Inliners International Forums General Discussion Truck Talk All things being equal

Hi All,

A question for those whom have an opinion...

I am going into a build and then have to decide which to keep.

I have a 1965 C20 8ft stepside. It's already running and is in decent shape. I also have 3 1965 C10s in various stages of completion. All long beds and 1 title between them.

That being written. Once the C10 is complete I will have 2 1965, near identical looking, stepside longbeds. The C20, of course, is a 3/4 ton, 8 lug, free floating rear axle. The C10 is a 6 lug 1/2 ton with slightly lesser load, brake, and handling specs and is a couple hundred pounds lighter. Drive trains are both stock 292s and either can have an SM420 or a TH400.

I have never driven a 1960-66 C10 but the C20 is a bundle of fun to drive. It will never be mistaken for a sport truck but it is definitely a truck.

Determining which to keep will influence the C10 build since I have parts slated to be deployed on the truck I decide to keep.

So opinions please on aesthetics from all and commentary from those that have driven or owned both. I know the C10 is a better investment but I am looking fun factor and function and an investment is only good when you sell it.

One additional note: which ever I choose will be a near daily driver. 20-30 miles a day, no freeways.

Your thoughts??

Thanks,
RJ

Weld them all together and you will only need one title JK LOL
I had a 65 and 66 c10 But both of them were those Vthings. the 68 I had Had a 250 3on the tree and was a blast. If you don't need a work load horse I'd say do the c10s

:-)

And to muddy things even more. The good cab and a short bed sit on a 74 Blazer 4WD chassis with a 74 Blazer title with no eng, trans, or transfer case.

Thanks for the response. I will put 1 vote in the C10 column.

Thanks,
RJ

The C10 would be more desirable for more people, and hence will be easier to sell if you ever need to, but the long beds are a distraction, IMO.

The real question is for you to answer, only you know these trucks and know what appeals to you. You didn't post any pics, so hard to see the condition of them, if they're sitting on flat tires with crapped up rims, or have holes rusted through the panels or if the glass is all blown out. Even hard to know what you want to do with it, you say daily driver of 20-30 miles a day, do you need to haul tools? Are you planning to customize it or keep original? Work truck or just a driver?

At the end of the day you only need to please yourself, so no matter what me or anyone else thinks it's really up to you.

Hi TT,

This is the C20 long bed. The 3 C10s will, when it comes together as 1, will look similar. Not ride as high. The C20 has heavier duty 8 lug suspension and the C10s will have 6 lugs. Same engine 292s and transmissions (th400, Sag 4 speed, or SM420) available to both.

For that generation, I have only driven the C20 and its a blast. I am looking for people that have driven both and have an opinion, a critique, on the sameness and the differences from a driver of trucks perspective.

[img]https://photos.app.goo.gl/kH83SHMwxLUaeHNP6[/img]

Thanks,
Rick

Here is one of the C10 chassis.

[img]https://photos.app.goo.gl/s5XUAMHW1ZV777fb7[/img]

I've built several of the C10s of that era with various drivetrains!! Most were fun to drive and all but one rode and drove like late model trucks. That one had military 4X4 axles/suspension.

The most fun to drive was a short bed fleet side with a turbo 400 transmission and one of those bent, eight cylinder, tall deck, wide engines. It would burn the tires off, leave black streaks 200ft. long, and you needed the entire bed area to hold the tickets it would attract.

I'd like to have one of the 3/4 ton versions!! No telling WHAT I might get into!!

One of the reasons I'm leaning toward keeping the C20 is has a cool patina which I personally couldn't duplicate on the C10s. Also, and this could apply to either the C10 or C20 is I kinda like the long bed stepside look. I also have Brothers short bed kit and a short stepside bed if need be.

I wouldn't feel bad about having that for a daily driver. Any similar truck would compliment it fine, IMO. The 1/2 ton short bed trucks are the most desirable for the most people, so they are in the most demand and sell for the premium in most cases. That has nothing to do with having a great truck of your own. Nothing wrong with long beds or 3/4 ton trucks, just that 1/2 ton short bed trucks seem to be the most desirable from what I can tell.

I like that C20, and I like the patina!

All things aren't equal when it come to C10 and C20 Pickups. If you plan to use it for hauling or towing the C20 long bed will serve you better. To make it more "fun" to drive you may need to change the gears in the rear end. A 292 will give you the power to do that. The heavier suspension, bigger brakes, and longer bed take it not of the cute truck class. Power steering and power brakes will make it more fun too. So your choice is how much of a truck do you need or how cool you want to look at Ham Dog's cruse night.

Interesting side note...

Went through the specs for the 1965 C1504 and the C2504, the 8ft stepside C10 and C20 respectively (both my C10 frames are 8 ft). If they have the same wheels/tires and the lugs are covered, they are visibly the same truck. The C20 has mechanical advantages in the chassis, brakes, rear end and suspension. For that year, the C20 has the advantage of 8 lugs...8 lug wheels are cheap and plentiful, 6 lugs...not as much. The 8 lug also has the disadvantage of the Eaton rear end, which is very limited in aftermarket parts.

So I'm leaning toward fixing up the C10 to sell.

Though it would be nice if there is someone whom could chime and provide a compare and contrast from having been behind the wheel of both a C10 and C20 of that Gen.

Regarding the rear end gearing, if I keep the C20, I'll either have to replace the rear axle or rely on wheel/tire size.

Thanks,
Rick

I don't know how similar your series is to my '68. Looking on line at pictures of the chassis they look very much the same. Coils front and back and the trailing link on the rear. The front suspension parts on the front on mine is the same a s the C30. The 350 V8 in mine just died and it is getting a 292. It has a T400 and 3.55 rear gears. Mine was a camper special and has dual rear wheels. The axle is a Dana 60 with ratcheting locker. It has power steering and Power brakes. It has a flat bed that was on it when I got it. It drives easily and rides pretty well. It rides better with a load. It pretty much ignores the grade between Carson city and Tahoe both up and down, good ratio. I have to use the brakes more between Virginia City and Reno but climbing back up is easy. It corners surprisingly well. All in all it is a great little truck for hauling and towing. If it was four wheel drive I'd call it perfect fo me.