!965 Chevy C-10 Take 2: Project Tanya

[fryer1979]

So after some heavily disheartening discoveries on my other project, I decided a completely new truck would be suit my intentions for my first classic truck. So I searched craigslist and other sources and eventually found, and brought home, Tanya. Tanya is a 1965 Chevy C-10, longbed, small window, 230 ci 6, and granny 4-speed. She is in running and driving condition, and fairly minimal rust in the places that can't be easily replaced. Plans for her include a general freshening up of her overall condition, upgrading to disc brakes and possibly power steering. I may eventually build a V-8 for her (either the Olds 350, or Chevy 327 I have sitting in my shop), but for now the old 6'er still runs good so I'm just gonna freshen her up a bit and enjoy driving her around. The main focus for this build is to keep her on the road as much as possible, and do my upgrades as I can along the way. We've been really getting hammered with weather the last couple weeks, so I haven't had much of a chance to do anything with her, or even really get many good pictures yet. But here is what I've got from the day I brought her home.

At the Summit Racing parking lot in Reno Nv.


Backing into the driveway.....rear main seal leaks....


And the interior


And this is how she is sitting now, picture was taken about 30 minutes ago. Unfortunately this weather is supposed to continue for at least the next week. I'm itching to get some work done, but with the shop full and burried behind a 4 foot snow berm, I gotta wait for slightly warmer weather. Sad to see her like this though......

[Corts60]

The interior looks like it should shine right up with a little work. Nice. Hopefully the weather gets a little better for ya. I definitely know what it is like to wait for good weather.

[fryer1979]

Thanks bud. Unfortunately the interior is a tad more rusty than the picture shows. The good thing though is that it is mostly surface rust and should clean up with some light sanding. The one good thing about the bad weather is it gives me a little time to get a pile of parts together for when the weather clears.

[protrash64]

Rollin' with the punches!!! Nice score fryer, hopefully you can use some stuff off the other truck to get this one going the way you want.

[fryer1979]

Thanks protrash. Actually the only panel on the bed of the old truck that is straight is the only one that is damaged on this new one. I'm thinkin' that I may just pull the old bed, cut out that good panel, and scrap the rest. I'd like to use the other cab for a 4x4 project, so it won't go to waste either way. Talking to my wife, she is ok with keeping both trucks so I'm all good to go.

[fryer1979]

We got a little break today in our storm, so I went out after work and took some fresh pics. Also pulled the old cargo hooks that a previous owner had installed on the bed, and took her for a short cruise around town.

[fryer1979]

Engine and interior.






and one of my favorite little things about this truck; it was originally the exact color I want to paint it!

[Alan's Classic]

Originally Posted by fryer1979

The one good thing about the bad weather is it gives me a little time to get a pile of parts together for when the weather clears.

That was going to be my suggestion. Nice truck, summer will be here soon, better get those parts rolling in.

[fryer1979]

Thanks Alan. I'm just trying to decide which steps I want to take with it this spring, and what I want to save for a winter time project. Kind of a new approach to a project for me.

Got by the DMV yesterday and got the registration all finished up. New title is on they way, and she is all registered and all mine. To celebrate I "installed" a website sicker.....I know, I'm a bit of a dork sometimes.....but that's a gearhead for ya.

[fryer1979]

Well, we finally got some good weather last weekend. Even though I had stacks of other projects to get done, I still managed to spend some good time behind the wheel of the old gal. Didn't do a whole lot of work on her, but I did pull the old large mirrors off and put on some small peeps. The big mirrors just aren't my style, these are perfect.


Now I just need to find a good deal on the right kind of welder so I can get all these holes sealed up.

[redneck6]

looking very good brother . motavates me to get on mine .

[fryer1979]

Thanks bro.

As soon as I can get a clear weekend I want to pull the engine out and get her all sealed back up. The rear main leaks pretty bad, leaves about a 6 inch circle of oil every time I shut her off. I also have a 4/5 drop kit ready to go on, and all the parts I need for a front end facelift, and a full tune up of the engine. Just waiting on some good weather now.

[redneck6]

tick tock tick tock , what is these face lift parts you speak of . i have my gagre cleaned up going to take the front ( dog house ) or clip off tommarow , and bed is all ready to come off . weld spatter in the early moring hour hehe .

