Sam's Man Cave 66 Project

[SulphuriousSam]

Ok. So I went out with my brother to scrub the truck with CLR and see how the ole girl looks. We got started around noon and it's already 100 degrees here so we only got an hour in before calling it a day. My bro lives in the Tacoma area and he's just not prepared for this kinda heat, well to be honest I was sucking wind too and I live here!

We did scrub the hood down real good though and I can say that the CLR does work very well. It took the surface rust off painted areas very fast and easy but some schmoe in the past sanded the paint off in a lot of areas on my truck so any remaining rust you do see on that hood is bare metal that I just didn't have the energy to spend hours on today!

Also I only had my iPhone and the truck was in dappled lighting so I'm sorry for the imperfect shots but here they are...

One taken before (older shot cuz I forgot to take one today)



And one after



Again I'm sorry for the poor imagery. There's very little paint left on the middle of the hood. It's mostly down to bare metal now.

Here's an after shot on the drivers side



And the passenger side



Anyway it turned out better than I expected yet not as good as I hoped! Not sure at this point how I would make this thing look like the original paint or primer is still there.
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[SulphuriousSam]

P.S.

I'll take better shots in good lighting as soon as I van because there was a big difference it's just hard to see in those shots.
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[SulphuriousSam]

I got to looking at some of the pics I took this weekend and the more I look the more depressed I get about that damn paint...

Spend a zillion hours trying to keep the patina looking real or just paint it flat black and be done with it?

To the left is the top of my bedside after scrubbing with CLR..to the right is before. The PO sanded it entirely down to bare metal then left it exposed.



A patch of the rust on my hood...



a before pic of one section i scrubbed. Look at the windshield wiper arm area.



and after...



Help me out guys...what should I do? Other then quit my B****ing I mean

[SulphuriousSam]

When I started checking out my rear drum brakes I found that one of the little shafts that fits into the wheel cylinder is missing. I bought a new cylinder but they do not come with that shaft and I was told at O'Reilly's that nobody is selling them.



Anybody know where I can order one or am I stuck scrounging a junk yard?

[markeb01]

Perhaps this will head you in the right direction (assuming this is the part you need). No idea if this is the same as a 66 C10 but if you have an old one to compare it might be worth a $4.00 gamble. Also if you can bring the photo and description to a local parts store they might have an old timer that can find it:

http://shop.corvettecentral.com/1953...viewsTabAnchor

[SulphuriousSam]

Originally Posted by markeb01

Perhaps this will head you in the right direction (assuming this is the part you need). No idea if this is the same as a 66 C10 but if you have an old one to compare it might be worth a $4.00 gamble. Also if you can bring the photo and description to a local parts store they might have an old timer that can find it:

http://shop.corvettecentral.com/1953...viewsTabAnchor

Thanks Mark, it doesn't look like the one I'm missing but I don't have it right in front of me either. I'll try and get a look at it again but the one I'm missing doesn't have a slotted end it has more of a T shaped head on it with a V indention...hard to explain without a pic, I know sorry!

[SulphuriousSam]

I just noticed a picture in post #6 of the thread below that shows exactly what I need. In the picture he has the brake tore down and the new wheel cylinder installed. I am missing one of the two pins that are sticking out of the wheel cylinder.

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=439219

[LostMy65]

Man - O - Man is that a good looking truck.
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[SulphuriousSam]

Originally Posted by LostMy65

Man - O - Man is that a good looking truck.
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Thanks! She has a certain charm that just snagged me and won't let go...actually I think my wife is beginning to see my truck as a rival

[KroAutomotiveInc]

looking good man i would just leave the original paint i think it gives a classic look (that takes 40 years to make) and you will never get it back if you paint it i wish i never would of messed with mine!

[AZ66GMC]

Nice project you can't go wrong for $100

Keep the pics coming



Tony
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[KroAutomotiveInc]

Originally Posted by markeb01

Perhaps this will head you in the right direction (assuming this is the part you need). No idea if this is the same as a 66 C10 but if you have an old one to compare it might be worth a $4.00 gamble. Also if you can bring the photo and description to a local parts store they might have an old timer that can find it:

http://shop.corvettecentral.com/1953...viewsTabAnchor

that one should work fine almost all the parts are the same for these trucks no matter the year

[SulphuriousSam]

Originally Posted by KroAutomotiveInc

looking good man i would just leave the original paint i think it gives a classic look (that takes 40 years to make) and you will never get it back if you paint it i wish i never would of messed with mine!

Yeah I'm still not sure about the paint but I have some time to decide since I'm not messing with it until I get this thing road worthy anyway. Problem is I really kinda wanted mine to look alot like yours I guess it's all in your background, and while I do like the ole patina, it just doesn't seem right to me. Where I come from your hotrod, muscle car, kustom, etc. was supposed to have a cool paint job too!

Originally Posted by AZ66GMC

Nice project you can't go wrong for $100

Keep the pics coming



Tony
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Thanks for the encouragement!

Originally Posted by KroAutomotiveInc

that one should work fine almost all the parts are the same for these trucks no matter the year

I actually discovered the original pin laying in the drive outside the shop. The PO had dismantled the brake on that side and then put the wheel back onto the hub. It must have fallen out when we unloaded from the trailer. Hopefully that's taken care of now.

I'll find out for sure this week as the plan is to finish rebuilding the rear brakes and get my bed floor done and bolted down in the evenings after work.

Next in line is pulling the heads and having the machine shop do a valve job. I hope to have that done by the end of the month. That little job will let me know the next step and whether or not I need to rebuild the engine or not.

Of course if the engine needs a rebuild then I have another delima because then I have to decide whether to sink money into the little 283 or maybe upgrade to a 350...hmmm...just so happens there's a 350 short block in the shop ready for a build...

