Re: Winter Beater Build 2.0- '66 Short/Fleet BBW
 

Wow what great luck to finally acquire this truck after trying for so long. I'll follow your progress.
I'm curious about the mod to the A arm shaft to move the arm ahead 3/4". I've not seen this done before. Can you expand on your rationale for doing it?

Re: Winter Beater Build 2.0- '66 Short/Fleet BBW
 

Moving the lower arms forward adds Caster so the truck has a modern caster value that works better w/modern tire technology:
http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...ght=caster+mod

Re: Winter Beater Build 2.0- '66 Short/Fleet BBW
 

No attention to detail on this one so far, just making it clean-ish. I didn't even blast/paint the brake hardware that was reused.



They fit when I had the drum brakes on, the tie rod clearance was tight though. A small spacer might've been needed. They don't clear the calipers though, the drop center is in the way since the rim is reversed.



Pretty stoked to have it, I've been itching for another driver/beater like the last blue and white '66 ever since I sold it in 2016.



:agree: I'll post the new alignment specs once I get that far, I'm shooting for around 7 degrees of caster.

Re: Winter Beater Build 2.0- '66 Short/Fleet BBW
 

I got the passenger side loosely stuck together last night. Tried to check wheel fit but since the barrel is reversed the inner step isn't deep enough now and the drop center hits the caliper, holding the wheel off the hub by about 1.5". I'll probably just use stock wheels with 1.5" bolt on spacers for now until I can find or build 7" front wheels with a skinny drop center so they have caliper clearance and a wider outer lip.

https://i.imgur.com/SZtKIdLh.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/SkdkrEqh.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/5pEtWNOh.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/QClGGuqh.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/w2BEVJIh.jpg

Re: Winter Beater Build 2.0- '66 Short/Fleet BBW
 

I wondered if/how it would work.

Are you going to cut up some 8" steel truck ralleys for the barrels or go aftermarket for them?

Re: Winter Beater Build 2.0- '66 Short/Fleet BBW
 

I think I can take the two rims I have, cut them in half, and weld the two halves that have the deeper lips together to make a rim with a skinny drop center.

Factory rally barrels have a wide drop center so they wouldn't have the wide outer lip that I want. I could flip these barrels and make them work but then the outside lip would have the drop center step closer to the outside edge which I don't like.

https://i.imgur.com/tnE6Xxyh.jpg

Re: Winter Beater Build 2.0- '66 Short/Fleet BBW
 

Great idea!

Re: Winter Beater Build 2.0- '66 Short/Fleet BBW
 

Since the front wheels didn't work out I found a pair of 1.5" spacers on sale to use with the stock front wheels. They were hubcentric for a Toyota so I chucked them in the lathe and trimmed off the snout to clear the stock wheels' smaller hub bore.

https://i.imgur.com/Dbo1jyQh.jpg


In the rear I relocated the shocks using Frizzle Fry's method and added CPP 1.5" drop blocks. Had to clearance an edge of the rear washer since the new U-bolt hole is closer to the folded edge. I'll drill and mount the upper shock studs once I settle on the rear ride height.

https://i.imgur.com/xd8vaQrh.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/YlIxczYh.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/CnhBQQsh.jpg



I had bags and cups leftover from the rear of Goldilocks (the No Limit three link kit replaced the original bag setup I bought) so I bought fittings and mocked them up to see how much room the fittings took up. I still need to cut the cups down by 1/2" and run air lines back to schrader valves. I'll post more pics of the cups/fittings once I pull them back out.

https://i.imgur.com/RJUgjKth.jpg


The heater box was pulled to clean out the internals and replace the heater core and fan motor, along with removing the under dash diverter box to clean it.

https://i.imgur.com/uL9UqZSh.jpg


Almost everything is buttoned up under the hood- all new tune up parts, all new cooling system, new alternator, cables, and a newer battery that came with the truck. I still need to figure out and build linkage to adapt the stock throttle pivot to the new carb, change the oil/filter, and replace the valve and pushrod cover gaskets before its ready to start up for the first time.

https://i.imgur.com/EhWy3Nsh.jpg


With the suspension mostly done I had to drop it down to see how it would sit. There are still a ton of small details to button up but I'm pretty happy to make this much progress this quickly. My goal for this week is to get the brakes bled, engine fired up, paint scanned/mixed for the wheels, wheels blasted/primed/painted, all lights working, and the seat and floor mat put back in. If that goes well I'll get a set of new tires mounted and an alignment done early next week so I can start putting miles on it.

https://i.imgur.com/rMLncAKh.jpg

Re: Winter Beater Build 2.0- '66 Short/Fleet BBW
 

Very Nice as always!

Re: Winter Beater Build 2.0- '66 Short/Fleet BBW
 

And here is me taking an entire weekend to instal a gearbox....

Fantastic work Sir!

