What did you do to your truck today? Chapter II

[BADAZ chevy guy]

Originally Posted by Econman

Installed the new(est) water pump, put on the fan with a new fan clutch and put 2 hole-plugs in the intake. Then I pulled out the grimy, old P/S pump and brackets - sprayed, scraped, sprayed, wire-wheeled and cleaned some more... Then primed, painted and bolted them on.. along with new motor mounts. Filled my oil filter with oil and screwed it on...

Attachment 1285350

Just curious. How much did you pay for the Vortec heads? Local junk yard here has them for $65.00 ea. But I'd have to have a machine shop rework them.

[Econman]

I pulled 8 heads at the junkyard and only one wasn't cracked. I bought it for $45, but had to completely rebuild it. I bought a new one also and had the guides machined down and screw-in studs put in. I've probably got $650-700 in the pair.

[ole dollor]

Originally Posted by jacob822

I bought it! 1972. changed plugs, wires, cap, rotor, points, and coil. so stoked! its my new driving project.

looks like a great place to start....welcome to the forum from Texas , a little spit and polish and your ready to go have fun.

[MONTE]

Trying to get this cleaned up and looking nice.
Working on the A/C and getting my seat changed to black.

[jmorri34]

Changed some parts on the top of the motor to shiny it up a little!

[Econman]

Well, so far today, I've installed a new spacer between the balancer and crank pulleys, mounted the right side motor mount, installed a new stainless heater hose fitting into the water pump, painted the short head bolts, cleaned up my carb and installed it with a new heat insulator gasket.

Later, I'll probably clean up the ram horns and brush Por-15 gray manifold coating on them.

[ole dollor]

well the west Texas heat ,sun, and not much rain has taken a toll on old dollor's wood bed ....time to do something different . started sanding last night and will try and finish the prep work today , decided to go with a spray or roll in bed liner and see if that will last longer, living outside is hard on pickups. pic's will come later...Don

[colgad]

I charged up the Vintage Air in the 67 today!

[texjake]

I figured it was time to repair the holes in the tailgate left by the PO. I heard that he backed up too far while attempting to hook to up his 5th wheel trailer & punched two identical holes in the tailgate. Believe it or not this was my first time to ever do any sheet metal repair in my lifetime. Not too bad for a rookie huh?

[texjake]

Originally Posted by ole dollor

well the west Texas heat ,sun, and not much rain has taken a toll on old dollor's wood bed ....time to do something different . started sanding last night and will try and finish the prep work today , decided to go with a spray or roll in bed liner and see if that will last longer, living outside is hard on pickups. pic's will come later...Don

I feel your pain Don! My wood bed is still in dire need of repair. It's just so expensive and labor intensive to do. I think I'm going to start on it when the 100 degree days start cooling off.

[Motoxrrar]

Originally Posted by texjake

I feel your pain Don! My wood bed is still in dire need of repair. It's just so expensive and labor intensive to do. I think I'm going to start on it when the 100 degree days start cooling off.

Why is it labor instensive?
And why expensive ?
Just some simple tongue and groove

[magwakeenercew2jh]

Originally Posted by Motoxrrar

Why is it labor instensive?
And why expensive ?
Just some simple tongue and groove

Probably because he's contemplating doing it right.

Not like my $50 surplus wood floor job.....Which actually seems to be holding its own...for now.

[Motoxrrar]

Originally Posted by magwakeenercew2jh

Probably because he's contemplating doing it right.

Not like my $50 surplus wood floor job.....Which actually seems to be holding its own...for now.

For 50$ that looks damn good, and different I like it! Great job

[ole dollor]

Originally Posted by texjake

I feel your pain Don! My wood bed is still in dire need of repair. It's just so expensive and labor intensive to do. I think I'm going to start on it when the 100 degree days start cooling off.

its not to bad if you build your own bed kit, that's what I did ,but the clear coat went first and the stain was looking real bad , ole dollor is not a show truck so its time to put roll in bed liner and hope the west Texas sun leaves it alone....hey your tail gate is looking good. looks like a pro. repair ..

[texjake]

Originally Posted by Motoxrrar

Why is it labor instensive?
And why expensive ?
Just some simple tongue and groove

Yea, it's labor intensive for me. I had a spinal cord injury 30 yrs ago due to a rodeo accident, so I don't get around like I use to, but I still get stuff done and can dang sure work on classic cars & trucks - it's my passion. For my situation I am going to remove the bed to make it easier to remove all the 72 bolts and not have to deal with the driveshaft & dual exhaust, etc.. being in the way. It can be expensive if I was going to buy a bed kit, I've seen some costing as much as $500 or more. But luckily my neighbor (that has a wood shop) has generously offered to cut & tongue/grove & stain the boards for me, so that's the route I am taking for my wood bed. And just buy the strips & bolts from classicparts.com.

