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

[realvc]

Progress is progress and since you never sit still it will continue. Did you sell your 66 C10?

[Palf70Step]

NIce work. Looks pretty clean under there.

[Grizz1963]

Originally Posted by realvc

Progress is progress and since you never sit still it will continue. Did you sell your 66 C10?

Originally Posted by Palf70Step

NIce work. Looks pretty clean under there.

Thanks guys.



CLUNK

CLINK

CLUNK

CLINK

CLUNK

CLINK


ONLY SMALL NOISES.


Not currently apparent from the left rear wheel area.

So I got an Allen key set and proceeded to remove the centre Line centre caps

One by one they came off, nothing in there at all

Impressed that the Allen head screws all had copper slip on their threads.

Never found anything loose in the end.






Went for a drive.

Saw this Mitsubishi L200 shorty.

Makes the van look smaller than it is.



Still smiling.



Still smiling.

[Grizz1963]

Saturday morning I was out earlier than normal, as we had a BBQ invitation to friends an hour from here for 2.00pm.

Lazy jobs to do, so I started with checking out the radio in the Van.

Still not able to figure the balance control on this rocket ship,radio.

So unable to test the speakers in the rear doors.

But I did find this………

Anyone need it?



Next up, refitted the rear door retaining strap that @glenanderson had fished out.

Two handed job for sure.

Fitted though.





While out back, I did an asses,ent of the threshold, not too nice.

So a bit of paint repairing will happen .

I also measured the open section and went to order a 5 meter length of 150mm or 6 inch wide, anti-slip tape to put on the edge.

Whoever the genius put the bit on there before, clearly never loaded a van.

I will apply it o the edge and possibly fold it over the edge a bit.



At £9.00 delivered it seems a good investment or added peace of mind in preventative maintenance.



While I was on that job, I looked at the second door (opens after the first one) on the left, it is missing a trip strip of some sort

Does the van doors come with a protective strip?

Or do I have to make one up?

Answers please.



Then back to the floor……..

The rear retaining g strip for the carpeting has missed a few screws since day one, so I thought removing and replacing them all makes sense.

They are screwed through the floor.

Some came out easy……





Some needed a bit of persuading, and rather than force them, a gentle tape, followed by a more persuasive tap on a Phillips screwdriver made the rust break and then allowed me to get them out.

This really does help, as having the head break off meant that replacing the screws with fresh ones would be a ball ache for sure.



I had very short replacements , but lucky for me, neighbour Tony at no1 house who does my boiler servicing and electrical maintenance, had some in his garage.

Longer than I need, but a swift cut with a grinder will see that sorted.

Once I have prepared all the holes with some rust preventative, and cleaned the edge strop, I will refit the strip with new screws.

That should make a difference too.



At this point, I had to walk away to go shower and shave for the afternoon out.

But even small jobs need doing.

So a good day again.



I need to go shower and then pack a small bag…….

Remember Bill who did the logistics for the Rezin Rockit?

He called me on Friday, offering to come down from Scotland for a few days to help me with anything random that needs doing here.

He is a fireman, so has extended shifts on and off work.

Currently dog-sitting, he wanted to bring his dog along, but of course George would not be happy.

So I declined his offer of helping me with servicing the Astro, and sorting the sound system out.

450 miles is a long way to drive to randomly help someone (of course he gains time away as a break too)

So last night I impulsively called him at 9.30pm and asked if he has a bed for me……..

I have about 10 days vacation time too use before I stop work mid November, and had texted my boss for permission while out at the BBQ.

Anyone near Glasgow? Whitchurch, Shropshire?

Get the kettle going, send me a PM.





Life certainly is good.

[Grizz1963]

Another one of those “I NEED” entries.


I need a spare wheel for the Astro van.

Steel, or alloy, but alloy preferred as it would use the right lug nuts.

15” and 5x5


Tire Rim. Offset. Range mm
OE 205/75SR15 6Jx15 ET13 11 - 15
OE 215/75SR15 6Jx15 ET13 11 - 15
245/60HR15 6.5Jx15 ET13 11 - 15




PM please.

[Grizz1963]

Here’s another question……


https://forum.retro-rides.org/thread...panelvan-value


Any advice appreciated.

[Grizz1963]

Interesting gift from mate Bill.

There you go, if it works, great, if not, bin it.

[Grizz1963]

My trip up to Scotland has been really enjoyable.

Seen loads of stuff, met some great people.

One of Bills long term friends shall we say is a money making machine.

Nonstop ideas and cations keeps money pouring in.

Last week he drove to Norway to strip down this Volvo truck, bringing back the parts to restore one of 6 that were meant to have been exported to South Africa years ago, that he now owns, three rusted away, one is on the road and one unknown.





