Re: Johns 66
 

Here are some pictures of what I blasted tonight...The first picture is of the grounding straps that were attached to the firewall and valve covers....pretty cool I think.

Next are of the hood latch system...all I did was prime it

Re: Johns 66
 

Here are a few pictures of the instrument cluster....Still have some more blasting to do on it to get it clean but this turned out ok.....Ill get the new decals ordered in a few days....Gotta figure out how to test these things to see if they are good or not.....but that will be fine.

Still not sure where the high beams indicator is at this point but I'm sure I will get that figured out as well.

Re: Johns 66
 

The last few are of the trim ring primed and a coat of silver metallic...of course rattle canned...It will need another coat but didn't look too bad....

Then I did a little playing on Randy's wall....gotta have a little fun...lol Also known as the rattle can paint booth area..lol I couldn't find where he had the red paint but once I do I can tape it again and spray the red.

Re: Johns 66
 

And heres just a couple of the operating room...Its kinda funny to me that the sign on the way says Chevy Truck Parking Only.

I did contact Captainfab about ordering a brake bosster adapter and power steering plate...Guess I'm gonna get those on the way as well.

I'm thinking that I will have the motor back early next week but want to get the booster installed before I set it back in...just a lot easier to work around...plus I am going to paint the cradle and frame rails with POR 15 before I set the motor back into it so once I'm done I can shut the hood and move to a different area.

Re: Johns 66
 

Hey I also have that chevy trucks parking only sign. :metal:

Engine and parts are looking good!

Re: Johns 66
 

Thanks TJ.....

Not a lot gonna happen tonight since its church night...But I have ordered the power brake booster and power steering bracket from CaptainFab ( Thanks John) So I am sure it will be on its way shortly.

Im going to sit down in the next day or so and make a list of all that I want to do, parts that I think I am going to need to get this thing back on the road. That way I can kinda keep things organized a little in my mind of what I am going to do and how to try and accomplish it.

Mainly right now I am focusing on the engine bay etc...but do find myself wandering to the cab, paint, wheels and tires etc...lol

I think the main thing is to get it running again, where I can drive it and then do little projects like power steering, etc...on the weekends and not tie up Randys shop too long.

Speaking of wheels I did look at some and like the look of the Torg Thrust wheels...Only issue I see is that they do not come 6 lug...or at least the ones I looked at didn't...I was considering 18x9s...The truck currently has 15's on it with 275/60/15...real wide tires and a decent set of wheels...not my taste but still decent. I think it would cost a lot of money to change over to 5 lugs and if I was gonna do that I might as well put discs on it....even MORE money.

Im still looking for an automatic steering column so if ya see one lemme know. I have sent a couple of PM's to some members here...maybe someone will have one laying around that I can get...time will tell

Re: Johns 66
 

Well motor can be picked up on Tuesday...The machine shop closed today and Monday...cant say that I blame them one single bit.

I also got the paint code for the engine from Yelmer....So Ill try to see if I can get some mixed up so I can get the ole motor painted up....yep its gonna be green...Don't really like green but I guess Chevy thought it was a good color and that's fine by me. Hopefully they can mix it around here...if not Mike said he would get me some mixed up and send it to me which is so cool of him to do.


So looks like I can relax a little bit this weekend and just piddle around on some small things.

Hope you all have a Happy Memorial Day....Being a Former Marine Myself.....I truly understand what this day means.

Re: Johns 66
 

Some nice work you are doing on your truck.

Re: Johns 66
 

Great find and even better work! I absolutely love those valve covers with the vintage Chevrolet name on them!! subscribed

Re: Johns 66
 

Well motor has been assembled!!!!!!!!!!YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Went to the machine shop to pick it up and the Good Lord decided I shouldn't bring it home today because it started pouring down rain...so I decided not to risk filling a freshly built motor with rain water...So I left it.

They also drill and tapped the crank shaft to allow a bolt and washer for the harmonic balancer....I guess it was just pressed on originally but the added safety measure was worth it. The also milled the facing of the exhaust to make them flat again.

