The Daniel Family's 1962 Chevy Pickup
A project log by Cliff Daniel
We
bought this truck from the original owner (in theory),........................
My wife's father sold
it to us after he got it from the original owner. He used to have a 64 pickup and was
always asking the owner of this one if he could buy it. Finally, one day that person
called and said "You still want that truck?" Well, he really didn't want it
anymore but bought it anyway because he had said that he would. The truck basically sat in
storage for a few years until he decided to sell it. My wife and I took it off his hands
so we could have another "classic" in the fleet. It replaced a 1984 Caprice
Classic which was in turn a replacement for a cherry 1977 Nova that we had and had been
stolen.
The truck had 82000 original miles on it when it came to us. It's only factory option was
an AM radio, no trim, no 2 tone, manual everything with a 235 I6. It did have aftermarket
air added sometime in the 60's. A must for our location in Arizona. The original
owner had fixed it up for camping. How about those elephant ear mirrors? (see below) It
had an old camper shell with a full back and rear door. There were two cots in the bed
straddling either wheel well. The tailgate had been off for some time and sitting in the
weather. It had a lot of surface rust and one minor dent, other wise the gate was in great
shape. The bed floor had been covered in plywood to seal out the weather. After removing
the sub floor I found all the original wood in good pretty condition after nearly 40
years. The original black wood paint is there and the metal strips between the boards had
no dents. Nor did the rest of the bed interior for that matter. I don't think it ever
hauled anything but that camper. The original owner also had it painted once, maybe twice.
It was painted with the camper in place though. So of course there's a nice paint line on
the bed rails and overspray on the back of the cab. Oh well, it looks pretty good for the
top of the line Macco paint job that it seems to be. At least it's white, the only color
to have in Arizona.
|
A profile with promise |
The camper and cots. |
|
All stock 235 I6, runs like a watch. it ticks like one too, when it's cold |
After market A/C actually works when charged. Makes horrible noises though, and it's all the engine can do to run it. |
Work Begins Work Continues Major Changes Out With The Old Fabrication and Engine Installation
More Installation Reassembly Continues Misc. Other Stuff Body & Paint Under Bed Tank It's Done! Links