Tell me about a 1966 Chevy C30 resto-mod?

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I have an affinity for 1960s era vehicles, but literally no experience with them. I've got an opportunity to get a 1966 restored/modified Chevy C30. From pictures and sellers information, it appears nice and overall 8 out of 10 for mechanical, interior, exterior, and electrical with no major known issues. It is NOT original. I'm not a collector but looking for high build quality, reliability, function, fun, and something that is "classic" even if not original.

I'd like to get something of this era that is mechanically simple, and very attractive. This might be it. I won't disclose the price but it seems very fairly priced.

It has a rebuilt 1966 Corvette 350 engine the seller claims runs excellent. It's paired with a 4 speed manual on the floor. He suspects it's about 250hp and 280 torque. The engine has a single hump, but he says he has the double that is easy to install for a little more power (I am not a mechanic, can anyone explain this?)

It has had light body work, repainted and clear coat, rust portions in the floor board cut out and new plates professionally welded in, new carpet with soundproofing. Interior is mostly metal, no plastics, and sounds like significantly repaint. New seat cushions and materials. Bed is entirely diamond plated, painted, with tool box.

It looks really nice, and I'll know more when I see it soon. But before investing a lot of time, can anyone offer me good advice on this era of truck, this year/model truck, anything to look for?
 
The "double hump" heads, aka "Fuelie heads" were used on the performance small block engines. They were the heads to have back in the day, but any modern aftermarket head is far better.

The #1 issues with any vintage car is rust. That's why CA or southwestern US cars are sought after. If there is frame or body panel rust, I would find a better vehicle.
#2 is paint and overall body condition. Big bucks...
The truck will steer and drive horribly as compared to modern cars; brakes as well. All this can be improved with time and money.
The drivetrain is the easiest part; you can buy a nice crate engine and whatever transmission and slap 'em in. Chump change in comparison.

I love those trucks. Just know they are a labor of love. The best advice I was ever given is, "Start with the best car you can. You will be big bucks ahead."

The paint and fiberglass work on my old Vette would easily be $20K today. Good luck and enjoy your project. Remember, they are never done.
68 Vette Shiny Side.jpg

68_Vette back.jpg
 
Best advice I can give you is if the seller can’t provide receipts for everything that was claimed or you can’t visually verify the work then buy it as not done.

There is a flood of OTR trucks on the market with an “overhaul 20k miles ago” with no supporting documentation.
 
This truck is a one-of-a-kind backyard monkeyed together thing. You won't link to pictures, but are asking an anonymous web forum for approval to buy it.

It's cheaper than its competition, but you don't know why.

This is the kind of thing people buy when they have too much money and not enough drama in their lives.
 
1968 was the last year of the 327; the 350 was used in 1969. Any 1960's Corvette block is no different than any other small block except it has serial numbers on the block pad. "Numbers matching" means the block matches fram and body serial number. "Correct" means the block was cast within a month prior to the car assembly.
By the way, the Corvette engine choices in 1967 and 1968 were the same. The 283 was last used in passenger cars, except Vettes, in 1967 I believe.
Don't get me started...
 
Cool trucks but remember the C30 were work trucks bought by contractors, roofing companies, farmers, etc. They spent a lot of work time off road at construction sites where the low transmission and diff gearing was advantageous for that rough environment. Notice in the video when he rolls up to a stop sign he starts off in 2nd gear rather than the insanely low ‘granny’ gear. If the running gear is stock I doubt it would run 70 mph without bumping 4,000 to 4,500 rpm’s while drinking copious amounts of $4.50 per gallon of high octane gas with a 60’s era SBC engine. It would be a hit at a truck show but again a very cool old truck but not for everybody and you did ask for advice. (y)
 
This really isn't much to go on...

C30's of that year were all dually with no bed right? is is dump truck or a stake body or is is a c30 in name only and has c10 frame suspension and bed?

