What did you do to your truck today!

[VWNate1]

NO NO NO ! .

YOU will do a batter rebuild / overhaul job because you care ~ When I bought this rig it had a freshly rebuilt carby on it , sticker and all , it ran O.K. , not great ~ when I got it home and took the carby apart I found the metering rod was BENT from the DPM having not bothered to pay attention when he put the top of the carby back on ~ in these fine Aluminum Mono Jet Rochester carbys , the main jet has a metering rod that hangs down so you must be very careful when re assembling else it'll not line up in the hole and never be right .

FWIW , NAPA Carby kits & parts are made by TOMCO , this is good stuff ~ you can buy floats for rather old Chevys as well as kits .

Even if you get 1/2 way through the carby overhaul and get scared , just gently wrap it all up and then let the Garage Man try - I really think you'll do a better job , judging by the ham - fisted crap I have to straighten out most of the time .

-Nate

Originally Posted by In The Ten Ring

Nate,

All I got done today was I picked up the NAPA version of the carb rebuild kit and float and this time, inspecting the box before leaving the store (see I am learning!) it seems unopened and the float is brass not plastic, I am therefore happier for having to return the kit from Advanced Auto.

I hope to drop both carb and kit off to a garage for the rebuild Monday, unless I change my mind and (after quickly manning up) deciding to do it myself.

[Expat_dude]

Ordered some drop coils for the front.

Posted via Mobile Device

[DaddyO]

Originally Posted by zellway

Looks great! What drop spring and stock arm?

I'm running a 4 / 6 drop ..

[swamp rat]

Pulled the tires off unbolted the calipers and left the truck on jack stands so i could start my Ball joint, hub bearing and brake replacement, then left for work in my other truck and stopped at the post office to check for mail, only to have my ign switch jam up solid, walked home 3 miles and got the spare key and a ride to my truck, spare key didn't help so after getting my truck towed to the dealer which was an ordeal in itself i came home and put everything on my 72 back together so i would have a truck to drive again, in other words my day sucked and was pretty expensive too.

[Haggis]

Installed some functional mirrors as opposed to my oreilly's cheap useless mirrors. Its a slightly tweaked set off of my friend's 79 C10. Not the usual spot but they're where I like em. Hit em with some dark gray spray before I put em on.

[sboris]

Originally Posted by swamp rat

Pulled the tires off unbolted the calipers and left the truck on jack stands so i could start my Ball joint, hub bearing and brake replacement, then left for work in my other truck and stopped at the post office to check for mail, only to have my ign switch jam up solid, walked home 3 miles and got the spare key and a ride to my truck, spare key didn't help so after getting my truck towed to the dealer which was an ordeal in itself i came home and put everything on my 72 back together so i would have a truck to drive again, in other words my day sucked and was pretty expensive too.

Tough day.. SWEET truck!
Posted via Mobile Device

[VWNate1]

It looks like I finally found a 292 ~

So now I have to clean out the cab then check the front brakes , replace the grease seals and generally clean it up and make ready for a two day road trip .

I don't suppose anyone here knows what the correct 292 color was in 1969 ? .

I know it was GMC RED in the early to mid 1960's but by the end of production it was CHEVROLET 6 BLUE so I'm not sure what color to use in my base green '69 C/10 ....

[magwakeenercew2jh]

Put the early bumper on that I had painted. Mounting the parking lights/turn signals behind the grille.

Just a, "..for now to see how I like it" sort of thing. I like the clean look, but I still have the chrome '71/72 bumper. We'll see.

Fun to switch it up from time-to-time. Painter Lee painted the bumper as part of the deal.

[Palf70Step]

Originally Posted by VWNate1

It looks like I finally found a 292 ~

So now I have to clean out the cab then check the front brakes , replace the grease seals and generally clean it up and make ready for a two day road trip .

I don't suppose anyone here knows what the correct 292 color was in 1969 ? .

I know it was GMC RED in the early to mid 1960's but by the end of production it was CHEVROLET 6 BLUE so I'm not sure what color to use in my base green '69 C/10 ....

Chevy orange was the color in 1970 & 71 so I would assume 69 was also. I don't think it became blue until mid 70s, maybe even the early 80s.

[72Souper]

My Father put fenders on and drove it to a shop where they are going to get the doors on correctly. First time i've seen it with fenders on in months! He is in WA state and I have recently moved to Indiana (where the truck will end up). Really exciting!

[VWNate1]

THANK YOU ! .

-Nate

Originally Posted by Palf70Step

Chevy orange was the color in 1970 & 71 so I would assume 69 was also. I don't think it became blue until mid 70s, maybe even the early 80s.

