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

[Grizz1963]

The Thames river behind the truck and tractor.



I will upload some more tomorrow, my pics are high resolution, so take a while to upload.

Final one, I was looking to take a pic that I can turn into a poster.

I enjoy black and white, as well as Sepia, so will try some more.

[Grizz1963]

Originally Posted by jimmydean

Nice truck and good looking can.

Thanks Jimmydean. I think so too.

Was on Ebay looking for a steel boat fuel tank when I saw a blue one like this over in Missouri that remonded me I had bought one last year for about $7.50
I had tried to give it to a buddy for his car, but he eas not interested at the time (thankfully) so now I have it for our truck.
I am still going to investigate a nice old boat tank, possibly modded with a better neck safely welded or brazed on. Then pinstriped etc.
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[Grizz1963]

Stripping off trucks chrome side trim etc....?

Right, the decission has already been made to bring our plan of action forward by three years.
Due to unforseen circumstance and unfortunate rear ending of the truck 10 minutes after buying it (you could not make it up this good) by my wife..... In 30 years of driving she has never even hit a shopping trolley. So of course we were both gutted when we saw that the rear bumper had dented the rear light panel bent itself and pushed the rear fender out over the wheel, cracking the paint over the chassis stay. Tough luck ehhh?? We have decided that rather than me do the repaint myself in three years, I will find someone who can repair rust, multiple dents, dings and scratches sooner than planned and of course at our own expense.
It means denting our unemployment backup savings, but it is a priority, RIGHT?

I am planning on stripping and refitting the major bits like chrome, lights, grille, bumpers etc to try contain costs.
Plan is a cab on respray with rear body off. This is and will stay a driver and "working truck"


My question today is this.....

Just how hard is it to remove all the chrome side trim etc without destroying it?

Our trucks side trim is actually quite damaged but there is no way I can afford to replace the whole set with new.

The bits I am concerned about are by the door lock on the body etc.

Happy for all advice, links, videos, photos and laughter at the situation that got us here.

Thanks for your input.
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[R_W]

Originally Posted by Grizz1963

Stripping off trucks chrome side trim etc....?"


My question today is this.....

Just how hard is it to remove all the chrome side trim etc without destroying it?.

Got a 6 year old?

Nuts on the front fenders, pull out on the doors, have to squeeze little clips from the back side on the smaller piece on the bed...but not to bad. Wee little hands help.
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[Grizz1963]

Originally Posted by R_W

Got a 6 year old?

Nuts on the front fenders, pull out on the doors, have to squeeze little clips from the back side on the smaller piece on the bed...but not to bad. Wee little hands help.
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BRILLIANT !!!!

Thanks for the reply.
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[markthebass]

hi grizz
i,m a previous owner of this truck.i play double bass in the memphis flyers.i think i sold the truck onto rob,who said he was planning to use it to transport motorbike/s around.
i,m from hastings and probably owned the truck for about 18 months.i purchased the truck from a guy in ninfield near bexhill,i can,t recall his name at the moment.i,ll have a check round and see what pics etc i have saved and try and forward them to you..cheers mark

[Grizz1963]

Originally Posted by markthebass

hi grizz
i,m a previous owner of this truck.i play double bass in the memphis flyers.i think i sold the truck onto rob,who said he was planning to use it to transport motorbike/s around.
i,m from hastings and probably owned the truck for about 18 months.i purchased the truck from a guy in ninfield near bexhill,i can,t recall his name at the moment.i,ll have a check round and see what pics etc i have saved and try and forward them to you..cheers mark

Woooot !!!

Thanks for registering Mark, I was just watching one of your videos over the weekend, so the drummer is not the previous owner.

I stay in touch with Rob as we are both into bikes as well, and I am a former nurse too, he works in stroke rehabilitation.

I love this truck a whole lot, and thankfully my wife allows me to spend time with it.

I was really pleased Dave sent me some pics too.

Show us your new truck.......

[Ta2Don]

Originally Posted by markthebass

hi grizz
i,m a previous owner of this truck.i play double bass in the memphis flyers.i think i sold the truck onto rob,who said he was planning to use it to transport motorbike/s around.
i,m from hastings and probably owned the truck for about 18 months.i purchased the truck from a guy in ninfield near bexhill,i can,t recall his name at the moment.i,ll have a check round and see what pics etc i have saved and try and forward them to you..cheers mark

aboard… Lots of great folks out here...

Originally Posted by Grizz1963

Woooot !!!

Thanks for registering Mark, I was just watching one of your videos over the weekend, so the drummer is not the previous owner.

