Grizz's Redneck Express 1966 Chevy Short Fleetside RESTO-GO!

[Grizz1963]

PROBLEM SORTED.

60 seconds per side !!

Fairy dishwashing liquid, pot of boiling water to heat up rubber bump stops.

Good lubrication on all surfaces. Broad flat screwdriver to guide and give minimal force to guide one side while keeping downward pressure then slipped other side home as well.

Job Done !!

[siggyfreud]

Nice! I too ran into the bump stop issue and found that some grease, the right angle, and a flat blade screwdriver did the trick. Looks like the build is coming along nicely!

[NevEno]

The hot water trick didn't work for me as it made the rubber too soft.. It was frustrating. Glad you got it whipped!

[Ta2Don]

Glad you sorted that mate… As you know, Brake hardware is in the hands of the postmen now...

Great chatting earlier… Jojo is waiting for another ride into town with Saless and I in a bit… Cheers!!!

[dwcardfan]

Nice job!

[Johnny_Lamebridge]

Originally Posted by Grizz1963

How do you guys get them to slip in, fit or stay.

All advice and mockery appreciated.

Rian, I found a really simple solution to the bump stop issue. I cut mine off. I figured that with drop spindles and drop springs (total 4-1/2") I might be riding on the bump stops more than not.

If you're interested, see post #72 of my all but forgotten build thread...

[Grizz1963]

Originally Posted by siggyfreud

Nice! I too ran into the bump stop issue and found that some grease, the right angle, and a flat blade screwdriver did the trick. Looks like the build is coming along nicely!

Yup, done.

Originally Posted by NevEno

The hot water trick didn't work for me as it made the rubber too soft.. It was frustrating. Glad you got it whipped!

Thanks Paul.

Originally Posted by Ta2Don

Glad you sorted that mate… As you know, Brake hardware is in the hands of the postmen now...

Great chatting earlier… Jojo is waiting for another ride into town with Saless and I in a bit… Cheers!!!

Thank you Don, much appreciated as always.

Originally Posted by dwcardfan

Nice job!

Thanks Donny. Great coming from you.

Originally Posted by Johnny_Lamebridge

Rian, I found a really simple solution to the bump stop issue. I cut mine off. I figured that with drop spindles and drop springs (total 4-1/2") I might be riding on the bump stops more than not.

If you're interested, see post #72 of my all but forgotten build thread...

Thanks Johnny, job done now.

[Grizz1963]

Posting here as well, in case someone had the same issues.

This is an ongoing saga.

My trucks driver side LCA was mullered so I replaced it woth new rebuild parts and a new arm.

EVERYTHING fitted together slick and perfectly.

The passenger side....... NOPE !!

So after destroying one, I managed to buy another.

So today I cleaned threads, dry fitted the nuts, cross bar etc.

Then started to assemble it, FAIL !!

So disassembled it again and restarted cleaning, scraping threads and test screwing the bits together.

Then another attempt at seassembling the whole thing.......

Tight fit, what can go wrong?



Threads just catching, so time to start tightening in equal measures on both sides.



This is where the poop strikes that fan.

Tightening it to the point of lock in of the nuts...... At this point the drivers side A arm was still moving freely.

Passenger side.... Tight enough that I need to move it up and down by hand.
So then I looked at the gaps in the nuts.

Passenger side still has about 8mm to lock tight, but drivers side which has loose movement only 4mm





Sooooooooo..... Clever guys, rebuilders or frustrated people.....

What have I done wrong??

[ibrown50]

In my (limited) experience of assembling control arms with screw in bushes the bushes stop tightening when they bottom out.



This is usually when they reach the control arm. If they have bottomed out before that then they have bottomed out on the shaft, meaning your shafts are too long (and the suspension will bind as the bushes are in contact with the shafts).

If you remove the shaft, run the bushes all the way onto the shaft and then measure the distance between the bushes this should be less than the width of the control arm (meaning the bushes will tighten until the hit the control arm), if it's greater the shafts are too long.

