How I found My Truck...What's your story...?

[SIR]

I printed up some "WANTED" posters describing what I wanted, and put them up at some of the "mom & pop" back road stores and waited two weeks later I had not one but TWO 66 LWB trucks one for parts and one for my build....

[71Dually]

First Chevy truck. Was looking at 71-72 F-350's for a work truck but this Beastie 10,000GVW Chevy C30 beat them all out to my wallet. Alway's liked the 71 Chevy since they were new.

Found it on Craigslist. Extraordinary deal on an extraordinary truck. This is one of those deals you always hear about so they are still out there.

A huge class C motorhome with 38,615 original miles. PO had documentation showing the vehicle had 1,000 miles logged in the last 24 years. The truck had not been operated or started in at least 8 years and after prepping to start her (MMO in cylinders, clean fuel system etc…) the key switch and a solenoid jump wouldn't turn engine.

Owner reduced $1,800 asking price to $1,000. While talking about Mrs. Dually's expressed dis-pleasures at my potentially dragging more junk home, I quoted the "in motion staying in motion" and the "at rest staying at rest" to the PO and offered 5 Franklins and the title was transferred.

A few days later after reconnecting the weak 10 year old battery I used for "the test" a jiggle of the shift lever engaged the neutral safety switch and she turned over and developed oil pressure. I immediately installed the plugs, hooked up the coil wire, gravity fed the QJ and ran jumper cables. With fire extinguishers close at hand she immediately roared to life, no lifter noise, no stall, no hesitation etc… the BB 402 ran real well and the TH400 had engagement in reverse and all forward gears.

Lubed the zerks, changed the fluids, replaced a frozen master cylinder, bleed the brakes, checked the pads, shoes and wheel bearings, cleaned fuel tank, bypassed fuel tank selector valve, replaced electric fuel pump, fuel hoses, fuel filters, radiator hoses, thermostat, fan belts and installed a new battery.

Upgraded auto club membership to premium 200 mile tow and added this truck. Titled, registered and insured her and after a set of $100 used chrome wheels and tires she was ready for the 125 mile trip home on her 11 gallon auxiliary tank.

After multiple long distance trips to the Southern California desert with my tools, parts and spending $400.00 in gas for the trips to get her ready I finely hopped a greyhound with a $45.00 ticket to the far off land where she sat to bring her home. She fired right up seeming eager to make the trip home. She traversed the interstate like a dream but with an 8.27 average MPG and a non op fuel gauge I didn't pass to many petrol stations.

She now is proudly parked irritating the neighbor with all the room she demands overhanging in front of their house but I think the true irritation is simply jealousy since their '86 Grand Cherokee usually cranks for 5 minutes every morning to get started. This Beast roars to life with a single press of the accelerator pedal followed by a quick twist of her key.

This truck is a true survivor and the miles are actual, engine sparkles clean internally and she goes right where the power steering points her without any wander or hesitation. The radiator has no traces of rust or clogging and the coolant was a nice yellow/green tint when found. The ATF was nice and clean and the drivetrain is nice and tight, just like a new truck. Does have the occasional "clunk" when you hit a dip to hard but the spongy rubber sway bar bushings I believe are the culprit. With this plus size girl you don't want to go thru dips to fast anyway.

I've currently put 220 miles on the odometer and even with her 9,040 pound tare weight I'm loving driving this monster around as it drives so much nicer than my families '95 Toyota Corolla. It's a real beauty with no cancer and the little chrome it does have isn't even micro pitted (excludes the used chrome wheels I bought).

Plans are to leave her basically stock for a pampered classic work truck. I'm gonna demolish and recycle the camper section, remove all the housecar manufacturer modifications and install a 12' stake bed on her long 157" stance. First polish her up, due a tune up and rebuild the Rochester QJ. Folks are telling me I'm crazy to demolish the camper but closer inspection reveals the wood rotted frame from a leaky roof. I have no quilt at all about breaking out the sledgehammer, crowbars and sawzall. After all, I bought it for the truck, not the 26' motorhome.

After the demo I'll repair the camper "walk-thru" with some good factory sheet metal and install a rear window to seal up the cab. Naturally rubber parts need replacement, electrical needs closer inspection for my peace of mind & terminal cleaning. After that some shiny aluminum shoes and some ignition upgrades. Then on to some EFI and a gear vendors OD to improve the MPG. PO said the A/C worked when she was put away but needed an A/C compressor clutch. Got one of those somewhere from my old Trans Am so we'll see If the old R12 will freeze me out.

