The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area General Truck Talk A resto and mechanical newbie needs HELP!

Hey guys. Im new around here. Very nice site, and beautiful trucks.

I got a '62 stepside I been lookin to restore, but Im new to the whole resto thing. I have a few questions for you.

- How should I go about it? It needs the engine put in so should I make sure it at least runs before anything else is started or should body or frame work come first? Help!

- Is body work easiest while its still on the frame?

- I read somewhere that someone put a different front clip on this type of truck so they could install power steering.Is a different front needed or will it work on this frame?

- How can I tell if the rearend is the original one for the truck and how do I find out the ratio?

- Can anyone explain or point me somewhere that can explain what the gear ratio stuff means?

I appreciate any and all responses. Thanks guys. I just hope I can get this resto started.

Stevie, welcome aboard. i had a lot of questions when i first started and found a lot of the answers by just going back and reading past posts. Everyone here is very helpful and I learned very much here. I have found if I take one part of the project at a time it seems less overwhelming and feel satisfied when done ,no matter how trivial, which keeps me motivated. Good luck and have fun........Dale

Welcome, Steve.

Dale's right, there's SOOO much knowledge already ON the forums here. I spend a LOT of time just reading past pages of stuff

The first question you have to have answered is "What do you want out of the restoration?" How far do you want to go towards perfection, and do you want it modified or original?

That decision will guide all the rest of the work.

Have fun,

Brian

P.S. If you want to see the '60 (essentially the same truck) that I'm working on, click my little home icon at the top of this message.

B

Stevie

One of the greatest fearures of this site is its search feature. I don't want to put you off asking questions, but search out the info you want and come back with what confuses you. You WILL have questions! Trust me.

A couple of good resources: the shop manual for your truck (check the links page for parts suppliers. They sell manuals as well), and "How to Restore Your Chevy Pickup", available through Amazon.

Also, start picking up the mags at the news stand. "Custom Classic Trucks" and "Classic Truck Magazine" both have articles which will be useful, whether restoring or rodding. (Many here will disagree)

If the engine is out and you want to restore/update your truck, leave it out. Much easier to work on the front frame and suspension, or change it if you want. As for Power steering, many ways to go: Original power assist, modified straight axle kit, or install an IFS (independant front suspension) kit. May vendors sell many types. I say again, you WILL have questions!

To paraphrase Leslie Nielson ("Airplane") "Good luck, Stevie, we're counting on you!"

I appreciate the responses. Ill poke around a bit.

Dale: glad to be here. it can be a little overwhelming at first. I just trying to get a decent idea of what will need to be done and understand some things i have no clue about. :p Thanks for the welcome.

Brian: As far as what i want out of it... well the main thing is to learn something. Im not a great hands on person so I hope to change that a bit :p . For this resto there will be a tight budget. So my dad and i would prolly be doing most of the work. It would be more personal that way too. I know if we do the work it will be far from perfect. Im not looking for anything custom. I guess it would be more original than anything but I dont know what all is original on the truck and not. I figure to just make what I have look as nice as possible ( without breaking the bank ) while making it a safe and reliable daily driver.

High: Ill have to find a manual, and Ill check out the resto book too. Its funny you mentioned the mags. I got the latest issues of both ( good articles in there too ) and plan on getting a subscription in the next week or so.

THanks guys.

Hi Stevie, welcome to the 'bolt.

As Highflyer said, it depends on what you want out of the truck. Do you want a truck to use as a truck, do you want a daily driver, do you want a weekend cruiser, do you want a drive-once-a-year show truck. After deciding what you want out of the truck it'll help you decide how to attack the project.

If the engine is out, its easier to work on the truck and engine like that. If it is in, first thing you want to do is see if she'll run. It'll help keep your motivation if you can drive the truck (even just around the block).

Just to correct Highflyer, Stevie's '62 has torsion bar IFS. He can lower it with that stock suspension but parts are somewhat expensive and harded to come by. I am not sure about factory power steering on 60-62's.

Good luck!

Welcome Stevie! The guys have already hit on the value of this site. I have been wrenching on these old trucks for 10 years and with each one I learn something new. My two cents: Establish a plan. Both long term and short term. If you want to start driving it soon. Start with the engine and drivetrain. If you have all the time in the world, keep tearing it apart and build it back up as time and money allow. Don't give up and get discouraged. Many do on major projects. Build it to do what you want it to do. My first stovebolt (72 K20) was a driving work in progress. My last truck (66 C20) really just needed a new motor when I got it to be driveable, so I dropped in a new motor and started driving it. I wanted to keep it as original as I could from the start. I did the body as time allowed. My current truck (65 C-10)needs a lot more, plus the plan for it is to make it more driver friendly. It will be built as a cruiser so its getting a 5 speed manual, throttle body fuel injection and power steering. I have time for this one so it will get stripped down to the frame and built back up. Bottom line: Have a plan and stick with it. If you get it built and you want to change something, do it.

I know that in '60 power steering wasn't an option except on bigger trucks. Some people say that the 67-72 power steering is an easy swap, requiring a couple new bolt holes -- I'm sure someone mentioned it here before.


Brian

Do you have an idea what engine you have?
Stock rearend in a '62 is probably a 3.90.
If you have been reading that your truck isn't going to go to fast, try Randy\'s Ring anf Pinion . There you can find how many RPM's you'll be running at certain speeds.
Hope it helps.

Welcome to the 'Bolt! Everyone above has pretty well covered it so jump in and have fun.