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

[Grizz1963]

Originally Posted by Braunschweiger

You're so wonderfully crazy, what a weird thing.
But you're right, it puts a smile on your face.

Getting a smile back or laughing out loud is something I have missed.

Life is Good.

[Grizz1963]

So another

So another day of being kept busy by loads of things.
Post office runs, hour long phone calls with friends about how quiet the job market is in our industry. Listing more stuff on Marketplace and responding to dumbass questions.

So I really only got going after lunch sometime.
First job was clearing and cleaning the floor in the other part of the garage. That part nobody sees. The 5’ Drill press table and surrounding floor took quite some time as the garage vacuum hose (retired 20 years ago from household tasks) kept getting blocked at various junctions by the challenge of swarf and junk going up it.
Next job was to start cleaning shelves on more of my storage.
I have brand new truck parts, bought and collected from LMC in Kansas City, Oklahoma City and other places across the USA that are still as I had unpacked them from my baggage in 2015
Some of the biodegradable plastic bags had completely decomposed leaving piles of parts that needed vacuum cleaning. Sorting them at the same time.
This all takes time.

But I have found a lot of treasures.
I never completed the unpacking and mental inventory but it feels good, seeing stuff that will be drawn into service as the C10 restoration starts to take off again.

I am not sure which set of badges I will be using in this build.
Being a 1966 C10, Custom Cab V8 there are obviously the original versions but this is no true 100 point restoration, rather an aesthetically pleasing (TO ME, FOR MY PLEASURE ) rebuild with custom touches that appeal to me.

As always, all input, comments, advice, donations, parts, cash, drugs, help, visits to Grizz’s Garage where Grizz’s Sh17s happens are welcome and encouraged. It gets lonely down there.

Speaking of lonely……

Sally had eventually capitulated and bought herself the largest twin port Air Frier ( I still have no clue how they actually work) So she offered to do marinated chicken skewers/kebabs for us and brought them over with Pita Pockets. A bit like Meals on Wheels. Food was good and she left by 18.45 which saw me headed down to the garage again.
Having been indoors for a bit, I didn’t enjoy the cold of the garage and decided not to carry on with cleaning up.
Rather to reward myself with some “Hobby Time”
So I went to the wood store and found a 800mm length of oak.
Brought it back in and got going making another name plate or board for my shop. I had collected the parts a few years ago. Lack of mojo precluded completion. Now it felt good.
Small rewards.

Just to clarify for all the wordsmiths, linguists and spelling police out there……
The name encompasses the good, bad and ugly that happens or is part of my shop.

So Dennis always brings and collects for me, license plates at his bodyshop.

Once I got to a critical mass of Missouri State plates I could go at them with tin snips and cut out letters and numbers that gave me what I needed.



I had also rediscovered some the aluminium castings from Andy near Terlton in Oklahoma, one of my favourite places to visit on road trips. They have been mounted on the archway down the drive, outside the shop.

While doing the layout I really wanted to incorporate one of my favourite brands. And a small road trip memento.



Assembly was pretty quick with one screw up ( in my mind at least, can you see it in the final product?) and I still need to decide where and how to mount it.

Hanging from a chain, rope, propped up or screwed down.

Not yet sure.



By 19.45 it was completed and I looked around, satisfied that there was actually progress again.

TOUCH SOMETHING. MOVE SOMETHING. DO SOMETHING. ITS ALL PROGRESS.

RESULT



In the end I decided not to use this piece, from Andy’s foundry yet.

Today I will look for an appropriate place for it.

Possibly on the Chevy Tailgate bench up at the house, on the deck, where friends often congregate for a BBQ in summer.

Or possibly on the wooden arch to the shop area.




This is starting to feel like progress and success to me.

Like the MoJo is coming back bit by bit.

Long may it continue.

Life is good.

[Grizz1963]

And yesterday was a great day.

I mounted my new shop sign above the small door, and mounted the Bull**** Corner sign on the tailgate bench I made.





Met a great guy who is a builder, runs a wedding car hire business on the side. Bought some traffic lights off me that I have owned 10 years. Sold the other one years ago for what both cost me. Never mounted them as they turned out to too large. He had just bought a white black cab to add to his fleet. @£350 for a days hire, it seems like good business.

