Just a tiny bit of a start.....

[Lippyp]

My truck has been off the road for a year, with a couple of technical issues and lack of time all contributing. As today was a nice day I decided to wash the green slime off and give her a little attention. She fired up straight off, the last time she ran was three or four months ago although I have been keeping the battery topped up. Settled down to a nice healthy tickover, good oil pressure etc, so I let her run up to temperature fully whilst I ripped out the horrible soggy old carpet (I think the sealant in the drip rail needs some attention) Underneath the nasty cheap fur like carpet and soggy hairy felt underlay were 3 US quarters, a nickel and five one cent pieces, the oldest is 1956 and the newest 1977, so I guess thats an indication of when the carpet was last out, well before it crossed the atlantic to the UK. The floor is a little rusty and may get a bit worse once I get a wire brush to it and the bottom of one kick panel needs some work.

The idea is to strip the seat etc out, sort out the water leaks, clean up the floor, patch any rust holes, POR 15 the floor, and fit the new carpet set I've had under the bed for three years! The engine will then get a new intake, HEI dizzy, a set of Mickey Thompson valve covers to replace the rusty chrome ones. I've also found someone local to me who will rebuild my original starter motor hopefully solving my major engine problem (two crappy reman'd ones later!) It also needs new exhausts from the boxes back to just in front of the rear wheels.

I plan to make a proper shroud for the electric fan and fit a second one and a proper thermostatic controller, sort out the bed wood with some stain and varnish, paint the metal strips and redo the sides, wheel tubs and tailgate inside with bed liner. She also needs a good service and lube up, the brakes need cleaning up etc before she goes in for her roadworthiness test.

Work has to fit between other stuff though and the weather doesn't help as it all has to be done outside. My aim is to get her back on the road for the summer show season here in the UK. I have been gathering parts for the work though and I'm now looking for a tch to go in and I'd love a powerbrake setup as at the moment it's manual drums all round. Ultimately a power disk setup would be nice.