GRIZZ’s English 2001 S10 Extra Cab 4.3 V6 Truck

[Grizz1963]

Woke to this.



Later in the day after that phone call, which was just a bloody script being read out to me and letting me know that we will only know by around 25th February, I needed a bit of head space.

Out into the cold, extra jacket on.

And fitted the rear lenses.



Tested.



Also found out that these rear lenses were made and available for Brazilian models, where ambler indicator lenses are the law, like here.



Then back to some more work stuff.

By 4.30 I went out again, to fit the new clear side repeaters, each made off two different ones cut and glued together

Remember this.



Tested, colour looks fine to me.



So now with clear lenses up front, down the side and original rear lenses.



For the Eagle eyed readers, I did not force or set the repeaters as it was so cold, even the cables resisted me and were stiff as any -2’C day could induce.

Anyway, another small mod that has delivered and changed the look just a little bit.

Roll on summertime.

[Palf70Step]

Nice work Rian. I have never seen those Brazilian taillights. They look pretty good.

[Grizz1963]

Originally Posted by Palf70Step

Nice work Rian. I have never seen those Brazilian taillights. They look pretty good.

Its coming together bit by bit Bill.

Happy so far.



Random post alert

Not sure exactly where to post this.

A good friend and his wife live and work there along with their 16 rescue cats.

This is near us, a Roadhouse called: Last Exit in Dubai, on the road between Dubai and Abu Dhabi.

In Dubai emirates are like provinces

So Eugene sent me these pics.

Mad Max meets popular culture?





















That’s enough.

[Palf70Step]

I could handle the Wagoneer or that 57-59 Chevy truck. My neighbors may not like it, but........

[Grizz1963]

Originally Posted by Palf70Step

I could handle the Wagoneer or that 57-59 Chevy truck. My neighbors may not like it, but........

Neighbours......

Hmmmm, they should support you.

Selfish people.

[Grizz1963]

.

Right team.........

Input time.

I may ignore your input outright, or it may support totally when I am doing.

The wheels need to be addressed now. Not going to be cheap, and my common sense says do it yourself, DIY is great, but sometimes, just sometimes........

So the wheels I have are rough as guts, needing a full refurbishment





I do not have plan, or Chevrolet centres.

So I guess, fill and flat back the GMC letters.

Then paint them to match the stripes on the truck.





Stripes are this colour.




Anthracite powder coating for the recesses.




Imagine the gold on these wheels switched for the anthracite colour above.




Thank you for your input and opinions.


All taken note of and taken seriously.

[Just call me Sean]

I like the gold, but that other color would match the truck better. Can plastic be powdercoated? If it can maybe coat the caps too.

These are the spare rims I have for my truck:

[Grizz1963]

Originally Posted by Just call me Sean

I like the gold, but that other color would match the truck better. Can plastic be powdercoated? If it can maybe coat the caps too.

These are the spare rims I have for my truck:

No plan on the Gold, despite loving gold, I just posted it as an example of where the colours go.

The anthracite will match the stripes too. And contrast nicely.

I really like those spare rims, had some offered before I found my set.

[Grizz1963]

A few work days to keep me both busy indoors and weather to make sure I stay indoors.

Woke to this “Sno-Leopard” outside this morning.

Not yet decided what way to go with the alloy wheel refurbishment.



Waiting for this Beast from the East to turn and get warmer again

Got a few things waiting to get done.

[Grizz1963]

Truck bought 30/12/20

V5c delivered today , guess I now feel happier, having the paperwork sorted.

Today I also assembled the rear fog light, to be mounted to replace the one currently fitted at lunch time.



Overnight, one of my American buddies, Tyler, who works for Missouri Department of Transport sent a few pics, his S10 is back on the road, had it since leaving school,. One of those, “It will never be for sale” trucks.





And his night time drive, its an interesting department to work for, all staff members, male and female, regardless of role, needs to qualify to drive these trucks and the grifters.

This one does both jobs at the same time.



Regarding the wheels, I just cannot help myself

The urge to give stuff a go and try do it myself, is just too strong.

Got these coming.

Will have the tyres pulled off, two good Bridgestones will go back on and I will buy another two for the rear, keeping one to go on the spare 16” wheel when I find one to use as spare.

