Crusty Rusty Leaky Squeaky 67 Step

[Low Elco]

Glad it came around for you! To paraphrase Sally Field as Frog- " Yes, have a beer, it seems to help."

[jlsanborn]

Long time, no see! Radiator install is another home run for you Vic. The bead roller is sooo you, nice work! I think your two-tone scheme is great too. I knew you'd paint it by the way

[Vic1947]

Originally Posted by jlsanborn

Long time, no see! Radiator install is another home run for you Vic. The bead roller is sooo you, nice work! I think your two-tone scheme is great too. I knew you'd paint it by the way

Thanks, John. I've been hit and miss posting recently, so catching up should be easy.

The body work is slowly coming along. Every time I think I'm down to a few remaining items, I uncover something else. The doors are finally ready to block and the gaps have been fine tuned a little. I readjusted the doors one last time and drilled locating holes in all the hinges to make it easier to get close when installing them after paint. Speaking of paint... I still haven't got a commitment from the shop I've been begging to do the work. Going to stop in there tomorrow and make one last attempt. If it doesn't work out, there's a place in Eudora, KS about 50 miles from me that has a downdraft spray booth they rent out. They also have work space to rent while you're in progress. It's been a long time, but I can do it myself under the right conditions. (Good lighting and lots of beer!)

The seats are in as well as the throttle pedal. The DBW pedal that came with the C&C kit is out of a Cadillac. It's not as sporty as the Corvette pedal, but I was too cheap to source another. I had to modify the mounting bracket and build an adapter, but it's in and has full travel without contacting the floor or the tunnel. I'll have the upholstery guys make a leather boot to hide the ugly.

[Elliot949]

The truck is looking Awesome Vic... I love the little touches you are doing with it.. That is what sets truck/cars apart and let them stand out...

Mine is in the garage collecting dust...

Dan

[Low Elco]

If you wind up going the Eudora route, let me know, I'm in to help.

[NewType72]

Great progress Vic, very tidy work on the radiator tubing can't wait to see the finished products

[swamp rat]

Was trying to see but the pic's don't show enough detail, on the cab door opening did you fill in the overlap spot weld seam in the door jamb with bondo and fine tune the door gap with the same?

[Vic1947]

Originally Posted by Elliot949

The truck is looking Awesome Vic... I love the little touches you are doing with it.. That is what sets truck/cars apart and let them stand out...

Mine is in the garage collecting dust...

Dan

Thanks, Dan. It's that time of year to be blowing the dust off them. I know you were sorting a lot of stuff out last fall, but hopefully you've reached the end of that.

Originally Posted by Low Elco

If you wind up going the Eudora route, let me know, I'm in to help.

Thanks for the offer, Chip! I went to see my paint guy today and he not only committed to do the job, he came by the house this afternoon to get a look at what he's faced with. We may be ready to start moving parts by the weekend.

Originally Posted by NewType72

Great progress Vic, very tidy work on the radiator tubing can't wait to see the finished products

Thanks, Dylan.

Originally Posted by swamp rat

Was trying to see but the pic's don't show enough detail, on the cab door opening did you fill in the overlap spot weld seam in the door jamb with bondo and fine tune the door gap with the same?

Didn't really have to fill it, Mike. Just brought the cab side edge forward a little bit. The inside edge of the spot weld seam looks stock where it lays against the jamb, but all the spot welds are smooth now. I didn't go for the really tight gaps like you see on the show vehicles. I left them wide enough that if I hit a bad bump, there won't be chipped paint on the door edge.

The cab is off the frame for the last time. I have a few places to repair and then it gets one last coat of 2K primer. The bed and front clip are 99% done and the doors need to be blocked and final primed.

They will do all the final blocking and repair any places I may have missed or done a substandard job... which I'm apt to do from time to time. It's great to have someone young with good eyes going over everything. I've abandoned the two tone paint job in the interest of speeding up the process. I have what I think is a nice color picked out, but will let the final pictures tell the story...

[Elliot949]

I am fighting a Steering issue and just can't get it figured out.... Once the new house is done then I will move back to the truck...

It is too bad I am tied up right now or I would love to paint this for you...

[Low Elco]

Good to hear! As always, the truck, trailer and bed cart Stand ready to assist!

[Vic1947]

Originally Posted by Elliot949

I am fighting a Steering issue and just can't get it figured out.... Once the new house is done then I will move back to the truck...

