Restoring Rusty

[Gregski]

after some grunting, some PB Blaster, and some more grunting, both long bolts and body mounts were out

[Gregski]

I also removed the battery tray just so that I could have more wiggability, and then it was time to wiggle the radiator support out

I took my time and wore some construction gloves so I wouldn't cut my surgeon like hands, ha ha

and soon enuff Bob was your uncle

[Gregski]

This may be the justification you all were seeking for me pulling the core support out, surely many of you have removed an engine out of a car without removing the entire front end, right, well look in the bottom right corner of this structure, or the lack there of

[Gregski]

now lets take a looksie at that engine without having the grille obstruct our view shall we

[Gregski]

things were going great, I was on an adrenaline high, so I kept going

decided to remove the water pump, so easy now without the silly radiator in the way, ha ha

four bolts later and it was off, by the way it must have square bearings cause it makes an ugly sound when rotating, needed replacing for sure

[Gregski]

ah what the heck lets separate the radiator fan from the water pump

[Gregski]

I was hoping to put in 2 hours tonight, but ended up putting in 4, so needless to say it was soon Beer:30

~ that's all for today folks

[Gregski]

oh almost forgot, can you tell what is missing from one of these pictures, one is a pic of my original driver side fender, the other of an OEM replacement I got from a junkyard off of a '79 Scottsdale 10 for the passenger side

[Gregski]

Originally Posted by Chaplain

My original core support was about the same. In fact, since the battery was also rusted out you could look straight through and see the ground.

As usual, nice documentation.

Thanks, and yeah, this is one of the few design flaws of our beloved trucks, that silly lip in the bottom of the radiator core support catches water, dirt, and of course battery acid drippings. The other terrible design flaw is the taco hood. Another one would be the dumb always on blower fan in the cabin, so annoying. Then there's the lame fuel tank filler neck that you have to squat and hold the gas pump nozzle just right or it will run on the side of the truck, LOL. There may be one more, but I forget.

[Gregski]

Originally Posted by Chaplain

The lower built in nut is missing.

yup, good eye, and since you have a '79 also you mind checking what yours looks like, if you have not put the front end back together already that is, did GM get lazy and say why use 4 bolts when 3 will work, LOL

[Titomars]

Originally Posted by Gregski

Thanks, and yeah, this is one of the few design flaws of our beloved trucks, that silly lip in the bottom of the radiator core support catches water, dirt, and of course battery acid drippings. The other terrible design flaw is the taco hood. Another one would be the dumb always on blower fan in the cabin, so annoying. Then there's the lame fuel tank filler neck that you have to squat and hold the gas pump nozzle just right or it will run on the side of the truck, LOL. There may be one more, but I forget.

In GM's defense, I would argue over some of those said design flaws.
when the fuel filler location were designed the filler nozzles of the day were of the old type (like a diesel nozzle) they were not problem like the vapor recovery nozzles are.

The "taco" hood was a DOT mandate to all manufacturers. before the event of the folding hood, In a front end collision the hoods had a better than average chance of entering the passenger compartment and under enough cases decapitating occupants.
due to their flat design, the real cause of the hoods bending over time is lack of lube to the hinges.

The blower on always was not a defect this was GM wide feature of their "Flow-Through" ventilation system. A lame idea in my book, but........

[68Timber]

Originally Posted by Titomars

The blower on always was not a defect this was GM wide feature of their "Flow-Through" ventilation system. A lame idea in my book, but........

I don't know if its true or not but read somewhere it was to create positive cabin pressure to keep exhaust fumes out of the passenger area.

[68Timber]

Originally Posted by Gregski

oh almost forgot, can you tell what is missing from one of these pictures, one is a pic of my original driver side fender, the other of an OEM replacement I got from a junkyard off of a '79 Scottsdale 10 for the passenger side

My 79 fenders are OEM and do not have the lower bolt hole.

[hatzie]

Originally Posted by Titomars

In GM's defense, I would argue over some of those said design flaws.
when the fuel filler location were designed the filler nozzles of the day were of the old type (like a diesel nozzle) they were not problem like the vapor recovery nozzles are.

The "taco" hood was a DOT mandate to all manufacturers. before the event of the folding hood, In a front end collision the hoods had a better than average chance of entering the passenger compartment and under enough cases decapitating occupants.
due to their flat design, the real cause of the hoods bending over time is lack of lube to the hinges.

The blower on always was not a defect this was GM wide feature of their "Flow-Through" ventilation system. A lame idea in my book, but........

If you have one that hasn't been modified there are hooks and tabs to catch the back of the hood in a collision so the A-pillars aren't getting the brunt of the impact.
I've had four of these 73-80 trucks that had hinges that were properly lubed by the owner. All of them had zero bends in the hood.

[jwilson645]

Yup, that spot is a devil. Here's a nice shot of mine. Also notice that the front of the wheel well and the inner fender structure are gone too.

[Gregski]

Originally Posted by 68Timber

My 79 fenders are OEM and do not have the lower bolt hole.

you was robbed, ha ha - thanks for confirming

[Gregski]

Day Three of Leftie Loosies

Fun Level = 11 (a little Spinal Tap reference for you all, horns up if you got it)

man I tell you working in a clean garage with an empty surface to put your parts on is such a big difference and a pleasure to work on your truck

[Gregski]

we decided to move this party indoors tonight, and do a little wrenchin in the cabin

first we loosened up the shifter rubber boot

[Gregski]

we were paying attention the last time we dropped the tranny so we learned (thanks to you all) how to press down and turn the metal cup to get the shifter stick out

[Gregski]

Hey, is this what they mean by Four On The Floor?

ha ha, I kid I kid

[Gregski]

then we removedatized the transmission turtle shell

[Gregski]

we disconjoined the go backwards light switch thingie

[Gregski]

Johnny are you taking notes, there will be a Quiz you know!

[Gregski]

next we disconbobulated the "Do You Know How Fast You Were Going Son?" cable

[Gregski]

then we had to suck in our gut (see Lowering The Truck posts above) and slid under the truck like a sloth and removed the ZZ Top bar