new guy to rods, any advise will be taken

hey there, im new to the board and to rods, ive had a couple project cars in the past but always been newer turbo stuff. now i have got a 65 chevy c10 shortbed stepside, with a 230c.i. 3 speed that was put in the floor, with some junky seats, not much of a bed and alot of rust. any advise on what not to do or what to look for would be great. i am a jap bike tech by day and all my projects before have been jap or euro, so its a little different for me this time. here a few pics of my truck and my 78 cb400t rat bike its still a work in progress to but its getting closer. the pics of the bike are a little old, since the pics a had to straighten the frame so a replaced the top tube and racked the neck 4 degrees, and fitted a cb160 gas tank to it, hope you guys like it

 

sorry just noticed there a noob intro thread, guess im just show im a noob, some one can move it for me if they want

 

When you look for advice from any expert- remember most experts AREN'T.

Soak it all in, but it takes quite a while to sort the junk from the good.

Cool truck. Cool Honda. Don't waste em.
Don't ruin classic lines for the fad-of-the-week that you can't change back when the fad is no longer cool.

and remember- most experts aren't.

 

You can't go wrong with those old Chevy trucks. They're cool no matter what you do to them. I did'nt notice the wooden bedsides at first, but that is kinda neat and different. I would'nt mind having that truck myself.

 

Lots of info here:

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/

 

www.stovebolt.com

 

Wow, good luck! Hope you keep the inline and dress it with the best speed parts. Can you say split manifold and straight pipes. Good for you for converting over that's great. Please don't make some r** rod p.o.s. out of this. If I were you I would get it running, driving, and safe and then cruise it from a bit then start doing some modifications. Good luck! Also love the bike!

 

Great advice. I found this helped me stay motivated, but also allowed me to drive the car. I also agree - keep the inliner. But I am biased coz I dig old school inline sixes. That Honda is cool. Is it a Benly?

Louie

 

i plan on doing exactly that, getting it run and safe to drive , and driving it, run, stop, stance, bady, something to that order, and as for the benly remaerk not sure what your referring to. please explain

 

I've done 15 or 20 for other people.

The most bang for the buck is adding a P/S box from 70 to 87 chev/gmc pickups, and then just add a P/B booster.... if you find a 67-72 with a front swaybar and frame brackets, grab that too. 3/4 ton swaybar is best, but 1/2 is ok.

keep it simple at first, rather than some "entire front clip replacement" which IS NOT needed if you did want discs later.


For now, keep it simple and easy; the 3 mods will make it like a cadillac on the road.


next would be the gear ratio. If it still has the stock 3.73, then you really need OD or a later rear (up to 87 4wheel drive 6 lug), that could be anywhere from a 2.5, 2.76, or 3.07

 

HONDA CB92 125 Super Sports were Produced between 1959 and 1964 The OP indicated it was a 78.

Kool truck by the way.

 

Welcome wannabuild, nice old Stepside, drop it and drive it, can't go wrong.
Also like those 15x8" rally wheels, they are hard to find, good looking wheel, after you lose the beauty rings.....

 

Check this out, end to end.

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=108866

 

ok so attempt number one to start the truck today was a bust. i had removed the carb, stock rochester monojet, and put a 15 dollar rebuild kit in it hoping it might work, well the shafts and every other moving part are just way to worn. i had also pulled the starter motor and freed up the bendix, well that did little good as well, the motor will tunover about 4 or 5 times before the bendix goes back in, so it would never hit long enough to start. also the wiring is crap, the only way i could get the starter motor to spin is if i stuck power straight to it. so now i am on the hunt for a good carb set up on the straight six motor, and i will be rebuilding the starter, and fixing the starter circuit wiring. any suggestion on a carb, not wanting anything special just reliable.

 

First, welcome to the asylum. There is a lot to learn and share here. Enjoy it all.
I must admit that pickups just don't excite me very much, more into pre-war (WW2) machinery. But, that Chev you picked up is beautiful. I would be very tempted to leave it alone as far as the overall shape is concerned, it's too nice to change. But, engine, gerbox and so on...go for it. Interior, do what works for you. You have the beginnings of a great street machine.

 

That is the place, many people here are on both sites.

Many low cost mods for these trucks, and they ride very well for something that old (better than many new pickups).