[SulphuriousSam]

So I'm freshening up this 283 and thought I'd ask if anybody had suggestions on mods/upgrades to pep this puppy up a little? I tried weeding through the site for relevant threads but my search skills are weak

I know rebuilding the whole thing will be pricey so I'm trying to avoid that if I can. But are there some individual changes that I can make that will help?

Upgrade to 4 barrel intake/carb?

New Cam? If so what? I like the sound of the thumper cams but other than sound are they an improvement over the stock original? Is there something better?

What's the pros/cons of going to a triple duece setup? Probably not feasable for a driver huh?

I'd love some input on what upgrades I can do to this motor without doing them all at once! I'll probably have the motor out when I have the heads off anyway so I'm going to pretty her up a little. Does anybody know the factory engine color for the 283 in 66?

[markeb01]

I can offer a little input on the 3 deuces, although my only experience was with a 406 Ford intake on a 1963 Galaxie 390. It was simply the coolest intake system I ever owned. When dialed in properly they are great for a daily driver because essentially you’re just driving on the center two barrel. Mine took a lot of work to get it set up correctly, but with a 4 speed manual transmission I actually measured 18 mpg two or three times. Unfortunately I almost always found a “need” to use the outboard carbs which resulted in less than 5 mpg. It was like flushing a toilet. If I kept my foot in it long enough I could actually watch the gas gauge drop!

I would love to have 3x2’s again, but it is an expensive upgrade.

And here is a rather lengthy thread on the joys and issues of Thumpr cams. I'd like one of those as well:

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...ght=thumpr+cam

[SulphuriousSam]

Originally Posted by markeb01

I can offer a little input on the 3 deuces, although my only experience was with a 406 Ford intake on a 1963 Galaxie 390. It was simply the coolest intake system I ever owned. When dialed in properly they are great for a daily driver because essentially you’re just driving on the center two barrel. Mine took a lot of work to get it set up correctly, but with a 4 speed manual transmission I actually measured 18 mpg two or three times. Unfortunately I almost always found a “need” to use the outboard carbs which resulted in less than 5 mpg. It was like flushing a toilet. If I kept my foot in it long enough I could actually watch the gas gauge drop!

I would love to have 3x2’s again, but it is an expensive upgrade.

And here is a rather lengthy thread on the joys and issues of Thumpr cams. I'd like one of those as well:

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...ght=thumpr+cam

Hey Mark, thanks for the informative response!

The 3 x 2 just looks so cool! I know it's expensive which goes against the grain of my project goals...but if I could I would have one just for the coolness factor! Summit had one with all 3 carbs on it for only a couple grand! That's one way to take the "budget" out of my budget build

The Thumpr cam thread you found was really informative too. I'll have to ponder that one as well...

I think it's going to be very hard (and expensive) to get much out of the ole 283, but I can't seem to get past the old school coolness factor of having that original engine in there all shiny and tuned.

Anyway I really thank you for your input, I always enjoy your posts sir

[monolith]

On that brake cylinder pin issue-If you cant find the part anywhere else you may want to go visit a local brake shop that's been around for a while and see if they have anything in their spare parts bin.

[SulphuriousSam]

Originally Posted by monolith

On that brake cylinder pin issue-If you cant find the part anywhere else you may want to go visit a local brake shop that's been around for a while and see if they have anything in their spare parts bin.

Thanks, that's a good idea! I did find the missing part...unless another one fell out! But I will remember that if it becomes an issue later.

[KroAutomotiveInc]

for sure but ya when its on the road and you got the money to get paint get it but till then theres nothing wrong with the classic rust paint lol!

[KroAutomotiveInc]

as for the motor a tune up plugs, wires, cap rotor, oil change did wonders for mine but since its already a v8 i would go with the 350 if you got one more power for less!

[SulphuriousSam]

Here's a small update. I managed to get the rear brakes rebuilt last night.



And while I had the truck up in the shop I took a couple more shots of the hood. Mind you it's been over a week since the CLR treatment and alot of the surface rust has reappeared but I think it's possible in these pics to see how much the CLR cleaned up from the original shots.







I don't think I'll do anymore CLR on the paint until I've got her in a road ready state, then I will work on covering the bare metal with something other than rust

[SulphuriousSam]

Progress!

I wasn't really planning to do it this soon but we went ahead and pulled my engine this weekend. Pulled the heads off and going to do have the valve job done. I'm also going to be ordering a re-ring kit and a new cam and lifter set for it.

In the mean time I have lots of cleaning and sand-blasting to do









I've also found that the cab of my truck is the best baby sitter ever for my daughter You almost can't pry her out of there!



Also a quick shot of cool looking 39 Dodge rat rod here in town.



I know it's not a Chevy but it does look cool and it's a BBC engine

[KroAutomotiveInc]

man its so clean in your engine compartment i scraped grease forever! i still have several inchs of it on the cross member that i cant really get to with the motor in lol!

[SulphuriousSam]

Originally Posted by KroAutomotiveInc

man its so clean in your engine compartment i scraped grease forever! i still have several inchs of it on the cross member that i cant really get to with the motor in lol!

I thought mine was pretty gunked up actually! Well my friend Craig was off work yesterday and he got bored so he de-greased and powerwashed my engine compartment. So I went by after work and spray painted under there and now she looks like a whole other animal

The lighting makes the paint look grey but it's actually black.





Can't wait to get crackin on my motor. I think I've settled on chevy blue and some black for the paint. I found an article that said the chevy orange color was only in passenger cars in 66 and all trucks were blue/grey. So that gives me an excuse to skip the orange which is just so over done IMO Don't flame me! I like the orange but everybody does it. I want mine to be different

[KroAutomotiveInc]

lookin good man and i think the blue will look awsome!