Intro from an old Assembly Plant guy

[1985-GMC]

I love the two Pontiacs in the garage, they look great!

The lowboy is really cool too, I would have bought one just like that a few years ago at a garage sale but someone had already snatched it right before I got there.

[survivingalone]

were the body side moldings you installed precut or did you cut them from a roll? where did you get the from? thank you.

[Keith Seymore]

Originally Posted by survivingalone

were the body side moldings you installed precut or did you cut them from a roll? where did you get the from? thank you.

Precut - from LMC. There was one section I had to trim shorter, I believe the pieces that go behind the rear wheels on the box side. Other than that they were pre-cut.

K

[notallthere]

Nice truck and Pontiacs. I thought I recognized them from the Widetrackers.

[Keith Seymore]

Yes - that would be me -

K

[tylervalo]

Keith, how did you paint the inside of your doors? Did you just use rattle can spray or do you use a gun and compressor?

[Keith Seymore]

I used a spray can. Duplicolor Code 72 red.

It came out a little flatter than the rest of the paint but so far nobody has noticed. I have a spray gun but didn't want to bust it out for such a small job.

K

[ChevyGearHeads]

Hello, I work for Allied Systems, one of the companies that transports the new cars from the Flint plant to their seperate destinations.
also welcome aboard!

[beamn7]

Keith, what a fantastic thread! My 78 that's been in the family since new is next up for resto and your posts with the patch panel install helps! 85 is pretty much done... errrrrr, are they ever done?

DirtyLarry and I are both field service reps for Workhorse chassis division of Navistar and get into the Troy, MI office periodically. Would be great to hook up with you sometime and swap stories!

Great job on Lil Red!

Jesse

[Keith Seymore]

Originally Posted by beamn7

Keith, what a fantastic thread! My 78 that's been in the family since new is next up for resto and your posts with the patch panel install helps! 85 is pretty much done... errrrrr, are they ever done?

DirtyLarry and I are both field service reps for Workhorse chassis division of Navistar and get into the Troy, MI office periodically. Would be great to hook up with you sometime and swap stories!

Great job on Lil Red!

Jesse

Sure - shoot me a PM the next time you two are in town; we'll tour the estate and drink some coffee -

K

[Keith Seymore]

Originally Posted by ChevyGearHeads

Hello, I work for Allied Systems, one of the companies that transports the new cars from the Flint plant to their seperate destinations.
also welcome aboard!

You might remember the Boutell company of auto haulers in the Flint area - not sure I mentioned it on this thread but I had not one but two uncles who drove for Boutell.

My Uncle Joe was the person that loaned Mr Boutell the money to start the business...

K

[3r!c84]

What is it? Thought you would be in a Chevy volt? I've driven one we got at the dealership. Pretty neat that a electric golfcart is louder than it lol
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[beamn7]

Looks like the Opel/Vauxhall Ampera (European Volt). Very cool Keith!

Jesse

[MalibuSSwagon]

Wow the front end on that Opel is amazing.

[MrBeast]

Man Keith, I am loving your new Digs, you scored on that shop!

[esbstuff]

On the what were they thinking line, I have 2 Q's.

First I should say that I have parted out approx 500 73-87's of which 80% were 73-80's. So needless to say, I seen several weird options etc.

My 'bone' as it should be put, is with carrier bearings.

First --- I had 2 1979's at one time. Twins in almost every sense. Red, marron interior, rubber mats, scottsdales, long box, reg cab, 4x2, 350/350, 3.42's, 12 bolts etc etc. Infact they were with 8 yes eight of the same production number, xxxxxx1, xxxxxx9 (if I remember right...) Obviously built on the day. Anyway one truck had a 2 piece driveshaft, the other just a 1 piece. WHY?

Second 86 (?), 1/2 ton, reg cab, shortbed, 4x4, V6, 700R4, 208, 10 bolt. Obviously this truck had the shortest rear driveshaft available ever... and it had a carrier bearing, no kidding. WHY?

Me and the buddies always throught that some relation to someone at GM supplies carrier bearings. Just our guess.

Thanks in advance!

[J Knight]

Originally Posted by esbstuff

On the what were they thinking line, I have 2 Q's.

First I should say that I have parted out approx 500 73-87's of which 80% were 73-80's. So needless to say, I seen several weird options etc.

My 'bone' as it should be put, is with carrier bearings.

First --- I had 2 1979's at one time. Twins in almost every sense. Red, marron interior, rubber mats, scottsdales, long box, reg cab, 4x2, 350/350, 3.42's, 12 bolts etc etc. Infact they were with 8 yes eight of the same production number, xxxxxx1, xxxxxx9 (if I remember right...) Obviously built on the day. Anyway one truck had a 2 piece driveshaft, the other just a 1 piece. WHY?

Second 86 (?), 1/2 ton, reg cab, shortbed, 4x4, V6, 700R4, 208, 10 bolt. Obviously this truck had the shortest rear driveshaft available ever... and it had a carrier bearing, no kidding. WHY?

Me and the buddies always throught that some relation to someone at GM supplies carrier bearings. Just our guess.

Thanks in advance!

