What did I get myself in to now? One piece at a time 64-6

[DJ Bill]

A brief intro.. My name is Bill, I live in central TX and do oversize load escorting for a living.. Last week a buddy of mine calls me up and wanted me to look at a truck for him...Long story short, he bought it and it is at my house awaiting the long ride to the northeast...

Here's an album of pictures....http://s1296.photobucket.com/user/FBill ... %20Project


It turns out to be a 63-4 crossmember mount style cab on a 66 frame... Someone was driving it and actually spent the time to paint it so we know it was together at one point, but now it has no drivetrain. It has column/steering box compatibility issues, with a 1977 (D7) numbered power steering box and some custom holes in the cab to line up with the column.

Here's a view from the front:


Does anyone recognize the frame engine mounts? We were told it is a set of 292 mounts.

I also picked up a bunch of spare parts from a guy in DFW and got a 240 short block (no head, we could use one)
with a column shift 3 speed tranny with all the linkage , etc...Here's the only pic of that I have right now...it is a core, with all the accessories still bolted on , missing the head and all its ancillary parts..

BTW we also need the frame end of the clutch tube mount....missed getting it by two hours..

We are still deciding which way to go with this, he's looking for a decent looking truck with capability for Sunday drives and maybe some very light hauling from Home Depot, etc.. Another project has a 4 speed granny tranny but it will not work with a 6 without the right bell housing which he does not have. He does have a 72 longbed bumpside for parts but not much will work and he really isn't into putting its390 together for this truck..

So.....if you have time, check out the album and tell me we aren't completely nuts trying to build a truck out of this basket case...I don't even own it and I am in love...especially after looking around this site..Now I need to find one too.

[DJ Bill]

Here's some front end sheet metal pics. The owner wants to use the 66 grille we got in DFW, (It is the most complete needing only turn signal lenses.) Fenders appear to be pre 65 ones with the rounded inners...still have to see how the left one will fit over that steering box..


only pic I have of inner fenders, just sitting on the truck today..


The front end came loosely packed in the bed...



We also have this 72 shortbed frame he was going to use to convert his 72 to a shortbed but I don't think we need to use it on this truck....no mounts unfortunately.. That project is being put on hold for now....and a few parts are getting robbed for this truck, like power steering pump and radiator, and bumpers..

[simonscr]

The body looks to be in really nice condition. Looks like a good solid foundation for a project. Put it together this spring and drive it this summer!

[bruceandersson]

Interesting project. The frame is the 65-66 style. The mounts look like the std 240/300/352 perches. They will work with FE engines (352, 360, 390, 427, 428) or the 240/300 six.

[DJ Bill]

That is good news, Thanks! now we need to figure out the steering column issue..

[Toyz]

Welcome, Bill!
Looks like a good start if you don't mind sweating the details. 240/300's are easy to find; as are the Windsor motors if ya'll prefer to avoid the 390 ( my choice). If you can get around Fort Worth in time for Pate, there will be an abundance of parts choices and knowledge available. I should have the needed clutch frame bracket; it's yours if needed. I can ship it, bring it to Pate, or make other arrangements as needed.
Do the cab mounts appear to be from the leaf spring frame other source? If they are original , the column may be the only serious concern.
Good luck on the project; if you get down around Houston, let us know! We have quite a contingent; most of us as- deep in projects!
Paul

[DJ Bill]

The cab mounts, at least the front ones, are bolted to the frame and appear to have been removed from the earlier style frame.. Definitely hold onto that bracket for me....I have seen one in person and think I could build one but the time would be better spent on figuring other issues like the column.

A question for everyone...I have the column roughed in place and loosely bolted up right now... Can anyone tell me how much column sticks out of the dash? A measurement from the dash edge to the top of the clumn or bottom center of the wheel would help a bunch..

Also......is the column supposed to be off center with the speedometer, off to the right about 2 inches?

