Markeb01 Build Thread

[markeb01]

Thanks for the feedback guys. Recently I added the red steering wheel to the truck, which is arguably out of place, ugly, in poor taste, stupid looking or worse. I’ve been considering going back to the black Moon wheel, or even back to my original Covico wheel which I still prefer more than either of the others.

But it turns out I may have been limiting my opinion base to too many like-minded guys. This morning I thought I was just taking my wife to her hair appointment. What I actually discovered was a whole new fan base – young hooter girls! After her appointment, the young stylists had heard so much about the truck (after months of appointments) they just had to see it in person, and the first things they loved were the sparkly red steering wheel and shift knob!

So even if the steering wheel isn’t my favorite, it appears it will be staying right where it is for a while!

[gimmy 64]

I have the same steering wheel but with the slots instead of the holes.i think it looks good in your truck. but now the young girls like it, it MUST stay lol

[CRGRS 66]

Originally Posted by markeb01

Thanks for the compliment. I think maybe it's what Grampa Munster should have driven if they made him a truck!

Studying the most recent pictures last night, I realized how out of balance the dash was now, with the chrome GMC emblem on the glovebox door. So this morning I pulled it again and this time spent the better part of two hours masking it off, and sprayed it with Testors 1837M Revving Red lacquer. This time it turned out perfect with nice straight edges:



To me the dash now seems in balance from a color perspective.

Mark, understanding that the red wheel jumps out in the photos, I presume it is... less obtrusive in person, but for me, in this picture, it is a perfect accent with all of the other subtle red bits (switches, gauges), and with the addition of the red inset in the GMC emblem (), okay, short answer... You can't argue with hooters!

[LostMy65]

Originally Posted by markeb01

Thanks again for the compliments. I’ve never seen my skills or abilities anything special, but I do have a Jarhead mentality and I never give up just because something is impossible!

This being the first winter with my new engine, I’ve discovered it dislikes cold weather even more than my old engine. With the old engine, adding an electric fuel pump to fill the lines and carburetor bowls before cranking really helped get it started. With the new engine, as the ambient dropped to near zero I actually ran the battery dead a few times and never got the engine started. And this is inside a reasonably warm garage. I can’t tolerate undependable vehicles. It frustrates me beyond reason because it could result in a life threatening situation if a vehicle can’t be started when needed.

So I resorted to good old starting fluid and it fired up instantly. Remembering the Ether Start kits I bought for new Peterbilts back in the 70’s, I considered installing one on the truck for easy winter start ups. Problem being they cost anywhere from $100-200 (or more) with the ether bottle. They are also ugly and need to be mounted vertically which would be a problem in my open engine compartment.

A lot of guys just spray starting fluid through their open element air cleaners, but I’m concerned what effect this might have on the filter element over time, and what problems might occur if too much explosive vapor collects above the throttle plates.

So this afternoon I developed my own “Poor Man’s Ether Start Kit”. I simply added a conveniently shaped pipe to the front of my carburetor with a cap on top:







I also modified the can of starting fluid I had by removing the conventional spray nozzle and replacing it with one that has a “straw” attached.

So now I have a new routine – pull the cheap float battery charger (it keeps the battery topped off), pull the cap off the new pipe and inject the starter fluid, replace the cap, climb in, set the choke per usual and fire it up! It seems like the engine doesn’t even get to fully turn over before it jumps to life. This small project cost exactly nothing and eliminates pulling the air cleaner to squirt the juice directly into the carb, and the ether enters the manifold below the throttle plates.

Once the engine has come up to operating temperature, I don’t need any of this as long as it’s driven every day. But over the winter seasons, it sometimes sits for weeks without being used. The pipe is ugly and looks stupid so it will probably come off during the car show months, but in the meantime it sure is handy and effective.

I just came across this post.
I love it.

[markeb01]

Thanks for the feedback. The tube has worked so well all winter it doesn't look quite as stupid as I originally thought!

[TJ's Chevy]

Looking really nice Mark! Like idea about the carb!

[markeb01]

So the bad news – my new 4 speed red metalflake shift knob showed up, and while doing something incredibly stupid I shattered it about 15 minutes later:





So after a few minutes of stunned disbelief I threw the parts in a bag and ordered up a new one that will arrive in another week or so.


The good news, today we took a 100 mile round trip in the truck up to the “Wolf People” in North Idaho. We also took the hour long walking tour at the compound to look at all the various wolves. It was the longest trip I’ve taken in over ten years, and my legs and knees held up through the whole adventure!









On the ride up and back we also got to see all the massive road construction changes they’re making since we moved to Washington.

It must be spring. When we started out this morning the windshield was spotless. It had collected a few bugs along the way, and this was after washing off two big splats I couldn’t see around!

[Ta2Don]

Sorry to hear about the knob.,,
Seeing you and your truck out and about...

[likaroc13]

Bummer about the knob! Good to see ya'll out cruising & enjoying the truck. Glad to hear your legs & knees held up throughout the trip. It looks like an interesting place to visit. I love getting out and exploring, even if it means a road trip. There's so much to do here locally that we still haven't even accomplished. And it amazes me how many folks who've lived here all or much of their lives, yet have never visited historical places or taken part in popular local events. So many interesting things to explore in this ole world!

[McMurphy]

Your road trip sounds like it was AWESOME !!
Love the photos !

Trish and I drove through Republic on our way to Wenatche when we bought our backhoe, and if you have never been there, it is the one of the most picturesque little towns... right up there with Leavenworth (small Bavarian like town in at the eastern base of the Cascades).
We want to do a road trip back to Republic with our Pontiacs just for a photo shoot one day.

Beautiful drive if you go up through Kettle Falls too.....