[texjake]

Originally Posted by ole dollor

its not to bad if you build your own bed kit, that's what I did ,but the clear coat went first and the stain was looking real bad , ole dollor is not a show truck so its time to put roll in bed liner and hope the west Texas sun leaves it alone....hey your tail gate is looking good. looks like a pro. repair ..

Thanks Don! Hopefully soon it will be headed to the paint booth once I get the wood bed done.

[texjake]

Originally Posted by magwakeenercew2jh

Probably because he's contemplating doing it right.

Not like my $50 surplus wood floor job.....Which actually seems to be holding its own...for now.

Wow! That looks nice! Very different & I like that, something you don't see everyday. I'm not sure a wood bed like that would survive out in the extreme weather conditions here. Since mine is parked out the elements 24/7, its a go truck - not a show truck.

[UNEASYRIDER]

Put my cab paint dividers on

[magwakeenercew2jh]

Originally Posted by texjake

Wow! That looks nice! Very different & I like that, something you don't see everyday.
I'm not sure a wood bed like that would survive out in the extreme weather conditions here.
Since mine is parked out the elements 24/7, its a go truck - not a show truck.

Yeah. I hear ya.

It has been around 105 or so for a couple of weeks up here by Yosemite. It only gets cold....like around 20 or so for any kind of "stretch"
a couple of times a winter. We get different amounts of snow. But sometimes, we get snow in April...Here's some light stuff:

RAT has to live outside 24/7, too. And, she gets used like a truck. Maybe not as heavily as some....Sits at a few shows as a "driver" against
some real pretty $$$ up show-rides. I'm not there to win, though. Just to jawbone.

But, I have to admit that when I put something in the bed, either the mats or a tarp go down. I have to figure out some sliders for this floor.
So far, that hasn't kept me from using her like a truck. And, oh, I have to admit that RAT has a cover on her. And during the rain/snow months
has a water-tight snap on rails tonneau.

[texjake]

Originally Posted by magwakeenercew2jh

Yeah. I hear ya.

It has been around 105 or so for a couple of weeks up here by Yosemite. It only gets cold....like around 20 or so for any kind of "stretch"
a couple of times a winter. We get different amounts of snow. But sometimes, we get snow in April...Here's some light stuff:

RAT has to live outside 24/7, too. And, she gets used like a truck. Maybe not as heavily as some....Sits at a few shows as a "driver" against
some real pretty $$$ up show-rides. I'm not there to win, though. Just to jawbone.

But, I have to admit that when I put something in the bed, either the mats or a tarp go down. I have to figure out some sliders for this floor.
So far, that hasn't kept me from using her like a truck. And, oh, I have to admit that RAT has a cover on her. And during the rain/snow months
has a water-tight snap on rails tonneau.

Did yours come with a wood bed floor or did you put down that wood floor on top of a steel bed floor? It seems that the floor is holding up nicely & keeping it covered really helps a lot too.

[magwakeenercew2jh]

Originally Posted by texjake

Did yours come with a wood bed floor or did you put down that wood floor on top of a steel bed floor? It seems that the floor is holding up nicely & keeping it covered really helps a lot too.

The bed's steel.

Two sheet metal screws thru the two last pieces of wood at the far right,
and five screws thru each of the two aluminum strips at the front and rear
of the bed.

It's just t and g (real wood) flooring we had left over from the house
(I actually made sure they left an extra box).

The whole floor comes out in less than five minutes. I numbered them
and put an arrow to the front on each piece. If I need to (only one time so far),
I can put it back in under fifteen minutes.

It's not for everyone. But I had the stuff.
And, for about fifty bucks.......

[kneesnthebreeze]

pretty much sums it up

[MercRising]

Oh god that funny^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Anyway, I painted my cab white and pulled the front bumper to do the same.

[Econman]

Finally got my exhaust manifolds stripped/cleaned and painted with Por-15 factory gray manifold paint.

[texasld]

Originally Posted by kneesnthebreeze

pretty much sums it up

So very well said!

More clean, prep, paint/coat..repeat. But it's looking better.

Got the front-end minus the sway bar and gear box done. I need to take the sway bar to the blaster. Whats the best method of cleaning the gear box before I do a rebuild on it?

Here are some more pictures. I really am liking how the red and black is turning out. My HF powder coat system is working out alright.





Please excuse my fat finger in that last shot.