'65 SWB Patina Build

[w00dst0ck]

Lurked for a long time as it took me a few years to find a truck worth buying. I'm a helicopter mechanic/crew chief by trade and am always building something.

Few of my other projects:

1989 Volvo 245 I built 2 winters ago. Built 5.3 Single 72mm turbo, t56, built 8.8 etc etc. Such a blast to drive.


1931 Ford Model A - Built 327/th350/10 bolt. Chopped channeled, custom 2x3 Z'd frame etc. I actually sold this to build a truck.


Bunch of bobbers, cafes etc..

Anyway, on to the truck.

Picked up a nearly original 65 SWB Fleet in Ft Worth earlier this year.

82k miles
Inline 6
3 on the floor

When I picked it up: It had no brakes.


Looks like a barn find, that someone got running then cut the springs.

A few days later:
New wheel bearings
New brakes front and rear
New lines
New MC
22" Smoothies


A few more days later:
Painted the wheels Cherry Red
Put in a regulator and un cracked door window

Then I put in 5" CPP springs/shocks - That was fun. After torching all the hardware, I pulled out the plasma and cut everything out. Cut the lower spring cups in half to get the bolts out, then re welded them back together and ran new hardware.


It ran good on the top end, but idled like ****. Someone swapped on a frankenstein mono jet, which was beyond a mail order rebuild kit. With a little help from Carlos from BFIC, we got a new Rochester on it.


2 days later my buddies that work at Painless Wiring called me and said they were looking for a 64-66 SWB as a guinea pig to build their new 64-66 Body Harness. I pretty much jumped on the chance to get a free installed Painless harness just for letting them use my truck. -Having friends in the right places is awesome.

-Wouldn't fit on the trailer with the 22's on the front lol.


Truck has been there a little over a month, every single wire/bulb is getting replaced. I got a tour of the facility and saw the new style harness all layed out next to the truck. Pretty stoked, and I'm excited to get it back and start working on it.

This is most likely going in it at some point.



Haven't decided if I'm going to bag it, or leave it on coils. I have zero experience with air bags, most of my stuff has always been older suicide built stuff, or coils.