Re: Johns 66
 

Rant

My rant is on vendors....they seem to not have a clue. I ordered some bolts that were supposed to be washer head bolts...Nope...wrong bolts...Of course I called and this lady who probably doesn't know the difference from a 66 C10 to a 97 Tells me I have the right bolts...Of course I disagree and along with the seal that goes on the cowl to the hood.....they sent a flat piece of rubber...again she tells me Im wrong...I offer to send a picture of the old one......then they want me to pay shipping back....Ok Im trying not to lose my religion at this point and ask for a supervisor and after 40 min they decide to refund my money.

SOOOO I call another vendor to get the right bolts I need and hopefully the correct seal....3 of the bolts I need are on back order for 3 weeks. So now this lady tells me that either I can delete the bolts and place them on another order causing another 9.95 in shipping of 4 little bolts or I can hold up the rest of the order for at least 3 weeks....Of course this sounds crazy to me and again ask to speak with a supervisor and again after another 45 mins they decide to ship what they have and ship the rest when it comes in and charge only one shipping fee.

These folks make a killing off shipping and they are not looking out for the customers here...Ill be glad that this is the last stuff I have to order.....Ok Rant over.lol

Re: Johns 66
 

Ok now for the good....well and some bad I guess.....Good for the truck....bad for the wallet....Bryan decided to change the inner rocker on the truck...said it "Might" have lasted but in his judgement needed to be changed.

I did get my parts orders in today and will start assembling the bed and working on the bed wood.

Lastly I have been looking for a water pump bypass fitting for EVER....ordered some...wrong thing....But today my friend Yelmer, Mike Remley, surprised me with one he found. Im gonna get it cleaned up and get it installed when I get ole girl back

Re: Johns 66
 

I am always amazed at what passes as "customer service" these days. I love the convenience of online ordering, but hate how impersonal it is and how much many places just don't care or act like they are doing you a favor by treating you fairly.

Exciting how quickly Bryan is getting everything done. Going to look great and you won't have to worry about the rockers after you paint it.

Re: Johns 66
 

Sorry to see this happen to you John... Glad in the same breathe its not just me... Im also very lucky for the most part my local hardware has every nut and bolt ever made ….. If they don't have it... It might not exist. Chin up buddy the truck is looking great and the rockers are coming along nicely

Re: Johns 66
 

Your right Andy...this is the rewarding part getting the metal work done.

In all honesty I think the places just have call centers and all use a central warehouse to sell stuff...…..I know Classic Parts and American Truck Parts uses the same warehouse.

Scott I read your troubles with parts and feel your pain....Its gonna be worth it when Im driving ole girl down the road blairing my tunes without a care in the world...going to see Andy and having a big ole steak dinner.:chevy:

Re: Johns 66
 

I will join you two for that Steak dinner. Lets meet in Colorado...LOL Close enough to half way.

Re: Johns 66
 

Gonna see the USA in my Chevrolet!!!!!!!

Re: Johns 66
 

Steak dinner sounds great! My friends and I grilled up some deer steaks and wild boar pork chops last Sunday evening. It was very delicious

Re: Johns 66
 

I foresee a C10 Rally in our future!

Re: Johns 66
 

I'm with you on the customer service thing...I try to go to the swap meets like the one @ the Lowe's motor speedway or Shades of the Past in Pigeon Forge, those guys seem to know there business. I have to keep in mind the people at the other end of the phone are hourly employees and will never have the passion for our trucks like we do, they just want a pay check. As far as the bolts you may want to find a good company locally the specializing nuts and bolts, I found one in my home town and they usually have what I need. I also ordered a complete nut and bolt kit for when I start my paint work and setting my chopped top cab on the frame. Your truck is making some good progress keep up the good work my Brotha.

Re: Johns 66
 

While the truck is getting the rust repaired started working on the bed...Got it assembled....Only one hole was slightly off on the repop side.....Not bad in my opinion. Gonna have to drill the backup light hole since it didn't come on the repop side.

Ill start milling the wood this week...Gonna use Ash since it is a light colored wood.

I used the old wood and a piece of regular pine scrap I had to make sure of the spacing before I cut the wood.

Re: Johns 66
 

That's awesome you are milling your own wood for the bed. I need to clean up the wood on my bed.

Re: Johns 66
 

My dad and I redid the bed wood ourselves almost 2 years ago. It was a fun project. I think you will enjoy it too

Re: Johns 66
 

Beds lookin great John. I am thinking I will mill up my own material as well.

