The Stovebolt Site Forums The Parking Lot '60-'66 Trucks Saving face

Like most old vehicles, my truck had the dash butchered to accept a cassette player. Since the interior was painted before I got the truck, welding in a repair panel is not an option so I made a face plate out of aluminum so i can go back to the original radio (actually it's a '63 and the truck a '64).I'ld much rather have it factory but, untill I find a better solution, this will have to do. I'm going to get the proper black arm rests and then powder coat the door panels metallic charcoal. It'll go well with the black kick panels and the black floor Rubber mats now but soon to be black carpet)and break up all the faun some. I might do this face plate in met carcoal also. We'll see. I'm also considering cutting a boarder then cutting horizontal strips (blackened) to match the lower panel on the insterment cluster OR just cutting a boarder to make it match the lower panel on the glove box. What does everyone else do to hide/fix a butchered dash when you don't want to repaint the interior?.

http://www.telusplanet.net/public/tetachuk/faceplate10.jpg

http://www.telusplanet.net/public/tetachuk/faceplate12.jpg

That faceplate you made looks pretty good. I have seen people do pretty much the same thing before and if it's done right (like yours) it can look pretty sharp. I can definitely see why you didn't want to weld in a repair piece, the paint is pretty nice. I've been fortunate in my trucks. I have not once had one where the radio hole was cut up. Not yet, anyway.

looks dam nice the way it is, on a good looking truck, I don't think you have to do anything else

Bill

Looks pretty good that way. Mine's butchered too, but I'm gonna put in a CD player anyway...yeah, I know, lol. Why is there no heater controls, and I like the steering wheel...what's it off of? Or is it some deluxe version or something?

Thanks guys for the kind words. C'mon Adam, we live in Alberta, we don't need no stinkin' heat in Alberta!!!! The knob to the left of the radio controls the heat, turn the knob for fan (3 positions IIRC) and pull it out to add/increase heat. The knob to the right of the radio switches the heat from Heat/floor to defrost. The steering wheel is the deluxe wheel that could be ordered with these trucks.

Ha ha ha, uh.....heat? Yeah, a SLIGHT necessity here, even in summer! I've just never seen heater controls like that on one of these trucks before. I thought they all had the slider dealies like mine:D You're from Alberta too, eh? Whereabouts?

Looks great, the interior looks brand new. I like the factory tach too.
Joe

I'm between Valleyview and Peace River, and you?.

Calgary. You're up north I take it. Nice to meet another Stovebolter in Alberta. Although I can't technically call myself a Stovebolter because my truck runs a V8, ha ha

i like it too, the whole interior looks pretty sweet!

Nice looking cab. Reminds me of the last 65 I owned.

That interior looks great! Nice job on the radio plate, too. VERY nice job, actually.

Rather than do the whole door panel, you might want to just paint the raised portion of it, or the recessed border. I know on '60-'63 trucks, the Deluxe Interior package had the inserts of the metal door panels painted a different color.

That's a really sharp looking truck...

Factory 4x4?

-Brad

finally! I've been trying to figure out if my steering wheel was stock or off something else. I couldn't find a picture anywhere. any luck on parts for it? thanks again.

Holy crap.... I was too busy ogling that beautiful dash I didn't even notice it's a 4x4 How about some pics of the whole truck. C'mon man, we need our pic fix!!!

Yep, that is one b-e-a-utiful dash. Color me jealous.

Is that a tilt column? I see (2) levers on the right hand side of the column?

John

I've been considering that, leaving the recessed area faun and doing the rest charcoal. Problem is, I plan on powder coating it rather than painting it. The reason I'm doing anything at all is that I made those little window crank delete plates (you can see in the one pic) and when I took the panel off to install them, the paint chipped around a few of the screws so now I have to fix it somehow. I really like your idea, just don't think I want to go back to paint.


Nope. Mid '80's frame and diffs but it does have the period correct SM420 4 speed and divorced Rockwell T-221 transfere case.
Here's a pic for ya Bear.
http://www.telusplanet.net/public/tetachuk/64under.jpg

I don't know where you could get parts for these delux steering wheels, mine was as is when I got the truck. EvilBay perhaps?. Yesa it has tilt steering. Thanks for all the kind comments guys.

Every time I see a nicely done 4X4 like that I kick myself in the a$$ for letting that kid down the street have my 1999 GMC 4X4 Sonoma with the blown engine. Beauty!

nice looking interior.