Was it originally a V8 truck or is it a swapped 6 cylinder truck (how well done)?

is a 4 speed a m22 rock crusher or a np435?

A SBC and a 4 speed is pretty simple, in fact the whole truck is downright primitive unless it has been heavily warmed over... when some one talks about buying something like this and says "im not a mechanic" my first reaction is "bad idea" unless you can afford to pay a good mechanic, are really good friends with one or are willing to become one fast.
 
Hard pass. I would bet it has very low rear end gears and would have trouble running down the interstate at 75 mph. It will definitely be a gas hog and it's getting to the point where the old baby boomers that like this type of truck are few and far between. That type of truck really is not that desirable and it seems to me you could find a better fit for your money. Have you ever driven a 1997 or new car with an LS engine? You would be far better off going in that direction. Maybe not as retro but they are nice finds. This C-30 will ride very rough. I am not trying to steer you wrong but there are lots of headaches in that old stuff and that's why you don't see them on the roads very much any longer. The creature comforts just are not there. My restored 69 Camaro RS/SS cost me a fortune to keep in like new condition. They are fun but big money pits with tons of hidden problems. I had a good Camaro but I was only about 25 years old back then.
 

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Thanks for the dose of reality everyone, lots to think about and consider.

I'm not being elusive, I just don't know the answers nor enough about the truck to answer questions. I don't think the seller is being shady, I think I may be relaying info wrong or he is just a little confused or remembering wrong. I'm not ready to impugn his motives on this.

This truck would serve little practical needs, but be a fun cool old dose of the 1960s era styling. It likely is a duelly and probably 4:10 gearing or similar, and yes terrible MPGs and terrible on the HWY. It will almost never see the HWY and probably just be used for fun, tooling around at 35mpg in the city or taking it to a parade or show or something.

The money being considered is very little in the grand scheme... just looking for good input from others on what to look out for, etc. Thanks for the feedback and please continue offering more.
 
I've built quite a few '60-'66 Chevy Trucks, They can be built in to quite comfortable cruisers with enough time & money invested.

'73-'91 "Square Body" Front Suspensions are almost a bolt-in affair & makes these old trucks ride very nice & allows for a Cheap/Easy power steering conversion.

Back in the late 80's-early 90's.....We'd install Cadillac 500/472, Pontiac 455, Buick 455, & Oldsmobile 455 engines mated to TH400 transmissions with 3.07:1 geared 12-bolt Truck differentials out of '73-'80 Square Bodies as they matched the track width of the Square Body front suspensions, Converted the rear to 5 on 5 wheel bolt pattern to match the front & had wider brake shoes.

I liked the '69/'70 Cadillac 500/472 engines the most, At the time.....There wasn't many stock vehicles that could out run one of these torque monsters put in such a light vehicle. We had a '68 short bed with a 500 Caddy/TH400, 3.07 Posi, With 10.5" Mickey Thompson ET Drags on the back.....It would eat brand new 5.0 Mustangs & Z28 TPI Camaros for lunch. These guys did not like being out gunned by a old/beat pick-up truck.

By the late '90's early '00.....Good low mileage BOPC engines had dried up & we started swapping in Gen II LT1 engines & shortly after that Gen III LSx engines. A stock '01/'02 LS1/4L60E with 3.73:1 gears was pretty close to what a '70 Caddy 500/TH400 with 3.07:1 gears would do.
Then we started camming & boosting 6.0L truck engines.
 
Probably wouldn’t be my choice, instead I’d go for a 68, 69, 1970 C10 short bed, 2wd. Even a 66 C10 would be a better option than a C30. It depends on what you’re in to, but for restoration purposes, fun, resale, investment, fixer up...I’d go short bed, 2wd. Ford has some options in that time frame as well. You want to buy something you can enjoy, flip and move on to your next project. Not something limited in interest, not fun, a lot of work. IMO. The juice has to be worth the squeeze. Not sure a C30 is.
 
