63 v 66 chevy truck questions

Im looking to buy a chevy truck with that body style btn 63 and 66. I found 2 chevys truck for sale that I like. Ones a 63 and the other is a 66. Both are about in the same condition and price range. To be honest I like them both. SO my question is this, is there a difference between the 2? Does the 63 have something that the 66 doesnt? and vica versa? i dont know enough about these year chevy trucks to make the call. My instincts say alway buy the older, but hell I dont know.
I mean is there some thing chevy did in those years to make one better than the other? they even look a like. So any chevy truck guys that like that mid 60s body, what do you think?

 

windshields are different and some other superficial stuff

 

the windshields, and they added the optional 220hp 327 in 65

 

60-63 has vertical A pillars, 64-66 has slanted A pillars. Everything else is pretty much the same.

 

64 is the change year.windsheild,cowl side panels,and dashes,earlier years had the humps in dash.66 will have b u lights and seatbelts and the better dash in my opinion

 

60-63 have a wrap around windshield making for different doors than 64-66.
64-66 have the same windshield and doors.

other parts are basically interchangeable, hoods, dashes, grilles, bumpers etc.

the main visual difference between 63 and 66 would be the grille.

 

doors and windshield different,,,so is dash,but 63 and up have the same suspension...63 has a different grill than 64-66...i like the 63s better but thats just because i have one...lol

 

Like the other guys said, the windshield in the '63 curves around the side and on the '64-'66 its relatively flat. This means the doors, vent windows and gl*** are also different and don't interchange between '63 and '64-'66. Grills will also be slightly different between the two, but this is just aesthetics.

Either or will make a fine truck. The important thing with these trucks is to buy the one with the least amount of rust. Here's where to look...
above the windshield
all four hood corners
bottoms of front fenders
door bottoms
cab floor and toe board

There are patch panels for all of these common areas of rust out. Don't be fooled by "nice" paint, no telling what lies underneath. These trucks all rust in the same places. Lots of them out there with bondo over holes with "nice" paint on top just about to crack as soon as you sign the ***le, lol.

Post some pics up of the two options and prices.

 

I had a 65. I'm for sure that the 64-66 parts all interchange. I THINK 63 is a one year only for alot of the parts - includeing suspension being somewhat unique?(torsion bars?) the 64-66 shares suspension/frame with even the 67-72. So I like the 64-66. I'm not a big fan of the curved windshield either.

 

63 is coil springs front and rear...62 and down has the torsion bars

 

yes, that's it! That's why I remember the 63 as being unique, new suspension/old body.......
Thanks for the reminder.

 

The frame is very close in looks, but they won't fit.





One 63 only part is the rear end. The housing is one year, as well as the inner axle shafts.

However 63 is very easy to fit a 73/87 Chev pickup rear into. Lots of better gear ratios. The 63 has a bracket that holds the panard bar to the right rear axle tube. The bracket can be cut off and welded to the later rear.

 

alot of people that are super into these trucks believe the 63 to be the most desirable. it has the early windshield and the late frame. so basically it's a one year only truck. great suspension and big windshield. i personally have had both and they call the early windshield the knee knocker cab for a reason. **** hurts.

 

'63s have a 1 year only grille, too.

I like any of the 60-66 trucks, but I like the '66 the best. You could get a 327 and a th400 starting in '66, and I like the dash better. The '66 had some unique features, too. The dash color was darker than any of the other years and it was the only one with back-up lights.

The 60-66 trucks are my favorite Chevy trucks. I own a '64, and if I had my way, I'd buy every 60-66 I could find. They look good in any version (stock, hotrod, 4X4, etc).

 

I prefer the 64-66 over the 63 for a number of reasons already stated. I have had one for over 15 years, and love the body style. There is also alot of upgrades that bolt right on for suspension as well.

 

i've got a chance to get a 64,I'm looking at it this weekend

 

I could be wrong,but I think some of the suspension parts are unique for the '64 model year also. I believe we ran into that problem when we rebuilt the front end on mine. That was a long time ago so my memory may not be right.

 

will a p*** 4spd swap w/truck 4spd?at crossmember?

 

A stock truck crossmember is at the bellhousing, not under the tailshaft housing. So, a car 4speed will fit fine, but the trans will be a lot longer.

The best way to do a car 4 speed, is to eliminate the bell crossmember and use a tail crossmember from an auto-trans 63 to 72 truck.

That 63-72 auto crossmember ties the top and bottom frame flanges together so the frame rails don't try to twist outwards from the m***ive weight of the front cab mounts.

Some builders use just a simple crossmember bolted to the lower frame flange, but that is not the best way, because the frame will twist out a bit at the cab mount.

 

Thank you F&J, i'm going to look at this truck,and i know i don;t want the granny 4spd .just getting ideas

 

Besides everything else stated I always look at:
Big or small window?
Long or short bed?
Fleet or step side?

My favorite is a '63 short fleetside big window deluxe cab...

 

Do you have the $$ and space to buy them both? You could work on them both until you see which one grows on you. Then sell off one for a profit.

I'm deffo in the market for a '63-66 C10. The C20 & C30 are a tad too much truck sometimes. Although I've had plenty of them in the past.

I've swapped Muncie 3 & 4 speeds in place of the C10 peanut boxes and can't recall any problems.

Bob

 

The radious on the '66 rear fender well is also different. At least when I parked my '65 next to '66s that was the major difference that I could see.

 

..and I seem to recall hearing that the '66's made in California had captured nuts in the cab (no, not the p***engers) for shoulder restraints, which were to follow in the next platform. If you're talking Custom Cab trim, the '63 has stainless cab flags & the '64-'66 have anodized aluminum. The '66 had a different "custom" steering wheel as compared to the '60-'65 (which was from a '59 Impala, I believe). There is also something that I could not quite understand, but when I bought my headers, all of the catalogs specified a different header for the '60-'65, as compared to the '66. The '66 seemed to be included with trucks up to '72 (again, if my memory serves me correct). Either truck is a very nice for everyday driving, mainly due to the compliant coil spring suspension. I've been driving my '66 as a "truck" for 13 years, with no complaints other than it's propensity to rust. I think they were built with compressed rust (but all cars & trucks of that era were essentially the same, come to think of it). Aftermarket power steering & a front sway bar are good additions for either year.

 

You are right about the wheel well size difference, but it's not a year to year thing. The shortbed fleetside wheel openings are smaller than the longbed fleetside openings. You have a good eye if spotted that. I never knew they were different until somebody pointed it out to me.

 

I think your only decision would be an early curved or flat windshield, i personally like the flat.

 

Complete replacement doors are available for the 64-66. Only panels are available for the earlier doors. The 66 will have more available (than the '63) for hubcaps, trim pieces, interior pieces, etc. LMC, Bill's Truck shop, Jim Carter's, Bowtie Bits, American Cl***ic, Cl***ic Truck Parts, are a**** the companies to find 60-66 parts. .

 

Curious about something on these trucks. Does the crossmember for the front of the trailing arms mount directly to the frame side rails, and how long in length are these crossmembers? Playing around with 2 link suspensions.

 

The cross member does indeed mount to the frame rail.

On the header question I think in '66 they went to a rear mount on the ****** and lost the mid mount so they also would have lost the cross member that was right at the bell housing. That would mean a difference in the way that the collectors tucked in.

 

Most of what's been said. I've had several of these and have my '63 short wide in the drive way now. Chrome grills for '63 are scarce and expensive, for '64-'66 cheap and available, wind shields also more expensive, the '63 has a one year only turn signal switch and several other misc. electrical items that can be harder to find. The dash, instruments, etc. are different. If it needs a lot of fixin and money is an issue the '64-'66 will cost less to do up.
Mine has a 327 and a T-10 4 speed.