The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area General Truck Talk 61 vs 64

I was wondering if you all could help me make a decision...?

I have a ‘61 Chevy truck with 283 V8, 3 speed automatic, short bed & small rear window. However it has ALLOT of rust throughout the bottom of the cab.
I just got a ‘64 flatbed, all original, 250 V6, power breaks, minimal rust on cab, runs OK but needs some engine work. I thought I could swap beds until I realized the ‘64 is a long bed. : S

Here’s my dilemma,
I can only keep one truck.
Which one should I sell? Should I swap parts?

Below is a list of pros & cons for both.

"61 Chevy
Pros:
Wrap around windshield
Small rear window
4 grill lights
straight grill/bumpers
new tires
286-V8 (looks great & runs good but has to cool down before it can start again after a long drive?)
short bed in great condition no rust
new exhaust
new radiator
new alternator
new battery
new hoses
new edelbrok carb
new heater core
Chrome engine accents

Cons:
Needs major cab rust repair (floor/rockers/corners/bottom of doors)
Window seals/gaskets are bad
Pass window doesn’t roll up good
No ignition key
No power breaks
No power steering
No lock keys
Some frame rust


"64 Chevy
Pros:
All original
Steering wheel/horn good
6 cylinder
nice hood
windows work great
minimal rust
has locks on both doors
has matching ignition keys
has power breaks

Cons:
Needs new tires
big rear window
Has long flat bed
dent on grill
no heater
no power steering
needs engine tune up (possible points in distrib)
needs breaks updated
no new parts in engine
won’t start unless I pout gas in the carb
has oil breather

I would greatly appreciate your input.
FYI: I want to use my truck for personal gratification & to promote my graphics business www.tek2graphics.com.

What do you want out of your truck? Which truck do you like better? 64-66 has more available parts and they are cheaper. 60-62 have many parts that are only used these three years. 60& 61 body styles are seen more rarely than 64-66. What are your personal strengths and weaknesses concerning what needs to be done to each truck? I drive a 61. The choice is yours.

i have a 64 chevy truck,shortfleet..i say sell the 64 and keep the 61..those trucks are tight! I love the hoods on them.

I say find a reason to keep em both. You could combine best of both. Take the solid cab and put on your 61. Swap in 61's hood and grill. Make it your own! I like the wrap around windshield until you have to replace it. Then the bucks run out the door quick!

Been a while since I've posted here, but the windshield reference got a rise out of me. I have a '61 that is in the final stages of re assembly. The biggest hold up in this entire project was the total lack of qualified people in my area to install that curved windshield. Most would take a look at it and just walk away without even trying it, those that did try usually ran away after about two or three hours.
Just three weeks ago I finally found a group of guys from two counties north that agreed to come have a go at it. They got it in, but it's still not what I'd call 100%.
What shape is your windshield in? A new repro is around $350.00+, I had to give $250.00 to get it installed. If you replace your bad windshield gasket, don't scrimp, just get the much superior "Steele rubber" gasket, not the taiwan re pop. The extra $30.00 or so will save much grief at install time. Not saying you would have the same issues in the area you live in, as far as installation is concerned, but it might not hurt to ask around a bit, if it may sway your decision one way or the other.
I love my '61, and personally would'nt give it up for a '64. Front wheel bearings, and especially ball joints can be very pricey to replace if needed. But as mentioned, the hood on the '60-'61 gives these trucks a certain amount of "character" that's hard to duplicate.

Take the best parts from both trucks and build one, then scrap or give away the extra parts.

Myself I'm into the GMC version of these trucks, I have a 1965 one ton, but I have installed a 1960 GMC hood, because you just don't see that many of them anymore and it matches the lines on the GMC Brush Buster I got.

I also have a Rusted out 1960 Chevy LCF-60, this one is my 2nd truck project waiting in line behind the 65 GMC.

I have cut up a 61 Chevy that was rusted away after selling off what i could, the truck cost me $50, I sold over $600 in useable parts off it, and I still got the back half I made a trailer out of. I also cut up a nice 62 GMC because I didn't have a title, but I saved the cab, maybe I'll swap it onto the 60 Chevy LCF-60 and make if a GMC LCF.

So you got to kinda know what YOU want to do and then go from there.

Thanks all!
I had a body guy look at them both and he told me that the 64 cab is in much better condition than the 61.
I love my 61, because of the windshield & hump dash.
Do you guys know how hard it would be to get a long bed for the 64? & cost? I really dont like the flat bed wood look.

The bed should not be too difficult to find, because they cover several years of both Chevrolet and GMC. The long bed fleetsides are probably easier to find than the stepside, because they made more of the long bed fleetsides during the 1960's.

I thought it might be easier to decide if you all look at the trucks.
So I went ahead an created a website for them.
Please view the phtos and tell me what you think?
http://www.tek2graphics.com/chevytruck.html

Tony,

Can't navigate. Did you use flash for the left side menu?

Brian

They both look like keepers to me.

Yes its flash.. I'll change it....

OK, it's fixed now. No more FLASH. : )

Hey man,

I really like that '61! They are both worthy trucks. I think that the 61 has more potential, you just don't see them that much. If you are going to use one for promoting a business the '61 would be more eye catching. It's a hard call, but I think that the '61 is the keeper. Make sure you sell that 64 to someone that will take care of it though.

Kyle

Nothing against older folks (I have some grey hair), but do you guys think the '64 looks like an "old-mans/farmer" truck with the wood flat bed?

Thanks Ft Knox.. If I do keep the '61, I'll probably go with the 64 hood though.... looks sporty.

oh man keep the 61 hood!!! those look way better and are rare!

My vote is for the '61 also. I love the curved windshield too. And, the 60-61 hoods are MUCH more rare than the 62-66 so I'd keep that too.

