'67 Stepper "Laymond"

[Todd68Chevy]

Looks nice.

I had block in the rear of mine for a very short time and could not get rid of the driveshaft vibration. I tried angling the pinion and still had issues so I removed them and put shorter springs in it.

Keep me in the loop if you sell these wheels.

[slowcpe]

Thanks Todd!

I'm not sure if I will leave the blocks in once I get the bags in. Not sure if I will need them. Will do on the wheels.

Hardly any progress on the truck in the past couple of weeks due to work and Spring Break. Did work on the steering wheel a bit the other night.

I'm working the Home Show this weekend and then I'm taking the week off next week to work on the truck and yard. Hope to have the engine bay cleaned and painted by then and maybe take it for a cruise next weekend. Let's hope so!

Sorry no pics.

[slowcpe]

Well took a vacation last week to work on the truck and yard. Only got one full day in on the truck but it was a full day that lasted well into the night. It's nice work out in the garage with the doors open vs. closed and the constant roaring of a salamander heater.

Painted my grill inserts and headlight bezels. Still working on stripping the paint on the grill bezels. I really need a media blaster. I also washed the truck for the first time, pressure washed and degreased the rear half of the truck and engine bay, and halfway done with painting/detailing under the hood. One more full day and it should be road worthy. Then its time to tear back down and lay it out!

[slowcpe]

Not sure why images are not loading. Flickr seems to have changed something. I will look into it later and update.

[gheynderickx]

lookin good!

[slowcpe]

Work and life keeps getting in the way in regards to building this truck. Been tinkering with it here and there.

Spent last Friday night trying to bring some color out of the truck. Not having much luck as its pretty thin. Stuck the headlights and bezels in. Still working on stripping the paint off the grill bezels. That's a whole lot of fun. Most of the engine bay is now clean and painted.

Last night I started on the engine. I'm basically going to flush the cooling, tune-up and detail. Goal is to drive it this summer, enjoy it, and start collecting the rest of my LS swap. Pulled the radiator, flushed it out and began tearing down the frontend of the motor. Found out there was no thermostat in the truck so that gets added to the list.

Plan is to get it running and take it to a cruise-in this weekend. Lets see if that actually happens. I really have to get moving as I still need to install the suspension before a big cruise-in here June along with the Street Machine Nationals at the end of that month in DuQuoin, IL. Plus boating season should be kicking off in about a month.

Pic from last night

[Dobster]

Looks great! Keep plugging away at it! The wheels and stance are spot on!!! Thanks for the updat....

[slowcpe]

What is everybody's opinions on door panel color? I will eventually be going all red, red/black houndstooth seat, red collumn/steering wheel, but black dashpad and arm rests. However for the time being I have my black seat. I can't decide on black or red door panels. My only issue with red is the truck was apparently painted a different color than original. Didn't notice how bad until I installed my ashtray.

[/url]

Black door panels


Or Red?

[Dobster]

I like the orange!
Door panels always look better black to me gives the cab some contrast. Solid color doors look plan...
I am thinking about wrapping my 67 stepper in a flat orange next summer!

[slowcpe]

Well I wasn't able to take the truck to a cruise-in this weekend but I did make progress. Spent most of the day Saturday and a little bit on Sunday to finish up painting the engine bay. As with most stuff I've done, its not perfect but way better than before. Now I have to put everything back together, run a new fuel line to carb, and give it a tune-up.

This weekend is the guys' trip to Talladega so if I don't work on it this week its going to sit for another one.

Saturday night out in the garage, working on the truck, watching the race, and consuming a few adult beverages



Before


Current

[Bennett68C10]

Looking good

[slowcpe]

Thanks!

I just glanced over the last pic and want to make the statement: the black overspray is from a PO and not by me. I may not be the best painter, but don't think I'm that bad.

[slowcpe]

The engine is just about ready to fire! I'm down to plug wires (should be here in the morning), battery box, heater hoses and change fluids. Hope to be down to plug wires only by tonight. Getting excited as it will be a running truck again and I can actually get started on the suspension!

I'm taking all the pics now because I'm sure it won't be this pretty once I fire the engine. Hopefully all the paint doesn't burn off. Here's what I've done:

Cleaned, degreased, pressure washed, sanded (nothing crazy) and cleaned the engine bay.
Accessories, Inner fenders, Radiator, and core support painted satin black (VHT empoxy)
Painted the engine Chevy Orange while still in the vehicle (don't suggest doing that again)
New water pump, thermostat, plugs, plug wires, air filter, and fluids
Fixed a few minor odds/ends

Keep in mind this a is temp detail so I can drive it while I collect parts for my LS build.

