aaannndddd so it begins.
 

Hello boys and girls. I'm Cy (Chef Cy)
Follow along on this epic journey.....
Its a classic tale of a boy and his truck.
Sadly this isnt one of those stories where I tell you I was out on some backroad and seen a glimmer from a barley cracked barn door and spent days, weeks, months or even years haggling with the old farmer until he dies and his wife let me have it for cheap. NOoooooo.... this story starts out in Houston (Stafford/Sugar Land) where our hero (ME!!!) was itchin for some sort of large paperweight to occupy his driveway and garage and parts of it in the dining room, spare bedroom etc etc...so he cruised onto craigslist. Originally lookin for an impala 59-64. or maybe an el camino 59-60's, type one VW or bus or 55-57 chebby troka. He searched and searched and somehow stumbled upon 60-66 c10s. He looked in the area...nothing (good) then expanded...nothing (good) and yet expanded again...BINGO!!! ding ding ding ding!!! winnah winnah chicken dinnah!!!! FOUND A PROJECT!!!!! (we will go into the Tammy situation...she is my wife. still is...so far)

1963 oakland truck, longbed, big window, 22" (wont keep these) z'd frame and bagged.
350/350 not running

I am originally from Cali (bay area, San Jose) and my truck is from Cali (bay area, oakland) I used to live in Las Vegas...(focus!! stay with me)..my truck used to live in Vegas. I live in Houston......got it??

Re: aaannndddd so it begins.
 

Ok so you and your truck started in Cali, went to Vegas, and you beat your truck to Houston. You wanna tell us what happened in Vegas??

Re: aaannndddd so it begins.
 

X2 on what Jeff said! LOL! Nice truck!

Re: aaannndddd so it begins.
 

Seen bits and pieces of your journey on FB...:mm:

I'm in….:uhmk:

Re: aaannndddd so it begins.
 

For some reason your story telling reminds me of a set of lines in "Shakespear in Love".......
"Nice story, how does it end?"
"I dont know, its a mystery."


LOL

Good luck with this, cannot imagine Houston being a bad place to get parts for it. :metal:

Re: aaannndddd so it begins.
 

Can't wait to see what becomes of the truck.

Re: aaannndddd so it begins.
 

I'm in for this one!! I'm from Fresno, Ca. but moved to Oklahoma about ten yrs. or so ago!! got any better pics of the rims (22's)??

Re: aaannndddd so it begins.
 

Well......Since I was living in Houston and had lived in Vegas, I searched CL in Vegas and had a friend check it out. Money was exchanged and I planned my road trip to get it. Enlisted a friend with a truck ........truck got stolen. Hit up another friend.....womp womp womp. Hit up another friend.....steeeeeeerrrrrriiiiiikkkkkke THREE!!! asked a co-worker...he said yes and we planned it.....cut to the week before......"we still on for Vegas?" nope. His wife didnt believe there was a truck and also did not trust him to go to Vegas. STRIKE FOUR!!! asked a bunch of people and felt like the Houston Astros (struck out soooo many times and a victim of a no hitter) Had to store the truck until transport could get it. TIMEFRAME: bought truck in May 2013.........delivered Feb 2014.

Re: aaannndddd so it begins.
 

May have taken awhile to get it home, but at least you did. Very cool looking truck...can't wait to see more pics and progress.

Re: aaannndddd so it begins.
 

i have been foraging for parts. parts i need, parts i think i need and parts i do not need.
Remember kids.....DRINK OVALTINE!!!

stay tuned.......same bat time............same bat channel

Re: aaannndddd so it begins.
 

another view

Re: aaannndddd so it begins.
 

nice

Re: aaannndddd so it begins.
 

buy my steelies and itl look so much better!

Re: aaannndddd so it begins.
 

Lol

Re: aaannndddd so it begins.
 

Looks good! :metal:

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Congrats on the buy, looking forward to see what's going to be done.

Re: aaannndddd so it begins.
 

me too!! So far...... I have been aspring to be a a hoarder. Im buying parts that may or may not get used. Im also buying parts that may or may not fit my truck. I think I have a good amount of stuff to start "ATTEMPTING" to get this running. I am not the most mechanical skilled guy, im willing to do it. Id prefer the guidance of someone more knowledgable. You know what I mean....like when some guy go to a hooker to lose their virginity.

Re: aaannndddd so it begins.
 

very nice looking truck. These boards are full of great people to help you get the truck running. the biggest thing i like about these trucks are their simplicity. There really just isn't that much to them !

good luck

Re: aaannndddd so it begins.
 

Nice truck Cy and crazy story to go with it. Good luck with her.

Re: aaannndddd so it begins.
 

Any thoughts on what you want to do with it? Looks like a great starting place for sure!

Re: aaannndddd so it begins.
 

Thanks guys.
I had Poweredbychevy79 (forum member) come by since his experience and expertise will be needed. We looked and walked around the truck. talked and looked. walked and talked and looked. THEN......we removed the hood. The crossmember was notched, and the A arms were flipped. The frame right behind the bumper has a tear on each side. We will most likely cut the front end off just behind the firewall and weld in a new front end and either pancake the crossmember or something. Laying frame isnt all that important to me, sooooo if it doesnt then it doesnt.

pics will soon follow........

Re: aaannndddd so it begins.
 

I like the truck!

If I can make a suggestion.....if you plan to chop the frame and replace the front section, I would suggest considering Z'ing the frame while you're at it. I Z'd mine 2" up and moved the wheelbase 1" forward to center the wheels in the fenders. I have got plenty of ground clearance with a stock crossmember. My truck has Bel-Tech spindles (3"), 1 coil cut from a 1/2 ton coil spring (2"), and the 2" Z for a total drop of 7". The cost of the Z was essentially the cost of the 3/16" plate for boxing the frame at the cut areas. My build thread shows how we did the Z, if you're interested.

Re: aaannndddd so it begins.
 

here are some pics....hope you can see it

Re: aaannndddd so it begins.
 

Man.....that's scary. Its amazing what some PO's will do.

Re: aaannndddd so it begins.
 

OMG!!!!!!!!

It amazes when you see some of the scary work that some shops think is perfectly OK. I think you're doing the right thing by cutting off that frame section and starting over. That frame is a ticking time bomb, waiting to break completely, and the results would have been ugly.

You need to save those pictures and have them ready to post up on the next "Scary Fabrication" thread that comes along. Yikes.