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

[Grizz1963]

Well, after Sundays fun and games with trying to get the side/park lights sorted for MOT, I decided last night that I may well be better off replacing all the wiring on the truck when I redo the body.

The wiring is an atrocious mess.

This lot is the result of just making one pair of bulbs work out front by replacing the relevant wire with fresh stock.



This lot all has to work for MOT, and the indicators are also in the top units on the hood/bonnet.



In the mean time, I started looking for and asking around on the USA forums for a source where I could buy one or more replacement units for the bulb holders as my mate and I both needed either new, or new used units to replace what I had on the truck.


Come forward Markeb01 from Spokane Valley in Washington State who offered me a pair of his used ones, followed by a message an hour later that he had located four brand new ones in NAPA store and bought them for us.



So the decision has been made, after Nicola told me to do what needed to be done ;-)) to replace the complete wiring loom with a full EZ Wiring 21 loom.
Just need to find the best deal to land it in my garage, as there are various ways to get a loom, either via a direct purchase off Ebay USA or getting a local agent to bring one in and sell it to you.

I spoke to a local chap today and he said he would airfreight anything I needed from the USA at a direct 1:1 price, so an item costing $100.00 in the USA, he would sell to me here for £100.00

Glad I have now made the decision to go ahead and sort this out as well, you do not want your newly restored truck burning out next to the road because of some dodgy wiring.

The headlight unit will become "crystal" type units at some point too.

[markeb01]

Glad you made the decision to do a full rewire. I've seen a few cars burn to the ground while several fire extinguishers failed to help. It's a scary situation I'd hate to see happen to one of these classic trucks.

Fyi - your package will be leaving later today.

[mjh1965]

Originally Posted by markeb01

Glad you made the decision to do a full rewire. I've seen a few cars burn to the ground while several fire extinguishers failed to help. It's a scary situation I'd hate to see happen to one of these classic trucks.

Fyi - your package will be leaving later today.

Rian will be making the while I rewire the truck. I owe him big time any way as the amount of time he has spent at mine building my car port to put the truck in . Thanks again mark for the bulb holders . It's good to help others if you need anything that we can help you with from over here let us know Martin

[markeb01]

Will do Martin. It's nice to have friends, both nearby and long distance!

[Ta2Don]

Originally Posted by markeb01

Will do Martin. It's nice to have friends, both nearby and long distance!

Cheers Mates!!!

[Grizz1963]

Thanks guys, this is part of what makes these forums so good, the friendships that are struck across the world.


Tonight the truck worked again.

Nicola is involved in a charity The Milly Foundation http://themillyfoundation.co.uk

To Assist in the treatment and care of persons suffering from Acute Myeloid Leukaemia (AML) or in need of rehabilitation as a result of Acute Myeloid Leukaemia, by the provision of facilities for recreation.
To advance the education of the general public in all areas relating to AML.
To provide a holiday home for patients and their families during treatment for AML, in a home-from-home capacity, to be used either during a break from treatment or at the end of treatment.
To promote and protect the physical and mental health of sufferers of AML through the provision of financial assistance, support, education and practical advice not normally provided by the statutory authorities.

She had ordered a load of furniture and a flat pack shed for the caravan/park home that the foundation owns in a caravan park near us.

So we delivered the goods, saw the lovely place they had set up and then took a drive around the site.

These are the times I really love this truck, and also love the fact that Nicola made me buy it a year ago.




Overlooking the Thames River with the end of South End, Essex over on the other side.




On the train today I was messing around with a photo editing app and kind of liked it.




Tomorrow evening it is the Chatham Dockside American car and Hotrod gathering again, so guess where I will be going?

[Ta2Don]

Cool pics...

…another car get-together...

[markeb01]

Hard to believe it's been a year already! Hope you have a great time at the car show, looking forward to the photos!

[Grizz1963]

Ordered a complete new wiring loom for the truck tonight.