As you can also see they couldn't find the original color in rattle can...Imagine that..Neither could I...lol so they painted it high temp black...Fine by me...Its getting painted that wonderful puke green color ( Thanks Yelmer for the paint code) .....Went by the paint store and got the paint, plus some PO15....Boy that POR 15 stuff is EXPENSIVE....40.00 a quart...WOW.

Am waiting on the brake booster adapter from Captainfab...hopefully it will arrive this week so I can get the brake lines done up.

I bought me some foam brushed to paint the frame with the POR 15...I sure hope a quart goes a long way..lol......

I am going to attempt to paint the motor....never have done that before unless it was rattle can...this is a 8 to 1 to 1 mix so we will see how that goes.

Anyways here are a few pics...and yes I did check the casting numbers....its the original block and heads...albeit with bigger valves.

Re: Johns 66
 

Your truck/engine is looking awesome!!! Congrats on jumping into the deep end with all this. A couple of suggestions.

On the POR-15......the can will "weld" itself shut if you get the POR-15 on the edges while pouring, and put the cap back on. Try to avoid getting any POR-15 into the edges. The POR-15 goes a long way compared to regular paint.

I get a bunch of cheapy turkey basters, and transfer a smaller amount to a temporary container (soda can, plastic cup, etc)....with just the right amount that you will consume during that usage. I've also tried using saran wrap between top and the can....and it kind of works. This aids in getting the top off later, though you need to make sure it has a good seal.

Also, after you paint the engine, I'd suggest using a tap, and chasing out all of the bolt holes. It takes a little time, but makes like a lot easier in the years to come. I use a little motor oil on the taps while chasing.

A number of threads back, you mentioned the staples in the radiator siding pieces. LMC sells these replacement rubber pieces. I actually made my own staples by buying the same diameter steel wire (that comes in rolls) from the local hardware store. It was actually pretty easy, to align up the rubber pieces with the original staple holes, and "make" the staples.

Re: Johns 66
 

Thanks RSD for the wise advise, especially on the POR 15...I will definitely use the ole turkey baster method to transfer the paint. I plan on painting the frame, front cross member, and suspension parts this way...Im not really sure how this is gonna turn out since I am not taking all of this apart. Plus I have never sprayed auto paint before or even mixed it for that matter but Im sure gonna give it a try....worst thing that could happen is it looks like garbage and Ill never open the hood...LOL I have to remind myself that this is going to be a driver truck and not a show quality vehicle, while I want it to look nice...I understand that it will have some flaws....just like I do.

It is easy to get caught up in "modifying" these vehicles and street rodding them.....I have been there and done that..Unfortunately there are not too many trust worthy shops that do this...My 63 C10 Stepside turned into a 10 yr nightmare and cost me a truckload of money.....This will not turn into that.....especially since I am doing the majority of the work myself...The only thing that I am going to pay to have done is to have it painted once I am done mechanically.

Matt from the machine shop gave me the break in instructions when I finally get to that point and I have to fight myself not to rush what needs to be done first before just sticking the motor in to hear it run.

Im figuring in a couple of weeks I will get to set it back in and fire it up....Waiting on brake booster adapter right now, along with the gasket set for the heater box, firewall grommets etc.....Once I get entire engine bay finished I will then work on the interior part...mainly the fuel system....have to make sure the tank is cleaned. I was told by Mike that this truck came with 2 options for tanks..and I have the smaller tank..I am considering putting the 24 gallon tank back behind the seat.......I know this is an open debate when it comes to gas tank placement and depending on what day of the week it is I go back and forth but Im leaving the tank behind the seat.

Randy is getting all the parts together to build the 700R4 right now so that should happen in a few days....

My HOPES are that I will get to drive it 4th of July weekend.....I don't think that is unrealistic at this point.

The funny thing is I started making a list of things Im gonna need to get it back running....boy was I naïve in my thinking..lol there is a lot of stuff still yet to buy...plugs, oil, antifreeze, waterpump, flywheel, starter, wires.....and the list goes on.....

I have decided that once I get it running and am realtively sure the little bugs are worked out then I will put the power steering on...kinda like a weekend project......Not a lot will get done today since its church night....gonna sure pray for some wisdom tonight....but I am one step closer....gotta love the journey as much as the destination

Re: Johns 66
 

Well opened up the old rattle can paint booth again tonight and sprayed just a few parts to see how they were gonna come out...I used a purple scotch bright pad to sand down the primer and they few parts I did turned out pretty good.

