GRIZZ’s English 2001 S10 Extra Cab 4.3 V6 Truck

[Grizz1963]

Speaking of paint……


Another 75 minutes of my life, taken by the van.

With Amazing results.

@braaap had done some pointers toward the worst damage, done by someone removing songwriting and not completing the job.

I love washing cars and sometimes just sitting next to them in the sun and shade, to identify damage, marks, things that you miss on photos, or even when excited to make a purchase.

Once washed and dried, I saw more marks all the way around the van.





Looking at the drivers side with the sun behind me.

Clearly not a good thing.



And from the other side, looking toward the sun.

Part of the van was in the shade,,so it also shows how well this paint reacts with light.

Damage



I have two bottles of polishing compound.

Went with the G3 as I have used it a few times before.



Then Started to polish by hand, again a two finger job, much repeating, back and forth.

First section looking a load better.



Took my time and got many many passes over the damage, also broadened my strokes so as to blend with existing paint.

Passenger side has been painted over, the masking lines wire never buffed back or blended, so I did that as much as I could, and the improvement was vast, though one will always be able to see that there is a line, fortunately, being high up, it misses most scrutiny.

I also did the lower side on both sides were careless box moving, driving, parking too close to whatever caused scuffs, left marks, which now are gone.

Side panels both look a lot better.



Drivers side front fender seems to have had some wet and dry over it, but not cut back and polished either, so I gave that a go with great results.




Final result.

BOOOOOOMMM…!!






After dinner the sunset was amazing, and I wished the van was out front.

It plus have made a great photo.





And for those following on YOUTUBE

VIDEO.



https://youtu.be/BKX3Q-QOJMA


Thanks for checking in.


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[Palf70Step]

You more than welcome to come do my 2 Rian. Great work

[Grizz1963]

Originally Posted by Palf70Step

You more than welcome to come do my 2 Rian. Great work

WhenI am at Dennis’ place i always look for stuff to do, to keep busy.

I love a busy holiday, being able to keep busy.

You may get a surprise with me coming knocking……

[Grizz1963]

Sometimes the camera does not quite capture the changes.

Went out after work last night for a few minutes.

Polished the indicators and side repeaters with some G3 as I was on a roll.

Both actually showed an improvement.



And after of course.

Still convinced I need a pair of clear lenses.




More small jobs waiting.




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[Grizz1963]

Just how small has the world become.

My buddy Stas in Siberia sent mr this pic.

He was watching my youtube channel.





A friend, JB Math in Oklahoma gave me what I regard as a lovely compliment yesterday, saying that I have an innate ability to find those little imperfections that when corrected, make a nice impact.

To me, some of the bodges and repairs I see, make me wonder why people did not just do it right in the first place, as the effort is the same as doing it right.

Yesterday’s small jobs would have @nickwheeler rubbing his hands together in glee.

The black gloss paint came out…….

A few small jobs to do, necessitated some masking up, and also dismantling weather seals in the door frames, but with a nice impact.

First job, mask up the cut and shut Recarro seat bases. Welded, ground and left like that……

Nice job mr Craftsman.





Masked and painted.



Surely looks better already.




Next job was the A-Pillars, weirdly missed when painted blue and so obvious.

After poking and prodding, realised I could remove the door seals on both sides, passenger side is a long one including the sliding door.

Then washed many years of accumulated dirt and muck from there.



Cleaned up.



Painted.



At the same time I prepped the rear door, that is missing some trim.

The other door needs its upholstery to be fixed back neatly as well, maybe a weekend job.

But plans include driving and enjoying the van, and making up for forgetting Sally’s birthday.



Left the masking tape in place till this morning and was pleasantly surprised at the changes.

Looks much better imho.



Doors….

I had to look twice at where the yellow was sticking out so obviously before.

Really pleased with the result. Seals back in place.



And the rear door needs me to make up a piece of trim, probably in black, or dark grey to go with the upholstery trim.

For all the zoomers, yes there is damage to the rear glass tinting and some genius sprayed some black aerosol paint on it.

Not ideal, but a good solution, especially looking from the outside, until,I get to replacing the tint.

Possibly both sides at the same time.






As I get the small jobs done, I am getting to like the van more and more.

Realising that it has essentially had a very good life to date.

Friday…….. last day of the week.

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[Grizz1963]

After work a quick few small jobs.

WD40 in the lock barrels, got all three doors to lock. In a secret sequence.

Also went back to the garage and fetched the G3 and some cloths.

The rear end, roll pan and lights were not as tidy as I would like them.

So rear end paint polished, followed by the rear lights that were less than good.



After quite a bit of buffing, the results were satisfactory, or a bit more than that to be honest.



Plan is to go out for a drive with Sally tomorrow.

