She's ALIVE!!!
 

Thanks to good guys on the board like Castiron9 and Gray Ghost, and great vendors, like GMCPaul's, I got to take a quick spin in my old beater 68 yesterday.

I took her off the road 6 months ago, to work on some of the bugs. Then the bugs started winning the war. First I needed to swap the turn signal switch. Then I stripped the steering shaft threads when I was reinstalling the wheel.

I found the 40 year old rag joint was trashed, when I pulled the column out. After that, Castiron9 sent me one with my promise to pay once it arrived (which I got busy and forgot to do for a week or two). Then I promptly stripped that one out, too.

Gray Ghost hooked me up with a sweet deal on a column, wheel and beauty of a horn button for the 68. Then I got tired of breaking my own stuff, and the wife grew tired of me asking to buy parts, so everything stalled in December.

Last week I finally ordered a new steering coupler from GMCPaul. Than bad boy installed like butter! Once finished that without breaking anything, I spent the rest of the day re-installing the column. Then I had to re RE-install it when I realized that I had put one of the shifting linkages on backwards while I was cleaning everything out.

After I finally got the new turn signal switch (that started this whole thing 6 months ago) installed, I buttoned her up and took a little spin around the neighborhood.

She still isn't pretty, but she sure has come a long ways since I drug her out of the pasture back in the spring of 05.

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b2...daddy/out1.jpg

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b2...uck0207003.jpg

I had to give her something pretty to make up for keeping her in the garage for 6 months. New tailgate letters from GMCPaul fit the bill nicely.

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b2...ailgate007.jpg

Re: She's ALIVE!!!
 

Good to see you around, Mike. I was wondering where you had been.

Re: She's ALIVE!!!
 

Hey, Hook'em. Yeah, since I wasn't working on the old girl, I just quit peeking in here for a while.

And thanks to you, too. Some of those parts you gave me have migrated over to my truck, too.

Re: She's ALIVE!!!
 

Congratulations! Its a great feeling to fire her up after its been a while. I just stared mine for the first time this year also. That deserves a Tim Allen grunt, arh, arh, arhh!

skydiver

Re: She's ALIVE!!!
 

still got those stepside fenders?

Re: She's ALIVE!!!
 

Congrats Mike. Glad to see you get the truck rolling again!

Re: She's ALIVE!!!
 

Yeah. They aren't very good, but I am hanging on to them for a while longer. I would actually love to get her back to a long bed/step bed set up.

But the deal on this fleetside bed, also from a board member, was too good to pass up and my bed was TOTALLY trashed.

And thanks, guys!

Re: She's ALIVE!!!
 

Congrats from another ATX member ;)

Re: She's ALIVE!!!
 

Thanks Chrislehr. I live out on the NWest side of town, near 183 and MoPac. I'll be watching for your 70

Re: She's ALIVE!!!
 

Been a long time, but I have started working on the old girl again recently.

She got sent to the back burner when the wife started hiding her checkbook better. Money was tight for a while, but things are looking a little better now, so I am hoping to spend the winter and spring getting some new parts bolted on. Hopefully we will be ready for a nice summer night cruise.

Re: She's ALIVE!!!
 

ooo she looks nice

Re: She's ALIVE!!!
 

Welcome back! I know how it goes being tight on money and not getting to play with the toys.

Re: She's ALIVE!!!
 

Beauty is within and not without. Your truck looks ok to me!! :metal: