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

[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.

[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

[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.

[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]

Just had a call from Ian "FrankenHealey about some Teak planks he offered me over two years ago, as he knew I love wood, re-using etc.

I had decided that if I was going to go the wooden floor route for the truck, which currently has marine ply floors, then 60 year old Teak boards from a Bedford Green Goddess Fire tender, LINK HERE: http://retrorides.proboards.com/thread/84662?page=1 would be a pretty cool way to go.

Here are some pics of the donor:









Currently looks like this...... with the race car it will be transporting in the foreground..... not that you would miss it.






Over the next weekend or so, Ian will be photographing the teak planks he has, and then I will decide if I am up for a rather large job of making them into a floor for the truck.


Once cut and planed you should have something like this.



This is what finished Teak should look like.



And a reclaimed Teak garden table.




So..... what is the general consensus?

The planks are about 240km from here.

[R_W]

I may be biased because I like working with wood, but I would not be scared. Remove all hardware, plane, rip, cut, route, finish, done.

I plan to find some cool wood with a history for mine, perhaps something out of one of my relative's barns. Or part of a barn. Who knows...
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[Grizz1963]

Originally Posted by R_W

I may be biased because I like working with wood, but I would not be scared. Remove all hardware, plane, rip, cut, route, finish, done.

I plan to find some cool wood with a history for mine, perhaps something out of one of my relative's barns. Or part of a barn. Who knows...
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Well, the decissions been made.

I will be recovering the wood in some way from where it is, and make the bed out of it.

[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]

This weekend we had a 3 year old's birthday party to go to, so time would be a bit limited.

However, on Friday night after work, on the way home, I stopped at the Hardware store (B&Q) to pick up some wood.



Should not take much to guess where to next.

As always, made it up in my head, as I went along.



Old Mickey was up at 05.00 this morning as well, and when I looked out the bathroom window, he was way up in his cherry tree, trying to beat all the birds to the fruit, so when I went down to the garage at 07.00 to pull the truck out, he was there like a shot, large shopping bag full of freshly picked cherries..... could not ask for much more, could I ?

Well , I got more...... A helping hand, he is such a loyal neighbour and always likes to be around when I make stuff, as some of my ideas are just mad to him.

Fortunately, he "Got" the latest creation instantly, and approved.



I did not want a plain, two rail bed side but rather a stepped one.

So cut and prepped the wood to have it like this, and then mocked it all up before doing the wood glue and clamps.

At 11.00 I shut shop, showered and got changed, then we took the motorbike and went to Whitstable for the party, which turned out to be just great.



Back home from our visit by 5.30pm
Fearless Harley kept on getting under my feet most of the day as well, and every time I moved past the tailgate, she was up to get a stroke, cuddle or just to sqwauk at me for attention.



Glued it all together in place with Mickey as extra hands.

Next job will be drilling and counter sinking all the holes for two brass wood screws per joint.




This brought us to 8.00pm and with loads of daylight left, and Mickey clearly not ready to go home to sleep in front of his telly, I decided to quickly sand back and distress the steel trunk Nicola and I found and bought two weeks ago.

Using a pointed orbital type sander, I worked the paint back.



Then found just the right red paint for the lettering of the stenciled words that needed to get onto the trunk.
Got going with help from Mickey, again not wanting to miss the opportunity to keep busy.



Stenciling all done.



Time for some more random paint of the top and also to sand back a bit more rust to create this Fake Patina.

Next up once dried for a few days, I will sand back by hand and leave little of the red paint, followed by a few coats of clear lacquer.

After which I will fit the trunk to the rear bed of the truck.

[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.

[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.

[Neatbeard]

Originally Posted by Grizz1963

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.

Yeah the whole redneck thing suits, everyone I know calls me a redneck, especially with my beard and love of baseball caps!

I'm still learning pinstriping, I never seem to get enough time to have a play though unless I set myself a proper project. We should do a trade i'll do yer some striping and you can make me some bed side slats!

Keep at it dude its looking better with every update.

[McMurphy]

Originally Posted by Neatbeard

Yeah the whole redneck thing suits, everyone I know calls me a redneck, especially with my beard and love of baseball caps!

I'm still learning pinstriping, I never seem to get enough time to have a play though unless I set myself a proper project. We should do a trade i'll do yer some striping and you can make me some bed side slats!

Keep at it dude its looking better with every update.

I think it would be sheer awesomeness to see both your trucks side by side !!

[Ta2Don]

Gotta agree with Murph!!! We need a pic of the 2 of ya together with the trucks

[Grizz1963]

Originally Posted by Ta2Don

Gotta agree with Murph!!! We need a pic of the 2 of ya together with the trucks

Biggest problem is the distance between us.....

But it would be a cool set to photograph.



Spent time after work with my wife, had dinner after which she went to have a bath and I went to the garage..... good compromise ?

Sprayed another coat of clear on the trunk.

Then my buddy Jon, who I ride trials with came around to show off a new mountain bike he is looking at £4k WTF ???

Anyway, he also brought some AutoGlym Bumper polish for me to try on the black vinyl tonneau cover on the truck. After washing it, it looked fine, but this stuff really made a huge difference, lifting dirt and revitalizing the colour.
After applying, I buffed it all back.
By the weekend I will give it another coat and buff back again, should do the trick.



I am impressed.

Also started to remove the non matching bolts from the towbar where it is mounted under the chassis, will be replacing them all with 30mm M12 nuts and bolts.
How do you remove domed bolts that just turn around when you tru move the nuts? Vice grips ?

[R_W]

Rian,

Did you ever get your headlights sorted out?
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[Grizz1963]

Originally Posted by R_W

Rian,

Did you ever get your headlights sorted out?
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Got a used replacement switch, not tried it yet.

Will try it when I "get time" so many little jobs I am doing, its another I would probably do over a weekend as I need time to figure out stuff. And to check circuits and wiring.
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