I'm back: 1966 Chevy C30 Update

Sorry for the long absence. I'm going to try to be more active.
Life has been one hell of a roller-coaster. And I got slapped in the face with my 30th birth day a few weeks ago. Family drama that Hollywood could not come up with. Nearly got into a fist fight. Lead my coworkers to safety during a tornado warning. Yeah a tornado did not touch down. But I watched it try to form.
I will update everyone some on that later. But I will let y'all know some of whats going on with my 1966 Chevy C30.

I opened up a can of worms with this truck. Some of the work done to this truck by the past owners is amazing. I'm not saying they were good. Its just the stuff done to this truck is so insane that you can't make it up. I thought the last owner was the worst mechanic there was. But I came to the conclusion that this guy was the best mechanic that has ever lived. He kept this truck running no mater what. Using only what he had on hand. He kept it running. From soldering the fuel tank sender unit back together to using strange wiring in place of the original harness. He kept this truck going.

I got a new painless harness thinking thats all I need. But I had no idea I have opened pandoras box. That harness turned into a new windshield wiper motor, new headlight switch, dimmer switch, new windshield wiper switch, new fuel tank, new sender unit, gauges new electric fuel pump and new tools.

There was so much electrical tape on the truck that I spent nearly 8 hours just cutting it off. The past owner must had nightmares of this truck arking. There was almost nothing I could use from the old wiring. The original plugs were gone.
The edelbrock micro fuel pump was mounted to far from the fuel tank. It also had a kink in the fuel line. So it burnt up. Oh, it was not bolted down. The fuel pump was literally zipped tied to the brake line. the fuel pump was hard wired to a toggle switch and to the battery. The factory gauge cluster is so worn out that if I plug in the battery voltage meter a fuse would blow. Tach, fuel gauge, water temp gauge doesn't work. The windshield wiper motor does not work. But I think it might be factory. I broke two of the three screws holding it in place. The new harness went in just fine. But I had to modify it. The bed on my truck was likely home made. I had to make the new harness work with it. I also had to make my own plugs. I'm not done yet. But I have driven this truck to town for estimate on new tires and labor. The wiring held up. Speaking of tires. All my wheels are 16 inches. But one wheel is 17. All my tires but the fronts were mixed threads. All are about to blow. I already had a blow out. The other tried to blow the other day from the tire shop.
The fuel tank was deader the Star Wars. And the last owner was using a rubber plumbing coupling in place of a proper filler neck.
I put in a new tank, sender unit and the correct filler neck.
I mounted a new edelbrock fuel pump right under the cab under the fuel tank. I used elbows to prevent kinks. I wired up a proper relay for it too. I made a terminal out of a inline fuse wire and plugged it into a accessory port on the fuse block. I had no high beams when I bought this truck. But I have them now. I had to use bolt cutters to get the old dimmer switch out. I mounted the new one and it all works. The only real problem I have now with the wiring is the front turn indicators will not work. And I have not plugged in the license plate light. I need to mount a license plate bracket first. I think the LED lights on the bed is throwing off some of the lights. Keep in mind I am doing all this myself.
I got my hands on some vintage stewart warner stage 3 gauges. The first three came in today. I found them on ebay. These are NOS. The rest will be in next week. I'm going to make a new gauge cluster. I will keep y'all posted.

More pictures

New fuel tank

Everybody needs a hobby. Old trucks are probably less expensive or troublesome than young women.

LoboGunLeather said:

Everybody needs a hobby. Old trucks are probably less expensive or troublesome than young women.

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Back in November, this young woman I been chasing for the better part of 2 years invited me to hang out with her at the local VFW. One of the first things she asked me is if I brought the truck. Sadly I didn't. I borrowed my moms car. I wish I did. But I had no highbeams at the time and the Blinkers did not work.

I been wanting to work on my Torino. I managed to keep it after I moved. But this C30 is the only Truck I have that can pull my fifth wheel. I want to move to Waco or Corsicana. So I need this truck running at 100%.

How did it pass state inspection when you bought it……Sounds like it will could never pass. I get a small nick in my tail light and the state inspection shop fails me……Good luck.

GM, you are fortunate to have the skills, that will allow you to put the necessary work into that old truck to get it back on the road. Not too many out there that could pull that project off.

WR

There was an old Corvettes only restoration shop that used to service my car. I asked the owner one day what it would cost to have him restore a BB 67 vert that I had my eye on.

He told me I’d be much better off buying one that was already restored, but he would take my money if I wanted the work done.
I was just a dreamer so I nixed the idea and bought a new one.

But, if you have the ability and means to do so, it saves a ton of money.
I’m following your efforts.

Kudos for your restoration of a classic C30 and your commitment to new replacement parts in lieu of just trying to make due with the older original parts. I'm a big fan of the Painless Wiring products and the replacement of the entire wiring harness would probably be simpler than trying to fix the current wiring issues with the truck.

Not sure of the front turn signal issue you mentioned. If the front and rear turn signals are both LED, then they won't pull enough voltage to work with the 552 flasher units supplied with the wiring harness, you will have to replace them with flasher units made for LEDs.

If the lights are not LED and flashers are not the issue, then since the turn signals have to go thru the steering column wiring, I would start there in troubleshooting the issue.

You mentioned needing tires, I'd hate to hear what tires cost for that beast, I assume it has dual wheels in the rear? Pulling a fifth wheel will require good brakes, can you still source new brake parts for a 1966 C30?

Working on older vehicles is rewarding, and a girl that is interested in old trucks is rare and that can't be all bad.

Keep us posted on how things are coming along with the truck restoration.

moralem said:

How did it pass state inspection when you bought it……Sounds like it will could never pass. I get a small nick in my tail light and the state inspection shop fails me……Good luck.