I know you can see my super secret paint holding apparatus that I use in the rattle can paint booth...lol I know I know...but cant keep secrets forever...lol

Re: Johns 66
 

So after spraying these I decided to get some POR 15 on the engine bay area. I will say that I really wished they made this stuff in rattle can because it would be SOOOO much easier to apply....but NOOOOO they haven't done that as of yet...lol So I used a foam type brush to apply it.......Lets just say that its not my favorite method to apply this stuff...And on the wise advise I used everything I poured out so that is why you will see some areas that look unfinished....cause they are......I am thinking that these areas will need another coat but it doesn't look too bad...I have to remind myself I am gonna drive this truck because the urge to rip everything apart and make it perfect as I can get it still gnaws at me. But here are some pics of what I got done tonight after work.

Re: Johns 66
 

And here are a few more...These pictures were taken when some of it was wet and some semi dried...I am hoping it kinda evens out after it dries tonight....I am thinking that a little scuffing before the nest coat will kinda smooth it out....but I can always use this as a base layer and rattle can it once the POR 15 dries and sets.

Also got a PM from Capatainfab and my brake booster adapter should either be here Saturday or Monday....

Still looking for an auto steering column...I'm sure one will come up soon.....least I hope so.

Re: Johns 66
 

Engine bay and parts are looking good.

Re: Johns 66
 

Thanks Andy...Little by little its coming together.....Will be interested to see the frame once I get the top coat put on it....Im hoping that its gonna look really good once Im done.

Re: Johns 66
 

Well another day in the shop working on things...it was a good day, bad day type of thing. Disclaimer: You really need to know what you are doing when you try things...case and point....Alternator!!!!

I had this grand idea that I was going to get the alternator clean...I found out that the alternator was simply the color of the cast metal so I could sand blast it in the cabinet and make it look all new again...well that was the plan.

If you have no idea how an alternator comes apart...best leave it to the professionals...lol and I aint no professional alternator taker aparter....as you will soon see....I will be enlisting the help of one of those professional people early next week.

These pictures were the ones I was going to use to put it back together...so good soo far

Re: Johns 66
 

Then it went horribly wrong...See I learned that a wrench it better than a little hand help drill....cause once you get the nut loose the ole wire that is attached to it will wrap around the bit and totally ruin the coil wires as you can see.....But the case is clean..lol

I am hoping that a local shop can rebuild this thing...if not Ill just have to get a replacement...I took a picture of the number on the case and was gonna see if it was the original one......but I will find out more about getting it either fixed or replaced next week...Live and learn.....

Re: Johns 66
 

So lesson learned not to fool with anything you know nothing about.

I did get a coat of rattle can on the engine bay frame and it turned out ok...I used high gloss and think that I am going to spray it again with either semi or satin...high gloss just shows way to many flaws.

Re: Johns 66
 

I did open the spray booth and got some things painted up. I also received mu brake booster adapter from Captain fab( Thanks John)

I test fit it to the firewall and then to the brake booster....I thought I was gonna have to make the holes a little bigger but it fit perfectly without any mods....So I got a coat of primer and the 2 coats of black on it....looks pretty good......

I also blasted the water pump...and now that I think about it I may just go ahead and get a new one....I thoroughly cleaned it but can you really ever clean it enough to ensure all of the sand is out of it...Not sure I want to risk it ally with the new motor

Re: Johns 66
 

So all in all it was a pretty good day...got a lot of little things done...learned a good lesson concerning the alternator....
Now that I have the brake booster bracket I can now install the booster and get the lines run.....after that I am going to remove the gas tank and see what the inside looks like....I read somewhere that I can put a 24 gallon tank behind the seat and I think I have seen one on one of the many websites I have looked at over the past several weeks...so if this one is corroded then I ll replace it and run anew fuel line....might as well ensure no crude gets in the newly built carb while I am at it.

It starting to come together slowly but surely...Still waiting on the gasket set to build the heater box....not sure what the hold up is on that but will check next week on that.

