Why this Generation Truck?

[Slow Build]

They have the 60's coolness factor. The generations after these are nice too but they have much more simple lines. The generations before are cool too but the cabs are a little cramped for me and they don't have true fleetsides. I also like the hood opening the way it does. I love the back of the cab wing. The trim is some of the nicest that they have put on any Chevy truck and the trucks look good without the trim too. I’ve loved these trucks for a long time. 15 or so years ago I had the drawing below taped under my desk so when I would lay down to ice my back I could look up at it and dream of the day I would have one.

[markeb01]

I started appreciating these in the late 60’s-early 70’s because they were so easy to hot rod. A set of slot mags with Mickey Thompson tires, Hurst shifter, Sun Tach, and headers and you instantly had something cool for very little investment. The last trucks with character in the body design. We received a brand new 67 short step in the military and nobody liked the appearance, thinking it looked like an early Studebaker without style.

[protrash64]

Bought my first in 2001. Picked it because it was cheap and didnt have to go through emissions. I had to get something pre '67. I actually like the 58-59's but didnt want to deal with the straight axle.

[T2vigil]

1964 Short Step. I settled on a 64 - 66 because it was the first series with self adjusting brakes. One less maintainence issue to deal with. The Cool Factor is great and I have liked them ever since I drove one to haul the trash from the body shop my Dad managed. BTW I was 16 at the time.

[awbrown]

I grew up on a dairy farm in Maine and the first trucks I remember were 65 chevy trucks we had a couple with platform dumps they were some of the first trucks I drove in the field while we were haying as kids..My brother bought a 65 pickup and it was missing the drivers side door and we had to roll it down the hill to get it started,it did great burnouts up the road from the farm when my parents werent looking... we had a 61 that was a feedwagon so it lived it's life in the barn .. the fenders were flapping ,the windsheild was missing as well as the drivers door ,due to limited space in the barn and having to fit it between posts and feed isles..I always knew I liked the looks of a wrap around windsheild.. so when I saw an ad for 4 trucks in one spot I bought all 4 .. 3 65's and one 63 ,that was 93 and I have had it ever since.. sold all 3 other trucks to my friend who loves 65's.......

[jimmydean]

For me it's the lines. The fin off the back of the cab reminds me of the 59 Impala side fins, classic looks and classic lines.

I also have a soft spot for the 67-72, but the 60-66 is my #1.

[chevykid65]

when my parents got married my father had a 66 lwb with an old 350 that used more oil than gas, its the truck that they drove to the birthing center when i was born. they split when i was really young and my mom took us back down to north LA where she grew up, on one of the few times he came down to visit he ran it out of oil so he left it there. i used to spend hours playing in it (along with my uncles 58 ford custom cab). when i was about 13 i found a 65 lwb in a local impound yard here in town (we had moved here to idaho a few years before) i knew i had to have it and the old guy said if i could bring him $100 i could have the truck. needless to say youve never seen a 13 year old work so hard to get the money up. 10+ years later the truck is still here and has no plans of going anywhere

[clemdaddy]

works like a truck... rides like a car.

[SulphuriousSam]

Mine was bought sight unseen and the guy who found it for me thought it was newer, a '69 I think. Anyway it wasn't till we picked it up that we discovered that it was a '66. My friends thought I might change my mind but I was ecstatic about it. Love this body style and wouldn't trade for anything newer, and probably not the older style either. I love the fleetsides

[LostMy65]

Originally Posted by chevykid65

when my parents got married my father had a 66 lwb with an old 350 that used more oil than gas, its the truck that they drove to the birthing center when i was born. they split when i was really young and my mom took us back down to north LA where she grew up, on one of the few times he came down to visit he ran it out of oil so he left it there. i used to spend hours playing in it (along with my uncles 58 ford custom cab). when i was about 13 i found a 65 lwb in a local impound yard here in town (we had moved here to idaho a few years before) i knew i had to have it and the old guy said if i could bring him $100 i could have the truck. needless to say youve never seen a 13 year old work so hard to get the money up. 10+ years later the truck is still here and has no plans of going anywhere

That is a really awesome story.
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[Clyde65]

I looked at a 72 SWB when I got out of the Army in 89, I wanted that so bad until I talked to my (then) wife, that changed my mind, answered an advert and went to look, saw the truck, guy had blown the motor and it would run but oil/water mixing. I told him no thanks, he caught me before I left and said he would drop it to $300 and he would pull it wherever I wanted. the rest is history I guess.

