After being a devout Volkswagen owner, I've decided to get a good old Chevy truck similar to my grandpa's 1965 C20. I'm looking for between a 1962 and 1966 C10 or C20. I've found two candidates, under $1200. I need some help in deciding which one to buy. One is a 1966 C20 Custom camper, with 327 V8 and Automatic trans. Power steering, power brakes. The body is ok with dents here and there, and rustrot under the doors. The interior is fair at best. The truck runs and shifts excellent, needing a wheel balance and new shocks on the rear. The tailgate is kinda rough. Someone also rattlecanned the entire truck, so it looks kinda crappy. The truck has the usual dents. I suspect even house paint with a brush would look better than the sorry rattlecan job. The other truck is a 1962 C10 283 V8 4 speed. Body is in better shape than the '66, with fewer small dents needing a new bed only. The owner claims that in runs great (will test drive Friday) and needs very little. Of course my final decision rests on the operating condition of the engine and trans. The '66 is $1000 and the '62 is $1200. Thanks for your thoughts. ~Scott
Welcome to the world of watercooled engines Depends on what your goal is, is it just to drive or do you want to lower it, etc. The 66 is a 3/4 ton, with the eight lug rims, etc, and not as desirable (to most people) as the 1/2 ton, which is a little easier to modify and easier to find parts for. All things being equal, my personal preference would be the 66, especially if its got the Turbo 350 tranny instead of the Powerglide. However, the number one thing I would look for is the one with the least amount of rust. The front fender usually rust out right in front of the doors, but those can be replaced. Check the cab supports underneath the floor and see if those are rusted out. If you want to see want happens when you buy a truck with too much rust, check out my money (and time) pit! http://community.webshots.com/user/65k10 Have fun.
bk65, My main plan was to just drive it and maybe someday get it painted a little better. The '66 has some rust holes under the door, as well as a small one over the drivers' fender outer on the box. I suppose the box could just be replaced. The owner said it has a Dana ?? rearend, don't know much about that. I did notice that the '62 has rust bubbles under the paint. I have no plans to lower or trick out anything, I'm sorta one of those guys that likes the stock appearance. I do have a couple of questions. How can you tell what trans it has? Is one of them a bad model? I believe this one ('66) has P R N D L1 L2 for gears, but I'd have to look again to verify. I was suprised that it had power steering and power brakes too. The fenders are good, except for one which he says he has a replacement. ~Scott
Sounds like the 66 has the Turbo350 trans which is a three speed auotmatic as opposed to the Powerglide which is a two speed automatic. The powerglide would only have PRNDL instead of P R N D L1 L2. Something else that comes to mind is the front suspension on the 62, I'm not sure when they switched from the torsion bar front suspension to the more modern style setup, but I'm sure someone out there has that information.
I'll have to check what the readout on the column for the shift says so I'll know for sure what kind of trans it has. I believe that 62 was the last year for torsion bars and the hydralic clutch. Any advantages/disadvantages of this? ~Scott
Hydraulic clutch is a little smoother, or at least as smooth as something that old can be, but the only problem ith the hydraulic that Ive found on my 62 is that mine has a big problem with the rubber O rings on the piston in the slave cylinder going bad, and then all of the fluid leaks out. That and the brakes and the clutch run off of the same master cylinder, so when the slave leaks, guess what? No brakes, and that can suck, if you see what I mean. And yes, 62 was the ladt year of the torsion bar system. Hope this helps in your decision. Pat
I think my final decision would depend on the condition of the BODY. Go over the body closely for rust. The usual places are the front fenders, almost a gimme. But check the cab really good. The rocker panels below the doors, the lower rear corners of the cab. Inside, look at the kick panels where they meet the floor. If there is evidence of rot there, check the roof drip rails and roof for leakage. Also check the cab supports, and the right inner fenderwell and radiator support around the battery. The running gear is easy to fix, lots of parts available for that. A body that is rotted will run into mega-bucks.. Dennis
