project Black Betty (bam-A-lam)

[Delmo]

Beautiful truck, I was so happy to scroll down and see that you didn't cut it up like some of us fools. LOL. Great job man.

[Captainfab]

That 2 groove cast iron pulley bolts on top of the single groove stamped steel pulley. Then I believe the PS belt goes on the cast iron pulley groove closest to the engine.

Originally Posted by likaroc13

well, no pics of the progress since i forgot the camera , but i was back home over Mother's Day weekend & got some painting done...i painted the spindles, calipers, control arm shafts, sway bar, & such...also got my P/S conversion bracket & steering coupler from Captainfab...also got a new P/S gear box from Advance Auto....only thing i need now is the pressure line/hose & return line/hose...does anyone have suggestions where to get these? from researching, i noticed some people having issues with fitment when purchasing from certain places

also, i purchased a set of factory pulleys and P/S pump & brackets from a forum member...he used the setup on his '70...everything should be correct, as the pulleys are for SBC w/ short WP....however, my dad said the double groove crank pulley isn't aligning with the others...any ideas? here's the setup i have (minus alt. brackets):

[likaroc13]

Originally Posted by Delmo

Beautiful truck, I was so happy to scroll down and see that you didn't cut it up like some of us fools. LOL. Great job man.

thanks Delmo...it took a lot of hard thinking, but i knew i wanted it original for my wedding pics...then i decided it would be cool to have one mostly original considering how many customs there are...if i didn't have the chopped cab to do a custom build with in the future, i'd probably have gone with a more customized route with this one

Originally Posted by Captainfab

That 2 groove cast iron pulley bolts on top of the single groove stamped steel pulley. Then I believe the PS belt goes on the cast iron pulley groove closest to the engine.

thanks Captain, i'll see if my dad tried that

[likaroc13]

no pics, but we got the power steering gear box mocked up via Captainfab parts, & we cut the steering shaft...P/S pump is mounted...trying to decide if i want to use the polished Edelbrock water pump or sell it & buy/paint a more original looking one...any thoughts/suggestions?

slowly but surely getting it back drivable...gonna be nice to have discs & power steering...but it's hard to do anything when i'm in SC and the truck is in MS...just glad my dad is able to tinker with it here and there...and it's inside his shop out of the elements, which is nice too

[66K10383]

I havent read every post to see if this was mentioned, but what the hell is up with the 65 chevy badges on a claimed 66.on top of that theyr on the wrong side of the bodyline. other then that a very beautiful truck but all i could see were those screwed up badges.

[jrblanke]

I enjoyed reading through your build thread. I like how you kept the truck mostly stock!

Looking forward to seeing some updated pictures!

James

[likaroc13]

Originally Posted by 66K10383

I havent read every post to see if this was mentioned, but what the hell is up with the 65 chevy badges on a claimed 66.on top of that theyr on the wrong side of the bodyline. other then that a very beautiful truck but all i could see were those screwed up badges.

thanks, yeah the '65 badges were installed before I acquired the truck...nobody knows the difference except the '60-66 gurus, lol...that's not at the top of the priority list right now, so i just left them alone...eventually i will probably get some '66 emblems for the fenders

[66K10383]

I apologize if I sounded rude in my previous post, I was under the impression it was done purposely.

Other then that, Great truck. How hard was it to get the front end apart. Ive got a 65 Chevy that is caked with grease on the A arms and crossmember. I pulled the front end(body wise) off to clean it all and I kind of got defeated at the moment. I tried using Foamy Engine Bright with no success. any tips?

Thanks

[likaroc13]

Originally Posted by 66K10383

I apologize if I sounded rude in my previous post, I was under the impression it was done purposely.

Other then that, Great truck. How hard was it to get the front end apart. Ive got a 65 Chevy that is caked with grease on the A arms and crossmember. I pulled the front end(body wise) off to clean it all and I kind of got defeated at the moment. I tried using Foamy Engine Bright with no success. any tips?

Thanks

no harm i'm usually picky about little things like that too...i'm not sure if they meant to do it that way or not

as for the front end, it would have been ideal to degrease & pressure wash...however, the truck was already apart in dad's shop so i couldn't do that...i just layed down a tarp to catch the crud, & then i sprayed it down with degreaser...after that i spent lots of time with a metal scraper...then i used the air tools with wire brushes to do the rest...i spent quite a few hours under there (not all at once) squirming around, lol...luckily i'm a skinny guy, haha....it would've been nice to remove the whole crossmember & blast it, but that would be more involved...but we did have the A-arms & spindles blasted....i'm honestly a perfectionist, so it bothers me that i can't just pull the whole truck apart and clean/paint everything...maybe one day it will get that kinda treatment, but i'm trying to just enjoy it for now

[198plus]

That is a very, very nice truck !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[likaroc13]

Originally Posted by 198plus

That is a very, very nice truck !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

thanks Ronnie...it looks great in pics but definitely has its share of flaws up close...i can't complain too much though because i've seen some pretty rough ones...maybe one day it can be as slick as yours is turning out to be

[markeb01]

I've always admired your truck. I'm really glad you decided to keep the appearance more original. There are so many dropped and modified that an original looking example has become special and unique. Can't wait to see it back on the road.

