I’m loving my C30

[Ghost Magnum]

I fixed my 1966 C30 1 ton and already put it back to work. It turns out the clutch z-bar slipped off the frame bracket. I fixed it and had to make adjustments to the clutch. But while I was under my truck making adjustments. I spotted lots of modifications to the chassis. My chassis has quarter inch thick steel plates welded to it. And cross members added to support the winch and bed. This truck will not give if anything hits it. This thing is a battle tank. I love it. I was afraid I may had made a mistake buying this truck when the clutch pedal stuck to the floor and the idea I was about to replace the clutch. But I'm happy I got this truck. My Torino is still my passion project. But this truck is becoming a close second to it. These two will go well together at a car show.
All that being said. This truck still needs work. Whoever built the 350 likely made a mistake. The rear main seal is leaking. The windshield wipers and dimmer switch isn't working. I will work on that soon. The brakes is weird. I pulled a 7500 pound 5 wheel camper shortly after I bought the truck. And recently carried a heavy load with a washer/dryer. Even under a load the brakes behave the same as if it's not under load. It still stops the truck. Just not as efficient as modern brakes. I thought the single rasivare master cylinder was just something the previous owner put there. But I found out it's exactly what Chevy put there. It's functioning like Chevy attended. I'm afraid to mess with them because I might screw it up. But it might not hurt to check the brake cylinder and pads when I'm on vacation.

I'm going to resto mod this truck on the side while building the Torino. I'm going to make them a matching pair. Yes, I know it's a Chevy and my car is a Ford with a two year difference. But I don't care. It's a good truck paired with a sexy car. Both the truck and Torino will have the same interior/exterior color scheme. The rims will probably not match. But I will try to stick with a similar theme.

 

[LVSteve]

Rear main seal leaking on a GM V motor. Color me shocked.

 

[Ghost Magnum]

Rear main seal leaking on a GM V motor. Color me shocked.

Come to think of it. Every Chevy my family owned leaks oil

 

[johngalt]

Barely functional brakes are another GM characteristic.

 

[SAFireman]

The older Chevy (and GMC) trucks are great!

I have owned Chevy trucks from 1957 to modern, and will continue to have at least one in my life.

Working on these old trucks is pretty straight forward, and there is a lot of info out there. If you haven't found it yet, check out the forums here - 67-72chevytrucks.com

Don't let the name fool you, they go waaaayyy back

I joined that group when I bought my 1972 K20 and used their tech as a guide while I restored my ride.

Good luck with your restoration projects.

 

[Old Arkansawyer]

OP, if the 1 ton has set unused for sometime before you bought it the
rear main seal may have dried out. Running the engine may stop the
leak, unless it's just gushing oil.

 

[cndrdk]

Barely functional brakes are another GM characteristic.

When I was much younger I had a '66 GTO. Fastest car I ever owned, but must have had VW Beetle brake drums on it, 'cause it just wouldn't stop worth a darn. Never wrecked it, but I still have nightmares where I'm hiked up on one cheek, pulling on the steering wheel with both hands and stomping down on that brake pedal trying to stop.

 

[bob in texas]

Check your motor mounts, if I recall correctly it has the mounts on the side of the engine block, a hard start will over torque the engine to the right and cause the clutch linkage to drop off the frame mount.

 

[Ivan the Butcher]

Every new Chevy and GMC my brother and I bought since 1972 had the main bearing rear seal leak under warrantee, when that was fixed by the dealership they were good for decades after. As of 2004 the '72 C20 hasn't leaked. and my '74 K-5 was good until 2009 when I sold it to a friend.

I bought my current 2014 used about 16 months ago, and there is no leak.

On my '74 K-5, the valve cover gaskets never stopped leaking, until I replaced the covers and permatexted the gaskets on both sides!

Ivan

 

[Ghost Magnum]

It's serving me well right now. I just used it to carry off a trailer load of bad furniture and garbage to the dump. Right now I'm more interested in deactivating the fuel tank. My bed has provisions for a drum type fuel tank.

 

[Willie McHobblin]

GM, Bob had a good thought with the motor mounts, Chevy had cables on the high HP cars to help the mounts last longer, us poor kids used chain. Dimmer switch is pretty straight forward, check the ground wire too. What exactly are the wipers not doing? An upgrade to front disc & a dual reservoir master cylinder would making stopping less scary.
BTW, that's not an oil leak, that's all those horses sweating.
Willie.

 

[LVSteve]

Barely functional brakes are another GM characteristic.

The European GM models in England weren't much better. I faded the brakes on a car I had twice with a bit of hard driving. Solid pedal, no retardation. Some different pads largely fixed the issue.

 

[johngalt]

The European GM models in England weren't much better. I faded the brakes on a car I had twice with a bit of hard driving. Solid pedal, no retardation. Some different pads largely fixed the issue.

Even though GM vehicles have a few 'character flaws', I'll never get rid of my '97 Tahoe. I've driven it everywhere.

But my old 1990 Lumina was a piece 'o junk. It was infamous for its lousy brakes. It had the rear discs with the calipers that would seize. Once mine seized partially closed, riding the disc. The brakes overheated and boiled off the brake fluid, which had a negative impact on braking performance...

 

[BRL40]

...C30 huh.

C10 and I can guarantee you I love mine more than 1/3 of what you do ya dipstick...

...um pictures of said C30 Sir.?