Overall I'm happy with how it turned out.

[knomadd]

Looks pretty good from where I'm sittin'.

[SCHRUMGMC]

Awesome Stepper man!!!

Loving the progress

[slowcpe]

Well it looks like there has been a change of plans. Buttoned everything up over the last week and was ready to fire it up and hopefully take the truck tomorrow to a friend's campsite in New Harmony. Final thing was to put antifreeze in and start her up.

Well as I was filling it up water/AF started pouring out from under the thermostat housing. Upon further inspection there appears to be a crack. I think it happened over the winter. During the cold snap I found the truck only had water and no antifreeze. That realization happened when I noticed the radiator was froze solid. Drove it once and thought I dodged a bullet but I guess I was wrong. Also never dreamed my insulated garage would get that cold.

So as I should have known better, doing something halfway has NEVER worked out for me. I may be able to fix the crack but I'm done fooling with this 6-banger. Spent 2 months longer and a little more money that I should have just to have a running truck for the spring/summer. Not going to happen now.

Not sure how far I'm going at this point, but Im done putting money in this motor and going straight for the 6.0 that's sitting in corner. Not sure when it'll be on the road now but whatever I do from now on will be in the direction of the final result.

On a good note I received my birthday gift today: sandblast cabinet. This should be getting put to good use here soon.

Stay tuned as this might get interesting!

[slowcpe]

The one positive out of the weekend (truck related) is I finished my grill. I really like how it turned out. Next up on the front end will be to either get a new bumper or try my had at straightening it. Most of the bow is via a PO cutting the bumper bracket to install power steering. I've got new brackets and more than likely converting to rack and pinion with a mild dropmember

Here's a pic of the front end

[slowcpe]

Found the leaky culprit. Good new is it doesn't appear to be the block. Apparently when I went to install the new temp sensor I cracked the housing. Not sure how that happened but it's split pretty good on the back side by the valve cover.

Not sure where to find one, but once I do it should be a running truck!

[Bennett68C10]

That's great news about the motor, get that sucker running and enjoy it. Your grill turned out very nice, I really like the white accents. If you do choose to go with the mild dropmember you won't be disappointed. Mine is the touring front dropmember and still lays frame, I love it.

[slowcpe]

Thanks. That's the plan. Yeah I really like the white, it's a little different yet still "original".

I will definitely be going with a DM. With the LS swap and wanting rack and pinion (current steering box leaks pretty bad) it's almost a no brainier. I'm just not really wanting to part with the cash just yet for that, the a-arms and cross member.

[mcbassin]

that's great it wasn't your block leaking. It's a super cool truck no matter what engine you decide to run. I am kinda anal about antifreeze, I had one slush up on me one time and thought I had ruined it. I got lucky too.

[slowcpe]

Finally picked up a "new" housing from a junkyard today. Had a couple of offers from out-of-town people and was about 2 hours away from jumping in the truck and driving an hour to pick one up when I tried a last resort, an old junkyard back in the woods. He had what I needed and actually has a few trucks. I will probably be heading back soon to pillage some parts, especially since he has (2) '67s.

Sorry for a boring post but I'm bored waiting in between paint coats and kind of excited. If all goes well I'll be taking the truck to its first cruisein tomorrow night.

[slowcpe]

Well the truck is running again! Had a few mishaps but it appears to be purring like a kitten, runs better and no new leaks. Chance of rain tonight and we are hitting a couple of cruise ins so going to leave the truck at home. Not quite ready for that but close.

I'm pretty happy so far. Finish up some odds and ends and get it ready for a big cruisein here in town next Saturday. Sunday it'll be going under the knife for suspension. Has to be done by the 27th for the Street Machine Nationals in DuQuion, IL.

[slowcpe]

"Finished" engine shot.

[slowcpe]

Well took the truck for a little cruise tonight. Went to hang a tv in a buddy's camper and decided to take the truck. Was the first time driving it where I actually got to enjoy it. Liked it so much I passed the house not wanting to put it up. Put gas in it, took a couple of pics in front of my old high school and stopped by a buddy's dad's house to show him the truck.

Overall the truck did great. The cut front springs make for a little less than desirable ride. That's soon to get changed though. Need to adjust the headlights but that was expected. The only thing I didn't like was a chattering clutch. Need to look into that.