To be clear I'm not actively shopping for this, it was offered to me in trade for motor oil. So while I appreciate lots of collateral recommendations this is a unique offer and I'm trying to learn about this era of C30 trucks, build quality, known problems, etc. with the vehicle, popularity and potential for future popularity, etc. I realize this is really really old, been thru a lot of work, etc. but I'm in the "learning about it" phase.

This appears to have a very nice diamond plated flat bed and duelly rears.

Again, this would be a nostalgia piece, cruise around in a cool old truck, run in parades, go to car shows, etc. It's possible it could be called into "truck duty" from time to time as well. These seem like real workhorse trucks for their day, is that a fair assessment?
 
I need to learn what gearing it has, I suspect it's 2wd from someone telling me all C series were 2wd, and that's perfectly fine for me. I need to learn what is original and what is not, as another friend said to be careful on making sure the axels are correct. I'm not sure why they would be incorrect, but I guess that's on my list of what to look for. Rust, also.

I am of the mindset with the amount of work the owner claims to have put into it, I would venture a fair guess or assumption that it has good structure to begin with. Would someone go thru significant cost/investment/time if the truck was a good foundation to invest in? Seems to me a waste of time/resources. Is that a fair assessment?
 
Again, this would be a nostalgia piece, cruise around in a cool old truck, run in parades, go to car shows, etc.

It would definitely be a nostalgia piece , pretty much any GM truck is to a degree popular.

It's possible it could be called into "truck duty" from time to time as well. These seem like real workhorse trucks for their day, is that a fair assessment?

It is a one ton truck, so yes it would be a work truck ... it'll probably ride like a buckboard empty, but that can be part of the Nostalgia.

It is my understanding that the C30 had conventional led springs in the rear unlike the 10 and 20.

You must have a lot of motor oil.

Based one your location rust and/or rust repair would be my first concern.

Quality of the overall work is a major concern / consideration.
 
I am of the mindset with the amount of work the owner claims to have put into it, I would venture a fair guess or assumption that it has good structure to begin with. Would someone go thru significant cost/investment/time if the truck was a good foundation to invest in? Seems to me a waste of time/resources. Is that a fair assessment?
The diamond plate bed says to me that the original rotted way the heck out, and he rebuilt it with diamond plate he somehow had laying around.

When you look at it, bring a screwdriver, look at how the frame is recently coated with rubber undercoating, and stab away at anything that could be rusty.
 
I need to learn what gearing it has, I suspect it's 2wd from someone telling me all C series were 2wd, and that's perfectly fine for me. I need to learn what is original and what is not, as another friend said to be careful on making sure the axels are correct. I'm not sure why they would be incorrect, but I guess that's on my list of what to look for. Rust, also.

4x4 Should be a K30 if they made them (Im not really a Chevy Guy)

I suspect your friends concern is it being a conversion to a Dually - if its anything like a Ford it should be fairly easy to decode the VIN and or data plate to determine how it started. Being a one ton, it is likely to be pretty low geared which will be somewhat offset by the tire size. The 4 speed is likely to be a "granny gear" so its effectively a 3 speed in daily use.

You definitely need to figure out what has been messed with - that same list will tell you where to start looking when something goes amiss.

I am of the mindset with the amount of work the owner claims to have put into it, I would venture a fair guess or assumption that it has good structure to begin with. Would someone go thru significant cost/investment/time if the truck was a good foundation to invest in? Seems to me a waste of time/resources. Is that a fair assessment?

I wouldn't draw that conclusion...
 
Every chevy car at every car show has a "Corvette" engine. Corvettes must have been laying all over the roads back then just willing to give up their engines.

Seriously it's highly unlikely that the engine is from a Corvette originally. Especially if they say it's a 1966 350 as the 350 didn't come out for a couple more years.

It may be a number of engines as they all look the same.

The double hump heads were the performance heads back then. The 4bbl 327 got them in passenger cars and the Corvette got them with bigger valves. Today there are many options available that are much more performance oriented.
 
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