a couple of properties, we realized a dump truck would make things much easier and bought this single axle 366 with a new crate motor for $3000. I joked with my wife that if we ever stopped using the truck, I was going to turn it into a pickup. Well guess what? The truck has sat for 3 years and now I have the time.
The tires aren't looking so great and need to be replaced. Tire shops in my area won't deal with these 9x20's so I went to a truck repair shop to see if they will. The owner and he won't mount to these rims either, but he offered to replace them for me with some used 22.5" wheels and tires that he has laying around back to get me started. I will be taking the truck to him this week for the wheels. I'm going to offer him the dump bed if he wants it, but I doubt it, and will likely be stuck removing it myself. Can't wait for that fun time!
So that is the plan. I want to fix up this old dump and turn it into a pickup that the wife and I can occasionally cruise around in. My goal by the end of the year is to get that dump bed off of there and get some heat in it. I'm sure the brakes should be gone though as well, but I need to formulate a plan first for the entire truck. The wheels in my head have been turning since the moment she fired back up again.
I will try to post in the appropriate sections but I do have a question related to doing so. If I were to query about interior related questions, should I do so in the 73-87 section, interior, or direct all questions to the big bolt section for this vehicle?
Here are some pics. First one is when I bought her. She's seen some weather since. She's got a little rust in the usual places but nothing too bad. Floor is solid.
Welcome to the Bolt! If it were mine I'd leave it as is and just get myself a pickup. But then, I'm partial to Big Bolts. Plus, it's not my truck, so do as you wish, and keep us posted on your progress. Be sure to check out the Big Bolts forum.
Welcome to the Stovebolt madness! There is no cure! Where to post questions? The forums you mentioned will work or you can break down different areas of your truck to more specific forums.
Martin '62 Chevy C-10 Stepside Shortbed (Restomod in progress) '47 Chevy 3100 5 Window (long term project) ‘65 Chevy Biscayne (Emily) ‘39 Dodge Business Coupe (Clarence) “I fought the law and the law won" now I are a retired one! Support those brave men/women who stand the "Thin Blue Line"! Hug a cop! USAF 1965-1969 Weather Observation Tech (I got paid to look at the clouds)
@Rich. We already have several pickups on the property (All Chevy of course), but this C65 is my first big truck. I've always wanted to put a bed on it, fix it up, and take it to some of the local shows we have around here.
I know where you're coming from about keeping it a dump, believe it or not, even in its current form people will ask me question about it at the gas station. It really likes gas stations a lot. I might have to turn it into a diesel so that it doesn't get to go there quite as often.
I still have a screen capture of the Craigslist ad for the truck when we first bought her.
Funny thing about your first post. Truck is back in the yard for less than 10 minutes today and the wife all of a sudden starts bringing up her 'honey do' list which involves several dump runs. I have two choices on the matter. Load up a 16' trailer and unload it again by hand, or load up a dump truck 3 times and dump it quickly each time.
Now I remember why I bought this truck in the first place.
