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

[Ta2Don]

Love the Silly hat mate!!!!

The trolley is very nice as well... Thanks for the emails from the show...

[Ta2Don]

A friend of mine over here in North Carolina has a cab like Martin'ss… needing lots of attention… so I pointed him in the direction of your Martin's thread...

I also pointed him to yours as well…

Cheers mate...

Check out his build, his name out here is Icewatercarter

[clemdaddy]

i think that hat was a good look for you. fits your personality as well, so, you hang out in china shops a lot, right...

[uber cool]

hat suits you

[Ta2Don]

Originally Posted by clemdaddy

i think that hat was a good look for you. fits your personality as well, so, you hang out in china shops a lot, right...

[markeb01]

If your steering column uses the 1986 and up splines common to GM vehicles, I probably have the adapter and cover bell(s) you need to adapt the Moon steering wheel:



I have a variety of chrome "bells", each being a different height to allow for various clearances above the top of the steering column. I won't be using this type again, as I have a one piece Ididit adapter now. If you want this stuff just let me know and I'll include it in the package with the door panel screws. I've been holding on to them as I'm going through and collecting some vintage magazines I think you'll enjoy.

[Grizz1963]

Well, Easter weekend came and went.

I hope that everyone of you had a good weekend with family and friends, doing stuff you wanted to or needed to do.

Thoroughly enjoyed it all, car shows, two BBQ's on Saturday and tonight.

Today it was boot fair with some bargains to be picked up followed this afternoon by a visit from Scot "Jabbo" to drop off a huge piece of foam rubber and to chat about all things automotive and then some.



After he left I started stripping the crashed Honda, later Martin popped over from the bike gathering he and Amanda had been to.

Seems whenever he pops over, chaos ensues.



Did not take us long to get this far.......



Front end removed and most of the engine bolts etc.

One of the problems with these modern bikes, even small ones is that they have all sorts of cleverness in their wiring looms etc. so one needs to dismantle sensibly if you want the thing to work again in future.



Once all the bits were unstuck, undone, unscrewed and ready, I lifted the frame off, leaving the engine on its own.



As Martin said, it's a pity our V8's and straight sixes are not that easy to handle.

It was off to the ready made trolley box I made on Saturday with the engine, followed by a lot of other bits, sprockets, wiring looms, chain, battery etc, all the bits possibly needed later when the toy gets built.



The frame and other bits still needed to be stripped to a level where it can be sold on Evilbay.




Treasures all boxed up and ready for storage.






Frame is going to be for sale as well, maybe someone can use it in a restoration project. Though I think the disc brake models are not liable to be as collect able as the older kick start models.





Spares for EBay listing, the two Michelin Pilot tyres were a week and less than 100 miles old.




One of the nice things we discovered about the tail end of the little bike is that it will also be donating its number plate bracket and light to the truck......

You see, every Chevy needs a little Honda in its life.




Thanks must as always go to Martin for coming over and creating havoc in my life, but also keeping me company and taking the lead on the stripping of the bike, he has clearly done this a few times before, and it may point at a very misspent youth......... Only he will know.

Tomorrow it is back to the grind stone, but at least it is a 4 day week, which is pretty cool too.

[Grizz1963]

Originally Posted by markeb01

If your steering column uses the 1986 and up splines common to GM vehicles, I probably have the adapter and cover bell(s) you need to adapt the Moon steering wheel:



I have a variety of chrome "bells", each being a different height to allow for various clearances above the top of the steering column. I won't be using this type again, as I have a one piece Ididit adapter now. If you want this stuff just let me know and I'll include it in the package with the door panel screws. I've been holding on to them as I'm going through and collecting some vintage magazines I think you'll enjoy.

Hallo Mark,

Once again I am in awe of not just your generosity but people in general. Nicola always tells me to remember that I do stuff for other people too, but it still touches my heart whenever kindness comes my way.

Simple answer to your question is that I love my Moon style wheel, and would love to keep it, however, I think the dish may be too deep, as the new column seems to be two inches longer on simple mock up.

Even if I cannot keep my existing g wheel, I will either go for another of the same, or possibly a 60's style car/truck wheel like you find in Impalas etc.

If your bell/boss is gong to allow me to utilise the splined shaft, which I cannot do right now, then I would be happy to buy or get one of yours and as always, pay postage, or pay forward, whichever suited you.

I was saying to Martin today when we were dismantling the little bike, that this truck is going to take longer than originally planned as there are so many little things that need sorting out along the way.

