Grizz's Redneck Express 1966 Chevy Short Fleetside RESTO-GO!

[Ta2Don]

Originally Posted by Grizz1963

Every time I drive my truk it leaves a HUGE SMILE on my face.

The cost of fueling it up, disappears with the sound of that V8 rolling down the road.

Looking forward to the new year and getting the body and paint sorted.

What's the price of fuel currently???

Here we bottomed out at $2.86 a gallon, slowly creeping back up, today is $2.99

Cheers Mate!

[Grizz1963]

Well, as my buddy Martin is not as much of a reporter as I am, I think this will fit into my thread as he will ultimately be involved in my trucks bodywork as an advisor and trouble shooter (trouble maker)

He has been looking for a V8 engine to go into his truck for quite some time.

Martin's truck is going to be a lot of show and less go as he does not need a 400BHP monster.

He found a seller on Rods n Sods recently who was selling a 307ci motor with auto box for sensible money and decided to drive the 180 miles there to go look at the motor and see it all in the 57 Chevy truck it is in at the moment. The motor and box were from a Chevy Caprice wagon Roger broke a few years ago.

So on Saturday morning, armed with some wood, hammer, nails, tie down straps, overalls, gloves and a bag full of food and coffee,with my trail bike trailer behind his dog walking Mondeo ST estate we set off at 05.40 to drive up to Derbyshire......Heated seats were a bonus.

Stopped after 2 hrs for the loo....




We got to the sellers home at exactly 09.00 and found a real petrol head and his wife living there.

Roger has had some Street Machine featured cars, including a mad Orange SAAB years ago, tubbed and madly modded, which lives in Germany now. He still has a bunch of varied Saab's and is a keen old skool Scooterist with a bunch of stunning Lambretta scooters as well as some projects that are in process.

First to meet us was this Saab pickup, made from a Saab 7 seater estate that he saved years ago and uses as a general runnabout.



Front view.



Chopper in process.



Beauty.





Saab with Ford V4 power. Another one of his winners.

The guy really does love his toys to look good.



And another Saab in process, that will end up like all his other spotless examples...... Leadsled with 3500cc Rover V8 with a blower on top.

Should make for an interesting car.



Having seen and heard to motor run and move under its own power, Martin agreed to buy it.

The deal was good for Martin with the engine and gearbox being unbolted from the truck and sold as it was with all ancillaries including power steering pump etc.

Roger also threw in a pair of Kenlowe fans, a massive radiator with integrated oil cooler, a prop shaft and other bits for the build.

One of the biggest scores of the day was a pair of block hugger headers that Roger gave to Martin along with the motor they were fitted to.

Having all the bits n pieces from its original Smog control still on the carburetor etc, Roger had built from heavily layered glassfibre a nice under bonnet scoop to cover all the unsightly bits and pieces.

From the time we landed Martin could not keep his eyes or hands off this piece that bolts down over everything..... in the end he convinced Roger to sell it to him for £75.00 which I thought was a great price as you could not make it for that money.

Rogers truck.



Clean bay before removing the motor and box, and I have to say, not a mark on any of the paint after all was done and removed.






Time for a change of Face.....



Martin trying so hard not to buy the scoop.....



Ready to rock n roll....

Strapped down, one of the hooks still managed to make a bid for freedom by the time we filled the car a couple of miles later.




The rest of the road trip was filled with talk, driving and eating all the food we had brought alon.

Got to Martins place, moved the truck out the way, unhooked the trailer and stashed it behind the truck.

The engine will go into the garage once he moves his V-Rod to his mums garage and makes space to store the engine till he is ready to fit it.



That's all for now.

Hopefully Martin will pull finger and start his own build thread some time.

[bj383ss]

Awesome score for $75. The dress up parts are worth that much. And even though the 307 is no hot rod it is a real good motor. Much better that the 305 that replaced it.