The whole time I was working on this I scoured this site for advice & opinions. The memberships posts have been a great asset and has provided lots of help and advice and some future upgrade ideas. Thanks for all the help everybody.

All told I'm currently about $900 - $1,000 into the big girl and she's worth every cent I spent. Now I'm not counting the acquisition costs including the Benjamin's I spent in gas chasing parts from Bakersfield to Banning payin' her resuscitation visits as those don't really count except as personal "entertainment" costs in my view anyway.

Now to figure out what to name her.

Have a couple questions regarding in cab fuel tank and walk thru repair if anyone can help. Will non-EEC fuel tank, rear cab sheet metal and large rear window from any 67-72 C10, C20 & C30 fit my '71? Looking to scour CL and the pick your part yards but don't want to get the wrong pieces.

Thank you for your insight.

[TJ's Chevy]

Fairly cool story behind mine....I am the third owner. The first owner bought it new in 66, and used it as an off road wood hauler and dd. OEM fenderside bed was pulled and replaced by an ugly but TOUGH homemade flatbed. Truck was poorly taken care of, still some mysteries which I would like to find out. It was loaded to the overload bumpers many times. Not remembering when my friend found it....Anyway a friend of mine found it in a revene( Had been sitting there for a number of years) and asked the guy what he wanted for it...and the guy said he could have it if he could get it outta there...so after hours of cranking and cleaning they finally got it going. My friend towed it outta there and took it to his home. Not long after I found him in my drive way, and he said I could have it if I wanted it....well you can't kick a gift horse in the mouth!!! So I took it. Sat at the place for 5 years. Then I started restoring it.

[A.T. RockDriller]

Originally Posted by T.J. MCCAULEY

Fairly cool story behind mine....I am the third owner. The first owner bought it new in 66, and used it as an off road wood hauler and dd. OEM fenderside bed was pulled and replaced by an ugly but TOUGH homemade flatbed. Truck was poorly taken care of, still some mysteries which I would like to find out. It was loaded to the overload bumpers many times. Not remembering when my friend found it....Anyway a friend of mine found it in a revene( Had been sitting there for a number of years) and asked the guy what he wanted for it...and the guy said he could have it if he could get it outta there...so after hours of cranking and cleaning they finally got it going. My friend towed it outta there and took it to his home. Not long after I found him in my drive way, and he said I could have it if I wanted it....well you can't kick a gift horse in the mouth!!! So I took it. Sat at the place for 5 years. Then I started restoring it.

T.J.,

Why don't you get more pic's up.
That's a nice lil truck there.

[TJ's Chevy]

Will do, the board only let's me upload one picture at a time so....

[TJ's Chevy]

One of the motor....

[Ta2Don]

Very Cool Thread!!!

I'll take the long route to get there, so here goes…
A fellow Tattoo Artist has a 60 short fleet at his place that caught my eye… almost bought it, then decided to look around since the required bodywork to repair the driver's side was a bit beyond my limited skills.:wash: door and bedside caved in...


Next stop, local garage that had some projects lying around… Asked the owner if he knew of any 64-66 trucks for sale, he led me out into the shop to show me a 65 stepper that had been redone 5 or so years back, the PO fried the motor and traded it in on a 55 Chevy truck… He wanted more money than my budget could handle so I thanked him for his time and kept hunting…
A few weeks later, garage owner calls me up and has run into some financial difficulties and makes me an offer I couldn't refuse…
I bought the 65 sans motor and it was delivered in the following Saturday…
Here's a pic taken upon delivery…


Initial plans were to install an engine and redo interior then drive… Finding this site encouraged me to re-think my plans… By mid-afternoon that Monday this is where I found myself and my 65…


The truck still had the original Protecto Plate which showed it was originally purchased by the local school system… I've traced it to the two owners following the school, and am trying to find the subsequent owner(s)...

Now to talk my bud outta the 60...

[Ta2Don]

Tried to resize last pic… twice.
Sorry for the huge pic...

[TJ's Chevy]

Cool story behind the truck ta2don!!

[murphy98]

Hey, this is a great thread, good stories.

