Rotten 66 Farm Truck Build
 

Hi all. I’m new to the board. For some reason, my account was stuck for months in a moderation queue leaving me locked down with no way to post. Now that's been worked out, I thought I'd start a build thread. The story on the truck goes back to my great uncle who used the truck for work at the US Park Service. Somehow he was able to buy it from the National Park Service. That’s when it became the truck that my father rode in on hunting trips as a kid and the real sentimental ties lie. When my great uncle passed away it was purchase by my family and used by my brothers and I on the farm. It was parked at some point and left to rot away. When I built my garage, I wanted a project to keep me busy so here we are. I bought it off my father for a couple bucks and started assessing what all I wanted to do with the old truck. At first, I figured I’d get it running and maybe fix a couple body spots and the wood bed that were completely rotten and leave it at that. But after spending too much time staring at it on the lift, I’ve decided to go ls3 powered, frame off restomod and turn it into a dailyish driver. I’ll try to keep this thread updated as I go. I’ve attached a few pictures of what I started with.

Re: Rotten 66 Farm Truck Build
 

Here are a few pics of interior work getting done. I started here because frankly I didn’t think I would be doing much more beyond this. I welded in new kick panels, corners, and floor section. I also had the seat reupholstered in black with red stitching (hint to final color pallet). Honestly the time spent in the cab welding and grinding is what helped change my mind on where I wanted to take the truck. Why put all this time and money into a truck and not go all the way?

Re: Rotten 66 Farm Truck Build
 

More Pics...

Re: Rotten 66 Farm Truck Build
 

Here’s a couple tear down pics. Bed, front clip and cab was pulled. 250ci Engine and Muncie SM420 trans will be headed to the scrap metal which kind of sucks because both are in working order. Frame wasn’t in bad shape considering how old this thing is and that it sat in the weather with weeds consuming it for the last decade. I took a wire wheel and a pressure washer to it to prep for paint.

Re: Rotten 66 Farm Truck Build
 

All painted up. I used chassis saver satin black paint and applied it with a gun. I then started on the rear. Both front and rear are getting a coil-over upgrade from QA1.

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For tires and wheels, I decided to go with US Wheel Rat Rod in matte black wheels and Nitto NT555 G2 tires. Wheels are 17x8 in front and 17x9 in the rear. Tires are 255/40r17 in front and 275/40r17 in rear. The wheels required an axle upgrade, so I went with the 5 lug Yukon kit that kept the drum brakes. I sure hope the new wider rubber fits when it all goes back together.

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I decided to cheap out on the drums instead of disks as I plan to do a 9 inch swap in the future. I figure money is spent in better places for now. Drum internals needed to be freshened up. I bought what I thought was everything needed but come to find out, I threw away the parking brake lever on the driver side that attaches to the shoe. Oops. That was a $15, 2 week setback.

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Here she is with her new pair of shoes. I've also installed the front QA1 setup and new rack and pinion steering.

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The cab was taking up too much space in my garage, so I decided to start cleaning it up for paint. I took everything out of the cab, including the dash. BTW, that thing had close to 40 spot welds! The reason I took the dash out was to clean up some rust that had start on each side where it bolts up. I debated on what to do with the bottom of the cab and ended up using the same paint I used on the frame.

Re: Rotten 66 Farm Truck Build
 

Good skills ---truck is looking really good keep us posted ;

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And here is where I'm at today. Over the last two weeks, I've sank more time than I'd care to admit into bodywork.I prepped the job with a little body filler and scuffing the factory paint. I started with a base of epoxy primer. Then two thick coats of high build 2k primer. I then moved to glazing putty to any defects that went to metal when sanding the high build. I then sealed it with a reduced coat of epoxy before laying color. I did two coats of base, which is a blood red from Custom Shop. Finally, I cleared it with two coats of AkzoNobel 4.0. I'm clearly not a painter as it has some orange peel but it should clean up nice after I cut and buff it. I'm happy with it so far.

Re: Rotten 66 Farm Truck Build
 

Thats looking great, and the fastest colour.

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Thanks Grizz. I'm digging your fleetside. I'd love to stumble upon one and convert this one to fleet before I get too much time and money invested into the stepper bed.

Re: Rotten 66 Farm Truck Build
 

That's quite a difference! I'm in to see how it turns out!

Re: Rotten 66 Farm Truck Build
 

Wow, that's some great work. You should be proud of that. :)

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Brand new fleetside beds are available any the reviews are good on them. You are well on your way to a very nice truck.

Re: Rotten 66 Farm Truck Build
 

Great build so far and Great year of truck! lol The color is spot on! I will be watching of updates

As for the fleet side... i have bought complete beds from Classic Industries and had really no issues and will be again this year. Figure $600 per side delivered if you catch it on one of CI's 30% off sales. They change almost every Sunday. then get a tailgate at somewhere around $350 or so and then a front at about $150, then figure out the bed, wood or steel and go from there.

Either way, it will be a nice ride. I am a HUGE red and black fan! My "66 is going to be Flat Red and gloss black highlights.

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The rack an pinion, is that the one by POL? If so, that is the one i got. Fit perfect with just a slight adjustment needed to the oversized front sway bar i installed. Otherwise, direct bolt in.

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Yeah it's the POL setup. I'm happy with it. The painted finish was a little rough but I'm not going for a show truck.

I just made the mistake of checking out your build thread. I'm jealous of that frame brace. That thing looks amazing and I'm sure it really helps reduce frame torque when swapping to hotter engines.

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Yeah I'm still thinking on the bed situation. It will be the last body section I tackle so I have some time to do a little research.