It is too bad I am tied up right now or I would love to paint this for you...

Thanks, Dan, I appreciate the sentiment! Afraid I'm not much good with carpenter tools, so you wouldn't want me down there lending a hand to free up any of your time.

Originally Posted by Low Elco

Good to hear! As always, the truck, trailer and bed cart Stand ready to assist!

Hey Chip, thanks again. I'll let you know if I get in a bind for transport.

The shots below mark an important milestone. The bodywork is complete and all parts have several coats of 2K primer ready for final blocking. I confess that I believed this moment would arrive two months ago. It was not to be, so I'll just have to adjust my schedule. Years ago I could burn the candle at both ends and crank out a project like this in a few months. Those were the days!

Tomorrow I need to haul the core support, hinges and hood latch to Eagle Stripping to be prepped for powder coating. The chassis is covered with dust from one end to the other and I need to clean it up then start working a rudimentary punch list. Need to reassemble the exhaust, track down an air leak, finalize the brake plumbing, layout the underbody wiring and install the electric e-brake. More to come...

[Xeen]

From Mild to Wild: Victor edition.

[sduckworth13]

You can give me a call too Vic if you need a hand.

[Vic1947]

Some progress to report. This past Tuesday I loaded up the cab and doors and delivered them to the paint shop. Loading was a major thrash as I was unable to get the trailer I wanted and had to deal with a narrow entry plus a beat-to-death, expanded metal ramp. Took 1.5 hours to get the cab positioned and boomed down. But it made the trip without so much as moving a hair.

When I got to the shop, the main receiving area was clean and empty. Backed the trailer in and there were four other guys there to lend a hand with unloading. They picked up the cab and lifted it over the "wings" at the back of the trailer and set it on a cart with rollers. I was super relieved to have the parts delivered safe and sound.

I've been working on the chassis and drivetrain to finish up some loose ends. I plugged in the kit wiring harness and everything matched up more or less. The evap solenoid had no corresponding plug built into the harness but I'd already been advised it's not needed. So I removed the solenoid and the plastic hose and set them aside. An online post mentioned that removing the solenoid may cause the MIL (malfunction indicator light) to light up and set a code for a fuel system problem. I'm hoping that won't be the case with the programming on Chevrolet's aftermarket setup. While I was at it, I removed the short PCV hose. I ordered Elite Engineering's catch can setup to replace the stock hose. All the horror storied about the amount of oil the stock "PCV" allows into the intake convinced me to go that route.

As you can see, the wiring is a bundle of snakes. I'm probably going to mount both the ECU and the TCU inside the cab, so I'll have to cut an access panel into the transmission hump. The console will cover the excess wiring and the boxes. That only leaves the fuse/relay panel to be mounted in the engine bay. I'm not thrilled about that, but to mount the box inside would mean cutting an access hole as big as Mount Rushmore.

I decided on the mounting location for the E-Stopp electric parking brake. I'll route the cable thru two pulleys, one on the frame and the other on the trans crossmember. Other than that, not much happening. The twins are here from Houston, so Ryan and I did a walkabout at Power Tour yesterday. '67-'72 Chevy trucks were well represented with several having LS transplants. I got away without the camera, so I have no photos to share. Lots of empty spaces in the afternoon. Not sure if there were more cars in the morning and a bunch of them left due to the heat. Or maybe they just didn't have as many cars. We drove right in, parked in the lot next to all the action and were out of there with tee shirts in less than three hours.

[mcbassin]

Very nice progress Vic! Soon we shall see some color on this puppy.

[snipescastle2]

Vic,
Would installing a military "Cannon plug" be an alternative to installing your tcu?
The only draw back to doing that would mean cutting the harness and Crimping/soldering all the pins. Here's a sample picture...there are male and female halfs

Let me know I can get you one or more if you like, sure beats cutting holes!!! At least it would only be one small hole....
Have a good one!
Ben

[Vic1947]

Originally Posted by mcbassin

Very nice progress Vic! Soon we shall see some color on this puppy.

Thanks, Mike. I'm hoping by the end of the week. No word yet, just hoping.