Here's mine, sorry it's a bit long!
Almost 10 years ago now, the sons of my neighbour across the road from me bought a '62 Chevy truck with plans to turn it into a pro street truck with a blown 454 etc. Truck sat in their front yard against a tree (later found out why, no brakes) for two years without being touched. During that time I got the itch to get another old GMC truck, this time from my birth era ('60-'66) my very first older truck was a '72 GMC I had sold years before. So I started searching Ebay & auto trader etc. while on Ebay I actually found a '60-'66 GMC grille in excellent condition for $50, could not pass that up so I bought it! My wife stated thinking I was going to pull a Johnny Cash and buy the truck "one piece at a time" One morning I head outside and notice a big "For Sale" sign on the '62 across the road! By this time, after seeing the truck parked against the tree for 2 years my wife was referring to it as "that eyesore across the road" So the day I saw that for sale sign on it I thought, what better way to please my wife then to get rid of that "eyesore" across the road! So I struck a deal with the brothers who helped push the truck across the road from their driveway into mine! When my wife came home that afternoon and saw that the "eyesore" was now parked on the side of our garage all she could do is laugh & say "Well, at least I no longer have to see it every time I look out front" She has always been very supportive of my need to "fix up" an old truck.
So then began a 7yr labour of love to restore, & convert my '62 Chevy into a GMC. Remember that GMC grille I bought on Ebay years before, well that was a perfect bolt on fit using the original Chevy grille holes! By the way, I have nothing against Chevy trucks, I just happen to prefer the look of the GMC grille, badging & tailgate logo. I do love the having the original Chevy 283 engine (US BB V6 was never available in the Canadian built trucks) I also love the double hump Chevy dash, which I find flows really well into the '60-'61 GMC hood I ended up using on the truck. Oh, and my wife no longer calls it the "eyesore" anymore, we call it "Old Murph" But that's another story. She is now proud to cruse around in it! I have included a couple of before & after photos of my trucks transformation.

Thanks for letting share my story.

[Mikemelton]

Well my great grand father bought my 1965 GMC 1/2 ton short stepside new in '65 had a friend fly him about 140 miles in a crop duster to the dealership to pick it up and drove it back. It was a farm truck he used it working on government farms in the Mississippi delta. My dad used to drive it around when he was a kid. Granddad parked it behind his house some time in the late '70's my papaw drug it out in the early '80s and put a small block in it to get it running around 1990 and drove it everyday as a work truck doing house repairs out of it so it got beat on, abused and about 10 gallons of house paint splattered from one end to the other. Always been told that when I was 2 I told him it was mine and I wanted it. First time to drive was 5 years later when I was 7 no power steering, or power brakes and three on the tree. Papaw told me ease off the clutch and give it a little gas. We left in a cloud of smoke that would make John Force proud. When I was 12 my dad bought it from papaw and we went through it cleaning it up and put a fresh coat of paint on it and dad drove it daily for a few years until I turned 15 and got my license he handed me the keys and said congratulations. I've traded back and forth with dad a couple times over the years but it could never be avoided mom said it best when she said my truck and I were made for each other. She never did run right for dad anyways like she was mad. Man I've had a lot of memories in that old truck and can't wait to get seat belts installed so I can enjoy it with my kids. Here is the only pic I have on the computer. How she sits now.

[Grizz1963]

There are few 60-66 C10's in the UK.

I had a very specific shopping list.

Short. Fleetside. V8. Manual. Loadsa chrome.

Had been looking at US trucks, Ebay, Craigslist etc for some time.

Loads of help from Kieth from Tulsa who almost bought me a truck which was a decent long fleet but thankfully it sold and would have been the wrong truck for us.

We were happy importing.

A few weeks before I found our truck a UK guy offered me his lovely long fleet at the price in our budget.
I refused and about 4 weeks later there was a PM from him titled "this is your truck, buy it now"

It was on Ebay Classifieds and after an hour on the phone to the seller, I booked an appointment to view the next Saturday.

Looked at the truck in the rain, went on a 3 mile test drive. Knew it was ticking all the boxes, and had relocated tank, Big Back Window etc..... Did try gentle haggling but paid his price of £8k knowing the truck needed more work to get it to my personal standard.


Insured it on the phone at his house, handed over cash and drove off.

Less than 10 minutes after leaving, my wife smashed into the rear with my Audi daily driver trying to keep up with me, thinking I had pulled away from an intersection..... Huge dent in Chevy rear fender and Audi only number plate cracked.