Re: Johns 66
 

Yeah I know what you are saying...Mine and my Uncle taught me how to do wood working years ago so I enjoy it a lot....just wished they were still here.

Thanks Scott...It isn't hard at all...Next post Ill explain the milling process.

Re: Johns 66
 

Well had a pretty decent day today playing in the ole wood shop......got the wood milled up and did a dry fit in the bed. I am using Ash...Its a real light hardwood so it should look really good with a natural finish.

I used the Mar K bed wood dimensions for the strips and used GMP Pauls dimensions for the wood. I adjusted the strip measurements just a fudge because I wanted the bed strips to sit flush with the top of the wood. I am exactly flush now but once I sand the wood Ill have less than a 1/16 of drop on it...The main focus was to ensure the wear strips did not sit above the rear cross member so you could look in the end of the strips when the tailgate was open....I think that looks cheesy...JMHO though

The only real issue I had was the side boards that that go in front and back of the wheel wells weren't wide enough in my opinion...….So Ill mill up 2 more boards and cut them to size....Im ok if they are a little wider inside the fender well.

BUT the BIGGEST issue I had was that evidentially when I numbered the cross braces...1,2,3 I apparently didn't remember which end I started from so none of the bolts holes line up except the rear cross brace:whine::whine::whine:

So Im gonna have to take the braces out and flip them around.....all I could say was DOH!!!!! But if that's the worst thing them Im way ok

Needless to say I will have to have some help doing this to ensure I get it back square...then I will get the wood installed with all the bolts, mark for the side holes and tear it all apart and finish the wood.

But here is a rough look at it...….the wear strips are flush with the rear cross member even though the pic looks like they are not.

Re: Johns 66
 

It's going to look great when you get it done!

Re: Johns 66
 

Looks awesome John! Love how it sits flush.

Would love to redo the bed on mine myself, but I don't have the woodworking tools or skills. Kudos for anyone that can do it.

Re: Johns 66
 

Thanks...just a lil time and effort....LOL


Thanks Andy...…..I just may know someone who could do that for ya. ;)

Re: Johns 66
 

:chevy::clap::clap::clap::ele:

WOOOHOO.

I am going to try and clean mine up some...they just didn't seal it when they put it down.

Re: Johns 66
 

Dadgum, that's looking great!

Re: Johns 66
 

John sent me a clock from a Chevy Nova II to put in the gauge cluster I am restoring for him. Unfortunately, it didn't work, but I got it working last night...Not exciting, but here is a video of it running. I ran it for an hour today and it kept good time also!

Re: Johns 66
 

Well was a beautiful day today so worked on the bed...I figured I needed to install everything before I tore it apart to start finishing....GLAD I did

The last pic was just a real dry fit with the end bolts finger tight on the rear cross panel; and since I put in the crossmembers in the wrong order really couldn't do it...until today....Took all the wood out, swap the cross members to the right position and started installing the bed. at first the holes toward the rear lined up but the closer I got to the front...not so much...the new head panel holes were completely off...or so I thought. I rechecked the bed square, checked the board cuts for square but something was off.

FINALLY I realized that the rear cross member and the new (Repop) head panels were slightly bowed...….Here is the issue with that....when I started cutting the wood for length I started in the middle, measured, checked the edges and determined that GMC Pauls bed wood lengths were incorrect....actually they were right....so I cut the wood 1/8th shorter and in rough mock up it looked fine until I started adding bolts.

To make a long story short...I guess originally the bed wood was 1/8th short to allow for expansion and in my infonaut wisdom I cut the wood 1/8th shorter than that, only to realize the header panel was bowed inward.... so instead of a 1/16th on each end I now have whatever is between 1/16th and 1/8th.....I will have to redrill three holes in the header panel bottom so that the bolts will fit....once the header bolts are put in I can simply space the wood evenly between the front and rear....doesn't look too bad...just irritating.

So Ill get the cross braces took out, cleaned up and POR-15 them....Gonna get a coat of 50/50 poly and thinner applied to the bed wood to seal it up until I completely finish them.....

I did get the vent windows completely finished, rivets installed and the upper pivot rivet installed....so they are now complete...YAY!!!!!

Im gonna do a little work on the bed wood edges...gonna cut a rain channel in them...shouldn't be too bad......But lesson learned on the bedwood length.

Re: Johns 66
 

Man that sucks with the bed wood. I did a goof on mine too. On one board, I measured once and ended up cutting it a little short... Turned out that the tape measure had hooked on to the end of the wood where the metal end mounts, rather than at the metal end (don't know what the chrome piece at the end of the measuring tape is called). I try to cover that up with a chair, cooler, or anything else in the bed when I go to a car show lol

Re: Johns 66
 

Its not bad looking...just the thought that I didn't pay attention well enough sticks in my craw a lil bit...Honestly if I didn't tell people they would probably never know it...But I do...I don't think most people will notice less than an 1/8th inch once its all painted and put together

Re: Johns 66
 

You are doing a great job. I doubt many if any will notice other than you...but I know how it is. You aren't building it for other people, you are building it for you. Just chalk it up to live and learn and we aren't building a show truck, but a truck that we will use as a truck. It is hard for most people to distinguish between 1/16 and 1/8 of an inch...as long as they are even on both ends, most will think that is how it is supposed to be.

Re: Johns 66
 

I don't think most people will notice it either. On mine though, it is very noticeable because there is one board shorter than the others :lol:

Re: Johns 66
 

Thanks Guys....I know the finish will have some slight build up and will help with that...I Think I was wanting it to fit tight originally but probably not a good idea so this will help with expansion and contraction

Re: Johns 66
 

Lil Update for today.

Bryan sent me pictures of the rocker on the drivers side door.....also had to change the hinge pin...said it was sagging just a bit and was better to be safe than sorry.

Did a test piece of finish on the wood today...I tried Teak Oil, Danish Oil and Spar Urethane.....while the wood wont stay white no matter what finish I put on it the Spar was the closest....It has a very slight light tint to it...lighter than a honey color. I placed some white paper beside it and I think it will look really good.

Also went by the paint store today....pretty interesting to say the least and got some great advice. They were very encouraging and I spent about an hour with them talking about ole girl and her need for some fresh makeup.

So I have a gallon of epoxy primer and a gallon of hi-build, tar and grease remover, Also got a tube of seam sealer and a tube of glazing putty plus some strainers, sticks and mixing cups. I was going to purchase a gun but they told me the best thing to do especially for the primer was to buy a cheap gun because most of the primer would be sanded off anyway...no need to buy a high quality gun at this point....made sense to me....Plus my good friend Andy has offered me the use of his gun when the time comes to spray the base and clear...Eastwood has a gun...Contour Gun set for 359.00 but it will go on sale for about 290.00....may think about that at some point.

But based on the numbers I got today to include the primers I bought I am looking at 2k for the paint job.....I have the sand paper...all but the wetsand paper, Evercoat filler....Besides paint...will need some tape and paper

Re: Johns 66
 

Looking good buddy! I am about ready to put clear coat on mine...in the next month...then can send you my gun. For a cheap gun for the primers...I would look at harbor freight...can get one for pretty cheap especially with a coupon.

Re: Johns 66
 

I ran by there today and picked up a cheap set...Had to get the 49.00 set because it was the only one with a 1.8 tip....
This should be interesting....Kinda excited to get started on it. I know it will not be perfect but at least I can say that I did it myself and it sure beats paying out 10 to 15k.

Re: Johns 66
 

Remember what we always say..."we aren't building a show truck"...I am sure it will look great. I painted under my hood today and it wasn't perfect, but good enough for now. Some things I want perfect...some I don't care as much.

Re: Johns 66
 

You are so right...and a wise man once told me that water sanding and buffing can fix lots of stuff;)

Re: Johns 66
 

I heard ice cream fixes stuff tooooo.

Re: Johns 66
 

Amen Brother...Amen!!!!

Re: Johns 66
 

That rust repair is looking good! I can't wait to see how it turns out :metal:

Re: Johns 66
 

Dang it! Now I'm craving ice cream...

Re: Johns 66
 

Couple more update pics from Bryan......The gaps look really good...He reinstalled the front fender and cowl piece and it all looks pretty good. I know pics are hard to see but looks pretty good to me.

The wood is the bed wood....I have notched some drains on the edge of the wood to allow rain or wash water to escape...Im hoping it will help preserve the wood since no water is trapped and can freely get out...fingers crossed.

Started putting Spar Urethane on the few board I have notched and sanded...Only 5 more to go..lol

Re: Johns 66
 

Everything looks awesome John! The cab looks great...and the wood is going to be awesome finished. I like the idea of the drains.

Re: Johns 66
 

I had some ice cream after all the ice cream talk. :D