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

[flashed]

I used a Champion aluminum radiator in my 72 truck ,good looking and very nice but it was pricy .Good luck with whatever you find and will patiently await more updates.

[mjh1965]

Well Rian your adjustable Panhard bar has been ordered and on its way to Dons



He's going to need a bigger shed soon

[Ta2Don]

Originally Posted by mjh1965

Well Rian your adjustable Panhard bar has been ordered and on its way to Dons

He's going to need a bigger shed soon

[disasterbus]

I sold my '64 C-10 a few weeks ago as I've decided I need an American Muscle Car in my life so I'm on the lookout for a Mustang / Camaro / Challenger but here in the UK good ones at sensible prices are not so easy to find.

I needed a runaround while I'm looking and this little MX5 belonging to Grizz ticked all the boxes - fun, convertible, retro, cheap and easy to sell on when I find and buy that Yank muscle car.




A quick meet up in an M25 service station with Grizz and Martin and the deal was done........






Typically, since I bought it yesterday it hasn't stopped bloody raining!

[Grizz1963]

Originally Posted by disasterbus

I sold my '64 C-10 a few weeks ago as I've decided I need an American Muscle Car in my life so I'm on the lookout for a Mustang / Camaro / Challenger but here in the UK good ones at sensible prices are not so easy to find.

I needed a runaround while I'm looking and this little MX5 belonging to Mrs Grizz (Nicola) ticked all the boxes - fun, convertible, retro, cheap and easy to sell on when I find and buy that Yank muscle car.


A quick meet up in an M25 service station with Grizz and Martin and the deal was done........


Typically, since I bought it yesterday it hasn't stopped bloody raining!

Not worry mate, I had plans for the truck as well, and ended up clearing the garage bench so I can get other stuff done on there, and building that replica "Vermin Hunter" with the snooker stick and bits of fire wood.

Good to see you as always Kerry. And meeting Mrs Disasterbus at last has set our minds to rest about you and the little car (saying that, it was the first time I ever drove it any distance, other than a mile down the road to fill it occasionally for Nicola on a Sunday as she is a bit "lazy" and it really is a nice little car. I can see why people do get addicted to them.

Thanks also to Martin for going along in his car (his choice) at stupid-o-clock to give me a ride back.

He did think it was funny that you are going to fold all 6'7" of yourself into the MX5





I trust it will give you great service till you find your next car.

[Ta2Don]

When's the Engine and box coming out of your truck mate?

[mjh1965]

Originally Posted by Ta2Don

When's the Engine and box coming out of your truck mate?

When I next go over to give him a hand . I have the hoist and all the tools Don, it's coming out with or without his knowledge, even if I have to go over there myself when he's out, and leave a note saying the truck fairies did it .

[ibrown50]

Oooooo! Engine out ............. It's a slippery slope

[Grizz1963]

Originally Posted by ibrown50

Oooooo! Engine out ............. It's a slippery slope

Indeed Ian.

But..... Logic dictates that the oil loss has to be found, the gearbox can do with a service and while it is out, the engine bay and engine can get a decent splash of paint.

[Grizz1963]

Bootfairs were rubbish today.

Came home to work on the truck.......

Errrrrmmm....?



So I had to keep busy.

Started by moving tools and stuff about in the garage and shed, tried out the very nice, like new router I bought at a Bootfairs a few months ago.

Once done, I started on the "Vermin Hunter" my replica rifle for the back window of the truck.

Scraping off all the old varnish etc, then sanding and sanding.









Got all the bits together, got perspective, trimmed it a bit more......



Then disassembled it all, painted the "barrel and magazine" and waxed and polished the stock before assembling the lot.

Yes, I am pleased. Should look good on display at shows etc.



After this I tried to find my engine numbers as the ones on the front of the block have been machined away, and I needed to find out exactly what I am dealing with, as my mate (not sure he really is a friend anymore) Martin convinced me that I will be better off removing the engine and gearbox, replacing the valley gasket as well as the valve cover gaskets as the engine does lose some oil when driven.
So while it is out, I will clean up the fire wall, engine and also service the gearbox oil etc.

Another thing getting done is to replace all the steering components like ball joints, bushes etc......... What did I get myself into?

Numbers as discovered.





Symbols on passenger side front of block.



