I am not normally one
to go after the “shop trucks” with the “patina look”, but this
truck just had too much going for it to pass it by.
The amount of effort and expense that went into it to make it a
fun, dependable and reliable driver caught my attention. The
well-done interior, bed and lowering pushed me over the edge.
This truck was born with a wimpy 216 splash oiled engine.
Plus, it would have had rear end gearing that prevented
comfortable driving at more than 45 mph. Now the powertrain
is very capable and, actually, quite a conversation piece.
The engine is a Pontiac 215 cubic inch inline six cylinder.
It was only produced for 1964 and 65. It was the base
engine in the Pontiac Tempest. It was built by Chevrolet, yet
PONTIAC is cast into the block. The block is the same as the
Chevy 230, except the bore is smaller. It uses the same crank
but the head has higher compression. It developed 140
horsepower, which was more than the Chevy 230.
The bell-housing is made for B-O-P transmissions. In this
case, the ST-300 aluminum case transmission is bolted to it.
This was a very strong transmission that was the automatic
used in Pontiacs and Buicks. It is often mistaken for a
Powerglide. There is a Lokar shifter mounted to it.
The rear-end is a 10 bolt. It may have come from the Tempest.
It is open and has 3.07 gear ratio. Perfect with the
engine and transmission! It is great in town and will cruise
all day long at freeway speeds.
The engine was equipped with an HEI ignition, bigger carburetor and
free-flowing exhaust. There is a nice Aluminum radiator for
cooling. All gauges work to provide monitoring. There
is plenty of oil pressure and it runs cool. An alternator
charges the 12 volt battery.
A new fuel tank was mounted beneath the new bed. There is an
auxiliary electric pump for lengthy storage. The bed is all
new. It was raised to allow for clearance after the
suspension was lowered.
The lowered look was accomplished with a dropped front axle,
lowering blocks and lowering shocks. The front axle is
equipped with disc brakes.
The wheels, beauty rings and spider caps are new. They are
wrapped in bias ply wide-whitewall tires. The wheel bling
accentuates the new chrome.
