Re: Palf's 1970 Custom/10
 

Beautiful day for driving the ole guy around. So glad to have it back rolling again. Some of our cool (ok 55 degrees) winter weather and nice sunshine made it an enjoyable morning/afternoon checking out some of the local attractions. Guess I should clean the dirt off it, but it is much more fun to drive than wash. :lol:

Re: Palf's 1970 Custom/10
 

Keep on Truckin'':metal:

Re: Palf's 1970 Custom/10
 

Cruising around with the with old guy today.

Re: Palf's 1970 Custom/10
 

Well, when it's good it can go bad. Truck ran great yesterday, started up today to look at adjusting the carb and noticed that all of a sudden the Holley was leaking near where the throttle rod goes into /thru the carb. Pulled it off and was thinking of rebuild, but noticed what looked like a small crack in housing where the rod enters. I decided to say nope, and pulled the old Edelbrock 1406 off the shelf. Checked it out and it same 600 CFM, so on she went. She fired up and is running smooth with no leaks. Guess we will see how this one runs as I get it on the road for some longer run times and loads.

One day I am going to get to start the Vintage Air install.

Re: Palf's 1970 Custom/10
 

I've always had issues with getting wiper blade replacements that would work well for the original arms. I found this on the board and did my old 64 by using the original bottom/mounting part of the arm and get a newer style upper arm. In my case I had a set of 2002 Silverado arms lying around that had the j-hook style clips. So, I separated both set of arms. Then I oriented the newer J-hook arms into the older style base. Adjusted them for proper length, then drilled some holes and used some stall stainless screws to hold the in place. Cleaned them up and put on a coat of black paint. Add new 15" blades and mounted them up. Everything works great and I can get reasonably priced blade refills/replacements just about anywhere now that stay in place. Then seemed to work great today in the rain, so onto whatever the next project is. Sorry for the lack of pictures during the actual building. Didn't have a phone or camera in the shop at the time.

Re: Palf's 1970 Custom/10
 

Between yesterday and today I took off front bumper and prepared it for installation of my NOS painted bumper guards. Why this truck has an almond top and bumper, I dunno, but that is what things got painted to fit in with what was there. I'm glad I found a set of the painted ones. I really didn't want to go with chrome to get the guards.

I also started on setting up the new dash. I had all this stuff, so rather than buying one of the new digikal things, I decided I will put my own together. The empty lower gauge is for the secondary tank's gauge which is still in the current gauge panel. Got the tins painted chrome to better reflect lights. I have new bulb sockets and LEDs to better light things up. I'll be using factory fuel and speedo. I'm wiring up my own harness so I can eliminate the plastic circuit board thingie. Slowly but surely. Trying to do as much prep work so it won't be down long when actually do the AC and rewiring.

Re: Palf's 1970 Custom/10
 

I believe those bumper guards qualify as just plain ol' sexy!

Re: Palf's 1970 Custom/10
 

Looks good Bill. I think I owned those at one time.

Re: Palf's 1970 Custom/10
 

I believe Keith said he had gotten them from you.

Re: Palf's 1970 Custom/10
 

Finally finished some tasks on the ole guy. I have been working on putting in an 84 Suburban 31 gallon tank under the bed since first of April and finally got it finished today. Between trips to Texas, caring for someone on hospice and waiting on parts really made it drag out.

First thing I had to do was relocate the spare tire mount in the bed from driver's to passenger side. I wanted to have the gas fill on driver's side. Never cared for fills on the drinkers side.

The Tank is new so I wouldn't have any rust or gunk issues.

Spare tire brackets were removed a while ago, but still need to take out one bar and slide another one rearward After saying many "strong adjectives" while using air chisel and drill to get the rivets out I finally had success. The opne bar slid back into some factory holes (on the bottom) and cleared everything for the rear bumper. Just had to remove the rear wiring harness plug and it's now held in place with zip ties

Re: Palf's 1970 Custom/10
 

The fill neck will pass between the top of the frame rail and bed floor. I made some isolation pads out of some old floor tiles and glued them together then glued/RTV'd/screwed them to the bed cross rails. The thickness was the perfect spacing to clear the tank bump and space the filler neck correctly.

