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"The turn of the sixties
decade brought with it one of the biggest body changes in General Motors
truck history. Along with the major body change, the truck was totally
new from bumper to bumper with only a few remaining pieces left over from
the 1959 model.
Besides small hardware pieces, the only parts
carried over from 1959 were the hubcaps, which were updated in 1961.
The stepside bed parts were kept from the fifties models, but the Fleetside
bed parts were all new for 1960, except for the tailgate.
The trucks were all new, inside and out, even
the frame and suspension. GM introduced their new independent torsion-spring
ride. With the old old-fashioned I-Beam suspension, the wheels were
connected by a solid I-Beam, when one wheel goes over a bump it tends to
lift the frame, tilt the vehicle and pass the jolt on the driver and/or
the load. The lean and sway on corners is increased because the effective
spring base is shorter than with independent front suspension. The
C-10 and C-20 model trucks came with the new independent front suspension
front wheels which move up and down independently while the frame tends
to remain level over bumps and chuckholes. The torsion springs were
the first move towards a passenger car ride with the strength of a truck.
The rear suspension for the C-10 and C-20
trucks came with deep coil springs that were designed to cushion light
duty trucks, loaded or empty. Control arms transmit driving and braking
forces.
On medium and heavy duty trucks, variable-rate
two stage rear leaf springs were used. The length and stiffness changes
to suit the load. They have sort of a floating effect. The
special lower half leaf functions as a radius rod maintaining alignment
of axle and absorbing driving and braking thrust. The cab that GM
adopted for their trucks, for the seven year span was unbelievably roomy
compared to the '55 through '59. The hip and shoulder room was enlarged
by over six inches. Just about every dimension on the inside of the
cab was enlarged for safety and comfort. The only dimension that
got axed, (and for good reason) was the overall height of the cab, by eleven
inches. This really helped out in the handling of the truck by cutting
that top heavy feeling at high cornering speeds.
In 1960, for just under $1500, you cold buy
a brand new ever-popular short wheel base stepside that came from the factory
with these standard features: 236 6-cylinder engine, three-speed synchromesh
transmission and a 3:90 Hypoid rear end. SIngle speed electric windshield
wipers were about the only fancy touch that was on the list of standard
equipment.
On the option side were things like positraction
rear end, chrome front and rear bumpers, and turn signals. (The standard
right turn signal in 1960 was your left arm.) For power, you could
order your dream truck with a 160 horsepower 283 with the standard 3-speed,
powerglide automatic, or heavy-duty 4-speed tranny. For comfort,
you could order a deluxe cab with all the sharp chrome accents- heater,
(deluxe or recirculating) and full view rear window.
Looking at the new 1960 pickup from the front,
if you took a 1959 Chevy and swapped the location of the parklights with
the headlights and then where the hood touches the grill, use the parallel
through the bottom line of the hood, including the top of the fenders,
you would have the new designed 1960 Chevy pickup.
The big one-piece hood, with the two oval
air vents with parklights went unchanged until 1962. The hood kept
its full cover front end design, but the changes in the 1962 hood gave
the front end a whole new look. In 1960, the grill shell had "Chevrolet"
stamped in the bottom of it and had three horizontal bars in the center.
The 1960 also had holdover dual headlights
from the 1958 and 1959 models. GM changed back to single headlights
in 1962. In 1961, the Chevrolet that was stamped on the bottom of
the grill was moved and suspended in the center of the grill. The
hubcaps were a new design for '61 and they were used through 1963.
The grill for 1962 had the same overall look at the '60 and '61; only the
single headlights really set it apart. Chevrolet then moved their
name back down on the lower part of the grill shell and went back to horizontal
bars, two of them, and also added two vertical bars.
The grill was completely redesigned for 1964
with 56 rectangular holes in rows of four, stacked between the headlights
approximately 1" x 3 1/7" in size. The rest of the 1963 truck was
virtually the same. One fact you might keep in mind if you are looking
for bumpers is that '60-62 are interchangeable and '63-66 are interchangeable
as well. The difference is the distance between the two vertical
holes. '60-62 are 3 1/4" apart, and '63-66 are 4 3/4" apart.
You may notice in some of the 1963 sales brochures that they showed trucks
with both kinds of front bumpers so it is possible some of the '63 trucks
were released with '60-62 bumpers. 1964 brought with it a new cab
with a flat windshield. The wraparound panoramic windshield was gone
from the GM showroom for good. The doors were also redesigned to
accommodate the flat windshield design. The grill was slightly updated
by moving the Chevrolet lettering from the 1963 position on the bottom
of the grill to the top, and the rectangular openings were down-sized to
give the grill a real screen pattern look. The interior was given
the first major change since 1960 with all new gauges, knobs, and dash
structure. 1964 was the first year for an in the dash mounted air
conditioning unit.
Hubcaps were also updated in 1964 and they
remained unchanged up to 1966. The cab molding behind the side windows
was also changed in 1965 and it remained so up until 1966.
1965's through 1966's were produced with very
small changes in the emblem and power train options. In 1966, the
327 V8 was also added to the light duty truck option list. With production
figures doubling from 1960 to 1966, over 3 1/2 million trucks were produced
by Chevrolet in the seven year span.
Chevy lead the field in sales by almost 100,000
some years and it is still an obvious leader today. WHen you look
at the working fleet of today's world (plumbers, appliance repair persons,
tow trucks, etc.) there are still an unbelievable number of '60-66 Chevy
pickups in use!
Because of the high number of 1960-66 trucks
produced and still in service, the parts are a lot more accessible than
earlier model Chevy and GMC pickups. If you been searching for a
clean '47-59 Chevy pickup for a project truck and you haven't been able
to come up with one take a second look at the '60-66 models.
-Seth Doulton