Re: Johns 66
 

Great build, subscribed, got the popcorn ready to learn :)

Re: Johns 66
 

Glad to hear the package made it today....the booster bracket looks good :thumbs:

Yeah I took an alternator apart once.....about 40 years ago. Since that time the most I will do is remove the bolts so it can be clocked differently when needed. Otherwise I just go buy a used, new or rebuilt alternator.

Re: Johns 66
 

I believe I read somewhere on this site that the original engine compartment color was black satin. I did the my engine compartment with POR-15, and the satin looks pretty good.

Any update on the your 700R4? I've just gotten mine mounted, but not running yet. Would be interested in your experience in getting it operational. I bought mine from Bowtie Overdrive....you may want to download their installation manual for all of TV setup, and pre-drive checks.

Re: Johns 66
 

After the Por 15 I rattle canned it with high gloss and didn't like it at all, I then re-sprayed it rattle can with satin and it looks much better. Especially since I didn't take everything apart, smooth it out with body filler etc....

I have been gone for a week fishing...yeah I know but you gotta take a li time away...Went to Lake Fork, Texas to fish. Had a great time....but not much was done on the truck. Have a family gathering this weekend but am gonna get on it full bore next week.

My brother in law, Randy, builds transmissions for a living so he is building me a 700R4 to save me some money, which is always good...last one he built for me was in an 85 chevy pickup...had over 500k miles on it and still going strong.

I am hoping by next weekend that the motor and tranny will be set in it and ready to fire it up.....but am STILL waiting on the gasket set for the heater so I can put it back together......

Re: Johns 66
 

Well its been a few days since I have posted anything on he ole truck...took a little fishing trip to Lake Fork Tx...had a great time.....
BUT not time for some pictures of things that I have gotten done over the past few days.

Finally got the gasket set for the heater and put it back together...YAY!!!!

Sprayed the manifolds in the ole rattle can spray booth what I thought was an aluminum color......seems odd looking to me but will put it on the motor and see how it looks.

Got the power brake booster installed and the brake lines ran......I will paint he master cylinder in the coming days...mainly been working on the motor.

Re: Johns 66
 

I did get my grommet set in and have installed a few of them already, I was trying to get the windshield washer motor changed and of course the great parts place sent me the wrong one so now I have to try and get it exchanged.

I did get the motor ready tonight to paint...got everything smoothed down and a good coat of primer.....Plan on trying to spray it Tuesday after work, but I gotta buy some parts before I do that.

I am buying a new water pump instead of using the old one...think that is wise. I tried to figure out how to run the wires tonight and think I have a pretty good plan on how I am going to run them....Yelmer sent me some pictures of his motor so it gives me a good reference of what should be painted what color.

Ill run to the parts house tomorrow to get all the needed supplies to make the motor run...oil, antifreeze plus, wires etc.....sure that's gonna be a pretty penny but hey...its all good

Re: Johns 66
 

Some good progress.

Re: Johns 66
 

Well Sports Fans FINALLY got to put some color on the motor....Today was a pretty day..NO RAIN and I was able to get the motor sprayed. This is the first time I have ever painted something with a spray gun and not rattle can. It was actually not too bad once I figured out how to mix the paint....I just sprayed thin coats until I got it where I kinda liked it. After I got done, cleaned up the gun I did find one light spot but I think it will be ok since the Harmonic balancer will cover it up... you can see it in the last picture...not too noticeable but none the less I still see it.

The funny thing is that Depending on what direction you are looking at it and the light source depends on what color it appears to be,,,,It looks darker a little bit in person...guess the pictures make it look lighter

Re: Johns 66
 

Now here is where I am gonna try something......Hopefully it will come out as good as it looks in my mind.

So here is what I am thinking about...The motor does have some black on it, air cleaner a couple of brackets etc.....So in my redneck mind the valve covers while they look good do look a little bland all green so I am going to attempt the paint the script Chevrolet letters on the valve cover black...I am really unsure how I am going to accomplish this as of now.....I thought about getting a paint pen and trying that or a small brush and trying it by hand. But if I can pull it off I think it will look good...I know its not original ...But is should have been ..lol

Don't think I have the patience to try and tape the script off...will just have to see

Re: Johns 66
 

You are making nice progress. Engine looks great and I think the painted script on the valve covers would be a nice touch.

