Project '64 Cheapskate

[Justin@EntropyRad]

diggin those tucked lines!

[Camuchi]

awesome work and great ideas, thanks for sharing.
12:30 am here in the hotel and a meeting in the morning. I dont think everyone will understand "I was up late reading about a guy restoring an old chevy truck in CA"
LOL well worth it in my book!

[chevyrestoguy]

I am on it! I have been doing a bunch of work on it each night after work, but I have not been keeping up with progress shots. I have been finishing up the last of the AC lines and the heater hoses. I have been working on whatever I can. The weather has been really crappy the last couple of weekends, but I have been doing work on the smaller items that I can do inside the garage where it's a whole lot warmer. The "To-Do" list is getting smaller!

Still need to route the taillight wiring, finish up the underdash wiring, finish the mods on the radiator shroud, make positive and negative battery cables, make the spark plug wires, install u-joints in the rear driveshaft, ........ok, I'll stop there. Still a lot to do, but it's a culmination of a lot of small jobs. Unfortunately, they are the ones that cost the most money and aren't fun.

[rusty76]

We'll be ready and waiting on you.!

[jonzcustomshop]

wow! just went through this whole thread, read/skimmed about a 1/4 of it, gonna have to check back a few times, lots of great tricks!

[rusty76]

One of the best for sure...!

[the hippie mechanic]

Subscribed! Can't wait to see some progress pictures!

[Low Elco]

Alex.... are you out there?

[chevyrestoguy]

I am! I've been working some insane hours for the past 3 months, but I'm working on the '64 as much as I can. I've got a LOT of stuff done, and I'll post up pictures soon.

I need an upper radiator bracket for a V8 radiator. Anybody got one they want to sell? It doesn't need to be pristine, I need to use it for parts.

[Low Elco]

Originally Posted by chevyrestoguy

I am! I've been working some insane hours for the past 3 months, but I'm working on the '64 as much as I can. I've got a LOT of stuff done, and I'll post up pictures soon.

I need an upper radiator bracket for a V8 radiator. Anybody got one they want to sell? It doesn't need to be pristine, I need to use it for parts.

I bet Clem on here or Bomp does
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[rusty76]

Glad to see you are still gettin at it. Can't wait on pics.

[Low Elco]

Good to hear from ya!
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[chevyrestoguy]

Been doing a lot of little jobs on the truck when I have the free time, and this weekend, I pulled the entire front suspension back apart for final installation and detailing. Everything on the front suspension is either new or rebuilt. I also built new brackets and mounted the trans cooler. It's big, kind of overkill, but it was an extra that I had laying around and I put it to use. It's mounted under the core support and tucked behind the bumper, so it's in the airstream but still protected. Also mounted the swaybar (1.25"). All the bushings are polyurethane throughout the suspension. It was a very productive weekend.

[Jason's '72]

Looks great, Alex!
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[likaroc13]

Good to see some new progress pics!

[rusty76]

Oooooooh an update. Thank you sir.

[chevyrestoguy]

This weekend's progress
The new aluminum radiator did not work with the upper bracket that I had previously modified for the original copper radiator, so I bought a used bracket from a member, Jonzcustomshop. I needed to gain an additional 3/8" in height, so the best way was to splice my original bracket and the one I got from Jon.



I will sandblast the part and do a little body filler on it, and it'll look like a factory piece when it's finished. I have spent a lot of time modifying every part on my truck to look like it came that way from the factory. .....and nothing has been left untouched.

I also cut and trimmed the radiator upper radiator rubber seal. It turned out really nice.


Still lots of little stuff to do!

[rusty76]

Thank you for the update. No matter how big or small!

[Palf70Step]

[Low Elco]

Oooh, pretty stuff! Thanks for the update. Aiming for October? (cough, cough)

[chevyrestoguy]

Originally Posted by Low Elco

Oooh, pretty stuff! Thanks for the update. Aiming for October? (cough, cough)

Between my work schedule and what I have left to do, October will be "sporty", to say the least. Gonna keep leaning forward and knocking stuff off the list!

[chevyrestoguy]

After a lot of mock up, trial fitting, and crimping, the A/C and heater lines are finally done. I wanted the lines to have a nice flow, and to not have anything laying on top of the engine. I wound up using an A/C manifold from a 1989 Chevy truck and welding on new ends. This manifold drops both the suction and return lines perfectly between the passenger valve cover and the compressor. I also wanted to keep the high and low service ports near each other, so I built a bracket that bolts to the battery tray.



In this shot, you can see both the heater and A/C lines as they route next to the engine. The A/C lines route next to the engine, and the heater lines route outboard of those. The hose seperators are from Squeeges (Mesa, AZ).

I also wanted to have the capability of shutting the water off to the heater in the summer, so I used a water shutoff from Sharkbite. These parts can be bought at nearly any hardware store and are used for PEX plumbing. It has a 5/8 inlet and outlet, made of solid brass, and nice quality. I unscrewed the valve handle and will keep it in the the glovebox until I need to shut the water on or off. I also installed a Prestone flush manifold (5/8" in/out) to help get the air out when the radiator is filled. The heater box is at about the same height or lower as the radiator cap, so the chance of getting an air pocket in the system is common. On my truck, I plan to jack up the rear and fill the system from the manifold. The heater lines now route behind and below the heater box, so I had to get tricky with the hoses at the heater core. I found the custom molded hoses (made by Gates) at Summit.

[chevyrestoguy]

I like the quality of the façtory GM engine oil and transmission dipsticks, but in their stock form, they are way too long. I wound up getting an oil dipstick and tube from a 1995 Chevy truck and chopping it down about 12 inches. I also used my tubing bender and bent the tube to the angle I wanted. In this shot, you can barely see the yellow handle. It's easy to access, but it's out of sight.

I really like the lockiñg transmission dipsticks, so I got one from the same '95 Chevy truck and chopped 11" inches out of it. I could have cut it down more, but I didn't want to make it hard to reach.

[chevyrestoguy]

I almost forgot to show the heater hose fittings on the intake mañifold and water pump. They are from Pure Choice Motorsports, and are similar in style to an A/C fitting. I plan to use these on everything I build from now on.

[oldman3]

Very nice job on the lines in the engine bay, nice work...Jim