The Government Mule - 62 c20 with service bed
 

Was searching craigslist a few weeks back and came across an ad that just said "service truck". No picture but I clicked on it anyway and found out it was a 62 c20 service truck. I was definitely interested. Made arrangements to go check it out that weekend. Took a two hour drive,ending up on a dirt road in the middle of the woods. My kinda place. Old fella had bought it to use but ended up getting a newer model truck with a service bed instead. Turns out it was a retired water water department truck from a local municipality. Looks like it had been rode pretty hard and put up wet, but i had to have it. I gave him a deposit and came back the next week to haul it home.

It's got a running 235 with a 4 speed, plenty of rust, and tons of character. Right now I'm just working on a plan of attack. I want to lower it significantly so weighing my options on how to do that in the most economical, yet effective way. My brother has some TJ springs so I think I will give them a try along with making a set of lowering blocks for the rear. Up front I have cranked down the torsion bars til it's siting on the bumps and I know I want to go lower. Will keep the 235, but would like to upgrade to a T5 trans to make it a little more highway friendly.


Pics coming....having site issues at the moment

Re: The Government Mule - 62 c20 with service bed
 

Looking forward to the new build! And love me some 6 cylinders. You gonna do a twin carb setup with fenton headers? :mm:

Re: The Government Mule - 62 c20 with service bed
 

Thanks TJ! Twin carbs and Fenton headers would be sweet!

Re: The Government Mule - 62 c20 with service bed
 

Sounds like it's gonna be an awesome build, I'm in. If I was you I wouldn't use tj springs, they can't carry much load and with the service bed it could put you close or on the bump stops.

Re: The Government Mule - 62 c20 with service bed
 

I've heard that about the TJ springs. I was thinking maybe some helper bags in the rear...but then if I go with helper bags, why not just bag it in the first place? :metal: We will see!

Re: The Government Mule - 62 c20 with service bed
 

Finally got my picture issues sorted out. Here's some from when I picked the truck up.

Re: The Government Mule - 62 c20 with service bed
 

A few more of the interior, the torsion bars cranked down and a little sanding on the door.

Re: The Government Mule - 62 c20 with service bed
 

Very cool! Nice to see another early C20 here. Looking forward to see what you do with it.

Re: The Government Mule - 62 c20 with service bed
 

That truck has Character written all over. Love it! :metal:

Re: The Government Mule - 62 c20 with service bed
 

Thanks! Do you know what gears your truck has? Just wondering how the 235 and 4 speed does on the highway. I would imagine its screaming at around 60 mph or so. :lol:

Re: The Government Mule - 62 c20 with service bed
 

Pretty sure it has 4.57 rear gears. For now. These gears with a non-overdrive tranny and 31 inch tires, 50 to 55 mph would be about right. Mine will be changed out to a later Dana 60 with 3.73's as the last phase of my drivetrain modifications. The goal with my 62 is modern drivability while keeping that "farm truck" look. Check out the link, new update soon.

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=703583

Re: The Government Mule - 62 c20 with service bed
 

Picked up the TJ springs and some 2" square tube for the lowering blocks from my brother this weekend. Hoping to at least get the springs in one day this week.

Re: The Government Mule - 62 c20 with service bed
 

Popped the TJ springs in yesterday afternoon. Looks like they brought the rear down about 4 1/2 inches.....but I do have a little bit of weight from junk piled in the bed. Need some lower spring retainers and bolts for the trailing arms as they were shot and I cut/beat them out.


When I said "running 235" in my first post, I should have said "barely running". :lol: I almost made a lap around the neighborhood, but it was spitting and sputtering the whole way.

Re: The Government Mule - 62 c20 with service bed
 

A service bed? Jealous...cool truck.

Re: The Government Mule - 62 c20 with service bed
 

Thanks RD!

I looked up the VIN the other day just to see what I could find out about the truck.
Most of the info was standard, 1962 2wd 3/4 ton 127" wheelbase, born in Baltimore. The 5th digit was a 3 and that threw me for a few minutes, but I found out that meant it was a cab and chassis truck.

Re: The Government Mule - 62 c20 with service bed
 

There is a truck very similar to this down the road from me. I love the way these trucks look even as dedicated workers. Do you have any plans to restore it or are you just upgradio suspension and driveline some?

Re: The Government Mule - 62 c20 with service bed
 

No plans to full on restore the truck. I will try and patch up the bad places though. Other than that, I just want to get it down low and make a reliable driver that's still a functional worker. The more I think about it, the more I want to replace the 235 with a 292.

Re: The Government Mule - 62 c20 with service bed
 

Hell that's about what I'm doing with mine, replace the bad and get it going. Hopefully there's not to much rust in that cab. Also I've debated fixing the 292 that came in mine, but I've had a replacement engine waiting for a project so I'm kinda torn. Would defiantly be cool with a beefed up inline though.

Re: The Government Mule - 62 c20 with service bed
 

Beef the 292. Did it, no regrets. :metal:

Re: The Government Mule - 62 c20 with service bed
 

If mine wasn't locked up, and I didn't already have an fi ls1 that I've been prepping lol. You looking for an engine jcramsey?

Re: The Government Mule - 62 c20 with service bed
 

I am starting to look for an engine...you ever get near South Carolina? :lol:

Re: The Government Mule - 62 c20 with service bed
 

Not really, but we are in practically neighboring states. Also here's that truck I was talking about... I wouldn't mind trying to get my hands on it.

http://i345.photobucket.com/albums/p...psv1la0hnx.jpg

http://i345.photobucket.com/albums/p...psm0iqswtm.jpg

Re: The Government Mule - 62 c20 with service bed
 

Wow...that's a good looking truck. That would definitely be worth checking into!

Re: The Government Mule - 62 c20 with service bed
 

Since we are going to NC for Christmas, I put an ad on the Craigslist city closest to my parents place looking for a 292 and to my surprise I got a couple emails right away. One reply was actually a board member in Knoxville. He was about 2 1/2 hours away from them so a little farther than I wanted to go. Talked to another guy in Asheville which is only a half hour away and he had a motor sitting in his shop for a pretty reasonable price. Need to schedule a day to meet him and pick it up while we are at my folks. I'm pumped to be getting a big six!

Re: The Government Mule - 62 c20 with service bed
 

Sweet, so I assume you are going to be using an automatic transmission with it? since a 292 would require mechanical clutch linkage.