Houston 64 GMC (Big Blue)

[creep]

That's a great idea!

[McMurphy]

That is good idea!
For getting them back on, I think it was Alan on the Vitamin C-10thread that showed using a 2x4 as a lever to get them on/off.
Those things can pack a whalup for sure!!

[Chad215]

nice, I wonder what the rest of the engine looks like.

[57truckguy]

Hey Chad I was going back over your build, Sunday and bored..LOL < , anyway I have a great tank and sending unit,, tank no rust and the unit was working when I took it out. Your in Texas so I most likely can't send the tank but the unit would be yours for a mostest price plus shipping.. PM me if your interested... Mine is out of a 57 but they are the same... the float on mine is missing, I probably have it around here some place.. I'll check out the unit and see if it is still working and let you know..

[Chad215]

Thanks 57, I appreciate it-

I've been learning a lot from this forum and getting more and more ideas, and the more I think about it, the more it seems that I'll be going a little further than I originally planned.

Famous last words, right.


I'm going to go ahead and mount a tank under the bed, simply to gain some room in the cab. I'm 6'-2" and going to want all the room I can get in there. Still haven't decided how I'm going to fill the tank. I don't know if I like the idea of putting it through the bed.


To anyone else wondering whats going on- I've decided to get rid of the 305 that is currently in there. I don't have a hoist, and don't really have the room to keep one. Renting one will cost me 75$, and I'm just not ok with that since I can buy a used one for $100. But- I don't have the room in my garage to keep it, even overnight.

I'm hoping someone will come take this off of my hands for me, and bring a hoist to pull it. I'm trying to trade the block and heads for some jackstands and thier time to pull it. The motor is ready to come out, just waiting to find someone that needs a core. I think I'm giving someone a great deal, just haven't found anyone yet.

[57truckguy]

Yes I had to do the same thing. 6 4". I keep thinking i will make a custom bench seat to getvabout 4. More inches of much needed leg room lol.
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[Chad215]

not much done this weekend, had to build some cabinets drawers for my MIL.

But while I had my tools out, I decided to take care of a problem I had been having.

The hoods for these trucks are heavy and akward to move around. I don't have much room, and eveywhere I put the hood ended up being a place i needed to get to a few minutes later. I figured I needed to make a way to move that hood around by myself. So I just made a basic crate and put casters on it.

Introducing the "hood crate roll around thingy". My wife was proud that she helped me move into the crate.

[McMurphy]

I knew I would have storage issues as well, so a $200 ATV tent went up alongside the house. It is perfect for the bicycles, the ATV, and all the big body parts I set aside until it is their day to be messed with and then put back on the rig.

Perhaps that is an idea for you as well?

[Chad215]

I've got a tin shed in the back, that has a lot of my stuff in it. I just have a lot of stuff. Too much. I wish I had more room, but I'm learning to deal with things the way they are. You can see from the pics that I have just enough room for the front of the frame to clear the door. I can deal with the limited room to the sides. If it was a matter of moving stuff to have more room in the front or back, I would do it in a sec. I've just got a small garage. Thanks for the suggestion, if it comes to it, I'm sure I'll go that route.

Not a whole lot done this weekend compared to some of you guys, but it sure seemed like a lot for me. Found a guy to buy the 305 from me, so he came over Sunday morning. By 9AM we had the motor and transmission pulled, and he was on his way.


I had decided awhile back that I was going to rebuild and paint the suspension, so I decided to go ahead and get to it. Got to love these perches...I don't know what the PO was thinking. Surely it would have been easier to get the right ones than to try to do all this welding and fitting. I mean, dang...the holes are already there. So..I got to spend some time with the cutoff wheel.


Got it all out. Me and pitman arms are not friends anymore. Got a puller and watched it start bending. I was afraid it was going to break, whacked it pretty hard with a BFH and nothing. Nothing at all. I swear I heard it laughing at me.
I started getting frustrated so I crossed my fingers, gave it a huge swing, and that sucker just popped off.
One of my wife's friends came outside right at that moment and asked what I was doing. I replied that I was making a pitman arm my bi*ch.
She didn't seem as impressed as I hoped.





It was about 3PM, around 40*, and I hadn't been inside since 7AM. I was debating stopping for lunch, when it started hailing out of nowhere. Kinda odd for Houston. I took it as a sign to go in, so I packed it all back in the garage and called it a day.

The hood crate roll around thingy has a cameo in a couple of these shots.

[thebacon]

The hood does always seem to be in the way. Mines currently leaning against a rock under a pine tree. First dent in the hood is from a pinecone. >.<

It's always easy to add more to do.


So without an engine where are you headed? Suspension/frame? Or bodywork?
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[Chad215]

Thanks for checking in-
I've been saving my pennies getting ready to make an order to replace all wear pieces on the front cross member. Ball joints, control arm shafts, tie rods, brake lines, bumpers, shocks, etc...About to buy a welder to start practicing soon. I'm planning on welding and smoothing the hundred or so holes in the firewall.