A bit of work to polish and strip them, then prime and paint, must be capable of that.




Also in the post today........

A John Deere box from the USA, no idea why, but one of my favourite agricultural brands.

Here is the lesson for the day though.......

Black and silver = Construction

Green and yellow = Agriculture.

So what’s in the box??



A hoody/hoodie for Sally



Wrapped around a $5.00 Chevrolet part for the S10 , sent by Dan in Deary, Idaho, he refused to let me pay for any of it, guess he has a free dinner r two and accommodation booked here then.

The one on my trucks tailgate handle is broken and a huge irritation to me.



Postage/shipping really is a killer for our hobby.



Thanks Dan.


Friday night, a bit of alcohol, a bit of pan friend meat and vegetables, could be a good end to a rough week.

[Grizz1963]

Still chilly and windy outside.

Had planned my first ever Netflix binge over at Sally’s place, to allow her to paint her sons bedroom (no, not allowed to help)

But I would really struggle to sit still for that long.

So unloaded the metal folder, it’s a heavy chunk of metal, and certainly a two handed lift and carry for me.

Put that and two bags of wood pellets in the shed.

Then carried, rather than roll the wheels from the far end of the deck where they have been sitting, around to the front and into the company car, thank goodness it’s a Focus Estate/wagon, these wheels and tyres take up a bit of room, even with the seats down.

So I may go grab some food and see if the tyre shop can pull the tyres off for me and then I will have the wheels blasted.

Bring them home. Polish and buff the spokes to a level I am happy with, rather than have them machine cut.

I will then mask them, go back to the coasters and have the recessed sections powder coated, in Anthracite, to go with the stripes.

And the centre caps will get done at leisure once I have the wheels fitted and decide just how I want to manage them.



I could still regret this vs just blowing £90.00 per wheel for a simple blast, coat and cutting.

We will see.

[Grizz1963]

Bacardi poured...... in the way you get them at boozy resorts.

Bloody cold outside, for England, I know Russia, America and other places are a lot colder.

Chatting to Dennis in St Louis, he is so sick and tired of cold and snow.......

Look in the background and you will see the ramp truck recovery he bought to use with the NASCAR Race truck.



The mechanical build is now really close to done, and he is busy with body work now.





So with the wheels loaded, it was off to the tyre shop I like to support. They are helpful, really helpful.

I had hoped to keep three tyres and bin one.

Turned out on closer inspection, one Bridgestone was very really good, and right to go on a full sized spare 16” wheel once I find one. The others, two were oddly worn, 2005 vintage, and the other Bridgestone was a 2007 vintage with sidewall and tread cracks.

Cost me a “drink” to have the four tyres whipped off.

I will be buying my four new tyres from them too.





And while there, I spoke to the manager, and decided to switch from the planned Bridgestone to a set of 4 Avon ZX7 in 235/60 16” 100H rated tyres.

I preferred the tread pattern a lot more than the Bridgestone patterns.

Weirdly, these are marketed as 4x4 tyres.




Lastly, tonight after dark, my doorbell rang, thinking it was Mickey from,next door needing a half a cup of sugar or some cooking oil, I was surprised to find one of our local couriers delivering this,time of the day.

An bunch of Roloc 2” die grinder discs in 60 , 80 , 120 grit and also a load of varying scotch scourers to fit the same application.


Looks like the wheel polishing and finishing kit is coming together too.


Still loads of doubts and concerns here.



Time to relax a bit.

Maybe.

[Just call me Sean]

I've done some with a wire wheel on a drill. I didn't polish them after though. Might want to start with that.

[Grizz1963]

Originally Posted by Just call me Sean

I've done some with a wire wheel on a drill. I didn't polish them after though. Might want to start with that.

I need to get a load of paint and muck shifted.

Got some time.

Patience and a bit of thought I guess

[Just call me Sean]

The wire wheels also come in grits, and they're more forgiving than the discs.

[Grizz1963]

Originally Posted by Just call me Sean

The wire wheels also come in grits, and they're more forgiving than the discs.

Excellent.

Thanks, will proceed with caution




Well, for those who are interested.

Had my second redundancy discussion today, again, completely without emotion, delivered from a script. Legal and all that.

I have been selected to keep my job, based on performance in 2020.

