Re: Nik's 62 build
 

Bumper looks nice!

Re: Nik's 62 build
 

Thanks Andy, Should be soon!

Thanks tj, good to see you join the Facebook group!


Been busy lately with fishing, dirtbiking and such, but still been getting lots of little things done. I discovered that my pinion yoke is much wider and doesn't match the driveshaft yoke. So I went to the junkyard and found another 30 spline yoke that had the correct 1310 ujoint size. This one used ubolts instead of straps and bolts, but luckily I kept the ubolts from the old rear end. Other than the ujoint size, they are the exact same and will interchange. New one is the one on the right side. Unfortunately I'll need to reset the pinion bearing preload, oh well.

Re: Nik's 62 build
 

Been making lots of progress, just haven't got around to posting. I cleaned up and painted the pinion yoke and installed it, torquing the pinion nut down tight and guessing on the bearing preload, once I get it driving I'll put it up on a lift at my work and properly reset the bearing preload. I then bought a new rear ujoint and installed it along with the driveshaft. I also built upper shock mounts and welded the divers side on and installed the shock, I still need to do the passengers side. I also installed both calipers with pads and new brake hoses. I had to drill and file a hexagon shaped hole in the frame so I could bolt the brake hoses in. I have also finished all of the brake lines other than one of the lines on the rear axle. So other that once I run lines for the hydraulic clutch I will be ready to try driving it! Here is a pic of the progress made on the front brakes and shocks.

Re: Nik's 62 build
 

That's great Nik.......you should be cruising your truck all summer.

Re: Nik's 62 build
 

Thanks John, that's the plan :thumbs:

Been buttoning up lots of little things recently, and I just completely finished the brake system including flaring all of the lines, but I still need to drill the hole for the brake hose on the passengers side, but I'll get to that soon. I started working on running lines for the hydraulic clutch. I made this piece to go from the master cylinder to the flex line.

Re: Nik's 62 build
 

And of course the original flex line was all dried up and cracked, so I went to a local shop that specializes in hydraulic hoses and got them to build this, it's pressure rated to 3000psi and has a female 3/8-24 fitting on one end and a female 7/16-24 fitting on the other end. The price was pretty reasonable as well.

Re: Nik's 62 build
 

And I used this little piece screwed to the firewall underneath the booster to secure the hard line right near where the flex line connects. I also got the interior pretty much back together other than the floor mat and cleaning up some under-dash wiring. https://youtu.be/TeX3qZG2CM0 plus I installed the tank with sending unit for the final time and put a little gas in the tank, as you can see in the video the gas gauge is working just as it should.

Re: Nik's 62 build
 

Did you go to Allens Hose N All for that ?

Re: Nik's 62 build
 

Yes

Re: Nik's 62 build
 

That was a great mod on that radio delete plate nobody would ever suspect that there's a hidden radio back there...That's getting creative.. That's what it's all about making the truck your own...good job keep up the good work....

Re: Nik's 62 build
 

Thanks randy! Little touches like this is what will make this truck so unique compared to all the others out there.

Due to the truck being parked in the same place the entire time I've owned it lots of random crap has gotten piled up in and around it. So I spent the morning taking a load to the dump and sweeping out the bed and the interior. It's staring to look like a truck that might actually run now😂.

Re: Nik's 62 build
 

Since the original bed wood was completely rotten I just bolted in the piece of plywood I had laying around. It doesn't look too pretty but it will allow me to use the bed, eventually I will put some nice planks of oak in the back, but that will be at least a year or two down the road.

Re: Nik's 62 build
 

Looks good!

Re: Nik's 62 build
 

Thanks Andy!

I then drilled the hole for the brake hose on the passengers side and bolted it in, all that needs to be done is the passengers side upper shock mount welded in and the front end will be completely done:chevy:

Re: Nik's 62 build
 

I also worked on making some tailgate latches. Some of you might remember that last year I picked up a chrome set of seat belt buckles from a Cadillac in picknpull exactly for this. I bolted the female end of the buckle to the bedside, I still need to get the correct length bolts.

Re: Nik's 62 build
 

and then I welded the male end to the tailgate

Re: Nik's 62 build
 

And here it is latched, it actually works very nicely. That's all for today, thanks for watching guys.

Re: Nik's 62 build
 

Nice! Like the tailgate latch! You gonna maybe create some kind of cover to help protect it from the elements?

Re: Nik's 62 build
 

Thanks tj, both pieces are Chrome, other than the weld which I will be painting. So the weather shouldn't hurt them too badly. If water gets inside the buckle and eventually seizes them up then I'll simply just go to the junkyard and get another set and bolt them right on, I think they were only like $5 or something.


