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

[Ta2Don]

Originally Posted by Bomp

Great chatting with you yesterday. Can't wait to see some progress on the truck.

Truck time mate!!!

[Grizz1963]

Originally Posted by Bomp

Great chatting with you yesterday. Can't wait to see some progress on the truck.

Always great to chat to you too Greg.

Originally Posted by Ta2Don

Truck time mate!!!

Kinda Don but bit of crash n burn.

[Grizz1963]

At times winter can be a pleasure.

Walked in London along the Thames this week.



So today was meant to be my first bit of trucktime in a while.

With the brake shoes in stock there was little to stop me.

Friend CraigRK of 47 & 49 Chevys fame was going to come over with some specialist spring removal and refitting tools to ensure I got it all done in one day.

He is usually here by 07.00 when we do get together despite the 60 mile or 100km trip to get here. Today we agreed that he would come at 08.00 or later. But at 08.00 he texted to say that the migraine he has had since Thursday had still not let up fully, so he needed to stay put. Of course I Facetimed him immediately to make sure he was not telling porkies........ the face that answered the phone looked like death warmed up.

So I carried on here cleaning house and ironing clothes while the world warmed up (No. i do not have anyone to do these jobs anymore)

By 9.30 I was in the garage, pushed the lawnmower, bike etc outside and then jacked the front of the truck up to get it dragged outside.



Jacked the back up onto axle stands then took wheels off and tried to get drums off...... unsuccessfully. Till my neighbour suggested walloping rather than tickling them. That worked.





The brake cylinders were both weepy, the other side worse than this one.



Thankfully I had bought new replacements for all the parts last year.



And of course even more thankful I decided to replace the brake shoes too that were brought back by Tom as these shoes appear to have had it.



Of course without the tools that help you retain your knuckles and full volume of blood I decided not to continue but rathee change some other brake hoses.



The old ones were really bad. Coroded and actually filled with crud.



And then........... SH!T F#€£ !!

My fittings that I made when I remade the lines to replicate the originals......

Did not fit the one side.



At that point I just lost it and packed it all in and went to town as I needed to see the bank and get a few bits done.

Have removed the complete brake line now and will take it to Pirtek or Aghabridge on Monday to have a new smaller fitting fitted as I do not have Pauls flaring tool anymore.

Craig and I will tackle it after I get back from Paris next week.

[Chevy Apache]

Originally Posted by Grizz1963

At times winter can be a pleasure.

Walked in London along the Thames this week.



So today was meant to be my first bit of trucktime in a while.

With the brake shoes in stock there was little to stop me.

Friend CraigRK of 47 & 49 Chevys fame was going to come over with some specialist spring removal and refitting tools to ensure I got it all done in one day.

He is usually here by 07.00 when we do get together despite the 60 mile or 100km trip to get here. Today we agreed that he would come at 08.00 or later. But at 08.00 he texted to say that the migraine he has had since Thursday had still not let up fully, so he needed to stay put. Of course I Facetimed him immediately to make sure he was not telling porkies........ the face that answered the phone looked like death warmed up.

So I carried on here cleaning house and ironing clothes while the world warmed up (No. i do not have anyone to do these jobs anymore)

By 9.30 I was in the garage, pushed the lawnmower, bike etc outside and then jacked the front of the truck up to get it dragged outside.



Jacked the back up onto axle stands then took wheels off and tried to get drums off...... unsuccessfully. Till my neighbour suggested walloping rather than tickling them. That worked.





The brake cylinders were both weepy, the other side worse than this one.



Thankfully I had bought new replacements for all the parts last year.



And of course even more thankful I decided to replace the brake shoes too that were brought back by Tom as these shoes appear to have had it.



Of course without the tools that help you retain your knuckles and full volume of blood I decided not to continue but rathee change some other brake hoses.



The old ones were really bad. Coroded and actually filled with crud.



And then........... SH!T F#€£ !!

My fittings that I made when I remade the lines to replicate the originals......