No idea where to go really, and @glenanderson will possibly have advice on Dover and Folkestone, I hope.

Not really interested in Dover castle, expensive and done recently..

Any ideas for greater Kent gang?

No tight car parks of course.




.

[Palf70Step]

Nice work Rian.

[Grizz1963]

Originally Posted by Palf70Step

Nice work Rian.

Thanks Bill,

You will know how this goes, every time you do a big job, one of the smaller jobs seem to grow in stature.

I have a faint suspicion, that if all goes to plan, Dennis and I may run down to New Orleans and your back yard next week or the week after.

Will keep you updated.

[Grizz1963]

Took the new van and Sally for a ride today.

One of the places we ended up was on the Isle of Sheppey, at good friend Darren’s engineering shop.

Always one to look for other avenues of revenue, and also liking a project or two on the side.

This is current with great potential.



After making a full round of his newest car, engineering and fun stuff, I searched his massive dumpster/skip in case there were treasures in there……

No luck.


But, associated with one of his current engineering projects, was this……..

We got into a quick negotiation and a sensible price was agreed.

This may end up being a fart in a wind storm, or it could become real thunder.


SO ANY INPUT, PAST EXPERIENCE, PHOTOS, DESIGNS, WARNINGS ( fiscal and H&S) are welcome.

At this point Sally just said OMG, Really? And carried on on her Instagram.



So we were discussing me taking ownership of this beauty after it has served its purpose here……

And turning it into a 4 wheeled drivable vehicle.

If Barstools, Ammo cases, lawn tractors and mobility scooters can…… then why not a Jetski.






Steering wheel, rear view mirrors, comfy seat.

WHAT MORE COULD YOU WANT?





So right now, it is just an idea fuelled by a lot of cannabis and beer.


Input welcome.


Don’t be negative, get with the madness.

[Grizz1963]

Up early, as usual, then went to fill the van up to its neck, suspect 75 litres or 15 gallons, too lazy to search Google right now.


Local gas station is still running a manned forecourt, so you may not fill your own car/truck.



Likes the Dino-Juice.

Let’s see how much it likes it.



Once Sally got here, we set off.

She took a pic of me because of my silly grin most of the way.




One of the places we ended up was on the Isle of Sheppey, at good friend Darren’s engineering shop.

Always one to look for other avenues of revenue, and also liking a project or two on the side.

This is current with great potential.



After making a full round of his newest car, engineering and fun stuff, I searched his massive dumpster/skip in case there were treasures in there……

No luck.


But, associated with one of his current engineering projects, was this…….. Check the last two entries https://forum.retro-rides.org/thread...-real?page=179


Once we’re done at Darren’s it was off to some shops.

Now we all know the saying, “If you don’t look back at your car when you walk away, you bought the wrong car”

Well, I never expected to hear the words from a usually reserved, noncommittal Sally.

Half way to the shops, she stopped and looked back, saying “You,did get lucky finding such a nice looking van”

High praise indeed from the Queen of Yeah, it’s OK.

Coming back, I felt compelled to take another pic of the same blue van, these colours really do love a bit of light.




Lastly, an early morning message from Dennis……

Looks like it is going to continue being hellishly hot in the USA.




I don’t really care, as long as I get there.

[Grizz1963]

Small jobs.

They keep on popping their little grubby heads up.

Today, after taking the day off yesterday to do a very belated and apologetic birthday BBQ, Sally went home to clean her already clean house and various other tasks.

This made her a lot happier than a fist full of cash I gave her as an apology for forgetting her birthday.



So this morning I got going early because time slips away quietly and quickly.

Steering wheel has irked ,e from day one, just the way paint had flaked over time.



So I polished the ally boss, masked the plastic section and flatted the ally section.

Then wrapped most of the interior in T-shirts and an old sheet in order to apply some satin black.

Result.

Improved.




Video.

https://youtu.be/GXNDFWaGBW4


Once again, not a 5 minute job, but a small one that makes for the right result.


Back to work tomorrow.

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[Grizz1963]

Remember the USA Road Trip ?

https://forum.retro-rides.org/thread...023-road-again

I am looking forward to three weeks away from work, though I never stop thinking about it.

Dennis just sent this, this morning.

40’C when I get there on Friday.

Add in some humidity, and it seems I will be flying in shorts and flip flops.

I know how the heat hits you in the face as you step out of the buildings.



Luckily even the workshop has air conditioning

And beer.

[Grizz1963]

Seems Someone used an angry badger to enlarge the radio hole.
Fitted is a unit I want to remove as I do not understand it, and also the bottom of this dash surround has been cut.
I will be in the USA soon, with a very large case. And scrap yards are always included in my road trips.
But I was wondering if anyone knew someone who was stripping a Mk1 van, this one is a 1990 short panelvan Astro.

Any pointers are much appreciated.

