Frankentruck

[cwcarpenter98]

A lot has happened since last Saturday, but not to the truck.
I got to move all my stuff. Yay.

Two trailer loads of stuff that all fit in a 10x10 storage unit until I get a house of my own.

When I went to a car show last Saturday, the truck was running terribly. Seemed to start off ok, but laid over hard and just had no power. With life happening this past week, I didn't get a chance to check on anything until today.

Sure enough, the vacuum advance canister that I replaced 4 years ago has already failed. I can't pull any vacuum on it. I'm fairly certain that's the problem, so I'm going to track down a new one and let y'all know if that fixes the problem whenever I can get my hands on it.

Yeah, I know, I still need to finish my fender. Now that the move is done, I can get back on that. Happy wrenching!

[cwcarpenter98]

I took the trailer I borrowed back to Milledgeville yesterday, so didn't get a chance to install the new vacuum advance can. Got it installed this evening. Started off on a test drive and it was still not running good. Verified that the spark plugs were routed properly, checked the timing, checked operation of vacuum advance, but still was wrong. I backed the initial timing down from 12* to 8* BTDC, but that didn't change anything. During that last test drive, the truck started to act a little better, and then suddenly, it started running perfectly. Was able to get full throttle again without any bogging down or stuttering. I'm guessing there was a piece of trash plugging up something in the carb, and it finally worked loose, so everything seems back to normal.
I reset the initial timing to 10* BTDC, and the engine seemed to like that a little better than the 12* BTDC.
It got dark, so I'll take the truck for a spin again tomorrow to see how it does.

[350TacoZilla]

Sucks about having issues right when trying to move stuff, glad you got through it ok and truck worked itself out lol. One thing to think about with you having a truck and being on lookout for a place, an older RV could be a decent stop gap for place to stay while saving money. Bonus points for an era correct one to go with the truck ;p

[cwcarpenter98]

Originally Posted by 350TacoZilla

Sucks about having issues right when trying to move stuff, glad you got through it ok and truck worked itself out lol. One thing to think about with you having a truck and being on lookout for a place, an older RV could be a decent stop gap for place to stay while saving money. Bonus points for an era correct one to go with the truck ;p

I'm actually glad the truck was having issues while trying to move stuff because it meant I could use my dad's 02 Silverado 1500HD that has A/C

The RV is a good idea, but I would still need a piece of property to park it, and around here, most pieces of land already has a house on it. I definitely want an old camper to pull with the truck one day. It would make going to multi-day truck shows more fun

[cwcarpenter98]

Back on the grind today.
Made a bunch of progress on the fender over the past couple of hours. It is mostly welded in, but I still need to weld the inner brace onto the bottom of the fender and also bend the flange over and weld the cut up.
The fender looks to match up pretty well with the line I drew on a piece of cardboard from the uncut fender.

I still need to do some body work to the weld areas, but cleaned the paint off under the emblem and wanted to see how the rattle can I'll be using to blend in will end up looking. I'm fairly confident the fender is still original paint, so I'm quite pleased with how the rattle can matches to the paint under the emblem.

I'm going to do some more body work on the fender tomorrow and get that repair finished up. Then on Monday, I'll start repairing the top side that bolts to the inner fender.

[Braunschweiger]

Nice job, another piece that makes the truck even better.

[cwcarpenter98]

Originally Posted by Braunschweiger

Nice job, another piece that makes the truck even better.

Thanks! It will definitely be better without the holes in it

[cwcarpenter98]

Happy Independence Day!

Made some more progress on the fender today. Slicing and dicing the top flange that had rusted through. Two years ago, I fixed the inner fender when I had the whole front end off, but I didn't have the parts or time to work on the outer. I used part of the blue fender piece that was still in decent shape but I found pin holes in it as well, so I decided to cut up another junk fender I had. Still needs to be finished, but it's getting close to being done.

I think I'm getting a little better as I keep doing more metal work. I feel confident enough now to be able to tackle the cab soon.

During the heat of the day today, dad and I drove over to Marietta to check out some parts a guy had. I was looking for a better hood, but the Chevy hood he had was in worse shape. The GMC hood though, is pretty decent, so I brought it home. Also got a really nice grille support, 61 grille, and 2 sets of rough fenders. My trailer is full!