Re: Johns 66
 

Motor looks great to me.
I've seen script painted with fine tipped brushes.

Re: Johns 66
 

Looks good :thumbs:

I would run a piece of tape along the bottom edge since it is straight. This will give you a place to run your brush off of when coming from each letter.

Re: Johns 66
 

Like that color! Looks just like the paint I used on my gmc v6!

Re: Johns 66
 

Thanks Yall so very much....The paint came out pretty good, especially since it was the first time I had sprayed something that wasn't rattle can..lol

I have to thank Mike Remley ( Yelmer) for giving me the correct paint color...Its hard to tell if its the exact color since it was mixed in 2 different states but its really close in my mind

More pics to follow from todays efforts

Re: Johns 66
 

Well today my intent was to set the motor back in the truck..notice I said intent...Little did I know that I own a Super Rare truck that no one carries parts for....those super secret parts like MOTOR MOUNTS..>Really no one carries motor mounts these days....So kinda hard to set the motor back in with no motor mounts.

Mike sent me some pictutres of his motor for reference and has been great at helping me with some of the harder parts that I need like the water pump bypass hose fitting which is an 87 degree fitting and things like that...Ironically no one at any parts store locally has a clue about anything that does not come up on their computer screen.

Tomorrow I am going to Summitt Racing in Atlanta in hope of finding some of tehse super rare parts ( motor mounts) plug wires etc....hopefully my trip will be worth its since its about 2 hrs from me.

So I decided to paint the script after I put everything on the motor I could. The results were mixed and I'm unsure if I will keep them as they are or sand it down and start over...I know its not a show truck and I'm gonna drive it but I do want it to look right when the hood is opened.

So the first couple of pics are my hand with a brush and paint...I tried to use a paint pen at first and that simply wasn't working...so I tried a brush...lets just say that my hand is not as steady as it once was.....After that I decided to try and tape the script off and spray it with rattle can paint....It turned out ok...if you can call it that put it was thicker than the other side and some did run under the tape.....

So my choices are to leave it be, try and tape the side I didn't to make them match a little better or simple blast them clean again and start over......but anyways here are some pics of what I did today.....

Re: Johns 66
 

I did get everything I had for the motor on it, plugs manifolds, fan, alternator, belt...Carb was just sat on there to see how it would look....distributor was set in place since the first piston was TDC. I did fool around with some of the wiring today and realized that it has been modified from original since an HEI distributor was installed...I'm gonna get some acetone and clean the wires, re-tape them and make them look a little more presentable, fix some areas that need to soldered and heat shrink placed on the.

Re: Johns 66
 

Engine is looking great!

Re: Johns 66
 

Well I got to a stopping point and had to sit down and order parts..I went to Summit Racing in Atlanta and got a few things but was really disappointed that I couldn't find the things I needed..Summit has a lot of "Pretty" stuff but not what I needed.

I was able to find the water pump bypass fitting on Ebay from a very nice man...I was also able to get the GM part number for it and a place to buy them if anyone needs that part...Ironically it goes on a 63-68 Corvette but its the same fitting that cam on the truck...

So yesterday I ordered a BUNCH of stuff from LMC, American Classic Trucks, and Del City..Del City sells electrical supplies.

I did order a new gas tank and sender while I was at it....It is a 24 gallon tank that fits behind the seat...like I said earlier I plan on driving this truck so 24 gallons means I will be able to cruise for awhile.

The other issue I am having is finding a good 700R4 core for Randy to build...we found 3 so far but the cases were bad and not rebuildable.

My plan now is to get the motor set back in this weekend and get the engine bay buttoned up until I can get the tranny etc..installed and here my baby run.

Im still contemplating redoing the valve covers...gotta figure out a good way to do them so they look good.....

AND of course am still looking for an original steering column...I have learned that a C20 would be a perfect fit especially for the tranny I am using but at this point as long as it is an original steering column I will make it work...maybe soon I will find one.