Driving "Miss Daisy" - 68 SWB Stepper

[NoNeck]

OOPS... forgot the picture!

NoNeck

[VA72C10]

Nice work!!!

[bollybib]

Maybe you could stub a couple of small nerf bars off the frame rails and still be in compliance. Just a thought.

Seems to me that unless one ordered a rear bumper as a factory option, these trucks were delivered to the dealer without one. I recall seeing some of these bumperless trucks when new driving around with no rear bumper.

My truck still has the factory license plate bracket attached to the bed, light and all. It has no use once a bumper is installed. What I'm getting at is, if it was first sold and registered with no rear bumper, you could be ok. I'd like to do this with mine so I've been looking into it.

[NoNeck]

Bollybib -

I like the way you think... I'm going to check into that.

I know that this truck was sold in Texas with a dealer installed step bumper, but it probably arrived at the dealership without the bumper. Hmmm...

Thanks for the input!

NoNeck

[67chevy1series]

nice work no neck!!!!truck looks good

[NoNeck]

Thanks Rick! It has been a lot of work up to this point, but a lot of fun, too. This part of the country really loves these old trucks.

NoNeck

[67chevy1series]

good to hear they like the oldies! keep it comin bud

[NoNeck]

I completed my first restoration on a gauge cluster over the weekend. It's not perfect, but it's a BIG improvement over what I had to start with.

The first picture shows the original cluster with a broken speedometer needle and weird glazing over the "Oil Pressure" warning light. It also had a lot of dust and bugs behind the glass.

My son Chad (CC69Rat) decided that he was going to go with a billet cluster in his '69 C10, so I used his to restore mine. Both the gauge faces, lens, and circuitry were really nice.

I used the bezel from my '68 because it had the wipers on the left side and a choke knob on the right. I painted the outer edges and openings using Krylon "Chrome" paint (it looks nothing like chrome). Then, I masked off the edges and sprayed the face semi-flat black.

While it was drying I used Krylon Flourescent Orange to brighten up the speedo needle and the gas needle. Worked pretty good!

I used the best bulbs from both my cluster and Chad's, and assembled everything. Chad helped me put it back into the truck and we went for a ride. Wow... now the speedometer works, the gas gauge is working and the dash lights all work. I am looking for a better wiper knob and choke knob, so those have not been installed. Mine were cracked and broken.

We are working on lowering the truck this week, so stay tuned!

NoNeck

[VA72C10]

nice work! Looks like new!!!

[R&K's71]

wow its amazing what a little cleaning and paint will do looks great

[bollybib]

it looks way better . . . the so-called chrome paint gives it a uniform appearance even if it isn't shiny . . . good use of available materials, too

[67chevy1series]

dash looks good! the only thing else you could do is buy a new bezel.....

[mbmajorp]

wow, first time seeing your truck and work yall done. awesome! i just bought a 72 c10 swb and i thought paying someone else to do the body and paint was restoring a old truck....after reading all of yalls, i have a new appreciation for a real restore. i got plenty left to do when i get it back from paint, but yall just being creative and having the know how is inspiring for a young tuner.
awesome truck and work.

[NoNeck]

Mbmajorp -

Let me be the first to say

It's great to see young people like you and "67Chevy1series" having an interest in these old trucks. It's guys like you that will keep the hobby going for years to come.

The good thing about our trucks is they are easy to work on. Plus, with the great vendors and parts board on this site, your life just got easier. You definately have come to the right place for advice and motivation.

Good luck on your '72! And remember, WE NEED PICS!!!

Wayne (NoNeck)

[NoNeck]

My son Chad bought a nice blue Corvette 3 spoke steering wheel last weekend. We couldn't wait to get it on Miss Daisy.

The color matched really well and sure made the interior feel more sporty. I like it!

[NoNeck]

We finally got Miss Daisy lowered!!! She's not as low as we would like, but it is a major improvement from stock.

