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

[Indian113]

I have those same style holes for speakers in my doors! I can't wait till I start welding in patch panels. Give Harley a little lovin for me makes me hug my Pups tighter.

[Grizz1963]

Originally Posted by Indian113

I have those same style holes for speakers in my doors! I can't wait till I start welding in patch panels. Give Harley a little lovin for me makes me hug my Pups tighter.

Thanks Ray,

You know how I feel about all animals.

So this girl really saddens me.

[Grizz1963]

Got a message from @forddan @mercdan last week to ask if I would be interested in a pair of used wing mirrors for the Galaxy.

Of course, and at £20.00 for the pair it was a no brainier.

So next thing he sent a pic with the message to say he had them.



This afternoon he called to ask if I was in a hurry, should he deliver.

Of course I said yes please and an hour later he was here in one of sin George’s cars,a hot little red Ford Fiesta, lowered and on alloys.

Delivered, Harley had to inspect, in spite of not doing too well.

One needs a new glass.



Covers need some paint.



After Dan left, I packed them away for future reference, well, after tomorrow as the Galaxy got dropped off this afternoon for a full service and new discs, pads etc.


Harley came and settled down on my leg, again, even the way she is sleeping, not the usual way.

Old age sucks.



Weekend over again, got a fire tonight, so the room is warm.

Thanks for checking in.

[Grizz1963]

Took the Galaxy in for a service today.

Remember when I bought the car, I was told the brakes were in desperate need of a service.

They were.having done about 250 miles since then they went very bad last weekend when I fetched the furniture for Sally.

Weirdly, I never noticed till I got home that there was a message on the dash “Service Now”

So I told the mechanic to run through it and address everything that needed doing.

A few pics.....

Dirty underside.



Rear brakes



Not good



Front end





Front pads.....



So new discs, pads fitted all the way around.




Digging around further, Ivan came up with some interesting surprises.....

Shock retaining washers and nuts......

Old and new.



Yup, it is dead alright.




Replaced and serviced parts have made the drive feel much smoother.

Not cheap, and actually more than I would have liked to spend, but now I seem to have a decent car again.

Oh, and lastly....

Dennis in St Louis sent through a pic of his service station.

Almost a Christmas card pic for men.





.

[Palf70Step]

Glad you got the brakes squared away. Normally one of the first things I always address on a "new" (well new to me) vehicle. Almost always I think I find the same condition.

[Grizz1963]

Originally Posted by Palf70Step

Glad you got the brakes squared away. Normally one of the first things I always address on a "new" (well new to me) vehicle. Almost always I think I find the same condition.

I would say that’s a sensible approach Bill.

[Grizz1963]

Well, it ended quietly, with compassion and dignity.

I know not everyone cares about animals, and that’s fine too.

But the last ten years Harley has been a companion and friend to me, always a shadow and near me in the garage or wherever I was working. More dog than cat.

An aggressive oral cancer, which filled half her mouth in two weeks so that in the end she could not eat or drink.

Commando Surgery on a 15 year old was not an option.

I hope these pics make you smile as they certainly did me.



Inspecting Prozacs contents.





A seeker sunbug for sure.







Forum story proof reader.Quality Control.



Melted cat on the hottest day of summer.

[69Tom]

Really sorry to hear Rian. Had to put down one of my dogs last month, so know how it feels. RIP Harley.

[realvc]

Hey man, so sorry for your loss.
It seems so strange in a way that we get so attached to these creatures.
Then in another way it is not so strange at all.
Death is really an extention of life but on another plane.

Take care, bro.
Still praying for you, your bro.

[69 C10 LWB]

Rian, so sorry to hear this. I can’t say anything to make it better but hopefully you can take a little comfort in knowing that you did the right thing and the only thing you could to help him.

[Palf70Step]

Sorry to hear the news Rian.

[Grizz1963]

Originally Posted by 69Tom

Really sorry to hear Rian. Had to put down one of my dogs last month, so know how it feels. RIP Harley.

Sorry to hear that too that you lost a friend.