[fryer1979]

I am still waiting for a clear weekend to do the facelift, it keeps either raining, or just being cold and cloudy. I have a nice grill to sand and paint, a better chrome bumper, and a headlight conversion kit. Also I am working on getting some other projects finished up in the shop so I can get room to put the truck in there to do the engine work and suspension work I have lined up. I've been busy working on stuff, just not specifically on Tanya much yet. It is coming soon though.
Posted via Mobile Device

[66-PMD-GMC]

Nice.
I love the looks of these old trucks.
Maybe I'll get mine on the road some day.

[fryer1979]

That's part of the reason I haven"t got much done on her yet, I am having way too much fun driving her. She's pretty much become my daily driver, even though I have a perfectly good S-10 Blazer for that. The itch is starting (and our town's "big" cruise and show 'n shine is coming up at the end of June), so it won't be long now.

I managed to score a very nice used Miller welder for a killer price. Got a cart, gas cylinder, gauges, and a whole bunch of extras with it. All I had to do was scrounge up a helmet, and off I went. I've been practicing on some old exhaust tubing scraps and thin sheet metal scraps, trying to get a hang of getting a good weld on thin metal. I'm starting to get the hang of it, so I may just go for it on the never ending supply of screw holes on my truck. What the hell do people need to screw into a truck so bad? Sheesh!

[66-PMD-GMC]

I totally feel you there.
I got holes everywhere and anywhere...
Also...
Got a new manual gear box for my 66. got one of those brand X P/S adapters sent to me, what a POS!
Now my frame is riddled with holes and the braket was useless. The steering gear box was completely out of line with the column.
A giant waste of time. Nothing EZ about it and the holes on the bracket don't line up with the box either......
to the little red adapter that was sent to me...

[Captainfab]

Hmmmm that's the second time in a week that I've heard of issues with that power steering adapter.

Originally Posted by 66-PMD-GMC

I totally feel you there.
I got holes everywhere and anywhere...
Also...
Got a new manual gear box for my 66. got one of those brand X P/S adapters sent to me, what a POS!
Now my frame is riddled with holes and the braket was useless. The steering gear box was completely out of line with the column.
A giant waste of time. Nothing EZ about it and the holes on the bracket don't line up with the box either......
to the little red adapter that was sent to me...

[pdxhall]

Am I misunderstanding something? You said you got a new "manual" steering box and a power steering adapter that didn't work? something doesn't make sense to me. Were you trying to put the manual box with the power adapter or what?

[66-PMD-GMC]

I tried to install a P/S box using the worlds biggest POS adaptor and I found AFTER drilling holes per instructions that it not only did the bolt pattern of the adaptor not line up with the P/S box bolt holes, the holes were off on the adaptor. It also installed "nose up"..... the rag joint was 1 1/2" higher than the steering column...
I bought the unused EZ adaptor from a buddy for half what he paid for it thinking I got a good deal. He was nice enought to give me my money back.
I told my good friend Jim J to get Cap-fabs unit and he told me he ordered it already and gave me his EZ adaptor.
I went out and found an original style 66 reman-manual steering box and I am using that until I find a LWB leaf frame, 69-72 and I will just deal with the conversion to mount my 66 cab rather than carve up this frame any more.
I made a mess of the frame trying to get this all to work.

[fryer1979]

Well, here is a little update: Last weekend a good buddy (Susanville-Slam here on the forums) and I got together and finally got my dropped springs installed on my truck. I still have a few issues with the drop to get ironed out, but parts are ordered and should be here in time to smooth things out for next weekend. For now I am stoked.

Pulled into the shop ready for some disassembly, not a whole lot of spare room behind the 79 and the other 65 pickup.




Jacked up and pulled apart, just the front though. One step at a time.





Here is the new 2.5 inch dropped front springs compared to the original front springs.

[fryer1979]

Of course 2.5 inches is never enough, so we cut. Susanville Slam at the cut-off wheel.



There we go, one coil out. Took some restraint to not cut two but we stopped it.



Comparing cut coil to original.



Front end down.



And rear end up.....

[fryer1979]

Rear spring comparison, aww ain't they cute?



AAAAAAAAANNNNNNNNNNNNNNNDDDDDDDDDDDDDD....................

SHE'S DOWN! Not bad for about 3.5 hours work.




Back at home.

[chad64chevy]

that looks good! once you get the shocks on it, it will ride better, nice job!! i love lowered trucks! it told me alot longer to do all my suspension, but then again i cleaned, painted, and replaced everything with new stuff, lol!! atleast your truck runs, lol!!

[SulphuriousSam]

Man, love the look with your new springs. Care to share the brand, drop, etc.? That's almost the exact look I want on mine