IMHO get the truck running, and look for better sheet metal- it is still cheap (ish). My 63 is 'mostly' reliable now, drove about 1500 miles in the last couple of weeks with no problems except my inability to read gas gauge!

 

Since you're from tenosee you need to put some R in the tars.
Nice rides.
Welcome!

 

A good place to start here is to make sure your photos aren't too wide so that viewers don't have to keep scrolling sideways to see them. I resize mine to 8 inches wide.
That year Chevy truck has always been one of my favorites.

 

"Don't allow what you can't do to keep you from doing what you CAN do."

John Wooden

 

Before you do anything.......................
Move that extension ladder! That's a trip to the Er just waiting to happen.

 

Not sure what kind of advice You´re after here, but here´s what I think: Looks like a pretty complete truck as it sits, so first and foremost, get it running, keep it that way and enjoy it on the road first before getting into anything extensive, rebuild- or modifications-wise. If You feel "mods" are in order, take Your time looking at other people´s similar vehicles for ideas, mapping out what exactly might and might not work for You. Stay away from any and all "fads".
If it were mine, I´d keep any possible "mods" to the mechanical -side, the truck looks cool to me the way it sits. Never seen a wooden bed like that before, btw
Best of luck.

 

As far as the engine, get it running and get a handle on how it is in regard to leaks, smoking out the pipe etc. and enjoy it. The most important thing to remember is that any 230/250 block from 1968 down has the potential (and a pretty good potential) to spring a water leak into the oil gallery and is junk once that happens. If you are going to do an engine get a later block and they will all pretty much work right up to the last generation with the integral head. Save the original block in the event someone wants that particular year or wants to buy your rig with the original block....even if it is sitting in the bed!!!

Feel free to contact me if you have any questions about adding some punch when you hit the loud pedal.

BTW...that is IMHO the most beautiful P/U Chevy, or anyone for that matter, ever built. Congratulations!!!

 

from being a mechanic that has worked on lots of stuff.. a nut is a nut and a bolt is a bolt.. compared to all the import stuff classic american iron is a cake walk. you know how to work on cars.. its pretty much all the same...

 

I like it. It has great possibilities. You have a real opportunity here to spend lots of time and money. Good luck!

 

just stay away from the flat black and red wheels and you'll be fine

 

Welcome to The HAMB. Just about the best, (and first ), thing to do, is buy a FACTORY Chevrolet shop manual....Not a Chilton's, not a Haynes, not a Motors Manual. The factory Chevrolet manual is well written and illustrated, and will cover repairs to all areas of the truck, suspension, engine, fuel system, wiring, etc.

 

Hey, welcome from East TN. Truck looks like a great place to start and that little scoot rocks. I love the old Jap bikes, they're everything a builder could want, cheap, easy to find and dead reliable. I have a KZ650 CSR I'm going to build a hardtale for as soon as I can find a local supplier for DOM. As for advice, I don't really have any except build something you like because it's yours, none of us has to look at it. Oh and grow a thick skin if you plan to hang around here long. It isn't like the old wild west days of yesterHAMB but some of the guy's on here can be ignorant or dicks or ignorant dicks. With that said it's still the deepest well of good knowledge and info I've found. Just remember what Ronald Regan said, "trust but verify."

Oh yeah, good luck on the truck.

 

ok so i replaced the starter solenoid and now the truck will turn over with the key, but i have no spark, so now i guess its time to chase that train, but i did go to the dmv and get an antique tag and register it, and my title should be on its way shortly. i hope

 

After you make sure you have 12 volts going to the coil, check to make sure the points are clean. Turn the motor by hand till they close then take a crisp new hundred dollar bill and slide it through between them several times. That's a joke but a bill of some kind does a nice job. Have a buddy turn it over, cap and rotor off of course. If the points are working you'll see (and hear) the little ark. You could take them out and file them if you like but, I always just put in new points, condencer, rotor, cap, wires and plugs right off the bat when I'm trying to breath life into one, just to have a baseline. Setting the points with a feeler guage ain't rocket science, there are good directions on here somewhere. replace that old carb with something that'll mix fuel and air and, as long as you have compression, you should be pissing your neighbors off in no time.

 

the bike is a 78 cb400t hawk, the gas tank however is off a cb160