Boppa's old yeller truck

[KSWes]

Just read through your build today, you had me hooked, I had to keep reading to see if your sorted out the thumping. Damn wheel bearing and spindles I was thinking to myself as I was reading "gotta be somewhere in the wheels or bearings" especially after all the trouble shooting you did, those are always the hardest issues to locate which one is causing the problem. Saw the truck at World of Wheels didn't know the back story then just drooled for a bit and on to the next bit of eye candy. Very classy of you to help your dad build a hot rod I'm sure he's about as proud as can be to cruise it down the road... One of the main reasons I bought my truck is because my dad used to have on just like it (Except Gray) when I was a little kid. I wish my pops lived closer I would say we need to do a build together for him, he loves the tri-fives, maybe someday. Great build now I'm going to check out the LBT build! Thanks for the distraction from work today...

[jlsanborn]

Originally Posted by KSWes

Just read through your build today, you had me hooked, I had to keep reading to see if your sorted out the thumping. Damn wheel bearing and spindles I was thinking to myself as I was reading "gotta be somewhere in the wheels or bearings" especially after all the trouble shooting you did, those are always the hardest issues to locate which one is causing the problem. Saw the truck at World of Wheels didn't know the back story then just drooled for a bit and on to the next bit of eye candy. Very classy of you to help your dad build a hot rod I'm sure he's about as proud as can be to cruise it down the road... One of the main reasons I bought my truck is because my dad used to have on just like it (Except Gray) when I was a little kid. I wish my pops lived closer I would say we need to do a build together for him, he loves the tri-fives, maybe someday. Great build now I'm going to check out the LBT build! Thanks for the distraction from work today...

You came across a good one man. Boppa's Truck is one of my favorite builds on the site. It's just right in my opinion.

Props Chip!
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[Low Elco]

Originally Posted by KSWes

Just read through your build today, you had me hooked, I had to keep reading to see if your sorted out the thumping. Damn wheel bearing and spindles I was thinking to myself as I was reading "gotta be somewhere in the wheels or bearings" especially after all the trouble shooting you did, those are always the hardest issues to locate which one is causing the problem. Saw the truck at World of Wheels didn't know the back story then just drooled for a bit and on to the next bit of eye candy. Very classy of you to help your dad build a hot rod I'm sure he's about as proud as can be to cruise it down the road... One of the main reasons I bought my truck is because my dad used to have on just like it (Except Gray) when I was a little kid. I wish my pops lived closer I would say we need to do a build together for him, he loves the tri-fives, maybe someday. Great build now I'm going to check out the LBT build! Thanks for the distraction from work today...

Thanks for the props! If there were a bunch of loudmouthed fat guys drinking beer behind Yeller, you shoulda stopped and had one!

Boppa had a '67 3/4 ton CST Camper Special (with buddy buckets) the whole time we were growing up. I've spent a lot of hours in that truck, and it was a great truck.

Uncle Matt has some friends that have a quasi-street rod shop at their AWESOME place outside Smithville, and a couple weeks ago when we had one great weather day, I went to a hog roast up there. I was in LBT, and I made Boppa drive Yeller, 'cause I'd never really seen it go down the road! It looks good on the road, especially at night. We even got complimented on it at the shop, which was cool, 'cause those guys swing a big stick! (But they're EXTREMELY nice guys.) Don't worry, it's got dog slobber on the windows now. Hopefully it'll get the boat hooked to it soon. Thanks for looking!

PS- Thanks, John!

[KSWes]

Thanks for the props! If there were a bunch of loudmouthed fat guys drinking beer behind Yeller, you shoulda stopped and had one!

I was only there for a couple hours on Friday of W-O-W, didn't see anyone around the truck when I stopped and stared, (for too long I'm sure) Always stop and look at how trucks these years are done. Especially ones that keep a mostly stock look! Killer job! I'm sure I'll see you around one of these days... Read through the LBT build, I'm sure you're excited to make progress on your own ride... I'll be reading along...

