49 3600, s10 swap, project boogie

[joedoh]

I actually have pretty thick skin and just hang up on belligerent fools. its funny because they always start the conversation like "oh man cool truck love the cool touches man I would build one just like it if I had the time/skill/manly bits/womenly affection" and when they realize 1/2 price isnt gonna cut it no matter how many times they use the phrase "leave some meat on the bone" then its "I didnt want that POS anyway probably fall apart on the way home look at how ****ty it is and hope you have fun keeping your gold mine forever because you have no skill/womanly bits/manly affection".

[99 to Life]

My biggest problem with anything in life, is someone wasting your time. People just don't have respect for it. Your only alive for a short while, every second counts.

[lower50's]

That's the problem with ppl who have never built anything like this. They have no idea how much work it is. Hope you find the right buyer soon.

[99 to Life]

people don't understand the time and money that goes into them. heck, I always blow past my projected time and cost and I document them both. tuff to find the right home for them, going through it now myself. Then you get people picking your brain when they have no intension on buying it. I always just tell them to come on this site!

[joedoh]

yeah I keep a detailed spreadsheet of costs and I dont chince out on anything, especially safety related. it took 2 1/2 months to sell the 65, just gotta find the right guy.

every day this truck gets better and better. I always sell them on the day they are in the best condition haha never figured that out. Anxious to get back on the 49.

[Hampshire]

Been following this since it started - never chimed in as what can I add to a brave (married) soul embarking on yet another project cluttering the premises?

So. I'll catch up ....anyway - totally very, very nice (great choice on wheels) - complements on a super patina build. Builds like this are even more impressive when they are DIY projects. I like that there was lots of inventing, problem solving, parts swapping/dealing & so on - and all in 7 months.

Well done - have you taken the wife out for dinner in it?

[joedoh]

thanks hampshire! as a side note, I almost painted the wheels yellow in homage to your truck, I really liked your wheels. I may still on the 49, and I am definitely sticking with the wheel vintiques/coker combination, it transformed the look of this truck even from the "resell red" wheels.

I havent taken the wife to dinner in it but she has driven it a bit. she really likes how easy it is to drive, she wants to haul some things to the dump! I told her better hold off...

[Hampshire]

...and I waffled on red for the longest time - going to yellow was a last minute decision (still love the red - maybe a second set of wheels??)

... When I used to work in a body shop red was always called "Retail Red"

[HUSSEY]

Haven't checked in in a while, great tire and wheel combo. I'm still torn over some 18 in. Torq Thrusts with low profile tires or some steelies and WWW. Maybe I should just by both.

[rusty76]

Truck is coming together nicely

[joedoh]

thanks! my motto is "I dont worry about what comes next if I havent done what comes first" and its true, a lot of projects stall because people think about something they dont have a solution for that is way down the road.

the glovebox had a nice dent in it that really made the interior look beat up. I had a nice one on the shelf so I gave it a once over with the buffer and bolted it on



the bed floor needed some touches, the strips were 77" and I aligned them with the tailgate end of the bed. this left a little gap at the front panel. it was nice to show the stock s10 floor under the wood, but otherwise looked unfinished. a little time with a jigsaw and boop



tomorrow I am running by the install garage for some screws and relays. the headliner is straight making me mad because there are 30 different types of fasteners (of course there arent ACTUALLY 30 types but I am mad so forgive my exaggeration) and switching from flathead to phillips sucks. I am also going to build my DRL relay system for the headlights because I keep talking about how cool the DRLs will look and talk doesnt cut it.

[Advanced Design]

Your description of selling a vehicle sounds really familiar to me. Nice progress!

[joedoh]

I had thought that installing a nice clean column with no foofaraw (its a word in the thing look it up) like a column shift or a tilt lever would fit the character I was shooting for but when every single person who CALLS or DRIVES says "oh there isnt a tilt" dejectedly like I took not only the sprinkles but the whipped cream off their starbucks, it requires a rethink. This isnt about what I want.

Lucky I have a couple spare s10 parts. I pulled the column shift off one of the 4 tilt columns I have here, made sure the key wouldnt hang up, and popped on the borgeson u joint.




then it was a column relearn AGAIN. had to plug in a second cluster, the one in the truck is hard to see the flashing security light.

[99 to Life]

I can hardly stand tilt columns, unless they are very subtle. Maybe that's why my truck won't sell!!! that and I don't have "rims" on it. Lastly you have to manually "shift" mine, such a drag! One thing I don't get is, a lot of people want all the modern amentites in an old car or truck, it defeats the purpose I feel. I can understand drive train and suspension but things like electric windows, pwr seats, ac, cruise control, its just too much for my liking. I like to see some period aesthetics mixed with subtle modern. anyway, enough of my rant.

[Hampshire]

I can hardly stand tilt columns, unless they are very subtle. Maybe that's why my truck won't sell!!! that and I don't have "rims" on it. Lastly you have to manually "shift" mine, such a drag! One thing I don't get is, a lot of people want all the modern amentites in an old car or truck, it defeats the purpose I feel. I can understand drive train and suspension but things like electric windows, pwr seats, ac, cruise control, its just too much for my liking. I like to see some period aesthetics mixed with subtle modern. anyway, enough of my rant

...I agree - it is hard to get people to think outside of certain "boxes". I see a lot of either peer pressure (or possibly it is just the available knowledge base) driving people to follow certain formats. However, regardless of what I did (basically old school homage), I more or less like most of what I see these days...I just crave more variety and innovation.