P. :D

Re: Winter Beater Build 2.0- '66 Short/Fleet BBW
 

Thanks guys!! I got it started and running but the carb needs dialing in. I fixed the leak between the throttle body and main body after this vid. Its still running lean, I think the needle is either too large on the thicker/upper idle section and restricting fuel flow too much, or the needle height is too low. I have an extra needle I can machine smaller if needed. The wheels are blasted, I'll shoot epoxy and paint tonight, and the tires should be here today. The brakes are bled, just need to finish the rear bag mounts and drill the frame for the upper shock studs to have it buttoned up underneath.

Re: Winter Beater Build 2.0- '66 Short/Fleet BBW
 

One of the old 8" reversed wheels I had ended up being pitted too badly to use so I used the center and rim I had mocked up on the front to replace it. I had blasted both pieces which left a bit of a rough surface. When I tried to press the center back in it locked down and wouldn't budge, the metal had galled and was making deep tears in the surface. Had to press it out and grind those spots down, then smooth the surface with 100 grit on a grinder, then oil both parts to get the center to go in smoothly.

https://i.imgur.com/APuvtIMh.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/afKr7Wah.jpg


Checking runout after pressing the center in. I matched the backspacing of the other old 8" wheel, 3 7/16". I was able to get it straight to within .020".

https://i.imgur.com/OgCFYYyh.jpg


Welded in.

https://i.imgur.com/sOkWWPdh.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/styBjXyh.jpg


The truck was running super lean so I chucked the metering rod in the lathe and thinned down the idle/low speed step from .083" to 075" and filed the correct length taper in the transition area. It runs a little better, but still not great. I'll try raising the needle height about .010" at a time tomorrow to see if that fixes it.

https://i.imgur.com/pP3MkjZh.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/faHV02ah.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/RZTdaWXh.jpg


My sister and brother in law came over to help out, she worked on cleaning up the hub caps and he clearanced the trailing arms for the relocated shocks, filled the diff, and trimmed the rear bump stops.

https://i.imgur.com/6k9FWMRh.jpg

Re: Winter Beater Build 2.0- '66 Short/Fleet BBW
 

Had to go back into the carb and redo the throttle shaft bore, it was worn about .010" too large and was pulling enough air in that it wouldn't run rich enough to not misfire. Luckily I had ordered the correct reamer and bushings for another project and had enough leftover for this one.

https://i.imgur.com/YfvHhujh.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/2ERAOTth.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/PRsOgQth.jpg


I went through three accelerator pump seals before finding one that wasn't too big or too small. The one that came in the carb was too big and would stick to the bore and not pump for the first 1/4th of throttle opening so there was a bad hesitation. The second was too small and didn't seal up in the bore.

https://i.imgur.com/SWjjLqYh.jpg


I ran it through a few heat cycles, flushing the cooling system with clean water each time.

https://i.imgur.com/vm3tJN2h.jpg


The rear shocks mounts are finished. Picked up new tires yesterday. I'll mount the bags and run air lines tomorrow, plus prime/paint the wheels and mount the tires if the paint is dry enough. Back in January I went in with a few friends and bought a Hunter TCX51 tire machine, so I can mount them myself late tomorrow to give the paint more time to dry.

Quick vid of it running now that its dialed in better.

Re: Winter Beater Build 2.0- '66 Short/Fleet BBW
 

Fantastic, great solutions and implementation, great.

Re: Winter Beater Build 2.0- '66 Short/Fleet BBW
 

I got it together enough to attempt a trip to the gas station late last night. It made it there and back no problem. I stopped at a car wash on the way back and knocked most of the crud off and scrubbed the blue coating off the whitewalls. This morning I drove it to church and lunch, and down to my grandparent's house, almost 20 miles total. Only issue so far was the lower alternator bolt backed out, someone forgot to put a nut on it. :dohh: Still a ton of things to cross off the to-do list but its driveable now!

https://i.imgur.com/LZPjy6th.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/MVy43vhh.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/1Gq0QyJh.jpg

Re: Winter Beater Build 2.0- '66 Short/Fleet BBW
 

That really does look rather nice.

P. :D

Re: Winter Beater Build 2.0- '66 Short/Fleet BBW
 

I like everything about it John!

Re: Winter Beater Build 2.0- '66 Short/Fleet BBW
 

Nice!

Re: Winter Beater Build 2.0- '66 Short/Fleet BBW
 

A beauty

Re: Winter Beater Build 2.0- '66 Short/Fleet BBW
 

Love it! There is something about clean new suspension and brakes that just makes you feel good. If you have some dish washer powder throw a cup in the radiator and run it for a week or two, it'll clean her out without being corrosive on the water pump and radiator.

Re: Winter Beater Build 2.0- '66 Short/Fleet BBW
 

Thanks dudes! I did use Prestone rad flush when I first had it together and running, that pic is what was flushed out. Since the block never fully drains it took a few flushes before it came out clear. It's stayed clear since then.