Dogs sometimes feel more human to me, closer, more emotionally connected.

Harley was half dog for sure

Originally Posted by realvc

Hey man, so sorry for your loss.
It seems so strange in a way that we get so attached to these creatures.
Then in another way it is not so strange at all.
Death is really an extention of life but on another plane.

Take care, bro.
Still praying for you, your bro.

Agreed Vince, and thank you.

Originally Posted by 69 C10 LWB

Rian, so sorry to hear this. I can’t say anything to make it better but hopefully you can take a little comfort in knowing that you did the right thing and the only thing you could to help him.

She was a faithful companion for a long time, the least one can do is not being selfish.

Originally Posted by Palf70Step

Sorry to hear the news Rian.

Thanks Bill, Thank you all for your comments and PM’s

She was certainly part of my life and made sure anyone who visited here was given the security check over and then welcomed as family.

Some animals just fit in well.

And she was part of the forum, often by her own insistence, to be in cars, the wood shop, garage etc.

The house is certainly quiet without her being around me, talking, to me constantly, waking me at 5.30 for her breakfast etc.

And it will be quiet going forward.

But we get over this sort of thing.

The memories and many moments of laughter she induced will stay.




Interesting to see Photophukit has killed a bunch of recent photos again.

Not sure if anyone else has experienced that.



Almost the weekend.

[60chevyjim]

Hi Rian I am very sorry to hear about Harley . our fur family's bring us special times that we will all ways remember them by. each one has it's own special place in our heart.

[Grizz1963]

Originally Posted by 60chevyjim

Hi Rian I am very sorry to hear about Harley . our fur family's bring us special times that we will all ways remember them by. each one has it's own special place in our heart.

All are unique for sure.

Some just more than others


Photophukit seems to have a mind of its own right now.

Nicola sent a few more pics of Harley that I suspect many of you will enjoy too.



Loved a fire, also fearless of them, like with power tools.




Surfing the web.







Sweet innocent cat.




And where this story really started

December 2010 when I moved to this house and bought the Sachs Madass.

Security checked by her.




And a final good bye from Harley the Fearless.

Set up in her new job now........

A happy girl.




The house has been empty for sure, and one sees her and looks for her in all the places she should be.

She will be missed,

[Grizz1963]

Earlier this week a big or important part of the “build” arrived in the post.

Microphone for the Bluetooth telephone system and radio.

Will get fitted as soon as there is a bit of decent weather and time.



More than to happen.

[Grizz1963]

Had the most amazing nights sleep.....


About 9 hours in total, not even what I get after jet lag.

Then an extremely slow start, Some laundry, clearing the house a bit and lazy breakfast.

And eventually carried loads of stuff to the garage.

Started on removing the Galaxy’s wing mirror.

The cold does not help, and neither does the fact that I have no idea how it’s all put together.

So rather than break clips or panel parts, I reassembled after a few minutes, and Torx suxx.



And started moving the Mercedes Benz wheels into the little caravan workshop, along with an electric oil finned heater and some small sanders.



More later.

[Grizz1963]

Feeling pretty chuffed tonight.

Started with refurbishing the wheels for the Galaxy today.

Using the free two berth caravan I got and prepared in October, I have managed to prep, prime, paint and clear lacquer the wheels obverse 8 hours, which included paint drying time, and a run to go fetch another can of etch primer.

Work table.



Hand held orbital sander made life easier.



All the damage sanded back



Four wheels done.



Ready for etch primer.



Typically, the etch primer I had was not as much as I thought there was, so Sally and I had to run down to Chatham to get some.



Got it.



Primer going down.





And done.

Oil heater doing it’s thing...... drying the primer while I went to make us dinner.



Decided to give it 90 minute to dry before going back to paint the silver on.

[Palf70Step]

Nice work. Looking forward to seeing the finish with the silver paint.

You get your new-new replacement center caps yet?

[Grizz1963]

Originally Posted by Palf70Step

Nice work. Looking forward to seeing the finish with the silver paint.

You get your new-new replacement center caps yet?

Thank you Bill.