[markeb01]

Tell you what, I'll include the stuff in the photo in your next package. If you can't use it - turn it into trading material for something else, or gift it to someone else that has a need.

[Grizz1963]

Originally Posted by markeb01

Tell you what, I'll include the stuff in the photo in your next package. If you can't use it - turn it into trading material for something else, or gift it to someone else that has a need.

This sounds good.

I prefer gifting, as we all need a bit of luck from time to time. Trading is good as well as it sometimes lands you,something you need and the other person does not need.

Thanks again.

[Grizz1963]

On the way home tonight I stopped to pick up a pair of Ford Transit wheels I clocked last year when I had to stop for a roadside pee.

Obviously discarded, the plan is to turn them into an outdoor wood burner for Nicola's daughter, Hannah




Once the tyres are off the plan is to weld them together like in the pic below that I got off Fartsbook.




I got a call earlier today to say my wheels were ready for delivery back home.

So when I got in, there was a rather awesome pile of gifts waiting for me.

I think that going from this......



I am in awe at the finish.

Along with my exhausts antisocial thuggery, the eye searingly red rims and white hot new chrome, this project promises to look pretty decent as long as I do the body work justice.






Next job will be to source four decent 235/75-15 tyres.

I think I may have found some..... From Germany, a set of four, delivered for £306.00

If anyone has a better option, let me know.

[flashed]

Those wheels turned out great .

[1963c-10]

Rims look great!!

[ibrown50]

Rian, those have turned out fantastic, great job.

Are you after black walls? There are a few places on eBay doing decent brand new ones for about 50 quid each. These are Hankook (item number 201277164087) which are pretty decent.

If you want white walls Northhants tyres is the place to go, for £300 you should get at least one

[Ta2Don]

You will nail the body work mate!!!

"Antisocial Thuggery"

[uber cool]

loving the wheels, is that powder coating?

[Grizz1963]

Originally Posted by flashed

Those wheels turned out great .

Agreed. Well chuffed!!

Originally Posted by 1963c-10

Rims look great!!

Thank you mate.

Originally Posted by ibrown50

Rian, those have turned out fantastic, great job.

Are you after black walls? There are a few places on eBay doing decent brand new ones for about 50 quid each. These are Hankook (item number 201277164087) which are pretty decent.

If you want white walls Northhants tyres is the place to go, for £300 you should get at least one

North ants prices are really high, and I am loathe to support them at those prices, when you can get four Continentals delivered to your door for £300 it has to make sense avoiding those lovely whitewalls I would love to have.

Originally Posted by Ta2Don

You will nail the body work mate!!!

"Antisocial Thuggery"

Thanks for your vote Don

Originally Posted by uber cool

loving the wheels, is that powder coating?

Hey Andy, yes they were blasted and then powder coated.

And I am still grinning with pleasure.

[Grizz1963]

The night before last when the newly powder coated red rims came home, Nicola renamed them "The Girls" and asked if I wanted to take them to bed, based on how pleased I was with them.

Well, yesterday another small touch landed in the post from Spain, just love the internet.

Metal centre cap badges for the wheels.





Did not want to force the trim rings on before the tyres get fitted, but sure you get the idea.




Anyway, today I wrapped up and stashed the wheels in the garage till I get around to fitting the new tyres to them.




Today I also made an executive decision that I am selling the chrome smoothies,their caps and tyres on so that I can just keep the Rallyes on the truck.

I really do not want to go changing wheels and then having to store the "off" set every so often.

The wheels and caps are not perfect, but after cleaning them up, I did wonder about it, and when Nicola came down to check up on me, she said I was going to regret it.

7J wide and 15" diameter. With BF Goodrich tyres.







Good tread all the way.




I also pulled out my spare set of 15" Radar 5x205 polished ally wheels with 185/65-15 Firestones with hardly any wear out.

I have four of these, two on the Teardrop Trailer and two spare, so would be happy to sell them as a pair or a set, if all four goes, it means I can get the spare set of smoothies a pair of adapters and some tyres and fit them to the Teardrop.





And these are the Smoothies I got for the Teardrop last year, 5 stud, multi fit in 6J and 15" size with brand new caps.



Way too many wheels about.

[Grizz1963]

Freecycle vs Council tip.....

Well, I cut in and scored these two Peugeot 807 rear seats today before they got binned.

I will keep one and pass one on to my mate Martin.

Could be worked in between a pair of good bucket seats in the truck.

Then the backrest acts as a table and cup holder, or as occasional seat for a third person.




Got an email from friend Scot "Jabbo" today enquiring about the set of four polished ally Radar wheels I had on the Teardrop trailer and in storage.