The truck needed a coolant overflow reservoir, so out came a redneck rye bottle 😂

Re: Nik's 62 build
 

Hey Nik. I'll be getting a local old boy who has a wood shop to do the cutting & milling of my bed wood, probably out of local Douglas Fir as there is so much of it here. If there were 2 of us going together on it, it might be a lot less $$$

Re: Nik's 62 build
 

Just sent you a message on Facebook

Re: Nik's 62 build
 

Found a belt that was the correct length, so I put it on, filled up the power steering system with fluid, and fired the truck up. It works amazing! I can literally steer with one finger. Here is a video https://youtu.be/OI1DWWKVpy4. One question though, I've never driven anything old with power steering, is it normal for the idle to drop when the wheels are at full lock on either side?

Re: Nik's 62 build
 

Yes, at full lock the pump puts a bigger load on engine.

Re: Nik's 62 build
 

Thanks for the response bill, I figured that was the case but wanted to ask just to be safe.


The past week I've been extremely busy with schoolwork with things like finishing all of my classes and preparing for final exams. And to add on to it, work is getting busier as well. But today I spent an hour or two on a few little things. One of them was wiring the truck for reverse lights since the new transmission has a built in reverse light switch. The dash already had this cool little light in it when I bought the truck but it wasn't hooked up to anything, so I picked up a new bulb for it and wired it to the reverse lights. So when you put the truck in reverse the light will be illuminated. It's the little things that count :chevy:

Re: Nik's 62 build
 

Awesome I think I can here it running from Seattle.Like the Cadi. latche's.And the indicator light.

Re: Nik's 62 build
 

Thanks.


Well I've been extremely busy with lots of little things, I just finished writing all of my exams and am now finished grade 11😃. Also took a few days to go on a fishing trip. And to add on to all of that I've also been very busy at work. But despite all of these distractions I still managed to meet my goal of having it driving in June, well sort of... Last week I got the hydraulic clutch lines installed and bled out. So I took it for a drive around my street! It was awesome! However the reason I say I "sort of" made my goal is because it still has no brakes, I was just using the ebrake while taking it around the block. The braking system is all finished, however I've been having lots of trouble getting it to bleed! I think I might need to get the special tool that keeps the combination valve centred. Here is some of the progress I've made in the past week. I finally welded on the passengers side upper shock mount and installed the shock.

Re: Nik's 62 build
 

And these here are some rear bumper brackets I built about a year ago, and I finally got around to the point where I was ready to weld them to the bumper. But I realized they were not strong enough because the amount of metal I took out when making the oblong holes. So I welded gussets on the ends and they are much stronger now, here is the finished product.

Re: Nik's 62 build
 

I then welded those two pieces to the bumper and bolted them on to the pieces of angle iron that sit inside the frame rails. Here it is, the clamps are there because the pieces of angle iron still need to be bolted to the frame.

Re: Nik's 62 build
 

Also installed the west coast mirrors, I absolutely love the look of these!

Re: Nik's 62 build
 

So with mostly everything finished up other than the brakes still needing to be bled, I am just about ready for the road! I am leaving tomorrow for a two day fishing trip and after that I am going to get my wisdom teeth pulled. So I'll be out for a few days, but once I'm feeling better I'm going to try to get the brakes figured out and then put insurance on the truck!

Re: Nik's 62 build
 

Morning from my train into London Nick.... yup, working all day to 5pm at a large academic meeting.

Not been on very many threads the last few weeks as I have been trying to get my Charity bike ride sponsorships sorted out, and it is going well, thankfully.


As always I love the work you have been doing.

The safety belt tailgate latches are pure genius, love them.

As for your floor...... who knows, someone may have a decent floor is a truck that they are doing a full resto on. And if they know, they could offer it to you as a patina do replacement for the ply.


Enjoy your fishing trip..... I need a break.

Re: Nik's 62 build
 

Like those mirrors! Truck is looking good :chevy:

Re: Nik's 62 build
 

thanks rian, I've been keeping up with your thread, great thing you are doing with the bike ride, I'll be cheering you on:o

Thanks tj!

Re: Nik's 62 build
 

:wop::wave:

Re: Nik's 62 build
 

Almost time to be seeing your truck in my driveway?!

Re: Nik's 62 build
 

How about an update Nik !?

Re: Nik's 62 build
 

How’s things Nik, any updates?

Re: Nik's 62 build
 

WOW! I haven't posted on here in a long time! It's time for a big update! Despite the lack of posts, I've still been working away on the truck for the past few months. The last post was near the end of June, I had just mounted the rear bumper and installed the west coast mirrors, and that's where we left off. Once I returned from a little fishing trip I started to dig into the passengers side cab corner and cab mount rust repair. Here is both the outer skin and cab mount removed.

Re: Nik's 62 build
 

Then I welded the new cab support in place and coated with rustoleum.

Re: Nik's 62 build
 

Also cleaned up the inner rocker and coated it with rustoleum as well.