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Chevy C65

leadarrows

Charter Member
Joined
Nov 11, 2003
Messages
54
Location
Anderson, Indiana
Occupation
Owner: Acme Farms LLC
Michellin XZA 10R20 tires

The R means radial or retread?Radial is my guess. R has always stood for radial but I havent worked in a tire store for over twenty years so...My best advise would be to ask at a truck tire supplier. Hey if it says tubes then just be sure there the right tubes for those tires. No reason you can't run them that I'M aware of.
I can't be sure with out seeing them and I haven't seen tires that say that for a long time.
I do know that the tire isn't going to know the difference in what rim it's on. This tube issue is all I think you need to be sure about.
 

leadarrows

Charter Member
Joined
Nov 11, 2003
Messages
54
Location
Anderson, Indiana
Occupation
Owner: Acme Farms LLC
I paid 3500. for my 77 C65 about 6 years ago. It had a new 366 in it. I have replaced the clutch, rear end, brakes, exhaust, tires and wheels (got away from those split rims) steering box, king pins drag link, heater core, carburetor, alternator, fuel pump, and the water pump.
Whew :eek2 LOL
But I still only have about ten grand in it and now I have a very sound truck.
Those repairs were spread out by the way not all at once.

Now the good news. That truck has been the main money maker for me. Paying for it's self 30 times over since 2001 which is when I started using QB so that is all the further I can track costs and profits for it.

There are lots of choices when considering a dump truck. I saved a bundle on all those repairs by doing them myself. That's a big factor. If you can fix up an old beater your self then older trucks can be a bargain.
If down time is a big problem for you then it might not be the way to go. You know more about you situation then I do. I am happy with mine and I have made my living with it for several years so I'M happy.

One thing I can say for sure. once you have a dump truck you will wonder how you ever lived with out it. That's assuming it will be you first one. If it's not then you may already no that.

When I wanted brake parts I went to a brake shop first. The owner tried to tell me the parts were hard to come by and were very expensive. I almost fell for it. He wanted 3 grand to put brakes on it. I thought I would just check at NAPA and see. I got a rebuilt master cylinder, rear brake shoes, rear wheel cylinders, rear axle seals and a brake springs kit for around 900.00.
All of which they had in stock except for one wheel cylinder which they got the next day.

I hope this info helps you.
I'LL post a picture.

I thought it would be fun to post that I am still using this truck. What brought it up is my son Googled C65 truck and the first truck that came up was mine from this thread.
 

Willie B

Senior Member
Joined
Jan 2, 2016
Messages
4,039
Location
Mount Tabor VT
Occupation
Electrician
I have a 1976. When I bought it ten years ago I was told it was a 454. Later I learned 454 was never one of the choices. The truck engines were either 366, or 427. A 26000 lb truck is adequate with a 427 Tall Block Truck engine. My engine rebuilder described the 366 as having just enough power to drag a sick hoe off a p pot. I discovered I had one. I now have a 427 freshly rebuilt. It is a great truck now. The absolute truth is it gets 4 MPG.

Check the frame. If you have a double frame it might get rusty.

Aside from that, I love the truck!

Willie
 

greg9504

Well-Known Member
Joined
Aug 28, 2005
Messages
155
Location
Ottawa Ontario Canada
11 years later and I still have my truck...

I did get it sand blasted and I repainted it..

Had the clutch disk fall apart, almost stranded me, but I managed to make it home stuck in 3rd gear. Finding a parts guy who can look up the parts for a 34 year old truck is getting harder.

I only put about 500km a year on it, but I like having it.

painting_011.jpg

painting_012.jpg

painting_027.jpg

painting_034.jpg

1982GMC7000_001.jpg
 

Willie B

Senior Member
Joined
Jan 2, 2016
Messages
4,039
Location
Mount Tabor VT
Occupation
Electrician
Don't try to buy any specialized parts. GM has abandoned them. Although they share many parts in common with pickups, LMS won't sell a heater switch, a window part, or a headlight bezel if they think it'll be used on a medium duty. Even information is hard to get.

When I couldn't time mine, one well respected mechanic said I can't time it either. I haven't taken the time to tear it down, but when they won't hold time, it usually means lots of wear. Getting into this engine will be expensive. Look for a bigger engine.

I bought a 454 from a low mileage 450. When I tried to install, everything was different. Bell housing didn't bolt up. Water pump wouldn't mate to the radiator, Exhaust manifolds wouldn't fit. intake wouldn't fit. I ended up with a fellow who I had known many years best known as a race engine builder. He had a block stored. The heads, crank, cam, and all the other parts from mine fit. It is a wonderful driving truck. Fuel economy is disgraceful.

Ultimately, putting my distributor in the new engine my friend stood there absent mindedly playing with the distributor, he said "something's missing" Sure enough, a little locating pin was broken off sending timing all wild.
 

Mike Van

Well-Known Member
Joined
May 23, 2011
Messages
215
Location
Kent Ct.
Still running my 74 C60 first load of logs.jpg 350 2 bbl in this one, geared low, was someones grain truck from Illinois. Found the Hiab in Virginia, Cut 3 ft off the front of the dump body to fit it in.
 