This meant I ended up removing them, and he will collect at 21.00 tonight.

It also means I now need to find someone who can make me a set of adapters for the Multi fir 5 stud Chrome Smoothies I have. No idea how we are going to get 4 studs into the hub and 5 studs I to the adapter..... But that will be another days problem.

Did mock up the Smoothie though.






HERE'S A QUESTION FIR THE CLEVER GUYS WHO KNOW ABOUT TYRES FITTED TO RIMS.

Scot is giving me back two of the tyres.

They are 185/65-15's and the Smoothies are 6J 15's

I guess there will be a bit if stretch if fitted. Any opinions?




So these are the adapters. Hubs are four stud.



And the magic will happen when someone can figure how to add another 5 mounting holes to the centre of the adapter to fit these Multi fit 5 stud rims.




And that meant the end of another weekend.

[clemdaddy]

man, you are wheeling and dealing.
i also love multiple options in the wheel and tire department and you have outdone yourself.
those red wheels with the rings and caps are unbelievable... keep them all, make them fit, love the smoothies also, you can't have enough.

[Grizz1963]

Originally Posted by clemdaddy

man, you are wheeling and dealing.
i also love multiple options in the wheel and tire department and you have outdone yourself.
those red wheels with the rings and caps are unbelievable... keep them all, make them fit, love the smoothies also, you can't have enough.

Thanks Clem, unfortunately I do not have a service stations worth of space......

There was a clever suggestion that I re drill the teardrop hubs to suit the Chevy 5 stud pattern, not that I would know the difference between Chevy and Ford patterns, but a great idea that I will investigate.


I have been sitting on the idea for a while, getting bits together to make one for my daughter to use in her garden.

Based on an Idea I had a long time ago, which then also appeared on FB.



Last year I needed to pee desperately in the middle of winter coming home from Essex, after getting stuck in traffic for over an hour. So I found a small side lane and sneaked up there. Well, my eyes are always open for treasures. So I noticed four of these Ford Transit wheels laying covered in overgrowth in the ditch next to the road. Did nothing about it, but made a mental note for future reference.

Fast forward 5 months, and I popped up the lane last week on the way home for a pee and collected two of them as I could not find a pair of car rims at my local scrap recyclers.



So Sunday afternoon late, I after removing the wheels off the Teardrop trailer, I grabbed a grinder and five 1mm discs later both tyres were off.




Some flat bar to temporarily keep the rims in place on top of an old cast iron umbrella stand I have had for years, and you get the picture?

I will design a hinge and hook in for the door, weld it all up and then cut the door loose.



So tonight on the way home from London I popped into the yard to buy some steel to make a decent base for it to stand on, the stand will be a slip on with some pipe and the bottom holes all closed up so the fire stays contained.

The guys there know how mad my head is most of the time, and would not take any money today for the steel, but did sell me a pair of kiddy Kettler karts for £5.00 which will go straight onto EBay as they always sell well, generating cash for welding wire or CO2 gas.

I had a silly grin as I watched Glen pick out a sheet of steel with his massive crane and bring it down to the ground for a piece to be cut off for me.






Next up, over the weekend will be cutting a plug, welding it in and shortening the base support post so that another pipe can slide over it.

Cash waiting to be made, once I service and clean them up. The last two I sold made £25.00 each and the first one cost £2.00 and made £37.00

[Grizz1963]

Originally Posted by clemdaddy

man, you are wheeling and dealing.
i also love multiple options in the wheel and tire department and you have outdone yourself.
those red wheels with the rings and caps are unbelievable... keep them all, make them fit, love the smoothies also, you can't have enough.

My trucks original wheels sold to Ricky who came in his Chevy van to collect! after his SatNav dropped him about 5 miles from where we live. Love technology at times.

Cool custom, with little touches like Ford Sierra (Mondeo) door latches, locks, mk1 Mini fan and controls in the dash. His plans are a complete re-spray, the Chrome smoothies and to use it as a daily and for his business.



Money handed over to Nicola to stash under the mattress for when I buy tyres for the Rallyes.

[uber cool]

I think the guy that imported the van is MoparAl in Essex, I got my 59 Apache from him last year,

[Grizz1963]

Originally Posted by uber cool

I think the guy that imported the van is MoparAl in Essex, I got my 59 Apache from him last year,

Correct, and has left Rick very happy.

The van is lovely, no rust, few scabs and a light scrape down the one side.

Seems there are a few good people in this hobby over here too.

[ibrown50]

Great result I said those wheels were a bargain!