Mods
- 4.8L L6 292 bored .040 over and rebuilt with everything new
- SM420 rebuilt with everything new and modified trans brake
- Custom stainless exhaust with Massey Ferguson muffler
- 15k lb rear two speed axle rebuilt to shift correctly between hi/lo gear
- Rebuilt/modified vacuum system and two speed shifter
- Rebuilt/modified fuel system
- Personally rebuilt Rochester B carb
- 60s era C80 HD brake boost system installed for better stopping power
- Rebuilt/replaced/custom brake system on all 4 corners
- All custom stainless brake lines throughout
- Rebuilt front axle
- 12V converted from factory 6V electrical
- All new custom wire harness built to factory color code with modern blade fuse panels
- Rebuilt, modified and custom lighting throughout
- Custom hard wired grounds for everything electrical throughout
- Aftermarket retro stereo and CB installed
- West-coast style mirrors rebuilt and modified
- Legal lock ring wheels installed
- Custom fabricated modular dump bed and underbody storage designed/built
- Custom stackable bed sides designed/built
- SM420 rebuilt with everything new and modified trans brake
- Custom stainless exhaust with Massey Ferguson muffler
- 15k lb rear two speed axle rebuilt to shift correctly between hi/lo gear
- Rebuilt/modified vacuum system and two speed shifter
- Rebuilt/modified fuel system
- Personally rebuilt Rochester B carb
- 60s era C80 HD brake boost system installed for better stopping power
- Rebuilt/replaced/custom brake system on all 4 corners
- All custom stainless brake lines throughout
- Rebuilt front axle
- 12V converted from factory 6V electrical
- All new custom wire harness built to factory color code with modern blade fuse panels
- Rebuilt, modified and custom lighting throughout
- Custom hard wired grounds for everything electrical throughout
- Aftermarket retro stereo and CB installed
- West-coast style mirrors rebuilt and modified
- Legal lock ring wheels installed
- Custom fabricated modular dump bed and underbody storage designed/built
- Custom stackable bed sides designed/built
Build story
Shes a 1964 Chevrolet C60 that started life with a lumber company, got moved to a farm, then a classic car restorer who wanted to slam it into a low rider, and then ultimately to me. She barely ran, struggled to move, had no brakes, two speed axle was out, had zero working electrical, and the bed was falling apart. I hauled her home late in 2019 hoping to quickly fix and modify the bed for my needs and then run it as is while saving up money for an eventual repower to a Detroit 4-53, but as I dug in, it was clear she wasn’t going to move again. I backed her into the barn, jacked her up, and began the process of ripping her apart shortly after the start of quarantine. After pulling the old 292 I found wear rings on the cylinders roughly .020” with nearly zero compression, meaning she was worn out and indicating that the odometer had turned over at least twice if not more. I ended up at a crossroad: either repower now or completely rebuild the current setup. Understanding the cost of the repower, I ruled it out, and started on the rebuilt.
The engine got bored 0.040 over and rebuilt with all new parts while the head was decked and rebuilt entirely new as well. The SM420 got completely rebuilt and the rear axle and vacuum controls were all replaced/rebuilt. Every last part/component of the brake system is new, on entirely custom bent and fabricated stainless lines. The fueling system was all replaced for new due to ethanol deterioration, and I fully dismantled and rebuilt the carb. The ignition is all new and every bit of wiring in the truck is new, on a custom made wiring harness that matches the factory color codes with most of the factory pigtail connectors, and on modern blade fuse panels. I have done zero body work shy of priming some areas of surface rust, sealing lights to the roof, and replacing the battery box. I did clean up and repaint the engine bay to match the fresh engine.
