Bad night.

[XLCOR_65]

I tell ya what...sometimes it's like there is a little gremlin that's out to make your life more difficult than it has to be. lol

Just got done doing a quick refurb of my gauge cluster (prior owner had painted it all red...just didn't look right, so I put it all back to black and did little things like touch up the needles and clean the lens).

Got the cluster all in, decided to go for a drive and admire the better looking cluster. A few minutes after I started driving, I saw a huge plume of smoke and smelled hot wires. I shut it down, popped the hood and frantically started pulling the hot wires with my bare hands trying to get everything to stop smoking. Low and behold, the stupid side terminals on the battery had rubbed through the protective plastic cover and against a bolt in the battery tray, causing the positive to ground out against the body. Got the truck home, decided to just go in and mess with it later. I wish batteries today didn't have those dumb side terminals. I asked the guys at O'Reilly's when I bought this battery and they claimed those are the only ones they can get now. I don't know if I believe that. Either way, it's my fault for not coming up with a better way to secure or prevent that from happening, so I will just deal with it.

I certainly hope that only the engine harness wiring got fried and I can just fix those three wires. If it got into the firewall and touched the fuse block, I am SOL because I just don't have the green for a new factory style harness yet. I will peer around tomorrow night and see what I find. If it is just the engine harness, I am DEFINITELY installing a couple fusible links for safety.

In other news, the cluster really did look awesome...plus, I painted the wood in the bed black again over the weekend, found an original bench seat, got a spare grille, overload springs, and painted the bumper and current grille white.....so that's something positive, right?

[NEWFISHER]

No pic's? Bummer about the battery. I would call the store manager and share what happened after their employee sold you the WRONG battery. Then ask for their insurance information.

[XLCOR_65]

No pics yet. I was so angry and bummed I just said forget it. I might post some tomorrow once I assess the damage. Here is a not so good pic of the grille and bumper though. I think the white looks 10 times better than it did black, plus, that's what it was originally, so it kinda has to be that way for me. (I'm going to do the surround around the grille back to white soon)

And that is exactly what I was planning on doing tomorrow during my lunch break. I doubt it will get me anywhere, but the worst they can say is "tough luck", to which I will just reply, "thanks, I'm sure Auto Zone wants my business." haha.

[BigDan3131]

That's bs on the batteries, you can get them from NAPA with top posts.

[XLCOR_65]

Originally Posted by BigDan3131

That's bs on the batteries, you can get them from NAPA with top posts.

I agree, it's total BS. This battery had top posts, but also had the side posts as well. I said that I didn't want my battery to have those and they said that was all they carry and all I would likely find. The bad part is, the way the battery was arranged, I had to run it with the side posts facing the battery tray so my battery cables would reach the top posts properly.

I did take preventative measures and glued on those plastic covers that go in those side terminals and even put a piece of cardboard between the battery and tray, but I guess the vibration over time was enough to wear through.

I don't think we have a NAPA out here anymore, so I am going to try O'Reilly's today and if I don't get some sort of satisfaction, I am just going to get a battery from the Battery Outfitters place. I am sure they have the correct type.

[1963c-10]

I got my top post battery from O'Reillys. I can get you a part number if you want.

[XLCOR_65]

Originally Posted by 1963c-10

I got my top post battery from O'Reillys. I can get you a part number if you want.

Man, that would be GREAT. Thank you

[TJ's Chevy]

I've had that happen..not in the same way....for me it was a 45,000 volt coil that grounded on my hand....kinda sent me flying outta the engine compartment!!! My battery had top and side terminals on it...The positive terminal has a screw on cap that I use to prevent shorts...cause like yours my battery isn't bolted down either. T.J.

[XLCOR_65]

Got it all fixed and she's up and running again. Got a new battery and I lucked out and only had to replace one wire...the yellow one from the solenoid to the coil. I went ahead and inspected all the other wires in the engine harness, cleaned things up, re-wrapped it, and put everything back in its proper place. Fired right up!

