Glad to be here!

[CSmittyMetalworks]

The name is Charles and to date I have owned my fair share of Chevy's. I have come to your forum several times in the past to draw on the vast amounts of knowledge here, but was always in too much of a hurry to actually sign up. I learned to drive behind the wheel of a '67 C10 and they have always had a place in my heart.

A few months back I purchased what the owned dubbed a "1970 GMC Rat Rod." I know now that was code for "We slapped a bunch of worn out parts on a decent cab and frame, but we really had no clue what we were doing." For months I had been scanning Craigslist for a decent work truck and always came back to the 60's-70's Chevy. And according to the VIN she's a 1969 C15 305 V6. An engine I have never worked on. Right now she has a SB. Not sure of the displacement yet, but it's strong.

When I went by to check it out, I had already determined as long as there wasn't too much rust, I would overlook some stuff. Well, I overlooked a little too much. I remember telling my wife that I didn't care how bad it was, there wasn't anything that I couldn't handle. So I guess I did ask for it.

There are so many no-no's that were done to this truck, I was being to think I was on a reality TV show. In order to make a mis-matched rag joint to a larger gear box input shaft, the guy took a grinder to the splines ON THE INPUT SHAFT! (It did make for a great excuse to go ahead with a power steering conversion.)

I've had to swap the headlight baskets around since they reversed them. (Kept wondering why everyone flashed me that one night....) I've ordered body bushings to replace the chunks of plywood that currently reside between the frame and the cab. I've completely rewired the engine bay since that harness was completely missing. They just spaded terminals into the back of the fuse block and capped it off with a plastic household receptacle box and some sheetrock screws.

Did I mention the axle didn't have a drop of dope in it? Yeah fun time. So that's my current truck situation. Whether to rebuild a pre 8.5" 10 bolt or just find a post 70 8.5 or even a twelve bolt. I hope to get an overdrive tranny in their soon, so I don't want to loose too much at cruising speed.

I've worked as a tech since 1993, but have been turning wrenches for much longer. Growing up on a farm, you kinda have to learn to fix stuff. In 2002, I got my certifications for Harley Davidson. The idea was to reduce the overhead of starting a shop. As it grew, we could get the lifts and other high end pieces needed to work on cars. After all these years, that plan is finally become a vague reality. Still have a long way to go and still no shop of my own, but it's close.

So here are some pics of the Ol' girl. With the exception of the rear axle issue, she is just about to daily driver status. I drive her to the store every other day or so now, but I think the heat from running dry caused one of the axle seals to take a dump. Waiting on the rain to clear this week so I can see what the real damage is.

[CSmittyMetalworks]

Well, turns out it is an 8.5 after all. Even better, it has the bolt in axles. Now if I can only manage to make heads or tails of the rebuild kit numbers for all the case bearings. Rock Auto says these two kits will fit, but when I cross them with eBay Motors or other parts stores, I get not compatible. I'm on a shoestring budget and need to get this thing going. Persona;;y, I think this axle is worth rebuilding, but defer to the experts here for opinions and suggestions. I can't afford to have it built, buy spicer parts or any of the things someone with change to spare can do.