Ended the evening with a celebratory cruise in Frankentruck. It's been 7 years of ownership today. Here's to many more!

[Getter-Done]

Happy 7th Frankentruck

Are you still planning your trip to Lebanon this friday?

[cwcarpenter98]

Originally Posted by Getter-Done

Happy 7th Frankentruck

Are you still planning your trip to Lebanon this friday?

Sure am! Even if I have to slap on a junky fender to make the truck complete, I'm going. My plan is to drive up early Friday morning, then return after on Saturday.

[350TacoZilla]

At some point you are going to have enough spare parts to just build another truck lol

[cwcarpenter98]

Originally Posted by 350TacoZilla

At some point you are going to have enough spare parts to just build another truck lol

I almost did, but I've sold off several parts to get some other stuff that I've wanted.
If I had not sold the C20 frame I got last year, I would have bought the 61 cab and doors the guy also had for sale, put it on that frame, and built myself a C20 rescue rig with a service bed. But, I don't have the frame anymore, and I definitely don't need a third project truck right now

[cwcarpenter98]

Definitely not my finest work, but hey, there's no hole anymore.

Just gotta pack all the stuff I want to take then give the truck a bath in preparation for tomorrow's trip to SETN. Leaving early in the morning to get there hopefully before noon.

[350TacoZilla]

I say it looks good man! I'm no good with bodywork myself so I would feel proud of that job lol. I would maybe just scuff the shine off paint after it hardens good?

[cwcarpenter98]

Originally Posted by 350TacoZilla

I say it looks good man! I'm no good with bodywork myself so I would feel proud of that job lol. I would maybe just scuff the shine off paint after it hardens good?

It's good enough for government work
I will scuff it a little bit with some 2000 grit to make it look like the bottom of the door that has the same paint on it. Of course, it's raining now, so I can't do anything at the moment without getting wet

[LostMy65]

That green looks like a great match.
Yes, once you scuff it up, it'll look like it was always there.

[cwcarpenter98]

Originally Posted by LostMy65

That green looks like a great match.
Yes, once you scuff it up, it'll look like it was always there.

I agree. The color is Dark Hunter Green by Rustoleum.
It even looks decent all sudsy

[Braunschweiger]

It turned out wonderful, good work.

[joesscamaro]

Good work...tackling one piece at a time.

[cwcarpenter98]

Originally Posted by Braunschweiger

It turned out wonderful, good work.

Originally Posted by joesscamaro

Good work...tackling one piece at a time.

Thanks, guys!

[cwcarpenter98]

Frankentruck made the trip to SETN this morning. Did great the whole way! Had to stop at Buc-ee's on the way as well. Lots of trucks to see tomorrow.

I have now driven Frankentruck in three different states. Georgia, South Carolina, and now Tennessee

[TJ's Chevy]

Just got caught up haha Life's been crazy and I haven't been on the forum. Fender came out great and glad ya got it running good again!

[cwcarpenter98]

Originally Posted by TJ's Chevy

Just got caught up haha Life's been crazy and I haven't been on the forum. Fender came out great and glad ya got it running good again!

Thanks! It's been pretty crazy here as well

[cwcarpenter98]

Got back home about an hour ago. Was a very successful trip!
The truck got 16 mpg on the highway both there and back. I'm quite pleased with that.

This 64 gave me even more of a desire to finally paint my truck, so that'll be happening at some point.

And, it wouldn't be a truck show and swap meet without buying something. In this case, I bought a NOS mirror. Thanks Dwane!

Also, it was great to meet several of y'all there. I'll definitely be going again in the future.

[LostMy65]

Originally Posted by cwcarpenter98

Got back home about an hour ago. Was a very successful trip!
The truck got 16 mpg on the highway both there and back. I'm quite pleased with that.

This 64 gave me even more of a desire to finally paint my truck, so that'll be happening at some point.

And, it wouldn't be a truck show and swap meet without buying something. In this case, I bought a NOS mirror. Thanks Dwane!

Also, it was great to meet several of y'all there. I'll definitely be going again in the future.

I would be very pleased with 16 mpg.
.
Those green ones probably had you drooling.