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[Grizz1963]

RIGHT

NEXT SMALL JOB, WITH A BIT OF RISK, THAT BUGGED ME FROM THE DAY I COLLECTED THE VAN, WAS THE DOORS.

Sorry, caps lock.

After all the years the van has been on the road, the fabric used is actually incredibly well preserved.

But it is grubby, more so to the naked eye, than the camera lens.

So I decided to use some fabric and carpet cleaner, along with a nail scrubbing brush, at the risk of messing it all up.

Before.

Dirty, dull.




After.



Graphics, faded and dusty.



After, certainly much better.




Another job, one I usually do the day I wash a new car, is to clean the interior surfaces, knobs, stalks, controls and all grooves with an ammonia based cleaner like Jif/Cif/Handy Andy whatever, and then using some form of plastic or leather or even wax based wood polish.
This time it was Auto Glym, because I have bottle I bought previously.

Result is a distinct improvement.




VIDEO

https://youtu.be/qxjT2TBaXq0


That is where we are up to today.

A cleaner van.

[Grizz1963]

After Glenn commented about the dash, and after I cleaned it up, I was wondering if there was anything missing here.

It looks like there should be a mesh grille over the 6 holes, but there are no mounting holes, clips or grooves.



However, I was thinking, if I cut to shape painted some of this scrap plastic mesh I found on a discarded laundry drying rack, and just dropped two long strips into the groove, one each from the centre, it could look factory and be a slight improvement.




Of course I have no clue what the original Mk1 vents looks like up front.

Any pics out there?

[Grizz1963]

The hive mind that is GarageJournal.com and other forums, has come up trumps.


The dash, radio and blower surround section that I was looking for could be available new.

@grenade Found a used one on eBay for $70.00 However, Bob Heine in Florida found this……..

Half the price.

https://www.gmpartscorp.com/p/Chevro...oaAkcaEALw_wcB





Now of course the next trick will be to see if they have one in stock and to get it shipped to Dennis’ in St Louis.


Pretty pleased with that.


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[69Tom]

Originally Posted by Grizz1963

The hive mind that is GarageJournal.com and other forums, has come up trumps.

Now of course the next trick will be to see if they have one in stock and to get it shipped to Dennis’ in St Louis.


Pretty pleased with that.


.

Check with GMPartsDirect.com and other online OEM GM parts sources in case that site is inaccurate or doesn't have it in stock. Most Chevy dealers have an online presence through a different name. Another thing of interest is, if you actually go to a Chevy dealer and order these same parts (even if the dealer has an online site), the parts are like 3x as much.

[Grizz1963]

Originally Posted by 69Tom

Check with GMPartsDirect.com and other online OEM GM parts sources in case that site is inaccurate or doesn't have it in stock. Most Chevy dealers have an online presence through a different name. Another thing of interest is, if you actually go to a Chevy dealer and order these same parts (even if the dealer has an online site), the parts are like 3x as much.

Great reply,

Thank you very much.

I will do that as well.




Day one of the American road trip reported……

https://forum.retro-rides.org/thread...023-road-again

I still need to edit and upload the Youtube video.

So maybe later.

[Grizz1963]

So Rural King is part of every road trip……

Once inside, you have farming stuff, clothes, food, guns, tools, and life stock.

I know some people looking and following this trip won’t agree with all I post up, but this place must have something for everyone.

https://youtu.be/pLSYkeZb7Gc?si=HVrfz1dkI2mLiGHX

[Grizz1963]

And the real first episode……

From the 2023 road trip.


https://youtu.be/U9reUcSTKT4?si=ksIYZa6vkZ5GgfHt


More as I get to upload as Wi-Fi is a bit slow…..


​Thanks for watching.
​

[Grizz1963]

BACK TO REALITY…..


3 weeks in America gone in a flash.


https://forum.retro-rides.org/thread...023-road-again


My planned trips completely aborted and rewritten.


Saw some of what I planned and saw, a lot that I had not planned and saw made this a much more rewarding trip.


Only did about 3800 miles or 6100km but that was enough to keep me very busy and out of sleep.


Driving 500 miles to buy a 1934 Ford, with an 81 year old veteran driving the tow rig, sharing many stories, only to find after loading the 34 that nobody remembered to bring the pile of cash sitting on a shelf in a garage in St Louis must be the stuff of road trip movies.

Driving 360 miles to go meet strangers, then another 40 miles to have dinner, followed by taking them back home and then driving many more miles before settling in possibly the best $80.00 motel in all my road trips for the night before heading to Pete and Jakes in Peculiar, ending up with 800 miles for dinner…. More great memories.

