Grizz's Redneck Express 1966 Chevy Short Fleetside RESTO-GO!

[Grizz1963]

Ready or not.........

07.00 this morning I was out there, the night had been long, waiting to get up and test fit.



Couple of things became apparent, brakes have not worked for a while, pushing and pulling the truck around on the driveway.



Also, top and bottom control arms need to be serviced and greased, just like my 1966 C10 grease nipples everywhere.



And the turning circle may be impaired by wheels that are too wide, compared to OEM fitment rubber.



Then, on to the front and rear hubs.

Fronts now show why we have those huge Mexican hats as centre caps.

Needs around 60-70mm tall caps/cups up front, there is also space for a spigot ring, or for the cups to become captive from behind.

Maybe a spigot ring is not needed, but the wheel is sitting nice and loose.





Rears fit tight enough that it needed to be whacked to remove after the test fit.

So some flat cap will work here.



The truck also came with locking wheel nuts, something I dislike intensely, and I did not get the socket that unlocks it when I bought it.

Thankfully I managed to get both loose, one was quite loose, possibly finger tight.

So getting decent new nuts makes sense

[Grizz1963]

SILVER OR BLACK


Silver



Black


Choices.


Photoshop may help

Originally Posted by sparkplug

does this help?

[Grizz1963]

@forddan68 and @freshandminty are possibly along with a few others the guys to ask about this.......


Wheel protection.


One of my friends, Paul, off a bike forum suggested I consider protecting the wheels with the following product.

And Henry @rider51 suggested ceramic coating.

Now in my wildest dreams I never thought there was a way to protect the protection on the wheels, but there is a learning in every day.


What is the consensus here please





I was looking at some really manky wheels in Romford, supposedly from a Cobra (Replica?) that were Ex Jaguar to possibly run as winter wheels.


Seller reckons the tyres are good, I am not convinced.

I showed him the rears on the truck, even the central moulding stripe has not been run off, Nankangs, and yet, in my book, only good for destruction.





These do look pretty rubbish for £50.00 but could they be a chance worth taking @rider51 ?

Imagine them blasted, painted with Hammerite or some bronze type colour, winter wheels.






And finally, pics taken this morning.

These were removed again after the photoshoot, done for the pleasure of those of you who do take the time to write, click respond, share knowledge.





And the rear view.

Really happy so far.




Once I figure the wheel nuts, centre caps etc, we should be in business.


Next job.........???

[Palf70Step]

Nice, very nice

[Grizz1963]

Originally Posted by Palf70Step

Nice, very nice

Happy, very happy.




Man in a brown van rang the doorbell.


I was made happy.





Thanks to Robert Pilgrim for selling me an original airbag leather covered steering wheel for the truck, as a standby to replace the Grant wheel fitted, originally wanted to replace it, but have got used to it now.
So it will be stashed along with some other original parts just to keep the truck as original as possible.
At £40.00 for the steering plus airbag charge, he did me a massive favour, and courier was £15.00 so a total of £55.00



Also included in the parcel was an intact top cowl for the radiator as mine is in bits, including riveted pieces to keep it together. Chuffed to bits to be able to repair this.

When my battery started to fail, I replaced it, and on removing the old unit, I realised the tray was filled with holes.
Again, Robert found me one on his outward bound steel scrap pile. FOC
This needs to be media blasted and then primed and painted.

Most importantly.......

Alongside the new wheels I bought, there were no wheel nuts.

And these trucks use a specialised wheel nut to go with the centre caps.

Look at the detail. 20 vital parts.



So threads on the outside as well,.



The plastic caps screw onto the wheel nuts, holding the centre caps in place.








Sold the 5 Cragars to a good friend last night for his 80’s Dayvan build.

Tyres, as mentioned before were great as far as tread is concerned.

Rears are good for burnouts...... @pauly is on standby.



And fronts, not really good for a jolly to the coast, are they.



