Double Dingo's 1965 3/4 Ton "Crusty Biscuit"

[DoubleDingo]

I am not sure if the blue painted on the axle is factory or not. I suspect it is because of the blue painted on the transmission. In any case, I am going to stick to color scheme I mentioned the other day. At some point I will consider painting the body the color green that Mean Green was painted. That color green hid the dirt well.

 

[DoubleDingo]

Did a little research on replacement posi-units for the H072 Corporate Axle and they are now obsolete, and to rebuild an H072 without a posi-unit costs about $1,500! Luckily I have a 1968 Dana 60 from Mean Green that I can rebuild if need be. I can get all the parts for it, and a variety of traction devices for it if I choose to. The only thing about it is it has 3:54 gears and a different panhard bar, so it requires a welder to fabricate a new mount of the frame. The 3:54's do let you cruise down the road at 70 mph turning 2600 rpm's. The sweet spot for cruising with that rearend and a stock 350 is about that, but 2800 is even better. The highway patrol usually don't even look because it's an old truck. The 3:54's do make climbing steep grades sluggish with a stock motor. With the overdrive engaged, going up grades in 2nd would probably work just fine to get the rpm's up. Just thinking about stuff to do in the future right now.

I have two H072 Corprorate axles on hand, so if one gives up I have a spare, but I was disappointed to find out there are no replacement posi-units for the H072. I haven't opened up the other H072 so I have no idea what ratio it is. So I will just run this H072 until it grenades and it may never do so since the PO already rebuilt it and replaced the posi-unit before they were obsolete, and these things are so dang beefy.

Last night I did check the H072 in the parts truck and it has just as much slop in the yoke as the H072 in this truck, so I guess it's normal. The yoke in each axle is solid in their bore, it's just the lash that is sloppy, and they both have the same amount of slop in the lash. I think I got the terminology correct there...

 

[Stewzer55]

I can't believe I missed this thread. One awesome truck, the 60-66 trucks are really growing on me.

 

[DoubleDingo]

I can't believe I missed this thread. One awesome truck, the 60-66 trucks are really growing on me.

Thanks man. The truck is in pretty good shape considering its age. I need to get some patch panels or hack some old sheet metal I have laying around to fix some rusty areas. I have so many parts for it I am just replacing stuff, some that needs it, some that doesn't. I have always been a '65 3/4 ton truck man. I stumbled upon my square when my parents moved to their new location. I am still kicking around installing my ranger gear-splitter overdrive/sm420 setup for the cool factor of having twin sticks in this thing. I do miss shifting the sm420 and having granny low. The only thing keeping me from doing that swap is the fact the shifting levers in the steering column operate nice and smooth with no effort whatsoever for the factory 3 speed with the Borg Warner Overdrive, so there is nor need for overdrive. And from what I can tell, except for the engine this is a numbers matching truck. However I do have a 283 from a truck built in the same factory, and that adds to the parts I have available for this thing. Actually all of the factory spare parts are from the same factory, because all 3 of my 65 3/4 tons are from the same factory. Pretty cool.

 

[firebane]

Thanks man. The truck is in pretty good shape considering its age. I need to get some patch panels or hack some old sheet metal I have laying around to fix some rusty areas. I have so many parts for it I am just replacing stuff, some that needs it, some that doesn't. I have always been a '65 3/4 ton truck man. I stumbled upon my square when my parents moved to their new location. I am still kicking around installing my ranger gear-splitter overdrive/sm420 setup for the cool factor of having twin sticks in this thing. I do miss shifting the sm420 and having granny low. The only thing keeping me from doing that swap is the fact the shifting levers in the steering column operate nice and smooth with no effort whatsoever for the factory 3 speed with the Borg Warner Overdrive, so there is nor need for overdrive. And from what I can tell, except for the engine this is a numbers matching truck. However I do have a 283 from a truck built in the same factory, and that adds to the parts I have available for this thing. Actually all of the factory spare parts are from the same factory, because all 3 of my 65 3/4 tons are from the same factory. Pretty cool.

I'd say leave the transmission as is... You see less column shifters than floor shifters these days.

Also not to split hairs but without the engine the truck isn't numbers matching

 

[DoubleDingo]

I'd say leave the transmission as is... You see less column shifters than floor shifters these days.

Also not to split hairs but without the engine the truck isn't numbers matching

That's why I am going to rebuild the 3 speed. I have just thought of the sm420/ranger OD swap. I like the column shift 3 speed, and will like it even more when the clutch is replaced, and after the transmission rebuild so I don't have to listen to the front bearing screaming when I sit idling. It quieted down a little when I added gear oil, but it's due for a rebuild for sure.

You're right because of the partial VIN on the engine. Oh well, I still have a bunch of parts from the same factory including a 283......

 

[DoubleDingo]

Pulled the inspection cover earlier and the clutch has plenty of meat left on it, so I am not going to be replacing the clutch. At least I know I have everything for it in case I need to replace it.

Right now the OD trans is stuck and I'm not sure how I'm going to get it out. On the plus side I saved myself some labor by not needing to replace the clutch. An extra set of hands would be nice right about now though.

 

[DoubleDingo]

Well the transmission sits detached on the cross member and still cannot get it out. There are a couple factors that are not allowing it to go back far enough to get out. One is the e-brake stuff on the cross member behind the transmission. The second is the cab mounts being so squished. The furthest it will slide back is to where about 3/8 of inch of the input shaft nipple is left to clear the bore in the bellhousing for the bearing retainer.

So frustrated. The only productive thing I did today was tighten the rear bumper.

Tomorrow I am going to grind off the rivets to that cross member since it is only for the e-brake stuff. That way it can be unbolted and slid back a foot, or more if need be.

