The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area General Truck Talk Good junkyard score today!

I felt kinda bad doing this to the '62 short-bed fleetside truck, but the junk yard owner wouldn't sell the whole thing, so waddya gonna do? It looks like someone started a light restoration a few years ago.

I picked up two complete doors, with no dings (even still have good door stops on them). The window lifts are nice and tight, the glass is good, the driver's door has the optional arm rest, the passenger door hasn't been drilled for one, and the passenger door has the optional door key.

Complete heater unit--nice, since I need a core. This one looks like it's almost been detailed. I needed a core for my truck, so the whole thing is a nice bonus.

Heater switches and bezel. I've only got one speed that works on mine, so this might fix that.

Windshield washer assembly, complete including chrome switch.

Wiper motor. Might be two speed, I don't know.

Headlight switch. Mine is about dead, this one looks real nice.

Gauge cluster and bezel.

Deluxe steering wheel, with horn ring.

Automatic trans steering column

A nice set of kick-panel air vent assemblies. Mine don't hold themselves open.

The cowl "filler caps" that go between the door and hood, above the fenders. No dents, no rust, factory antenea hold.

Four white 10-spoke steel "wagon wheels". I don't particularly like them, but they're in better shape than the ones on my Suburban now...and they'll be a TON easier to paint black than the ones I have.

Dent-free cowl panel.

All for the grand total of $111, plus $7 tax.

Not a bad couple hours.

-Brad

Brad, you're a thief! That's a great deal. How's that instrument cluster? Does it have warning lights or gauges? So far, I've only seen the full gauges on a 63 that probably came with a 283. If they were available in 62, it sounds like this truck would have them. I've also read that the 1-1/2 ton trucks came with the full gauge cluster. I would LOVE to get my hands on one. Mine is in great shape but has warning lights.

Those parts would have been all busted up around here... It seems like the junk yard people just have to break stuff, instead of just taking what they need and leaving the rest for the next guy...

Then take what they want and break everything else in sight.

The gauges were idiot lights.
BUT, it looks like the truck was being restored at one time. The black paint is flaking off the speedo face, but I took the cluster apart Sunday night, and the speedo gears/mechanism look like they were just installed by GM--no grime, dust, dirt, all shiney metal. The interior surfaces of the entire gauge panel are all perfect, brand-new metal. The numbers on the odometer are brand new and not faded a bit. The gas gauge looks perfectly new, too.
I'm sending the speedo out to AutoInstruments to have the needle and face repainted, then load it up into my Suburban.
I didn't know there was a full gauge package available in '63. I'd like to find that...as it is now, I'm figuring out a way to rework one of the clusters I've got, and fill it with water, oil and alternator gauges in place of the idiot lights.
-Brad

My wife got me a set of dolphin gauges along with the dash insert for christmas last year. The gauges have the white background and should match nicely - but I still think I'd like the factory look better. www.dolphingauges.com if you're interested.
I'm also not sure if a tachometer came with that 63 instrument panel I saw with gauges. That was about 8 months ago and I just paid enough attention to know that it had a temp gauge, an oil pressure gauge, a fuel gauge and an ammeter. A tach is what I really want and I don't want anything sitting on or below the dash. That's why I might end up using these dolphin gauges. Until then, I will continue to hunt for a factory panel with a tach.

Update - It was the 2 1/2 ton trucks(not 1 1/2) that came with the full instruments in 62 and they had a tach and an air pressure gauge. I have a picture of one in my owners manual. Still not sure about the 63 panel I saw, but I would like to know. Still hunting.

So I took a drive and looked at that 63 again. It has no tach. But it does have this exact set-up - www.americanclassic.com/images/GCL60G.gif American classic charges $385 + core charge for that cluster.
The picture in my owners manual of the 2 1/2 ton panel looks like that except it has a tachometer in that unused circle on the right and an air pressure gauge in that same space to the left.
Looks like I'll be using the dolphin gauges.

Man all the parts you just listed would have cost 500.00 bucks at my local treasure yard,well 510.00 if you add two cans of wasp spray,people round here are greedy!

Most of the yards in my area would have crushed it the day it came in, they seem to only be interested in late models and view anything older
than 10 years to be scrap. Fortunatly there are a few yards across the state line that diagree and keep the vintage vehicles, and sometime scrap
the newer cars to make room for more old stuff.

The dude at the yard told me junk--not just cars, but cars loaded with junk (I guess there's a difference between junk and JUNK) is up to $6.00/100lbs. When I got a '58 Buick parts car that I parted out, the scrap price was $2.50/100lbs, and that was only a year ago.
I hadn't gotten around to junking what's left of the Buick, but for once it looks like procrastination is paying off! Now, if I can just find some cinder blocks to throw in the trunk...
-Brad