I have decided to do a dual update, running over two days this weekend.
Started by going over to mate Martins place at 07.00 on Saturday with another mate, Ian in tow to help him with the final stripdown of his chassis and then to get it into the garage and then to move other bits about, including the cab into the carport so that he can start the welding marathon he has ahead of him.
I will let the pics do most of the taking.......
Needless to say, there is a lot of rust and we managed to strip off a few bolt heads. Fortunately Martin has purchased many new parts for his build.
This is the lever bar we used on quite a lot of the bolts n nuts.
Because I was there to take photos of the progress, I ended up working for a change.
it was not a sunny day......
Pooping my pants or farting ?
Unfortunately we did not have any smaller tools.
U Bolts cut as there are new parts in store.
Getting the rear spring off nearly gave Martin a hernia.
Between fetching cups of tea and biccies, we did allow Ian to pack the tools away.
DONE !!!!!
Next up we moved the cab in under the carport and then all pilled into cars and went back to my place.
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So back at my place I pulled the truck out and got all the bits ready.
But not before I had pre-cooked 20 Peri Peri chicken wings and got some sausage ready for Ian to do us a BBQ later.
He was also on kettle duties.....
Just starting to take the front wheel off.
Old vs New shocks. New shocks were ordered at -2"
Martin and I getting our heads together.
And then it got spicy...... Martin was all over me like a cheap suit.
There was a lot of huffing and puffing to get old nuts and bolts loosened.
Thank goodness these trucks are built in Man Size.
In the mean time Ian kept us tanked up with tea and coffee as well as passing, collecting spanners and taking some photos.
At some point, after much bashing, we got the spring removed.
It seems the original spring was cut down by 2 inches and refitted, and over time it, along with the shock absorber had become very saggy.
Once done with the drivers side we reassembled and put it back on the floor.........
Using my special measuring stick expectantly, to see where the 2 inch lower than standard shocks n spring had taken us, I was shattered to find the front stood 2.5" higher than before. AAAAARRRRGGGHH !!!
At this point it was getting to be dark, and Ian had cooked us all the spicy wings, which we ate directly off the fire/grid along with the sausage in hotdog rolls so we pushed the truck back into the garage till this morning, when Martin was back at my place by 07.45 (It is truly great to work with someone who gets up at a sensible time) My appologies to Martin's Amanda and my Nicola for having tosit around while we got down and dirty.
After Martin left I posted up threads on the Chevy C10 board and Garage Journal and Rods n Sods looking for advice. Much was offered.
So when we pulled the truck out this morning and jacked it up, I crawled underneath to inspect yesterdays fittings.
YUP..... The spring had not been located so after some grunting and adjusting, we dropped it down again and found the new height was 10mm taller than the old parts. PERFECT !!!
On to the passenger side, which took a lot less time to do.
By 11.00 Martin had left to go shopping, and I shut shop to get out and spend some time with Nicola who was waiting patiently for us to finish.
Next job will be getting the rear suspension sorted, possibly also replacing the lowering blocks.
A couple of other observations on this job included non matching nuts and bolts keeping the suspension together, some very worn fittings and also front brake lines that need replacing sooner than later.
Shock absorber top mount bolt.
And lastly, the parts that came out.
Original springs cut down by a coil, giving 2" lowering.
That's all folks.