 

[Mr Clean]

Sweet ride Shane. I must have missed this. She's an old girl, with just a few problems. Nice find, I'm guessing with all the extra parts you had laying around, you've been looking for one for a while.

If you want to sell the points distributor let me know, I've been looking for one.

 

[DoubleDingo]

Thanks Shawn. I wasn't so much looking as I was stalling building the parts truck. It was some time in April when I really started to miss that old truck feel. When I saw this one I had to have it, especially after realizing how much money it would save me in the long run. After rolling my daily driver, Mean Green on my mom's birthday in 2005, and buying the yellow truck to replace it, only to find it needed way too much work for my budget, I ended up with lots of spare parts for a 65. When I swap in the HEI I'll PM you.

 

[DoubleDingo]

Yesterday I finally got the OD trans out. Now that the cross member is a bolt-in member, it will make pulling the transmission in the future much easier. I'll post up pics tomorrow, not at work today. Cracked myself in the nose when prying on the cross member to get the last rivet loose. Hitting the member with a hammer wasn't successful like the other three were, so I was using a pry bar and my face just happened to be in the way...lol...

 

[DoubleDingo]

Cracked myself in the nose when prying on the cross member to get the last rivet loose. Hitting the member with a hammer wasn't successful like the other three were, so I was using a pry bar and my face just happened to be in the way...lol...

I had tried and tried to get that dang fourth rivet to pop out but it just wouldn't budge. And a regular pry bar didn't get enough leverage to pop it, BUT a carpenter's pry bar with 90* bend in it sure did. Except the leverage was greater pulling then pushing, so when the rivet decided to give way...POP...my hands and pry bar came crashing into my nose. Went in to see if it was broke, not broke, so went back to it. It's always something when working on these trucks...

After getting the OD trans out I let piss in the oil pan before taking a picture of it on the tailgate. I am still amazed that it took Saturday and most of Sunday to finally get that damn thing out. Had I known it wouldn't go back far enough with the cross member there, I would have buzzed off the rivets first to remove it. With the transmission bolted to the bellhousing it slides on the frame nice and easy. But with the transmission detached it was a bitch. Oh well, live and learn, and I made my life much easier whenever I need to replace the clutch.

Look at the gunk piled on that cross member! And then the pile in the pan after scraping it down!! The picture doesn't really show how much there was, but you get the idea. The cross member is now cleaned and painted. Didn't get pics of that, but it is really clean under there with all the other greasy pieces. I need a good pressure washer to clean it down.

 

[DoubleDingo]

Here's a pic of the clutch from underneath it, plenty of clutch left and it looks pretty clean, so I suspect the PO replaced it. Too much meat on it for it to be a factory clutch.

Got the non-OD-trans installed and brought the truck to work today. Test drove it after getting the rearend filled with gear oil. Too much happened last week for me to finish it, so it got done as the final item last night to get the truck back on the road. It's funny because there was a lady pacing outside the church for about an hour while I was finishing up the truck, and when I got the truck running I drove over there to do figure eights in the parking lot to get the new oil into the posi-unit, she watched me and then decided to go inside. Must have freaked her out...lol... Since I had the rear wheels in the air during the final stages of getting it going, I decided to rotate ring gear to clean it off some more, snapped a shot of the numbers stamped onto it 32/7=4.5714(4:57). So I confirmed my rear gear ratio. And the ring gear was made 1961!

This non-OD transmission definitely has different gears in it. It makes driving the truck much nicer, but it wouldn't be good for doing truck stuff because the 1st gear isn't as low. It is nice not hearing the trans bearings in the transmission screaming.

The OD-trans is definitely in dire need of a rebuild. Rotating the input shaft you can hear and feel the bearings are shot. Shifting into reverse it won't go into gear, so the only way it was staying in reverse while in the truck was because of the linkage. And the reverse/1st gear shift lever slides into the side cover. I may need to use the side cover from this non-OD-trans when we rebuild it. I'm hoping this OD-trans doesn't have gears shot. When I clean it up I am going to pull the side cover just to get a peek inside before we rebuild it.

 

[HotRodPC]

Yep, you got the ever so common drop out 3rd member GM Corp axle. Only 2 gear ratios for that rear end. 4.56's and 4.10's. Good Luck finding 4.10's though unless you buy them. Of all the 3/4 1 tons in those years I played with up through 68, all had 4.56's. I found a diamond in a goats ass 1 time out an old 69 ambulance that had 4.10's. I swapped it into my dad's 68 for the 4.56's. Every little bit helped.

 

[DoubleDingo]

Yep, you got the ever so common drop out 3rd member GM Corp axle. Only 2 gear ratios for that rear end. 4.56's and 4.10's. Good Luck finding 4.10's though unless you buy them. Of all the 3/4 1 tons in those years I played with up through 68, all had 4.56's. I found a diamond in a goats ass 1 time out an old 69 ambulance that had 4.10's. I swapped it into my dad's 68 for the 4.56's. Every little bit helped.

Yeah Mean Green had the 4:57's until I found a '68 Dana 60 that had 3:54's, man what a difference that made. Cruising at 70 was no longer 3,800 rpm's, it was 2,600. The truck was much more fun to drive after that. Out of curiosity I am going to pop the cover on the parts truck rearend to see what ratio it has. If it has 4:10's I can swap that axle in when I change the rear control arms. I still have the Dana 60, but with the Borg Warner OD the rpm's would drop too much, it would make it a 2:47 engaged. Even 4:10's would drop to 2:87's with the Borg Warner OD engaged, the 4:57's drop to 3:19's with it engaged.