Donz '65 SWB Stepper Budget Build...

[Ta2Don]

Small update, the last time I drove the Stepper to work it was a foggy morning and about a mile or so into my 5 mile drive the wipers stopped working. At lunch I found the fuse blown. Yesterday I finally found some truck time tucked away, so I took advantage of that find and repaired the wipers, seems one of the wires at the switch wasn't crimped properly. I repaired that and now the wipers do what they are intended to do...

I also decided to add a LED light next to my ignition switch. It's purpose, to let me know when my electrical system is energized. More importantly, to remind me to disengage before leaving the truck...

BEFORE... Key switch on, but no power...
Untitled by Donald Olivo, on Flickr

AFTER... Key switch off, but power is on...
Untitled by Donald Olivo, on Flickr

... and a few pics of the stepper in the early morning mist...
Untitled by Donald Olivo, on Flickr
Untitled by Donald Olivo, on Flickr
and last but not least, one for the Artsy Fartsy thread...
Untitled by Donald Olivo, on Flickr

[TJ's Chevy]

Good to see an update man, hope all is going well.

[realvc]

Hey, "Looking at my truck in the early morning mist" sounds like a Gordon Lightfoot song.
I might be thinking of, "Driving my truck in the early morning mist"

[mjh1965]

I know how important wipers are over at your place , I remember how much rain came down when we drove from Clem's to yours . I even thought we would have been better if we had highered a boat . Glad you got them sorted

[Palf70Step]

[clemdaddy]

Good work Don.
The artsy shot of your hood ornament is really cool and what would a Bomp sticker be without rainy weather?
Like the way you did the instrument cluster...

[Bomp]

Glad you found and fixed the wiper issue.
Dig all the personal touches on your truck.
Noted the 'Power Switch Button On/Off'------in the going to use file.

You really inspire me to get focused on making something drivable. Discipline and focus.

[Ta2Don]

Since the Stepper has been drivable, plus working 40+ hours a week and other assorted "Life gets in the way" moments, I haven't been out here much. A month or so back I noticed strangeness in the front end so it was time for a little detective work, found the culprit, the lower ball joint on the Driver's side decided to retire from service...

With no cool place to work, temperature wise, I waited until the summer decided to vacate before delving into the suspension woes... Yep, I'm a fat lazy guy when summer in Arkansas decides to keep temps in the 90's into October... Well it's finally cooling off into the Fall like weather so today by noon I had the oil changed in the Wife's car and the retired ball joint replaced.

Onto the pics... and maybe video's in another post, we'll see how that goes...
This one was taken yesterday morning...
Untitled by Donald Olivo, on Flickr

Rotor and Spindle out of the way...
Untitled by Donald Olivo, on Flickr

The retired ball joint decided to be stubborn... the 2 pieces on the right came out first then the outer case was pressed out separately...
Untitled by Donald Olivo, on Flickr

The new part is Moog brand...
Untitled by Donald Olivo, on Flickr

Installed...
Untitled by Donald Olivo, on Flickr

Back together, greased up and ready for duty...
Untitled by Donald Olivo, on Flickr

Will post a couple of short videos to YouTube and attempt to make them work here... I say attempt because even though I've had help from TJ in the past, and I have a cheat sheet nearby, I still have issues getting the video embedding to work.

On a side note, I found this Bowtie at work recently and am considering adding it to the Stepper's grille, I've got it temporarily in place but not sure if I like it... Will leave for now to see if it grows on me, if not it will become a toolbox ornament.
Untitled by Donald Olivo, on Flickr

Laterz...

[TJ's Chevy]

Good to see an update again brotha! Hope all is well! Glad ya got that ball joint fixed...pretty sure both are about ready to retire on Crustine. haha!

[Grizz1963]

Great progress mate.

Hope its OK to add these for you.

Of course its Safe. - YouTube

And after.

Fixed it. - YouTube

I suspect the drive will be greatly improved.

[65truckowner]

Good to see you are still kicking. Those ball joints can be a big pain glad you got it fixed

[Ta2Don]

Originally Posted by TJ's Chevy

Good to see an update again brotha! Hope all is well! Glad ya got that ball joint fixed...pretty sure both are about ready to retire on Crustine. haha!

Thanx Brotha! Two Tone is moving right along, Keep up the great work.

Originally Posted by Grizz1963

Great progress mate.

Hope its OK to add these for you.


Of course its Safe. - YouTube



And after.


Fixed it. - YouTube


I suspect the drive will be greatly improved.

Thanks Mate!!! Can't wait to see you get some Truck Time in... Cheers

Originally Posted by 65truckowner

Good to see you are still kicking. Those ball joints can be a big pain glad you got it fixed

Thanks Daniel, I checked all four when I hung the crossmember and they all checked out good, the other three are still solid...

[rusty76]

Glad to see you on here dude.

[Ta2Don]

Originally Posted by rusty76

Glad to see you on here dude.