These show the engine possibly being from 1968-1979 and probably a 350.

And chassis and cab numbers match, unlike some, which would not bother me at all.





After all this I started on this heater unit I which proved to be dead, so I will be finding a blower unit from a Mazda MX5 and grafting it in there.

The core also seemed to have a leak, and will get replaced.

Wiring could have been a clue





That brought my weekend to an uneventful end, and it is still raining.

[Ta2Don]

I may have a spare heater core...

You had rain, we continue with the oppressive heat…
…so today, the only thing accomplished was enjoying the day with my lovely wife and JoJo in the pool, grilled a roast and veggies for supper and that's it for today…

Glad you are well-equipped for the slippery slope as well as that tiny snowball in the distance...

All joking aside mate, you got this, and you will be thrilled once it's all sorted and tearing up the road again… Oh yeah, Camel Hump Heads!

[ibrown50]

Rian you don't want to be driving around with those "guns" in your cab you'll have the old bill round your house

I had a 3970010 block in my model A it came from a '71 Chevelle 350. It was a four bolt mains too, not all 3970010 engines are four bolt, but they all can be, they are a really good strong casting, a nice discovery

[uber cool]

fake gun looks good, but as Ian says maybe a bit too good for UK law !!

yep bloody rain here too, its been a crap summer so far

[Grizz1963]

Originally Posted by Ta2Don

I may have a spare heater core...

You had rain, we continue with the oppressive heat…
…so today, the only thing accomplished was enjoying the day with my lovely wife and JoJo in the pool, grilled a roast and veggies for supper and that's it for today…

Glad you are well-equipped for the slippery slope as well as that tiny snowball in the distance...

All joking aside mate, you got this, and you will be thrilled once it's all sorted and tearing up the road again… Oh yeah, Camel Hump Heads!

Thanks Don, I am sure I will be pleased in the end.

Originally Posted by ibrown50

Rian you don't want to be driving around with those "guns" in your cab you'll have the old bill round your house

I had a 3970010 block in my model A it came from a '71 Chevelle 350. It was a four bolt mains too, not all 3970010 engines are four bolt, but they all can be, they are a really good strong casting, a nice discovery

I would use the replica only at shows Ian.

Originally Posted by uber cool

fake gun looks good, but as Ian says maybe a bit too good for UK law !!

yep bloody rain here too, its been a crap summer so far

Rain......l agh yes.

[Grizz1963]

Seeing as the engine and gearbox are now coming out, I had to pop into my favourite local treasure scrap yard to see if I could find an old trolley or something to rob and buy the wheels from.

Usually these cost me a 300g bottle of Nescafè and two pounds of sugar or a mega pack of teabags.

When I got there, I was pulled around the side and shown this little treasure that came in yesterday and was for sale.

Mechanism still works, one of the flanks which I purposefully did not show is badly rusted away.

Not sure if Nicola wants it on the property but will see what happens.



Then we went scavenging around the yard looking for a wheel donor and some steel to build a trolley to put the engine and gearbox onto.

Some bits came into view, but suddenly the magic words "Would a pallet truck not work?"

Of course, but do you have one to sell?

We went around to one of the hangars and found and dragged this out.......



Along with a heavy duty pallet, modified to suit, it should be perfect to wheel around the engine and gearbox when doing other tasks.



Total cost for this little treasure??

£3.00 and getting Mate Martin over here to pressure check the engine, picking it up along the way and bringing it in the back of his Ford Mondeo.

Thanks Martin, good to have a good mate about.

[flashed]

That is quite a good score there ,many uses too.

[Grizz1963]

Originally Posted by flashed

That is quite a good score there ,many uses too.

Thanks Flashed.

I love to solve problems, and even more importantly keeping my eyes open at all times.


Well, got a text from Ta2Don in Arkansas tonight, Jon in NC offered a spotlight on the Paying it Forward thread some time ago, thankfully I replied and requested the item.

I have always loved these fitted to vintage cars and trucks.

It needs a handle, but I am sure I will be able to make one, or possibly even find one to buy on the web, EBay or somewhere else.

Thanks Jon and Don.




You can never have enough angle iron and flat bar when building stuff.