Did not fit the one side.



At that point I just lost it and packed it all in and went to town as I needed to see the bank and get a few bits done.

Have removed the complete brake line now and will take it to Pirtek or Aghabridge on Monday to have a new smaller fitting fitted as I do not have Pauls flaring tool anymore.

Craig and I will tackle it after I get back from Paris next week.

Good too see you getting some truck time in always the way when you think all is going well something puts a spanner in the works you'll sort it I'm sure

[Palf70Step]

Glad to see you at it. You did good walking away. I sometimes have to force myself to do that instead of grabbing the BFH to adjust things

[realvc]

You shall overcome.

Remember, "Don't sweat the small stuff and that it is all small stuff."

My whole project has been derailed and the direction I wanted to go has not worked out so I've moved on another way. It will take longer and cost more but hey I'll still have a cool old truck.

Keep the faith bro.

[dwcardfan]

Glad to see you working on the truck. Just remember if it was easy everyone would have an old cool truck. Keep grinding my friend.

[ibrown50]

Rian, I agree with the comments above, sometimes it's best to walk away. I find that because I'm always working through jobs in my head by the time I get back to it I've already worked out how I'm going to fix it

It was good to talk to you on Friday and great to see you getting some truck time

[Grizz1963]

Originally Posted by Palf70Step

Glad to see you at it. You did good walking away. I sometimes have to force myself to do that instead of grabbing the BFH to adjust things

I don't ever trust the BFH, but do like them.

Walking away in my world can be quite unnerving, but actually liberating

Originally Posted by realvc

You shall overcome.

Remember, "Don't sweat the small stuff and that it is all small stuff."

My whole project has been derailed and the direction I wanted to go has not worked out so I've moved on another way. It will take longer and cost more but hey I'll still have a cool old truck.

Keep the faith bro.

I noticed in your thread that you were making lemonade Vince.

I am too good at sweating the small stuff.

Originally Posted by dwcardfan

Glad to see you working on the truck. Just remember if it was easy everyone would have an old cool truck. Keep grinding my friend.

Thank you for the reply Donnie.

Much appreciated.

Originally Posted by ibrown50

Rian, I agree with the comments above, sometimes it's best to walk away. I find that because I'm always working through jobs in my head by the time I get back to it I've already worked out how I'm going to fix it

It was good to talk to you on Friday and great to see you getting some truck time

I agree Is, as much as I hate sleeping bad,y, it allows me time, along with all the time spent driving for my job, to create solutions in my head.

[Grizz1963]

"Let me sing you the song of my people"


Anyone know these "words" ?


I desperately wanted to get a good night last night but of course by 5am I had Harley stomping all over me in bed and singing the song of her people.

This means I get up and stumble downstairs to put out a packet of wet food for her to lick the gravy off. Then she goes back to bed and leaves me awake. Usually my mind starts spinning by then and in spring, summer and autumn I would be out in the garage or shed.

Cow.



In the mean time I brought the bits into the house that I will lake to town tomorrow to see if I can get the fittings adapted or changed.



Craig and I have found that the 19th is the only day left this year to get back together with his tools to replace, repair, restore the brakes.

Looking forward to that.

[Bomp]

Sorry, but I had to giggle when I read, "The old ones were really bad. Coroded and actually filled with crud. And then........... SH!T F#€£ !!"

Been there done that. Feel for ya brother. One day it'll be all worth while.

[Grizz1963]

Originally Posted by Bomp

Sorry, but I had to giggle when I read, "The old ones were really bad. Coroded and actually filled with crud. And then........... SH!T F#€£ !!"

Been there done that. Feel for ya brother. One day it'll be all worth while.

Funny how we all have the same path to completion of these trucks.


Aghabridge saved my butt today.

Popped in there on the way to work this morning.

Of course the guys had never seen me dressed for the day job so the teasing was instant. I felt very aware of everything being tools, greasy and a bit dirty so tried to keep my suit clean and not trip over any non existent obstructions on the floor. These guys will pass any H&S inspection with ease. The shop is just right.