[Low Elco]

Well, it's time for an update. So, we didn't really clear up the vibration. We made it a bunch better, but not totally, and it came back with a vengeance with the warm weather. Rendering it a great bomb around truck, but not a highway runner, and we have a lot of that around here. So.

A new approach was clearly indicated. Several friends had mentioned in the process about taking the whole body loose and then retightening. I also had some shims at the back of the bed that looked great when I installed them and looked horrrible the second it left the driveway. So the other night the fam went to the hockey game, and Boppa and I got to work, ostensibly to fix driveline angles.

Well, Bah! 4 down, 4 up, frame level, rear at ride height. All good. So, we loosened the bed, and took my dumb shims out, and cranked hell out of the bolts. As I'm lying there preparing for hara-kiri, I look at the cab mounts. You may remember they're urethane. We smacked 'em up in there with an impact, but that was it, and they're pretty hard. So, I got ye olde breaker bar and took a swipe at the rears. Got them a lot tighter and got the CONE TO DEFORM on the bottom of the mount. Tried to do the fronts, but they just spun, and we didn't wanna rip the carpet up.

Boppa calls me when he gets home. "I don't know what you did, but it killed a good 75% of it!" He Calls Uncle Matt and they pull the carpet and tighten the fronts the next day. (Killed 2 ratchets!) Vibe 90-95% gone. Theory is that target speed was just enough to rock the cab, then blow through, then rock, etc. It was fine the first weekend, then everything settled, and you had the vibe. He tried the core support also, and found a stripped bolt, that we'll replace. This also killed a crazy squeak at the back of the cab that was driving me nuts!

So, kids, the moral of the story: Like several other things, you can't just smack body mounts with an impact and call it good, especially with urethane. You gotta get the breaker and really smush hell out of the lower cones, they need the preload. Write that down.

Like I said, I'm just a frimp in his garage, trying his best. At least it's lowered, looks cool, and I had my hands in my lap at 85+ the other night, straight as a string.

Boppa has been using it, he hauled approx. 750 lb. of rock and mulch for the flowerbeds, no problem. He's also been hauling Tillie the Giant Lab!



Thanks for watching guys, it's meant a lot to all of us.

[jlsanborn]

Awesome man! I'll be mashin my mounts down again, thanks for the update. Been waiting for that pic too!
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[Bomp]

Right on!
Glad things smoothed out.
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[bigguy69]

Awesome!
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[Vic1947]

Wow, I did the exact same thing (impact on urethane bushings) and called it good. We're headed to a cruise-in down in Rolla on Saturday (weather permitting) and it sounds like it might be a good idea to give Silver the breaker bar treatment before we go. Never thought about having to preload the bushings that much. Good tip!!

[Low Elco]

Don't feel bad, neither did I! Boppa called, it's headed to the trans shop (again) to get sealed (again) and the new speedo drive gear installed on thurs. That should have it back to the right speed, which'll be good.

[Big Rat]

Just read the entire build and let me say, nice, very very nice. I'll take pointers from you on metal dressin, fab, paint, and polish any day and I'll certainly be lookin to this when I start my '69! Hope I can make even close to the same kind of progress on my build as you did with yours. Your frame fix really helped me understand how simple it'll be to fix mine. Glad you got that vib worked out. I'm lookin forward to some LBT love!
Oh yeah, and "meat stick"?! I GOT to get me one of those!!!

[Low Elco]

Originally Posted by Big Rat

Oh yeah, and "meat stick"?! I GOT to get me one of those!!!

Hell, I wish I had one! Thanks for the props!

We took yeller and LBT to the swap meet yesterday, got rid of a lot of stuff. People really seem to like him, especially in that informal setting. I'll tell you this, screw all that 22" rim, 500" BBC, 10K interior crap. Use the AL's liner and color match it! I sounded like a damn Al's liner salesman from R&E yesterday! That one thing gets more attention than you'd believe. People can't help themselves from touching the top rail, if I charged a buck per, I could have literally paid for the liner by now. It's become a running joke! Note: I don't care, I'm not one of those guys. But every time you look over, sure as hell, there's someone rubbing the top rail, heh!