Later I kept unpacking one of my tool sheds, engine stands, cherry picker, can and body mounts live in there. Discovered some road signs that I used to have up before COVID came and the carport got built.

Thought I would list them as a joblot on marketplace and see if anyone grabbed them. They were all found in ditches, roadsides and some straightened out, cleaned etc.
Now if you look closely at what they sell for (well, are advertised for) I was very low. I contacted a guy who bought a load of toolboxes and other stuff recently and said that I was listing for £25.00 I also sent a pic. He came back and took them and a load of other stuff I knew he liked, before listing them. £95.00 squeezed out of his cold dead hands.

Random ad on FB.

Check the individual prices.



Matt got these and about 10 more large safety, warning and speed restriction signs as part of the same deal.
Helps me make space and him happy.



While I was unpacking I found a load of my favourites in a cabinet. They have gone back up in various places.

I felt it was perfect as part of this purging and Mojo returning.



By 10.00pm last night another set of new, unused vintage Halogen spotlights sold, I agreed to post them to possibly the most challenging postal address I have sent anything to. But it’s another £20.00 in the kitty which has grown to beyond £1300.00
This is crazy, and a real businessman would have had £5k from the same stuff, but overall my investment was still less than the return, and most importantly, the pleasure I have had from them….. kinda priceless.

That postal address.

Jackie Chan*
Unit Rear of aspect ducting 24
Right Side Of driveway
Co154lu

Funny how weird it feels though……

Originally I thought that if my selling off stuff I had no use for brought in £500.00 toward another vehicle purchase, to reduce the self induced guilt… I would be doing well.

Last night….



So in the mean time, I do hope that the universe will come into play and stop me, but if it doesn’t, hey…..

Happy Skinned Knuckles.

I feel the guilt.




Amazingly it is 11.30 already.

Friday.

Coffee and custard creams, then garage.

I did start on the shelves of Chevy truck parts yesterday. But it is a slow, deliberate process. Sorting out so much irrelevant items into different storage spaces and trying to keep a mental track of what I see.

Mostly, I have no clue what I have in my hands.

This will be fun.

Later.

[Grizz1963]

Don’t you just hate selling stuff?

£6.00 for a Ford Cortina prop shaft. COLLECTED.

That’s cheap if you want or need one.

But a buyer messaged, “would you post?”

I looked at his profile and he is a car guy.

So I agree to wrap it up and go post it.

I HAVE TO BE STUPID.

So half an hour and much swearing, an old bedsheet, some wallpaper and a large roll of masking tape later I have a skinny mummy.

Off to the post office 3 miles away.

Just not worth the agro, is it??

But we are car guys.





And ready to go.



Also sold a set of Sachs Madass headlights for £25.00 to be posted.

And today an Albanian wants to buy a £10.00 radio, you guessed it, posted.

Waste of my garage clearing time.

Hey ho…….,

Cash in the kitty I guess.

[Grizz1963]

Making FREE cash from junk or stashed treasure seems to have become a thing right now.

The added befit is that I am managing to clear up, clear out, sort out and organise my garage.

Some days it feels like I have nothing to show but I know there is progress.

Today saw me get stuff packed, posted and sold at the gate. The £££’s keep trickling in and that is addictive.

Everything that has gone, been advertised and sold, was surplus in one or another way.

I was up in the garage loft the other day and pulled stuff that had been sitting there for 10 or more years. Listed, sold, to be collected.

I also advertised a set of rear lights for £6.00 collected……

Got a message from a random person.






So this is what I had posted up.



Today, along with my distractions including a visit from @nickwheeler I decided to just give them a wipe down.

Of course you know that I am not going to just wipe them down.

Suddenly they were disassembled.



And the result…….






I am happy with this result.

Listed for £40.00

Lets see whether someone sees any value in them.

Prices range wildly, from £35.00 to plenty much more. Lets see if someone needs them at £40.00



Sitting with a small glass of sherry, before dinner, which always makes me enjoy dinner even more

Tomorrow has no agenda yet.

Chinese stir fry for dinner.

[Grizz1963]

Weekend over.

My weekend carries on though.