[VWNate1]

Drove it to work & home again (yawn) , removed the pumpkin's derby cover and drained out the clean if thin (like water !) gear oil and had a look ~ there was minimal black stuff in there so I wiped it all clean & inspected the gear mesh , it's fine , the R & P is an 11/48 = 4.36 final drive ratio , this is the original three speed gearset dated October 1968 .

It's a 12 bolt part # 3817778 so now I need to find a V8 powered , automatic tranny equipped 6 lug rear end (! HINT !) to replace it with , 3.73 or maybe a 3.55 ratio (11/41) .

QUESTION : I find lots and lots of 5 or 8 lug rear ends but few 6 lug , can I simply swap the axles ? .

What series ("HO " etc.) rear end is This ? am I stuck with /67 ~ '72 or can I use later rear ends as there's millions of good '72 ~ '87 rigs here for parts picking .

I'm tinkering on my truck to - day because to - morrow morning I head out to finally buy my 292 I6 engine , super cheap , way out in the boonies .

ROAD TRIP ! (note clever use of CHEVROLET BLUE there) .

[Tom Vogel]

[QUOTE=Expat_dude;6239480]Ordered some drop coils for the front.

That is a Sweet 67! Beutiful Orange.

[oklalawnboy]

Installed my new "Truckseats" seat cover with new foam. It is awesome!

[Lee H]

Originally Posted by oklalawnboy

Installed my new "Truckseats" seat cover with new foam. It is awesome!

That's nice!

[russgoodman]

Originally Posted by oklalawnboy

Installed my new "Truckseats" seat cover with new foam. It is awesome!

Is it a full foam seat or did you have to modify the new foam?

[VWNate1]

To get ready for my road trip to - day I unloaded the cab & bed , vacuumed then washed the rig , scrubbed the un finished oak bed wood , boy howdy was there a lot of leaf mulch built up & difficult to remove (TIP : use a stiff brush and vacuum to clean around the edges and along the sides of the metal strips before applying soapy water) .

I need to figure out how to get the black staining off the boards then apply some Tong Oil as this bed is only a few years old and I want it to last .

Then I jacked up and blocked the front end , removed the wheels , replaced the crappo Taiwanese grease seals that were weeping grease onto my brake shoes , inspected the wheel cylinders for leaks / seeps (none , yay) cleaned up the dust on the shoes & backing plates , replaced both worn thin front drums with well priced new new ones from Good Guy Dano , (THANK YOU DANO ) , cleaned off a bit more of the accumulated old grease on the suspension parts , greased the entire front suspension , washed both front wheels inside & out & re assembled everything , replaced the old ATF dipstick with a long one from a G Van then re - tightened the perenially loose head pipe to exhaust manifold joint .

I found a rock hard vacuum hose & replaced it then leaned out the idle mixture a tiny bit , it idlessmoother now and has better off idle throttle response .

t was 100 + * F , not much fun for an old fat guy but I like to tinker and this truck gets ever better

[SCHRUMGMC]

Pulled a Muscle in my Heart area, due to the Truck not running right, had to push it up and down my Driveway...After the Grass is cut tomorrow I think I am going to be Bed ridden for a few days..If anyone can help me work on this Truck it would be greatly appreciated
1

[VWNate1]

Do TO it ? .

I drove it 400 + miles in the heat and had a pretty good time , marveled at how it used less than 1/2 quart of oil in spite of running it 65 MPH the whole way .

What did I do IN it ? I nearly DIED when some @$$hole in a beat up double bottom Semi pulled into my lane when there was nowhere for me to escape , stop nor speed up ~ I had two tires in the edge of a steep dirt embankment on Ca. Rt. 99 North of Modesto where the Road Construction has it all torn up , I managed to keep 6" (maybe) between him and my mirror as I leaned on the horn and slowed down , luckily for me a CHP Commercial Enforecement Pickup was coming up in the fast lane and saw me pop out from behind this jerk , he pulled the jerk over .

Whew ~ for a moment or three I thought I was going to roll it down the embankment @ 65 MPH ~ that's very exciting but not much fun , BT , DT and have the scars to prove it .

To - morrow I hope to load up my new (old) 292 engine and head home .

[magwakeenercew2jh]

Originally Posted by VWNate1

Do TO it ? .
Whew ~ for a moment or three I thought I was going to roll it down the embankment @ 65 MPH ~ that's very exciting but not much fun , BT , DT and have the scars to prove it .