So my mortgage manager will be happy I guess.

So I followed it with a coffee and some electrical filling.

Old vs New



Needed a few little bits.



Managed to get the new unit wired up, ready to plug into the other end once done under the truck rear end




Body work guys........


Remember the centre caps with the grooved GMC letters?


Would this stuff be good to fill the letters and then be flatted back to smooth and then painted over?


In order to make this more neutral.







Last thing tonight is a pic of mate JB’s newest registration plate he had approved after the last one for his race car “CHITBOX” that he uses to race in the Gambler 500 races.





He did have to write an explanation as to what it meant.


Happy to copy and paste his explanation if anyone is interested.


Almost bedtime.

[Palf70Step]

Congrats on the job review Rian.

[Grizz1963]

Originally Posted by Palf70Step

Congrats on the job review Rian.

Thanks Bill,

Really thankful that I made the grade.

Based on keeping the pressure up last year.

[Grizz1963]

Woke this morning and it was a good day, well, the weather had broken overnight.

Warmer, snow washed away.

Warmer.

I did not expect to get much more out of the day......

However.




After a busy morning, I quickly finished the wiring on the truck.



Hung the fog light.

Really too exposed, so I may fold it up and away from harm.

But beats the wrecked one that was fitted there.





During the day, I had a Messenger pop up from someone I had messaged 31st December.


“ The Lady who had owned the truck” had replied to my question below:

Hi XXXXXXX,
Strange message, possibly.
Did you possibly at some time in the past, own a Chevy S10 pickup truck?
Thanks.
Rian



Her responses included the following:

Hi Rian, yes I did but I sold it about 2 years ago

I don't usually reply to messages from people I don't know so apologies not responded before

Oh my god its got stripes! It didn't when I sold it. Obviously the guy I sold it too can't have looked after it, those wheels were spotless when I had it. Unfortunately I don't know anything about it's history. The guy we bought it from called Graham but he died quite a few years ago. The best person to talk to is Howard Cox who knew Graham well and may know more about where it came from. Sounds like it's gone to a good home and your giving it lots of tlc!

Of course I'll speak to Howard, there is also a guy called Tom Newman down on Mersea who who has a business repairing building chevys. He also did work on the truck. I only really used it as a spare and just drove it every now and then! So pleased you're putting it back as it was. I was aware of the damage but can't shed any light on it but Howard may know. There's plenty of miles in her yet

My pleasure so sorry I didn't respond earlier and keep me posted would love to hear how you get on with your fact finding and history writing.

You've done amazingly well, yes there was only one key, hated putting petrol in as could never unlock it! Does the cruise control work as that suddenly stopped when I had it or is that one more job you'll be tackling!


So it seems we have a connection with part of the trucks past.

[Grizz1963]

Busy on a `Teams business meeting yesterday, the doorbell rang and rang.

So video off, voice off, and off to see who so desperately needed to speak to me.

Parcel Express Big red van out on the street, and a man with an electronic reader at the door.

Parcel.

Thanks to “Doc” for offering me these tools, to be shared with Fil Sparkplug as he needs a few bits.

The rest to be added into my tool trolley.



Not bad for £17.00 in shipping.



I have also just got to pick up at the station a new lodger with only an electric bicycle to get to work with........ He arrived at the local station, 7 miles from home at 8.30 last night.

There was no way one could leave him to find his way here in both the cold wet weather, but also in the dark.

Thankfully my Focus wagon just managed to fit it with a couple of inches to spare.



Guess his job??

Body man and painter, has worked for Aston Martin and Morgan, and the last job killed off by COVID-19 meant he needs to work locally in a commercial body shop.

Let’s see where it goes, not sure where it will end for him, but all good for now.

While checking the room and bathroom was fine on Tuesday, I realised the bathroom light switch had stoped working, typical.

So ran out to get a switch to replace the busted one, and on the way back, popped in to speak to the guy building this car......... to find out how he uses the resin/fibreglass filler that I am planning to use for the new to me, wheel centre caps.

So he has started on paint as well.

Kevin is an amazing guy, had Corona just after Christmas and last week a partial knee replacement, yet, with a bit of a limp, this 75 year old was bombing around his workshop.

Love people like that who never sit still.

Currently he is about to make and cast resin light lenses for the car as they are essentially unobtainable.