Thanks Brother!!!

[likaroc13]

Good to see an update, Don! I know what you mean about life (including work) getting in the way of things. Nice job on the repairs.

[realvc]

Way to go with the truck repairs.

[Ta2Don]

The week after fixing the ball joint I decided to tackle the water pump... why the water pump you ask...
Last October, when I finally had this truck up and running, I installed a new water pump. However, after installing the pump, the plug in the top that needed to be removed in order to allow a heater hose fitting to be installed wouldn't budge. I even broke out the cordless Snap On impact for the task. Instead of the plug turning, the impact spun the bit in the plug...
As I didn't plan to drive the truck much through the winter i rolled on sans heater hoses... The pump came with a lifetime warranty so now was the time to remove and replace...
On my day off I grabbed my trusty impact and off to the parts house I went. Grabbing a new pump off the shelf, I immediately put the impact to work... The plug backed out without hesitation... Back home I pulled the old pump and installed the new one...

As you can see in the pic, the heater hose fitting is in place...
Untitled by Donald Olivo, on Flickr

Just about now I should've been but Murphy's law, not Michael's, came into play...
I stepped away once I had everything buttoned up, with the exception of two fan shroud bolts, and upon my return I was greeted by a runaway gasket...
The gasket from the right hand side of the pump apparently came loose as I attempted to start the bolts... It landed behind the bottom radiator hose, which obstructed my view, and remained there until I reached for a screwdriver that had fallen off the passenger side fender. I retrieved the tool and stood, leaning into the engine bay to check the tightness of the lower hose...Right there, staring at me, was the elusive gasket... Following a few choice words, in Portuguese, I recaptured the gasket and closed the hood... Done for the day...

[Ta2Don]

Thanks to the holiday and a weird work schedule I have been delayed in making this update... I neglected to get any pics of the fun so here we go...

Continuing, the next day I retraced my steps, this time ensuring the offending gasket remained in place...
As you can see in this pic, the heater hoses are now in place...
Untitled by Donald Olivo, on Flickr

Here's a pic I shot in the late afternoon one day last week...
Untitled by Donald Olivo, on Flickr

Here are two from today...
Untitled by Donald Olivo, on Flickr
Untitled by Donald Olivo, on Flickr

Today proved productive in the sense that up until now I hadn't been able to get the blower motor to operate... With the heater hoses connected, and hot water flowing, I tackled the issue... The fuse box and wiring harness I installed had one fuse I'd placed in the slot marked fan... I know, I know, cooling fan dummy, not blower motor... I don't have an electric fan, so the fuse was moved to the appropriate slot and now it works... Amazing how that happens...

I also made a trip to the parts house to grab some Air Duct hose so now the defrosters work as well...

Have a great week everybody...

[TJ's Chevy]

Heat! Yay! lol Takes about 15 minutes to get any Heat in my GMC this time of year. lol

[realvc]

Great to hear and see you have heat and defrost. for the winter in your truck.
Glad you found the missing gasket before you started the engine.

[Chevy Apache]

Those gaskets always seem to vanish ,
then they just appear from know were lol good to see you’ve got some heating.

[Bomp]

Portuguese is an interesting choice of verbage at times.
Will say the truck time is a definite win.

[Ta2Don]

Originally Posted by TJ's Chevy

Heat! Yay! lol Takes about 15 minutes to get any Heat in my GMC this time of year. lol

I will find out tomorrow morning how long it takes to get heat... Off work today, gotta take wife to Dr. Appt. in Little Rock and plan on driving stepper to work in the morning... Waiting to see where you are on two-tone...

Originally Posted by realvc

Great to hear and see you have heat and defrost. for the winter in your truck.
Glad you found the missing gasket before you started the engine.

Thanx Brother!!! Good to see you making headway on the '62... Posted on your thread this morning...

Originally Posted by Chevy Apache

Those gaskets always seem to vanish ,
then they just appear from know were lol good to see you’ve got some heating.

Thanx!!!

Originally Posted by Bomp

Portuguese is an interesting choice of verbage at times.
Will say the truck time is a definite win.

Thanx Doc!!! Sometimes, when the frustration level reaches Overflow, a Portuguese phrase or two may ensue... Learned those while stationed in the Azores many moons ago. Wonderful little island where I was fortunate enough to spend five years of my life, but that's a story for another time. One last bit about the island, it was the strangest place to be in the military, strange because the Army had the boats, the Navy had the planes, and the Air Force had the ground support...

[clemdaddy]

that's funny...
I want to hear the island story someday...
congrats on heat, we'll be needing it soon enough though we've been lucky so far.

[Ta2Don]

Well TJ, I fired up the stepper this morning, flipped the lever for defrost, went back inside for 10 minuets, left for work and it was like a sauna when I opened the driver’s door... Had to drive to work with the window cracked...

Clem, those stories are definitely for sitting around the fire with cold beverages!