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

[Grizz1963]

Originally Posted by Braunschweiger

I also hope that your wishes come true.

As always, Thank you Harald.

I trust you and your family will have a good year ahead as well.

Originally Posted by Palf70Step

May things work out well for you Rian. Happy New Year.

Thank you Bill.

Life is good, so it will be, sometimes less so the way we want it, but we will have a good year, as life unfolds.

Here’s to you and Jan having a wonderful year ahead as well.

[Grizz1963]

So 2024…….

So 2024 has started??

The Caddy has proved to being back to 100% reliable as expected with the ECU replacement.
It is actually a pleasure to drive and at Christmas became a convenient 4 seater for delivering and collecting people as a “designated drivers car” so my lodgers and myself and Sally could go out.
Usually Sally drives and I can have a drink if I want but this year I was happy to drive.

Like “Prozac” the Citroen Berlingo a few years ago, this is an amazing tool for lugging stuff and people about.
Shopping is great, open the rear door and just put the bags of food straight into the car. The rear doors split asymmetrically, which means that one is wider than the other.

Deceptively small as well, despite it’s ability to swallow huge loads. Load volume is a creditable 2.9 cubic metres. Load length is 1,728mm, load height is 1,279mm and load width is 1,530mm. And maximum payload is said to be 625kg so over half a ton in a VW Polo based van. Pretty sure many were abused with a lot more than that.

Note the size compared to other small cars parked in the Morrisons car park.



One of the jobs I held off on was fitting two new tyres and getting the fast slow leak sorted until I could get the reliability back to standard.

With the van performing faultlessly I took it in for two new 195/55-16 tyres and to get the puncture sorted.
Slow leak was due to extreme corrosion on the bead edge of the wheel and cost me £25.00 to repair.
Along with the tyres, total bill for swapping wheels, tyres, puncture repair etc was £191.00



Old, really good and hardly used tyres and steels with centre caps in the rear.



Fitted



Driving back home with the extra wheels in the rear it became apparent that the wider tyres and wheels were rubbing on the relocated rear shocks going around tight bends at speed.

So next stop is a pair of 10mm spacers.
That should be more than enough to push the wheels out a bit.
Handling feels great as well.

Back home I added the centre caps.



Personally I am absolutely 50/50 on the steels vs alloys.

So before vs after.




Over the Christmas season Bonnie spent more time than usual with Sally and indoors.
She also discovered wildlife television.
Amazingly focused on animal programs. Interacting at times.



Having had a pretty wet, cloudy winter but without too much extreme cold, George spends most of the time indoors. Sleeping.
Last week while washing the cars during some better days, George came out as well.
He loves the sun.
Mr Feral.

Only a sliver of sun needed.



More later

[Grizz1963]

Doorbell rings…..

Courier delivery

Cold chain box.



Opening it, a note at the top of a sealed foil pack.



Opening the foil bag……

A whole selection of pasties.



So I unpacked them into the refrigerator.

Later I zapped one in the microwave. Oven heating would be better.
I added a bit of Sweet Cider Chutney.



So….?

Who would send me a load of amazing pasties?
Mate Steve, another one of those guys whose actions speak louder than words.
Kindness.
Thank you very much mate.

Life is good.

[Grizz1963]

16 years ago today I had my 1963 Ford Taunus Transit van delivered from Germany.



I added wheels, attended meetings and really enjoyed it for quite a few years.

There were some really nice ones from Germany as well.












I sold it at one point because I had stopped using it and fell out of love with it after having a fuel injected Ford Zetec engine fitted by very good friend Edd.

Would I have it again?

I think so.

Not sure.

It was great having it when I did.

[Braunschweiger]

It's the great memories, the people, the meetings.
A very rare vehicle, everyone in the world wants a VW bus, this one is much better.

[Grizz1963]

Originally Posted by Braunschweiger

It's the great memories, the people, the meetings.
A very rare vehicle, everyone in the world wants a VW bus, this one is much better.

It was a great van.

Only 13000 km done.

