1972 Cheyenne Super coming apart to go back together

[a.c.ward]

Hello from Texas! Looks very nice. Seeing someone work on putting one of these trucks back on the road is very impressive. I have a 67 with a Big Block, and as many LS swaps and small blocks as we have done, a person really has to admire a big block. Nothing says torque like a big block chevy, even in stock-ish form. Keep up the amazing work, will continue to follow.

AC

[mr.mud1]

Originally Posted by a.c.ward

Hello from Texas! Looks very nice. Seeing someone work on putting one of these trucks back on the road is very impressive. I have a 67 with a Big Block, and as many LS swaps and small blocks as we have done, a person really has to admire a big block. Nothing says torque like a big block chevy, even in stock-ish form. Keep up the amazing work, will continue to follow.

AC

and hello right back at you from beautiful downtown Joggins,Nova Scotia.thanks,it's quite a truck,i'm glad it's here after waiting 25 years in storage and almost going to scrap.that would be a shame.i have thought in recent years about an LS swap something but not for this old girl,as pure as she is,it deserves another lease on life.i'm doing all i can do to make that happen.i love the story on this truck and have talked to the nephew of the original owner, and how he inherited it.pretty cool.i love the big blocks too,big motors in big cars and trucks,the way it should be.
thanks you sir,have a great day.Greg

[mr.mud1]

well,a big day,at least i thought so.my buddy Keith drove here from Halifax,2 1/2 hours away to give me a hand and pick up the quadrajet i did for him for his gorgeous bronze and white 72 truck.a good day.i finally have 1 empty engine stand but maybe not for long as Keith says he's bringing me the motor from his truck?we'll see,anyway my engine and transmission are back in the truck where they belong.we spent the day,after they were in,installing small parts like the power steering brackets,pump,PS lines,the spark plug shields,fuel pump,exhaust manifolds,starter,some of the A/C brackets,alternator bracket,distributor cap and wires and so on.my new rad core arrived today as well as the new wiring gutters,yesterday the new GM heater hose and Wittek clamps arrived,thanks Dan.i hope monday or tuesday i'll be ready to start soldering my rad back together.i'll be back at it bright and early tomorrow.i love it when a plan comes together.

[mr.mud1]

more pictures of today's progress

[Happy_dan]

Wow, looking great!

[mr.mud1]

Originally Posted by Happy_dan

Wow, looking great!

yes sir,coming right along.thanks for your help.

[LT7A]

That's a lot of good progress. Really looks nice. All that cleaning and touch up will more than pay off. Don't feel bad about spending the time getting your fenders clean. At least from my perspective, cleaning is one of the best things you can do. It's relatively free. You had me laughing about using the oven. That's the difference between men and women right there, isn't it? Why would you put car parts in something we use for our food? Because we only bought one oven and we put it in the house.

[LT7A]

Sure looks like it's all coming together nicely. Don't feel bad about spending all that time cleaning your fenders. I think cleaning is one of the most productive and underrated parts of having an old vehicle. And it's sort of free. You had me laughing about the oven. That's the difference between men and women right there, isn't it? Why would you put truck parts in something that we use for our food? Because we only bought one oven and you wanted to put it in the house Please don't tell Mrs. mud that I said that.

[mr.mud1]

Originally Posted by LT7A

Sure looks like it's all coming together nicely. Don't feel bad about spending all that time cleaning your fenders. I think cleaning is one of the most productive and underrated parts of having an old vehicle. And it's sort of free. You had me laughing about the oven. That's the difference between men and women right there, isn't it? Why would you put truck parts in something that we use for our food? Because we only bought one oven and you wanted to put it in the house Please don't tell Mrs. mud that I said that.

yes sir,my lips are sealed,not a word.it did though, make perfect sense to me,we have 2 stoves but they're both in the house,1 upstairs and 1 downstairs in the B&B unit??what's up with that?it's all good now,the house no longer smells like big block exhaust,i finally got to move back in,it's all good.take care.Greg

[MikeandCheryl]

not sure where you are at with the inner fender install, but any chance of a pic of those two raised areas on the top side? mine are going to need the front lips and these raised areas with holes. thanks. good looking truck love the green.