Just ordered patch panels in that are getting delivered on Tuesday.

Love my truck.

[LostMy65]

Originally Posted by LostMy65

I told my; 'How I found my Truck' for my 66 above.

How I found my 65 back in 82/83 was I had worked the summer with my dad doing landscaping. I didn't expect to get paid, because my dad never paid me for working either on the farm or helping with his landscaping business. I was always expected to work just for being a member of the family.
I didn't even get an allowance as some kids got.
After the summer was over, I was thinking of going back down to California to live with my grandparents. My dad called me over to the kitchen table and asked me to sit down.
He said he figured because I worked all summer and didn't ask for any pay, he said he calculates after 'Room & Board' I had about $1200 coming to me. But he said he wasn't going to pay me it, but rather we could go look for a truck. He said I should get a truck.

He wanted me to get a 50 something through 60 something frd.
I didn't like the f:rd trucks for some reason. I wanted a 1967-72 Chevy.
He wanted me to get something even older. I don't remember now why.

It was getting close to time for me to go back to california, and he saw an ad in the Nickle Ads for a 65 like my grandpa's old truck that my uncle owns now.
We made arrangements to go look at it that eve. I loved it at first site.
It was a beautiful deep rich blue and the whole truck was in great shape.
Oh, the truck had slotted mags too.
Sure, the truck was only 17 to 18 years old, but it was obviously well maintained.
I can't remember now if the guy was asking $1100 or $1200. Either way we bought it for what he was asking.

I wrecked it in 84, and then bought a donor and built it back up.
In 85/86 I moved back up here, and sold it in 86/87 --->>> Stupid Me! :cry:

I forgot all about this thread.
Here are some pics from before and after I found her and bought her back:
Pic taken around 1985

.
UPDATE:
Found Her and bought her back!
.
Here is a pic the previous owner took of it back in 2004:
.

.
Pic taken when I went to see her for the first time in 25 years - 2/2012


.
And a more recent pic - July 2014

.
Last 2014 pic for the year.

[hank scorpio]

My Grandfather bought it in 68 from a friend. It's been in our family ever since. (I think this picture was late 1980's.



4 generations of Kauer's have been in this truck now. Makes me awfully happy.

[LostMy65]

^That is so cool.

[Railroader]

In 1981 I was looking for a truck for use around the house. The route to and from my workplace went through a residential area and I noticed this blue short wheelbase stepside sitting under the carport. There was a gas can sitting on the bumper. After a couple of months of passing this house I noticed the truck nor the gas can ever moved. I wanted a truck and obviously this one wasn't being used, so I decided to stop and see if they wanted to sell it. The elderly man said he just might sell the truck and he no longer had use for it. I checked with him again a couple of weeks later and bought it for $800. He was the original owner, had little over 38,000 miles and I am second owner of truck. Used it like anyone would for the next 18 years and parked it under shed when I bought new truck. Restored in 2012 when I retired (first retirement project) and now been in family for 38 years. Motor and all metal (except front bed panel, too many sticks of firewood thrown in) are
original. The other GREAT thing I did in 1981 was re-marry. Just like the truck, she's more lovely now than then.
(Don't know why one picture keeps loading upside down)

[Captainfab]

Very nice Railroader

[69 C10 LWB]

I found my truck on Facebook marketplace. Called the guy and said I’d like to come see it. Found out he had listed it for someone else and took 30 min to get the actual owner on the phone. I was in Indiana for work and planned to see it on my way home. After finally talking to the owner I found out it was actually 30 miles out of my way. I went to see it anyway because it looked solid in the pictures and needed an engine. I had an engine I was determined to find a home for. I tried to talk the guy down on the price and he wouldn’t budge so I left. He called a few days later and I tried to do a partial trade. He agreed but in the end that didn’t work either. I decided it wasn’t going to happen and kept looking. We left town the next day for vacation and he called as we were crossing into alabama and said it was mine for 500 less than he had it advertised for. I agreed and told him Id set up a time to pick it up when I got back. I called the day we got back and he had lost the title. 3 months later he finally got a replacement and I finally went to pick it up. Just got back from this years vacation and I have yet to legally drive it on the road.