Originally Posted by snipescastle2

Vic,
Would installing a military "Cannon plug" be an alternative to installing your tcu?
The only draw back to doing that would mean cutting the harness and Crimping/soldering all the pins. Here's a sample picture...there are male and female halfs

Let me know I can get you one or more if you like, sure beats cutting holes!!! At least it would only be one small hole....
Have a good one!
Ben

Thanks, Ben. Bulkhead connectors would simplify things for sure. However, there's a crap ton of wires and you'd have to crimp and/or solder both ends of the cuts. The ECU alone has three large plugs, two with 15 wires each and one with 48 for a total of 78 wires. Then there's the TCU and the wire bundles for the fuse/relay box, accelerator pedal, diagnostic terminal and feeds for oil pressure, tach and vehicle speed. Not sure I'd be able to keep it all straight and have an error free install. I'll mull it over and see what might make sense. For small wires in a confined space, solder is probably out. But there are a lot of companies that offer weatherproof crimp connectors. What might work as a compromise is to just do the relay/fuse box so I could mount it inside without cutting a huge hole in the floorpan.

[snipescastle2]

I believe two of these cannon plugs would cover everything, the same tool you would use for weather pak connectors would be needed to crimp the pins, and
the pins are numbered as well. Let me know if you might consider this, we have them always on hand.
Ben

[Vic1947]

The E-Stopp is in it's permanent location with brackets painted and bolted in. I got the 2" pulleys the other day and started work on the cable layout. I made a little adapter to swage to the cable and thread onto the rod that was attached to the e-brake. You can imagine my surprise when the adapter didn't screw on past the first few threads. Turns out the rod on the E-Stopp is M6x1.0 threads and I made the adapter 1/4-28. Fortunately, the cavity was deep enough I could run the metric tap in and cut new threads. It fits fine now, but I really hate it when you have to check every last fastener on products sold by US companies.

The steering column is back together. Several of the male terminals on the turn signal cancelling cam were toast from when I disassembled the column. Searched high and low for a source for them but was only able to find "kits" that included the female terminals and the housings. Instead of paying $30 and throwing away 75% of the parts, I scrounged an 8 pin Deutsch DTM connector out of my electrical box. It was leftover from the Ford build. So the flat GM connector has been superseded.

The Elite Engineering PCV catch can arrived this week also. The mounting bracket was for a Camaro w/LS3. Could not find any mounting location that would work, so I machined my own bracket. It's out of the way and accessible from below to empty the can if needed.

The body shop called on Friday and said the blocking was nearly complete on the cab and doors. He had some questions about the areas that would be high gloss versus low gloss. We agreed that he'd do some spray out cards with several finishes. He'll call me when he has something for me to review. Hope the color starts going on this week.

[Elliot949]

As always Vic... your work amazes me...

[Xeen]

Vic you are a wizard you make it look so easy.

[Vic1947]

Originally Posted by Elliot949

As always Vic... your work amazes me...

Originally Posted by Xeen

Vic you are a wizard you make it look so easy.

Thanks guys! I finally got the E-Stopp electric parking brake mounted and operational. I wasn't sure if my homemade stainless ferrules would hold up, but they did just fine. The only swaging tool I have is for staking lugs on copper wire. I set it up in the press and it crimped the ferrules without even grunting. Once the cables were cut to the length I needed, I assembled it all for a test run. I posted a video on You Tube. It only has to pull the cable about an inch for it to set the rear parking brakes nice and firm. Should be able to pass safety inspection now.

[Elliot949]

Originally Posted by Vic1947

Thanks guys! I finally got the E-Stopp electric parking brake mounted and operational. I wasn't sure if my homemade stainless ferrules would hold up, but they did just fine. The only swaging tool I have is for staking lugs on copper wire. I set it up in the press and it crimped the ferrules without even grunting. Once the cables were cut to the length I needed, I assembled it all for a test run. I posted a video on You Tube. It only has to pull the cable about an inch for it to set the rear parking brakes nice and firm. Should be able to pass safety inspection now.

I have that unit to install on Papa J... just need time to work it out...

[Xeen]

Nice work on the ESTOPP brake installation Vic. This is the fanciest e-brake I have ever seen, I didn't even know such a thing existed. I enjoyed your creative solutions for routing problems during installation.

[mcbassin]

Originally Posted by Xeen

Nice work on the ESTOPP brake installation Vic. This is the fanciest e-brake I have ever seen, I didn't even know such a thing existed. I enjoyed your creative solutions for routing problems during installation.

X2

I never heard of one either. Nice work as always Vic