Today I wanted to tint the side glass, but between the weather and the day job, all I got done was to give the stuck a decent wash, and it does like to be clean and shiny.

While washing, I noticed the exhaust tailpipe........... made me wonder if this is all one system, recalling the video @pauly made the day I departed in it.





https://youtu.be/ZppLk-f7nBs


Also did another small job today.

More later.

[Grizz1963]

Little jobs

Little jobs

All get done, eventually.

Some sooner than others.

This one is a pain in the butt, because of the amount of dismantling needed to get it done, not quote the same as popping a new toilet roll on, though I believe even that is a struggle for some.

So Rob sent me these bits.



And the battery tray, though a lot better than mine, still needed work.

Rough as a badgers bum.



So I thought about it.

Wire wheel, or blast it, except my blasting cabinet is 80 miles from here with Craig as he is cleaning small bits for his sons Mk1 Golf Rabbit Cabriolet

So plan B ?

Take a chance and run down to the industrial estate to Kerbed Wheels to ask Thomas how much t do it. “Leave it here, come back tomorrow” was his reply.

So yesterday at about 4.30 I ran down there again to find he had blasted it for me, Cost? No charge, because he had done it after they shut down shop on Wednesday evening.

Pleased with that.

Loads of pitting from all the rust, I guess the are cheaply made parts and are also exposed to weather and having a concave shape, water may stay there a bit longer and drive the rusting process. Add to that, cheap mass produced paint, and you certainly have a recipe for disaster in the long term.


Result.



By the time I got home it was 5.30 so I decided to get the etch primer out and my heat gun.

Warmed the piece up, primed it one side, dried it and turned over, repeat.



Then on to three coats of satin black, again lighter than usual, but dried with help inbetween.

First coat down.



And then three coats later, it looks glossy, is actually dry, but it is a high impact wheel paint, so surprised me with the final finish.

The pitting is very obvious now as well, but does not bother me, as it is an improvement, and will be going down under the battery.

As an add in, I will add some strips of rubber (maybe old inner tube material) to absorb some of the movement when the battery is bolted down.



Little jobs indeed.

[Grizz1963]

Great advice from @jamesd1972 to add a coat of underbody protection in stead of a lump of rubber thats liable to hold water in place and promote rust.

So during a work meeting, I went and painted it quickly.



While doing another little job today, I also crawled under the truck to take a look at the exhaust system.

Seems we have a lot more Magnaflow stainless parts under the truck.

Someone in the past spent a lot of money on this truck.

I guess I am also doing the same, spending chunks of money on seeing it right as my long list of fixes continues to grow,



I continue to be pleased with the truck and what it is proving to be.

The extras and upgraded parts on the truck when added up are approaching 60% of the price I paid, crazy man maths.

[Grizz1963]

More haste, less progress.

I wanted to do the side glass windows tint today.

FAIL FAIL FAIL.......

I was not patient enough to wait for Saturday till Sally could help me by holding the films one side.

So I cut a piece to size



Then I laid it out on the film on the outside of the door, remembering to place it so that once cut to shape, it could be stuck to the inside of the glass.



Then proceeded to removing the backing film, and using water (should have been soapy water) to place it, out in the sunshine with a very gentle breeze.......

Guess what.....??

Massive failure here. As the wind twisted it, alongside static pulling it about.

So I removed it.

Laying what was left of it, once removed, on the counter top, in order to copy it.





Thought I could copy a second one, then called over the hedge for Mickey to come hold one side........

And cut a copy of the failed item.

BUGGGERRRRRRRRR !!!


Cut it about 8mm short.


Close up.





So I removed and binned number two


So the outcome of the window tinting was good though, and this is the before ad after pcs.


Soon to be corrected.










Ordered some more film tonight after work, £10.99 wasted on education I guess.


Maybe I can fit the battery tray and radiator cowl over the weekend.


Little jobs we said.

[Grizz1963]

2004 Chevy Silverado truck came in for a gas tank strap to Dennis’ body shop





Looking good.

Hardly abused.



