The Stovebolt Site Forums The Parking Lot Big Bolts Engine Upgrades??

I have a question concerning the 327 in my c60. It is all original. I do not have this truck up and running down the road. It will sit and run but there is a lot more work that needs done before i can drive it down the road. My question is.. what kind of performance will i get out of the rochester carb? should i consider upgrading or keep everything stock?

Also, I have an oil bath air filter on it. I am unfamiliar with these. What does this do? how does it work? do i have to keep it?

Hopefully someone can give me some advice. Im still a newbie!

If the carb that is on it is original it would make sense to get it up and running and driving before you start changing things. If you have an original oil bath air cleaner you will want to drain the oil out of it, clean and dry it and put new oil in. You should also take the mesh/screen out and clean it and then put some light weight oil on it also.

I guess i should also mention i want to be able to jump in this truck and go a decent distance. I want it to eventually be a car hauler! Which is the biggest reason i am interested in motor upgrades... I just want to be able to trust it and not have to worry about being stranded 100 miles from home!

I stand by using the stuff that the truck was designed with.

There is absolutely no reason that you should worry any more about your truck than anything else on the road if you keep it in good repair.

I have a '78 400M in my car hauler and I used it to move from Ohio to Georgia last year. That's 1200mi round trip and I took 6 trips or so with no problems. The only upgrade to the engine is a MSD distributor. The only reason I even changed that is because I busted the original dist. removing it and I eliminated the control box and all with the replacement.

I drove a '60 Ford Fairlane in high school(graduated in '98) and into college. I had very few problems and no issues with reliability. We did replace the points with electronic ignition.

The oil bath air cleaner will do just fine as well just clean it out and refill as don said.

The only upgrade I would recommend to you would be to possibly replace the points with electronic ignition but that isn't really needed either.

I have found that people loose a lot of perspective over time. When your truck was new it was the top of the line...the best you could get. If you get it into good repair there is no reason to use it any differently than it would have been when new. That goes for brake upgrades as well.

Tad

jungerfrosch you have a good point.. I guess i kind of forget about it being top of the line back in 67'. Hard for me to picture those days seeing how i was born in 86'. lol

Sounds like i need to keep everything original. Evidently the oil bath air cleaner is simpler than i imagined. Im just unfamiliar with them so i wasn't sure what i was getting myself into.

That's awesome you were able to travel 1200 miles without problems. I hope i am able to do the same some day!

Thanks for the info!

Not that this makes any difference.. but it's a 1966 not a 67

I've got my '56 dump with a stock 270 inline 6, a NOS carb that was original to the engine, original distributor and all. Only thing I changed was a higher output coil with internal resistor and got rid of the points (I keep them in a bag behind the seat in case the magnetic pickup takes a poo), and I found a regular air filter that fits inside my oil bath filter can, but that was only because I didn't have an oil bath filter element that fit.
I've run the old girl all over creation, no long road trips but some hard work hauling some big loads and she grinds down the road (and up some killer hills) like nobodies business. Take care of any problems, go through the whole brake system (going is optional, stopping is not!), and keep up on the regular maintenance and it'll run for a few more decades.

Hey Hairy New Guy. Do you have any pictures of your truck? I would like to see them considering I own a 1966 C60 as well.

Freq2002 That's amazing you use your dump truck to the fullest! I cant' wait to get mine up and running so i can as well! Thanks for the tid bits!

Iron Clad here is a link.. I hope it works.

http://s1273.beta.photobucket.com/user/hairyapeman/library/

It's not the best thing that has ever existed but for not having to pay a dime for it i can't complain! I do like the word free! Havn't had much time to piddle with it. Hopefully once it warms up i will find some time!

In my HUMBLE opinion,the 283's,and the 327's,(especially truck engines),were the best (V-8) engines Chevrolet produced. They achieved both performance and economy. Decent fuel mileage,as well as minimal maintenance.I worked for a roofing company,back in about'79,or '80. When the I.H.C. "Loadstar" 1600 threw a rod,I was assigned the task of getting the 1960 "Apache" 60 running,again. The truck sat for about 10-years prior to that. It took a day of cleaning the plugs,new S.P. wires,cap,rotor,de-gunking/re-building the carburetor,and installed a new battery. "She fired right up,and we used "Her" nearly every day,for the next decade,or so. The company went out of business,and "She" went to the scrap-yard,where they used "Her" for another 5-6 years,until the engine finally "pooped". It was,of course,a 283. I also drove a couple of '69-'71 C-60's. The'69 had a 283,and the '71 had a 366. Both were great trucks,as far as haulers. The big difference was the 366 would get about 80-miles out of a tank of fuel,and the 283 would get about double the mileage,with about the same performance. This may not be the case in every scenario,but that's what I experienced. Both trucks were equipped with 4-speeds,/2-speed rear-ends. Hope this helps.

Wetwilly- great story! I have always heard the 327 was one hell of a motor but i have never came across one until now. This truck has sat about 12 years and i don't think it will take much to get up and running again. I just enjoy piddling on it. Nothing better than a nice day, case of beer, tunes playing, and a 66 C60!

When i get bored with it i move to my 70 monte carlo. Either way i love this stuff. Just not as knowledgeable as i want to be. Only a matter of time.

Thanks for sharing your experiences!!

My first semi was a gas burner that I bought in March of 1964. There were weeks I drove as much as 3000 miles. I didn't spend that much time fixing things. About the only thing that was a recurring thing was the rubbing block on the points wearing down, but a small file and an allen wrench fixed that in a couple of minutes. And I did have to put brushes in the generator on the side of the road quite often. Electronic ignition and an alternator will fix both these problems.

Wow!! 3,000 miles a week,in a DAY-CAB!! Man,you must LOVE to drive!! i averaged about 3,00 miles a week,back in the '90's,when I hired-0n with my ex-next-door neighbor! He's the reason for this truck "insanity"! when I was a Kid,he owned a fleet,of about 20 tractors,all but two were Diesels.That was 1965. Roll-ahead to '94.I read an "ad" in the local paper,so I scheduled an inter-view.The man held-out his hand and said,"Hello! my name's John H. I about fell over backward! I told him I was his next-door neighbor,30 years ago!! He didn't even give me a driving test! John assigned me to his PERSONAL Freightliner,and told me to "Hit-The_Road"! I averaged about 3,00 miles a week,in the '90's,and it wasn't easy,by any means! Three trips from mid-Iowa,to Detroit,and two trips from mid-Iowa to Little Rock,Ark..hauling "dedicated" boxed,(sometimes swinging),beef. I got about 7-10 hours of sleep,in a 5-day "run"! If I didn't keep that truck movin'at 70 m.p.h.,John wasn't happy! Only way I COULD average 3,000 miles/5-days !Crenwelge,my hat's off to you,SIR!! TOP RESPECT!! B.T.W.-I LOVE that "Jimmy" tractor,you just purchased from California! Thanks for sharing!!

Up until recently,I've been more of a driver than a mechanic,but I LOVE to work on my '55 T.F. 6500! I have a lot to learn as well,and this forum is REALLY the place to be!So many GREAT folks,willing to share their vast wealth of knowledge,and experience! Crenwelge's right! the old "gas" trucks would "blow the doors" off of the old,naturally-aspirated Diesels! I was WAY too young to drive,but the guy who delivered groceries to the "family' store,would let me ride along on his route,sometimes! he had a '60 Apache 90,with a 409! Even with a tandem-trailer,fully loaded,he'd pass other Diesel rigs,like they were standing still! No wonder I'm "hooked on "Big-Bolts!!

Truck looks good. Nothing wrong with an all original truck with all the original stuff on it. I also am a fan of keeping the original Distributor with Points. Have been running Points now for 45 years straight.

Bill

The good thing about old chev trucks is, if it came with a V8 you can keep the engine and upgrade to an engine that is newer and bigger as well, and still keep the truck totally factory stock otherwise. If you want it back to 100% stock you put the old engine back in. And this way you also save the old engine and not wear it out.