Because fire engines never go far from base. Only to fight fires.


Videos from when I did not know much about making a watchable film.


https://youtu.be/pJGrImgd7so?si=B4kIGSG_BgykODgw



https://youtu.be/pJGrImgd7so?si=B4kIGSG_BgykODgw

[Grizz1963]

Adding the 16” alloys to Caddy should not be a problem.

Bolt on and go.

But……. My Caddy is a former WAV so the floor was lowered by a conversion company (not much engineering involved)
The rear shock mounts were relocated.
Perfect for the smaller original 165 width tyres and wheels.
So fitting 195/16” tyres and wheels were bound to be a possible challenge.

So Spacers and longer wheel bolts had to be bought. Another unnecessary cost of course, considering the original tyres were new, standard and perfectly fine.

Suddenly the wheels, tyres x2, spacers, bolts, VW centre cap badges etc added £380.00 to the van, and yet it did nothing differently to before.

Cars……. I guess many of us are doing that sort of thing daily.

So I removed one of the bolts to measure it.





I also started to look out for a pair of 10mm spacers to push the new wheels out as they were contacting the shock absorber on moderate to harder cornering.

Found some on Marketplace for £20.00 for universal fit, unused. 30 miles away, so drove and fetched them.



Wheel bolts came fast off EBay another £25.00 wasted.




So last week there was a cutting breeze outside and I chose not to change them.

Yesterday it was much better.

4 layers and a wooly hat saw me outside adding some diesel gifted me by a friend who needed to decommission a machine and needed to get rid of the contents. Thank you very much.



Next up……..

Lift the van, remove wheel, fit spacer, drop down. Result.

Chilly outside. Minimal breeze.



Waiting….



Clearly was not right.

Too close on cornering.



This way to hold the spacers in position failed.

I then got some duct tape and stuck the spacers in position on the actual hubs.

Much more efficient.



Both sides done and reassembled.

Hardly noticeable to the untrained eye.

But 10mm is 10mm

Not yet gone for a decent drive to test it.

BEFORE



AFTER



Once done I came indoors to warm up, clean the house and shower as mate Kevin and Teresa were visiting after 1.30

They loved the Astro and actually registered their interest in buying it when the time comes.
I should have tried to sell the green Peugeot 206 CC to them as it will be surplus. Well, it really is surplus, along with the Rezin Rockit and both should be sold on.

The heating was on and George seemed happy with it.





I need to get out for some food shopping later and will report back about how the Caddy feels.

Video:

https://youtu.be/QMnPJ6fiRt4?si=SnWeswYoehdAzByE

Later.

[Grizz1963]

Remember when I had the cambelt and waterpump replaced on the 206 CC

I added a sticker to the engine to show when the work was done, for future reference.



Same as someone had done for the VW Caddy.



This week I got a card from the Post Office, demanding £2.50 for unpaid postage.
Dully paid it via PayPal.

Delivered on Wednesday.

Contents: a printed version of the details of the 206 CC service.

Some nice people out there.

No idea who sent the sticker but Thank You very much.



In the mean time it is still -3’C overnight.
Winter has reminded us there are seasons but……….

[Braunschweiger]

A nice thing and nice people there.

[Grizz1963]

Originally Posted by Braunschweiger

A nice thing and nice people there.

Morning Harald

Absolutely

I love to surprise people like that.

We have also got a culprit.

[Grizz1963]

So after the mystery of the envelope with insufficient postage, we had a confession.

But there is a story attached to it as you will see in the pics below.

My very good mate Fil (Sparkplug) had printed the label and posted it out.

WITH A POSTAGE STAMP ATTACHED.

It seems the Royal Fail (Mail for patriots) changed the cost of postage so many times that they also issued completely new postage stamps with modern barcodes.

The obsolete stamps can/could be traded for new but clearly both Fil, me and many others were not aware.




So Fil posted his gift cunningly disguised with a printed envelope so I could neither recognise nor guess who from. And Royal Fail needed to get the extra few pennies postage had gone up in the mean time, sending out a card to say my tax for the transgression was to be paid before they re delivered. Bastards in any language.