And of course, bed off to repair said straps.





Anyone looking for a 5.3 LS with only 144k miles on it.

[Grizz1963]

Some days start good.

Today started a lot earlier than I wanted, but hey ho...... sleep when we are dead ehhh.



So had breakfast then drew the truck down to the shop.



Battery out.

Wonder why these trays rust so badly.......?

Water access is easy from the front.

And putting a rubber mat under the battery, not ideal I would think.



Holes and probably more out of sight.



Old n new(er)



Battery back in.

Then removed the radiator cowl.

Old vs Replacement



While in there, I also noticed the new radiator that I had been told by the lady who owned the truck before, had been fitted.



I also dismantled the underside of the dash to look at the fog light switch..... completely broken, possibly kicked at some point.

So I just put it all back together. I will fix it another day.

It was time to head out to the shops for food etc.

Silly grin, and a distinct difference in response since I cleaned up the air filter and breathing system.

Headed home, Sally chuckled and said I looked really happy, which I was.

I have to keep reminding myself not to drive like an idiot, but it feels and sounds so nice.

She somehow sneaked a pic in while I was driving.





It was a good day.

[Indian113]

Go ahead and smile! You earned it

[Grizz1963]

Originally Posted by Indian113

Go ahead and smile! You earned it

Morning Ray,

Thank you, this truck is a lot easier to get stuff done on, with and to than the 66 or 79 were.

So reward is quicker too.




Rubbish, Misty and chilly outside today.

So what can I do to keep busy?

Not a lot as mostly I want to be outside.

So I used a cut off 2 liter milk bottle and some oven degreaser, followed by boiling water, then neat dishwashing soap on a brush and cleaned every wheel nut and cap individually, 20 nuts, 11 caps.

Rinsed them all with more boiling water, followed by a further wash and boiling water rinse for the nuts to ensure they were oil and grease free.

Grubby as can be.



First wash and rinse.



Second wash and boiling water rinse.

Dried.



Then fetched some foam] from the garage, sliced a couple of slots deeply into it and fitted the nuts in order to protect the external threads.



Painted a few light coats of satin black.

Happy with the result.




So I hear a few ask me why ??

Simply put, to fool the eye.

There are only 11 of these wheel nut/centre cap retaining cap screws right now, so visually it should look better if they are all black, than some anodised gold or silvery from damage.

Much effort, but another small visual gain.

PS. Not fitting new wheels till the Poorboys wheel wax from Amazon has been delivered and applied to the wheels while they are off the truck.


Time for another drive now.

[Grizz1963]

My SKY internet and WiFi was down for 24 hrs, and where I live, my mobile signal is 2 bars on 3G and intermittently 1 bar of 4G

So a struggle to work from home.

However, by 08.00 I got onto this.........





Then late afternoon, well, just after 4.00pm I got out the Poorboys wheel wax.

The stuff is sooo frugal.

You hardly use any.

I did both the fronts and rears of the wheels.






Once it dries, after 10 plus minutes, you buff it all off with a micro fibre cloth.





Hard to believe it makes a difference, and I tried to feel if it felt any smoother, no idea.

But happy to believe that it will aid maintenance.



Once I was done, looking at how little of this stuff I had used, and that is on both sides, I was amazed at just how frugal it is.

At £14.00 delivered for the tub, I suspect one could expect to do another 50 wheels or more.



Another step closer to fitting.

[Grizz1963]

This week has been slow for the truck progress.

Went for a walk.



Postie came as I got home.



Damaged.

So declined to receive parcel.

Took pics and sent to seller, he has not replied.

Let’s hope he does reply and replace as eBay sent a message email to say I had received my item.




Lodger continues to be a real problem.

Scruffy, dirty, disorganised, drunk, and this morning overslept by 2 hrs, then called in sick.

I see tears, and they will not be mine.

I will be brutal.



However, good news last night from Andy in Tulsa, Oklahoma with the first print section of the RUMBLEGRIZZKIN name that he will be using in casting me a set of new side badges for the truck.

