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

[Grizz1963]

Right, went to bootfair this morning with some friends who slept over last night.
Got lots of bits n bobs.

Then right at the end, last stall, there was a steel trunk.

Asked the price..... Got it for £10.00

Been looking for a trunk to bolt into the rear of the truck to act as seat at shows, safe box for tools, jack etc and another bit of "personal decoration" to add.

Brought it home and now have to decide what route to go.

Outside is completely rusted on the surface.
Inside has been painted at some point.
It also has "The Times of India" from 4th of July 1945 stuck in the bottom, fairly messed up, but we want to protect or keep it in there.

Advice needed please How do I keep the interior with the paper stuck to it in one piece and what way is the best for the outside?

My thoughts are clear varnish inside and clear lacquer on the outside with some pinstriping later when I can afford to have it done.

Latches are all brass.

[McMurphy]

Rian, I think I would plexiglass that back wall, and the bottom, with some clear silicon sealer to prevent any moisture getting to that paper again.

The outside.... man I would leave it exactly as it is because that rust looks too cool; except I would spray with rust inhibitor, and then clear coat it.

Just my two shillings worth

[Grizz1963]

I will ask this question here and in the general section.


The truck came with the 350 badges on the side.

According to the paperwork it has a 327, not a 350...... who knows how to tell the difference from the outside, because I don't.

When I repaint the truck these badges have to go, unless they are original and need to be on a 66 truck.

So the question I guess is: Are these badges original, or can I remove themand weld up the holes when the time comes?





PS: I also need to grease up the truck before I take it on a long trip, just to have a baseline of work done.

Is there a clear diagram of where all the grease points are on the truck that anyone can post on here please ?

Thanks as always for your help and advice.

[Grizz1963]

Jerry can sorted.

Thanks to Sven for selling it to me without his dad knowing.....

24 litres of precious fossil fuel to go in there.

Planning to get it distressed, pinstriped and then onto the rear of the truck some time.

[Grizz1963]

Been away at a business meeting for a couple of days, so yesterday Nicola texted to say a large box had been delivered from the USA.

Tonight I got home after 3 hours on the motorway and found the box..... bit like Christmas!!

Opened it and found the following bits from LT1 Burb. All at the cost of postage.

Not just free parts, but parts I need for the truck and most importantly, Parts I would probably never see for sale in the UK.

So here goes.....



Some door handles, and window winders. My drivers side lock has been screwdrivered at some point, so these are a great replacement, and will make life easier, rather than lock from inside, slide over and lock passenger side with key.



And lastly, a headlight switch to replace the non functional one.



Thanks a mil LT1 Burb, you have an idea of how much you have helped and how we appreciate it.

Lastly a pic of the truck being used in a previous life by a Rockabilly band as their stage for the drummer.

I have volunteered the truck as a stage for the Retro Rides Gathering 13 for Tim Baker to use for an acoustic set he is going to play for everyone camping there. THREAD HERE: http://www.retrorides.proboards.com/...-evening-music

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature...&v=KwtFAezUnf4

[Grizz1963]

Bootfair followed by weekly shopping, then home to get going with the jobs that needed wrapping up.

Finished off the exterior of the trunk and clear coated it.



Drilled holes for the bolts that will hold it down.

Trial fitted.



Then used a dark varnish to get the sides ready for when the teak boards get processed.



Last job for the day was coating the load body in another coat of underseal.

Looks a lot neater now.

[Grizz1963]

Loads of little jobs done today.

Starting off with fitting the following item.....

Had a text from Rob, the previous keeper/owner of the truck a couple of weeks ago to ask for my postal address, as he had a "thing" to post off to me that he thought I would appreciate.
So this week he had time to pop into the post office to post out the "thing" which came to me on Thursday.
I have to say, his parcel was a challenge, and only when the "thing" came out the last layer, did I know what it was.

I have always loved these and they make me chuckle when people use them in public. Just never got to buy one myself.

Seems that when I tested it down at the garage, Duke, our ginger cat shot upstairs without waiting the see what it was..... RESULT !!

So, Huge Thanks to Rob, as he had planned it for the truck when he had it.



After the rear end kissing I got from Nicola when we fetched the truck, I realized the nuts n bolts on the rear bumper and towbar need to be seen to.

So this week I ordered some M12 x 25mm high tensile bolts with nuts to replace the existing items.