Bret

[mjh1965]

I will have to start my own thread Rian but I would rather spend more time on the truck and less on the internet ( only joking ) as you always find time to do great threads and come and help me a true friend thanks martin

[Ta2Don]

Originally Posted by mjh1965

I will have to start my own thread Rian but I would rather spend more time on the truck and less on the internet ( only joking ) as you always find time to do great threads and come and help me a true friend thanks martin

Ready for your thread Martin…
Cheers from the Colonies!

[Grizz1963]

Originally Posted by mjh1965

I will have to start my own thread Rian but I would rather spend more time on the truck and less on the internet ( only joking ) as you always find time to do great threads and come and help me a true friend thanks martin

No problem Martin.

You forget your own unselfish help.

I do not know many people who would tell an invalid customer to come to their home over a weekend so that they could repair a wheelchair lift while perched up on a carport he is building.

Shout if you need me to come remove that engine when you get an engine crane.

[Grizz1963]

Had yesterday and today off as annual leave and today moved a lovely leather clad chair and large foot stool over to my stepson, Tom's father's home for him to put in his bedroom.

The truck obviously did not feel the load.

Tom asked to ride in the back on his new chair, but of course in this day and age it could get you locked up for years..... So when we got there he got to test drive the chair in the back of the truck.






After dropping him and the chair off, Nicola and I went off to Hempstead valley shopping centre for a walk about, and coffee and cake.

She thoroughly enjoys watching people trip over their feet and walk into stuff when the Redneck Express comes by.

Parked to one side of the carpark, as the truck takes up a bit more spae than most modern family cars here.



As always, the smiles per mile ratio far outweighed the miles per gallon delivery.

This truck really is one of the best Bucket list things I have ever done.

Thanks to my wife

[TJ's Chevy]

Looks cool!

[McMurphy]

Originally Posted by bj383ss

Awesome score for $75.

I had to laugh when I saw this... Rian you said 75GBP yes? Current exchange between USD and GBP is 1.64 so 75 pounds = 123 dollars. Still a good deal I think, but I still had to laugh.
It is hard when the USD is not stronger than other country money. I thought Japan was going to bankrupt us during the week we stayed there it was $5 = 1 yen. It sucked.
Goes a long way in getting you to sympathize with our Canadian and Mexican neighbors....

Just poking fun guys

[Grizz1963]

Originally Posted by T.J. MCCAULEY

Looks cool!

Thank you.

Originally Posted by McMurphy

I had to laugh when I saw this... Rian you said 75GBP yes? Current exchange between USD and GBP is 1.64 so 75 pounds = 123 dollars. Still a good deal I think, but I still had to laugh.
It is hard when the USD is not stronger than other country money. I thought Japan was going to bankrupt us during the week we stayed there it was $5 = 1 yen. It sucked.
Goes a long way in getting you to sympathize with our Canadian and Mexican neighbors....

Just poking fun guys

Hi Mike, you are right.

In spite of the exchange rate, we have to add import duty and postage/freight cost to our purchases, so we still hurt.

I think for Martin it was the difference between making it himself or buying ready made.

[Grizz1963]

PATCH PANEL QUESTION TIME:


I ask as I think I will need to replace both of mine.

I looked in on mine today, and the outer skins are quite rotten, as is the inner support.

I do not know if they are all in one when you buy the part from LMC, see the link below, part no7.

http://www.lmctruck.com/icatalog/cbe/full.aspx?Page=18

There is no pic or illustration of how the inside looks like.

It also looks like there are two parts t make up the repair, the outer panel and the inner support ??

If you have a photo or photos of the inside and outside of what is needed to repair or replace this, please post up.

If you look at the truck below, it does not look too bad, but see the brown mark at the bottom of the rear end of the fender. The support behind it is rotten too.

[Grizz1963]

Had Martin over for a few hours today, to bring back my bike trailer after unloading his new motor and gearbox into his garage.

We recently took out the one rear indicator unit as he wants to fit recessed indicators as per originals, which his truck does not have. After taking it out, we could not get the light to work again, so after resoldering the wires etc, it turned out the one wire on the switch was loose.