Short video of the magic happening.

https://youtu.be/OvNAUGEaFlk


Result.




I am sure the weekend will throw up some jobs to do.

It is Friday.

[Grizz1963]

.

Random entry.



[quote author="@georgeb" source="/post/2663716/thread" timestamp="1614985782"][quote timestamp="1614934042" author="@grizz" source="/post/2663557/thread"]Lodger continues to be a real problem.

Scruffy, dirty, disorganised, drunk, and this morning overslept by 2 hrs, then called in sick.

I see tears, and they will not be mine.

I will be brutal.

[/quote]Time to get rid, methinks?
[/quote]


Very soon I suspect he will self destruct and play out his own hand.

I do not care what he does to himself.

However, when you leave taps running, all the lights on, leave doors unlocked when you go out to smoke, don’t clean your used crockery etc...... your assss in getting booted.

On Tuesday I gave him a ride to town (7 miles there) and back to ostensibly buy food and toiletries. He is extremely hygiene shy , first lodger ever to be just dirty.

So he bought cookies, crisps, sausage rolls, and two packs of sausages.

Ohhhh and a bottle of Kooparberg cherry rum, and a bottle of lime Gin that he mentioned he owed someone.

Later the evening this was how I found him....... lights all on, movie on his PC, back door open as he had gone out to smoke during the evening.

He had ordered Chinese take away (I hate food going to the bedroom, and may have to address it) there is a table and chairs in the kitchen. The plate and knife and fork took till yesterday to come down after I had asked him 3 times in the previous days to bring stuff down.

So this was what I found. Seen from the door.





Then the night before last, I offered him dinner as I had cooked enough, he had dinner, sat down here talking a load of sh!t about festivals, and his achievements of getting drunk, memory loss and ending up in medical tents etc.... clearly a kid parents are proud of. Yes, I judge them.

He then proceeded to head upstairs intermittently and outside to to smoke. Hell.... he stinks.

By 9.00pm he had fallen asleep on the couch, a deep sleep, I told him repeatedly to go up to bed, and he kept saying no.

When he did het up, it took three attempts, he could hardly stand and I was waiting for him to fall over on his face.



When I went upstairs an hour later, again, this was what I found......



Speaking to him yesterday, he claims not to recall anything after dinner......


I see tears .......

Not mine.

[Indian113]

Man you have More Patience than I do! His disrespect for your property and YOU would be all it would take for me to Slap him into next week!!

[Grizz1963]

Originally Posted by Indian113

Man you have More Patience than I do! His disrespect for your property and YOU would be all it would take for me to Slap him into next week!!

I would happily slap him into another religion.

But getting Locked up and “prostituted” is not ideal.

Maybe the talking to, I gave him this week has pulled him up a bit.

Last night Sally said “Listen, he is having a shower” so I paused the telly and could hear the pump going. Maybe he showers once a week.

Anyway, you are right, like when we stay over at your home with you and Eve, I do not want you to even know we are there or when we have left.

That’s my way.

[Grizz1963]

A rare thing happened yesterday.

Sally came over by 08.30 for tea and toast and to spend some time, I rarely go to her place, as there are no toys, and she prefers to come here..

So we had brekkie together, the watched some recorded telly, and by 12.00 she went home to see her grandson and son, also to allow me to get outside as by then I was feeling very guilty.

I was chuffed though, that I had managed to sit and do nothing for a few hours.

She is a sneaky photographer and waited for me to start looking for a hole in the trucks bulkhead.





I had two small jobs to do.

Replace the switch on the rear fog light with a metal item and ensure it still worked.

So out with the very broken old red unit. In with the new.

Happy.



Next job after finding a small man made hole in the bulkhead was to thread a wire through there.

That was a mistake, as I ended up removing it, and enlarging the hole with a step drill, and then running two wires in there, finding them snaking in from under the dash.

