Green Gus the 68 shortbed convert

[GR8-68]

I love it hello Green Gus, fits it well

[hewittca]

I'm not normally one to name my vehicles. Usually I just refer to my projects as what they were/are: the Malibu, the Beetle, the truck. But, I think I found a working name for my truck since naming your project seems to be the in thing. My son got a new book called Truck Stop and one of the trucks in the story is an old green pickup called Green Gus. My son was quick to point out that it looked like my truck, so I think I'll go with that. I'll still refer to it as "the truck" but if someone asks, his name is Green Gus.

[rusty76]

Green Gus it is.

[hewittca]

I haven't had a chance to work on the truck this past week since it's at my dad's house, so in the meantime I've been trying to clean out my garage from all the left over parts and pieces I have from the shortbed conversion. I was hanging onto the bed floor pieces because I didn't really want to just scrap them, and I finally thought about building a shelf out of them. I just used some 2x4s for supports to see how it would work out, but I like it enough that I may make some more appropriate metal brackets.

[flashed]

Very creative ,I like it .

[GR8-68]

cool idea, do you have any other recovered parts you could make brackets from ?

[kehstr]

Originally Posted by GR8-68

cool idea, do you have any other recovered parts you could make brackets from ?

I agree brackets make from parts from either this project or another project would look awesome!!

[hewittca]

Originally Posted by GR8-68

cool idea, do you have any other recovered parts you could make brackets from ?

That's a great idea. I'll have to see if I have anything I can use for this.

[zicc1835]

great idea!

[flashed]

Got any old hood hinges you could put under there ?

[hewittca]

Originally Posted by flashed

Got any old hood hinges you could put under there ?

I don't, but that is a good idea. I will eventually swap to the Porterbuilt hood hinges, so when I do I guess I have something I can use my old hinges for. I'll have to find a way to make them more structural though. Maybe I'll just weld them solid in the open position.

[hewittca]

And the hole keeps getting deeper... Since I had the trans out and relatively easy access to the pan and rear main seal, I figured it would be a good time to finally deal with the decent oil leak I had. The bottom end looked good and the rear seal was a breeze to replace (after all the other junk was out of the way, of course).





All was going well until I lifted the oil pump up to put it back in place. That's when a handful of broken timing gear teeth fell out of the catch screen on the pump. The pickup was literally packed with pieces.



It was getting late at this point and I did not have the motivation to pull the timing cover yet, but I can only imagine what the gear looks like. After seeing the condition of the clutches in the transmission and timing gear teeth in the pan, I am amazed that this truck ran so smoothly for the first year that I had it. On the bright side, it turned out to be a saving grace that I decided to go the extra step during this trans rebuild and take care of the oil leaks as well.

[preacher anthony]

Glad you found it!

[kehstr]

Originally Posted by hewittca

I don't, but that is a good idea. I will eventually swap to the Porterbuilt hood hinges, so when I do I guess I have something I can use my old hinges for. I'll have to find a way to make them more structural though. Maybe I'll just weld them solid in the open position.

I really would just take a tack or two, those hood hinge springs are pretty stout, and would take a lot of weight on that shelf to close them.

Sorry to hear that you have to dig further into the motor, really sucks when a simple project turns into an all day deal, or in this case a multi-day project.

[67ChevyRedneck]

With that much in the pan, it's likely the remnants of an old failure that's been repaired/replaced but they never cleaned the pan out. I can't see it running at all with that much material missing?

[hewittca]

Originally Posted by 67ChevyRedneck

With that much in the pan, it's likely the remnants of an old failure that's been repaired/replaced but they never cleaned the pan out. I can't see it running at all with that much material missing?

That's kinda what I was thinking too, but there is also a fair amount of play in the crank. At this point, it's peace of mind to follow through with the only evidence I have so far and just put in a new timing set.

[SCOTI]

Originally Posted by hewittca

That's kinda what I was thinking too, but there is also a fair amount of play in the crank. At this point, it's peace of mind to follow through with the only evidence I have so far and just put in a new timing set.

x2. Definitely do an inspection.

[rusty76]

Eons ago I was on my way to work when I went to pull out at a stop light. As soon as I gave it gas it just stopped. I tried start it, nothing. So I seen two workers for the city and got them to help me push it across Hwy 150(up hill the way I came). Walked back home in the dark about three miles, no cell phones. Next went and fetched my truck up. Got it to the house pulled distributor cap and turned engine over. Rotor didn't rotate. Crap. Maybe a broken cam, maybe a timing chain. Pulled front cover and found the cam gear totally sheared off. Replaced gear stuck it backed together drove it for many years. Then decided to rebuild the motor. Pulled oil pan and there was all the teeth on top of the oil pump pickup. Oops. My buddy couldn't believe it but honestly that motor ran super smooth. Too smooth. Oh well. Good luck. Hope all works out well.

[hewittca]

Originally Posted by rusty76

Eons ago I was on my way to work when I went to pull out at a stop light. As soon as I gave it gas it just stopped. I tried start it, nothing. So I seen two workers for the city and got them to help me push it across Hwy 150(up hill the way I came). Walked back home in the dark about three miles, no cell phones. Next went and fetched my truck up. Got it to the house pulled distributor cap and turned engine over. Rotor didn't rotate. Crap. Maybe a broken cam, maybe a timing chain. Pulled front cover and found the cam gear totally sheared off. Replaced gear stuck it backed together drove it for many years. Then decided to rebuild the motor. Pulled oil pan and there was all the teeth on top of the oil pump pickup. Oops. My buddy couldn't believe it but honestly that motor ran super smooth. Too smooth. Oh well. Good luck. Hope all works out well.

