‘66 Fleetside pickup keeps on truckin’

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This article was published 18/08/2023 (1000 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

When Bruce Newitt hops into the cab of his 1966 Chevrolet C-10 Fleetside half ton truck, he starts it up using the same set of keys that his dad used – the same set that was issued by the Hamiota dealership almost 60 years ago.

“My dad was the third owner of the truck; he acquired it in 1974 from a local farmer in the area. The first guy traded it back to Caldwell Motors, and that’s how my dad got it from the second owner, said Newitt.

“Thinking back, I was five years old at the time, so I’ve been around this truck – coming up, 50 years.”

The “66”, as it’s now called, was completely restored last year.

But from 1974 to about 1997, it was the Newitt family farm truck. So, for 23 years, it took the brunt of everything a farm operation could throw at it, Newitt said.

“At harvest time, it was the truck that brought the lunch to the field, the truck that hauled the auger around and was used for going from farm to farm, and into Rivers to pick up bags of fertilizer for seeding.

“It hauled everything, even cows to the veterinarian, or to Brandon to be sold at the livestock yard.”

The trucks that Chevrolet manufactured between 1960 and 1966 were the first generation of its C/K series. The “C” was short for conventional two-wheel drive, while “K” meant four-wheel drive.

And for the first time, the 1966 Chevrolet C-10 Fleetside had backup lights installed under the taillights as well as the addition of a windshield washer reservoir. A subtle change saw the Chevrolet bowtie emblem move to the front fender with the model’s name on the bottom.

Standard in the ’66 was indeed just that – a standard, or manual, transmission.

The gear shift lever was on the steering column, which some will remember had the nickname of, “three on the tree.”

Newitt remembers it quite well.

His dad, Barry, had a rule that both he and his sister had to learn to drive the ‘66 before they would be allowed to drive the family car, even though both of them had mastered handling the tractor.

“For three on the tree – you had to pull back and go down for low – or first. And when you would shift into second, you had to go back up and push ahead. And to shift into third, it was straight down from second. And reverse was back, and up,” Newitt said.

The family farm was sold in 1997, Bruce’s dad Barry passed away in 2013 and the ‘66 sat in storage for almost 24 years.

So, in the spring of 2021, Bruce decided that the truck needed a complete restoration and contacted Dave Wiens, a well-known local autobody specialist, who suggested a complete teardown.

“When I do a restoration, it is blown completely apart,” Wiens said. “That’s necessary because that way we have access to everything. When you’re doing the restoration, you’re repairing all the rust, you’re fixing the electrical, and you’re doing the interior. Basically, you’re making a new vehicle.”

Newitt remembered when he dropped in to check on the progress of the ’66. The frame was in the middle of Wiens’ garage, with all the parts near by and in bins.

“It didn’t bother me to see all the pieces on the floor, because I knew he could do it,” Newitt said. “But if it had been me, then you would have had to wonder.”

Wiens said he has been, “restoring cars forever,” but he laughed off what people say is a real talent.

“I could take something apart, put it in a box and remember how to put it back together 10 years later. I can’t remember a phone number, but I can remember how to put a carburetor together with all the specifications. It is what it is,” Wiens said as he laughed.

Wiens used a donor truck for the motor and the transmission, with fuel injection computer controls, so it’s as modern as a mid-1990 Chevrolet truck with a 305 cubic inch, V-8 engine.

As Newitt opened the rear tail gate – which was also included in the restoration, he pointed out the new floor pan, foot wells, cab corners, rocker panels, front fenders – even door handles.

But there was one aspect of the truck that wasn’t modernized or fixed.

The dents and the dings on the truck bed are still there that were made by the cattle kicks, and the numerous pieces of farm equipment that were hauled in the truck.

“What I like about this truck is the history of it, you know? It comes from the farm. And if somebody came up and offered me cash for it? I don’t know if I could sell it or not. It’s hard to say,” Newitt said.

“But my daughter who just got her driver’s license, said she has big plans for the truck. She hopes that when she graduates from high school, it will be a big part her graduation day.”

» mmcdougall@brandonsun.com

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