Project "Homewrecker" has begun

[zicc1835]

nice truck gonna be sweet when finished.... i owned a 71 many years ago had a TOW Co. up North i gonna look for some pics maybe ill see u TOW GUYS around town
Jess

[tow guys]

Boy, it's been a loooooong time since I posted any updates in here.
Well, we finally got the truck back on it's wheels and rolling again.
The back brakes were a PIA to find all the correct pcs. but we got it done.
In the mean time, we completed some more on the motor and swapped out that crossmember repair I had done with a factory correct pc.
This coming week it's time to reinstall the motor and trans. Then it's back on body work.

[litew8]

Originally Posted by tow guys

My buddy Jim and I purchased this 70 GMC wrecker right here in NJ from a local body shop. The truck has only had 2 owners before us and is currently showing just a tick over 17,000 miles on the odometer. We believe this to be true and accurate as the title states the same. She needs alot of work but did run and move under her own power when we brought her home.
She's sporting a small block 350 with a 4 speed stick along with a beefy 1 ton suspension.
Options are pretty sparse but she does have a padded dash, custom package, am radio, heavy duty alternator and radiator.
Plans are for a full restoration back to her former glory with a small twist. You see, we have a buddy with a 69 Charger General Lee and a 75 Plymouth Fury 4 door police car. We plan to turn this old girl into a Hazzard County Garage tow truck sporting Cooter's favorite red, white and blue paint scheme to compliment his display at car shows.

this is awesome!

[tow guys]

Well, another month + has passed us by and Jim and I have been hard at work.
We have the motor and trans installed (finally) along with the driveshaft and all brake lines.
We still have a few accessories to install on the engine and we need to set up the distributor but atleast it's off the engine stand.
As for the body, well, I have been making some progress but it seems everytime I inspect another corner, I find more hidden damage.
Nothing I can't handle but it all takes time, ya know?
Here's a few pics of our latest progresses.

[tow guys]

Some additional pics from this past weekend. We worked all through that stupid hurricane that didn't quite live up to it's potential lol.

[Dieselwrencher]

Nice progress! The engine and cab work look great! I'm glad to hear the hurricane wasn't severe for you!

[tow guys]

Thanks. We were very lucky here in my little town. Others around the state didn't fare so well. I hear many are still without power since Saturday.
I have bunch more pics of progress but my droid took a dump on me Saturday night so I'm waiting patiently for Fedex to bring me my new one then I can add to this thread.
She's coming along great but boy, I didn't expect this much work lol

[vintageozarks]

Good looking unit,I would have to put it to work. Slip a Wheel Lift under it.

[tow guys]

We may add a wheel lift for the look of it but most probably we'll just put a class 3 hitch and use it as a tow vehicle, not a tow truck.

[tow guys]

Been hard at work again on the underside of the cab and other things.
Still haven't gotten all the undercoating off the bottom but we're close.

We've also been working on our custom exhaust system. We started with a standard 2 1/4" glasspack system from LMC and modified it to fit the wrecker body and accessories associated with it along with a little twist.
Check out the custom side exit exhaust tips flushed up into the body!
They're not permanently mounted yet, just placed for fitment and a quick pic but you get the idea. What do you all think??

[tow guys]

Finally finished up with the underside of the cab. Removing all the factory undercoating was a pain but worth it. First, I por15'd the whole underside then laid down that U-pol Raptor bedliner. What a great product this stuff is. Looks indestructable and went on smooth and easy.

[tow guys]

Spent the day working on the tools rather than the truck for a change.
Decided it was time to add a good filter/dryer to my new compressor set up.
Purchased a DeVILBISS QC3 DESICCANT AIR FILTER DRYER from tcpglobal (great company by the way).
This morning it was off to Home Depot for a bunch of copper pipe and we spent the day plumbing the new system.
We used 3/4" pipe from the compressor up to the dryer (all type L of course) with a drain before the filter along with a shutoff at the compressor itself.
Then we used 1/2" pipe (also type L) out of the included regulator to (so far) 2 different drop spots around the garage with quick connects for ease of use. We will be adding probably 1 more drop spot along with at least 1 retractable hose reel.
This was my 1st time sweating pipe and I must say, it was tricky at first but after a couple of joints, I actually got the hang of it and it was fun.
Looking forward to dry, clean air from now on.
Here's a couple of pics of the heart of the new system.

[litew8]

"Breaker one, breaker one, I might be crazy but I aint dumb, crazzzzy Cooter comin at'cha, ya'll got ya ears on?" - Cooter

Exhaust looks

[tanman722001]

cool looking project.Your doing a great job on it.

[tow guys]

Thanks fellas. It's alot of work but enjoying every minute of it. Looking forward to the next one already lol
Posted via Mobile Device

[nbrfd007]

Great work, truck is looking good.

[Dieselwrencher]

The exhaust looks killer! The cab floor looks amazing! Very nice! I'd like to set up my air lines like you have but it'll be a while before I get enough down time to get to that.

[tow guys]

Posted via Mobile Device

[tow guys]

It took a full day and close to 600$ but it was worth it. I now have clean dry air and am considering painting the truck myself now that I have the confidence thati can be successful
Posted via Mobile Device

[tow guys]

Wow, it's been a loooong time since this resto thread was last updated. I realize now that by making a new folder for all the pics that I seem to have broken all the previous links so.......here's a link to the entire photobucket folder for our Homewrecker project.
http://s143.photobucket.com/albums/r...20Homewrecker/

We have made tons of progress in the past few months and we are about half way through the painting process. We have a few items to readress but all in all, not a bad 1st job.
As always, thanks for looking and especially for all the knowledge you guys have passed along through this board. I've really learned alot and continue to do so every time I log in.

Tony

[wild4wheels]

OMG I hate photobucket. Truck is coming along nice though!

[Tinkermc]

would be nice if I could see the pictures, I like the idea of a true support vechile

[tow guys]

Check out my photobucket link in my previous post. There's a ton of pics.
Thanks
Tony
Posted via Mobile Device

[tow guys]

Well, the cab finally has paint on it. Later on this evening we have a few buddies stopping by to help us hoist it on to the chassis. The entire driveline has been installed along with the exhaust system so that should make life easier rather than crawling underneath the cab to hook certain things up later. Next up is wiring the ignition, installing the gas tank, radiator support and installing new hoses and a belt then firing the motor.

[tow guys]

Well, about another month has gone by and there's been plenty of progress with the Homewrecker despite the oppressive heat we've been experiencing in the north east most of this summer. Jim and I managed to install the cab (with a bit of help from a few buddies and a few 6 packs). We have also begun the task of reinstalling all the interior accessories and wiring. We've also been quite busy collecting parts and tidying up under the hood.
Here's a few shots from the past few weekends. We have to take more but you get the idea.





Incidentally, all the previous broken links to pics has been fixed. I recently created a subfolder in photobucket for the project and didn't realize it broke all the links