Progress is slow, painful but it is constant.

The main part of the garage is cleared, except for all the parts of the C10. Load bed, tailgate interior parts etc. stuff in tubs all marked meticulously 9 years ago. Not meaning a thing now.

The next part is the right half of the garage.
The L-Shape part you never see.

Today is a jackpot day for every
Pathetic nosey zoomer who loves to read the original description on the side of boxes and forensically examine my **** in order to criticise or judge. Yes this sounds really harsh but every one who does not resemble that remark is safe. The rest, zoom away.
It will be like putting out a 5000 piece puzzle on the dining room table on boxing day, with the objective of completing it by New Year.
I admittedly have a ton of trash. All mine. All my responsibility. All my problem.

So this week…..

I have to go through the shelves one at a time to try separate active C10 build parts from random fanciful stuff and then also outright junk which I may have some of.

Not much to sell here this time, but I will carry on with cleaning and clearing out unnecessary bulk.

After all, who needs six packs of brand new valve caps.

As always, any distracting visits are appreciated and encouraged so I can drink my umpteenth mug of coffee and contemplate what shelf next.
There is also a loft with stuff…… yup.

So for the ZOOOOMERS !!

YOUR PARTY STARTS HERE.


Regular visitors will know just how much has changed in this photo already.



Which leaves us here on Sunday afternoon.

The area to the left was already sorted, tidied, swept and moved around.

This lot has not.







And the rear of the garage, foot of the inverted L has more junk and truck parts. Zoooom away stalkers.

Then there is upstairs as well.







Some yard work yesterday included cleaning and repairing the shed roofs.
These sheds contain more more big tools like engine hoists, stands etc. small she is filled with firewood. Not used this year as not cold enough.



By 3.30 yesterday I had decided that I wanted to close shop, shower and head out to go play ball with Bonnie. Much nicer than rummaging and having pointless conversations with potential buyers about items that are £200-£500 new and listed for £20 collected, who then want to argue about £2 difference between post office and courier. Expecting me to do the packing, courier registration, payment and drive 3 miles to the village to drop off and then return home. Idiots abound.

I sat in the shop on my John Deere stool for about 20 minutes, just enjoying the silence and space around me.

Feeling the truck looking over my shoulder at the incoming weather.

A moment of peace.

Caused by: Touch it. Feel it. See it. Move it. All being progress.



Incoming weather passed me by in the end.



Last look at the truck before I set the alarm etc and closed shop to walk away.




Life is good.

Sometimes we just need to zoom out a bit and see the bigger picture.

[Braunschweiger]

The holy grail, your garage, your fine caravan is also waiting for you and the C10 is looking over your shoulder and is already impatient.

[Grizz1963]

Originally Posted by Braunschweiger

The holy grail, your garage, your fine caravan is also waiting for you and the C10 is looking over your shoulder and is already impatient.

C10 better be patient or it will become a SMEG Refrigerator ��




Remember those Mini rear lights I had, thought maybe pickup but they turned out to be for a van.



Off to Ontario, Canada, to be fitted to a V-Tec converted van.

Removed from the plinths, double wrapped, bubble wrap, box and into a padded envelope.




Going into this van once complete as the builder also builds and supplies subframes and front ends for Honda V-Tec conversions.



Pretty cool place for them to end up.

New floor going in currently.







Currently he is contactable via Facebook group as DBCOOPERS


I am really pleased it went to the right guy who will use it.

Life is good.

[Grizz1963]

[Grizz1963]

Wanna buy a Peugeot mister??

Cheap as chips.

Spent some time on the 206CC

Tried to open seatback as suggested online in order to try get to the boot lock to pop it open.

Ha !

No luck.

Any more advice or help?

I really need to sell this very cool and powerful little car, in order to make space. It truly is surplus to needs.


Back seat, seat back removed.



Also spent time sorting through some more piles of stuff, including electrical wiring, sockets, plugs etc.

Then disassembled the wooden skid or trolley that I had built for the Rezin Rockit build, it made moving the body and chassis much easier to move around single handedly.

I had part of a custom made Chevy C10 cab rolling trolley mate Martin had made for his build, discarded after use, I collected it from his scrap pile, cleaned and painted it.




