1966 Chevy C10 – Ken B.

My all-original 1966 Chevy C-10 Fleetside was purchased brand-new from Gridley Chevrolet in Spanish Fork, Utah in October of 1966 by my father-in-law. It was a dealer’s demo, so it sat on the lot for a year before he bought it. He traded his 1961 Impala Sport Sedan in on it. It was given to me, at no cost, by my mother-in-law when my FIL passed away in 1998. A pic of it is attached.

He took the family on many trips in it. Attached is a pic of my wife (yellow) standing by it in 1967.

The original dealer invoice is attached. The truck’s options are listed on the attached original SPID (Service Parts Identification): engine conversion, ammeter-oil gauge, heavy duty rear spring, 292 L-6 engine, deluxe air heater, side trim molding, 4 spd. tranny, and custom cab and comfort equipped.

I also have the original Owner’s Manual and Protect-O-Plate.

My FIL painted the stripe between the side molding strips turquoise because he had a turquoise and white camper on it during the summers. They looked pretty sharp together, as show in the pic here.

The hubcaps I have since found on old advertisements of 1961 Fleetsides, so I don’t know if they were still being factory installed in 1966 or he replaced the original caps with some older ones. Anyway, they were original to the truck when I got it in 1998.

The wood bed is still in pretty good shape but I had to replace a couple of boards, including the one over the tailpipe. I won’t ever replace the original hard yellow pine boards with oak because I love original. I had repainted the bed gloss black but since discovered the factory paint was flat black, so I’ll make the change when I repaint it again.

My FIL had split rims on the rear which had to go. He also had big California style side mirrors and a plastic bug shield (remember those?) fastened to the hood. They had to go, also.

I was able to find a repro of the original upholstery, so a copy of that is attached.

My FIL replaced the original 292 six himself in 1978 at 214,800 miles with a rebuilt 292 six, which now has been rebuilt again. A pic of that is attached. It now has about 329,000 on it. I’ve changed it to HEI and it runs like a top. Still with the original 1 barrel carb.

All the cab support metal has been replace. I have original-issue 66 Utah plates on it.

It was a daily-driver for a several years but now it sits in the garage most of the time, except for light hauling and cruise nights. Someday when I do a frame-off restoration, I will have it repainted but it will stay original — no power steering or brakes or any retrofits.

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