Restoring Rusty

[Gregski]

alright, and it all must come off now, we need at least the two brackets by the headlights, so time to drill those holes

we used the long lost art of self tappin' screws (pronounced: lazy) to secure them, when they fall off we'll add some nuts to those bolts, ha ha

and passenger side done

[Gregski]

time to drill the driver side... and done!

[Gregski]

What's this, more parts, at this stage in the game?

Yup, after Clips and Fasteners dot com let me down (see small green box below) I had to order the right white nylon grille nuts

Funny thing is, I paid to get a box of the wrong ones, than I paid to get six of the right ones, and meanwhile since I can not use the '73 brackets, all I need is 2 of them and out of the six old ones, two are perfectly fine, ha ha

Classic Parts comes through again! Not to be confused with Classic Industries

[Gregski]

and so here's the '73 grille mounted up to the '79 core support, and supported with 2 screws in the middle bracket and 2 additional ones (one at each end by the headlights) good enuff fer me, IT'S A TRUCK!!!

and that's all the updates for tonight

[enaberif]

Trying to figure out what your doing then realize you have a GMC not a Chevy lol

[Gregski]

Originally Posted by enaberif

Trying to figure out what your doing then realize you have a GMC not a Chevy lol

Great, so not only is there a difference between early seventies trucks (73-74) and late ones (75-79ish) but now you are telling me there is a difference between Chebbys and GMCs, ha ha ~ man I should've known

oh well my grill mounted fine,

FYI: I did rely on these LMC diagrams for a reference when buying the donor '79 core support and they claim the 73-80 core supports be the same

[enaberif]

Yeah its weird there was a few cross over years and I think 77-78 is when they switched from front released to interior release hoods as well which can screw up people.

[79sierra]

Originally Posted by Gregski

Great, so not only is there a difference between early seventies trucks (73-74) and late ones (75-79ish) but now you are telling me there is a difference between Chebbys and GMCs, ha ha ~ man I should've known

oh well my grill mounted fine,

FYI: I did rely on these LMC diagrams for a reference when buying the donor '79 core support and they claim the 73-80 core supports be the same

No difference between GMC and Chevy hardware they all mount the same. Your grill should be fine the way you mounted it, it is supported in the middle and on the ends.

[enaberif]

Originally Posted by 79sierra

No difference between GMC and Chevy hardware they all mount the same. Your grill should be fine the way you mounted it, it is supported in the middle and on the ends.

No actually they don't. There is drastic changes in how grilles mount to the front of these trucks. I discovered this myself when I swapped from my 74 grille to a 76 chevy grille.

Even the center mount was different between the two because of the depth of the grilles.

[Gregski]

Originally Posted by enaberif

No actually they don't. There is drastic changes in how grilles mount to the front of these trucks. I discovered this myself when I swapped from my 74 grille to a 76 chevy grille.

Even the center mount was different between the two because of the depth of the grilles.

there is a difference between year differences ie 73-74 vs 75-78

~ but ~

there is no difference between Chevy and GMC of the same year is what we all are trying to say?

[Gregski]

the 1983 El Camino 61" long drive shaft is ready to be taken to the Drive Line Shop to be shortened 2 1/4 inches (that factors in that my truck be lowered)

taking the "nice" car so had it wrapped like a salami

fingers crossed maidens

[79sierra]

Originally Posted by Gregski

there is a difference between year differences ie 73-74 vs 75-78

~ but ~

there is no difference between Chevy and GMC of the same year is what we all are trying to say?

Yes!

[LeesTruk]

Hey Gregski, check for clearance of the center bearing mounting bracket when you install your one-piece driveshaft. You may find that the bracket and shaft will become intimate under spring compression from bumps or load. And seeing as how you've raised the rear axle in relation to the frame, clearance becomes even more critical

[deejaaa1]

you can do the shaft yourself. it's not rocket surgery. just make sure the yokes are opposed.