Glad I was able to get it up and running just in time to head to the salvage yard tomorrow morning and hunt for parts. Hoping to find some steel rims.

[glos55]

Originally Posted by XLCOR_65

Got it all fixed and she's up and running again. Got a new battery and I lucked out and only had to replace one wire...the yellow one from the solenoid to the coil. I went ahead and inspected all the other wires in the engine harness, cleaned things up, re-wrapped it, and put everything back in its proper place. Fired right up!

Glad I was able to get it up and running just in time to head to the salvage yard tomorrow morning and hunt for parts. Hoping to find some steel rims.

Nice recovery!! Glad it worked out! I like the white grille and bumper too! The white surround will add even more!

[dougf]

Glad it worked out for you! How did the hunt for rims go? Im looking for some too but dont have the time during the week because of work to go searching.

[XLCOR_65]

Originally Posted by dougf

Glad it worked out for you! How did the hunt for rims go? Im looking for some too but dont have the time during the week because of work to go searching.

Didn't go well at all. Found a couple rims on a 65, but the lip was completely rotted through on both of them (because they had been partially buried in the ground for who knows how long). But it was a great day of driving around in the truck and having fun, so it wasn't a total loss.

It's hard to believe that there aren't any 6 lug steel wheels lying around anymore, but I guess back in the day nobody wanted steel wheels and they just pitched em.....and all the smart guys just hoarded all of em! haha

[jdl71]

I did a lot of looking and even bought a parts truck to get steel wheels. Like you, I thought they would be everywhere, and they probably were until I started wanting some. Fortunately I've now become a "smart guy" and started hoarding them. Lol

[Bears63]

Glad you got that beauty up and going again, and you got hosed on that battery to begin with. My local O'Reilly's has top post batteries all over the place. Also, for those with flopping batteries, at least get a bungie cord on them for the love of all that is holy!

Now, you all looking for rims, what are you looking for? More eyes looking and all....

[dougf]

I know its an old thread, but for the two in Missouri, good luck! I just left and am at Fort Campbell now, but it literally took me close to two years to find steel lug wheels! I ended up finding some on rolla net instead of craigslist. Had to drive all the way to steelville to pick them up! Hope you have/had better luck than me!

[XLCOR_65]

Lol, yeah, I was curious why this thread popped back up.

I was actually fortunate enough to get the factory steel wheels from another board member along with some other items I was looking for, such as a 292 and SM420. (Both of which are still in waiting to go in the truck, but they are on the list!)

My avatar shows the wheels on the truck along with the caps that I bought and did a quick restoration on. Love it!

[jdl71]

Originally Posted by XLCOR_65

Lol, yeah, I was curious why this thread popped back up.

I was actually fortunate enough to get the factory steel wheels from another board member along with some other items I was looking for, such as a 292 and SM420. (Both of which are still in waiting to go in the truck, but they are on the list!)

My avatar shows the wheels on the truck along with the caps that I bought and did a quick restoration on. Love it!

That was my fault. I was searching for something (don't remember exactly what) and this was one of the threads. Naturally I got distracted and read the whole thing then forgot to look at the date before posting.

[jdl71]

Originally Posted by dougf

I know its an old thread, but for the two in Missouri, good luck! I just left and am at Fort Campbell now, but it literally took me close to two years to find steel lug wheels! I ended up finding some on rolla net instead of craigslist. Had to drive all the way to steelville to pick them up! Hope you have/had better luck than me!

I've managed to find enough for myself and have about a dozen extra. I actually bought 2 parts trucks and kept the wheels plus I found a few loose ones. Finding stock steel painted hubcaps is just about as hard if not harder too.

[XLCOR_65]

Originally Posted by jdl71

That was my fault. I was searching for something (don't remember exactly what) and this was one of the threads. Naturally I got distracted and read the whole thing then forgot to look at the date before posting.

Ah, nah, there's no fault. I do that all the time. I hope whatever you were searching for was found in this thread though! And yeah, steel wheels and original hubcaps are so hard to find. I consider myself very lucky to have found both in a relatively short time.