Restoring Rusty

[Gregski]

Originally Posted by flashed

Looking good Greg.

thank you, I appreciate that

[Gregski]

dang it, it's above 50*F outside already at 0630, I ought to be in the garage, but first we make a list

~ ~ ~ TA DO TADAY ~ ~ ~

my favorite number is 5, so here are the five things to git done today, honest I promise no cherry pickin either (you guys know how that works - ha ha)

1. re tighten cab mounts (that we had to loosen to get those pesky trans cross member top bolts out of the frame)

2. re assemble our new Flowmaster dual exhaust (that we took apart to try the TH350 trans cross member)

3. install the Z bar (the thingie that connects the clutch pedal to the clutch fork in the bell housing for you automagic trans jockeys)

4. re route the headlight harness hiding it under / inside the newly painted core support (remember: zip ties are your friend)

5. complete assembling the core support, with grille, headlights, and trim

Note: guys and gals, don't be too cool for school when you go work on your projects, make a list, it don't have to be no Power Pointer presentation, you can write it on an old cardboard box, but I tell you it really keeps you a focused and gives you a sense of direction and accomplishment, just trying to help you all out.

[Gregski]

1. re tighten cab mounts (that we had to loosen to get those pesky trans cross member top bolts out of the frame) - DONE

[Gregski]

2. re assemble our new Flowmaster dual exhaust (that we took apart to try the TH350 trans cross member) - DONE with Honors

I even went out to Home Depot to get some brand new 3/8ths lock washers, was aimin' for at least Grade 5 (nothing but second best for Rusty, Grade 8 being best, lol) but I had a bit of sticker shock, they wanted $1.18 for 3 stainless steel washers, thats nearly double for what they want for the lame grade 3 Zinc ones, so we got a baggie of 12 zinc ones and called it good enuff

I decided to sandwich the collector extension union with washers on both sides of the bolt, one on the head side and a second one on the nut side, I have seen these joins come loose all too often ~ note the bolts facing leeward as per the concour de elagance specs

Funny Thing: the header extensions come with 1" bolts (too short) and Home Depot sales 1 1/2" ones (a bit too long) I would love to have some 1 1/4" ones. The Greg will toss and turn over this for 6 nights, one per bolt, ha ha

[Gregski]

check out this super cool Bolt Size / Wrench Size table they have at Home Depot, someone a while back mentioned that generally you use a wrench that is three sizes bigger for the bolt you are a screwin', so lets do a fact check on this Presidential Election style

what bolt size does our most popular 9/16ths wrench turn?

a yup, 3/8"

you may wanna commit this here table to memory as it will be on the quiz on February 31st next year

[flashed]

If you have a Tractor Supply nearby ,they sell bolts by the pound and much cheaper than Home Depot .

[Gregski]

Originally Posted by flashed

If you have a Tractor Supply nearby ,they sell bolts by the pound and much cheaper than Home Depot .

thanks for the tip, I didn't know Tractor Supply had good prices on hardware, I usually go to Blue Collar Supply but it is all the way across town, so not worth it for 12 washers, lol

[Gregski]

3. install the Z bar (the thingie that connects the clutch pedal to the clutch fork in the bell housing for you automagic trans jockeys) - DONE

I won't lie to you I had to refer to some pictures to remember how all the springs go, but I got her installed, works too, lol

[Gregski]

I may have listed #4 and #5 out of order, no sense in tethering a wiring harness to a core support that aint in place properly, so we skipped #4 for now and decided to tackle #5

5. complete assembling the core support, with grille, headlights, and trim - Partially DONE

so I mounted the core support and realized I ran out of brand new body bolts, that's right I bought a box of 50, and that darn thing ate them all, ha ha

also I know things were going way too well, and they are never that easy, and sure enuff, I wet to put these grille brackets on my new donor 1979 core support only to realize the holes aint there

thank you GM for at least giving us the dimples, you're such a tease!!!

so now I am thinking do I just drill them holes, or do I entertain the idea of going with a '79 grille, hmmm?!