[mr.mud1]

Originally Posted by MikeandCheryl

not sure where you are at with the inner fender install, but any chance of a pic of those two raised areas on the top side? mine are going to need the front lips and these raised areas with holes. thanks. good looking truck love the green.

hi Mike,no problem.i can make you some pictures tomorrow,the front lips you're talking about,is that where the inner fenders bolt to the rad support?is that what you need pictures of and the top where the inner fender bolts go straight up into the fenders?i'll handle that tomorrow.i expect the inner fenders will one of the last parts to go back in,we're doing some paint work once everything mechanical is back together.take care.Greg

[mr.mud1]

todays progress,transmission is now hooked to the shifter,speedometer cable attached and vacuum line to the modulator,torque convertor is bolted to the flexplate,exhaust pipes connected to the exhaust manifolds.power steering pump and alternator are mounted along with all of their bracketry.the carb is installed,as well as the new fan clutch and fan.i'm not sure what i'll do about the A/C components.the air worked before i took it apart but had R-12 refridgerant in it.i'm not going to be able to get R-12 again and i don't know enough about it to know so i'll have to do some some studying on the matter?
tomorrow i plan to install the driveshaft,cut off the old mufflers and tailpipes as i have new ones here for it,installing the trans cooler lines and so on.i guess then we'll be close to building a new rad for it.we'll hear this run before long.

[Dieselwrencher]

Great progress on it! It does look so much nicer already. I might have a can or 2 of R12. I'm nit sure how it could be shipped though?

[mr.mud1]

Originally Posted by Dieselwrencher

Great progress on it! It does look so much nicer already. I might have a can or 2 of R12. I'm nit sure how it could be shipped though?

thanks for the offer but there's no way to mail it,post office won't take aerosol cans,but i was at the parts store this morning,i saw some little 1/2 pound cans of R12A,whatever that is?i don't know anythingabout A/C systems and emailed a guy yesterday to pick his brain,he can tell me what i need or how to go about making this work again.it's coming together,hopefully more progress today.take care.thanks again.Greg

[mr.mud1]

progress today was installing new rear shocks and working on exhaust.i had new mufflers and Waldron tailpipes,then discovered my exhaust pipes were not as good as i thought they were,so on the horn back to Waldron since none of the auto parts guys could help,Napa,Carquest and on and on.i emailed Walker/Tenneco,they no longer make the front pipes.Waldron says 8-12 weeks and they said freight to me was $441.00???i'll order them another time and ship them to somewhere in the States that i plan to be and bring them home but for now i need something to start the engine and eventually drive the truck once the weather improves.i made up a pattern since i can't take the truck to the local muffler shop,and had them bend me up a few pieces of pipe and today i fit,fooled,welded and filed til i had something that resembled an exhaust system.it's all on,on the original hangers and straps around the mufflers,a pain to work on but super strong.i didn't realize til i was back there working but the 50 year old spiral delco shocks have the bottoms caved in,must have seen alot of gravel roads in Idaho on the fishing and camping trips it took the original owners on?all good now.next battle is trying to find short starter bolts.i bought a new starter but it must have a universal type nose cone on it,the original bolts from my original starter are too long?it requires bolts 3 5/8's long,i found 1 in my junk,went everywhere again looking for a bolt,even the Chevy dealer and nothing.tomorrow i have to come up with a bolt somewhere.

[mr.mud1]

not alot to report today.i walked out into the shop this morning and decided i had to stop and clean up.i had a mess going on,so a few hours of putting tools away and sweeping the floor,folding up my engine crane,filling a couple of trash bags,the place looked presentable and i went back to work.i made a few adjustments to my exhaust work from yesterday,got the starter bolted on with the brace on the front,ran the transmission cooler lines on the transmission end and into the clip mounted on the oil pan bolts,installed the torque convertor shield and the new modulator valve that just came,my rebuilt kit for the transmission had a Ford modulator valve in it??somebody not paying attention.tomorrow i thing think i'll run the wiring through the new wiring gutter for the firewall,possibly install the rad support and it's wiring.i think early next week i'll solder my new rad together,figure out what do with the A/C and start this fresh engine up.