Anyway, after finding the right fittings they made me an adapter to go between my brake hose and brake line.

It is really weird that the new brake hose has a different female fitting on the chassis.

All of £8.00 incl labour. Result.



Photo credit to Ian Brown.

So the next trick will be fitting the adapting connection inside the chassis rail. And then ensuring it all fits together.

[Grizz1963]

Up at Stupid-o-Clock and off to Ebbsfleet International station.

Weird to think we are taking a train to Paris going under the English chanel.

Again, Love Technology.



Got there way too early so sat and had a decadent Mocha coffee and butter Croissants fot breakfast.

Amazed at how awake Miss Katy looked. Considdering the fact I feel like death warmed up.



Then through Customs, X Ray and we both got the alarms going and full body pat down.

My bag got arrested and fully unpacked.

No comments on the hand uffs, riding crop or gallon of KY jelly or the bags of marshmallows, and bottle of sherry.
Nooooooooooo

They were interested in the knife Donnie gave me in Arkansas which travels with me.

"Show me the locking mechanism" was the request.

"No lock I replied, its a folder"

"Ahhhhh.........lets see how long the blade is"

Blades are under 3" so it was returned.

Thankfully, as I am very attached to this knife.



Waiting for departure, then the adventure begins.

Later.

[Grizz1963]

Photodump alert.

From the Garre du Nord, or North Station in Paris the Metro underground train system is both clean, simple and easy to use as well as cheap.

Some fun taking pics, looking for a secret Jedi knight



Then up to ground level and a walk to the hotel to dump our bags.

Amazing architecture, smart, classy, fashionable Parisians and of course food, tastefully displayed, everywhere.

This is the Paris I love.











And a horse butcher too, amongst other sellers of good food.



Chickens, beautifully displayed........ does this mean you get head too.



Back to less macabre stuff.

Loads of small capacity scooters and motorbikes, mostly in the 125cc class.



I really like these, clearly a 125cc single, pretending to be a Triumph, even the name on the side panels.

[Larry64]

Nice pictures. We travel with you.

[Grizz1963]

Originally Posted by Larry64

Nice pictures. We travel with you.

Pleasure Larry.

I know it's not building my truck, but it is helping me in a weird way, being able to share.

And we all love photos.


I love automotive signage and evEn in foreign countries, the menace is always apparent



Mini seems to be a survivor of the Paris cull on all cars over 20 years old.

I saw a convertible as well later in the evening.



Fiat Panda, not sure if it was a 4x4 model.



Then a lot of walking, up to the Arc De Triomphe.



We also stood on the inside of the periphery of the monument and just watched traffic navigate their way around the multiple lanes, without killing each other.



A lot more walking and we got to the Eiffel Tower, symbol of Paris.

There were loads, and I mean load of these guys around, clearly working in teams on the shell game, sadly, the teams are very easy to spot as they are all olive skinned, one older man, a younger woman and the operator, trying to pull people into their game and making loads of false wins look like you have a chance.

When you try get a photo, it's interesting how the older man tries to dissuade you or gets in the way of the table operator.






Bicycle rickshaws, scooter type taxis and various others trying to make a buck.





Cinderella in Paris?

[Grizz1963]

And a quick video of what this trip also delivered on.

A bit of fun, in fact a lot of laughing.

CLICK VIDEO LINK.

Paris. Kicking leaves. - YouTube

This is a good thing, along with all the great food.

Off to sleep now, loads more photos for this interested in the reast, almost day two.

[Grizz1963]

And some more of the random stuff noticed.

Quite a few of these BMW scooters about.

Not certain I have noticed them around the UK before. I could be wrong.



Bad lighting but I do like the pic.



So shall we go have snails or frogs legs for dinner later.....?

Hmmmmmm..... let me think.



Quite a lot of these little electric busses about too.



Wooden bicycles looked legitimate.



