Category Archives: Cars

1985 Chevy Squarebody C10 Shortbed Pickup FOR SALE

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Today’s blog post is about my cousin Jim’s 1985 Chevy C10 shortbed pickup – this is a Squarebody and it is up for sale.  Yes, the shop’s work truck needs a new home and hopefully someone reading this post might be interested and appreciate it.

This truck was originally a US Forestry Service vehicle, so it was pretty basic from the get go.  The interior is rather spartan, no carpet, no headliner and rollup windows.  However, the rest of the truck is all modern stuff.

Here is a picture of the build sheet.  Of course, the engine and transmission are different.

Powertrain

The old truck had a very outdated engine/transmission.  All this has been replaced with a modern LSx engine and 4L60E four speed electronic automatic transmission.  The engine is the 5.3L version – so this is a 325cid version.  The heads and cam are Precision Race Components (PRC) replaced prior to the engine being installed in the truck.  It has a cold air intake and is the electronic fly-by-wire throttle.  Exhaust is routed through factory ‘headers’ flowing through separate dual exhaust pipes.

Here is a picture from HPTuners showing the current engine PCM showing the engine came from a 2004 Silverado:

The truck has a custom made wiring harness made by Jim and the engine’s PCM has been tuned accordingly.  The fuel tank has been rebuilt and equipped with a fuel pump capable of providing the proper pressure for the LSx.  To keep the transmission happy, the truck comes equipped with a transmission fluid cooler – you can see this in the closeup picture of the grill.  Finally, the engine also has a catch-can and includes an Optima Redtop battery.  You can see the pressure-residual valves on the brake lines – they provide just enough pressure to remove any lag in the brake lines.  Jim favored this in all his builds.  The engine PCM is housed in its aluminum box mounted towards the front of the truck.

Exterior

Let’s be clear, this is a 40-year-old work-truck.  The truck was repainted a number of years ago and the paint is not perfect, however it is decent; a blank canvas for an ultimate sleeper.  The paint has flaws, and will be documented but pretty much, the paint looks okay.  The main thing is there are no rusted panels on this truck.  The doors are solid, the fenders are solid and the bed is in good shape too; the rubber liner will be included.

Wheels

Stock rims on the work truck.  No beauty rims here and no center cap.  This can all be found on eBay if you like, but for the money probably nicer wheels might do the trick.

Interior

Like I mentioned previously, the interior is spartan, it is a work truck after all.  There is no radio, but the AC and heater work very well.  The AC has been upgraded to have a modern refrigerant and thus, the condenser is much larger.  The compressor is also modern, not the original Freon version.  I think this might be a new Sanden but I am not sure.  There is a electric SPAL ran properly shrouded controlled by a trinary pressure switch and runs only when the refrigerant pressure rises.

FYI, the vents all work properly so you get face, blend, defrost and floor modes – this means the vacuum system is plumbed correctly.  This is an ailment of Squarebodies, that the air routing is not consistent.  In this truck, the venting works.

The bench seat was reupholstered in a dark brown material.  Currently it is protected with a woven seat cover that can be easily removed.  Speaking of covers, there is also a dash cover that protects the undamaged dash.

You will see the rearview mirror is missing from the windshield.  The mirror is undamaged and little “foot” that gets glued to the windshield is attached, however the adhesive has let go.  This is a cheap item, LMC Truck sells these and that is not hard to fix.

There is no headliner.  Remember this used to be a US Forestry truck?  These trucks did not come fully loaded so the headliner was never installed.  Ditto for any carpet.  I am sure if you want that, it is available from LMC Truck.

Instruments are all VDO and even includes a clock.  They all work.  The original instruments were ditched in favor of the VDO’s because of the LSx engine.

I have several sets of keys too, that will be included in the sale.

 

The Not So Good Parts

OK – in the spirit of full disclosure and not wanting to waste your time and mine, I will list the known “issues”.  This is my cousin’s truck and he drove it pretty much every day.  This is what I know…

Engine

The truck runs strong and shifts very crisply.  However, when it sits and is cold, it is sometimes a bit hard to start.  Jim told me there is a crank positions sensor that might need to be replaced – I have connected my HPTuners and see no error codes, so I am at a loss on this one.  if you notice in the pics of the interior, there is a toggle switch under the steering column – that is an auxiliary ‘start’ switch.  Comes in handy when trying to star the engine.  Once the engine is warm though, it fires right up.

Interior

As shown in the photos above, there is no radio.  This was not an important thing for Jim, so he did not install one.  The windshield does not have a built-in antenna thinggie so if you want an radio you will need to add a hole somewhere for an antenna.  There is a panel where the radio used to be that can be replaced with something else.