Today *and* yesterday were about TV swaps. Our bedroom TV blew out. It gets used as a sleep-aid (mostly not by me, I'm a reader). So, off to the various Costco/Sears, etc.
There's a story in that, too. But suffice it to say that the related aspect is that the family room plasma is now for sale to help fund a motor build/rebuild. Enough on that.....Except:

As we were heading north on CA41, we stopped at a light waaaay out in the boonies north of Fresno about fifteen miles. The intersection of E/W 145 (that comes in from Madera and
heads over to Friant/Table Mountain) and N/S 41 that runs all the way from Paso Robles to the South Gate of Yosemite. We were stopped at a light...the last for twelve or so miles...
...on the last stretch toward home fifteen miles north of Fresno and nineteen miles south of home base in Coarsegold.

Hwy 41 and 145 are each two lane (one in each direction) 70 in a 55 mph ribbons. Sitting in pole position at the light headed north in my woman's Nissan SUV (TV and all that),
I reflected on how my wheels probably shouldn't be 2 feet over the white "stop here" line.

100 degrees outside. Air conditioning on full. Waiting for the light to change. New electronics in the car meant no jump out there's, even though I'm not so prone to do that these days, anyway.
I heard a modest "thump". The mind went, "huh?" The noise was on our left...Almost obviously starting from the east on 145 coming from the direction of Madera, and traveling west. Sliding at at
least sixty mph thru the now yellow to red light...at about a 30 degree angle, coming toward us and upright, was a four year old or so silver-gray Chevy Tahoe.

It's right rear quarter-panel was shedding plastic, glass, and metal....At least that was what was in its wake. Spreading across as if it were water poured on the ground. It trailed the Tahoe by milliseconds,
but looked like it was a shimmering, liquid wave. As it "flowed", I heard something like you hear the start of a heavy rainstorm. The noise stopped and was replaced by screeching of locked-up brakes.
The Tahoe's driver corrected to the left. He was off balance enough that his front driver's side dipped down and grabbed the pavement.

Then, as they aptly say, it was all suspended animation. Much slower than the thousands of tiny trash bullets and gravel seemed to be hitting our car.

He went over. Up, and to the left. I saw the bottom of the Tahoe. Then the front. Upside down and facing me as it now rolled through the last intersection. I say the drivers arm fluttering in the open
(or broken out) driver's side window. Strange, I remember a watch and an arm flopping inside a long-sleeved, checkered shirt.

As the Tahoe was finishing rolling on its right side for the second and last time, it was almost stabilized on its roof when a dog, a smaller cow-chasing type dog, was thrown out of the truck
from some opening, landed on his/her side and took off running to beat the band. Ten foot leash in tow.

The truck was on its roof, on the north-east corner of the intersection, but off the road. Very, very crashed. And very, very upside down.

The dog was running north in the middle of Highway 41 at what seemed like a sustained pace of 20 miles and hour. Running *from* the wreckage.

My woman was on the phone. First 911 call in. Stop motion. Then everyone started for the upside down SUV. Irene was giving thr CHP details,
as first responder people were bending and making whatever the first contact was with any human occupants of the Tahoe.

Enough folks there. We took off chasing the dog. As did about ten other cars. We traded positions, trying to herd the herding dog off of the road, lest one more
gory episode happen.

My flashers going to alert south-bound fast travellers coming from parts north, Hwy 41 turned into a winding clan of cars weaving around at 5-8 mph. The pace slowed.
The dog ran to the east through a barbed wire fence. Across range land and toward a large farm house. Safe for a time from the perils of cars. Heart pounding slowed down.
And sympathy for whatever was happening in our rearview mirror took over.

I couldn't find anything about the wreck *anywhere* last night. Not on the news, the web, the radio...nada.

So, we went back down today. We saw a small Japanese car parked along the road, just to the south of the intersection with a bashed in front drivers side and hood.

It's only a guess, but I will bet that the small Japanese car was at the park and ride at the south west corner of the intersection, tried to enter going east on 145 and was smacked...or *smacked* the Tahoe.
The Tahoe had to be whacked at no less than seventh mph...and no more than 100 feet from the signalled intersection, where he would have initially had the green...or the beginning of the yellow.

I hope everyone is okay. But I won't tempt fate and make the intelligent bet that there's at least one less soul walking on the face of the earth today than was earlier yesterday....And, I hope the dog's okay.

We'll probably never know.

[mud.man.rj]

Wow, you guy's have some wild stories, hope I don't have any to tell. Just drove my truck round trip last weekend about 800miles without one hickup, was wonderful and fun too. used a lot of fuel the big block.

[swamp rat]

Started to tear down my Dana 44 for new ball joints bearings seals and rod ends, oh, new calipers, rotors master cyl and power booster, and before the brakes are bled i have a rear disk conversion to do too.

[R.L.]

No exciting stories just drove it to work ,enjoyed that.

[dirtyjim]

finished up my serpentine conversion and figured out why the p.o. had switched to a 1-wire alternator, the alternator exiter wire had pulled out of the back of the ignition switch.

[beetle1960]

Drove it...