[markeb01]

We sure had a good time yesterday. More than just the fun of the day, it was the first time we’ve been able to travel this far together in over ten years, and we both miss that a lot.

I think for our next adventure we’re going to shoot for the Grand Cooley Dam, which is about 90 miles west of us. There are a bunch of small towns around there that should give us some exploring opportunities as well. I just need to stop and stretch every 30-40 miles and everything seems to turn out okay.

So here’s another one of my flip flop decisions where I can never leave things alone. I had my 58 Impala door mirrors hanging on the garage wall, and I noticed the passenger side mirror had more angle adjusted into it than the driver side mirror (like another 10 degrees). And the reason I pulled the mirrors was because I couldn’t adjust the driver side mirror close enough to see the side of the truck. To get a decent view I had to hit my head on the side glass.

Long story short I bought new peep mirrors and they worked perfectly. Sadly, looking at photos of the truck, the peep mirrors look like Dumbo ears to me (on my truck). When I selected the Impala mirrors, I picked them for the forward slanting style that complimented the windshield trim and the bed rail stanchions. There was a styling symmetry that flowed from the fender emblems to the bed rails, and the large swoopy mirror heads mimicked the spotlights. When I pulled the door mirrors, that styling feature was lost and the peep mirrors broke up the lines of the truck. I have a long history with peep mirrors and was anxious to go back to them, but it was a mistake and I was disappointed with the way they looked on the truck almost immediately.

Since I simply filled the Impala mirror holes and left the scars in place, it was an easy matter to reinstall them and pull the peep mirrors. I swapped them side for side, and sure enough the driver side can now be tucked in much tighter providing a much better view. And the peep mirrors won’t go to waste, as my son has a birthday coming up and wants to put a pair for his 1960 Galaxie coupe.

So now the truck is back to looking like this, and I’m much happier with the appearance:



I’m still torn over the steering wheel. My wife absolutely loves the red Moon wheel, but I really miss my old Covico wheel:



Not sure how that’s going to end up.

[likaroc13]

Definitely agree with your decision on the door mirrors!

[Ta2Don]

I was diggin' the Peep Mirrors… but those Impala mirrors sure work nice on your Awesome Ride!!!

[pdxhall]

I'm happy to see you able to get out and enjoy the truck and some scenery.

[piratexpress1369a]

the red wheel looks great ,it breaks up al the black ..but they both look great

[markeb01]

Thanks for the comments and opinions guys. I’m definitely down to the 11th hour on finishing touches and trying to make sure I have it right before I move on and leave it alone.

I’ve spent the last few days in bed trying not to drown, suffering from the worst allergy attack I’ve had since my pre-teen years. This being the first day I’ve felt like a human being again, I went out and adjusted the new clutch that was installed with the new engine. It was super easy, just hold the long adjusting nut (arrow) with a 9/16” wrench and loosen each end nut and turn the long center nut until free play was correct:



The whole process took about 20 minutes including raising and lowering the truck. The previous racing clutch had two different hard surfaces and never required adjustment in 8 years of use. This is a stock replacement clutch for chatter avoidance and being softer apparently has worn a bit since installation. Adding in the fact I never adjusted in when new, it wasn’t surprising it needed a bit of attention. It’s much nicer now not having to press the pedal hard to the floor to make clean shifts.

My son is also fabricating a stainless steel ball knob for my emergency 4 way flashers, so all the dash knobs will match. This will probably be in my hands by tomorrow:



It's much smaller than it looks. The threads showing are 6-32.

[markeb01]

My son showed up yesterday with the new flasher knob for me. I spent some time sinking 2/3rds of the stem into the ball. It seemed to make the switch more vulnerable being longer. Here’s how it turned out. The pictures aren’t that good as I had to resort to my really old digital camera to get any shots at all in the face of all the reflective chrome. My big camera won’t focus on anything in the presence of too much shiny stuff, it just loses its mind and keeps racking back and forth:





The aluminum knobs on the dash and turn signal lever are just under 7/8”. The smaller one for the emergency flashers is a little under ¾”.

For a size comparison to the other flasher knobs, here’s a spare ball knob compared to a stock knob, and the custom longer version that Ididit provides with their columns:



I’m really thankful having creative sons, one being a machinist and the other being a custom upholstery expert.

And I just received word my new replacement 4 speed knob is on the way. It will likely arrive Friday or Saturday. That addition should complete the interior upgrades for now.

[Ta2Don]

So very Nice!!! Well done!!!

[likaroc13]

Looks good Mark! Like they say, it's all in the details.

[TJ's Chevy]

Looking really good Mark! Like said..all in the details! Diggin the mirrors!

[markeb01]

Thanks for the comments guys.

The new 4 speed knob showed up today, and I managed to install it with breakage this time. The first picture is with flash. Again both the wheel and the knob look much brighter than in real life:



To me, the 2nd picture is more what it looks like to the naked eye in normal daylight. Not that the color is all that accurate, but neither is the color in the first shot. This is without flash on my old small digital camera:



I was thinking this was the finishing touch to the interior, but I’m now considering a pair of padded/upholstered sun visors from LMC. Mine are the aftermarket cardboard type and while they work well, they aren’t all that pretty:

[Ta2Don]

Glad there was no breakage this time!!!

Looks Great!!!

[Bomp]

Interior looks killer, Wifey ooohed over your wheel.

[McMurphy]

Try putting something over the flash on your camera, if it is a pop up flash like on mine, I just hold it down and pull the trigger. This avoids washout from the flash but still allows the camera to set the shutter speed and apature to what is needed for the shot.
You may see a closer representation of the red colors as well if you do this.

[CRGRS 66]

Love it Mark, looks awesome, the nice thing is that swapping wheels, and shifter knobs is something easily done. I look forward to the day when I can tinker here and there...