[y5mgisi]

Thanks for keeping us up to date Greg! I like the new shifter location!

[Gregski]

the '79 core support also had no where to mount the '74 center grille support brackets, oh well I guess these did not get on Noah's Arc in time so they just became extinct!

[Gregski]

so we wanted issues, we got issues, so just to summarize here are the four grille support brackets the way they hung on for dear life on the good ol' rusted 1973 radiator core support

at least we got good contrast so we can spot them easily

[Gregski]

at this point I decided to move on to re routing the headlight wiring harness

I started with the passenger side, it being the furthest away

let me tell you I absolutely love working with the old style electronic connectors and plugs, you just slip a baby flat screw driver in there and the contacts slide right out, lovely, what a concept, everything is fixable, everything is servicable, what happened people? where did we go wrong? ha ha

[Gregski]

well I didn't just take that plug apart for sport people, no I needed to do that to fit it through this there hole, since we is a trying to run the wiring harness under the top grille panel and out of sight

but having it off sure made it easier to clean and lube up a bit

trying to do things right folks, just trying to do things right, note the rubber grommet around the hole to keep the wires from shaffin, text book I tell yeah, text book, jk

[79sierra]

The 75-80 grills had different brackets than 73-74. I have seen the older conversion done on 75-80 trucks so it is possible. If you do decide to go with a newer grill, you will also have to change the center hood latch support as well.

[Gregski]

the headlight plug came off easily, but its little cousin from down south, aka the parking light plug put up a little fight, (you know how them Southerners can be, kidding people kidding)

Top Tip: take that little red straw out of the trash and use it on your WD-40 can to squirt a bit of juice down the wires into the rubber housings that should allow you to slide them up and down the wire out of the way, may take some finaglin'

and pretty soon we was through the hole and out the other side! Victory, Victory!

[Gregski]

there is no job too small for The Greg (sometimes, cleanin' is the only thing I think I'm good at!)

two dirty grommets...

one clean grommet, one still dirty grommet...

two clean grommets!

[Recycled] Top Tip: throw your old rubber bits in hot boiling water it will soften them up

[Gregski]

I really enjoyed this job, not because all the bits were clean and painted, but because I don't know I just like making things tidy and clean, I would love to have one of them clean engine bays some day, where folks look at it and all they say is: "Clean!" that's all I want, ha ha

... and all this will be hidden by the battery tray, win!

[Gregski]

Originally Posted by 79sierra

The 75-80 grills had different brackets than 73-74. I have seen the older conversion done on 75-80 trucks so it is possible. If you do decide to go with a newer grill, you will also have to change the center hood latch support as well.

thanks, and I might could, the 75/76 grilles happen to be my favorite, but its hard to make that jump given the time and energy I spent on cleaning and painting this one

[Gregski]

while moving over to do the other side, we learned that Marge the core support installation technician unbeknownst to Stu her supervisor did like to cut corners, and sometimes opted not to drill the 7th hole in the top of the core support

[Gregski]

the drive side headlight wiring harness section proved trickier as it is the middle section of the daisy chain run

I'm gonna have to come back, and cut ans splice the headlight plug 3 inches over so it's not that tight when I plug it in (I am currently out of butt connectors)

[Gregski]

so here's how the headlight wiring harness runs underneath and in front of the top grille panel now

[Gregski]

the top and bottom trim went on next, and these little clip screws is one thing I skimmed out on and did not buy new ones, but to make sure these fit nice and tight I used a flat punch and flipped them upside down and flattened the holes in them, there good as knew, the 3 lbs sledge may have been a bit of an overkill, but it was within reach, lol

[Gregski]

went out and bought brand new U style "fast" nuts in both sizes #8 for the headlights and #6 for the parking lights

will get black headlight bezel screws as the judges will definitely deduct at least 1/2 a point for the rusty chrome ones

apologies about the pics - it was getting dark

[Gregski]

what kept me going is that I just had to see how the grille will or will not mount without those missing '73 brackets, so I fitted it with only the 2 screws in the the center support

I love that second picture!