Meet Ginger.
 

I sold my last project before I even got started, so I waited until things were a little more stable before starting a new one. So yesterday I decided it was time to pick something up.

1966 C20 with 88k original miles. Couldn't say no for $1000 and drove her home.

http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q...1-13140521.jpg

http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q...1-13140536.jpg

http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q...1-13140455.jpg

I started to give her a good wash when I noticed the rattle can silver paint was paper thin. A little work with some synthetic wool and it revealed a nice factory orange under it.

http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q...1-14152039.jpg

Dash is in great shape, too.

http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q...1-13163405.jpg

http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q...1-13164206.jpg

Body is pretty straight and the original bed is still together.

http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q...1-13163626.jpg

I'll finish getting her cleaned up and get some pics soon. Plans for now are:
Short bed conversion
1/2 ton conversion
Porterbuilt 1/2 ton control arms
73+ drop spindles
Dropmember trailing arm rear
Disc rear axle
Raised stock bed restored/preserved
Modern interior
Audio eargazim.

I would like to do a dropmember front, too. But I need to see what the rest of the truck looks like.

Re: Meet Ginger.
 

dont chop the bed!!!! long fleets are the best!!!:metal:

anyway, looks good for a start, especially if u can drive it home rather than trailer it..good luck and have fun with it

Re: Meet Ginger.
 

327 and granny 4 speed. Cool ammo box storage under the hood.

http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q...1-14084359.jpg

http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q...1-14084407.jpg

Re: Meet Ginger.
 

Congrats on the new project.

Looks to be in pretty decent shape too. :thumbs:

Keep us posted on your progress

Re: Meet Ginger.
 

looks to be a nice starting point.i only want to recommend one thing.if you shorten it down please take out the center stake pocket in the bed.i see so many nice short bed conversions and alot of people leave the center stake pocket and thats a dead giveaway that it used to be a long bed.

Re: Meet Ginger.
 

nice score

Re: Meet Ginger.
 

Thanks, all.

It is in pretty good shape, just very dirty and in need of some love. I would love to keep it a long bed, but the reality is it doesn't fit in the garage until I take some length off.

Re: Meet Ginger.
 

Make a pocket in the back of the garage. Our old neighbor did that so he could park two cars inside. The pocket jutted out 4 ft. We used to climb onto the little roof section.

Re: Meet Ginger.
 

Good looking project .. I will be watching the build.
At least when it is raining again in Oregon ,you can always wet sand outside!!!

Re: Meet Ginger.
 

Good luck with the build.:metal: I could use the top bed trim when the time comes.:ito:They call me cash.;) I like a ammo boxes. I would sand that thing back to the orange and call it good.

Re: Meet Ginger.
 

I got a lot more of the orange on the hood revealed, but it's too dark to get shots. By the end of this week, I should have the front done at least. I'm loving how the orange is looking, a paint job is the very last thing, if ever.

Re: Meet Ginger.
 

Orange looks good.

http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q...1-16113836.jpg

<edit> The silver in the crease is paint, not metal. The patches on the side are metal, but add to the character.

Re: Meet Ginger.
 

Playing with the image to get a few different ideas. I know this look isn't for everyone, but it's been a favorite of mine since I was a kid.

http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q...r_lowrider.jpg

Re: Meet Ginger.
 

Top of the hood is done, I was moving to the under side and down the fender last night.

http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q...1-17073514.jpg

Re: Meet Ginger.
 

I completely agree with McC 65 91, It looks clean as a long bed.
I also agree that if your going to do a conversion, do it up clean and tight and loose the center pocket.
Of course, it's all your choice, dropped shortbed with oversized wheels like everyone else and their cousin or a slick looking LWB fleetside... (grin)
I am shure whatever you do will be cool looking...
Good luck on your build:metal:

Re: Meet Ginger.
 

So I'm leaving the long bed, I like it too much. I will pull the bed apart this weekend and start playing with the new epoxy sealer I bought that is supposed to make the original wood 10x stronger than it was when it was installed 45 years ago.

There is some good warpage up by the cab, but none of the boards are out of place and the rails look good, too.

Picking up all my 1/2 ton front end parts tomorrow. 73-87 control arms, spindles, brakes, booster, and MC. Might get the rear axle out of the same donor, too. But the seller said he might keep it for his truck.

Based on Nate's calculations, stock spindles with a 28" tall tire will put me close, but not on the ground with the dropmember front. Perfect for me.

Re: Meet Ginger.
 

That long bed is pretty virgin.
Nice build, I for one will be watching the progress.
:metal:

Re: Meet Ginger.
 

Nice score man. Shoot me a PM. I have some stuff you may be interested in. We are just down the road from ya.

Re: Meet Ginger.
 

PM sent. I actually live in Beaverton, now. But still just down the road right off Scholls Ferry and Murray. I know there are some nice trucks in the area, but none seem to be on here.

Re: Meet Ginger.
 

Nice truck you've got there. Wish you were a little closer though, I could sure use a nice longbed, and would be willing to trade for some cash for you to find a good shortbed. Portland is just too much of a drive for me right now. Maybe by the time you pull it off I might be able to come get it, shoot me a PM if you're interested. It could save you a lot of fab-work...

Re: Meet Ginger.
 

I've decided I'm keeping the long bed. I power washed the bed and the wood looks a lot better than I thought.

http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q...1-20161425.jpg

http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q...1-20161500.jpg

I think once I get it all apart and treated, it will look damn nice.

