"The '77" two tone

[CodyJ]

Hi Guys,

Just a quick hello to my all-time favourite forum from up here in BC!

I joined a few years ago, and never managed to bring any of my plans to fruition, so I never posted a damn thing.

Anyways, recent changes have made it possible for me to make progress on my lawn ornament collection.

Here's to all those that enjoy turning bolts!

Pics of the build so far to come.

[CodyJ]

So a little backstory:

This winter saw me move back to my hometown of Fernie, BC to get knee surgery, so mobility and funds have been very limited until recently.

I got absolutely sick and tired of seeing my old truck sitting in the snow, decrepit and sad, wasting away slowly. I was so upset I managed to work up a decent amount of anxiety over it. I had the idea of selling it, but I couldn't come to terms with it. I very seriously considered buying my parents '07 GMC Sierra, but I couldn't swallow the price + gas + higher insurance. In an area like Fernie, a vehicle is a necessary evil.

This truck came into my family in 2001 with less than 54,000 miles on it. We used it as an acreage/farm truck and I took my driver's test in it. I've grown up with my Grandpa and I driving around in these old trucks, and this one has always been one of the nicest I have driven. To say this truck has sentimental value to me is an understatement. I have moved across BC with it twice, and always planned on a body off resto, which isn't possible while it's still a daily.

Anyways, I said "Enough is enough" and went and bought some box-ends and started unbolting the transmission while the snow was still on the ground; mid-February. I do have a compressor and air tools, but since I wasn't working inside, it seemed just as well to do it by hand, than pack and unpack tools every time I wanted to work on it.

Forwards to present day: I dropped the transmission off at a shop last week to be rebuilt, and picked it up yesterday. They put a mediocre silver spray can job on it, but I don't care; the price was right, and at least they de-gunked it. When you love something, you gunk it.

I'm hoping to get the tranny, exhaust and driveshaft re-installed by the end of this weekend, but we'll see how that goes.

The plan is to get it running and driving, and then refine it into a nice daily driver from there.

[SkinnyG]

Welcome!

Another BC'er!

(I think your tail shaft extension is upside down)

[CodyJ]

Aha! It totally is! Good eye! I will change that before I re install it.

[rusty76]

Welcome to the fun.

[Hankster]

Cool story! I'll follow along with this one!

[Squareforceone]

nice roadkill quote haha

[CodyJ]

Squareforceone - I love roadkill! That show motivates me to make my piece of junk into something worthwhile. The battle of man vs. machine never ends...

Bad weather, foul moods, and a lack of days off work have delayed... well, everything.

Instead of making my truck functional, I got distracted and made some bed rails and stakes for the pockets. The end result is pretty neat up close - I used some aged wood for the rails that totally complements the patina of the truck. I counter sunk and notched the stakes, and used bolts instead of screws. It ended up taking longer than I thought to make them, but now I have a place for my canoe, and I can load a bunch more firewood.

It's been awhile since I took the tranny out, so in my haste to bolt it back in, I had forgotten what size the bell housing bolts were, and tried several times to no avail to bolt 5/8ths bolts into 9/16ths holes. It took me so long to figure out, it's actually kind of sad. And embarrassing. Literally days spent trying to figure out if the transmission wasn't aligned, or if the alignment dowels were even in - I had some god-awful idea that a wood block, teeter totter lever system and ratchet straps would pull the tranny magically into place. I only ran into issues once the ratchet straps were level with the bottom of the frame rails. My reason for doing that was because I didn't have a transmission jack; let alone enough clearance under the truck for said jack + transmission on top. I don't have a vehicle powerful enough to push the truck onto ramps to raise it, so ratchet straps and 2x4s it was.

I got into a kind of funk - I had the transmission up and 95% of the way in, but couldn't maneuver it around without another pair of hands. I tried manhandling it, but found it pretty precarious. The phone service was patchy, and I couldn't "cheat" and lookup anything on my phone. I had the idea to put a status on facebook asking for help, but there was zero service. I tried calling my uncle - call failed (this is out at the cabin - we don't have internet out there, it's great 98% of the time) so I had pretty much decided I was going to either hire a mechanic, or sell it.

I realized the '75 flat deck in the yard also had a TH-350 in it, so I checked the bell housing bolts, and they were mysteriously smaller than the ones I had been trying to put in mine. Anyways, after figuring that out, I got it installed in a drastically shorter amount of time than it took me to get the entire thing out. I bolted up the crossmember, driveshaft, cooling/return lines, speedo cable, vacuum and shift linkage.

My brother got me a set of little drawer/bolt organizers I will use and label for parts from now on.

I stalled for a long time on the detent/kickdown cable. The two ends do not match up. The linkage doesn't ... link. At all. Something somewhere changed, so I ordered another detent cable and dipstick tube today, they should be here by tomorrow.

I have a feeling I can figure out the kickdown cable, but if anyone has any tips or tricks for installing the dipstick tube, I'd love to hear them - I damn near ruined the old one which is crap anyways, and it's still not "in". I lubed it with ATF and had my Dad smack the top while I tried to cram it into place, and it still doesn't want to go.

Anyways - she moves under her own power! FINALLY! I went around the yard and took a very short cruise down the road before parking it. Shoulda seen the size of the grin on my face. The old detent cable wouldn't fit/line up/link, so ATF can leak right out. It's not being driven until I'm satisfied with both the kickdown and the dipstick tube.

Still on the high priority list:

Exhaust: I installed a new exhaust when I swapped the 350 in about 3 years ago - I never did have it sealed and properly done, so it leaks right out of the headers. Fast forwards some years, and the flange on both headers have rusted a bit, so I will take it in to weld it up. That or my buddy keeps telling me he'd weld it if I help him get firewood.

Power steering: Currently non-existent. It's not hooked up. It either leaks or doesn't work. Second or third one I have been through. I have a new pump I will swap the pulley onto as soon as I come across a pulley puller. What I really need is some kind of custom bracket fabbed up to hold the pump exactly in line with the other pulleys. When I put headers on it I MacGyvered some washers and bolts to hold it in place, but it sits off axis and wears pumps out.

Tires: I have stripped an extra set of sport-rallyes I have, and I'm hoping to paint them and get tires on it as soon as funds are available.

The headers have actually kind of ruined this truck. I thought they would be cool, but they cause more problems than they create. I'm hoping to try and fix them without taking the headers off, but time will tell. They get so hot, the starter and electric fuel pump I put in like to play games, so when you want to start it hot hot, you can't, and when you mash it on a mountain pass, it surges.

I spied a brand new starter on the '75 last time I was under it, and as much as I don't like robbing parts off it (it's hard to remember what it needs and what it has) I need to have one truck running before I can get ANY of my other projects off the ground AKA - refinish the fiberglass canoe, refinish the riverboat, and to haul my motorcycle down from my uncle's place in Red Deer.

Sorry for the long winded, never ending post. It's been SO frustrating, and SO rewarding, I had to rant awhile. This truck is really the key to the whole summer. From here on out it's camping and work, and firewood and fixing all of my broken crap

Pics to come

[CodyJ]

Moar pics - Building the stakes and bed rails - I had the 31's off my other truck mocked up to see if I could go that big - does anyone know if 31's will fit on a '77 2WD 1/2 ton?

There is the *one* rim I did actually paint just to see how it looked...

And a pic in the yard to prove it did actually move.

I got really excited and put the canoe on the bed to test fit and see how it looked...