Driving 350 miles to Fayetteville to visit friends Clem and Kim, only to call a scrap yard in Rogers, Arkansas (go Google BB Gun history) who said they have a few Astro vans, when nobody so far had even one in their junk yards……. Seriously?? Then getting there and finding a 1995 face lifted model with the right dash piece I dreamed of having….. for $20.00 -PRICELESS.



Yup, the trip was different to the plan, but it was delivering like the goose laying golden eggs.


Once again life was kind to me, in a curved ball kinda way.

The kindness of complete strangers always amazes me. (Admittedly, I have done the same kind of thing many times before as well, but it always humbles me)

While I was there in Arkansas, a member “Opelbits” from AstroSafari.com forum reached out and offered me an original steering wheel for the van, FREE for the taking, should I want it. I do not like taking stuff just because it is there, but I prefer the original to the sports steering wheel fitted.

Logistics seemed a slight problem as he lived some distance on the other side of St Louis, same state as Dennis, but still a long way away……

I accepted the offer of a free steering wheel, offering to pay shipping etc. supplying him with Dennis’ address and contact number.

Turns out, Tony, who had offered the wheel, likes to drive his Mustang as well, and unbeknown to me, he and Dennis agreed to him driving all the way to Dennis’ place to hand deliver the wheel…….

As if that was not enough, he came with a load more stuff for Dennis and me.

What Tony brought…..

Treasures.






TOTALLY (relatively) UNOBTAINABLE GM MAINTENANCE MANUALS.








Every possible fault, identified, cross referenced and then answered between these manuals.

I cannot even describe how Dennis went on about the amazing value these three books add to owning one of these vans.









And of course the original NON-AIRBAG steering wheel, which I love the idea of fitting back in the van.

I absolutely love it, and it is an immaculate example as well.

Along with repairing the dash…..

What a win.




One more thing he brought from his personal treasure stash ( I love this stuff) was an original steel, embossed Disabled Parking sign.

I had been looking for one for Andy the welder, my repeat lodger whose wife is ex-military and disabled through service.

But Andy will not be getting this sign…… I decided to give it to Dennis, as it goes much better with his replica Gas Station and the age of his collection, so we traded a newer one for the original. The one Andy will get, was left with Dennis as my baggage was on the limit, well, over and I had to swap out some stuff at departures, so it may come back next year, should I make it there with having to find a new job and start saving up vacation etc.







So that brings us back to today, back in the U.K.


I am looking forward to seeing if these parts all fit my van, and then of course fitting them all.


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[Grizz1963]

When I was running around with Dennis, trying to find bits for the Chevelle he is building, I also looked out for anything random that would go with me, my garage or any of the cars on site.

The Astro has one of those large UK style rear fog lamps fitted.

Being lowered means it will be at risk at times and also it is just not that pretty.

When I built the Rezin Rockit I discovered a slim line fog light in my pile of “Maybe one day we can use it” spares, fitted it and it really is great, being narrow and out the way.

So I bought a slimline (not pretty) unit for the Astro.



Yesterday afternoon,I offered up the new radio surround for the dash.

Realised there is a load of electronics to be disassembled, identified, made redundant or used……

So I stopped messing with that.

It is a job for a longer day, possibly with a friend or two who know electronics better than me.

And I need to make a plate, and find the right head unit.



While out there, I also checked the new Chevy steering wheel, compared to the smaller one currently fitted.

Different for sure.



Today, after @pauly had been to collect his parts, I went out to see if I could get the steering wheel fitted.

Errrrmmm…..

NOPE !

Seems that if you give a monkey an Allen key, they will go in and screw it up.

So job aborted until,I figure a way to get these stripped out heads removed.

Any advice, photos, help accepted as always, on how to address these things.

You will see one had a head broken off already in the second line.







Weather has tuned cooler too.

Still need rain to recover what is left of my dead lawn and plants.

Yup……. Ugleee.




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[Grizz1963]

A day in Eureka Springs, Arkansas with Clem

Quite the tourist trap.

https://youtu.be/UFfqTbenCJ4?si=7_vHwnkxRTLthUWq

[Grizz1963]

And at last….. Loaded.


A collage video I have put together of Tom’s work in Kansas where Dennis and I visited for Dinner.


Hope you enjoy.


He is a migrant worker in the USA and we have no real clue as to how hard or long his days are, but I admire his resilience.


Romanticised here.


During harvest season this is his typical two week period, NOTE: 13 days in this case.



Hardcore work.


https://youtu.be/nWFtEFTiOew?si=RXKJFKfARXiX-j1j

[Grizz1963]

Todays car show photos, over 200 pics, in this link.


https://forum.retro-rides.org/thread...-add-photodump





A few more pics to add, and that will wrap up this 2023 trip report.




Video is a bit ahead of the timeline.


https://youtu.be/cIgJNYF0kzk?si=jLFgz0fXSHZOQoMz



Thanks for watching nd reading.