We used CPP lowering coils, 4" in the rear and 3" in the front. While we had the front spindles out we installed new Moog ball joints. We had to grind away the rivets from the original top ball joints. Anyone who has removed old riveted ball joints knows what a pain this can be.

Everything else went pretty smooth, so now all I need to do is get an alignment... AND DRIVE IT!!!

NoNeck

[72SWBChevy]

Looking great! Nice work.

[67cheby]

I like it !!

[Redleg]

Man i wish this build thread was longer because i loved reading every minute of it.

You have done an amazing job. That is one gorgeous truck. Hats off to you!

[bollybib]

The Vette wheel looks great and the ride height looks fine, too. The red white and blue theme is subtle. Looks like you are ready to make service calls now !

PS: I worked at a Mobil station in HS and college. The owner had a black 56 Ford truck tho, haha

[67chevy1series]

Originally Posted by NoNeck

Mbmajorp -

Let me be the first to say

It's great to see young people like you and "67Chevy1series" having an interest in these old trucks. It's guys like you that will keep the hobby going for years to come.

The good thing about our trucks is they are easy to work on. Plus, with the great vendors and parts board on this site, your life just got easier. You definately have come to the right place for advice and motivation.

Good luck on your '72! And remember, WE NEED PICS!!!

Wayne (NoNeck)

ill be glad to keep these old trucls from being beaters.... and keep them as classic pickups that will never die!

[NoNeck]

Thanks for the compliments, guys.

Redleg, is that your truck in the Avatar? I would like to see some pics of it. Do you have a build thread?

Bollybib, I think we were twins separated at birth because my first job was pumping gas for a Mobil station in my home town! The owner of the station would let all the "hot rodders" gather on Saturday to wash and wrench on their cars. The shop truck for the Mobil station was a '59 Apache, and I can still remember that red Pegasus horse on the doors.

On any given Saturday, his two-bay station would have a dozen or so Chevelles, GTO's, and Tri-Five Chevys gleaming in the sun. This was back around 1966, and I owned a '60 Chevy bubbletop with a hot 409 and 3 two's. Most people thought it was a 348, so I let them think that.

The station owner was a really smart guy. He realized early on that all those rodders would fill up with "Hi Test" before the parade of cars made the Saturday night loop from the Big Burger downtown to the A&W about 5 miles away. With Premium going for about 32 cents a gallon, you could fill up for $5.

Those were the days... Have a good 4th of July!

NoNeck

[kyull67]

great work! looks neat

[bollybib]

...I can still remember that red Pegasus horse on the doors.

Hi Wayne,

Aahh the memories of full service; washing windshields, checking oil, putting air in the tires, giving away blue chip stamps, wow whatever happened to all that ? Plus the chicks on their way to the beach in summer, yum .

We didn't have a gathering like yours with all the cool cars, but the owner always had a lot of his own vehicles around to use for loaners. So I got to drive them (51 Olds, 56 Buick, 55 Merc come to mind) plus deliver and pick up cars to be serviced (Black 65 Riviera I cannot forget) so that was a lot of fun. Plus I got to use the rack to work on my car and my friends cars, too. The owner was the nicest man you would ever want to meet and we kept in touch until he passed away a few years back.

The station was on the Redondo Beach side of 190th Street and the Torrance Mobil refinery was on the same street just a couple of miles east. I still have a few of these fridge magnets I got at an open house at the refinery back in the early 90s. They were attempting to assuage the local populace and the City that no Bophal could happen here.

If you like, I can send one to you. You could stick one in the glove box or wherever. PM me if you want one.

Peace

[Redleg]

Originally Posted by NoNeck

Thanks for the compliments, guys.

Redleg, is that your truck in the Avatar? I would like to see some pics of it. Do you have a build thread?

NoNeck

Yessir. Just got her a couple weeks back. I started a build thread. Only a couple of pics. However my "newbie" post has some more pics in it.

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=471782