Back at my desk, fighting with the IT guys because part of a system was just not working (turns out I was the idiot, but I also managed to highlight a flaw the were not aware of in the system) the doorbell rang again, my pretty postie had come back a second time to deliver a parcel as my car was back on the drive, because I had been at Kevin’s on the way home when she had tried to deliver. What great service.

Parcel, obviously wrapped by a man, a REAL MAN !!!

How did I know this?

Ratio of Ducktape to parcel and then more brown tape, padding, polystyrene etc inside.



Of course a sharp knife and a fight to get inside.

Bloody brilliant !!!!!

Gift for the Rezin Rockit from Martin, Mucky Helmet, who years ago saved me around £4000.00 when I built the kitchen by facilitating my purchase as a trade buy.

Yup, it is still here, just been on the back burner a bit while the weather has been so rubbish.



Just beautiful



So they will be put on standby alongside the pair @KevinS had given me, I will rebuild them into one unit for left and right.

Soon enough.

[Grizz1963]

Idea factory anyone?

Just as bit of visual guidance, these wheels are not the same as the ones I bought, but I was trying to visualise and figure out what route to go.

Standard wheels



Modified





Making is all silver.........

Will this work on my wheels and truck?



Or does one go two tone.

[Palf70Step]

Those were the wheels I had on my ole S10. I tried painting the unpolished section body color. So, so. I redid them in a satin black, which I like better. That was before the days of me having a dig camera, so I don't have any pictures with the changes. Not sure about those styles in all polished. Just doesn't grab me. For your wheels and the shape/style os center cap, I have not cared for much other than factory look, but again just me....old fart.

[Grizz1963]

Originally Posted by Palf70Step

Those were the wheels I had on my ole S10. I tried painting the unpolished section body color. So, so. I redid them in a satin black, which I like better. That was before the days of me having a dig camera, so I don't have any pictures with the changes. Not sure about those styles in all polished. Just doesn't grab me. For your wheels and the shape/style os center cap, I have not cared for much other than factory look, but again just me....old fart.

Not at all, you are entitled to your own opinions too.

We will see how it all unfolds.

[Grizz1963]

So today I started another small job.

You know how it goes...... pay someone, or give it as go and try do it yourself.

Know where we are headed?



Managed to find a huge crack in it.



Mixed up too much of the fibre resin, but got this far.

ROCK HARD.



Gave it an hour to harden , then started to work it back.



All four.



Wiped down, amazingly this took an hour to do, time flies.



It needs a bit of primer, then gloss black, followed by a deliberate slow coating in chrome paint ..

Ordered the chrome and hopefully it will be delivered at 07.00 tomorrow morning.

Also need to get some adhesion promoter to ensure adherence to the plastic caps.

Looking forward to seeing this unfold.


More to come soon.

[Grizz1963]

This morning early, I had a major issue with my new lodger, 48 hrs into his arrival.

And that was strike 1 for me.

He will be out on his assss if he carries on like this.

Anyway, by 08.00 I had gone to the motorfactors and collected some plastic primer, and the chrome paint I ordered yesterday. £15.00 and a can of Halfords black wheel paint, so around £20.00 so far for the centre caps. I was around 2 hours in prep into them too.

Also keyed them all, every nook and cranny as they have loads of details.



Cleaned, wiped, perched.



Primered



Yes, it is my house, my kitchen, and I can. At least it was warm and wind free.

Sprayed from 5 different angles, laying it on heavy and fast.

Waited for it to dry, made a coffee.


BUGGGERRRRR !!!!!





Took me till about 4pm to figure what had gone wrong.


Too much wet paint, too fast, and reacted.


Should have been patient, but it is hard between doing the day job and trying to sneak these things in, in between day job stuff.


Called a few places looking for a barrier paint of similar.


Also contemplating spending £100.00 or $140.00 on a set of nasty Chinese chrome replicas, which look nice, but like the OEM items, are not great.






While out in the industrial estate, I checked this place out.


Totally unassuming.








And got talking to Thomas from Lithuania.


He was like a ballet dancer, between various machines and work stations.








And they go to very large sizes.






Right, time to cook some dinner.


Tomorrow I will restart on the prep for the centre caps.


Better luck this time.