Re: Meet Ginger.
 

My daughter picked out a sticker when we were on a parts run. Love it.

http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q...1-20163730.jpg

Re: Meet Ginger.
 

Yup, keeping the long bed.

http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q.../daisy_too.jpg

Wheels aren't too big, good sized tire for a nice ride.

Re: Meet Ginger.
 

Nice find. I was raised on wire wheels so I dig it. Always wanted a black powder coated set. Try that in photoshop.

Re: Meet Ginger.
 

Nice project.im over here in west linn if you need somethin.i saw that truck for sale in tigard.i drove by it many times wanting to stop and make a deal.slam it and drive it.

Re: Meet Ginger.
 

Sweet, good to hear there are more than a few of us around here.

I looked at a few over the last few weeks, but this one just spoke to me.

<edit>kalirodding, I was born and raised in Turlock. I had a similar upbringing, so my build will have some west side influence.

Re: Meet Ginger.
 

Hope you checked the rad to make sure she had anti-freeze in her before the cold spell here? lol

Re: Meet Ginger.
 

I didn't check the ratio, but it had something other than just water in it. Might have been pond scum.

<edit> Speaking from experience? lol

Re: Meet Ginger.
 

You guys dont get freezing temps too often??
It was 12* here this morning. I was checking every thing on the place the night before . Got diesel additive in the tractors and trucks fuel tanks. Thank goodness for block heaters, frost free water hydrants , and stock tank heaters for the livestock.
Remembered the 4 wheelers around midnight . I had forgotten to check the radiators on them , so I got up and threw a horse blanket and a tarp over them and put a trouble light under them to keep things warm just in case...

Oh yeah keep the batteries charged, a dead battery will freeze.
good times....... I see why old folks go south..:mm:
My father in law jokes - he has gone far enough south when folks wonder about the block heater cord hanging out of he grille.....

Re: Meet Ginger.
 

Not speaking from first had experience, but I did spend most of yesterday changing the rad in a tahoe that decided to give up the ghost and it was a cold day for that job, especially seen as it was outside where we did it. I knew it was cold coz I was screwing in the fan shroud screws and although I could see my hands working I couldn't even feel the screw in my fingers. lol

Another friend had his explorer waterpump completely freeze and when he started it destroyed the belt in a matter of seconds. That one needed a storage heater and a blanket to thaw out. I was lucky with all of mine this time, but I will be promptly getting a working tester for the ratio checks in future.

Re: Meet Ginger.
 

Not too often. It was about 20ish yesterday and 18 when I was headed to work this morning. For us, that's a bit chilly. LOL

Re: Meet Ginger.
 

It's still damn cold. I had to drive over the river to pick up m front end after work. I need to clean out my heater.

'73 crossmember and brake booster/mc for $100 with the stock wheels and hubcaps. I am a happy bastard.

http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q...1-26090132.jpg

Re: Meet Ginger.
 

So I pulled the crossmember apart and removed the bump stops from the lowers, then took a wire brush to it to see how well it will clean up.

Before
http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q...1-28143121.jpg

After
http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q...1-28155216.jpg

Ordered some Energy Suspension control arm bushings and new ball joints. Should have everything sandblasted and powdercoated next weekend I hope. Still looking for a matching rear axle.

Re: Meet Ginger.
 

My heater wasn't blowing and made an awful noise, so I pulled it apart and cleaned out the crap. Not sure if this is normal, but the sound was the center spinning free from the fan. I noticed the aluminium center spun with the shaft but the fan didn't. So I cleaned uo the fan and ran a bead of JB Weld to hold the fan in place.

Cleaned and repainted the box and now it looks funny because the rest of the engine looks like hell.

http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q...1-26161635.jpg

Re: Meet Ginger.
 

The control arms look better.

http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q...1-30183344.jpg

http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q...1-30184645.jpg

Re: Meet Ginger.
 

What is the advantage to the 73 crossmember over the 60-66 version? I have an old 77 parts truck I might raid if its a noticeable improvement.

Nice project btw, never cared for longbeds except this bodystyle

Re: Meet Ginger.
 

There are a few advantages. I could be wrong on some of this, but here is what I found out:

The C20 lower control arm mounts to the crossmember differently, so to use the C10 73+ arm, I needed the whole crossmember. In my case, I won't be using the crossmember at all, but buying the whole thing was cheap.

The obvious change is from 3/4 ton to 1/2 ton, but I went '73 for the disc brakes and the updated (and cheaper) ball joints. I am only using the control arms and spindles and will mount them to the Dropmember along with the Mustang II rack setup.

Based on the disc brake upgrade guide, it seems like the control arms are basically the same with only changes to the ball joints. Run the right ball joint for the right year spindle and your set. If you swap the spindles, you will also need the tie rods from the donor, too. Unless you run the tie rod end conversions stuff, but I would just grab everything to keep it simple.

Re: Meet Ginger.
 

Looking good!! check out the FAQ section , we did a whole big section on the front cross-member change a while back http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...=disc+brakeout. Might save you some time in gathering parts.
You might add your knowledge and experience to the sticky thread about the installation of the rack for the others to follow in the future . I cannot remember anybody posting about a rack install.......

Re: Meet Ginger.
 

The rack is part of the dropmember kit.


<edit> Not mine, but close.
http://porterbuiltstreetrods.com/sit...roller-020.jpg

Re: Meet Ginger.
 

Lookin good man. Damn this cold wet weather. Roll on spring.