As for the water pump, I'd use it if you're going to put any other chrome or aluminum accessories on the engine, or if it actually provides superior cooling. If the rest of the engine is dead stock a shiny water pump doesn't really offer that much bling once the pulleys are in place.

[likaroc13]

Originally Posted by markeb01

I've always admired your truck. I'm really glad you decided to keep the appearance more original. There are so many dropped and modified that an original looking example has become special and unique. Can't wait to see it back on the road.

As for the water pump, I'd use it if you're going to put any other chrome or aluminum accessories on the engine, or if it actually provides superior cooling. If the rest of the engine is dead stock a shiny water pump doesn't really offer that much bling once the pulleys are in place.

thanks Mark, i appreciate the comments...my dad will ask me from time to time, "i don't see why you don't put a set of custom wheels on it," lol...i guess he just has the custom bug too...its funny considering he's been owning these trucks since the '70s...but the way I see it, i can have the best of both worlds...this can be my "original" truck, and i have a rust free chopped cab/front clip that has been sitting since the early '90s, waiting patiently for its turn

as for the water pump, there are some engine pics on the first page...it does have polished aluminum valve covers, intake, & timing cover...and i have a new chrome air cleaner to be installed....but i found the exact Edelbrock w/p, except in natural finish, which i think would be easier to keep clean...that's one thing that bothers me about the polished intake manifold & valve covers...i haven't even attempted to polish them up, since i may eventually change them anyway

[markeb01]

I really enjoy the looks of polished aluminum on an engine, but I’m missing the enthusiasm gene needed to deal with the maintenance. I’ve always liked the performance image of natural aluminum, but since it stains so badly I started spray painting my aluminum parts with Krylon #1403 Dull Aluminum back in the early 80’s. It closes up the pores and they stay nice for years with little more than soap and water.

[likaroc13]

Originally Posted by markeb01

I really enjoy the looks of polished aluminum on an engine, but I’m missing the enthusiasm gene needed to deal with the maintenance. I’ve always liked the performance image of natural aluminum, but since it stains so badly I started spray painting my aluminum parts with Krylon #1403 Dull Aluminum back in the early 80’s. It closes up the pores and they stay nice for years with little more than soap and water.

nice, thanks for the tip!...i forgot to mention that i scored an Edelbrock Performer intake from a fellow trucker of the Louisiana Classic Truck Club...he blasted it & will be clear powdercoating...i'm hoping it turns out nice enough for me to switch it out with the polished intake...i've been debating whether to clear powdercoat this polished water pump...that's likely what i'll do if I don't get the natural finish one

[66K10383]

Look what I did one day, I just started tearing off all the smashed body panels and scraping at rust. I never really thought about what I was doing untill it got to be evening time, then I took a step back and looked at what I just did.
I just tore apart my moms truck!What was I thinking? I can hardly even afford gasoline.

The floor board had 2inches of bondo on it
nasty stuff

the only money I put into it was for a fairly straight bed.(way better then what was on it)
picked it up for 30 bucks

http://www.flickr.com/photos/59058330@N03/5987896409/

[likaroc13]

not much, but it's a little progress...hard to do anything when i'm living 10 hrs. out of state...by the time dad gets off work, i know he doesn't really wanna mess with it...hard to believe it's been almost a year since I've driven it....the P/S pump is mounted along with new pulleys...dad sprayed some paint on the rusty water pump, but i'm probably gonna replace it anyway while we're in there...also got the P/S gear box mocked up using CaptainFab's mounting plate and coupler (nice stuff)....dad has a friend (mechanic) that's supposed to help with A-arm assembly....aside from needing to drill some holes for the sway bar, i think most of the other stuff is waiting for reassembly

[LostMy65]

likaroc, your pictures are missing.

[likaroc13]

Originally Posted by LostMy65

likaroc, your pictures are missing.

yeah, pics got rearranged on Photobucket...I just started a new build thread last week & asked to have this one removed...link to the new thread below:

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=542002