[mr.mud1]

well today i spent hours,as usual,on a few things that should've taken minutes.i installed the new repro firewall wiring gutter,straightened out the firewall wiring and connected everything ,only to find the gutter so stiff,i had to fight with it to get the wire harness fed through it.3 screw holes in the gutter and 2 of them line up with the holes already in the firewall?so i either drill a hole in the firewall where the hole is in the plastic chinese crap or use the hole in the truck and have a hole in the gutter without a screw?small stuff maybe but it drives me bonkers.i installed the rad support and the old "Power Beam' headlights and then went to work on the rad support new repro piece of crap wiring gutter,it's too long,has about 6 screw holes,i don't think any of them were in the right place?i trimmed the ends so it looked like the worn out original gutter,cleaned up and retaped where it needed it,the front light harness and when i tryed to feed wires through it,impossibe,as hard as a bullet and when i pulled back the gutter to make a place for the wires,there's a lip on the inside that prvents the wires from going in at all?absolute garbage.i don't why anybody would make something wrong,or what anybody would sell it??i know i'm too fussy but it should be this difficult for something so simple?anyway tomorrow i'll take the rad support gutter back off,trim the lip on the inside that prevents the harness from fitting.once i get the lights wired,it'll be time to build a rad and start up this new motor.

[mr.mud1]

today i finally got my rad rebuilt,didn't drop it like the last one and cost myself a bunch of money.i love it when a plan comes together?i ran out of day today but tomorrow i'll finish cleaning it up,a coat of black paint then it'll be in the truck where it belongs.won't be long now,we'll hear this thing run again.

[CG]

I didnt think anyone would rebuild them anymore. Did you solder it back up, or did the shop?

[mr.mud1]

Originally Posted by CG

I didnt think anyone would rebuild them anymore. Did you solder it back up, or did the shop?

Hi,I did it today.i have built my own rads for quite a while.i buy rad cores from a rad shop that is now several hours from me since we moved.no big deal.i'd rather recore an original rad than have a new one,but it is a dying art.i had a guy at a rad shop that was closer,tell me I couldn't build a rad.i certainly can as long as I can buy cores.Spectra-Premium has a place in Quebec that still builds the old brass and copper cores.all good.

[Dieselwrencher]

Nice work! My little 4yo accidentally kicked over my nicest 4 core rad the other day for my K20 I'm building. I'm hoping it can be fixed but it may need re cored. I'm scared to think how much it's going to cost.

[mr.mud1]

Originally Posted by Dieselwrencher

Nice work! My little 4yo accidentally kicked over my nicest 4 core rad the other day for my K20 I'm building. I'm hoping it can be fixed but it may need re cored. I'm scared to think how much it's going to cost.

hi Ryan,well that sucks.i know how that feels.hopefully you can fix it or have it fixed?let me know how you make out.Greg

[mr.mud1]

worked all day but it doesn't appear that i made much progress,i went over the solder job on my rad from yesterday and touched up a few places i wasn't happy with,then spent some time cleaning all the flux from it,then a coat of paint.i'll let it dry for a few days so i can handle it.in the mean time i have some A/C parts to order in order to complete the A/C system.i worked or i should say wasted time,on that junk repro wiring gutter for the rad support that i bought.it's now where it belongs,in a trash bag cut into a dozen pieces.junk.i hope to make to the Charlotte Autofair in April,i'll bring one home along with some other parts i want.

[mr.mud1]

nothing to exciting to report today.i took the clutch assembly off my A/C compressor today,ordered a new bearing that will be here tomorrow so i can put it back together,spent several hours cleaning the original A/C lines and hoses,installed my newly painted fender emblems,and did some wiring around the rad support,headlights,horns and wired the alternator,waiting on the wellnuts and screws to install the voltage regulator and wiring.the rad will be going in the weekend,i'm giving lots of time for the paint to dry,i'll hook up some hoses and hopefully it'll be time to hear this thing run.

[a.c.ward]

Amazing job sir. Your work is inspiring. You'll be driving this thing in no time.