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LOL ya I will agree that paint on it is a bit rough, but a little can of spray and tada...
As for the brace, it is a nice piece i must say. Honestly, i was so nervous because it is a "generic Summit piece" but then learned that they have a shop build them each, so i was feeling a bit better and then i got it and i really like it. It should stiffen the frame nicely, but i am a bit nervous about working with it and routing of exhaust. I know it will work, but it will take a bit more time to build, but with this crap we are going through, what else do i have now. lol
I too also did the Yukon 5 lug conversion, but i went Disc set up and i will finish with Hydroboost.
You are safe to look at my build now.. i am doing rust repair and more and more.... lol, it really is not that bad, but time consuming....
I plan to use Por 15 on the entire inside of cab along with sound mat with Carpet and then on the uderside i have bed liner spray kit i bought (again - did it on my "69).

Re: Rotten 66 Farm Truck Build
 

Made a little progress this week. I cut and buffed the paint. It had some orange peel that I was able to clean up. I received my LS mounts from Tin Works Fabrication. They are really nice. I painted them up and installed them so it one less thing to do when the engine arrives. In the mean time I've started assessing the doors. They'll both need some quality time with the grinder and welder.

Re: Rotten 66 Farm Truck Build
 

I was fortunate enough to have some down time from work around the holidays. I was able to make some progress on the doors and a couple other odds and ends. Here is a few pics of the doors going from rusted out to installed. I still need to add all the new internal door hardware.

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The new transmission showed up but I'm still waiting on the engine. With all the Covid craziness, it seems supply chains are really backed up. I was able to install the hydraulic clutch and new tank so I'll be further along whenever the engine does arrive. I'm a bit worried about the clearance for the brake master cylinder but I guess I'll figure it out when the time comes. Now I'll start working on the inner fenders. They need a bunch of work to be salvageable.

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If you're running manual brakes you should be okay. But if you are wanting power brakes, from the looks of where that clutch master is, no way. You know I do make a booster bracket with the hydraulic clutch conversion made specifically for the '63-'66 trucks?

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Nice build. I like the direction you are going and the Tremec trans is awesome...T56 Magnum? I love my Tremec. The wheels look awesome already...

Not that you asked, but keep the stepside...I love stepsides more than fleetsides...more unique.

Re: Rotten 66 Farm Truck Build
 

Thanks Captain, I'll check out your backet when I get around to that part of the project. I'm wanting to use the POL hydro assist master. It can be rotated to give a bit more clearance but I'll need to pull some exact measurements to get an idea if it'll work. I definitely will not be using manual brakes.

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Thanks! Yeah its a T56 Magnum. The folks at American Powertrain did all the work moving the shifter to the maintenance port and installing the white lightning offset. I'm excited to get it installed to see how it's all going to line up inside the cab.

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I love the Magnum...cruising at 65 mph at 1700 RPMs. I bought the Tremec mid shifter and installed it. I like the American Powertrain...looks like you can rotate the shifter around a little which is nice. This is where mine came out on the hump with a SBC.

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I also offer a hydroboost mounting plate. Then you can simply purchase a hydroboost unit from your local auto parts store.

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And just speaking from expeiance with Captainfab stuff, it is SO WORTH IT!! His stuff is perfect and the price is great, let alone he has fantastic customer service... Besides that, the hydroboost system is the only way i will ever go. I have already bought the his plate for that and his Hydraulic Clutch kit.

Re: Rotten 66 Farm Truck Build
 

Thanks for the kind words :)

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A couple things have been completed since my last post. The vent windows showed up. I bought new ones as there doesn't seem to be an easy way to repair the old ones. In my opinion they are way overpriced but I didn't really find any other alternatives. I added new felts and seals while I was at it.

I also received my wiring harness from BluePrint Engines. I fabricated a mount for the accelerator pedal out of a piece of old square steel. It was the easiest way I could think of to offset the pedal off the firewall. I'm glad I finished that because my engine showed up a few days later.

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I was like a kid at Christmas time unboxing the crate engine. BluePrint dyno test each engine. I was expecting around 520s HP so to see 554 I was pretty stoked. It should be a good step up from the factory 250 inline 6. I ordered a set of headers from Speed Engineering. They are extremely well built for the price. I was a bit worried about fitment but all fit like a glove when it was in it's final mounting location. The shifter came up through the floor in a nice spot. I'll just need to cut a patch for the factory hole and weld it up. Seeing the new lower stance with the engine weight has me jonesing to drive it.

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Looks great! Really like the look of the LS engine in our trucks. Wheels look great! I have a few questions?

What gas pedal did you use? Where did you get your vent windows? Mine are beyond repair and I think new ones are overpriced also, but go to do what I got to do! And finally who did the engine come from? Did it come with the serpentine system and wiring harness? I am thinking of an LS engine in an upcoming build.

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I'll try to answer your questions in order that you asked...

Gas pedal- It came with the Engine Controller Kit from BluePrint. P/N - BPPLS530. You could also get the same controller made by Chevrolet Performance from Jegs or Summit. I think the BluePrint one has a custom tune setup for the engine I bought.

Vent Windows- Classic Industries

Engine- BluePrint Engines, I bought part number PSLS3760CTFKB which comes with full accessories kit. I literally only added a starter and headers.

Re: Rotten 66 Farm Truck Build
 

Thank you! That answered my questions...love the setup!

Re: Rotten 66 Farm Truck Build
 

Just stumbled accross this build awesome work, amazing how fast things can snowball from original build ideas. Great work

Re: Rotten 66 Farm Truck Build
 

Thanks! I appreciate it.

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Progress is continuing slowly but surely. I decided make my own brackets to mount my PCM and fuse block that controls the LS3. The mount I made bolts to the side of the steering/pedal structure and also ties into the accelerator pedal. I bought a painless wiring kit to rewire the entire truck while I was wiring up the engine controller. I was really impressed with how well that kit was put together.