[chad64chevy]

nice thread you have started lostmy65,
i guess for me it was my uncles truck, he had a 64 c-10 swb small window! i always liked the big windows cause you can see around you more then the small windows! i remember helping him on it from the time i was 10 til i was 14yrs. old and then he moved! he has said he wishes he never traded his truck! its one reason i bought mine, that and i have always loved these trucks, the shape of the trucks are different from any other! i like that you can upgrade just about any part of the suspension with a few bolt-on upgrades! i love that the engine compartment is open so you can see and get to everything!!

[motiveauto]

Mine found me! A friend of mine had just bought a freshly restored 66 short fleet and was looking to sell his project 65 short fleet. I bought it and its almost ready for the road....

[aerotruk63]

When the 4WD craze ( 1982 ) started in my area, a 62 came up for sale in the local paper. A guy I knew was suppose to buy it and left the owner waiting at the license bureau. When I heard it hadn't sold I jumped on it right away. Then the 63 ( 1986 ) came along and it was decided the 2wd craze would last longer. I was hooked on the looks of it, but finding out that the passenger side sun visor was an option, that was just to much. I started to find out about more and more accessories..............ohhhhhhhh, accessories!

[jbgroby]

For my '60, first model year from the FAT fenders and '66 last of the curves for a while

[likaroc13]

for me it's as simple as it's what i grew up around...my dad owned a '66 short/fleet before i was born & drove it until he took it apart to pro-street...there's a story of me taking my first drive in it when i was still in diapers...apparently i put it into gear & backed across the road into a ditch, lol....we also had a 65 1-ton flat bed at the same time period, which later adorned both a wrecker and car-hauler bed...some other 4-5-6 trucks also came along the way...dad had another beater 66 short/fleet that was routinely driven, which was the first truck i ever drove...a nice, original '64 short/fleet which was a daily driver until he took it down for drivetrain upgrades...i remember taking a 12(+) hour trip to Disney World in it, my brother and i riding in the camper-topped bed fitted with an air mattress...sadly, it sat for years on a car hauler trailer waiting to get back on the road...this truck was supposed to be mine when i started driving, but unfortunately it never happened...along with the beater '66, it was sold around 2006....i can think of at least two other 4-5-6 trucks & one 60-63 burb that we had and sold...and we still have the '66 chop top (prostreet) which is in pieces, & we have a '66 Burb body/rolling chassis....in 2009 I bought the first classic of my own, a '66 short/fleet BBW.....growing up around these, i just really wanted one to take place of the '64 that got sold....while i agree with all the folks who love the styling of these old trucks, the reason i'm drawn to them is mostly just the fact that i have so many memories with them...hoping to continue making many more

[theastronaut]

For as long as I can remember, I wanted to restore cars when I "grew up". (Still waiting on that to happen btw ) Dad had a custom auto upholstery shop when I was a kid, and we lived right beside the shop so I spent most of my time as a kid watching and "helping" my dad work on street rods, alot of 55-57 Chevy's, plenty of muscle cars, and various classics. I knew that's what I wanted to do when I got old enough to work. When I graduated high school, I took a two year course a Greenville Tech in Autobody Repair and Street Rod Fab. About half way through my first year, after learning enough to make me big-headed, a lady came by our shop in her dad's '65 C10 after hearing that we did restoration work. Dad had gotten out of doing full restorations years before, and he told her that all he was doing was upholstery and glass work at that time. She mentioned that she had heard that I was taking classes to do paint/body work and asked dad if I would be interested. Dad knew better than to let me take on such a big project, especially since I hadn't even completed all of my classes at tech yet. So, he sent her away, recommending other shops instead. We talked about it later, and although I felt like I was up to the task, he didn't think I had enough experience yet. Well, she came back a few weeks later, still wanting us to restore her dad's truck. Again, dad turned the job down. I really wanted to do the job and felt like I had learned enough to get a good start on it, and was capable of learning as I went on the things I would run up against. So we decided that if she came back again, it was meant to be. She did, a few weeks later, and we sealed the deal. I was still in tech full time, from 7:30 til 3:30 with an hour drive back to the shop, so I wasn't able to work on it full time for the next year and a half. The owners also had some hardships with their business and health that put the build on hold for about a year, and overall it took about five years to complete the restoration from the time we started on it. I learned more from working on that '65 than I ever did at tech, and I'm thankful for the owners and my dad being patient as I learned as I went, honing my skills until they were up to the level they needed to be to accomplish each aspect of the restoration. It was a very unique opportunity and one that has shaped who I am and the kind of work I'm now able to do. All during the restoration I really learned to appreciate the engineering GM put into these trucks and begin to want one for my self, but never was able to afford one in good enough shape (learning as you go means you starve until you figure it out what you're doing!). After finishing the '65 and starting the '55 International pickup I'm currently working on (and finally making some money!) I was able to find and buy a '66 short/fleet in great condition as my own project truck, and I'm slowly working on getting it back together.