After a lot more walking and enjoying the views, we went back to the hotel and then out to dinner as close as we could find, we were both a bit tired...... been a long day.

It was good, really good.

And I know some of you do like food.

Staff was excellent as was atmosphere, as expected too.

[Grizz1963]

So day two started late.

Breakfast in bed.

Of course, it is Paris after all.

Bought some Brioche bread and a large olive Pretzel plus real President butter to have in the room. (We had opted for the non breakfast room booking as we both prefer to forage)

Note the prime quality cutlery.



Then off to Carefour the local supermarket for a 1.5 litre iced tea and some fruit for the day.

And back up the hill to Arc de Triomphe, which looked rather good in the fresh light of day.

The day was also jeans and light hoody warm, so my ski jacket was hooked in behind the backpack and no gloves or woolly hat.



Then around the Arc de Triomphe and down the Champs Elysées where all your big name brands are.

Destination for Katy of course was the "Traditional Christmas market"

First photo opportunity was within 10 minutes of starting down the hill.


CAPTIONS PLEASE: Note the uniform.




Further down the New Peugeot SUV was on display, beautiful looking thing, but the lights inside the showroom did not allow for an decent photo to be taken.

I did however get a shot of this little guy.




Then further down, just before we got to he Christmas market, that has to be almost a mile long, on both sides of the Champs Elysee we opted for coffee and a "rest"





Then we set off again.

And found a little petrol head heaven.

BERTRAND, the very enthusiastic young petrol head, and guide told us all about the various cars and equipment on display on the 7 floors of the building, which also has a restaurant on the top floor and coffee shop out onto the pavement on ground floor.

Bertrand himself own a retro too, an Austin Vandenplas that he found as a barnfind that had been stored for over 10 years.

You will note that every display in the centre is on a lift floor, clearly they get loaded from the ground floor and then lifted like trays to the various floors to be displayed.

Fiat 500



Fiat Multipla








More in a bit.

[Grizz1963]

Some more.







Then on to the Christmas market, that really did have a variety of stuff.

This table was only €499.00

Yes, that's what I thought too.



Snails or Frogs Legs anyone?



Pretzels were one of my favourites.



We also bought a big lump of freshly made salted caramel nougat, which my trustty knife helped slice into decent slices.

Very nommmm.

Eventually made it to the end of the market and bottom of the Champs Elysee



Then back to the river for a long walk, sight seeing etc.

Katy is like a wide eyed girly tourist and really enjoys her walks.

For once I missed something massively important (well, in a petrol head world) Katy did not miss this and I was pleasantly surprised.

Walking on the upper level on the banks of the River Seine, she managed to spot this on the back of a river barge/river boat home.





It took a long walk to eventually get to a point where we could go down to the lower level, she then waited for me to walk all the way back and capture a pic of this little gem.

Just lovely.



After this we carried on walking along the lover level.

I also saw this random bit of art that really made me smile.




More later, now off to Norte Dame and then to find Galleries Lafayette which should be good too.


It's a chilly day out today.


Hope you guys are still along for the ride.

[Palf70Step]

Nice Rian. You done way better than me. If I think of a greasy place, it is one me.

[pimpston65]

nice tie, ya wayn-ka!!!

[Grizz1963]

Originally Posted by Palf70Step

Nice Rian. You done way better than me. If I think of a greasy place, it is one me.

Aaahhh yes Bill, the vindictive oil squirt.

I sometimes have to incorporate the truck into my day job.


Its been good to start getting back to the truck.

Just pulled some fresh made beef jerky/biltong from my drier.
From here it goes into the freezer and awaits consumption.



Bit of a pause again now, as I am off to Paris, France early tomorrow morning for a few days with Miss Katy.



Using the Eurostar High Speed train it takes about 2hrs and 5 minutes.

Cheaper and quicker overall than many other routes.

I hope to see some cool old French cars too.

If the guys here are interested, I will post up photos of what I get to see.

[flashed]

Im interested to see.

[aggie91]

why do you even need to ask if we are interested...you know that