Lost My 65

[66-PMD-GMC]

You are aware that the carburetor is not parallel to the crank right?

[LostMy65]

Originally Posted by 66-PMD-GMC

You are aware that the carburetor is not parallel to the crank right?

No I was not.
Originally I measured the transmission angle by setting the angle finder on the fluid pan bolts.
There I got 4 degrees.
I did find this thread on the yoke slop :

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=629561

[step65]

I thought the top of carb should be level because the manifold has a 2 or 3 degree correction to make it level. So your reading of 4 degrees at the trans I would think is more accurate. I can move my yoke in front a little but not much.

[LostMy65]

Originally Posted by LostMy65

... Clip..
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Next I used a technique I found on the Internet to check if your driveline is out of balance. You jack the back wheels off the ground, start it, put it in gear, and Rev it up until you feel the vibration. Then while it's at that rpm, take a marker taped to a stick and slowly raise the marker until it barely ticks the driveline. Do it at both ends and the middle.

I did this.
Down near the pinion, I got a nice straight line all the way around.
Up by the transmission I only got about a 2" long mark. About 1/4 of the whole circumference of the driveline.
The mark denotes the heavy side.
So I mounted two hose clamps on the opposite side of the mark.
Took it for a spin. Drove it around varying my speed.
A definite change for the better. So much so, I'm not sure if there's still an itsy bitsy vibration, or it just the rough roads.
I still plan on taking it to a shop to have it balanced, I just wanted to personally tag down that it was the driveline.
Next I'll move on to installing a front sway bar.
Then perhaps power drum brakes. Discs are still a ways down my 'To Do' list.
Thanks everyone for the help.

[LostMy65]

Yep, drove it around some more this weekend. Vibration is gone.
Mocked up the sway bar.
http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...93#post7520493

[lowbuck]

The new drive shaft that you purchased wasn't balanced correctly?

[LostMy65]

Originally Posted by lowbuck

The new drive shaft that you purchased wasn't balanced correctly?

I determined the length I needed by using a 6" yoke I had.
I'm new to some of this, so I didn't know there was different yoke lengths.
The driveline they sent me came with a 4" yoke, so I had to swap the 4" one out for the 6" one I had. I'm thinking the driveline would have been fine with the yoke it came with.

[likaroc13]

Glad you got it sorted out!

[LostMy65]

Small update...
.
I've been using the truck for spring time yard chores.
.
.
Driving here and there - picking up this and that - pulling my trailer around - has got me really loving putting in an automatic transmission. We live in semi-rurals. Curvy back roads. Stop and go. Up and down hills. Having the Auto Transmission and Power Steering has totally improved the pleasure. I'm really wanting Power Disc Brakes.
So, as for future upgrades to my 65, I've been debating something for some time now. As I mentioned, my 65 is on a 62 frame. (This I did back in the early 80's.) And although I like the Torsion bar front suspension, and I know the parts are available for the 60-62 chassis to do any future upgrades, what upgrades I've done so far would have been easier with the 63-66 chassis. I like the idea of just using all 73+ parts on a 63-66 frame. As I get older, it'll make working on it much easier. Besides, the whole body is 64-66, so might as well put my 65 on the correct 64-66 frame.
So I bit the bullet. Picked up a 64-66 frame.
Already blasted and painted. I'm going to do all the upgrades to it first, and then just move my body parts over to it. That way I can continue to drive my truck like it is. Minimal downtime. :-)

[LostMy65]

Here's a couple pics of the new frame.

[66-PMD-GMC]

Good plan

[Palf70Step]

I would try and change out the e-brake system to the 66-68 style and get rid of that pain in the butt ebrake cross-member. Nice looking frame!

[LostMy65]

Thanks
Yep.
I plan to go with the newer e-brake cable system.
Also going to use the 73-87 motor mounts.
And Rear mount tank.
The thing I really like about this plan is I can get all the undercarriage the way I want it. All with easy access.
I'm rather happy with this decision.

[lowbuck]

That's a great way of doing the frame change over. The truck won't be off the road for long and you won't loose interest in the project.Nice to see that you use your truck.

[66-PMD-GMC]

By far, the easier way to run brake lines, fuel line, etc...
I put together a new motor for mine that way too..
The truck was already on the road, I basically just set the old body on a brand new chassis/drivetrain. .

[Captainfab]

I agree that, that is a good and wise plan.

That frame has a strange looking trans crossmember. It isn't like anything I have seen in a truck before.

[LostMy65]

Thanks guys.

Yes, Captain. I was going to ask you about that Trans member. I used the Google search this site has and searched images but didn't find one that looked like this one. If it gives me any issues, I have one from a 67-72 I can use.

Originally Posted by Captainfab

I agree that, that is a good and wise plan.

That frame has a strange looking trans crossmember. It isn't like anything I have seen in a truck before.

[likaroc13]

Glad you're getting to enjoy the truck. Like the others have said, the frame swap sounds like a nice idea as well.

[1981_c10]

Really enjoyed reading through this thread! I am "recreating" my dad's 62 c10 from high school. He sold it to a junker when he was younger in his first marriage. He regrets it all the time. I would love to find it....but he thinks it is long gone.

Also, dig the blue/black patina.

[LostMy65]

This time of the year is the most beautiful.
Everything is lush and green.
Although the blackberries just love it too. :-(
I guess I need to get out there with a machete.

[LostMy65]

Relocated my new frame.
Putting it under a covered area where I can start working on it.

[LostMy65]

Before I went to power steering, I had a lot of play in my old manual steering box. So I chalked up my steering instability to the old worn steering box. For my upgrade to power steering, I went with redhead because wanted to have nice tight steering with no play. After I upgraded to power steering, I noticed a huge improvement in steering stability, but it still didn't have what I was wanting. So I went through all the linkage and arm connections again to make sure there weren't any warn components.
Well, I went to searching and reading the forums for some more learnin. I learned about caster, camber and toe - enough to give me the confidence to do my own alignment.
Camber and Toe weren't the issue. It was caster.
My truck had almost zero caster. I've learned that more positive caster will give more straight driving stability.
So, I started with taking two shims off the back posts on the upper arms. A definite improvement.
Going to give a it little more caster

[Low Elco]

You can move your lower a-arms forward up to 3/4" of an inch for better caster, and highway stability. There are several threads on here detailing how. Enjoy watching your continuing saga.

[LostMy65]

Thanks,
Rocknrod posted a link to that thread in another thread.

Originally Posted by The Rocknrod

You want to talk about Castor? - http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=501241

[LostMy65]

Because the ol' fella who had my 65, bought the rims for the truck as part of his vision, I pretty much decided to keep them since getting her back. That way as I send him progress pics, he can see I still have them. It doesn't hurt that I also happen to like them.
They are 10" wide with 295/50-R15 all the way around.
When I mocked up the Drop Spindles with Discs, I noticed it was going to move my wheels out almost 1/2 per side. So I've been keeping my eyes out for the same wheel at 8" wide. I'll do the 8"s in the front and the 10"s in the rear.
Set them up so I can keep this look.

.
After watching the ads for over a year, I finally found the same wheels in 8".
They came with 31x10.5-R15's so I thought I'd mount them up just for kicks. Not my taste.



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