The one he has, note the cab floor, and a birds nest in the roof.









Anyway….. he is the kind of guy who buys a Porsche Taycan new, drives it a few months and parks it up on the drive because it is disappointing in its range and ability as a daily driver, going back to his Mercedes Vito as daily.
He owns A load of interesting exotics and collectibles, including a beautiful Datsun 260Z , 911, a few Tombstone Benzes, two G-Wagons and then all sorts of interesting smaller stuff.

Moss covered Taycan did not look like this.



Various barns, garages and stables filled with all sorts of future projects.

Just one of the barns, filled with loads, and there were three early Honda Accors and much more stuff.

Nothing for sale here.










But this had me calling him on Bills phone to just register my interest, if you know what I mean.


















Tonight is steak…….

[Grizz1963]

Looks like I have sourced a wheel.

Just need to figure a way to get it from Hereford to Kent.



And then get a tyre on it as well.

And paint would help.

[Grizz1963]

While in Scotland, Bill and I took,Blue, his dog for a walk.

Perfect.

Also managed to go see the Falkirk Wheel.

Wikipedia says:

The Falkirk Wheel is a rotating boat lift in Tamfourhill, Falkirk, in central Scotland, connecting the Forth and Clyde Canal with the Union Canal. It reconnects the two canals for the first time since the 1930s. It opened in 2002 as part of the Millennium Link project.

The plan to regenerate central Scotland's canals and reconnect Glasgow with Edinburgh was led by British Waterways with support and funding from seven local authorities, the Scottish Enterprise Network, the European Regional Development Fund, and the Millennium Commission. Planners decided early on to create a dramatic 21st-century landmark structure to reconnect the canals, instead of simply recreating the historic lock flight.

The wheel raises boats by 24 metres (79 ft), but the Union Canal is still 11 metres (36 ft) higher than the aqueduct which meets the wheel. Boats must also pass through a pair of locks between the top of the wheel and the Union Canal. The Falkirk Wheel is the only rotating boat lift of its kind in the world, and one of two working boat lifts in the United Kingdom, the other being the Anderton Boat Lift.



Did a bit of a glued together bit of video of it turning nd lifting a longboat from one canal up to another system.


https://youtu.be/1nOVHFwgpL0?si=UnVttmjINJ6IIQFK


Time well spent, both for me and the dog.

[Palf70Step]

Very cool. Way different than the locks in Pittsburgh where I grew up.

[Grizz1963]

Originally Posted by Palf70Step

Very cool. Way different than the locks in Pittsburgh where I grew up.

An amazing piece of engineering and thinking.

Simple really but loved it.

Glad to share.

[Grizz1963]

S10 truck Collection on Sunday.

Truck now back to its original registration number.

Astro issued with GRZ733

​So the story continues.

Friday 13th and today at 11.00 is my final redundancy “consultation” not sure what part of this is consulting, as it is more a “tell you”

It will be interesting to hear what they have to tell me.

[Braunschweiger]

What good is that? Do they want to demoralize you even further? The company has decided against you. You are a good one and find a job that you enjoy again.
The report about the lock is very interesting, we also have ship lifts in Germany, but this is very special, great.

[Grizz1963]

Originally Posted by Braunschweiger

What good is that? Do they want to demoralize you even further? The company has decided against you. You are a good one and find a job that you enjoy again.
The report about the lock is very interesting, we also have ship lifts in Germany, but this is very special, great.

Indeed Harald, it is all corporate scheisse (spelling? )

The big bosses protect themselves and screw the people who do the work.

Always been this way.

I am not even actively looking for a job……. I am thinking of leaving this health industry altogether and maybe becoming a handyman, or something simple.

I will send you a Private Message in a moment.


The lock is very impressive as well.

[Grizz1963]

While I was up in Scotland visiting Bill, I managed to scavenge som plastic trim from a Mazda Bongo van he had chopped up.



Door lock and side needs trim.

This may be a plan.





Not quite a perfect fit, but a grinder, some heat gun action and we may have it looking a lot better.



During the week, while I travelled to Scotland, some anti-slip tape arrived at home.

So I removed the half-arsed attempt by some brain surgeon, leaned up many years worth of old hardened glue and proceeded to measure and cut.



Pretty messy and messed up.



Cut to length



Cut to shape.



Up close.

Liking that a lot.



Cleaned up the removable tow bar and removed the original license plate.



Fitted, with license plate in place.

Not ideal



And replaced the front license plate.

I am liking this.



Next job is to drill the holes for the retaining stip, carefully, in order to get the screws back in to hold the strip down.

Fit the rear license plate, as I had to clean up and repaint the rear plate support.

