Danny Boy is BAACK! w/ '55 Big Window

[OrrieG]

Go with standard 10w-40 weight oil. I run Dextron II in my TH350 with no problem. Old trick was to run Ford fluid it supposedly tightened up the shift a little but I never noticed any difference. If it is going to see a lot of highway use and higher temperatures you might switch to 20w-50 in the summer. If you are lucky the guy had the valve seats changed when it was rebuilt. If not I would not sweat it, I have ran 283's on unleaded fuel up to 150K miles with no valve problems. Have fun with it, 283 is my favorite engine. Will rev like crazy and nice clean heads visually.

[Dan in Pasadena]

Thanks so much Orrie for the input. Its already been 90 degrees here a few days so I'm planning on putting 20w-50 in it right away. It's neverf going to see highway or a lot of use. This will be a weekend Home Depot-run driver and play toy. I have a soft spot for 283's too because I helped my Dad install his in place of the original six on his '59 when I was probably 10 years old. Later he replaced it with a 348 and though very powerful it nevr ran as nicely as the 283. Mine has a bit of a cam in it so I'll be running premium in it. No idea if the valve seats were changed out of not. Guess I'll find out!

For all the work I've done to cars I sheepishly admit I've never change tranny fluid before. I know I drain, drop the pan and clean the screen. Any trick to that other than make sure it's totally clean? Any particular gasket or gasket sealant recommended? Tranny has an old Hurst shifter that too short on it. I'll eventually put a Lokar on it, in the mean time I need to take the cover off and clean and lube it. White moly grease okay for this?

I'm also looking for pix of clean PAINTED small blocks as I'm gonna clean this thing up (Krylon rebuild!) and NOT spend money for finned valve covers, etc like I want to in the short term.

[Dan in Pasadena]

So, 'ya want pictures do 'ya? Be careful what you ask for - I'm so "in love" with this stupid thing I take pictures before I leave for the office in the morning. What an idiot, huh?

In her new home driveway this morning. I cleaned up one corner of the front bumper just to see if it was as good as I thought it might be.


Compare to the as-purchased condition above. I thought the rear window was etched and ruined but it came out clean. Now I truly have a spare big rear window! Another reason the price was reasonable (to me!)


Original owner tack welded this plate on 3 sides-ugh, what a water trap. Got about 6 spot welds ground off before my El Cheapo Harbor Freight grinder started getting too hot to hold. Bed below isn't as bad as I thought it would be. One board missing, others fall apart if you touch the wood with a scraper.


Closer up:


The worst (and only so far EDIT - opps, forgot passenger side cab corner) rust through:


Door steps are clean as are floors except for light surface rust:



Advice on how to repair this? I want to KEEP the original radio & knob holes but fix the drilled spot. Anyone make a patch panel or I've got to fab two tiny patches?

[kgmunro]

I think you started with a pretty good truck....way to go!

[MrTucker]

you can get a patch panel for that from several places...LMC, Brothers, Classic...

[ChuckDriver]

Dan, the more I see of it the more I like it! Lots of ways to lower the rear, it's just how much do you want to spend. I think the easiest way would be to go with a different spring on the rear, maybe a monoleaf. I'm not sure but you may be able to do a flip and put the rear above the springs. One of the Truck Mags did a complete lowering job on one using the stock suspension, just swapped the springs and it turned out nice. Maybe, CPP, Posie's or Brothers might have what you need.

The dash, I think I would get a patch panel and cut out what you need. But a good metal man may be able to fab up the patches.

Defeinetly pull the steel from the bed and replace the boards, but try to leave it rustic looking.

It sure is fun isn't it!

[Dan in Pasadena]

Thanks Chuck. Coming from you I consider that quite a compliment.

I stopped off after work tonight and for a little over $100 I bought oil, filter, tranny fluid & gasket, battery hold down bracket (new battery is just sitting up there, nothing holding it), four cans of Duplicolor Self Etching Primer (all they had) and some VHT silver for the valve covers in my upcoming El Cheapo "Krylon Rebuild". The engine runs so good but looks SO bad. Anyone have a GOOD product for painting those gnarly headers? I'd like silver ala ceramic coating (but I'm too cheap) but I can do with BBQ black.

