I got a new project truck after getting bored with my 2002 silverado, also I snagged a great deal on this at auction.
What I know right now, 1963 Chevy c10 step-side 2x4 230 inline 6 Unknown 3 spd transmission STD trim 503A original color, somewhere underneath 127' wheelbase 5,000lb gvw 19th vehicle off the production line
-engine not running, but isnt seized -hoses caked with something in spots and are hard in spots (hornet nests?) -minor frame damage and moderate body rust considering age -no ignition cylinder -steering works -truck was able to be towed in neutral -none of the tires hold air and unsure if rims are original -all glass is there, but windshield has a crack touching bottom frame -rusty metal hoses -unsure condition of fuel tank, looks decent
Im super excited to start tearing into things! My first plan is to get new rubber on the rims and replace the lug nuts. That way I can move it around.
Next step will be draining fluids, flushing and the replacing rotten lines.
If things seem to hold fluids, I will see if the engine can turn over and check if transmission has any gears left.
If this thing runs, Im going to spend some time getting rid of old bondo and removing rust. Friend of mine does mobile media blasting and can smoke the frame and then Ill coat it in por15. Ive been wanting to start some spot welding and this might be a good chance.
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3Bear Welcome to Chatter Looks like you have a good start to a nice project that is basically all there, all be it a little sad in places. I would suggest not putting new tires on it yet, use some that are good enough to hold air (even if not the correct wheels) for moving around the workshop then when you are ready to put it on the road then look for new rubber that way they havent perished before use. Tony
Hi, 3Bear! Welcome to Chatter. You are like all the rest of us here when we picked up a new project to play with - we wanted to "tear into it" as fast as possible too. One suggestion (...and don't ask how I know...) I will offer to you is to take pictures - lots and lots of pictures -of the truck inside and out from every conceivable angle BEFORE you start "tearing into it". Then, when you begin tearing it apart, take pictures of each step as you go. When you begin putting it all back together (possibly years from now) you'll be able to reference exactly how each part fits.
3Bear Welcome to Chatter Looks like you have a good start to a nice project that is basically all there, all be it a little sad in places. I would suggest not putting new tires on it yet, use some that are good enough to hold air (even if not the correct wheels) for moving around the workshop then when you are ready to put it on the road then look for new rubber that way they havent perished before use. Tony
Originally Posted by tonyw
3Bear Welcome to Chatter Looks like you have a good start to a nice project that is basically all there, all be it a little sad in places. I would suggest not putting new tires on it yet, use some that are good enough to hold air (even if not the correct wheels) for moving around the workshop then when you are ready to put it on the road then look for new rubber that way they havent perished before use. Tony
Man, very hard finding used rubber in 15" rim size. I think stock size will equate to appx 215/75/15 or 215/70/15. It previously had 205/75/15, 235/75/15, 225/75/15, and a tire size that is illegible.
Are there any common oem 16" rims that will fit the 5x5 6 bolt layout? I already heard gmt800sh truck rims dont have a large enough center spindle and they also offset odd
Also saw 15" trailer tires could work but no sense in me spending the money on them and then replace them later
I would keep watching Craigslist for some 15s. 235/75-15 was an extremely common size on pickups and vans for at least a couple of decades, and some good enough to roll should turn up. I have no idea how they relate to the original size, but they do fit on the truck, don't hit the fenders, etc. I have seen this setup on trucks like yours for years, and also have 235/70-15 on my 66 Suburban. Those are the same width bit a slightly smaller diameter.
These trucks did have stock 16 inch rims back around 1960. A friend has a 60 1/2 ton short box that has them, although he is using 15s now. The 16 inch wheels are narrow. They are hard to find used tires for. I wouldn't rule them out if some fell in your lap, but they are for old fashioned pickup sizes like 6.50-16 or 700-16. They are probably way too narrow for 16s that you would find used.
I noticed a large walnut sized hole in the front passenger engine side, looks like a sheet metal shroud for the engine bay. Also noticed the exhaust is broke off from the manifold, not sure if bolts broke off but not a huge deal breaker.
Interior again has no ignition but all looks pretty clean
I was hoping this had the 292 i6 but it doesnt seem much different then the 230.
Im wondering why this truck had a 5,000 gvw. Something extra would have been optioned for...
Got four 235 75 15 tires at a junkyard, matching and decent tread but the beads arent great. Got one mounted on the worst rim after cleaning it up and is now holding air. I did it by hand and was quite a pain. The bead wouldnt set and I tries the flambo method but nothing. I tried the ratchet strap method and that worked.
My brother in law came and helped me get the rims off. Looks like someone tried doing new brakes at some point. He told me it would be better off doing a conversion kit for safetys sake. We hooked the battery up to a charger just to see what would happen and it looks like the radio has power but it will all have to be rewired.
Question, if I wire the starter in a way to start it via a switch, how does the engine know to turn off after I shut the starter off?
The engine shuts off when you cut power to the ignition coil.
I wouldn't get carried away. Do a little troubleshooting. I sure wouldn't start by rewiring unless I had to. That sounds like a bunch of work for no gain.
They do make replacement harnesses for these trucks. Way easier. You probably don't need to do it just to get going unless it's really hatcheted.
The engine shuts off when you cut power to the ignition coil.
I wouldn't get carried away. Do a little troubleshooting. I sure wouldn't start by rewiring unless I had to. That sounds like a bunch of work for no gain.
They do make replacement harnesses for these trucks. Way easier. You probably don't need to do it just to get going unless it's really hatcheted.