[realvc]

Your van is really shaping up. The non-skid tape turned our very nice indeed.
Would you work out of the van or buy another work truck?

[Grizz1963]

Originally Posted by realvc

Your van is really shaping up. The non-skid tape turned our very nice indeed.
Would you work out of the van or buy another work truck?

Thanks Vince, I like it too.

I would not work out of this van, it is just a toy.

The company car goes back 15 November.

[Grizz1963]

Insurance companies……. Rip off artists.

Just cancelled the s10 insurance, 2.5 months left on the policy.

Zero refund.


Swapped the grz733 plate to the astro.

£46.80 admin fee.


What a bunch of thieves.



Got a quote for a vehicle off the same company recently £578.00 with 3k miles, single driver, personal use only.
Repeated same quote online £337 up to £1000
selected to buy a £350.92 option from carole nash - went to check out…… system rejected purchase.
Called carole nash direct next day to check.
Nope…… price not available, new price now £372.00
i kinda lost it, and by being really nice, insisted on speaking to a supervisor, which did not happen, got the original price 20 minutes later.
It is crazy how they dip their hands into our pockets and steal because it is all legislated that you will have insurance.
And of course all the wriggling to not pay when you have an accident/damage/break in.


This realy is tiring.

Wartch your pockets.

[Grizz1963]

Saw this on FB in an Astro group.

How I would love one of these models.



Suspect not cheap or available.

[Grizz1963]

Raining all day.

Working redundancy style…….

They can’t really fire me now, can they.

Wanted to get some rear entry action in today.

Cut, shape and see if it works to make up a blanking panel for the rear door.

The number plate recess has been tidied and the paint now dried, but rain prevents fitting.



Hoped some time over the weekend to get some stuff done.

[Grizz1963]

140 miles mini road trip yesterday to meet up with two awesome guys.

One a member on here @sammo, and a younger guy who does 1% social media, only FB marketplace to sell stuff.

Spent an hour at least at Sam’s mums place and would happily spend a day working or chatting with him, got to spend time with his Mums cat, and also met his rescued pet tortoise, another cool creature. Bought and loaded some stuff, he kindly gave me some real winter emergency spares too. Thanks Sam.

Then off to Chertsy to meet up with Curtis a builder (construction sort)

How refreshing to chat for an hour with someone who is massively into cars, but has no PB, IG or other Stalker site presence. I just found him while doing a search for something arbitrary and unrelated, realising he also had some stuff I wanted (rarely about need)

I bought some stuff from him and ended up with having to return stuff that did not fit in the back of the com-any wagon as it was a bit bigger than the hole. Also some bits that did fit.

However, more importantly, he declined money for the stuff I had not gone to buy, citing that he was brought up by a step dad who taught him everything he knows in construction as he was employed by him after school and that being honest (he offered to demonstrate the goods I had bought from him, working, there for me) and paying stuff forward always left him with a full Karma bucket.

What a pleasure.

I drove off smiling and thinking that if I had kids, this would be my template.

Back home around 3.3.30pm after leaving at 09.00am

I was just moving the Astro over the street when I saw @nickwheeler waft by in his silver (actually it is grey) Ford Focus.

So I parked the van over the street nd reversed the company car up into the back yard for unloading.

As I was done and moved the Focus back out front, Nick cruised up and parked.

A couple of hours saw him being able to get his weekly quota of pissstaking with me, and no paint was involved.

A good at indeed, wallet somewhat lighter…… for the greater good.

No Astro work done, except unbox my new Hula Tiki.

Life is good.

[Grizz1963]

Time on my hands…..

Never a good thing.

Full build will be here.

too much copy and paste and my internet sucks big time, so always a struggle to load photos on every site, as my Photobucket is a PITA.

https://forum.retro-rides.org/thread...d-sliver-dream


please follow there if interested.

[Braunschweiger]

I'm happy to follow your reports and I'm excited to see what happens next for you.
The Micra would have been perfect for your current situation, you'll find something suitable.

[Grizz1963]

Originally Posted by Braunschweiger

I'm happy to follow your reports and I'm excited to see what happens next for you.
The Micra would have been perfect for your current situation, you'll find something suitable.

Thank you Harald,

Interesting thing with the post-Covid car market is that it has certainly escalated more than historically.

Also pressure and stealth taxes on every move, by our thieving government add to pressures,




I failed miserably at finding something cheap like the Prozac Berlingo.

I guess one of those in a lifetime is a bargain, not to be repeated.


Looked right across to Markplaats and Scout24.de and found the market for cheap cars is limited.


Some real sh!trees out there for strong money.

Considering the price of a scrap car, catalytic converters etc now……

Things are just more expensive..



My current total is £1800.00 spent on it.



More later.