[Gregski]

Originally Posted by LeesTruk

Hey Gregski, check for clearance of the center bearing mounting bracket when you install your one-piece driveshaft. You may find that the bracket and shaft will become intimate under spring compression from bumps or load. And seeing as how you've raised the rear axle in relation to the frame, clearance becomes even more critical

will do, thanks for the tip, though I removed the carrier bearing center bracket with the two piece drive shaft leaving only the cross member there, so I should be ok

[hatzie]

Originally Posted by 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)

Don't use insulated Butt Conectors. They will come loose and cause all kinds of grief.

Solder and Heatshrink the connection. I generally use "Marine Grade" Adhesive Lined heat shrink on connections that will be exposed like these.
Radio Shack 60/40 Sn/Pb rosin core solder is generally pretty smoky. I use Kester 44 .80mm 66/44 Sn/Pb and MG Chemicals Liquid Flux on old wires. <---That 1lb spool and tiny bottle is a lifetime supply. You can wipe off any excess flux with Ispropyl Alcohol.
Use a wet sponge to clean the tip. It'll clean off the corrosive burnt flux leavins and oxidized lead and tin. You won't have to use tip-tinner cleaner as often, or maybe at all, if you keep the crud off the tip by wiping it often.
A third hand tool can be built with ROMEX and alligator clips... See the first few minutes of the last video. Eric uses a soldering gun. I don't recommend a soldering gun it's way to difficult to control the heat so it's way too easy to burn the wire jackets off.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q9G9gaokqvM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoD2aUvnQXg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L61LJcz7H6g

[Gregski]

so took another Thursday off and drove up to Chico California to hunt in their Pick N Pull yard, came across a 1977 truck so decided to yank some of the grille brackets, just to have them really, at the time I didn't realize there was a difference between 77 and 79 ones, so here's a little style recap:

1973-74 (my truck)
1975-78 (this truck in the yard)
1979-80 (my new donor core support)

[Gregski]

anyway I pulled the stuff I needed plus a couple other do dads and the total came out to be $120 BUCKS!!! I kid you not for a bunch of brackets, the kid wanted to charge me $11 bucks per bracket, so I put them all back, not ashamed to admit it, what a rip off

he even wanted $11 bucks for that round plastic air breather thing, then when I pointed it out to him he changed it to $4 bucks

so $22 for pair of side grille brackets

$11 for the center bracket plus another $14 for the attached hood latch assembly

$11 for the plastic round thing (till he changed it)

etc.

[Gregski]

they wanted another $22 bucks for these automatic transmission crossmember support brackets, I have the big bar already just wanted these to complete the ensemble, I'm just funny that way (a completionist I've been called)

I passed on these too, I can get them for like $3 bucks each at my local yards, where the cashiers are properly trained, I mean I am not trying to steal them I am just willing to pay what they are worth

the way I see it, metal is cheap, they can get .11 cents total for recycling all this metal, or they can sell it to me, but at 10,000% markup that's ridiculous

[Gregski]

... which brings us to today, Saturday March 61st, 2016

~ Captain's Log ~

it's been a long month of March (ha ha), but today marks the last day of what we have dubbed March Madness, in literally 1 hour I am going to pick up the shortened drive shaft, the last peace of the puzzle, the last ingredient in this Top End / Overdrive Transmission Upgrade concoction that has become so much more, new exhaust, new(ish) core support, blacked out grille, relocated alternator, new waster pump, a HURST shifter, etc...

I am very excited and can't wait to take Rusty around the block for the first time

[rusty76]

Looking forward to it myself along with the multitudes of others on here.

[Gregski]

I have no idea why they painted it silver, but they did, so something had to be done about that, and judging from the quality of the paint job, I'm sure their surface prep didn't go beyond, shake can, LOL

naturally today was the windiest day of the decade so I had to paint the shaft inside the garage

[Valarius_Starchaser]

4K tv! Wow thats the most expensive painting box I've ever seen!

[Gregski]

~
~ Test Drive = SUCCESS !!! ~
~

[Gregski]

... and here's a clever way to show off the blacked out front end without admittin' you haven't put the hood back on yet, ha ha