The HF transmission jack came in very handy for the extra hands need to lift and hold the tank in place while stuff was being prepared. I used the 84 Tank straps, but I had to remove one of the bolts and go with J-hooks to give me enough reach.

Next I took an old squarebody stepside fill door I've had lying around for 20 years and modified it to holder the suburban filler neck. Once I got it to the shape and placement I wanted I cleaned it up and painted it, then added some bed-liner to the sides hoping for it to take a little more abuse than paint.

Re: Palf's 1970 Custom/10
 

Once I got the filler cover done I made my marks and drilled 3 holes in the bed floor (I hope EdB doesn't haunt me for it). Put some grommets to protect the filler neck , filler neck vent hose and tank vent hose from getting cuts or rubbing against metal.

I used a factor 84 stepside filler hose sine it had the 90 degree bend built int. Then I joined it to a length of 1.75 in fuel hose to the filler neck. I did thee same for the filler neck vent hose. Used a factor one with 90 degees in it, then a 90 degree coupler to the hose to the tank. I also ran a tank vent and have it mounted in the back of the filler box.

I didn't trust my welding skills on round pipes, as I always seem to screw up rounding pipes like muffles and stuff, so I felt safer doing it with the factory rubber components

I ran a steel 3/8" fuel line done passenger frame rail and mated it to the factory one that was fed by the in cab tank. I then the fuel sender wire from the in cab tank to the new tank. All wires and lies are secured and rubber isolated

One of the things I decided to do was take the some header heat and cover the tail pipes where the exhaust runs nearish to the tank. It probably wasn't necessary, but I felt better about it.

Used a spare clicky-clack pump and got all the gas out of the in cab tank and into the new tank.

Went to start truck and found the battery had a dead short in it (only in there since October). Run to O'Riellys to get the battery replaced and then put the new one in. Filled carb bowl manually to help it pull fuel. Cranked her up and she runs and has no leaks.

So good to have the ole guy running again.

Next big job is finish up the new dash bezel and gauges, then get it wired in. But, I think I will get some driving enjoyment in for a bit first.

Re: Palf's 1970 Custom/10
 

Nice work . I’m thinking of putting back in one of the two saddle tanks the 72 had. Gets a little old stopping as often as I have to with the stock tank

Re: Palf's 1970 Custom/10
 

Looks good Bill! That Suburban tank will add some travel time between fill-ups.

Re: Palf's 1970 Custom/10
 

Not much time for the 70 lately. EdB's wife just passed away, so been dealing with all that. But did get mama in her new ride to replace the 12 year old CR-V. She is happy, and I fit comfortably, so all is good there. 2022 Hyundai Tuscon Limited. Man she has some buttons (well touch screen stuff)

Re: Palf's 1970 Custom/10
 

I'm in the same boat as you now. Wife's ride needing attention or replacement is keeping me from my toys. I suppose we need to keep them happy as well.:lol: I hope it provides you the next 12 years without issue.;)

Re: Palf's 1970 Custom/10
 

Drove to and from the surface of the Sun today (ie...Baton Rouge) for a breakfast meet. Great to meet up with some good folks. 7 real trucks showed up and 1 Rice-a-Roni showed up too. Although I was glad to have it today as on the way back all the craziest were out and got stuck in traffic. No AC (ie, the 70) would have been brutal. AC solves a lot of road rage issues :D :smoke::lol:

Re: Palf's 1970 Custom/10
 

Been working on this on and off for a week. Since in the last 20+ years, could never get the factory tach to be consistently accurate, I decided to do a sorta custom dash out of things I had around the shop. Just did not want to invest in the high dollar digital stuff right now. Don't worry the factory tach dash is unharmed, I started with a regular gauge dash and modified it.

I thought I took pictures of the back with it wired up, but I guess I didn't (or I stored them in a special place I can't find)

I use the factory speedo and Fuel gauge, just wired it in, not plastic circuit board. I used side marker light sockets and LED bulbs to replace all the dash lights. I also painted the inside of the housing chrome so it would reflect the light better.