[fryer1979]

I have always loved the lines of these trucks, mostly for how unique and easily recognizable they are when compared to similar year trucks from Ford or Dodge. Plus there is just they way they look so right all together. Years ago (at least 10), I had an opportunity to buy a short-fleet '65 Chevy with a 4-speed and a 350 for $1200. Truck was primered and in solid driver condition. I passed because I didn't think I wanted a 2 wheel drive truck, and at the time I was hoping to find a similar year 4 wheel drive. As soon as that truck sold and disappeared I regretted my decision to pass, and the memory of how cool that truck looked has stuck with me clear as day. To severly shorten a long story, that past is responsible for my current project; Tanya. With Tanya, I am building the truck I saw in my head when looking at that '65 years ago. This is how trucks should look, this is what trucks should be.

[A.T. RockDriller]

In 1971 my father bought a '66 Burb.
We were living on a Homestead, perched on the western bluffs of the mighty Copper River in the southeast interior of Alaska.
You sure might say that those were my " developing years "....and I sure did develop a love for that big ol' blue station-wagon.
First rig I ever got to drive....Hauled home two thousand pounds of fresh moose & caribou meat from the air-strip in one trip....coming home after a successful fly-in hunting trip on the slopes of Mt. Drum.
The memories are just piled up in my mind from those times.
That's when It all started as far as the mid-sixties trucks are concerned.

I sure have never found a Burb or Carryall that I could swing.....but the ol' '63 found me................ like a stray dog finds a young boy.

Some day maybe a K series, big ol' mid sixties " station-wagon ".
Maybe just the '63 stray dog is all I'll ever have. I'm sure pleased with it.

[SIR]

...IT WAS LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT...MY WIFE HAD ONE FOR HER 1st TRUCK & I FELL IN LOVE WITH HER & HER TRUCK...AND 1966 WAS THE LAST YEAR FOR REAL SCULPTED STEEL TRUCKS!!! GREAT LINES, NO PLASTIC...

[srziemkowski]

There is something about a old chevy truck,they are special.so many movies have someone with a old truck,what kind,usually a old chevy.myself have been born and raised chevy,loved 67-72 body style for a very long time,wasnt until my dad got his 65 step that i rode around in and looked at for a couple years ending in me loving the body style of these trucks majorly.now we both have them across country from another.

[LostMy65]

The smell makes me think of grandpa.

[SFTorange]

Originally Posted by LostMy65

The smell makes me think of grandpa.

I don't know what it is about the smell, it just brings back memories. I kind of miss it since I finished up the restoration, but It's still there in my dad's Suburban.

[LostMy65]

Originally Posted by SFTorange

I don't know what it is about the smell, it just brings back memories. I kind of miss it since I finished up the restoration, but It's still there in my dad's Suburban.

The whine of the 4-speed and the rattle of the shifter also remind me of grandpa's truck.

[tenni126]

I like that it's basically as old as you can get while still having a modern-proportioned truck...full size bed, cab, frame, etc, and all the style of the 60's American muscle. If you start to get much older I feel like you start compromising real world usability.
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