I have gone with EZ as Martin has gone that route, and he will be overseeing my rewiring, so if he has done one, a second one should be easier.

The EZ 21 wire/18 fuse kit was £144.00 delivered, and the Rebel kit, locally sourced is £159.00 so price of EZ is better, but I have also not heard one complaint yet.


I did order my EZ Wiring loom today, and less than an hour later got the message it had been dispatched.

Tonight was also the monthly hot rod and classic car gathering at Chatham dockside.

Loads of cars and a couple of quirky bits.

I was contacted last week by a member on Rods n Sods with a single electric cutout and pipe to sell.

So after looking at it and testing the close off valve, I bought it.

Now the trick will be to find or build another one.






I did not take many photos tonight, but there was one very quirky attendee which I hope some of you will like.

This Citroen was one of about 100 build for over night, transcontinental newspaper deliveries. Most were driven into the ground or crashed as drivers fell asleep.

However the 1964 Piper Comanche plane that had been converted into a small sleeping caravan was what got my attention.



Table and stools




Sleeping space.



Forward dash area.



Self contained galley.




Now I just need to find someone who can cut some ally on a CNC machine for me to the same spec as the one cutout valve.

[Ta2Don]

Seriously Streamlined Trailer!!!

…and that Citroen is Looooonnnng!!!

Spotted your Truck in the Cockpit Pic!

[Grizz1963]

I went straight to the garage from work, in a suit and tie to measure and photograph the measurements.

This is what I got for those who have opinions and advice on replicating these plates etc.


Ally: 13mm thick
Hole 57mm sideways.
Max hole 60mm downward.
Butterfly axle 60mm downward.
Hole 57mm minimum, with lip to cover max size at 60mm

Ally 139mm inc motor plate. Ally plate 133mm alone.
Ally plate 115mm wide

Y piece entry and exits on a O/D 64mm

64mm = 2 33⁄64in Which I guess is a 2 1/2 inch outside diameter.

Loads of photos, as I measured everything.

PLATE THICKNESS 13mm



Exit hole, widest width. 60mm



Exit hole smallest size 57mm



Butterfly spindle 60mm



Clearly bottomed out in some application.



Motor mounting plate 6mm



Spindle end view.



Top to bottom height 140mm





Sideway width 115mm






So that is all I have at the moment.

Beyond this, I guess it becomes a touchy feely measuring thing.

[markeb01]

That looks like a QTP cutout. Perhaps that will help find more specs, etc:

[Ta2Don]

MOT results???

[Grizz1963]

Originally Posted by Ta2Don

MOT results???

Woke at 04.00 (result of a great pizza dinner) and now wide awake.

MOT is only at about 09.00. Leaving here at 07.00 to get there for 08.00 as they do not book times, but rather use the "First come,first served" rule.

So hope to get the truck done early and then leave Martins Merc there while we go to some spares places.

Will let you know later.

[bj383ss]

Crossing my fingers for the MOT Test. And yes that looks just like the QTP I have on my Camaro.

Bret

[Grizz1963]

Originally Posted by bj383ss

crossing my fingers for the mot test. And yes that looks just like the qtp i have on my camaro.

Bret

mot pass !!

[Ta2Don]

[Ta2Don]

Posted on Martin's Thread…
Looks like a fun project and day...

[Grizz1963]

Another small safety related purchase today. Thanks to Martin for picking them up for me.

The existing mirrors were 5 inch round ones, tired, rusted and not very good as mirrors.

So I decided to go for the 5 X 7 inch rectangular ones so that I could see what was going on around me.

Another £28.00 out of the kitty. But a good spend in my view.



Also went to the Exhaust doctor to start investigating the full cost of a complete new stainless system, including a pair of cutouts.

Price quoted had me taste bile.

More homework.

[Grizz1963]

Crawled under the truck at 05.30 today (yes, insomnia is a *****) to double check my headers and exhaust pipes.