They do take quite a bit of tightening, the torque settings are over 100 ft/lbs, so they might just need a little more "grunt"

[clemdaddy]

Originally Posted by ibrown50

They do take quite a bit of tightening, the torque settings are over 100 ft/lbs, so they might just need a little more "grunt"

agree, sometimes it takes an extension or a breaker bar.

really cool tool box, looking forward to its finish… and don't deny it, you're a detail freak alright. we've been looking over your shoulder enough to prove that.

keep after it buddy, one quest after another.

[Ta2Don]

I agree with Ian and Clem...

Keep after it mate, you'll kick it in the backside...

[Grizz1963]

Right, a few random photos I took, just random stuff, so as not to give away the build itself........ You can read this all on here.
I know many of you like to see impressive builds, fabricating skills and lateral thinking.

I spent about 4 hours with JohnnyBravo at his workshop where he works on various automotive projects and jobs, including military armour restoration. He has such a wealth of knowledge, experience and problem solving, it just made me shake my head repeatedly. If you read his build thread below, YOU WILL BE AMAZED.

THREAD CLICK LINK: http://retrorides.proboards.com/thre...rm-infestation



First one was this milled piece out of a lump of steel, probably just to try out the set up.



Next up, a piece Johnny made for a customer.

He had only a photograph to go on, and drew up a sketch, took 600 lines to just do the face.

Then this was the set up piece to see what the CNC mill made of his programme. Once fine tuned it went off perfectly, happy customer.



Another simple test piece, just done on a bit of plywood, but made me look repeatedly.....



Lastly when he showed me the car (well, what is left of it) in its little garage, filled with treasures and panels etc, the labelling on his hand made bead roller caught my eye, it kinda sums it all up for me..... I will go back to my Fisher-Price toys now.

[Grizz1963]

Originally Posted by ibrown50

In my (limited) experience of assembling control arms with screw in bushes the bushes stop tightening when they bottom out.

Attachment 1483397

This is usually when they reach the control arm. If they have bottomed out before that then they have bottomed out on the shaft, meaning your shafts are too long (and the suspension will bind as the bushes are in contact with the shafts).

If you remove the shaft, run the bushes all the way onto the shaft and then measure the distance between the bushes this should be less than the width of the control arm (meaning the bushes will tighten until the hit the control arm), if it's greater the shafts are too long.

They do take quite a bit of tightening, the torque settings are over 100 ft/lbs, so they might just need a little more "grunt"

Originally Posted by clemdaddy

agree, sometimes it takes an extension or a breaker bar.

really cool tool box, looking forward to its finish… and don't deny it, you're a detail freak alright. we've been looking over your shoulder enough to prove that.

keep after it buddy, one quest after another.

Originally Posted by Ta2Don

I agree with Ian and Clem...

Keep after it mate, you'll kick it in the backside...

Thanks guys, seems your advice was correct Clem.


Lower Control Arm Crisis seems to at last have been sorted out.

Mate Martin came around today to pick up some bits and also to help me go through what I had done assembling this bloody thing.

Seems everything was right, except as Clem Johnson of www.tubatrucks.com said, I may have needed to put a bit more muscle I to it. So when Martin was here, we checked all sorts including how deep the nuts had gone in etc.

So more tightening and suddenly things were all good.

[62stepside longbox]

Just read your friends build thread on his rx2, his workmanship is incredible! He builds everything from his electrical systems to his own coil overs!

[Grizz1963]

Tonight I started to assemble the upper control arm.

Biggest problem was getting the cross shaft nuts threaded in again. But after cleaning up and gentle progress, it all came together.

Followed by wrestling the bump stop rubbers on as well.

It feels really good fitting new parts on all the wear and tear areas of the truck. Ball joints as well today.



Before fitting them, I realised the nuts and bolts on the cross member were the wrong way around. So I checked with Martin and Paul NevEno and it turns out t makes no difference, but my truck started out differently to what it was rebuilt like.



Paul's chassis cross member



Brandon's chassis cross member.



My trucks bolts before I tore it apart.



Once I had turned all the bolts around the way I believe they were meant to be, I fitted the upper control arm.



Now, if you can cast back your minds to my drivers side LCA that I removed and replaced a while back........