In other news, THe trans doesn't leak, apparently, it's the valve covers, hmm. The heads and these Eddie's don't get along. We took 'em off due to leaks once before, so the hunt is on for some new ones. The speedo is correct again. Also, vibe is still coming and going as it pleases. Gone a while, now back, not quite as bad. Screw it, we're driving it. It did good going 20 mi north to the swap yesterday. As a small yellow dot in my rearview!

[Low Elco]

Pics-

[Big Rat]

Hey man! Deja Vu on the pics! Same pics on two threads? That's like re-gifting!

[Low Elco]

Originally Posted by Big Rat

Hey man! Deja Vu on the pics! Same pics on two threads? That's like re-gifting!

Well, they were of both trucks, and some guys don't read both threads, so ya gotta do what ya gotta do.
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[Big Rat]

They are missing out on the series of events in this double feature then! LBT is like the sequel to ol yeller!
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[litew8]

Glad you got it sorted (vibration trouble). It's about time you took my advice and checked those cab mount bushings!! ha!

"I look at the cab mounts. You may remember they're urethane."

[Low Elco]

Update: Ordered POR manifold paint and Those Offshore Cal Custom copy valve covers. Gonna pull the cracked manifold to replace and paint them both. Pics when we get off the dime.

[Low Elco]

Crappy update: got the paint and valve covers in. Truck is blown up at the moment.

Boppa checked fluids before taking the 93 year old step grandpa fishing on the first hot (94) day of the year, and apparently didn't get the rad cap on right. Way overcooked, left them on the side of freeway. Melted the neck out of the Rad. Rad guy sez no repair, sold him a new one. Have new rad, WP, Therm, and hoses in hand. Motor starts fine and runs, good oil pressure, no cream in the pan, we'll see. I've seen worse pull through. Just more work to do.

[Big Rat]

More work keeps the build alive. Sucks that it is this kinda work though. Get it fixed! Boppa needs to be cruisin!
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[~Whitey~]

Originally Posted by Low Elco

Crappy update: got the paint and valve covers in. Truck is blown up at the moment.

Boppa checked fluids before taking the 93 year old step grandpa fishing on the first hot (94) day of the year, and apparently didn't get the rad cap on right. Way overcooked, left them on the side of freeway. Melted the neck out of the Rad. Rad guy sez no repair, sold him a new one. Have new rad, WP, Therm, and hoses in hand. Motor starts fine and runs, good oil pressure, no cream in the pan, we'll see. I've seen worse pull through. Just more work to do.

Hope it's okay man!

[jlsanborn]

Yup my pal boiled his high-miles 327 to the point that the top tank blew apart. Never saw a motor that hot before or since. Didn't seem to hurt it any.

[RexDodge]

Just caught up on your thread. Very timely as I am painting memorial weekend and reassembling the following week. Thanks for the tip, "So, kids, the moral of the story: Like several other things, you can't just smack body mounts with an impact and call it good, especially with urethane. You gotta get the breaker and really smush hell out of the lower cones, they need the preload. Write that down." I will be sure to load them up!

[Low Elco]

Thanks Rex, hope it helps.

So, I spent some time on the s-box, and got all the annual pool stuff and got Big Blue polished and waxed on Sat. Got up Sun and ran up to Boppa's to put Yeller back together again. Boppa had pulled the front drive down and Painted it in hammered silver as it was way crusty. It came out nice. Only real snag was the waterpump was slightly different and the new radiator has box sections instead of channels at the top and bottom. So we had to drill and shim and get some new bolts, no biggie. We got it all together and all seems well (knocks on wood). So onward we go!

in process-

[Low Elco]

More pics-

Cleaned up-


Another view-


Back in bidness-


I noticed, the width of the top bed rail on a 67-72 is EXACTLY the width of a beer bottle! Coincidence? I think not!