After removing the wheels and then finding a load of nuts, bolts and washers I put it all together.

Once again the little DeWalt impact driver with 1/2 inch adapter made life easier, it did the same for disassembly of the wooden skid frame.
Wood will be used as part of a new cab lifter that I need to make up.




Ready to rock n roll with the cab.

Cab gets bolted or mounted over these cab mount bolts.

Than one can move it about, but it is also raised above the ground.




Getting a C10 cab lifted is a four man lift.
It is big, heavy and awkward to lift, then carrying it forward, rearward or rolling the chassis out from under it.

To make life easier……

Step in the cab lifter, I will make a new one as the one previously made, is both rotten and some way away from here.

Using an engine hoist inversely, one can singlehandedly lift and remove a cab.

Video I made 9 years ago when Martin was removing his cab the first time.

https://youtu.be/LxcuePYK-8Q?si=3WDT2K8UAKfKpARe


Looking forward to more tidying up today.

Progress is slow but happening.

[Grizz1963]

Astro Love.


I am quite ruthless (if there really is such a thing) about the cars that are on my drive



Anything is for sale or possibly even for trade if the trade item suits my quirky needs.


@Marm Toastsmith is looking for something interesting that can be applied in multiple ways.


The Astro would suit his needs in so very many ways and possibly even the value I associate with it.


But I realised (tbh I know) that I was not yet ready to see it burble off into the sunset.


After having mate John sort out replacing the radio that was fitted to it when I bought it, along with the new dash I managed to find in Arkansas, and knowing there’s a few more maintenance type jobs to get it up to the next level of ownership, I decided that I was not ready to see it off. Maybe I never will be.


I have maintained for years that if you don’t look back at your car when you walk away and smile, you have bought the wrong car.


This Astro is really weird.


Until I sell the Rezin Rockit, it has to live outside my kitchen window, then it will move into the carport. It deserves that treatment.


BUT……. I honestly find myself looking at it from indoors or when walking in from the garage, that it always makes me smile.





Back to the reason for this long write up



This week I was using the van to donPost office runs, not the cheapest way to save money, and to go food shopping



Stopping at the post office I realised again that unless someone really needs this car a lot of queens faces more than me, ir may be stuck here for a while



This view really makes me happy







Yesterday I was busy working in the garage, still clearing up and finding stuff that was shoved into boxes, onto shelves etc the last 7 years.
Rediscovered my Big Foot gas pedals that Andy in Oklahoma had made for me.


And so I went to see if I could find a way to fit one into the van.
It does kinda make the van’s residency more permanent here.


Looks like a fit.





And so a bit of etch primer.


Followed by masking around the edges







And some Chevy Engine block high heat orange followed by clear lacquer.





Later today I will get back to it and polish and sand back all the proud surfaces and then drill and tap some holes in the rear for some mounting holes and brackets.


​​​​​​​In the meantime I’ll get to a frw other jobs as well.

[scottofksu]

I too am a big Astro/Safari fan! Great vans! Yours is beautiful. Also, a v8 goes in pretty easy... LOL

[Palf70Step]

Love my foot pedal too. I've had it on many vehicles since 1976.

[Grizz1963]

Originally Posted by scottofksu

I too am a big Astro/Safari fan! Great vans! Yours is beautiful. Also, a v8 goes in pretty easy... LOL

They also grow on you.

I have absolutely no intention of taking a perfectly good van and making it perfectly good.

I would buy it but no way build one over here in England.

Originally Posted by Palf70Step

Love my foot pedal too. I've had it on many vehicles since 1976.

Came out really good.

I have three with my name on.

This one is for the C10.

[Grizz1963]

Mate Martin sent me some very old photos that time when we were young.

Details of the cab lifter are clearer

So I can go measure up the cab, find some lumber in my store (yes I have one of those for wood) and make up a new lifter.









My C10 is ready and waiting.

Cab needs four big guys or friends that I don’t have to lift off.


So this will be a great tool to have on hand.



Maybe that will be a job for later today.

I am still struggling to get the trunk of the 206 open.

But it is Friday again.

[Grizz1963]

Progress.


What does it look like.


Sometimes you really have to look.


