Bought a toy for summer cruising

I've owned hundreds of cars since the late 70's and I've never had one with a column shift manual. I think the only time I've even seen one was on vaca in Mexico in the 80's on an Aspen or Volare taxi.
I sold Volares back in the 70's and the manual ones had a floor stick shift,none had 3 on the tree.
 
Do you worry about safety with only a seat belt? I did not live to be 68 to die in a car accident where I would have been protected in a newer vehicle. I feel pretty safe in my 2015 F250. But hey thats just me.
I think it'd fall under Ralph Nader's unsafe at any speed. But for low mileage and slow speeds for occasional use, OP might survive ownership. I'm just surprised it doesn't have any rust.
 
Thanks for all the comments guys, I'm pretty happy with it. To address a few of the questions and concerns I plan to pretty much keep it as is and I will slowly get it back to stock appearance under the hood.

The engine is not the original and according to the seller it's a 1970ish 250. I will probably consider going to a dual reservoir brake master cylinder and possibly front discs too so long as they could be switched back. I love the old straight sixes and swapping in a v8 is not for me.

I'm a life long motorcyclist so the lack of a three point seat belt and ABS or airbags isn't going to cause me to lose sleep at night. I will use it as a truck and haul loads with it but I won't be overloading it and I may also tow a small trailer with it.

The odo shows 97k but I don't think that means much. The first thing that I'm going to address is the shifter linkage that is loose and sloppy and prone to binding up.
 
Upgraded ignition, alternator for power, radiator and fuel delivery make me think this was gone through pretty well by the previous owner. Electric wipers. Interior looks redone as does the gauge cluster with plastic which can be seen through. Very nice paint. This is a very nice find, and I get the feeling it has a good history.
 
I've owned hundreds of cars since the late 70's and I've never had one with a column shift manual. I think the only time I've even seen one was on vaca in Mexico in the 80's on an Aspen or Volare taxi.

Funny thing is.....GM trucks were available with 3OTT well into the 1980's. Used to own a '83 C10 with a 250/3OTT. Once the 4.3L V6 became the standard engine in '85, The 3 speed Muncie was dropped.
 
Great little pickup, my dad had one with the straight six "230" and three on the tree. always carry a big screwdriver as the shift linkage would always jam up and you to crawl under and dislodge it. :D
 
Thanks for all the comments guys, I'm pretty happy with it. To address a few of the questions and concerns I plan to pretty much keep it as is and I will slowly get it back to stock appearance under the hood.

The engine is not the original and according to the seller it's a 1970ish 250. I will probably consider going to a dual reservoir brake master cylinder and possibly front discs too so long as they could be switched back. I love the old straight sixes and swapping in a v8 is not for me.

I'm a life long motorcyclist so the lack of a three point seat belt and ABS or airbags isn't going to cause me to lose sleep at night. I will use it as a truck and haul loads with it but I won't be overloading it and I may also tow a small trailer with it.

The odo shows 97k but I don't think that means much. The first thing that I'm going to address is the shifter linkage that is loose and sloppy and prone to binding up.
When it binds up do counter clockwise circles with it till it unjams. Worked on mine lol
 
The first thing that I'm going to address is the shifter linkage that is loose and sloppy and prone to binding up.

There's a "Cammed" adjustment at the base of the column, This is to take the slack out between the 2 levers & greatly reduces the chance of jamming the shifter up.

Then you have the Arm Adjustments that requires a Drill Bit to neutralize the Column Arms.....The Adjust the Trans Arms to neutral. You likely needed new Bushings & Grommets.

Once adjusted & tightened up.....You can run through the gears quite quickly.


Pic of the cam at the base of the column.....
gpAgpem.jpg
 
Had several of the gen 2 pickups with column shifters and every one of them would lock up going from 1st to 2nd if you if you tried shifting to fast. The trick I learned was to pull the shifter towards you, up and then once in neutral push it down then up to 2nd. It was a pain but better than having to pull over and crawl under every time it locked up, I had a small rubber mallet I kept in the cab. The 67 I had was converted to a floor shifter by one of the previous owners.
 
A 63 had no EGR it possibly even used a draft tube (I know they did in 62) not a PCV.
If you look at the OP intake photo, you'll the gizmo under the carb. It may be a vacuum controlled heat riser.

This may be a newer transplant. Can't see the casting number under the dist. I maintained a fleet of Driver's ED cars at my old garage; most were slant six Plymouths, but we had a couple Novas 250 also. Never had to do much other than brakes and annual tuneups - except I replaced a cracked exhaust on one of the slants.

I remember the draft tubes before PCV. I used them on some old race and HiPo street engines - before it was common to scavenge CC vapors into a reed or check valve on the header collector.

- Ken
 
I have been looking for a 60's era Chevy pickup for quite some time now. The prices have gone nuts so I had to have patience and I still spent more than I wanted to but I finally got myself a classic truck.

It'a a '63 C10 shortbed stepside with a straight six and three on the tree. There's not a cupholder or airbag in sight! The truck will never be a show winner and has a few warts but will be just fine as a summer weekend driver.

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Man thats awesome.Perfect to DRIVE and enjoy and not worry about little scratches or dings. Sweet
 
Incidentally, if any of you are bored, this truck is also a celebrity of sorts and was featured on a TV show.😀

It was on Netflix's "World's most amazing rental vacations". Season 2 "On the waterfront" second segment of that episode.
 
I learned to drive on my dad's '56 Chevy pickup...6 cylinder with a 3 on the tree. It ran great but the heater left something to be desired when temps dipped below zero. It served him well for many years.
 
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