I have seen some bodging on this truck and stuff done to a standard below my own expectation, but the fact that there were 4 different nuts, bolts used to secure (loose description) the bumper at some point in its past, just made me shrug and bite my tongue.

It took some time to get these all removed, the domed head bolts were the biggest problem, as there was no way or room to grip the heads while addressing the nuts, which I had given some WD40 the last three days.
In the end I gripped the threaded ends with the vice grip and had a ring spanner in place over the nuts, getting them undone slowly.
The one bolt just turned off in my hands.
You will note there are no two the same here.



While I was at it, I also fitted new longer bolts to the plate on which the light socket plug was fitted.
When Scott wired the truck lights I decided to fit the plug under the load body, to keep it out of sight and the weather.



Next job, which I was actually not looking forward to (though it was actually surprisingly easy in the end) was to make up a sleeve/spacer for the tow ball Tim had sent me.
Remember I had a 40mm hole drilled in the bumper and tow bar as the shop did not have a 32mm drill on site the day I went there with Mickey.
So this was a bit of reverse engineering.
I had got a 300mm length of scaffolding pipe from Charley the farmer this week.
After measuring for what I needed, I cut a 25mm section off with the angle grinder with a 2mm blade fitted.... easy with the right tool.

I had also cut a slot into it length ways.



Using the grinder repeatedly to cut slivers out of it, and using the bench vice to push it together, then also shaping it the opposite direction, I eventually had a 33mm hole and 40mm outside diameter.



Before and after.



Using a large shifting spanner I recently bought for an art project I am working on, I tightened the whole lot, and ended up with a result that pleased me.

Tow ball fitted and some red reflective tape added to the rear step for night time visibility.



As always, Mickey popped around through the day.

Then once these jobs were done, we also rolled up the tonneau cover and fitted the bed sides as he wanted to see the dark painted sides up, the cover tucks in nicely behind the uprights.




At this point I had a coffee and left overs from last night as Nicola was out shopping (not my favourite pastime)and visiting her parents.

After lunch I decided to give the greasing a go, which was interrupted by a sudden thunder storm,( so need to do it again, this time without the wheels and jacked up, followed by trying to figure out why every light on the truck works off the main switch, but the headlights continue to be non functional..... STILL NO IDEA, or lights.

I also gave the tonneau a second coat of polish, Rain-X'd all the glass and stuck some stickers I had laying about onto the boat fuel tank that is now the trucks Jerry can.

Just after 6pm I decided to call it a day.

Tomorrow is bootfair day, so we will be using the truck to go there, and possibly a couple of other places.

All in all, a great weekend so far.

Still loving this truck.

I do wish I could have my brother here to enjoy it with me, as he is mad about trucks too.

[Grizz1963]

Sunset was rather nice after scoring all that junk$$$



A £3.00 bootfair photo of Dungeoness got lit artistically as well,



Yesterday I did get lucky.

And then got lucky again.

Had to go to the GP to see a specialist nurse this morning.

Decided to revisit the skip on the way home.

Yup......

Long aluminium ladder in the skip. Door Knocked and checked.

Yes, take it. Surplus to requirements.



While looking, just over the edge at the top layer in the skip I pulled a nice piece of ply, to beused for the raised sandpit for Harry, Sallys grandson as a part of the lid/cover. Again, I don’t need to go buy a sheet of ply.




I also found a metal garden leaf rake, unused, for Sally and brand new, unused Samsung Sound Bar and Sub Woofer for the telly. If it works as we had rain last night, great stuff as I do not have one. Could never justify buying one tbh. Hopefully I can figure how to mount it.





I would love to know the value of the stuff pulled out.

Free cash for sure is good.

[Grizz1963]

Bit of a hectic day.

Fitted at 07.30 this morning with Mickey’s help lifting it in.

Had to use a small hydraulic bottle jack to push the front feet open about 15mm that the heat distortion had created.

Bolted down.

Pretty (very) happy with the overall look.

Closer to my visualisation than I deserve.

Most importantly was getting it to lean back to mimic the “B-post on the entrance/door.



Rear supports hardly impair load area. So some practicality retained.



Unobtrusive from the front.



This is a great point to have made it to in my opinion from where it started.




How much further before the final straight??


.

[Ta2Don]

Hoping you got to see a Morris or two, and the old school Minis are cool too!
Posted via Mobile Device

[Grizz1963]

Originally Posted by Ta2Don

Hoping you got to see a Morris or two, and the old school Minis are cool too!
Posted via Mobile Device

Your wish will be granted later tonight Don.
There were no pretty Morris cars but a couple of radically chopped ones.
The Minis were a lot better represented.