If you could afford the repairs, you'd have a great looking truck with the '61. The '64 is nice, but I'm not a flatbed fan so I'd suggest putting a fleet or stepside bed on it if you kept it.

I have to agree with everyone else, I've always thought that the 60-61 trucks were much more distinctive with that hood.

I might be able to help you out with a better cab for the '61, if you decide to go that way.

Brian

Yachtcare, I have a glass man in Baton Rouge that can put the glass in, new rubber, and winshield for under $300. He's an older fellow and installed them quite often in the old days.

Oh, to answer you ? I'd stick to the 61. I have a 61 4x4 and a 62 2wd, love the wrap around winshields!

Both look good to me, but I think the '61 is the more desirable one. You just don't see many of them. The hood on the '61 looks great.

I would go with the '61. But if you have to, use the '64 cab and swap out the dashes so that the '64 cab has the '61 dash. You can find long fleetsides just about anywhere. GM used the same bed for the whole 60-66 body style. And I'm a fan of the 60-61 hoods too, they're much more distinctive looking.

Drew

As someone who has a 61 with a later style hood, not my doing, I would say keep the origional hood. If you like the look of the newer style, at least make sure to save the old one. I wish that I at least had the origional style laying around in my garage. My truck was in a wreck when she was younger and thus the different hood. Love them 61's.

Kyle

No brainer for me--keep the '61. The engine bay is nice and clean, the engine sounds like it is better (you're having heat-soak problems with the starter; try getting a heat shield for it, or a new starter), and it looks better.
The rust in the bottoms of the doors is bad--rockers and cab corners can be easily fixed. In your area, there are a number of early Chevy truck suppliers that should be able to get you a good set of doors, which will make your bodywork cheaper.
The trucks are really easy to work on--get a shop manual, and tackle that window problem yourself.
The wrap-around glass is more expensive, true, but I can't for the life of me figure out why a good glass shop was so hard to find! They go in dead simple...Just a rubber gasket and some sealer, and a thin cord to pull it over the frame's lip! That will be in the shop manual, by the way.

Now, I do own a '62, so I might be partial to the knee-knocker cab/wrap around windshield. And I'm putting the '60 quad headlight grille in mine, too.
But that farm truck is a really good looking truck--one that I'd recommend to a lot of people to keep. I dig farm trucks/trucks that look like they earn their living.

But I'd say to sell that one, and take the money and have new rockers and floors and cab corners intalled on the '61, buy a new set of rust-free doors, and call 'er done.

Oh, and lose the Smurf Blue interior paint!
-Brad

Oh yeah...about the hood thing. I have had some people tell me that I need to get the "proper" hood back on my truck. The way I see it the hood on it is the hood I am keeping. I do not know the particulars of the accident my truck was in, but when it was repaired the later style hood was put on. This accident happened a long time ago, the paint fade is even between the new panels and the older ones.

In a roundabout way what I mean is that this truck has a story. Part of that story is the accident it was in. Another part of the story is the dragmark on the side. Another part of the story is the faded and aged paint. I take the wrong hood as a part of my trucks life. I enjoy the history of owning an old vehicle and don't feel the need to change it. That being said, if I ever restore it to showroom shape I will put the proper hood on it.

KEEP THE 61...IT'S THE BEST!!!

Kyle

The ballots are in, You have to keep the 61 :p

http://community.webshots.com/photo/305074336/1305085231054213402CnHntl

Here is a shot of my 61. I'm in the 61 camp as well.

K10,

That's Hemlock Green right? That's the color my truck is going to be!

Brian

Forest green actually. It was such a standard color that everyone remembers it but no one sees it anymore.

Just one more guy that agrees with keeping at least the looks of the 61. If it were me and I had time and money, I would put the 61 hood, grill and cab on the 64 chassis for the mechanical upgrade possibilities. Beds are easy to come by.

Keep the one your heart desires,it don't matter what we think !!!! It's like true LOVE !!!!!

Thanks ALL again for your opinions! I really appreciate it. At first I LOVED the original 61 hood... bacause it's original & rare, but after a while looking at magazines, scale models & other 60's in the area, the 61 hood doesn't seem to be popular? Also, people here (in S.W. MO) aren't crazy about them either.

I didn't think EVERYONE would agree about keeping the hood! Even my wife wants me to keep it! (I guess I have no choice now)

It's not that the hood is not "popular", just rare. You'll also notice that most the magazine motors or your local trucks that are still running around have V-8's, most of them 350s. It's the same thing. They are cheaper, more abundant, and parts are easier to come by.

Personally I feel that the later hood is a little more sleek and stylish. The nostril hood has a lot of character and is unique but I think that the other one is the better of the two. I really like the way the later one looks on my 61, seems like a good match to me.

Kyle

They advertised the new hood styling for the 62s as a safety feature as well as a new design trend. The driver is able to see 10 more feet of the road in front of the truck with the newer hood. I still like the old one simply because it is rare and more visually striking. According to rough production numbers, the newer hoods out there out number the old ones 20:1. At least.

You can always keep an extra hood,just in case you change your mind .

If you want to see just how good they can look with the orinal hood look in our gallery and also on the Classic Trucks website under feature trucks and look at "Just one Look" 1960 Chevy or "Restorod" 1961 Chevy.

I know 61apache! I've seen that! It looks beautiful, but I doubt I'll ever get mine looking that way. Anyway, I want my truck to continue to be a daily driver.

That's funny.... this is what the end of this article says... "Clay is well aware that a lot of truck enthusiasts consider '60-61 Chevys ugly ducklings. He could have easily swapped on a '62-66 hood and grille to appease such critics, but we applaud his decision to maintain the truck's original identity."
http://classictrucks.com/features/0206ct_green/