So now at least the next keeper will know when the service was done and what was dealt with.

[Grizz1963]

So with winter interfering with some of the projects and progress of my random toys including selling some to make space, well, to regain space, rain, cold, storms have distracted me.

So back to the Astro van, which is still a “keeper” unless someone else wants it more than me.

33 years old and in amazing condition overall and only done 78k registered miles means that I have to look after it and continue to improve it.

One of a multitude of challenges and repairs I want to affect is replacing the expensive rear door seals.

Original reproductions are available. But when you add US Taxes, import duty, shipping and then UK VAT to it the expensive $340.90 base price, increases to an eye watering total.

So getting a look at alternatives makes sense but unlikely to happen.

Current status is as per pics below.
Certainly not fully sealed anymore it allows condensation to build as well.
This does not reduce the value but makes me want to improve it.










So now I need a suitcase space and baggage allowance in order to make it more affordable.

What we need.





Always money headed out ehhh.

But worth doing??

[Grizz1963]

Some days

Some days do start well.
This pic taken at 7.45 out the window with my iPhone, no filter before sunrise made me smile.

Amazing what nature can do.



Same evening I moved the Astro and Peugeot away from the fence as there was a storm and winds were up to 100mph or 160km/h
Next morning 4 panels blown out and another damaged further up.
Glad I went out at 10.00pm to move them as damage would really have angered me.



And during the day I received three unused batteries and a charger (free for cost of postage) for the action camera @nickwheeler gave me last year for my YouTube channel movies.



George being George,

Loves chocolate and will steal or insist on trying to get some when he can.

I let him have part of a Toblerone mountain to himself, the rest goes in the bin.



In other news, keeping busy, there is always work to be done.
Plum tree never got pruned in Autumn so did that.
Fell off the ladder while pruning the tree in October 22 but landed well by luck.

So I decided to cut it back real hard this year, robbing the wood pigeons of their nesting tree where they fledge two lot of chicks each year.



Next job, cut up all the thin stuff with a hedge trimmer and cut logs for the fireplace.



Today is a good day, breezy but said to be up to 12’C
Maybe take the Astro out for shopping.

LATER: Took the Caddy. Perfect.

[Braunschweiger]

Uhii, you had a good feeling, that would be more than annoying.
A few of our roof tiles have come loose, the roofer is coming by tomorrow.

[Grizz1963]

Originally Posted by Braunschweiger

Uhii, you had a good feeling, that would be more than annoying.
A few of our roof tiles have come loose, the roofer is coming by tomorrow.

Absolutely glad I moved the cars.

Inconvenient to have to claim on insurance and you always remember the damage.





Had a few comments about the rear door seals on the van.

Took a few pics to illustrate what I have to work with.

Based in part on the insane prices of the seals, finding a matching profile to use or actually rebuilding parts, like this corner with the original piece and some silicone to recreate the profile, we may be in business.





The left hand, first to close door uses pins to secure and locate that door also an upper rain rail and seal in place.





Some parts of the seal obviously are a tight fit.



I will look at all of this in order to seal and repair all of what is needed.

Once again a nice way to start the day.




Plan is to wash and clean the van today and use it tomorrow for a breakfast meeting up near Gravesend for American cars.

Roads are clean again and as I refuse to drive the van on salted, gritted and wet roads, trying to look after it.

Maybe a few pics too.

[Braunschweiger]

We have a shop here that has profiles and much more in its range, which is certainly available near you.
http://www.doepper-profile.de/artike...file~Moosgummi
Here as an example.
Take a look and maybe there's something there, many profiles can be reconnected with superglue, so yard goods make sense.

[Grizz1963]

Originally Posted by Braunschweiger

We have a shop here that has profiles and much more in its range, which is certainly available near you.
http://www.doepper-profile.de/artike...file~Moosgummi
Here as an example.
Take a look and maybe there's something there, many profiles can be reconnected with superglue, so yard goods make sense.

Thank you.