Look at the amount of shims on the drivers side...... I trust that when it comes to getting the tracking etc set up, some of these will be removed.



Passenger side, a bit better.



So all in, I am happy tonight.

Came in at about 8.30 and Nicola was making one of my favourites....... Chicken Quesadillas.

Old girl Tabitha was helping too, demanding her fair share of the chicken as usual.



Was speaking to Martin and Paul more recently about where to place the filler neck on my relocated fuel tank, outside door or inside the load bed.

Watch this space [ ]

That's all for today.

[Grizz1963]

Originally Posted by 62stepside longbox

Just read your friends build thread on his rx2, his workmanship is incredible! He builds everything from his electrical systems to his own coil overs!

Hey Nik, yes, he is certainly very good and motivated.

[flashed]

Looking good ,still tuned in .

[realvc]

Hey Rian, I also read the RX2 thread and joined that forum to keep up with the progress.

Johnnybrovo is scratch building his own engine parts and pressing his own panels too.

I've seen people build bucks and make replacement panels but he is the first I've seen machine the tools and dies to press them out like the factory would.

Looks like you're getting the GM a frames figured out. Way to go.

[65sub]

Good looking front suspension Rian All the little details will make an awesome ride when you're done

[Grizz1963]

Originally Posted by flashed

Looking good ,still tuned in .

Thank you mate.

Originally Posted by realvc

Hey Rian, I also read the RX2 thread and joined that forum to keep up with the progress.

Johnnybrovo is scratch building his own engine parts and pressing his own panels too.

I've seen people build bucks and make replacement panels but he is the first I've seen machine the tools and dies to press them out like the factory would.

Looks like you're getting the GM a frames figured out. Way to go.

Hey Vince, yes, he is rather good.

Originally Posted by 65sub

Good looking front suspension Rian All the little details will make an awesome ride when you're done

I hope so....

Otherwise I will be a bit disappointed.

[ibrown50]

Looking good Rian pleased you got the bushes sorted, it will be back on its wheels in no time.

[Grizz1963]

Originally Posted by ibrown50

Looking good Rian pleased you got the bushes sorted, it will be back on its wheels in no time.

Thanks Ian, with the help, encouragement and knowledge shared on here, I have little option but to get it finished.


Progress is Progress as my good friend Ta2Don always says.

Today was primarily filled with family commitments, but tonight when we got in, I went down to the garage for a bit of Truck Time. I really needed a bit of clear headspace.

So a bit of rear end action was in order.

I have wanted to do this for some time, but of course there is always a sequence, and we all have different sequences, this is mine.

I bought a new, adjustable Panhard Rod from Performance On Line for the truck as the various geometries change when you lower the truck.





Tried to undo the previously lubricated nuts keeping ithe Panhard Rod captive.... Fail.

Out came my faithfull rattle gun and in moments we were in business. This really is a great tool when doing a resto or trying to get 50 year old nuts undone.



Wear and tear and rotten bushes.



Once that was done, I could at last do the rust converter on the prop shaft, diff and rear axle and trailing arms. These will all get painted black, like the rest of the underside of the truck.

I am in two minds about the lowered springs, the red Iput on them is looking worse for wear, being rattle can red, so do I paint them red Hammerite or black??



While I had the rust converter on the go, I did the under bed toolbox as well, next stop is paint and making a simple flat bar frame for it.



In the mean time the weather got worse, wind and rain pumping away, so I called it a night, but thoroughly pleased I had got a couple of hours in the garage with the truck.

[Palf70Step]

Glad you got some time for the truck Rian. I would say considering your climate, to go ahead and repaint the springs before they get buried more.
The purple, red and black make an interesting combination so far on that chassis.

[Grizz1963]

Originally Posted by Palf70Step

Glad you got some time for the truck Rian. I would say considering your climate, to go ahead and repaint the springs before they get buried more.
The purple, red and black make an interesting combination so far on that chassis.

Thanks for the reply Bill,

The purple is just the Vactan, rust converter still being wet, along with the lights above that looks interesting, almost like an ultraviolet light.

It will be only black and red for the details.

[Palf70Step]

It is interesting as it dries though