Also have to pop off the wheels and take a look at the brakes. LOTS of pedal but all that means is they've been adjusted up. I want to see if the wheel bearings have been updated too.

I can't recall if I mentioned it above but I have a new-to-me Hobart 140 MIG welder (that I don't know how to use) and I have that kick panel to repair. Since that's a hardly noticeable area after its repaired, I think its a marriage made in Heaven! I don't have the bottle/gas, mask, gloves or leathers yet (Harbor Freight anyone?) but I'll get to that soon.

If I get better while doing the kick panel I'll take on the passenger cab corner, a couple misc holes in the bed rails, and if I REALLY get good (yeah, right) I'll make a run at those dash holes.

[chevyrestoguy]

Dan-
The more I look at that truck the more I like it. You've got a solid, driving runner and I'm jealous. The vehicles that I have had the most fun with were the ones that were runners, but needed a little TLC. It seems like every little thing you do makes a huge difference. It makes it fun.

When I said "flush", I meant just a simple drain/filter/re-fill. I would suggest a new set of valve cover gaskets before you do the engine paint work. For de-greasing, I have had great luck with Purple Power, which is super cheap and sold at Walmart. I use it at 100% strength for heavy de-greasing. As far as a coating for the headers there are many options, but you have to ensure that the headers are clean (preferably sandblasted). I like the look of a gray/silver header, but have had great luck with an exhaust paint (black) that Honda sells at their motorcycle shops. You have to weight the cost of sandblasting versus the cost of a new set. Take a good look at the current headers you have. They might be cheapies, so spending a lot of time and money on them might be a bad deal. The beauty of a small block Chevy is that parts are easy to find, and even though there are many different applications of headers, 80% of them look identical. You might find a brand new set on Craigslist for cheap.

The rust repair inside the cab is a great place to learn how to use the MIG. As far as the dash, you can buy a repair panel and weld in new sections, but that means you will have to re-paint the dash. Maybe you can check the hardware section at Lowes or Home Depot for escutchions that you can use that will cover the holes temporarily. Maybe a large beveled washer coupled with a thin aluminum faceplate? You never know until you look.

[Dan in Pasadena]

Excellent suggestions one and all Chevyrestoguy, thanks. Especially the Honda motorcycle paint. I'll definitely check that out. I have also read here a few times that guys use BBQ paint and it holds up.

Today I took a "mental health day" and played with my toy all day. I changed the oil & filter, dropped the tranny pan and cleaned the screen. Excellent news, the inside was pristinely clean. Fluid was still red and clear. No particles in the screen. Minor sludge at the bottom of the pan. Of course I washed all that out.

I also pulled the tailgate - Man, that gate is arrow straight. only two extremely minor dents, hardly noticeable at all. I can't believe its 55 years old! Feather out all the chips in the paint and got rid of the minor surface rust. I have pictures of all this but don't have my cord so I can't download the pic's til tomorrow. I still need to drain/fill the the rearend. Anyone know how much fluid it takes for a Chevy 10 bolt? I'm planning on using Castrol 90 wt, unless someone thinks there's a good reason to go with something else?

[floridasteve]

That price is GREAT if you ask me. Here in Florida it is almost impossible to find a truck. Let alone with a V8 and 10 bolt rear. Way to go, drive the wheels off it.

[Dan in Pasadena]

Thanks Chevyrestoguy and Orrie G for the good advice but also for sharing my enjoyment of this rattletrap! I like to think that if we lived down the block from each other we'd be talking over the same stuff standing in one of our driveways over beers.

It's amazing to me that no one at an auto parts store can tell you the capacity on a 350TH or a 10 bolt rearend. They're pretty young for the most part but I know there ARE young guys/girls who like & know cars. Apparently they just don't hire 'em. As you'll see below, if you tell them you don't know what make/model/year the tranny came out of its like asking a monkey to do a math problem. See the pan gasket I got from the (probably) 19 year old woman at the counter. I ended up at the good old reliable greasy independent parts house for the right one.