I've put a little over 100 miles on it so far. Just like the winter beater '66 it's having charging issues, I had to jump start it the last couple of days. I think the other one was the plug on the alternator, I haven't looked into this one yet other than checking voltage at the battery and alternator post- it's at 11.xx on both . I got a few more parts in this week- battery hold down, pedal pads, door bumpers, tailgate chain covers, and a dome light. It's only getting 9-10 mpg and feels pretty sluggish compared to the '69 I had that had a 250. I'll steal the wideband off my Festiva and start dialing in the carb. It also still has a slight misfire at idle on cylinder #4 until it warms up so I'm going to pull the intake and use a Remflex gasket to make sure there's no vacuum leaks. The rear is too low without a C-notch, not sure what I'll do since I really don't want to cut the frame but it also looks good this low. I can trim the bump stops another 3/4"-1", I'll try that first.



"I'll go to LKQ and get Jeep wipers" hasn't happened yet, so this was fun.

https://i.imgur.com/Dxa9KK5h.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/Wt12Umxh.png


Made even worse by this... it was spraying all the way up to my knee :lol:

https://i.imgur.com/szirsSKh.jpg



I got the toe-in down from 7/8 to 1/16".

https://i.imgur.com/sYRKouzh.jpg



We're selling my Granddad's house so we started cleaning out his workshop last weekend. I've seen an old Ford F1 ad that touted that they had the lowest bed floor height for easier loading, we've definitely strayed from that as a selling point on new trucks. Having the truck lowered definitely made it easy to roll the hand trucks straight into the bed. Papa had a few of these trucks; I found a full set of stock wheels, a three speed trans, a few pieces of side trim, and deluxe heater controls.

https://i.imgur.com/kHkqjB8h.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/7r42GzLh.jpg

Re: Winter Beater Build 2.0- '66 Short/Fleet BBW
 

I got around to checking the timing with a light, it was low so that mostly took care of the sluggishness. The idle misfire was worse though. I found the tiniest of vacuum leaks at the intake gasket so I ordered a Remflex to fix it. In the meantime I figured out that the distributor shaft bushing was worn, allowing the points gap to vary quite a bit so I hoped that would solve the misfire, but swapping in a better used distributor barely helped.

I ordered a new small cap HEI distributor, I wanted to be able to tune the advance curve but it wouldn't drop in all the way when I tried to install it. I noticed metal shavings on the cam gear, and matching scars on the distributor body. The stock distributor has a chamfer machined into the body to clear the cam gear, the new one didn't so I sent it back. I'll get a stock 70's HEI to replace it.

https://i.imgur.com/6a0Bd7dh.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/hxk5ivXh.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/QYzGbJIh.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/rIFiL9gh.jpg


I took the manifold off last weekend to swap gaskets and found the source of the misfire... conditions in the head aren't the best for valve sealing. It has all the symtoms of burnt valves- misfire, lack of power, bad fuel mileage without the burnt part. I'm guessing the neighbor that took the truck to get it running must've left the intake open while he had it. There is no smoke or blowby so I'm optimistic that the cylinders and rings are ok. I've pulled a spare head out of storage to take to the machine shop to be skimmed and rebuilt with bigger valves and better springs, and I'll do some porting and add a lump port kit to help flow while its apart. He has a cam grinder so I'll take my extra cam and see what he can do with it.

https://i.imgur.com/rD81oSch.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/66cw5fFh.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/8rJKnLEh.jpg


The misfire isn't bad enough to not drive it, so it's up to about 500 miles on it now. The brakes seem to be holding a slight amount of pressure once they get some heat into them, and I've made sure the pushrod from the pedal isn't adjusted too far out so I have some investigating to do there. I'm guessing it's something inside the M/C, which I need to swap to a dual unit anyway.

https://i.imgur.com/1F8E974h.jpg

Re: Winter Beater Build 2.0- '66 Short/Fleet BBW
 

Wow, I'm impressed. Great work. :)

Re: Winter Beater Build 2.0- '66 Short/Fleet BBW
 

Just curious if you ever got the alignment done? Specs if you did?

Re: Winter Beater Build 2.0- '66 Short/Fleet BBW
 

Thanks!



Not yet, I haven't settled on a final height yet and didn't want the alignment to be thrown off if I changed the height. I love the way the truck sits when it's 1/2" off the trimmed bump stops, but its so original I don't want to c-notch it... its either take the 2" blocks off and swap in stock front springs or leave it this height and do a small pipe notch.

The steering effort is a good bit higher than stock, return to center is good, and it tracks great so the effects of added caster is definitely noticeable. Steering effort/weight is up enough that it will need power steering, the slow stock ratio has always been annoying but the the slow ratio with higher effort is no fun. I wouldn't recommend the caster mod for anyone wanting to keep the stock steering box unless you're running bias plies which steer easier.