[Railroader]

Thanks Captain

[mfarmdawg]

I found my short fleet '65 while stationed at RAF Lakenheath in the UK in May of '99. I had just come back from my first trip to the sandbox and wasn't really looking for anything, but through a co-worker, I met the manager of the hobby shop on base and he said he had a truck that was sitting in an English barn for the last three years was ready to let it go. I paid him $2000 for it which stung a little but it wasn't that high for what it is in the UK at the time. The seller made me promise not to chop the top or go crazy with modifications before he sold it to me....I told him I only wanted to put a v8 in it for better driving and in case I needed to pull something with it. It was imported from a service station in East Texas somewhere and had been stored in a barn for years, it had some really tough carbonized Texas rust all over the top of the cab, hood, bedsides and doors. All original still with a 230 inline 6 and three on the tree, smoked like you wouldn't believe when it was running down the road and had a really bad dead spot between first and second gear that would often cause me to have to come to a complete stop to start all over again so the linkage would free up. The stake pockets are rounded and split from someone driving pipes down to hold something in, the bedwood is still there in some parts though it was covered by multiple sections of 1/4" steel plate to better haul stuff for the service station, the tailgate is bent up pretty bad from stuff banging against it, the tailgate chains are still there rattling around while driving, there are notches out of the bedrails for clearance of something mounted in the bed, and a small back window. The only options it came out of the factory with were an AM radio and thrift heater. I drove it that way for a little while. Then I found a '79 suburban that had good running gear, but the body was rotten. Swapped out what I could from the suburban and found out later it only had a 305 v8 in it. I still have it after sending it back to my family in southern Arizona while I spent the next several years on rotations overseas to different countries until I came back to the States in 2013. The truck had been with my family for 12 years at that point and the small rusty spots it originally had are now really holy and badly rotted. My dad had put some license plates and roofing paper on the driver side floorboard to keep from getting his legs wet when he would occasionally use it to haul stuff to the dump or just take it out and drive it. It now sits in my garage in Louisiana waiting for a complete teardown of the cab to get rid of the rotten spots and rewire to get ready for some upgrades in drivability and fuel economy. I do take it out for a spin every once in a while to get the neighbors attention and to the delight of all three of my kids that like to hear it run and take a ride with me in it. I need to find some of the old pics I have of it and try to upload them for reference of first time at home after purchase and where it sits now.

[Captainfab]

That is quite an interesting story......and thank you for your service

[curvedglass]

Back in 2014 I was looking for a new daily driver. I always have at least one modern car for dependability and snow travel but drive classics every chance I get. My 1994 Mustang GT was hitting the 210,000 mile mark and I was looking for a truck to drive. I drive an hour and prefer the seating ergonomics of trucks. Made for long hauls.
I spotted a nice 1963 C-10 one day and did a drive by. Looked nice and figured it would be priced too high. I wrote down the number and forgot about it for a few days. Finally called the guy and made arrangement to have his son show me the truck since he was out of town. Turns out his Dad was the original owner and was 8 when he went with him to buy the truck. The son told me he drove the truck in high school but started to drive a 56 Cameo and they parked the truck in the shop for 10 years until I found it.
The truck wasn't restored but it was repainted to match his fathers business trucks. Used to be green. Solid truck. 79000 miles no option truck. 230cid 3-speed trans. I talked to the father and we couldn't agree on the price. I was stretching to begin with and I walked away over $500.00.
That night I tossed and turned thinking of the truck. The next day I decided I would meet his price and called him back. He told me the truck was sold!!! What a bummer. I retreated to ebay and the net looking at other old 6 cylinder trucks.

Fast forward three days and I pull in my garage and my girlfriends truck is outside. In her stall was the truck. She called my mother and they split the price and it was my birthday present.

Since I have replaced everything but the motor and trans.
HEI ignition
weber 2bbl
complete cpp front disc and spindle swap
Front and rear sway bars.

[akqj9]

I needed a truck ready to use so I couldn't buy a $300 project then spend years fixing it. I found this one on ebay in San Diego. The owner's father bought it new in Arkansas and used to haul cows in it. They did an amateur restoration and it looked great except the ugly aqua seat cover. When I picked it up the seller showed me how to fiddle with the 3-on-the-tree linkage and I had to drive back to LA in 3rd gear. Soon after I changed to a T5 5 speed which is 1000 times better. I ended up rebuilding the motor and practically everything else and now it is reliable. Some rust is starting to peek through the cheap paint job, but I want a truck to used, not a trailer queen.