Pan vs. Gasket from Pep Boys. What's wrong with THIS picture?


Tranny appears to be sano, fluid is clear-red, sediment is minimal and normal (I think) Opinions?


EDIT: I'd better add this pic to let you know I clean out that pan and hammered out the crease in it


Front brakes are mildy worn. Last brake job was pro or experienced or would'nt have the white moly grease where it should be and certainly would'nt have brand new adjustment hole rubber plugs. Note 5 lug hubs are not drilled old 6 lug hubs. A late 80's "update" while keeping drum brakes


Fun stuff. My tailgate is nearly pristine even after 56 years!! two barely noticeable dings, zero cancer. Feathered out and painted Duplicolor Etching Primer.

Before:

In Process:

After:

[Kim57]

Dan in Pasadena
Looks like it's shaping up nicely.
Kim

[Dan in Pasadena]

Yup, I really enjoy noodling around with this thing. Probably inudating the board with too many photo's...but that'lll pass...probably

Going to look at some CL tires this afternoon. Soon as I find some and mount my vintage Torque Thrusts the truck will look hella better...at least to me!

[Dan in Pasadena]

Oops, Forgot a couple things.

The tailgate on this truck looked so pristine after I painted it I could'nt bring myself to leave it completely unprotected by taking off that monstrosity of a bumper as I'd planned. So I took off the giant angle iron that was going to kill my shin eventually and tossed it. A fast and dirty sand and spray job sorta/kinda improves the look back there. The 20 some holes lightens the weight

Bumper Before:

Closeup:

After:

[chev3600]

You got lucky with that tailgate for sure. Looks way cleaner with the "new" bumper.
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[kgmunro]

Keep the pictures coming....the more the marrier!

[waybad]

sweet!

[Dan in Pasadena]

I promised photos ... and my daughter hasn't made it over with my camera (surprising, huh?) SO here are some admittedly terrrible cell phone pix so at least you can kinda see what I was up to this weekend.

$40 to dismount the tires from the F150 rims they came on, mount, balance and remove replace existing slots on it. Oh, and repair one screw hole I hadn't noticed when I bought the tires. I also bought a set of chrome lug nuts with locks from Pep Boys for I think $27 so I don't feel I'm in it for too much. To you younger guys, yes the sidewalls are tall and the truck needs to be lowered. But for a driver I'm liking the tire-to-wheel well distance in the rear and in the front if I can at least cut in half the distacne from the top of tire to the wheel well I'll be happy for awhile. Anyway, I'm so happ to have matching, safe rubber on it that is balanced and hold air! The ride back on the freeway felt like a Lexus compared to the ride over!!





I was told these are original SoCal Speed Shop caps from back in the day, BEFORE the shop was resurrected as it is now. ANyway, I like them alot.

[Kim57]

Nice looking wheels.
Kim

[hardwaa]

SUPER COOL truck. Glad to see you are Driving it and did not tear it apart. Enjoy it. This is a truck most people will look at and say Why don't I have one of these?

[ChuckDriver]

I like it!

[Rude Dude]

I installed a Petronix magnetic pick up on a Model A coupe with SBC (Since Sold), cost was $80 dollars was real easy there was no modification to distributor. All you do shim distance from cam lobe to mag pick up, it is pretty easy just follow instructions,they are very good.

[Dan in Pasadena]

Originally Posted by hardwaa

...This is a truck most people will look at and say Why don't I have one of these?

Kinda like YOURS!

Yours is the SUPER COOL truck. I can't wait til mine is improving appearence wise.

I've still got to R&R the rearend fluid - maybe today. And I have to throw in new plugs, wire, cap, rotor. For the time being just to get it running tip top I think I'll just put in new points & condensor. Haven't done THAT job in about 35 years!!

[sgtusmc]

Dan, I'm really enjoying this build. That tail gate looks sharp. Keep up the good work Buddy!

[Kabwe]

Nice truck congrats on your purchase. I will be looking forward to your updates.