Replaced all the gauges and added a clock where the extra (no longer needed) non-functioning gas gauge (All gauges on bottom were dead) was. I am happy how it came out. Took a while to color coordinate the wiring. I cleaned up the inside wiring a lot and everything was soldered in place. All the gauges seem to work accurately.

Re: Palf's 1970 Custom/10
 

Functioning gauges are important, looks good Bill!

Re: Palf's 1970 Custom/10
 

Some more tinkering over the weekend. My backup lights were not functional because of multiple reasons. Rear sockets were corroded all to heck and the part that goes into the 3-speed was all messed up. Since I did not want to tear into the tranny to fix that piece, I decided to do like I did on my old 64 and put in a manual toggle

First thing I did was removed the corroded up bulb sockets from the housing, then paint in in chrome paint. I had some round LED's that fit perfectly into the hole. Wired up grounds for the LEDs. Then where the stock harness wire runs inside the cab at the firewall to the I guess neutral safety switch, I hooked it to a lighted toggle. Don't worry the hole was already in the dash for the switch to change between the in cab and bed fuel tanks. At least the hole is covered now. The toggle draws power from switch ignition connection. If I accidentally leave them on, they go out when I turn off the key. They are WAY brighter than the stock ones.

Re: Palf's 1970 Custom/10
 

Next item was the license plate light. Again non functioning, and not sure how it comes apart (if even) to replace a bulb. Originally I thought about using 2 more of the round LEDs like in the backup lights, but I found this item on Amazon that just bolts to the license plate bolts.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07VHJ435Y...t_details&th=1

So removed old one, wired in the new light and now a very clean looking plate light. I do plan on welding up the old holes before I paint the step bumper, just so it looks cleaner

The last thing I did was hook up the inside hood release kit I got from LMC truck. I had to fiddle with it a bit, but she works so a bit of security I guess. We will see how it holds up.

Once my house roof is finished, I think the headlight upgrade is next.

Re: Palf's 1970 Custom/10
 

Nice upgrades Bill!

Re: Palf's 1970 Custom/10
 

Finished up the headlight swap out yesterday. I must say I am impressed with this kit. To me the price was fabulous for what you are getting compared to the other things I may have used.

https://cruiserteq.com/oem-toyota-ko...-elec81110kit/

Learned about it from someone in the 60-66 area of board.

What I really like is they are glass, sealed bean H$ lights, so none of the plastic fading crap to worrry about.

The wiring kit was super good quality and the wiring had plenty of reach.

Just remove the old bulbs, which in my case was tough. Driver's side ring had to be cut and the ring screws cut out . Luckily I had an extra set of housings from my old 70. The other thing I liked about the kit is I did not have to open up the center holes. It is tight with the rubber boot around the back of the bulb, but it fit in without opening it up at all. All relays and fuses were included. Only mod I had to make was to lengthen the ground cable some to go onto a point behind the battery. Rings and all fit perfect and they look good in the housing. They are way brighter for sure.

I also cleaned up the factory headlight bezels/surrounds and repainted them.

Also reinstalled the gun (umbrella) racks in the cab and put my present from Chevy Truck Legends on display. Better there, than lying around and never being used.

Re: Palf's 1970 Custom/10
 

Thanks for the write up! looks like a sweet deal to me as well. If my current set up is no bueno I'll go this route.;)

Re: Palf's 1970 Custom/10
 

Took out the old guy to stretch his legs today. First run in long while. So O-dark-hundred start for Baton Rouge. Truck and all the new electronics work well. The tach is still acting weird, like it is getting goofy signal from the HEI (same as the old factory tach), but truck runs smooth as heck. Turns out I only installed a 25 gallon suburban tank and not the 35 like I though. OH well she works fine. Got to recheck all my paper work and see if I clicked wrong thing or they shipped wrong thing.

So nice breakfast meet up and good driving today. Put on a bit over 300 miles

Re: Palf's 1970 Custom/10
 

Couple more from breakfast

Re: Palf's 1970 Custom/10
 

Looking good!

