First page   Page 2   Page 3   Page 4   Page 5   Page 6  
Back to Karkmotuning main page

 

1967 Chevrolet C30


In early 2015 this truck was found on a local trading site. For some odd reason we just had to have it. It was bought "as is", sight unseen (but for a few pics) from Texas, USA.
(January 2015)

The C30 arrived on a tow truck in mid April, looking pretty sad. Only three of the six tires held any air, and one of those held it only for a few days at a time.
As soon as the truck was unloaded, the stick was checked: Yes! Four speed!
Gotta be happy about the little things.

Truth to be told, even if it says "Do Not Open" on the hood, I also opened it and checked the engine. Yup. V-8.



April snow. Poor Texas truck probably hasn't seen this before.

 

And what about the plan?

Actually the first idea was to chuck the cab, use the frame and build a hot rod truck of it using an older cab.
Then, as the eyes got used to it, the richly patinaed '67 cab started to look like fun, and now, to begin with, the truck will have a simple overhaul to get it road worthy, then new tires and some other little things done.


When the truck had stood in the yeard for a while, in a special angle of light, one could see some painted lettering on the doors. Something with "Hurricane". After sanding with a fine grit wet or dry paper using plenty of water, the whole text eventually was revealed:

HURRICANE
Glass Co
BE3-7255 Freeport

Without wheels the poor truck looks even worse, but the fun part is that with the starter checked and lubed up, an ignition coil connected to the distributor, and some gas sloshed into the carburator, it started right up. The old coil was so rusty it seemed almost impossible to connect a + lead to it.
Of course it didn't run like brand new, but it seems to have some potential, so it may be able to propel the truck forward once the carb and such get sorted.
(June 2015)



After the rims had been sand blasted and had gotten a coat of epoxy, they were sprayed with a nice high gloss black, and shod with brand new rubber. New chrome acorn nuts were added too, after this pic was snapped.
(July 2015)

It says "DO NOT OPEN" on the hood.
Totally impossible to obey.



This beautifully maintained engine actually started today (once again), this time with fuel in the carb, and thus stayed running for a while. The oil pressure warning light (test light at arrow) stubbornly refused to go out, so the ignition had to be turned off.
The distributor and oil pressure sensor were removed, and when the oil pump axle was rotated by hand, oil flowed out of the sensor hole. The sensor didn't seem to work, so a new one will be tried shortly.

Update: The problem with the oil presure was apparently in the sensor, and with a new one the oil light went out almost instantly when the engine was started, and a test drive could be made.
A pretty "interesting" test drive, at that, as there is no brakes whatsoever on the truck. No foot brake, and the e-brake is rusted solid.

Someteime, a few years ago, the truck has been oversprayed with a thin coat of gray paint. The painter has obiously not been too worried about overspray, and as a result the windows and rubber had a lot of gray on them.
Luckily the gray paint is readiy dissolved with thinner, so the black seals cleaned up nicely.



As the windows and rubber seals cleaned up so well, inspiration hit, and most of the gray was sanded off from the right hand side, the roof and the rear of the cab. Drivers side door and some details still to be sanded.

The script on the right hand door had been sanded too heavily, and to remedy the situation, a repaint of the "Glass Co" text was attempted.



After the paint had dried, the text was sanded down to look old and weathered like the rest of the door. The windows, wheels and rubber were masked off, and the cab was sprayed with a layer of flat clear.
At this point the truck looks ok and it's time to tackle some rust and the mechanicals.

To be able to work around the truck in the garage, the bed had to go. Suddenly the C30 looks much smaller.


NEXT PAGE