The next job Martin did for me (I made tea and coffee) was to wire in a Beeper into the indicator circuit.
My truck has no indicator stalk on the steering column, having a three position swith under the dash, I have on occasion driven well beyond a turning with the indicator merrily flashing away.

So now it will drive me nuts when I use it, necessitating the fast switching off of it.

The way its fitted, the beeper is now under the dash and muted to a mildly irritating level.

Here is a demo.....

Grizz's Redneck Express Indicator Beeper. -...

One of the other things we figured out was that my truck must have been a Manual truck at some time in its life before the current incarnation.

We also tested the new compressor to see if it had an auto pressure switch.

Goes to 100psi and then stops filling.

I have still not quite figured out where the pressure goes when the pressure switch goes, as the motor does not stop......

[Ta2Don]

Originally Posted by Grizz1963

PATCH PANEL QUESTION TIME:


I ask as I think I will need to replace both of mine.

I looked in on mine today, and the outer skins are quite rotten, as is the inner support.

I do not know if they are all in one when you buy the part from LMC, see the link below, part no7.

http://www.lmctruck.com/icatalog/cbe/full.aspx?Page=18

There is no pic or illustration of how the inside looks like.

It also looks like there are two parts t make up the repair, the outer panel and the inner support ??

If you have a photo or photos of the inside and outside of what is needed to repair or replace this, please post up.

If you look at the truck below, it does not look too bad, but see the brown mark at the bottom of the rear end of the fender. The support behind it is rotten too.

If you are referring to the Front Fenders (Wings) I used Brothers Truck Parts for mine, I can email pics if needed, but I hear how good and reasonably priced the Top Banana parts are…

[Ta2Don]

Originally Posted by Grizz1963

Had Martin over for a few hours today, to bring back my bike trailer after unloading his new motor and gearbox into his garage.

We recently took out the one rear indicator unit as he wants to fit recessed indicators as per originals, which his truck does not have. After taking it out, we could not get the light to work again, so after resoldering the wires etc, it turned out the one wire on the switch was loose.

The next job Martin did for me (I made tea and coffee) was to wire in a Beeper into the indicator circuit.
My truck has no indicator stalk on the steering column, having a three position swith under the dash, I have on occasion driven well beyond a turning with the indicator merrily flashing away.

So now it will drive me nuts when I use it, necessitating the fast switching off of it.

The way its fitted, the beeper is now under the dash and muted to a mildly irritating level.

Here is a demo.....

Grizz's Redneck Express Indicator Beeper. - YouTube

One of the other things we figured out was that my truck must have been a Manual truck at some time in its life before the current incarnation.

We also tested the new compressor to see if it had an auto pressure switch.

Goes to 100psi and then stops filling.

I have still not quite figured out where the pressure goes when the pressure switch goes, as the motor does not stop......

What an annoying sound whenever you use the turn indicators…
Hmmm, just wondering why someone would add those???

[Grizz1963]

Originally Posted by Ta2Don

What an annoying sound whenever you use the turn indicators…
Hmmm, just wondering why someone would add those???

Trust me buddy, when you turn left, continue to indicate left, and someone turns in front of you and you take him/her out from the side, that buzzer will sound a lot better than the screaming crunch and tear of metal on metal.

Ohh, and by the way, I do not always use them, only when I need to indiate, and now they are muted, it is hardly audible over Metalica and Ozzy Osbourne

[markeb01]

I am always amazed at the variety of your adventures. That finished Saab and scooter are very cool. It would be interesting to see the supercharged car finished. I’ve never seen a Saab with a chopped top before. That must have been a ton of work.

Don’t have any info on patch panels, but the following link will show you what the inner structure looks like up close, starting at post #19:

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=444502

The pictures may take a while to load as Imageshack is sacrificing their paying customers while all their focus goes toward a new upgrade. If a “missing picture” box with an X in it appears, right clicking and selecting “show picture” may cause it to load:

FYI if all of the gaps are not closed up, the repaired fender is just going to rust out again some time in the future as the openings create a compost heap in the inner brace.