I stay in touch with Rob as we are both into bikes as well, and I am a former nurse too, he works in stroke rehabilitation.

I love this truck a whole lot, and thankfully my wife allows me to spend time with it.

I was really pleased Dave sent me some pics too.

Show us your new truck.......

Awesome finding background info... plus recruiting...

[Grizz1963]

I have heard of traveling on a budget, but this must be the cheapest run around Paris, France you will get.

With Nicola and her daughter out to France last week for her birthday, I wondered how to share the pics I know some of the guys on here like to see. But they are all in high resolution, so emailing 125 photos in batches of 5 was never going to work.
So I loaded them into a file on her laptop, placed my digital camera on a tin of Heinz soup,and had the works iPad play some French music next to it while filming the screen in the dark kitchen, after which I uploaded it to YouTube. Think a piece of string, a couple of paper clips and an old shoe technology.

Mostly photos taken in Notre Dame, Sacre Coeur churches, and grave yards, including Jim Henderson of the Doors and Oscar Wilde the author's graves. Some skulls and bones of 6 million dead people in the catacombs under Paris toward the end.

So here you go......... Paris on the cheap.


http://youtu.be/VBAgJ1W5jKE


I hope you have a glass of wine at hand and some cheese.

Sorry about the not so professional quality.

[da_bears_da1]

Congrats on the new truck! Overall it looks nice. I agree about previous owners, using explosives to cut holes it seems.

I have a stepside so can't really advise on the trim removal. Too bad about the accident but there is a silver lining, you are going to get some work done quickly. Looking forward to where your build goes.

[Ta2Don]

Mucho interested! Truck is looking good Griz. Hope to see some pics from the American Car Show on the 4th should you attend...
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[Ta2Don]

Awesome! Thanks for sharing...
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[Grizz1963]

Originally Posted by Ta2Don

Awesome! Thanks for sharing...
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Hi Don

Thank you.
When I look at all the inspirational builds on here, the least I can do is to try to keep up.
I cannot afford a high dollar truck, so just need to make the most of what I have.
I know how rough the cosmetics are on the truck, so everything I do however small makes it better for us.
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[bj383ss]

Looks fantastic Rian. Love your wheels. Any chance you have any sound clips of the engine. Look forward to your next installment

Bret
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[Grizz1963]

Originally Posted by bj383ss

Looks fantastic Rian. Love your wheels. Any chance you have any sound clips of the engine. Look forward to your next installment

Bret
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Hi Bret

Thank you. 07.00 on a stunning Monday morning. Suspect it will be a hot one again.
As mentioned above, I know everything I get done is an improvement.
The only clip I have currently is on page one when I brought the truck in the first time.

I am sure I can get Nicola to do a short clip of the engine.
The biggest problem is loading them up on Youtube.

Watch this space.
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[da_bears_da1]

Very nice job on making the paint look good and the engine bay. Glad to see the farm pics, just something about our trucks in a farm setting.

[Grizz1963]

Originally Posted by da_bears_da1

Very nice job on making the paint look good and the engine bay. Glad to see the farm pics, just something about our trucks in a farm setting.

Agreed.

That was the plan.

I always wanted to photograph it on the farm.

Also want to try some graffitti as a background

[Grizz1963]

In the ongoing introduction to the truck and all its woe's

Because I post on a variety of forums, from trains, planes and automobiles to teardrop trailers, so stuff may not be of interest to all, but I cannot write entries for every forum, so here goes.

Tonight I am posting the main dings and dents to the trim.

Right, some idiot, at some point had obviously locked themselves out of the truck, and then proceeded to try enter through the quarter light with the help of a crowbar. With the repaint 9 years ago the mirror was relocated and the holes filled with chewing gum, maybe.... The quarterlight rubber seals as rotten too, fortunately the front and rear screen seals are good.



Next up, passenger door flipped open by wind and put a crease all the way down, taking the shiny trim with it.

Not particularly repairable in my book.



Front spear passenger side.



Passenger side door and cab trim.



Fleetside rear passenger side. Inbetween the trim there used to a sticker and some idiot removed it with a screwdriver or knife, damaging the paint.
You can see how the paint has been damaged.






Driver side, some of the trim had been bent over and pushed back.



Front grille had been struck at some point over the second "E" and repaired with a ballpein hammer.
The grille is very scratched from some "attention" it had been given in the past.



There is rust on the trailing edges of the fenders that needs repairing and a variety of other bits to be fixed when the paint gets done.

More later.

[Grizz1963]

And a few more from the farm

















Just goes to show, this is one photogenic truck.

Despite the flaws, it is going to be good when I am done with it.