[unibody madness]

Welcome from California!
It looks like a great start
The column is offset to the right as you describe. I do not believe that column and steering box are a match to each other so a measurement may not be available. You may have to hunt and peck at it to acheive desired results.
Do the vin numbers frame to cab match? If they do, it would go a long way to helping figure out what will, and will not fit with a minimum of fuss.
Pate should be high on your list, from what I read, there is a lot of knowledge, and help just sitting there waiting to be mined
John

[Toyz]

You may have noted that the engine perches also offset the engine to the right. The 240 /300 will set on those perches; as mentioned earlier, they are NOT 292. 292's were never originally installed in the coil spring trucks. the 240/300/302/351w bellhousings will all bolt up to the engine; in fact you might look at the possibility of a hydraulic clucth mechanism. Keep your 240 flywheel ,the V8's have external balance and thus will not work well.
Paul

[DJ Bill]

Welcome from California!
It looks like a great start
The column is offset to the right as you describe. I do not believe that column and steering box are a match to each other so a measurement may not be available. You may have to hunt and peck at it to acheive desired results.
Do the vin numbers frame to cab match? If they do, it would go a long way to helping figure out what will, and will not fit with a minimum of fuss.
Pate should be high on your list, from what I read, there is a lot of knowledge, and help just sitting there waiting to be mined
John

I need to know approximately where a stock wheel ends up compared to the seat and dash.....so we are in the ballpark with the column. I did see on another site how to shorten a column so eventually we may end up shortening the three on the tree setup so we won't need a floor shifter....or not.

Frame and cab vin are different, and cab vin is on the glovebox door. It is titled (current with non op tags) to the frame. Eventually we will have Marti make up a door vin tag to whatever engine and rear axle the truck ends up with.

I appreciate all the help, going to PATE sounds like an excellent idea which means work will probably make it impossible... I just love being at the beck and call of the large corporations....
Thank you for all the help so far guys. At least I won't have to reinvent the wheel with this one, which is way cool.

[DJ Bill]

Spent some time today doing a dry assemble of the parts we had... Used the diesel engine hoist to put the short block and tranny in...

Discovered the mount towers were slightly rear by about 2-3 inches, engine fit but driveshaft and tranny crossmember both needed it to go ahead... Bolted it down for the trip to NY anyhow, Bob will be installing another good engine so this is just a way to get the engine safely to him with all the accessories ....Here's the clutch tube alignment..

I am assuming the stock bracket places the pivot halfway between the two bolts you see sticking up out of the frame. If you look close you can also see how near the firewall the block is...about an inch or less and the head is not bolted on.

Steering box still giving us some fits, mainly with column fit. It is useable the way it is , especially with power steering, but a nice tilt column in a custom length sure would be an improvement.. The early cab is designed for a much more upright column mounting, and this is more towards horizontal, which puts the wheel lower than we like.

But it has a 1977 power steering box installed which seems to be freshly rebuilt, so I think it will stay. Here you can see both the new box and the holes the mount needs to move ahead to:




At the end of the day after loosely bolting the nose on, it looks once more like a great old truck.


The hood hinges are a trip, I had to manually push the hood into alignment, I am thinking the springs might be shot...
It looks eager to get going...no rubber mount in one side of the rad support so it sits a wee bit crooked but we can tell folks that's frame twist from the tremendous 240 powerhouse...

[simonscr]

I have always found that the best way to approach a basket case project, is to loosely reassemble it to find out exactly what you have!
Will be good for title transfer and vin inspection too, a lot of states would prefer to inspect a vehicle that looks like a vehicle, rather than a pile of parts.

[DJ Bill]

Just an update on this project.....Unfortunately the truck got away from us unloading it off a trailer and it ended up injuring its owner badly. It is on indefinite hold. Lessons were learned but at a great cost.

Before the accident another complete and running 66 was bought off Ebay, which was not as good in person as we had hoped but the remanufactured engine for this truck is now going in that one, and a few other parts.... I am trying to get that job done but there is a flywheel matter to be solved before I can install it. The flywheel we had already had machined for this engine turns out not to fit the pressure plate we had ordered, the bolt holes are too close together.

[unibody madness]

Sorry to hear about the injury, hope all parties recoup soon.
I missed the added posts. but would say that the steering column originally went through the floor board through that triangular looking hole.
Do not know about your state but out here the vin number matches the frame not the engine or cab. engines can be replaced and sheetmetal isriveted on the frame is stamped and these trucks are concidered pre smog.

[DJ Bill]

Yes, and if I could find a 66 cab in the shape this one is in, I'd gladly trade it out...With it being a dry Oklahoma truck all its life there is very little rust in the floors and braces underneath an only the typical outer skin repair needed to one rear cab corner. The steering column issue is the tough one to solve. Ideally he should be using a tilt wheel PS column from a floor shift truck but we may still have to adjust its length.

Unfortunately the owner isn't going to be walking normally for most likely a year...One leg he is not supposed to put any weight on for months. (It isn't hard to comply with that, there is so much pain when he even moves that hip. )