I have a teleconference at 09.00 then its off to London by train for the day.
Tonight I have 6 weeks worth of expenses to do.

Tomorrow a friend is over to help me wire the trailer plug and see if we can find the fault with the headlights.

So your pics will get posted, just not sure when.
Posted via Mobile Device

[Grizz1963]

Originally Posted by Ta2Don

Hoping you got to see a Morris or two, and the old school Minis are cool too!
Posted via Mobile Device

Writing up the thread now, will post a link when I am finished.....

But in the mean time, just for you Don.

[Grizz1963]

4th July Photos from Car show in England......

Please click the link.

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...45#post6158045


Trust you guys like the "weirdness" from over here.

[Grizz1963]

Really nice update tonight.

I wrote a generic letter to all the previous "owners" addresses I could find in the trucks history file.

Got a lovely email and a couple of pics from the previous to previous owner tonight.
Another step in the direction of creating and documenting a more comprehensive history of the trucks life.

I was wondering about maybe looking to see if I could contact it's last American owner too.

Here is a copy and paste of the email I got.

Hi Rian,
Congratulations!! You are the owner of one badass truck! I sold it to Rob over a year ago to answer a calling I've had for a looooong time to get tasked into some vintage stuff (check the link to see see what I'm smoking around in these days)
http://www.vhra.co.uk/VHRA/Members/P...im_ORegan.html
I bought the truck off a chap called Mark in Hastings around four years ago - he a Scavenger and plays bass in a few rockin' bands. He bought it off a chap in St Leonards who was the first UK owner. I gave all the import papers to Rob when I sold it but I think it's been over here about 8-10 years.
I had the trans rebuilt and swapped the dreadful slot mags it came with for the chrome smoothies it has now. The stickers on the back window were not my doing, you'll have to blame Rob for that although I did plant a couple on the glovebox and the rear window corners. The paintjob was an American lash up using truck paint - shame they rushed it but the colour's pretty cool nonetheless. The chopper guy you refer to in your letter is indeed me although I only carried bikes on the odd occasion as I prefer to ride 'em. Got a Triumph T140V based ride at the moment. Attached are a couple photos I took of the truck while I had it. Are you heading to the Hayride at the end of the month? I'd love to see the old girl again.
All the best,
Tim






I really love the setting and tone of these two pics.

[Grizz1963]

Well, work and training has kept me quite busy this week, so I did not update some of the trucks progress.

McMurphy up in North Pole sent me some parts to get started at fitting power steering to the truck THANK YOU !!



On Friday afternoon, Mickey came around bearing a stupid grin and shouting "That blooody truck of yours..... Here's something for it."

And proudly handed over the parts that must have been brought over by Super Man, with the speed of delivery.



Until I have all the parts together for the PS conversion I will just stash them in the trucks cabinet in the garage.

I have also bought this boat tank to convert into a slightly different, pinstriped Jerry can for the truck, when we do long distances with the teardrop, as I have no idea what the fuel consumption may do.

Clearly it will not be a Suzuki tank once done.



After various tasks today, by about 4pm I got started on the Steel trunk I am bolting into the rear of the truck to keep the jack, some tools and anything else "valuable"



Firstly I hand sanded the trunk, then in a fit of genius popped into the woodwork shed and got this little beauty out (found it at the tip years ago)



Photographed the latches as well, as it seems there may be somebodies military force number on the side latches. If anyone knows how to research the numbers, please do and fee back on here.



POSSIBLE LEAD AS TO ORIGINAL OWNERSHIP.



Once sanded back, I cleaned it three times with fresh cloths and thinners.



Then laid out the letters to get an idea of what size I will need for the name I want to add. Just in case you are trying to decipher, it will be 1966 in the bottom line, I just did not have another 6 stencil.



Masked it all off.




The process I am following is being made up as I go along, so never done it before, but logic says it should work.... to create a look of Fake Patina I am layering paint and colours randomly. I will leave this to dry and harden for the week, and then sand it back a lot by hand with water paper, untill it looks right. Then I will use the stencils one letter at a time and either spray or use a bit of foam to dab the paint over the letters, then do a very fine flatting again, after which I will coat the whole thing is Clear lacquer.

Couple of thick coats of primer to use as base.



Then a load of random colours, interdispersed with gold.



Finally a coat of Gold, overlaid with the lovely lurid green you can see.