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I didn't know the truck had all these problems. I did not even check if it had a sticker. I just took the guys word for it. You see me and my family lived on 5.5 acres of land that we lost. I gave my parents money to buy themselves a camper. They sent me a picture of the C30 he was selling with a video of it running. I needed a truck that can pull a camper and I needed it right then and there. The next day I bought it. He also had a custom S10. But I had it with S10s. He told me every thing works. I found out later he had a severe motorcycle accident and can't remember anything before spring of 2021. It all worked out though because I used the truck to pull my own fifth wheel to my grandparents the following Monday.

Wrangler Rich said:

GM, you are fortunate to have the skills, that will allow you to put the necessary work into that old truck to get it back on the road. Not too many out there that could pull that project off.

WR

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I know and thank you. It this truck is actually easier to work on then my little 2001 S10 that I had for 3 years. I'm not a trained mechanic. I studied a lot and payed attention when I see people work on their vehicles. So when I get a chance. I can use what I learn on my Torino. But I mostly just read a lot of books and watched videos. I'm mostly just self taught.

ladder13 said:

There was an old Corvettes only restoration shop that used to service my car. I asked the owner one day what it would cost to have him restore a BB 67 vert that I had my eye on.

He told me I’d be much better off buying one that was already restored, but he would take my money if I wanted the work done.
I was just a dreamer so I nixed the idea and bought a new one.

But, if you have the ability and means to do so, it saves a ton of money.
I’m following your efforts.

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Parts for this truck is much cheaper than my Torino. And much easier. But this project is mostly a snowball. I need it to fuction far more then I need the Torino. I looked at other 1 tons and they are asking 15,000-20,000 for trucks that are well over 10 years old right now.

But I love this goofy old truck. Everyone does. I tried to sell it last month and I felt guilty for it. I'm happy I decided to keep working at it. Every small victory I have with this truck makes me feel proud.

Ghost Magnum said:

Back in November, this young woman I been chasing for the better part of 2 years invited me to hang out with her at the local VFW. One of the first things she asked me is if I brought the truck. Sadly I didn't. I borrowed my moms car. I wish I did. But I had no highbeams at the time and the Blinkers did not work.

I been wanting to work on my Torino. I managed to keep it after I moved. But this C30 is the only Truck I have that can pull my fifth wheel. I want to move to Waco or Corsicana. So I need this truck running at 100%.

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Reminds me of the '69 GMC 3/4 I drove when I was courting my wife, except your truck is in better shape. 396 drank fuel. Look forward to following this.

Buford57 said:

Reminds me of the '69 GMC 3/4 I drove when I was courting my wife, except your truck is in better shape. 396 drank fuel. Look forward to following this.

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I don’t know. My truck is in pretty rough shape. I bet that 396 was awesome. I thought about dropping a 454 or 389 in my truck. But I’m not sure anything would be gained by doing it.

My stage 3 tach and speedometer came in.

3wire said:

Kudos for your restoration of a classic C30 and your commitment to new replacement parts in lieu of just trying to make due with the older original parts. I'm a big fan of the Painless Wiring products and the replacement of the entire wiring harness would probably be simpler than trying to fix the current wiring issues with the truck.

Not sure of the front turn signal issue you mentioned. If the front and rear turn signals are both LED, then they won't pull enough voltage to work with the 552 flasher units supplied with the wiring harness, you will have to replace them with flasher units made for LEDs.

If the lights are not LED and flashers are not the issue, then since the turn signals have to go thru the steering column wiring, I would start there in troubleshooting the issue.

You mentioned needing tires, I'd hate to hear what tires cost for that beast, I assume it has dual wheels in the rear? Pulling a fifth wheel will require good brakes, can you still source new brake parts for a 1966 C30?

Working on older vehicles is rewarding, and a girl that is interested in old trucks is rare and that can't be all bad.

Keep us posted on how things are coming along with the truck restoration.

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I got flashers for LED. It’s strange. I got all the lights on the bed wired in. The next thing I know the front turn indicators stopped working. But they will come on when I turn on parking lights.

Power to the front parking lights is supplied thru the headlight switch, where as the turn signal power is routed thru the steering column.

Do the rear turn signals work? Am I understanding correctly that the front turn signals worked prior to wiring the lights to the bed? If so, something must be wired incorrectly with the rear lights that is affecting the power to the turn signal circuit, assuming the rear turn signals aren't working either.

3wire said:

Power to the front parking lights is supplied thru the headlight switch, where as the turn signal power is routed thru the steering column.

Do the rear turn signals work? Am I understanding correctly that the front turn signals worked prior to wiring the lights to the bed? If so, something must be wired incorrectly with the rear lights that is affecting the power to the turn signal circuit, assuming the rear turn signals aren't working either.

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Nope, the rear turn signals work just fine. All the lights work but the front turn signals. The front turn signals are the same as the park lights. The park lights work just fine. They just don’t flash.

What I wouldn't give to have my old '64 GTO again.

FYI: Back in those days, the factory used electrical type tape to wrap the wiring harnesses so what you are encountering may be original.

SMSgt said:

What I wouldn't give to have my old '64 GTO again.

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That would worth a ton of money these days

Tom S. said:

FYI: Back in those days, the factory used electrical type tape to wrap the wiring harnesses so what you are encountering may be original.

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I know, but most of what I removed was not factory. He had s roll of wires folded over itself and buried under tape. He even had the ignition switch wrapped in tape and also some wired looked like he pulled out of a camper.

That truck should have a fuel pump
On the engine that runs off the cam shaft you do not
need a electric fuel pump .

Are there 2 fiiment bulbs and sockets in the front park lights ? . Wires for park lights and ts going to them?