I will be looking at alternatives.

[Grizz1963]

Every time I use any of my cars, but especially the Astro van, it makes me smile.
They are all very different in function and form but the Astro continues to be my favourite to look back at as I walk away from it.

It also changes depending on where you look from.
Fetching some fuel for my mower and a jerry can for the Peugeot 206 CC which had a reserve light on the van once again showed a different angle.



Having a breakfast meeting booked with KBM this weekend, meant a quick vacuum cleaner run through and wash outside.

I also fitted some new rubber floor mats over the carpets.
The floor of the cab area is quite small and complex due to the engine being partially in the cab and under the floor.
So custom shape is needed.

I am really impressed with these.






Sunday morning the drive to breakfast was great, including two different beeps and thumbs ups from other road users.

Copperfield



Food was great.

Coffee absolutely sucked imho.






After breakfast which ended at 13.00 and a lot of chatting in the carpark I drove down to my local Morrisons to get some food for the house as I had suggested that I would cook for Sally and Aaron my one lodger.






Dinner was meatballs on spaghetti with a nice sauce and some cheese.

Very very good.




Two meals in one report……

Spoiling you guys.

Driving all three of my cars over the weekend was great.

The Rezin Rockit has just become due for a new MOT test.

Amazed that its 11 months since I completed this awesome build.

[Grizz1963]

I keep lodgers to help with the mortgage payments.
Simple solution to one problem.
Then they come in Vito, Renault vans, Ford Edge, or a ****iff big Ford Ranger truck.
My rule is that I park up the alley to control access.
Still sounds good though.
Till you walk out and see this….
Guy is on nights so goes to bed at 04.00
Parks like a cnut.
Takes his car keys to bed so now I have to wake him.
Is it worth the hassle?
Found that my cutlery is in decline.
Found desert spoons in his cars footwell.
Just counted forks…… 7/12 left and three non matched items in there (part of a previous lodgers chaos)
FCUK !!

Problem with today problem child is he is super nice, kind, generous BUT a total animal and scatterbrain.

Did I mention FCUK ??

[Grizz1963]

Still got all of Sunday left to play with my toys.

Yesterday was the turn of the Astro to get out again.

Always a pleasure.

Farmers are out doing farmer stuff.

And took a pic for those who commented about the steering wheel being upside down.

In face, if you park with the wheels turned, you may find that illusion happening.








Today the Peugeot 206 CC is going on the sidewalk with some FOR SALE signs in the windows.

You never know when someone might have to have it.

Headed out in the van after breakfast.

[Grizz1963]

Nice weekend.

Driving the Astro and of course dayling the Caddy.

Put the Peugeot 206 CC on the sidewalk with some For Sale signs in case anyone wants or needs it in their lives.



Later I took the Astro and went for a random drive.

I continue to love driving it. Of course the fact that others like it is cool too. Like having a kid win an award or race.

Windy as heck out there but warm.
Maybe as much as 13’C which is hot for January.

​I also drove over to the Isle of Grain and parked up in one of my favourite spots for taking pics of cars.

Hard to choose just one pic.

Three with no filters








And one with a simple iPhone filter.

I really enjoyed the clouds and sun playing.




Weekend over, I still need to hand polish up the Astro.
It photographs well but polished will make it pop even more.

[Grizz1963]

Short video clip of my buddy Vladimir in Russia at his garages. He owns two adjacent units where he runs his simple side hustle from.

https://youtu.be/mdfl_f9LsvM

Even with very little they make sure to remember that life is good.

[realvc]

Thank you for posting this video. I've wondered how Vlad was doing. I rember when he was working on some of the projects in this clip.

Good to hear from you too. Take care.

[Palf70Step]

[Grizz1963]

Originally Posted by Palf70Step

Originally Posted by realvc

Thank you for posting this video. I've wondered how Vlad was doing. I rember when he was working on some of the projects in this clip.

Good to hear from you too. Take care.

Thanks guys.

Yes, this war, political nonsense tries to divide but ultimately we all are united by the 10mm socket.