Re: Palf's 1970 Custom/10
 

Just got back from a 12 day 2800 mile "Fall Foliage" trip the boss wanted. Hit Atlanta area (unfortunately), upper Georgia, Bristol TN/VA area, then West Virginia and my home stomping grounds around Pittsburgh PA. My part of trip, even though there were no races was to go by and see Bristol Speedway. So different from my other two track visitations, 1972 Indy 500 race and 1975 Daytona 500 race. I hope to see a race at Bristol someday. It looks like it would be so kool to see the entire track during a race instead of quick burst at the others.

Showed the wife Andy Warhol's grave site while we were in "The burgh" area. Getting ready for another trip, this time to NE Texas. Then maybe I can get to work on the 70 again.
70 was lonely, so I had to include a photo of it too. ;)

Re: Palf's 1970 Custom/10
 

That's quite a trip, 70 looks good!

Re: Palf's 1970 Custom/10
 

Looks like you had fun, hope I see you tomorrow

Re: Palf's 1970 Custom/10
 

Sorry, I'll miss you guys tomorrow. I am on the road in TX. I did wave at the chevy dealer when we drove by you guys yesterday.

Re: Palf's 1970 Custom/10
 

Still on the road, this time in NE Texas. Been a while sine i had real Japanese food, but they had a super place near my son's apartment. Enjoying the time with family, but loooking to get back and get some work done on the e 70.

Re: Palf's 1970 Custom/10
 

What a cool story..

Re: Palf's 1970 Custom/10
 

No more driving for a little while. Started tear down yesterday for some upgrades. First is the Vintage Air install, then new intake manifold and new HEI. Cleaned up and regasketed the Edelbrock carb. Hopefully that helps with some of the stumbling issues. Might take me a bit to get her back together, but made the decision to do it. Unpacked all the VA stuff and threw away boxes, so I have to get it installed to clear up shop benches and carts that is holding everything.

Re: Palf's 1970 Custom/10
 

Well she runs again. Still got to tie up a couple things under dash on the Vintage air, then get it charged. Rebuilt Edelbrock carb, added Edelbrock Performer intake (painted to look less aftermarket. New aftermarket HEI. The old 1976 version still seemed to work but might have had some quirkiness to it. First new plug wires in 20 years. She runs a lot smoother now.

BTW initial fie up works alot smoother when you have the power brake booster hose hooked to the big open nub on the back of the carb. I also forgot to check timing light. Had it set to 50 degrees advance. That will sorta mess up trying to get it smooth.

Very happy an no water leaks with intake or what not. I was a little disappointed that I couldn't use the original M/T valve covers. The alternator and AC compressor wouldn't let me get them on.

I'll probably not get to do much this weekend as we are supposed to be in the 20s till about Wednesday, and that is too cold for this southernized Yankee to work on something unless it is absolutely necessary.

Re: Palf's 1970 Custom/10
 

Any progress is good progress, Bill!

We are single digit ambient temps with 25+ mph winds for the next few days. Plenty of snow and ice to go around!

Re: Palf's 1970 Custom/10
 

We should not see any white stuff on coast . low 20s over night is BAD for down here. To many bridges and water ways that cause road icing. Wind is reallly bad herealso. Supposed to be up to 50 MPH at times.

Re: Palf's 1970 Custom/10
 

New daily driver. Been waitingg on this for several year. 2010 tacoma only 29k for mileage. My neighbor finally let me have it.

Re: Palf's 1970 Custom/10
 

Bill we have now owned 3 Toyota pickups, and I really have been impressed with all 3. Wife drives a crew cab short bed 2014 Tacoma T/X Baja, I currently DD a 2003 Tundra AC, and before that it was a 2001 Tacoma AC PreRunner. All have been easy to work on and flawlessly reliable.

Nice Taco! I'm sure it will make a great driver for you!

Re: Palf's 1970 Custom/10
 

Finally cleared by docs to work (Get dirty and greasy) again. First chore, less greas, is get rid of the running boards off the Tacoma. I hate stepping around them and like the look without them better.