Willie B

Senior Member
Joined
Jan 2, 2016
Messages
4,039
Location
Mount Tabor VT
Occupation
Electrician
Mike;

Sweet truck, looks a lot like my C65 I have a 14' flatbed with wooden sideboards like yours. The manufacturer of the dump hoist escapes me at the moment. It has two telescopic cylinders, no scissor. I can dump a heavy load fully forward. Mine came from Pennsylvania, a one owner landscaper truck. It had 48000 on it when I bought it. It was advertised on EBay as a 454, with no rust, and a recent bed.

Driving 500 miles each way to buy it I discovered it was not a 454, as this was never a choice, the recent wood bed looked good because it had never carried anything heavier than bark mulch. The original engine was plagued with timing problems nobody was able to fix. On the advice of a big block aficionado I bought a low mileage 454 from a two ton truck. That's when I figured out there was no hope of adapting this to fit the truck. I managed to resell the 454, and found a 427 truck engine. Everything from the 366 fit it, so I had it rebuilt by a well respected race engine builder. On reassembling, we discovered a little bit of plastic broken in the distributor causing all the timing issues in the 366.

I've had it 10 years now. It's an embarrassing gas hog, but very useful. I put an oak bed on it soon after I bought it with a steel frame. Last winter I replaced it with an all steel one. This evening I finished the second loading dock, one at home, one at the "land" four miles from home. I have a trailer, but prefer to carry the crawler on the truck. It'll handle the steeps better.

Willie
 

capt_met

Well-Known Member
Joined
Sep 24, 2005
Messages
131
Location
Northeast Tenn.
according to the title it's a Chevy. I think the grill was replaced somewhere along the way. It does have dual exhaust and flowmasters, not a very stealth truck.
 

Mike Van

Well-Known Member
Joined
May 23, 2011
Messages
215
Location
Kent Ct.
Who's the GMC belong to?

They have a different number system don't they?

Do you have the dual exhausts with donuts between manifolds and engine pipe? Mine fail often. I'm looking for a solution.

Willie

I had the same problem with the '74 C60, on ebay I found the real donuts from GM, made of a powdered metal instead of that soft gasket material that the NAPA ones are. Mines a 350 c.i.
 

Willie B

Senior Member
Joined
Jan 2, 2016
Messages
4,039
Location
Mount Tabor VT
Occupation
Electrician
I had the same problem with the '74 C60, on ebay I found the real donuts from GM, made of a powdered metal instead of that soft gasket material that the NAPA ones are. Mines a 350 c.i.

Thanks Mike, I'll look into it.
 

JNB

Senior Member
Joined
Feb 13, 2012
Messages
823
Location
North Texas
Occupation
Flyin' low and rollin' slow...
Thanks Mike, I'll look into it.

Willie, you can also use a short piece of exhaust pipe that matches the inside diameter of the donut to bridge the gap on a pesky leaker. I think the ones I used were about 2.75-3" long. Just slip them inside the donut and install.

Last week I snapped a pic of this nice '68 still pulling daily duty for a roofer. He also has a '69 that he's working on. Whoops, almost forgot the pic.
1968 Flat.jpg
 

Mike Van

Well-Known Member
Joined
May 23, 2011
Messages
215
Location
Kent Ct.
Trucks were trucks - Not the plastic covered - computer chipped - metric models of today -
 

JNB

Senior Member
Joined
Feb 13, 2012
Messages
823
Location
North Texas
Occupation
Flyin' low and rollin' slow...
Mike, that's a big 10-4.

Across the street from where I took that photo...I was trading one day's machine labor for these two gems.

1966 Short bed Fleetside- My 14 year old stepson's project and exactly the truck he's been wishing for. All there except the engine and trans.
Jarrett Truck02.jpg

1964 Long bed, 283 3 on the tree - Currently mine, but my 20 year old is attempting to snatch it away.
My64_21.jpg
 

leadarrows

Charter Member
Joined
Nov 11, 2003
Messages
54
Location
Anderson, Indiana
Occupation
Owner: Acme Farms LLC
Hello. Looking for information about switching an 81 C 60 from drum brakes to Disc. Haven't had much luck looking on the net, so I thought I would see if any of you can help me. I am thinking a newer Rider truck might swap, but I don't know where to start unless it's with a tape messure.
 

Willie B

Senior Member
Joined
Jan 2, 2016
Messages
4,039
Location
Mount Tabor VT
Occupation
Electrician
Willie, you can also use a short piece of exhaust pipe that matches the inside diameter of the donut to bridge the gap on a pesky leaker. I think the ones I used were about 2.75-3" long. Just slip them inside the donut and install.

Last week I snapped a pic of this nice '68 still pulling daily duty for a roofer. He also has a '67
We replaced donuts every inspection cycle GM dealer wasn't willing to help.
Several years ago I bought a retired 1990 GMC 7000 series fire truck & converted it to a dump truck. Still can't find any parts specific to GM
 

terex herder

Senior Member
Joined
Nov 10, 2017
Messages
1,778
Location
Kansas
Air or juice brakes? Why would you want to make the switch? Many parts for both are NLA. I don't know what year GM started putting the hydraulic discs on the medium duty trucks, but I know they were available by 1989.
 
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