1966 Chevrolet C20/K20 Pickup Grey Camper Special

Vehicle Description

A great pickup truck that has been mechanically sorted to turnkey reliability but cosmetics haven’t been addressed yet.

Vehicle Details

Due to a hard to pass up opportunity for acquiring a “dream” vehicle, I need to sell my 1966 C20 pickup.

The truck was part of a bundle of vehicles that had to be purchased in order to acquire the ‘48 Chevy panel delivery but turned out to be the quickest to finish.

At the time of purchase, it sported the original, factory cab-over camper built by Wolverine Camper in Michigan. It also had the extended side mirrors, 3 piece wheels and a disassembled motor that was freshly machined (in 1987) but never fully built.

The first order of business was to remove the rotten camper which revealed some very nice, original wooden bed slats that hadn’t see daylight since 1966.

Once the truck was up on the lift, we removed the rear brake assemblies and rebuilt them with resurfaced slave cylinders & new springs & cups, fresh pads, spring kits and flex lines. The hardline over the axle was poorly “repaired” on the roadside many years ago so a completely new line was built from scratch. To finish up the rearend, we also pulled the axles, drained the diff fluid, replaced the tube seals, cover gasket and added fresh fluid.

The front brakes got the same treatment with a new single reservoir master cylinder under the hood.

Next up was the fuel system which involved pulling the tank behind the seat for a cleaning (it was pretty much bone dry without any old fuel) fresh fuel lines/vent lines, filter, fuel pump and a rebuilt carb.

The cooling system was updated with a new thermostat, USA made Modine brass radiator, rubber hoses and intake snorkel mount.

The original 283 was delivered as a short block but since it was stored semi exposed without spark plugs since the mid 80s, it was pulled down to a bare block and everything was fitted with new Felpro gaskets. Included with the truck is a receipt book for the machine work which looks like it needed for a spun crank bearing. The displacement is still original. Once it was assembled, it was shot with factory chevy orange. It also received a fresh alternator, ignition coil, plugs, points, plug wires, cap, rotor and condenser. The distributor internals were also rebuilt.

Following the motor, the transmission was pulled to be cleaned/resealed but we never replaced the bearings. Its has a bit of a whine in the lower RPM range but new bearings should fix that up. 4 bolts and it falls right out. the work shouldn’t take you more than 3–4 hours in the garage.

The 3 speed column shifter didn’t need any attention aside from the linkage but that was addressed during chassis work.

The driveshaft was cleaned/painted and reinstalled with new U-joints. We also cleaned up the shift linkage before reinstalling everything.

The hood lift springs were replaced, the safety catch was serviced/cleaned and I wound a new safety hood catch spring since replacements were only available if you bought the complete aftermarket assembly.

The air cleaner is not original to the truck but was off a 1967 Chevelle so it’s OEM. A fresh coat of black paint brought it back and the original decals were preserved.

The oversized camper special side mirrors were replaced with standard C10 style USA made replicas.

The windshield is new but the rest of the glass is original. Also included is another rear glass window from another 66 that’s been in the garage for the past 50 years.

All of the sheetmetal is original and has a decent patina finish. The only cancerous rust is in the usual spots and that’s the lower fender. The passenger side has a few holes just beyond the sill plate but the rest of the vehicle is solid. There’s some large dents on the bed/cab but I believe they could be removed with a dent removal service. The one on the rear wheel well is from a tire coming apart while driving and it slapped the sheetmetal

All of the interior is original, right down to the seat fabric, door/window handles and paint. The dome light was missing and replaced with a decent looking replica. The window tracks/locks were all lubed so they operate smoothly

I’m sure I’ve missed plenty of smaller stuff but the last piece of the project was some new rims/tires. The simplest option was some mid 2000 chevy aluminum HD wheels built by Alcoa. The tires are older but are perfectly road worthy. The 3pc wheels are in the bed and will be included with purchase.

The truck is currently running, registered, insured and has a clean title. There’s about 30 miles on the rebuilt engine so it’s really not been driven since completion.

I have extensive records/receipts for the parts purchased with all work done by myself and father. He’s owned/built 4-5 of these since they were new in 1966 so the work was very familiar and easy to complete.