Omodified's 1970 SWB Custom/10

[omodified]

Originally Posted by omodified

While the door panels are off, we thought it would be a good idea to look for some nice driver quality mirrors and door handles. Ours are pitted bad and the chrome is peeling off. So, we are on the hunt. We did go ahead and replace the escutcheons. The old ones were crushed and were torn as a result. These will look much better.

The door controls arrived and we put them in right away. Time to install the door panels! Since my daughter has been waiting awhile for this one, I let her do the install (with a little help ). Finishing up...

[omodified]

So, let me back up several months. We bought this truck in Georgia, which is a non-title state. North Carolina requires that you have a title as proof of purchase or past three years of registrations. Well, I had neither which is fine but you have to buy a surety bond and have North Carolina do a theft inspection. You can register the vehicle without a title and drive it
(strange, I know), but if you want a title, you have to go through the process. So, it has made me a bit nervous this whole time continuing to put money in it and not knowing if it was in fact stolen. The po said that he went through the same thing in Georgia and it was not stolen then, so I felt ok. Well, the DMV never gave me the surety bond option when I applied for registration and I left there confused. So, I have just been crossing my fingers to this point. The theft dept. told me not to bring it to them unless it was road worthy. There was no clear explanation of what road worthy means either. Well, my one year time frame that they gave me is coming up and I think it is pretty road worthy, so today is the day! Time for a theft inspection... Wish me luck!

[omodified]

UGH!!!!

Well, I went to the theft inspector today and somebody must have opened a can of bad luck. On my way to work a lady pulled right out in front of me. I locked up the brakes and luckily we avoided each other. Wow, I didn't realize how nice ABS is to have! During my lunch break at 11:30, I went to the theft inspector only to find out that they are only open Monday - Friday from 8am until 10am. What???????? Two hours????. Unreal. Then on my way home, the water temp was was fluctuating. I started smelling antifreeze real bad too. I did limp it home but more bad news...antifreeze leaking from the heater core box. I don't know if it's the heater core or not, but fortunately it didn't leak inside the truck. Time to do some reasearch and see what I am in for.

[omodified]

In my research here, I found a few arguments about how to install the heater core box. I still don't know exactly what my problem is yet, but I want to be prepared to put the heater core box back on correctly. Several people said to just use an adhesive. The po for my truck appears to have used an adhesive and it looks pretty bad. So I went to Dave's Truck Parts in search of a gasket set. He had a set in stock made by LMC. It looks like a really complete set (some stuff I won't even use) and the material is really nice as well. Now, it's time to dig in and see what's up.

[omodified]

Not a great start. I did manage to get the hood off with my wife's help and I didn't scratch anything.



Before I took the box off I thought I would remove the old duct tape that the po had on the firewall. I'm not sure why I never removed it before, I guess I was afraid what was underneath it. Well my suspicion has been confirmed. A/C in a non A/C truck...well once upon a time anyways. Man, it's always something.





Unreal. Well, now I have to figure out what to do with these holes...

[omodified]

While I figure out what to do about my new addition to the firewall, I figured I would take the box off and see what is going on. Well, more bad news. The adhesive was like epoxy. I used a putty knife to get it off but one of the tabs broke off the heater box in the process. Unplanned expense there. New ones aren't cheap either. Hopefully I can find a nice used one on the forums here.

Well, the heater core did have a crack in it. I suspect it happened when we did the engine work. I remember accidentally leaning on the outlet and it moved slightly. It must have been just enough to start the crack. So new heater core needed as well.

I did happen to find this on the firewall once the box was off. I guess this was build number 268?

[omodified]

Went to O'Reilly's and picked up a new heater core.



Went ahead a bought a new A/C blower motor too. I read on the forums here that a blower motor for an A/C truck blows a lot harder than a non A/C motor.

[omodified]

In my quest for a new heater core box, I contacted member t korinek. He didn't have the box I wanted but he did have a nice lighter to replace the one I polished and didn't like. Thanks again Tom!

[omodified]

I took some measurements of the A/C area on the firewall today. I decided to fab a patch panel to cover it for now. Maybe one day, if I ever do a frame off, I can fix it correctly. Here is the patch...



Here it is installed and painted up. I used some left over gasket from the heater core kit to seal it up. It should look decent when the heater core box is in place...

[omodified]

When I removed the heater core box, I took note that there were mainly bolts but also a few special nuts that were used to hold it on. I managed to find the nuts on EBAY. So, that will be a nice finishing touch.

[omodified]

Wrapping up the heater core project today. I was able to find a box in excellent shape from member tll74. Thanks Tom! It arrived yesterday so it's time to get busy. I used adhesive to install the gaskets to the heater core box last night. That turned out as nice as I could've hoped. Installed the heater core into the box today. Here is the box mounted to the firewall...Patch panel turned out pretty good.