[Grizz1963]

Originally Posted by markeb01

I am always amazed at the variety of your adventures. That finished Saab and scooter are very cool. It would be interesting to see the supercharged car finished. I’ve never seen a Saab with a chopped top before. That must have been a ton of work.

Don’t have any info on patch panels, but the following link will show you what the inner structure looks like up close, starting at post #19:

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=444502

The pictures may take a while to load as Imageshack is sacrificing their paying customers while all their focus goes toward a new upgrade. If a “missing picture” box with an X in it appears, right clicking and selecting “show picture” may cause it to load:

FYI if all of the gaps are not closed up, the repaired fender is just going to rust out again some time in the future as the openings create a compost heap in the inner brace.

Hi Mark, thanks for the reply.

I always love the peripheral stuff that goes on in people's lives, and expect you guys in the USA to also enjoy the weird and wonderful, so am happy to post up stuff I see.
Things like the scooters and Saabs are part of the sellers story, so to me, firt into the story.

Thanks for the guidance.

Looks like there is a certain amount of making it up as I go along when I get to this repairing.

[bj383ss]

Rian,

I have both my front fenders off right now. They both are rotted real bad. I will take some pictures of them for you. The fenders are real easy to get off by the way. You only have to take the cowl extension off to access all of the bolts. My driver side inner fender brace has some rot also.

I also recomend http://www.topbananaparts.com/. I just bought my rockers and floorboards from them. I plan on getting the fender patches as well.

Bret

[Grizz1963]

Thanks for the reply Bret.


Here's a great thread with more links.

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=576875

Based on the questions I asked in this thread about fender repair.

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=607222

[Grizz1963]

Got a real helpful message this morning.
May be useful to others.

Hey Grizz, I saw your post on rust repair asking for pics. You might want to look on Youtube and type in
"1960 to 1966 front fender rust repair part 1". This video shows you step by step on how to do this task. I did my own on both sides and came out great. The reason I sent you this in PM is because I'm not sure about advertising Youtube on this site. Good luck.

[Grizz1963]

And typically today I have a day leave that I had to take...... Aaaaaand??

Nicola needs some quick Christmas prezzies for friends. You know those "Honey Do's"

Women never seem to realize, it's never "quick"

Anyway, been at it for just over three hours. Made 5 different candle holder blocks that hold between two and six tea light candles and their glass holders.

Day ended up costing about six hours to make this lot, but I am happy, been a while since I was really productive.

Pics.

This is a two sided candle block.



And the other side.



These fit really tightly into the base holes, so will not get knocked off.



First lot done.




Then came in, had some lunch (sandwich n coffee) after whih I hand sharpened all my tools to a silly keeness.

Then grabbed this lump, lined it up and got going......



Making this pair of tea light holders.

The dark details is created by forcing a tool against the wood at speed, so that it burns the wood.



Lastly, pulled a piece of oak from the firewood offcut bucket and thought I would give it a go.

I made the ashtray for my mate Era, who is also known as Oldone Racing, he builds championship winning Mazda Rotary motors.

When he smokes in his workshop, he usually has incense burning too. So an incense burner/ashtray.




And that is the lot for today.



I have some more time off before year end, so may just go to the shed for more therapy.

I also have to build a wheeling trolley for the compressor I recently bought.

But the weather sucks big time right now......

[Ta2Don]

Nice days work mate...

[markeb01]

Mind boggling! Man you do impressive work!

[Grizz1963]

Originally Posted by Ta2Don

Nice days work mate...

Thanks Don.

Wish it paid the mortgage though.

[Grizz1963]

Originally Posted by markeb01

Mind boggling! Man you do impressive work!

Hi Mark,

Not sure whether I should laugh or cry....... Having you..... The Alchemist and Master of all things detailed and perfectly finished make such a comment, Thank you very much.

I said to Nicola earlier that a friend had made some nice comments on FartsBook about the bits I did today and she said that the same way I was gobsmacked when I showed her your diorama before, people sometimes see my woodwork bits.