There is no carpet either.  The truck has a rubber matt but carpet kits are easily obtain from LMC Truck.  i have a recent catalog from them and they pretty much have everything available for these old trucks.  But you probably know that already…

Instruments

The set is VDO.  They are all working.  Speedo works, tach, etc.  Here is what they look like:

The issue is that the speedo does not show mileage.  Something has happened to the ROM on that gauge and the actual mileage does not show.

Exterior

Sadly, the paint is not flawless.  For a work truck it serves very nice, but it won’t be winning an award at your local Cars and Coffee.  Jim built this as a no frills vehicle and that is what we have.  There are two spots that you need to be aware of.  They are on the bed on the driver’s side.  Also, on the bed gate, there is a ding.

There are other scratches on the body – you can probably already see them in the pictures I provided of the exterior previously.

The front bumper might not be everyone’s cup of tea.  Jim fabricated that – it is made from aluminum.  This bumper could be powder coated and made to look really nice.  Or, take it off and replace it with an original bumper.

The rear bumper is missing.  However, there is a special step-up bar that fits where the trailer hitch currently is.  That will be included with the truck also.

Steering Column

The steering column on the truck works.  The truck has been driven for a very long time with the current setup.  However, there is a bushing that has loosened up and the steering wheel has play in it.

I have a freshly refurbished steering column in a box that will be included with the truck.  If you know anything about Squarebodies, you will immediately know that steering columns are hard to come by and are also very expensive.  The column is in the box as the manufacturer sent it and again, will be part of the deal.

Final Words

By now you are probably asking yourself why this truck is for sale.  Well 2024 has been a very shitty year:  my cousin Jim Thompson unexpectedly passed away.  I have been tasked to handle his estate, and this is one of the many tasks ahead of me.

This truck was his daily driver and sadly it needs to go to a new owner.  The work truck needs a new home worthy of someone that understands the kind of work invested in the truck.  Yes, you could go get a newer truck for the money but this truck is the ultimate sleeper and also a blank canvas for someone that knows and appreciates what Jim built.  This truck with a nice lowering kit, some nicer wheels (or perhaps keep these?) – who knows – would be a killer machine.

Jim had me order the steering column just a few weeks before he passed away.  We were planning to install it together, that but sadly that did not happen.  I just don’t have the time and bandwidth to install it, so given we already have it I want to include that in the sale of the truck.

The truck is located in Greenville, South Carolina.  If you are interested in the truck let me know and we can arrange to meet and talk about it.  I am not giving the truck away, so don’t waste your time and mine with low ball offers.  I know what Squarebodies with LSx’s are worth, and I have a price in mind so if you are interested contact me.

I don’t want to sound abrasive, but also give me a little break:  This is Jim’s truck and I have described it as best I can.  I am sure I may have missed some info and I am sure you will ask me about that.  But, just keep in mind I did not build the truck myself, so I cannot give you information I don’t have.  The truck runs, shifts and handles correctly.  I would keep it myself, but I can’t keep it all.

If you want more info, you can leave a comment on this post.  That is easy to do – I read and moderate all comments.  Please, make sure you include your email address so we can converse.

Why this way?  Because if I list my email address on this post, I will get a ton of spam from bots scanning my blog.  It is more secure to add a response to this email in the form of a comment.  And don’t worry – any response made is PRIVATE – meaning it won’t expose your comments and email address.  I will also not make your post public.

Customized Dodge Challenger

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This weekend, I made a quick road trip to visit my mom and on the way back, I found this customized Dodge Challenger parked on the side of the road.  This bad boy is another example of one of those things that make you go “hmmmm”…

Mom has a very supportive network of family and friends in the little town where she lives.  She is handling our new “normal” quite well, but she does not drive and she needed to go to the grocery store.  So we took care of that this weekend by going to North Augusta, SC.  Mom is now set for another couple weeks and I had a chance to finally get out on the road and clear my mind from being in lockdown.

So back to the customized Dodge Challenger.  All I can say is that somebody put a ton of money on this Challenger.  The pictures don’t do the paint job justice – it is flawless.  While it is not my cup of tea, I do appreciate the hard work invested.  The Challenger was painted probably with ChromaFlair because as you move around, the thing changed colors.  Somebody then took the time to ghost-in the Mopar logos on the quarter panels.  You can barely see an edge in the photo above.

The hood was also highly customized:  it had the Mopar logo as well.  I’m not a big fan of the color shifting paint but that paint-job did the trick:  it caught my eye.  I had to drive back to this parking lot and felt compelled to take these photos.

And last but not least, the wheels and tires.  I didn’t get out of my car, and inspect them closely, but they are LARGE.  Again, there is no telling how man dead presidents are invested in this set of wheels.  Having said all this…  I have a few questions:

    • With a wheel/tire combo like this, what effect does it have on the drivetrain.  If we go by the relationship of a lever, I would suspect this is going to load up the gearbox and strain it.
    • What effect does a whee/tire combo like this have on brakes?  Suppose you are driving at highway speed, would braking efficiency become compromised?
    • Speedo.  The speedo reading would certainly be hosed.  This is when tuning software and/or a separate box would save the day.  I am not familiar with this type of setup but there is certainly a lot of work here…
    • If you have any info on this, let me know…

Stay safe!