...I also bemoan the trend towards automatics, though I've been noticing the heavy usage of 5 & 6 spd sticks in the "B****in Rides" program

[joedoh]

the markets bigger. same thing happened with motorcycles, hardcore and saddle sore only worked for the old school riders, the accountants and lawyers wanted the look and experience without falling off from numb legs. harley and all the other bike makers started making ultra plush one hand rides.

I dont see it as a bad thing. I like that my daughter is excited to drive my trucks and doesnt need an intense "if it does this do this" and "dont do this" kind of education. She jumps in, drives. her daily driver is a 6spd stick, so I could go either way on manual trans, but I know that its something like 80-20% that dont know how to drive a stick. Thats why I will favor autos.

[lower50's]

I really sucks how vehicles are going now. Just get in and go, not thinking about anything. Back in the 50's, 60's driving a vehicle was part of the experience on where you are going. What we do here weather it be rebuild old or swap to something newer. We keep the old experience but its more reliable to get us there. If ppl want blue tooth and power windows tell them to go buy a Honda. My DD is an 1987 GMC Jimmy 1500
Sorry for the rant.
Keep up The good work the bed looks great!!!!!!!

[DeanTX]

Nowadays people who don't know how to drive a stick also don't want to learn.

[99 to Life]

I shouldn't have even said anything about the stick!! Don't wanna clog up your thread about what people desire or not stick vs auto bags vs static, LS vs whatever etc. I guess I had to voice something cause the fact that people were asking you about tilt steering, just set me off. If that is really a make or break item, people need to not drive old vehicles. If an old car or truck has all the features of a new car, then a new car isn't going to feel new. and visa versa. I like driving something old to make something new feel different.
So to get back to your thread. If you don't find a buyer, how you feel about keeping it? you sold your 65 right? you got a 49' lined up you plan on keeping that?

[Hampshire]

I shouldn't have even said anything about the stick!!

...Don't worry about it. I'm know your feelings are shared by many and both directions have their stalwarts. Remember though, std trans fans like us know exactly what others are missing. Their loss, our gain...

Joedoh - If it were my project I would have stayed with the auto, also -even given my preferences. For me, it fits the theme of re-use and economy (build cost wise). On not liking tilts...well, I don't either but, some things these days are almost inescapable...Check the "tilt" on this one I saw last Sept. I wouldn't change a thing on this kick- A***s ride....

[ptc]

Joe you have a nicely built truck here, dont settle on price with some 'reseller' that needs some "meat on the bone" to make some profit off your HARD work. This car-flipping world makes me sick to my stomach after owner/builders spend time and money to make something nice and some car salesman comes along and thinks they can just make a deal!!!!

The other side of the coin is the JUNK owners with fields of stuff that would rather let their perceived GOLD MINES rot in a field instead of letting a 'builder' take it (for a fair price) and make something of it....

Good luck on the sale

[joedoh]

wow thanks for the support guys! and Henry, dont sweat it, you can buy the first round when I come to PA. The "Chefs" beat the Stillers yesterday and I have STILL not heard the end of it.

Hampshire that is a bad ass truck, I love the W block. I am more a small engine guy, but man a 348/409 would be my ideal motor. With EFI of course!

And I took a deposit today, guy came from 250 miles to drive and kick tires, tell me what he wanted changed and what he could live with. We shook hands on a price fair to both of us. We were leaving to go get a new column cover (this one has a shifter hole in it) and he said "yeah I wish the shifter was just a little longer". Well, I had seen a Loker 24" stick on craigslist earlier in the week and it was 1/4 mile from where we were going for the column cover. fits perfect!


funniest thing was... we pull up in a 1947 GMC (chevrolet) and I just happened to have my old script FORD ballcap on. The guy meets us in the garage, next to his 1947 FORD and he is wearing a CHEVY ballcap. We got a kick out of that, almost traded caps!


Part of the deal is he hooks up his own AC, so I just give him the parts.


he picks it up Sunday sunday sunday! I have to put on a chrome bumper, fix the door pins, and install the longer shifter!

[DeanTX]

Congrats on the pending sale. I knew someone would come along eventually and realize what they were looking at!

[lower50's]

Congrats

[joedoh]

thanks!

I fixed the right headlight, installed new door pins. I needed to replace the black bumper with the chrome one on the 49, it was off the truck so easy to get the air rattler on the bolts. two had square nuts and I have no square socket, and a box wrench doesnt do a lot in those little recesses of the splash shield. so I buzzed them off with the grinder.

the black bumper though, those nuts had a rough life. the air impact didnt even touch them, and literally in the case of the outside corners where it didnt fit up in behind the bumper. I know, heat and penetrating oil...

or just cut the heads off the bolts haha have you ever seen a bumper bracket like that before? GMCs man. weird. I scratched up the bumper around the bolts with the grinder but I can just sand it and paint it over.

fits the look I think, I will get two new carriage bolts to support the splash pan.


Then I put the Lokar stick in. I read up on it when I saw the stick on craigslist and opted out, so many adjustments to make it work. The guy who bought it is just a dynamite human being so I told him I would do it no sweat. you know what I am going to say... HUBRIS!

4 hours later.



they make it sound easy in the instructions.

step one: remove shift lever. the bolts holding everything together was put together with loctite unobtainuim and cheetah blood formula. I broke two allen wrenches, then the left side refused to come apart. I looked at the mechanism a while and figured out I could undo the pin and it would let the left side stay attached as the lever came out. two hours later I had it out. 4 rounds of adjusting the rod at the bottom and reinstalling, and I had it back in.

tomorrow adjust the speedo, install turn indicators, and install a glovebox.