Thanks! Im going to work on getting it rolled to my concrete pad then I think I will flush/drain the current pipes and seal them back up so no critters make it a nest. The wiring is a hot mess, my first attempt will simply be tracing existing wires and seeing whats connected or disconnected.
Id like to eventually work to seeing if the engine will fire up first, then move to transmission and see if any gears work. If those work well I will fix that up then move to driveline/suspension problems.
This seems like the logical route for major repairs will be ->Engine-Transmission-Brakes/safety systems-Suspension-Body
I would rather deal with engine and transmission issues before spending anything on other functionality.
It looks like a mechanical linkage for an automatic choke. Does it have a choke knob for a manual choke? It looks like that it probably the wrong carburetor to go with that choke, or maybe some parts are missing.
I’m fairly sure the original carburetor on your 63 was a Rochester BC or BV. The linkage shown in the picture controls the automatic choke. I have the same set up on a 63 Chevy II 6 cylinder. Mike
Last edited by minetto; 07/21/2009:33 PM. Reason: clarified model
Got the used tires mounted and I pushed it over to an old concrete pad.
Next step will be draining the fluids and seeing what jt looks like, poke around and see if the block is obviously cracked or damaged, and cleaning up the existing connections.
I think I read the head gasket will probably be leaking since its so old, but to check for major engine damage/pinging before spending time and money on a modest rebuild.
Before you start pulling the head, check all the valves are free and the engine turns over. Do a compression test, if the result is over 100 psi on all cylinders I doubt there is much seriously wrong and leave it alone but if there is more than 20 psi variation start looking deeper. Tony
Got the truck well powerwashed and knocked out most of the critters, wasp nests, and caked on dirt. Frame looks really good to be honest! Especially in the engine bay. I covered the electronics and carb and washed the engine bay. I hate doing that but it really needed it.
I will do the compression test next as people have suggested, that seems to be the next logical step. As I pushed the truck it seems like it held gear and took neutral pretty easily, seems promising!
Last thing I did was push the truck into one of my barns. I cleared the garage door with just an inch to spare and it was touch and go, but it is in there and out of the elements so Im super happy about that.
I pulled the spark plugs today and they are soaked with wet black oil, except for the plug at the furthest rear of the block.
Any thoughts on what that would be? I was half expecting corrosion from water intrusion due to the engine probably having a bad head gasket, but these are completely coated in oil.
Best case the previous owner fogged the motor with oil prior to storage. What were the results of the compression test?
Dave
I had to turn the engine over by hand by moving the fan so not sure how accurate that is but it is telling.
4 = 20-25 psi and loses psi fast 2 = 20-25 psi and loses psi fast 6 = 24-27 psi and held psi slightly longer then 4&2 3 = barely moves psi meter 5 = barely moves psi meter 1 = hardly no psi meter movement.
The front three are by far the nastiest wet oil and carbonized spark plugs, the back three are less oily but the plug gaps are about the same in carbonized covering. #4 had the driest threads.
None of the plugs have stripped threads so thats, uh, something positive?
So I'm thinking probably best case scenario is a bad head gasket and leaking valves?
I hear a sucking air sound to the lower left of the engine, not sure what that was. I assumed it was probably the water pump hoses just gasping as I spun the fan -------- I pulled the valve cover and it looks like all valves are moving and nothing is obviously busted... the gasket turned to flaky black and is useless. The valves are covered in very thick hard oil resin. There is no slick or slimy oil its all solid like the kind you find from oil burning off. The pcv valve still had a rattle but the hose fell apart and is useless.
I noticed two of the rods "spin" as the valves go up and down, seemed unusual. I definitely hear a "sloshing" sound as I manually turn the engine over.
I was going to try and see if the engine would turn over with the starter but at this point its probably more reasonable to go with a engine tear down and replace the head gasket.
Turning by hand wont give you proper compressions. With the spark plugs out and the rocker cover removed turn the fan and watch that all the valves go down and then back up (this will take at least 2 full turns of the crankshaft to see all valves). If they all operate then do the compression test turning the engine with the starter motor.
If the compression guage loses pressure the valve in the end of the guage is most likely at fault not the engine.
It is not unusual for push rods to rotate in operation and some designs that is normal.
I cannot think why you would "sloshing" when turning the engine by hand unless someone has put a massive over fill of oil in the sump, pull the dipstick and check that.
Interesting thanks. I heard that manually moving the engine would produce less psi then a starter motor but would still yield enough psi that you could compare results in a similar way.
Im not familiar with this but after your comment I think I will focus back on getting the starter to crank over and also rent a "leak down" pressure tester. I like that the leak down may give more clues using my air compressor then just a pressure test.
Im going to make a trip to the salvage yard and see if I can pick some spare parts from other inline 6 engines, my exhaust is cracked at the connection to the exhaust pipe and the rochester carb is damaged (broken off pieces at top).
So if the engine starter and leak down still show no compression, I called around and found a machine shop near me that can evaluate the head. They charge $240 for a full recondition.
Last night I could see the valve clearly through the spark plug holes, they move freely and seem smooth with no grinding noises.
The pressure measured in cylinders highly depends on the speed of rotation and the number of rotations. The normal procedure is to continue to measure the pressure until the last measurement matches the one before. Or to state it differently that the gauge reading does not change.
It is necessary to take out the spark plugs even when a strong starter is used to get an accurate measurement. I have found at least 10 revolutions or 5 pressure pulses are necessary in most cases. A gauge that contains a valve to retain the pressure is also needed.