Unmasked and put away, I was so tempted to stencil today as well.

Hopefully will get around to the grease gun next weekend.

[Ta2Don]

The 350 emblems are not original, and the best way to identify the engine is to run the Engine Block numbers. The number is located on the Driver's Side behind the Cylinder Head on the block itself. You should be able to do a quick search of Small Block Chevy Engine Casting Numbers and find an easy cross reference.

[Grizz1963]

Originally Posted by Ta2Don

The 350 emblems are not original, and the best way to identify the engine is to run the Engine Block numbers. The number is located on the Driver's Side behind the Cylinder Head on the block itself. You should be able to do a quick search of Small Block Chevy Engine Casting Numbers and find an easy cross reference.

Thanks for that Don.

Will do when I get Up close and personal over the weekend again.

In the mean time.....


Lube her (him) up, its gonna be a long ride.


I have to admit, this post/question is partly because I just stopped for a quick caffeteria coffee (overpriced, average taste) while working. 12.10 in the UK. So lunch time.

As part of my taking ownership of the truck, I am going through systems one by one to ensure a base line I can work from.

So headlights are still not sorted but may be over the weekend when I investigate deeper into switches etc.

The other big baseline I like to create is grease points and lubrication.
So I will do a fluids and filters exchange for new in the next week or two as time comes available.

My question is this......

Is there a diagram or "map" that shows all the grease nipples etc?
I do not want to just crawl in under the truck and pump the ones in sight full of grease. On my old Transit there were a couple on the rear diff area that were "around the corner, on top" and not visible, so if you did not know about them, you would or could miss them.

I want to get my pressure cleaner into the engine compartment and under the engine to remove some of the old oil, dirt, dust n grease before refreshing it all.

The truck will be doing a 500mile/800km trip towing the teardrop mid August, so this has to be done in my book.

As always, any tips and advice as well as pitfalls and shortcuts will be appreciated.
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[Ta2Don]

I will look in my books and get back with ya soon... Keep Rockin'

[Ta2Don]

Here's the lube chart I have in my 65 Manual, The column for "type of Lubrication" where it shows "Chassis Lubricant" is where you should find Grease Nipples...

Cheers

[Grizz1963]

Thanks Don.

Just gone 22.00 here. Been a hard day, so off to bed but it means up early and get going as the weather forecast is 32'C for tomorrow.
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[Jer64]

another congrats on the purchase Grizz! that's a nice looking truck!

[Grizz1963]

Originally Posted by Jer64

another congrats on the purchase Grizz! that's a nice looking truck!

Thanks Jer, I have to say, it is not a patch on your rather gorgeous truck, as it has been a working truck the last 9 years.

Hopefully it will look better once I have saved up the necessary dosh to buy a new set of side trim, and then also to do all the prep for paint and have it professionally painted in the same red it has now.


I must say, looking at where you started and how good the truck looks now, I feel there is hope for our truck.

[Grizz1963]

Not sure where to stick this in, but here goes.

I recently removed a door from the garage and fitted a regular door after closing up the hole.

I tried to give the door away, repeatedly, it was 8x7 foot, probably worth over £400 to replace.No takers.

Yesterday I had planned on greasing up the truck, but then thought I would clear up in front of the garage and get the door onto the front pavement for the scrap man...... at which point another one of my crappy ideas sprung to mind.

Why not cut the door up and use a piece of it as a small roof for the garden tool cabinet etc.....

Into action and soon I had this, once I had found some lumber to use for the supports I had visualized.



Couple of hours later this was the scene.



At which point Mickey came around for a play.....

Then he was off to clean out his BBQ as his wife had demanded he cook some cow today.

Once I had finished clearing up etc, this was the result.

Next up will be moving the tool cabinet, painting the block wall, and painting the wood to get a uniform colour.



After clearing up a quick shower and then a bunch of friends over for a BBQ.
Perfect weather as well, we only came indoors after 22.00

[Neatbeard]

Ahhh I wondered what the score was with how you were gona do the lettering, it all becomes clear now! Thanks for the comments on my truck too BTW.

[Grizz1963]

Originally Posted by Neatbeard

Ahhh I wondered what the score was with how you were gona do the lettering, it all becomes clear now! Thanks for the comments on my truck too BTW.

Interesting we have the same direction wrt Redneck Racing/Express.

I wanted a semi industrial look as I have not got skills you have or a budget to do proper pinstriping.

Nicola loves your candy skull and striping.