This current phase of trying to get back onto the C10 build started around the 20th of February.

So I make it four weeks of work and brainstorming.

Now keep in mind, none of you have a clue of what junk I have and just how chaotic my stuff may be. Hidden in so many places, sheds, the house etc. So despite the progress seemingly being tortuous and slow, it is progress, more so than if I were watching long Netflix episodes.


And as my mentor (bollocks me gently if I screw up) and friend Fil says, it’s a lot like going to the gym. You know you should but you don’t So when you start, it is slow, but you keep going and start to reap the rewards. Of course as another wise man said “Touch it, Feel it, See it. Move it, That is Progress”



So Wednesday Night I was on a roll came in, had some dinner and saw Sally who popped in for dinner, for an hour then went back to the garage and carried on till 9.15pm Not happened for a very long time

I managed to get this far








George was down there the whole time
He says nothing, doesn’t judge me, but I suspect that if I died or got mortally injured, he has his knife and fork ready, along with a bottle of hot sauce





At about 8.30 I came in to grab a glass of Pepsi Max. Walking back the view made me smile again.


There has been Progress here







Then came in by 9.30 to shower, thought screw it, watched an hour or so of YouTube videos and got to bed



Lying in bed, I ran through the last four weeks and thought about how much better I feel about this . And of course I made some cash out of the clutter



Life is good

[Grizz1963]

One of yesterday’s tasks was to try open the Peugeot 206 CC bootlid/trunk

Amazingly patient guidance from Eddie Honda on thedarkwob saw me continue to fail.

Three hours, yes really….. 3 hours in total spent trying to get mechanisms addresses. Failed.

I have to admit that since getting the car home in November, it has done less than 2 miles, being surplus to my needs.
So I actually never even opened the roof, it was WINTER after all.

I am also petrified of opening the roof partially or something like that and getting it stuck only for the weather to change and it to become a big green bucket.

Removing the passenger side rear seat back allows you to get a hand, pokey stick or eyeball through the hole.
But not all three or even two at a time.
Space in the rear is also tight and limited access unless you are a contortionist or masochist or both.


​So in preparation for this event I made up a pokey stick with a 90’ hook and LED light at the end.



Overall, this was the battlefield.

Trust me…….

It was not fun.










I may try access it all again some time today.

Fooling the roof mechanism into believing it is safe to open may be the way to get access to the rear. Though I don’t really know what to do after it opens halfway.


In the mean time the garage and sorting out all of that stuff means I have enough excuses to not get started either.

We will see.

[Grizz1963]

Copied from a 206CC forum group written by the guy with the problem.



QUESTION


Any good ideas out there-I can't open the boot!
It should be easy, just unlock the car, put the key in the boot lock and turn to the left-but it doesn't work!
The problem is that the little bit of wire which connects the lock to the operating switch which is marginal in length at best and has probably bent a little so it won't make contact. If I turn the key any harder I will break the key off!
Next I tried accessing the boot by opening the roof. Yes, you're right, the cover in the boot is rolled up so the roof will not open and I can't open the boot to pull the cover over!
What about opening the roof manually. Well the key to switch to manual is in the boot!
You can't access the boot via the back seats because behind them is solid metal.
My local main dealer had a go - and failed miserably! They think the only solution is to drill out the boot lock, operate the connecting wire manually through the hole and then refit a new lock. For this little job they want to charge nearly £300! Apart from the cost there is nothing wrong with the lock itself and I don't want to destroy a perfectly good lock.
Anyone know a good car thief who can open it without damaging the bodywork?




ANSWER



Hooray - I'm in! Thanks for the steer Ron.
For anyone else who comes up with the same problem the procedure is:
1. Remove rear seats buy undoing the 4 10mm nuts holding them. It helps to have a long socket but an open ended spanner will do.

2. There is a 4" square access panel behind each seat. Inside the car and facing the rear (very cramped!) the right hand one is covered only by some boot lining which can be pushed out of the way.

3. With the help of a good torch the micro switch for the roof boot blind is visible on the far side of the boot out of reach even if you have a long arm! The micro switch for the roof needs to be pushed down to open the roof so I made up a 'special tool'. This consisted of 36" length of 1/2" square wood with a small nail in the end stick out at a right angle by about 1/2". The nail was too thin to push the switch down so I wrapped insulating tape round it until it was about 1/4" diameter. I then poked the rod through the access hole and hooked it into the boot blind catch to operate the microswitch.