Looking forward to it evolving with Nicola and I.

[McMurphy]

Just the fact that the English folk even acknowledge the American Holiday of the 4th of July and all that it signifies piques my curiosity.
I find that interesting and would enjoy hearing more of it.

Having been abroad, I am aware of how Americans and the US are perceived, and none of them help celebrate our independence....

I finally have all the parts of that silly PS pump for you!
I wish the gear box was not so painfully weighty to send to you, as I have a spare one of those as well !!

What took so long was that I realized I had removed the belt pully from the front of the pump, and had to do a bit of searching to locate it for you.

Sadly I do not have the specific bracket you will need for your engine style.
Perhaps someone else on the board has one they dont need....

Should know shipping for you tomorrow, if I manage to not endure a crazy day at work that is....


Good looking truck, it photographs very well indeed

[Grizz1963]

TONIGHT'S TRICK QUESTION....

When I bought the truck it had just had a full roadworthiness test, which included the headlights.
On the day we looked, the seller proudly wanted to show me the lights which had historically failed from time to time, but always came back on when he fiddled with the dim/bright switch.
On Saturday they refused to work and still do.

Ideas, tips etc????

Do I teplace parts outright or are there logical yrouble shooting to be done?
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[R_W]

If the harness is all original, here are some things to try:

Right around the radiator there is a 3 wire plug, it's to the left of this red wire nut, make sure it is in good



Make sure the firewall connectors are in good



And if none of that works, take the three wires going into the foot switch and try a direct short like the switch would do, to see if the switch is faulty. I don't have a diagram in front of me, so you'll have to figure that part...


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[Grizz1963]

After work yesterday I raced about and took the truck, with Mickey my neighbour down to a local industrial estate to see if we could get the hole for the towball enlarged.

I had spoken to an engineering shop already who said bring it in after work, but he insisted we go try an old friend he had not seen a few years.

Got to where Raj had his shop before ..... Nothing. Turns out he moved a few years ago to much bigger premises less than a kilometer away.

Got there and the big guy was not there but "the boys" were impressed by the truck and prepared to give it a go (This is now after hours and Raj allows them to earn "a drink" (English term for a few pounds for a small odd job off the books, a bit like a tip)

Out came the Mag drill and some clamps along with a bit of 10mm steel plate. The drill has a strong electro magnet that allows it to effectively clamp onto the job and work as a pillar drill. With Mickey applying the cutting compound we soon had a 40mm hole for the 32mm bolt to fit through, yes I know, but a couple of heavy duty washers will sort that out. Everything still fits correctly.



Many hands make light work.



At this point Raj came back from a job site into the shop and if Mickey was a puppy he would have peed all over Raj's feet. They obviously have good friendship that has stood the test of time.

I gave the main operator £20 for a "drink" which he was very happy with. I believe in fairness and this will allow me to go back another day with some niggly job.


Job done.

[Grizz1963]

And a clip of the job being done.

I do love a good tool.

Grizz's Redneck Express Towball fitting. - YouTube

Still got no idea how to post these things so the pic shows, lets see if this works.

[Grizz1963]

Well I had Scott "Jabbo" over here today, he got called out to work last night, so had a quick few hours sleep this morning and then came over by 13.00

Scott had wired up the Grizz-Pod Teardrop Trailer a few years ago for me, I had a regular light board which he then wired up to the Taxi cab lights I fitted to the rear.

When it cam to wiring the truck for Euro lighting, I contacted Scott to ask if he was up for a bit of abuse..... to which he thankfully agreed.

I had cut and broken some of the driveway this morning and mixed a batch of concrete to redo the bits I had removed, just wrapping up when he got here.

Soon we had the truck out, and this was the view.



I decided to mount the plug under the load body, behind the bumper for looks and also to keep it safely tucked out of harms way, so this as the result.

My mate Peter "Goose" with whom I traveled in Europe on our bikes last year and his wife came down for an evening BBQ and sleep over as they wanted to join us for bootfair in the morning.

We found via Vernier caliper that the US Spec 2" chromed towball is about 1/2mm bigger than the UK Spec 50mm towball.

So he suggested stripping back the chrome to get it to fit securely into the trailer hitch.

Some time spent in the woodwork shed, gently sanding the ball on my linisher left us with a perfect fitting union.



Of course we needed to get some photos.






Scott and his family had recently moved to a new house and behind the shed he found this......

Seems I have a spare wheel rim now. Just need to get a tyre onto it. Thanks Buddy.

Next up I will clean and refurbish the rim.



That's all for now folks.

Bootfair in the morning.