I also used some flat 3 core household wire to thread through the face of the dash, so that I could connect it to the two wires and then pull them up through the dash.

These modern cars are so compactly made, and even the threading of wires are a bit more complex as there is so much under the dash, blocking access.

Still, got it through and then got the wires back up out the front.





Next job inside was to drill a hole to take the new metal push button for the Klaxon horn.

I hate damaging the cars plastics, and mad as it may seem, I will keep an eye out for a replacement piece to stash with all the other unused parts.

Mate Kevin who is moving house soon, also popped around for a looksee, couple of mugs of tea and a chat.



Once the internal jobs were done, I needed to find a live to draw current from.

As earning was easy via the mounting bolt, and the pigs tail out the horn.



And once fitted, happy with the tidiness achieved.



I forgot to take pics of the completed switches before dark. So good morning.





.

[Grizz1963]

Went to get milk and bread in the truck earlier.

Stopped and checked in on friend Kevin,who,is building the Deusenberg replica.

It is now in paint.

Thought a few random pics up at his place were in order.

Thames river and Essex, when’re the truck was from in the background.



Few more pics.

Kevin’s pond.



Daffodil,time,with the end of winter approaching.





Looking toward the sunset.





Pity about the pole, just struggled to compose more 6han that.



Looks like the weekend is over.

.

[Grizz1963]

Decided to spend some cash on the truck

After the effort and cost put into the wheels, I did not manage to find another 9 used caps needed, and to be honest, new will be a lot nicer.

Interesting, as always the cost of a purchase in the USA doubles by the time it lands here.

So $19.99 became $41.00 on my driveway.



Original GM parts are even more costly before taxes and shipping.



Sally’s sons car got hit in November in a non-fault accident etc.

The repair was massively delayed and he was unhappy with the finish, so I offered to see if I could trim back some of the runs in the clear (Ended up shaving them back with a sharp blade then hand buffing followed by machine) and also a load of Matt finish, orange peel and overspray.

Masked as much of the black parts as I could get to, then spent 2 hrs at it after washing and drying the side.








Not easy to see, but it both looked and felt a lot better after all the runs with the DA Mop and G3 Compound.



And all that was left when he left was a big grin, and a white stripe.



Now when wants to buy a mop, going halves wit his brother.

Did I create a monster?

[Grizz1963]

Amazon delivered today.

Lug nut covers ordered on the 8th, extra postage paid for delivery by 12th so delivery by 10th........ great.

Opened and unpacked after completing some online work.



Can you see anything wrong?

Yup.

Ordered 22mm or 7/8” caps, but delivery was 25mm or 1” items.



Delivered items



Ordered items.



GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR

So onto Amazon Helpdesk for 40 minutes, AI vs Man

Eventually get told they will refund my account, collect the items and no, they cannot resend the correct items.

It is an Amazon “Seller” whatever that means when you are passing the buck.

So I have messaged the seller (Chinese like on EBay) and asked if the can supply the correct item.

Fingers crossed.


I actually only needed 9 of these caps.

[Grizz1963]

May have had a little accident today.

Flip Flop slipped.......

Oooops




Practice run for the real thing.

[Grizz1963]

With the list of tasks actually getting shorter and some of the things left to do, only dependant of shipping, couriers and also finding a drone and pilot.....

I took some time to go drive and waste fossil fuels to day, Sally was off to see her eldest son and grandson so I could be ultra random.

Eventually only liked two pics.

More another day.








Tomorrow, who knows, maybe some smoke.

[Grizz1963]

Went out and messed with the truck today.

Took a few more scenic pics too.

If you guys are interested, I will post them up on here.



Dennis started the 850bhp NASCAR motor for the first time last night.

Fired right up.

Sooon.


https://youtu.be/-IAJCo3DlfI


More soon.

[Grizz1963]

WEEKEND PICS


AND IN A BIT.......


GUILT FEELINGS AS RESULT OF PULLING IT THROUGH MY XXXXX



Thames and Essex behind the truck.






Juiced up again.