Initially the whole point of the truck was to haul logs as I cleared land, but with the excessive powertrain work, I had time to better plan out the custom bed. I scrapped initial ideas and opted for a hybrid setup to allow multiple configurations of the truck to support my new farm. I ripped the old rotten bed off, straightened the dump frame, and fabricated a massive headache rack system to protect the cab of the truck. The headache rack is all ¼” steel directly welded to the dump frame and is beyond overkill, all with safety in mind. I then designed and fabricated log bunks from ¼” square tubing and I-beams to serve as the primary bed frame. Spaced between the log bunks is further ¼” C-channel beams to fully complete the sub-frame of the dump body. Along the outer sides are angle iron for added linear rigidity to the sub-frame, and to provide strapping points for ratchet straps for securing loads. A bed floor then tops it off, which is secured to the sub-frame with wooden beams that attach to each cross brace and log bunk. From there stake pockets run along the outside and back of the bed. Two sets of two foot tall bed sides slip inside the stake pockets and push outward on the log bunk uprights to turn the bed into a box configuration of either two or four foot tall depending on the need. The bed can be adapted from full four foot tall box down to flatbed log configuration by a single person in under 5 minutes. All of it was finished with underbody toolboxes mounted between the rear axle and the cab. Custom mounting brackets were fabricated and the frame was drilled out to then mount the brackets to, securing the toolboxes.
All work barring transmission and engine machining and crank assembly was done by me on nights and weekends. The truck is not restored, and never will be. Unlike most of this vintage which are rotten out and long since gone, this girl still remains. She is not a show truck, a pavement princess, or a restored roller; rather she is the polar opposite, rebuilt strong, spending hefty time both on and off road while loaded. Everything I rebuilt was done so for reliability and safety so she can get the job done. She is old Detroit Iron that is once again ruling the road and doing what she was born to do.
The engine got bored 0.040 over and rebuilt with all new parts while the head was decked and rebuilt entirely new as well. The SM420 got completely rebuilt and the rear axle and vacuum controls were all replaced/rebuilt. Every last part/component of the brake system is new, on entirely custom bent and fabricated stainless lines. The fueling system was all replaced for new due to ethanol deterioration, and I fully dismantled and rebuilt the carb. The ignition is all new and every bit of wiring in the truck is new, on a custom made wiring harness that matches the factory color codes with most of the factory pigtail connectors, and on modern blade fuse panels. I have done zero body work shy of priming some areas of surface rust, sealing lights to the roof, and replacing the battery box. I did clean up and repaint the engine bay to match the fresh engine.
Initially the whole point of the truck was to haul logs as I cleared land, but with the excessive powertrain work, I had time to better plan out the custom bed. I scrapped initial ideas and opted for a hybrid setup to allow multiple configurations of the truck to support my new farm. I ripped the old rotten bed off, straightened the dump frame, and fabricated a massive headache rack system to protect the cab of the truck. The headache rack is all ¼” steel directly welded to the dump frame and is beyond overkill, all with safety in mind. I then designed and fabricated log bunks from ¼” square tubing and I-beams to serve as the primary bed frame. Spaced between the log bunks is further ¼” C-channel beams to fully complete the sub-frame of the dump body. Along the outer sides are angle iron for added linear rigidity to the sub-frame, and to provide strapping points for ratchet straps for securing loads. A bed floor then tops it off, which is secured to the sub-frame with wooden beams that attach to each cross brace and log bunk. From there stake pockets run along the outside and back of the bed. Two sets of two foot tall bed sides slip inside the stake pockets and push outward on the log bunk uprights to turn the bed into a box configuration of either two or four foot tall depending on the need. The bed can be adapted from full four foot tall box down to flatbed log configuration by a single person in under 5 minutes. All of it was finished with underbody toolboxes mounted between the rear axle and the cab. Custom mounting brackets were fabricated and the frame was drilled out to then mount the brackets to, securing the toolboxes.
All work barring transmission and engine machining and crank assembly was done by me on nights and weekends. The truck is not restored, and never will be. Unlike most of this vintage which are rotten out and long since gone, this girl still remains. She is not a show truck, a pavement princess, or a restored roller; rather she is the polar opposite, rebuilt strong, spending hefty time both on and off road while loaded. Everything I rebuilt was done so for reliability and safety so she can get the job done. She is old Detroit Iron that is once again ruling the road and doing what she was born to do.