New blower motor installed...





Here is the finished product. Hood back on, inner fender back in and coolant topped off and bled. Good Times!!!

[lil hoodlum]

I must say, I really enjoyed reading your build thread. Your truck is looking really sharp. Alot of hard work has been put into it and it shows.

Good luck with the theft inspection. Hopefully it comes out clear and you can get that monkey off of your back!

Good luck!

Keith

[omodified]

Thanks for the compliments Keith. I need all the luck I can get with this theft inspection. Nerve wrecking it is.

[omodified]

So, I was going back through my posts here on my build thread. I didn't make it very far before something caught my eye...



U08 - Dual Horn. This truck should have dual horns and I can only recall ever seeing one horn. I don't really know much about it so I did my research here. There was a nice set of pictures that showed the location of both. Apparently, I should have one low note and one high note horn. Well, I looked at our truck and it only has one high note horn. Then I laughed remembering my wife saying awhile back that the horn sounded wimpy. So I set out to find a low note oe horn. EBAY came through for cheap. $4 to be exact! Looks like it needs a good cleaning.

[omodified]

While I was waiting for the horn to arrive, I needed to try and find a dual horn jumper wire. I came across an old thread here where VA72C10 had several of them for sale. So, I decided to give him a shout. It ended up being a good call as he still had a few laying around. Thanks Jonathan...1 dual horn jumper wire on the way!

[omodified]

Received the horn and the jumper wire. The horn was in worse shape than I thought. I did bench test it and it works, so that's a plus. So, I took it to work, along with my original horn, and media blasted them both. Fresh coat of primer and fresh coat of black paint. They look brand new now. Time for the install. Looks and sounds great. No more wimpy horn sound!

[omodified]

Today, I saw a thread floating around here about a new ground strap kit offered by VH Voachworks. It prompted me to go out and look at mine. One was missing and two weren't even hooked up. The ones that were there were greasy, discolored and freyed. I would say it's time for an upgrade. The kit looks really nice, so I went ahead and placed my order.

[omodified]

While I was inspecting the ground straps, I noticed something potentially bad...more duct tape on the firewall. Oh boy, what is hiding underneath there? Another gigantic hole. However, after doing some research here, it turns out to be the hole for the clutch. Member mahanian just happened to be selling some new clutch delete plugs. So, I went ahead and got one coming my way.

[omodified]

The ground strap kit and clutch delete plug showed up today. It took a little surface prep work to install the straps but it was pretty simple. VH Coachworks supplied very good instructions. There is a thread here that includes good pictures of each location that also helped. The pictures really helped with the rear location as I do not think it was a factory location (I had to drill holes). I can understand the need for it though.

The clutch delete plug is really straight forward. I still need to paint it, but it looks better than duct tape or a big hole.

[omodified]

Well, I decided to try and go to the theft inspector again today. I think I am more road worthy now than I ever have been. It only took him 30 minutes or so. He took a few pictures, ran some reports and then he said..."You're all set sir. You should receive your title in the mail within four to six weeks." I was stunned. What a fabulous moment in history!

[omodified]

I was talking to a friend today about the truck. I told him that it was starting to lurch forward badly when in drive, sitting at a light. The thing just tries to move forward on it's own with the idle. He suggested replacing than transmision modulator. I figured it was worth a shot since I haven't replaced it yet. I happened to have some Summit Bucks laying around. So, I place the order. I was able to get a B&M for $6.90. Thanks Summit. Hopefully it solves the problem.

[omodified]

I got the transmission modulator in today. The install was a piece of cake. It is adjustable so it took a few tries to get it right. The lurching is not as bad now, but still there. Seems to shift harder now though. I like it. I might need to look at the torque convertor now though. May not be enough for the cam we installed. To be continued...

[omodified]

Just felt like taking an up to date picture of the truck...

[omodified]

I was looking at pictures here of everybody's 1970 trucks. Then I realize that something is different on mine. It was driving me crazy. Then I figured out what is was. 1969/1970 models should have black steel headlight bezels. My truck has the polished aluminum bezels from 1971/1972. Since I try to be detail oriented, this new discovery just will not do. So, I set out to try and find a pair of steelies I could restore. Well, I didn't have to look far. Member gringoloco had a decent pair that were dent/ding free. Just need painting. Picked them up cheap too. Thanks Chris!

[omodified]

The headlight bezels arrived yesterday. I media blasted them and added 5 coats of satin black paint. Installed them today and they turned out very nice. Also, when I was looking at the 1970 pics and after researching some more, apparently, the 1970 inner grille had different pattern from the 1969. My grille wasn't painted at all anymore. So I picked up the correct color silver (argent lol) and got to painting. Now the front end looks correct to me.