Chevrolet Volt Fuel Stats

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2013 Chevrolet Volt

My friend Lee purchased this 2013 Chevrolet Volt about 2 years ago.  Lee’s goal from the beginning was to achieve as much efficiency as could be obtained by driving as smooth as possible (more on this later, see below).  He has made it a priority to avoid gas stations!!

I’ve read much about hybrids and from my research there is a mind-shift one must make to meet the highest level of efficiency.  For yours truly, this would certainly be a steep learning curve but I digress.  Back to Lee’s Volt and the subject of this story.

You see, this week Lee texted me the following pair of photos when he filled the Volt’s tank with regular unleaded for only the third time since he bought the car!!  

Mileage since last fill up

This is the first photo of the Volt’s dashboard.  It shows mileage since the last fill up.  Lee explained he only resets the “B” odometer every time he fills up with fuel.  And here is the follow-up on the note in the first paragraph:  notice the indicator with the ball framed between the two brackets on the right of the picture.  Lee explained that is the indicator that helps you drive as efficient as possible:  the goal is the keep the ball in the middle the majority of the time.

Mileage since purchase

And this photo shows the “A” odometer, displaying total mileage since Lee purchased the 2013 Volt.  15,734 miles on exactly 23 gallons.

How the 23 gallons were used is an interesting story in itself.  Once the batteries are exhausted, the 4 cylinder engine kicks in and generates power to replenish the batteries.  During winter months, the engine helps provide heat and during summer months the engine provides help cooling the car.  The Volt’s computer also engages the engine when it “needs to run”.  On several occasions Lee has told me of the indicator that reminds the driver of this.  Pretty cool, huh?

Finally one of the neatest stories Lee has shared was shortly after purchasing the Volt.  You see, he bought the car in Asheville NC and drove around town a bit on electric power.  Then, on the way back to Greenville SC, the steep drive down I-26 provided enough braking (energy recovery) to recharge the battery almost to capacity.  Pretty cool stuff…

Needless to say, driving a Volt takes discipline.  Lee has proven with these results that a hybrid car is a very practical and real alternative.  I am a big offender because my Camaro is the complete opposite to the Volt.  It is downright embarrassing:  Lee has owned his Volt for almost 2 years and has filled up 3 times.  I have owned my Camaro 2 years (on the 10th of December) and I have filled up 70 times to travel almost the same distance.  Granted, we are missing the electric part of the cost of ownership but I think these stats are remarkable.

Thoughts?  Comments?

Can’t Fix Stupid

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I am constantly amazed by the carelessness of drivers around me and in this particular case, that carelessness gets upgraded into the realm of “can’t fix stupid”.

Since I have had some issues with my internet service provider’s billing, I decided to stop by one of their offices.  Yes, I tried the phone but they were reluctant to help.  I thought a face-to-face visit might solve the problem, but no.  I was greeted by a very friendly person, but that is as far as it went.  The experience was a complete waste of time because the person on the other side of the counter gave me her minimum-wage’s worth of help.  But, I digress.

Back to my story…

On the way out of the internet provider’s office I noticed this parked sad and lonely SUV with a flat right-rear tire.  What struck me as odd was the ring on the sidewall showing evidence of severe wear.  It is very obvious, this tire had traveled a long distance completely flat.  So much so, that the sidewall material is showing through the rubber on the sidewall.  Just imagine how hot this sidewall got too!

Cord exposed on the tire’s sidewall due to severe under inflation

I suppose I am overly sensitive to stuff like this because I am very particular about the care of my automobiles.  However, in today’s world there are so many people who ignore the basics of automotive care.  Are drivers so oblivious they don’t notice issues with their vehicles?

Flat or under inflated tires are prevalent these days.  I’ve witnessed on several occasions SUV’s (driven by millennial soccer moms) with kids in tow and yet the tires on these vehicles are either low on air or past their prime (sometimes both!).  Then, I can just hear the conversations blaming tire quality when catastrophic failures like the one pictured above happen.

Can’t fix stupid.

Bedliner Clad Jeep

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The other day, I walked to a little restaurant next door to the place I work at and in the parking lot saw this bedliner clad Jeep.  The olive drab paint job is indeed bedliner.  How cool is that!

I realize this is not something special.  This Jeep’s owner decided to treat this vehicle to an iron clad paint job that will quite frankly last forever.  Truth is to be told, I did the same thing (except in black) to the entire underside of bowtie6.

Think about it, this is one hell of a cool idea!  I walked up to the vehicle and touched it – the surface was far from “smooth”.  It was quite rough but looked awesome.  So much so, the material also covered all the emblems in such a way they could easily be read.

Pretty cool huh?