Newbie ‘65 1500 DRW

[Hank]

Bought this truck September of last year (2024). During the fall I fixed a few minor things, ordered odds and ends parts to replace when I get it out of storage. Recently, I ordered complete front and rear disc brake conversion kits. Before I get roasted for not acquiring a newer generation donor truck, there’s none to be had within a reasonable distance or price point, that I could find.

Being the VIN doesn’t start with a letter, I understand that to mean it was a cab/chassis truck. I can’t get pictures to upload. I’ll try again after submitting this post.

[Hank]

Here are some pics of when I bought it in September.

[Hank]

Is there anyone that has insight into where the flatbed came from, or who made it?

[Funky61]

Welcome to the Forum Hank!

Pretty Neat Stake bed: I see it has Buddy Buckets, Custom Trim, and sliding back window.

Would love to see more of the interior and the engine bay.

I think there were various non factory vendors that made those, from what I have read elsewhere. Perhaps there's a build plate stamped somewhere?

[Hank]

Thanks Funky61. The truck is in storage right now but I will try to remember putting up some interior and engine bay pics when I get it home this spring. It still has a 305 in it and a 4 speed. If you don’t see more pics by May, feel free to holler at me.
In a manner of speaking, I tell people it’s my wife’s truck. We looked at it and I was going to pass on it. She told me we should bring it home, and that’s what we did. So It’s her truck but she lets me work on it. She loves driving it so I’m using that as reason to putting disc brakes in it. Plus, I’ve always wanted to do that kind of conversion.
The previous owner acquired the truck in 2020 for $1,800. With the purchase price and all other expenses, he had over $19,500. No joke, he gave me a folder with everything. All the itemized receipts for parts and labor, even the bill of sale he received. As the story goes, it had sat for so long that it was almost bottomed out to the ground. He had a lot of restoration done and they had to touch just about every aspect of the truck.
I got the truck for a fraction of what he had invested. I didn’t know the extent of what he spent until the deal was finalized and I looked through the folder later that evening.
Thanks for the interest and reading my post. I will look it over for a build plate on the bed this spring.

[Funky61]

Love the backstory on this Hank.

Here's a few pages from and old brochure 1962 but does not mention if built in house or not.

[Hank]

Ha, you know what I just realized? You are located in Corona, CA. That’s exactly where I acquired my brake parts from.

So I have to ask, are you familiar with or connected to Performance Online?

[Funky61]

No Sir Hank, no connection, but I have heard of them.

[Ed Snyder]

Originally Posted by Hank

The truck is in storage right now but I will try to remember putting up some interior and engine bay pics when I get it home this spring. It still has a 305 in it and a 4 speed. If you don’t see more pics by May, feel free to holler at me.

Thanks for the interest and reading my post.

Welcome to the forum, Hank! You've certainly got a fine looking truck there! I'm curious about a couple of things, though. Your front wheels don't match the rear dually wheels. So, I'm guessing somewhere along the line the front end was changed from one ton to three quarter ton, or the rear end was converted from three quarter to one ton. From the factory, the front and rear wheels of both tonnage ratings would have been the same, so only one spare was needed.

It could be my imagination, but your wheelbase looks pretty long. Three quarter ton trucks had a 127" wheelbase. Available on one ton models were 133" and 157" wheelbases. Another clue might be your parking brake. Half and three quarter ton models had the lever under the dash to the left of the steering column. One ton models had a band brake on the driveshaft with a lever coming up out of the transmission hump.

We're looking forward to learning more about your intriguing truck! By the way, your grille letters are from 1966 only.

[Hank]

Hello Ed, that’s a good catch on the wheels and grill. Previous owner had the split rims replaced with one piece rims. I think the front are regular steel rims as opposed to a rim that is compatible for a dually.

Regarding the grill letters, I think my truck is actually a ‘66. I base that on decoding my VIN using information from LMC truck catalog. Previous owner had to get a new title, he and/or DMV may not have decoded the VIN properly. But my VIN does start with 1502PF, the rating plate on the kick panel says 7500 lbs. and the parking brake lever is under the dash. I’m leaning towards a 3/4 ton. I will measure the wheelbase when I get a chance.