Today I clocked a skip at a hospital in Chase Farm, spoke to the site foreman and he fetched the steel out the skip for me, a suit and tie is not ideal scavenging H&S dress.

About 10 meters of 45mm X 3mm angle and about 5 meters of 15mm flat bar, somewhat bent, but still useful as I have some stuff to build soon.



Free money again.

This is good.

Was going to drop the the oil in the gearbox and motor tonight after work, but then realised I was still wanting to do a wet compression test on Saturday, which will be a busy, busy day for mate Martin and I.
Starting at 07.00 we will be going down to The Brenzett on our motorbikes to strip the heater, loom and switches out of a Mazda MX5 to then fit into my heater unit as the motor is dead in the unit I bought when I got my spare door and inner fenders. Then back to Martin's place, get his new motor mounted onto his engine stand, move his chassis back into the centre of his carport, get the engine hoist into his Mondeo, come back to my place and then undo and remove my engine and gearbox after testing. Then back to his place, unload the hoist, and then back home to my place.

So motor and box out on Saturday. 1st August, only seven months after it came off the road.
I never thought I was going to go this far.

Thanks to many people out there motivating and pushing me.

[Ta2Don]

[mjh1965]

Looks like we're going to have a busy weekend Hopefully I can get on with getting chassis prepped on the Sunday . If I'm not too worn out with Saturdays agenda .

[Grizz1963]

Originally Posted by mjh1965

Looks like we're going to have a busy weekend Hopefully I can get on with getting chassis prepped on the Sunday . If I'm not too worn out with Saturdays agenda .

You do sound like a girl.........

You know you love breaking my truck and screwing with my head.


Now that the truck is getting the attention it demands, I am trying to do a bit every night after work.

The new job keeps me a bit busier than the old job, which is great and keeps my head and heart in a good place.

Tonight it was the exhaust system that I got off with the help of some tools and a lot of penetrating oil.

I noticed it has an asymmetric make up.

Hopefully they will be better when I build the new system.

Incidentally, I bought a pair of Flowmaster 40's today, £131.00 delivered. If you look around a bit you will find they are not going to be much cheaper anywhere else. Thanks to WASP Performance of Wisbech in Cambridgeshire.



After the pipes came off, I drained the transmission oil as well, engine old will be done Saturday afternoon after wet testing the compression.




Note the missing flywheel cover....... It may be somewhere alongside the motorway, no idea if it was ever in place when I bought the truck, but I think it will need replacing too.

While under there I noticed there was a lump of floor welded in where the transmission hump would be, again confirming that this was a manual truck in its original incarnation.

Little by Little this onion is getting peeled.

[mjh1965]

Well if your cover is missing I need to order one myself . The people I ordered my air filter and rocker covers from have these .

This is $27.71 delivered £17.79



Or if you want a matching sump as well then they do these for $44.97 £28.88



Or if you feel really posh you can go for the alloy ones for $85.99 £55.22 but they also come with gasket

[Grizz1963]

The cheap top one, or a rusty, used one will do me just fine.

I do not suffer from Magpie eyes like you.

Got a message from Don, our panhard rods have arrived hope you have a big case

[/quote]

Nothing like a tight rear end ehhhh?

[ibrown50]

Are you going to re-fit your radiator so you can get the engine up to temperature or have you already done a dry test? I'm not sure how much difference it makes with a wet test.

[Grizz1963]

Originally Posted by ibrown50

Are you going to re-fit your radiator so you can get the engine up to temperature or have you already done a dry test? I'm not sure how much difference it makes with a wet test.

Cold wet test Ian, we did a cold dry before.

AAAAAAARRRRGGHH !!

Went down to the garage to get some measurements.

Found this little party.

Seems my drainage bowl had a crack in, probably why Nicola threw it out.

I usually try to keep the garage floor clean and without oil..........



Guess there will be more in time.

[ibrown50]

The trans cover and pan look like the ones I bought, mine are from Speedway Motors (they probably all come from the same place in China) and were similar money, there are a few Speedway dealers here in the UK mine were (suprise suprise) from Langy's Rod Shop but R&R imports and Duksville Speedshop do them too.

If your engine mounts are the centre bolt type this is the part number you'll need,



Mine came from USAutomotive and were super cheap, something like £8 or £10 each plus VAT, real Steel sell them too.