It’s interesting, that one can hardly see the difference between coats.

Waiting for caps, may have selected a supplier from China.


Part two.....

Paint and clear lacquer

Before and after primer.



Four painted.




Clear coated



Rear 8.5 J’s clear coated



Front 7.5J’s after three coats of clear.



I will try leave them alone for a day or two to harden before taking them back for the tyres to be fitted and then fitted to the car.

Have to consider these too.......

EBay item number 163342504162


Lo Suspension - Make driving more fun!


Set of 4 Sports Lowering Springs for: FORD GALAXY 2.0, 2.3 & 1.9 TDi 1995>2006 Lowers by 35mm - a new & unused Lo Suspension branded product from losuspension.com

Are you looking for a lower ride?

Key Features
LO springs are designed specifically for your car
Your mechanic will have no trouble fitting LO springs
Compatable with your original shock absorbers
Your car will have a much sportier stance
Your car will have more responsive handling
You will have more confidence when cornering
Your car will have less body roll
LO springs are TUV approved
LO springs have a 12 month warranty

[Palf70Step]

Hot Rodder for Life!

[Grizz1963]

Originally Posted by Palf70Step

Hot Rodder for Life!

Got some pics from my friend Stanislav in Siberia, including this one.

Feels like spring he said.

Not yet the -38’C that they had last year.



Back to lowering the Galaxy.

Bill.......

Thank you.



Maybe not that hardcore.

Had some feedback on these lowering springs, seems they may not quite deliver as advertised.

Anyone else got experience with them?



Wheels finally put the “workshop” and into the back of the Galaxy.

Final finish.



Looking forward to getting these fitted up with tyres and on the van.

[Grizz1963]

Ahhhh Christmas break. Many parts blasted and etch primed.

Plus Photophukit playing up continually

So not much to show.

On Friday I realised that Murphy’s law meant one would run out of gas on a Saturday evening or some similar inconvenient time.

So I called to order in a spare bottle of 5% Argon/CO2

Paying a bottle deposit and gas content came to £94.00 and included home delivery on Saturday morning



Service worth paying for.

[Grizz1963]

Last bit about Christmas

I prefer a BBQ to Turkey at Christmas

Thankfully Sally and her son Ryan agreed.



So.... only coleslaw as token vegetable

The rest: Lamb Kofte Kebabs, lamb ribs, pork belly, Sweet Tai Chilli Chicken thighs, German Bratwurst, glazed Texas Pork Chops.

Yup.



Merry Christmas it certainly was.

[Grizz1963]

Christmas Eve Day.

Good time as any to start with the smallest Cut and Weld job identified so far.

I will be over describing for many of you.
But if like me, you have not done this before it may be helpful or not?

So off to the “caraworkshop”

Move tools into the “shed” and find some donor steel.

Built this 100kg plus mobile work station in 2015. So moved it closer.

Used it a few times since.



Straight in with my trusty cardboard template and scissors

Donor steel. 1965 C10 cab.

As @PaulY said, if I use enough off this one I may need to add a new V5c registration document



Piece is bigger than just the holes. Loads of old dents to cut out as well.



First fold to 90’ then back to lay the base crease.
Followed by opposite bend to complete the peak.



Top and bottom curves added, they do differ a lot.






Next up would be tracing the replacement panel onto the front panel



Followed by cutting the bad metal out.

Coffee break first.

[Grizz1963]

At this point I thought it wise to clean up my welding mask in preparation for the bit of welding coming up.

Pooop.

Auto dimming non functional despite this mask having had very little use to date.

Tried the various setting buttons to no avail.

Then tried opening it to see if batteries can be replaced as I always keep a large selection of batteries

Nope.

Sealed unit.

Youtube.... ??

Success !!

But pretty clear that its a difficult task to try work around the sealed unit etc.

So I tried....... FAILED.

REASSEMBLED and graffitied it as a POS.



But would have to use it anyway as shops were shutting etc.

Have to wait for Saturday as shops are shut.

Burger !!!



Have pencilled in getting one of these




Later.