Weird that the headers run at 3" but then get reduced after the flange to 2 1/4" for the rest of the way.

Starting to think of self building the system at home after initial prices.


While I was there I noted the front cab mount rubber bushes on both sides, between the cab floor and chassis outriggers were very Donut shaped and badly cracked. The rear sets were perfectly fine as well as the front lower ones.

Looks like I will have to either get a full cab rubber mount kit or source a pair of the rubbers that are cracked up.

And the cab will have to be lifted.

Fun Fun Fun.

[Grizz1963]

An envelope landed from Spokane Valley, Washington today.

Contents: Used light sockets for the trucks side lights on both my and Martin's trucks, thanks to Markeb01



Even though the truck passed its MOT with the repaired lights over the weekend, I will replace them with new once the new wiring harness gets fitted and the body is all done.

Getting closer to that point where I cannot procrastinate on the teardown any more.

Marathon session planned for tomorrow evening in the garage, again to create more working space.

[Grizz1963]

Collecting parts, learning along with Martin on his truck and actually having a spare pair of hands is all part of this build.

The caravan/shed has been baptized by a South African friend as "THE KENNEL" and even if it becomes a camping caravan later, it will be known as The Kennel.

As usual I already have the next two incarnations in mind.

Once the truck is completed, the plan today is to have Nicola turn the inside into a cool little weekend away space.

The exterior may well end up in some mad NASCAR livery........ Think Sinclair Oil Corporation, or other similar with Red as a major component. I like the idea of having a Dinosaur on the rear, with its head poking around to the side of the door.

Today I spent about 5 hours washing the interior surfaces, undersides, topsides etc by hand with a rag and loads of Cillit Bang! About 6 buckets of water etc. I also cleaned the Porta Potty and other items that were in it when I got it. The awning and poles were wiped down and packed away under the mattress-less bunks.

The caravan was really only good for a bonfire, and to be honest, anyone who kept his dog in that thing deserved to be punched in the face.

After the interior, I spent a few more hours with a pressure cleaner, getting the roof, sides etc cleaned up.



Imagine a Dinosaur looking around the corner.



After that I parked it up outside the garage in front of the woodwork shed.




BEST NEWS AT LUNCH TIME TODAY........

My E-Z Wiring complete replacement loom arrived from America.

This is probably one of the most sensible lumps of money I will throw at the truck, you do not spend all the time and money on getting an old car sorted, and then have it catch fire and burn out due to faulty wiring, a lot of what my truck has.



Looking forward to bootfairs in the morning.

May also put a coat of good quality paint on the interior of the caravan, as I scrubbed a lot of the print from the ply walls inside.

[Grizz1963]

Spent a few hours today dismantling the interior, masking up window frames, cabinets etc and then proceeded to paint the first coat of Magnolia.

This is what the interior loooked like after my marathon cleaning session yesterday



Next coat will probably go on at 05.00 tomorrow.

Then I will try to leave it alone.

[Grizz1963]

Today's bootfair netted only two items, but both appropriate for the truck.

Firstly this single spotlight for £2.00 that needs a light resto.



And secondly, this cheapish spray bun.... UNUSED, and perfect for primer or underseal.

Cost a whole £1.50 Got to be worth that.



This again falls in line with the preparation I am doing, gathering stuff for the truck.

[Grizz1963]

This morning early, before going off to work, I popped into the scrap yard to check out the chassis and wagon Mickey had told me about.

I guess it looked a bit weird, me arriving in a suit, and him in a bright green health and safety suit.

I approved of the chassis and wagon.



Tonight after work, I went home and grabbed the truck and went down to fetch my treasures.

Can you say Junk Yard Dog ??



Loaded, with Mickey standing by.

Then off to drop the wagon at Martins place as he will be using the wagon for his chassis.



Once at Martins we removed the sides and he too it in, he had been at home today, dismantling his truck even further.








Thats all for today.