Nik's 62 build

[62stepside longbox]

And of course the original flex line was all dried up and cracked, so I went to a local shop that specializes in hydraulic hoses and got them to build this, it's pressure rated to 3000psi and has a female 3/8-24 fitting on one end and a female 7/16-24 fitting on the other end. The price was pretty reasonable as well.

[62stepside longbox]

And I used this little piece screwed to the firewall underneath the booster to secure the hard line right near where the flex line connects. I also got the interior pretty much back together other than the floor mat and cleaning up some under-dash wiring. https://youtu.be/TeX3qZG2CM0 plus I installed the tank with sending unit for the final time and put a little gas in the tank, as you can see in the video the gas gauge is working just as it should.

[SSpeed66]

Did you go to Allens Hose N All for that ?

[62stepside longbox]

Originally Posted by SSpeed66

Did you go to Allens Hose N All for that ?

Yes

[RANDY COX]

That was a great mod on that radio delete plate nobody would ever suspect that there's a hidden radio back there...That's getting creative.. That's what it's all about making the truck your own...good job keep up the good work....

[62stepside longbox]

Originally Posted by RANDY COX

That was a great mod on that radio delete plate nobody would ever suspect that there's a hidden radio back there...That's getting creative.. That's what it's all about making the truck your own...good job keep up the good work....

Thanks randy! Little touches like this is what will make this truck so unique compared to all the others out there.

Due to the truck being parked in the same place the entire time I've owned it lots of random crap has gotten piled up in and around it. So I spent the morning taking a load to the dump and sweeping out the bed and the interior. It's staring to look like a truck that might actually run now😂.

[62stepside longbox]

Since the original bed wood was completely rotten I just bolted in the piece of plywood I had laying around. It doesn't look too pretty but it will allow me to use the bed, eventually I will put some nice planks of oak in the back, but that will be at least a year or two down the road.

[Classic v6 GMC's]

Looks good!

[62stepside longbox]

Originally Posted by Classic v6 GMC's

Looks good!

Thanks Andy!

I then drilled the hole for the brake hose on the passengers side and bolted it in, all that needs to be done is the passengers side upper shock mount welded in and the front end will be completely done

[62stepside longbox]

I also worked on making some tailgate latches. Some of you might remember that last year I picked up a chrome set of seat belt buckles from a Cadillac in picknpull exactly for this. I bolted the female end of the buckle to the bedside, I still need to get the correct length bolts.

[62stepside longbox]

and then I welded the male end to the tailgate

[62stepside longbox]

And here it is latched, it actually works very nicely. That's all for today, thanks for watching guys.

[TJ's Chevy]

Nice! Like the tailgate latch! You gonna maybe create some kind of cover to help protect it from the elements?

[62stepside longbox]

Originally Posted by TJ's Chevy

Nice! Like the tailgate latch! You gonna maybe create some kind of cover to help protect it from the elements?

Thanks tj, both pieces are Chrome, other than the weld which I will be painting. So the weather shouldn't hurt them too badly. If water gets inside the buckle and eventually seizes them up then I'll simply just go to the junkyard and get another set and bolt them right on, I think they were only like $5 or something.


The truck needed a coolant overflow reservoir, so out came a redneck rye bottle 😂

[SSpeed66]

Hey Nik. I'll be getting a local old boy who has a wood shop to do the cutting & milling of my bed wood, probably out of local Douglas Fir as there is so much of it here. If there were 2 of us going together on it, it might be a lot less $$$

[62stepside longbox]

Originally Posted by SSpeed66

Hey Nik. I'll be getting a local old boy who has a wood shop to do the cutting & milling of my bed wood, probably out of local Douglas Fir as there is so much of it here. If there were 2 of us going together on it, it might be a lot less $$$

Just sent you a message on Facebook

[62stepside longbox]

Found a belt that was the correct length, so I put it on, filled up the power steering system with fluid, and fired the truck up. It works amazing! I can literally steer with one finger. Here is a video https://youtu.be/OI1DWWKVpy4. One question though, I've never driven anything old with power steering, is it normal for the idle to drop when the wheels are at full lock on either side?

[Palf70Step]

Yes, at full lock the pump puts a bigger load on engine.

[62stepside longbox]

Originally Posted by Palf70Step

Yes, at full lock the pump puts a bigger load on engine.

Thanks for the response bill, I figured that was the case but wanted to ask just to be safe.


The past week I've been extremely busy with schoolwork with things like finishing all of my classes and preparing for final exams. And to add on to it, work is getting busier as well. But today I spent an hour or two on a few little things. One of them was wiring the truck for reverse lights since the new transmission has a built in reverse light switch. The dash already had this cool little light in it when I bought the truck but it wasn't hooked up to anything, so I picked up a new bulb for it and wired it to the reverse lights. So when you put the truck in reverse the light will be illuminated. It's the little things that count

[namloc]

Awesome I think I can here it running from Seattle.Like the Cadi. latche's.And the indicator light.

[62stepside longbox]

Originally Posted by namloc

Awesome I think I can here it running from Seattle.Like the Cadi. latche's.And the indicator light.

Thanks.


Well I've been extremely busy with lots of little things, I just finished writing all of my exams and am now finished grade 11😃. Also took a few days to go on a fishing trip. And to add on to all of that I've also been very busy at work. But despite all of these distractions I still managed to meet my goal of having it driving in June, well sort of... Last week I got the hydraulic clutch lines installed and bled out. So I took it for a drive around my street! It was awesome! However the reason I say I "sort of" made my goal is because it still has no brakes, I was just using the ebrake while taking it around the block. The braking system is all finished, however I've been having lots of trouble getting it to bleed! I think I might need to get the special tool that keeps the combination valve centred. Here is some of the progress I've made in the past week. I finally welded on the passengers side upper shock mount and installed the shock.

[62stepside longbox]

And these here are some rear bumper brackets I built about a year ago, and I finally got around to the point where I was ready to weld them to the bumper. But I realized they were not strong enough because the amount of metal I took out when making the oblong holes. So I welded gussets on the ends and they are much stronger now, here is the finished product.

[62stepside longbox]

I then welded those two pieces to the bumper and bolted them on to the pieces of angle iron that sit inside the frame rails. Here it is, the clamps are there because the pieces of angle iron still need to be bolted to the frame.

[62stepside longbox]

Also installed the west coast mirrors, I absolutely love the look of these!

[62stepside longbox]

So with mostly everything finished up other than the brakes still needing to be bled, I am just about ready for the road! I am leaving tomorrow for a two day fishing trip and after that I am going to get my wisdom teeth pulled. So I'll be out for a few days, but once I'm feeling better I'm going to try to get the brakes figured out and then put insurance on the truck!