Keeping in line with these Q's from esbstuff, I once owned a 77 GMC SWB, fleetside, 454/TH400/12 bolt, 100% original. It also had 2 drive shafts from the factory with a carrier bearing. On a SWB that seems odd to me, was there a real need for that?

[MalibuSSwagon]

My 86 C10 with 305/SM465 also has a 2 piece driveshaft, I thought it had more to do with the trans than anything else.

[Keith Seymore]

It has to do with propshaft (aka "driveshaft") critical speed.

What you guys might be missing is that propshaft critical speed not just based on wheelbase but is also based on trans type (length), rear axle ratio, tire size, and engine type (larger engines allowing a higher top speed) AND/OR any strange resonances in that particular combination (camping out on that resonance will break the trans/transfer case tailshaft housing).

So - a long wheelbase truck with a low (numerical) rear axle ratio spins the shaft slower and might get a one piece, but an otherwise comparable truck with a high rear axle ratio might get a two piece.

One other comment - critical speed is not directly related to balance, but rigidity. When the shaft exceeds it's critical speed it begins to bow in the middle and swing like a jump rope. Hence the disturbance and durability concerns.

You can get around it by going to a larger diameter steel tube - or more expensive alternative materials like aluminum, carbon fiber or "metal matrix" (an aluminum/carbon wrap).

So - on the two 350 trucks - there could have been a tire difference that put it over the edge, or perhaps a different horsepower rating which would allow for a higher top speed. I can assure you there was something different there that is not obvious to us after the fact.

And - relative to the 454 - that's the setup. In fact, those are the parts we ordered and duplicated when we converted our little white '85 stepper into the race truck.

By the way, I hate the complexity and mass of a two piece setup and go out of my way to order my trucks such that they get a one piece shaft.

K

[esbstuff]

[quote=Keith Seymore;5198257]It has to do with propshaft (aka "driveshaft") critical speed.


So - on the two 350 trucks - there could have been a tire difference that put it over the edge, or perhaps a different horsepower rating which would allow for a higher top speed. I can assure you there was something different there that is not obvious to us after the fact.



Thanks for the reply, I never thought about it that way. These 2 trucks were scrapped 15 plus years ago, an all my records of them are gone too...

[Keith Seymore]

I attended a memorial service for my friend Steve today. He passed away suddenly on July 2nd of a previously undiagnosed heart condition. He was 61 years old.

Steve and I worked at the GM Milford Proving Ground together. He was a mechanic through and through, with an affinity for engines and machines of all kinds. The memorial was held at his farm, about an hour north of where I live. The family had asked any of us with "hot rods" to drive them for a small display. I thought it would be fitting for me to drive lil Red, since that's what he and I worked on when we were together. They also had his '67 GTO, his wife's '69 Chevelle (it was her car from before they were married) and his '72 Chevy pickup parked out in the grass.

Many of us heard Steve say, on more than one occasion, "...after I'm gone I want you to run my ashes through a Chevy big block, running at 4000 rpm. I want to see what the inside looks like." He even reiterated with one of his buddies: "you're gonna take care of that, right?"

So - today was the day. At the end of the service they fired up his '72, which has a 396 in it, and ran it up to 4000 rpm, while pouring some of his ashes down the carb throat. I cried a little.

Godspeed my friend. A hot rodder to the very end.

K

[Keith Seymore]

One of the things I have been I have been meaning to do is visit the dealership where I bought my pickup and take a few pictures. So, since I was out that way today, we stopped by on the way home from Steve's house.

Here it is, nearly 26 years after it was delivered, sitting on the same lot.

K

[mosesburb]

Sorry to hear of your loss, Keith. He sounds like a great guy--especially with his request to see the inside of a BBC wrapping out at 4K. That is hardcore right there. Too cool.

Is the dealership you got your truck from still working under the same name as when you got it there?? Also, being that you drove it down the line, did you actually pick it up there or was that just a location to do the paperwork??

[S10Fan]

Originally Posted by Keith Seymore

I attended a memorial service for my friend Steve today. He passed away suddenly on July 2nd of a previously undiagnosed heart condition. He was 61 years old.

Steve and I worked at the GM Milford Proving Ground together. He was a mechanic through and through, with an affinity for engines and machines of all kinds. The memorial was held at his farm, about an hour north of where I live. The family had asked any of us with "hot rods" to drive them for a small display. I thought it would be fitting for me to drive lil Red, since that's what he and I worked on when we were together. They also had his '67 GTO, his wife's '69 Chevelle (it was her car from before they were married) and his '72 Chevy pickup parked out in the grass.

Many of us heard Steve say, on more than one occasion, "...after I'm gone I want you to run my ashes through a Chevy big block, running at 4000 rpm. I want to see what the inside looks like." He even reiterated with one of his buddies: "you're gonna take care of that, right?"

So - today was the day. At the end of the service they fired up his '72, which has a 396 in it, and ran it up to 4000 rpm, while pouring some of his ashes down the carb throat. I cried a little.

Godspeed my friend. A hot rodder to the very end.

K

Outstanding!

[JohnC]

Sorry to hear about the impact. Guess the engineers did a better job back then than do now. J/k

Congrats on the 199,000 mark and the calendar! Both worthy accolades!
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