4. Ignition on and the roof then was able to fold back. When the boot had hinged back I stopped the operation and removed the boot trim. The boot lock can then be opened by hand from the inside.

5. The roof can then be closed again and the boot opened with the key as normal.

It may be a bit fiddly but its better than spending £300 with a dealer and waiting 2 weeks for a new lock!

By the way, in the short term, in order to prevent the problem happening again I removed the short wire that goes from the lock to the central locking actuator which I left in the open position. The boot lock now continues to work perfectly but has to be locked and unlocked using the key. As you have to use the key anyway after the central locking has been on I can see very little problem in continuing to do this. Isn't technology wonderful - sometimes!


Will try again when the rain is gone.

[Grizz1963]

Quick wrap up of yesterday in the garage.

More parts moved about, sorted, shelves liberated.

Found stuff I forgot I even had.

Adventure beckons.








Looking into this space, it is much better than before.



And the most rewarding part of the whole day…..?

A quick fix.

A special gas pedal for the C10

A nod from Andy in Oklahoma to my safety shoes, (flip flops)

After polishing off the excess paint……..

BOOOOM !!!


I like it.




Friday night.

Chicken curry with Peshwari Naan.

Life really is good.

[Grizz1963]

Rubbish nigh sleeping (well, not sleeping really)

But waking at 04.00 my head was already in the garage.


Know what I mean?







.

[Grizz1963]

I guess sometimes a single PowerPoint slide can sum up a lot.

Case:






But often we don’t see what else happens in the dark.
The black dog manifests itself in so many ways.
Not a case of black and white.

Still……..

We all progress.

Some of it less than others.

But it’s progress.


So right now it seems like I need to unfurl my spinnaker while the wind blows through my head.





Maybe it’s just because life is actually so good.


Time for another cuppa tea and some toast.


Then wash the green car………


Got a viewing tomorrow.





Would be nice to regain the space.

[Grizz1963]

Amazed nobody threw a wobbly while waiting for more.

Maybe a longer hiatus between reports is appropriate.

Summer or spring must be coming in fast.

Rapeseed canola is flowering already.

George is over grooming and has been out of sorts the last week, today I found some
Frothy spit and grass, assuming he is trying to get a hairball out.

But certainly out of sorts.




As I am now actively starting to think about the C10 and what needs doing, I am noticing how much prices have increased.

My speedo and instrument cluster was broken to hell when I got the truck.

So I bought and imported one that should be able to be combined with mine to make a good one.

Prices.





Anyway

Yesterday was a massive milestone and for the first time in 7 years, the chassis rolled out





We also had the Google Earth Camera car in attendance, filming the proceedings.




When I had moved all the parts that had been removed from the truck and stored next to it down the side of the wall and truck I moved the chassis back in.



Pretty pleased with that

You all better be as well.

And

Make some Noise !!!!

[Grizz1963]

Spoiling you all.


Giving too many reports.


Spring is on its way.


Cleaning stuff is part of the rhythm.


On Friday I swept the driveway and cleared the gutter outside the house.
Unfortunately I have weeks of flowing water down the street because maintenance is not done as it used to be.
So ditches, drains and outflows are blocked and water flows down the road.
Resulting in the road gravel being sprayed onto the sidewalk.

I put a lot of it into the garden bed next to the driveway.

Looks better, tdy, clean.




I cleaned cars today.

Cleanliness is next to godliness irc.

Green car being viewed tomorrow.

Rezin Rockit will be more actively pushed for sale.

This should liberate some space.











Lets hope ehhh.

[Palf70Step]

I really like thelook if yhe caddy, such a nest looking vsn. I have one or nultiple 60-66 dash, so hollar if you need something.

[Grizz1963]

Originally Posted by Palf70Step

I really like thelook if yhe caddy, such a nest looking vsn. I have one or nultiple 60-66 dash, so hollar if you need something.

Thanks Bill

I will try figure out to see if I can combine the two busted units I have.

Fingers crossed again.