Good old 150. I used to live right off 150 in Denver. Now I take 150/421 for a short way to get to work in Winston Salem. Anyway, after seeing the pump packed with teeth, I too was amazed that my engine had any oil pressure at all!

[rusty76]

I grew up and lived in Winston. 150 is now called Peterscreek. I still call it 150. Drive it every day. Do you think you'll have the truck up and going by the 22nd of May? If so there's a really cool car show on May 22nd at the America's Children's Home in Lexington. It's a cool show and a good cause. My wife and I will be working at the show. Thought I'd kick out an invitation.

[hewittca]

Originally Posted by rusty76

I grew up and lived in Winston. 150 is now called Peterscreek. I still call it 150. Drive it every day. Do you think you'll have the truck up and going by the 22nd of May? If so there's a really cool car show on May 22nd at the America's Children's Home in Lexington. It's a cool show and a good cause. My wife and I will be working at the show. Thought I'd kick out an invitation.

I really wish I could have it done by then, but it's not likely. This weekend I'm busy with Mother's Day plans, and next weekend I plan on finally getting back to the transmission rebuild. Once she's running again, it's straight back to paint. I'm really aiming for the June Kannapolis cruise in as my first outing in the truck, but realistically it will probably be July.

[rusty76]

It is actually 20th if anybody else is interested. I understand how it goes. I really hope one of these fine days I'll be driving my ole pickup to the show and not just working. Lol. I think if you keep at it you'll do good.

[hewittca]

And the results are in: The timing set WAS changed, but the pan was never pulled. After pulling everything apart I discovered a scored damper and mangled bottom edge of the timing cover that were both contributing to my oil leak, a very loose timing chain, and a "custom" grooved cam gear! Overall I'm glad I decided to inspect this stuff because it all needed attention.







Fortunately, I finally reached the end of the parts destruction and started reassembly. Ultimately, I had to replace the rear main seal, oil pump (Melling M55), pan gasket, timing set (Cloyes 3001K), and rework the timing cover, but the bottom end should be sealed up nicely now.





I also noticed that my truck has entered the stage of the project where it begins to be absorbed by it's surroundings and become a place for additional storage in the garage. At least it's still getting used as a truck I suppose...





And lastly, some fitment motivation. While the truck's up on stands, I somewhat mocked up where the rear will be once I finally add in the drop blocks. Even with only 4" backspace on the 9" wide rears, I still think they are tucked a little too deep. I'd really love to throw the wider rear end in there with the 6 lugs from '69, but for the meantime I am going to put in some longer studs (Moser 7/16-20 x 2 7/8") and 1/2" spacers. I ran spacers for years on my Malibu, and with the Moser studs I think I'll be alright. I don't beat on this truck anywhere near what I did to my Malibu.



Next up is getting the transmission reassembled and installed. I hope to have that done within the next month. Then maybe I can actually get back to painting the bed.

[SCOTI]

Originally Posted by hewittca

....I also noticed that my truck has entered the stage of the project where it begins to be absorbed by it's surroundings and become a place for additional storage in the garage. At least it's still getting used as a truck I suppose...





And lastly, some fitment motivation. While the truck's up on stands, I somewhat mocked up where the rear will be once I finally add in the drop blocks. Even with only 4" backspace on the 9" wide rears, I still think they are tucked a little too deep. I'd really love to throw the wider rear end in there with the 6 lugs from '69, but for the meantime I am going to put in some longer studs (Moser 7/16-20 x 2 7/8") and 1/2" spacers. I ran spacers for years on my Malibu, and with the Moser studs I think I'll be alright. I don't beat on this truck anywhere near what I did to my Malibu.



Next up is getting the transmission reassembled and installed. I hope to have that done within the next month. Then maybe I can actually get back to painting the bed.

Nice investigative work on the motor. Prob extended it's life significantly because eventually there would have been a brief starvation issue that likely would have taken out a bearing or two.

As for the rear wheel being too far in, it looks good from the pic posted (and I am picky about it). It could be the angle but again, looks right to me. On the 'wider' 69/later 6-lug housing... Seemed the change to the wider housing happened sometime in 70. That's where there were 2 different length 6-lug housings. Measure the distance between the backing plate & T/A perch on your current housing to ensure you're getting a longer one if you go shopping around.

[hewittca]

Originally Posted by SCOTI

As for the rear wheel being too far in, it looks good from the pic posted (and I am picky about it). It could be the angle but again, looks right to me. On the 'wider' 69/later 6-lug housing... Seemed the change to the wider housing happened sometime in 70. That's where there were 2 different length 6-lug housings. Measure the distance between the backing plate & T/A perch on your current housing to ensure you're getting a longer one if you go shopping around.

Great, thanks for the correct year to look for. I knew it was sometime during the 69/70 model years. You're right, from the photos I posted it really doesn't look off at all, but I like to have the rear wheels as tight as I can get them. I have about 1 1/8" on each side and I'd like to get it down to at most 1/2". Any more than that and at certain angles the rear wheels just don't look right to me.