Lord I'm new and need some help

[bradleyheathhays]

Hey I'm new to these awesome 60-66 Chevy trucks and was hoping to ease in, but I just ran up on what I think is a decent '64 c-10 for sale and need to get some fast feedback.

This one is a 3 on the tree long bed step side, which I've never seen before, and seems to be in good shape. Am waiting back for more pictures of the underneath side for indications of rust.

My issue is I have a budget of course and I would like my eventual truck to end up with a 6 cyl, a T400 auto trans, power steering, and a/c. And of all of these this truck only has the 6, so at least it's a start.

So my questions are...how difficult and costly is it to add individually... a T400 auto transmission to a 3 on the tree truck, a/c, and power steering?

Although I've never gotten too deep in my engine, clutch or trans I pretty much do all the work on my cars..96 Jeep Cherokee and an 02 Maxima. Been looking for a reason to get a mig machine anyway.

So if I can do a fair amount of this work myself, how much would each of these upgrades end up costing me, in parts?

[Clyde65]

Easy Peasy, only takes time and money my friend!

Welcome to the forum!

All of those can be done in weekend jobs if your patient.

[DPowers]

Welcome to the site.

[AcampoDave]

Welcome. This site has enough info achieved here to keep you reading all night. Just use the search box up top and be sure to click the blue dot over to the 67-72 Chevy trucks side first.

[TJ's Chevy]

6 cyl and an auto....super easy combo. Engine easy to work on and trans will bolt up. 63 and later chevy 6's have the same bolt pattern as a sbc.

[bradleyheathhays]

Thanks for the welcomes and the encouragement. Glad to see these additions I'm looking into seem fairly straight forward. One of the things I like about these trucks is that they are just very simple. Hopefully it can be a good first, if not restoration then rejuvenation project for me.

I changed my original post to give more of my history. I can't get too deep in to my engine clutch or trans but other than that I've been doing all my own auto repairs for a long time now. If I can find someone local to come over and give some pointers I would guess I could tackle these upgrades.

For now I'd like to get away with the cheapest good option possible. So any general guesses on how much p/s, a/c, and an auto trans would end up costing me in parts?

I've been told instead of a t400 I should go with the cheaper TH350s or a 700R4 which would give overdive.

[PGSigns]

The turbo 350 is a good fit as it has less rotating mass inside so the little 6 has less work to do to turn it. The 700 is a good trans but you will need to get the TV cable setup correctly with your carb and that is important in getting it to last.
Jimmy

[urmyboyblue]

For a 6 cylinder, the TH400 is a lot of transmission. Like PG signs said, a TH350, 700R4 or even a 2004R would work fine and drain less power from the engine. The last two would give you overdrive.

[bradleyheathhays]

Thanks for the info. So now I've been given the advice that swapping into an auto trans may not be worth the hassle, and that I should just wait til one naturally comes up. So how does the OE auto trans compare to some of these newer ones? Is the OE fuel efficient, o/d?

[Clyde65]

Another option you should consider is an nv3500 5 speed swap. You can do a hydraulic clutch with a bracket from Captn Fab. The transmissions are relatively cheap and available as well.

[AcampoDave]

The o.e trannys work well if you keep the column linkages maintained. They are not glamorous with only 3 speeds but they are as efficient as can be for a unit that lacks an overdrive. More efficient than a turbo 400 with considerably less mass and zero torque comverter loss of course. Making a change to any other non-overdrive transmission in the hopes of improving efficiency is a losing proposition.

[Captainfab]

I agree with upgrading to an OD trans whether it be an auto or a manual trans.

[shp4man]

I have a truck like yours. Want to get to driving it the least expensive way? Just repair what's there. Keep it original, use replacement parts.. Still a lot of parts made for these trucks.
The only issue is the axle ratio is likely a stump puller which limits freeway speed to about 60 MPH without really pushing it.
My old beat up long stepper gets an amazing amount of thumbs up and compliments and the paint is exactly like I found it. Sun bleached and fading. They call it "patina" these days.
If you decide to modify it later, great.

[rvrfoot]

What ever way you go x it by 2 for the price. Parts add up fast but its fun to work on.