Going to put in that order in about 2 weeks. Also planning on painting everything on the cross member while I have it disassembled.

Here in Houston we're in the middle of the 6 weeks we call Spring around here before the weather goes to "hot as h*ll" for the next 6 months. Trying to do garden and landscape work while I can stand to be outside. We get a small window of tolerable weather around here so I'm trying to do everything I can right now.

[Chad215]

so like I said before- it's honey-do season around here so not a lot getting done on the truck.
I did go buy a welder the other day and figured I try to teach myself how to weld. I'd been planning on plugging all these holes in the firewall so I got right to it.
The firewall with hole


prepped



and finished-
I could stand to have a little more practice time, but all in all, I don't think it was too bad for my first time. I shot some primer on there real quick and then noticed a lot of unevenness that I didn't notice before, so I got the primer off and added a little more metal and re-ground down every thing. I figure with a little bit of filler, everything should look fine.

[Chad215]

I'm glad I did that today- I've been very anxious about welding. I feel a lot better about it now, and not so intimidated to try to fix some of these rust spots I've been seeing.
Seeing the results of some of you guys' work has been very impressive, and I'm very thankful for those that have spent a little extra time explaining what they have done.

[mikie 1954]

I have a 64 3/4 ton that I put a brake booster out of a 84 chevy that I have. When I went to install it I found I had the wrong fittings to split the lines so I put the stock MC on it and it worked just fine for a month or so untill I got around to putting the double MC on.My stock MC looked like the one on your truck so it should work, but it might be tite with your AC on that side.

[Chad215]

great, thanks for the input! I'm sure I'll just upgrade it all, but that is really good info. I really didn't plan on going as deep as it appears I will be now when I first started this.

Thanks for checking in!

[Captainfab]

That firewall patch on the heater opening looks real good. Can't tell you are a beginner. What welder do you have?

[Chad215]

Thanks! I've seen your work so that compliment means a lot!


You guys are going to laugh and tell me I'm wrong, but I went and bought one of those 110 flux core machines from harbor freight. I found a coupon in a truck magazine so with that and some other deals they were running, I got it for $79.

I got the machine, gloves, auto darkening helmet, extra tips, and some other small stuff for around $170. It helps that I have one of their store about 10 miles from my house.

The machine seems to work ok on the sheet metal and some other thin stuff. I wouldn't try it on anything more than 3/16. I promise that If I have to do an structural welding, I'm going to call my buddy to come with his bigger machine. But for sheet metal, it seems to do the trick.

[Chad215]

I just re-read my first post where I said I'll give myself 6 months. That was 6 months ago.


I really had no idea what I was getting into.

[ctandc]

There’s an old saying for when you start a car / truck project.

Add up all the costs associated with it. Then double it.

Figure out how long you think it should take you to finish it. Triple that.

Now when you get done under budget and on time, you feel good about yourself.

[Chad215]

not a whole lot to update-

The wife got called in to work on Good Friday. Went into work and was laid off.
I had been planning to put in a part order the following Saturday, but that had to be postponed.

I think there's still plenty of work to be done right now that won't require a parts order right away, so I'll keep plugging along with what I can.


I made my electrolysis vat this weekend. So far it looks like it is going to work well.

I've heard a few horror stories about trying to remove lower ball joints with the crossmember removed from the truck so I figured I better bolt mine back up before I tried to disassemble it. I figured it wouldn't be too hard since it came off pretty easy.
I was sooo wrong. I spent the better part of the afternoon on Sunday just trying to get that thing back on the frame. I couldn't get my truck high enough to rotate the crossmember under the frame, so I had to orientate the xmember, then try to roll it under the truck without it spinning.

I eventually took off the wheels, put it on a 4 wheel dolly, rolled it under, lower the truck (I have a small floor jack that wouldn't lift it high enough), jack up the xmember, bolt it in, then raise the truck back up.


It was a blood, sweat, and tears kind of Sunday at the garage at my house. Hope everyone else had a easier weekend than me.

[Chad215]

I know my updates aren't that exciting, I guess I'm using this forum like an online journal. Hopefully one day I'll look back and read this and think - "oh- I remember that day".

[McMurphy]

Originally Posted by Chad215

I know my updates aren't that exciting, I guess I'm using this forum like an online journal. Hopefully one day I'll look back and read this and think - "oh- I remember that day".

ME TOO

Hahaha rock on man!
Your firewall work does look good, much better than most of my welding !

[Chad215]

Thanks, McMurphy! I watch your thread all the time, wondering what the hell you're going to do next!

I patched that hole, but I don't like the look of that raised area now. It just looks strange. I'm going to go ahead and cut out all around that next and get rid of that whole raised area where the heater was.

[Chad215]

ok- So I'm a huge fan of electrolysis now. It is really unbelievable how well this works. It took off rust and loosened old paint to the point were all I had to do was hit it with a wire wheel for a minute or 2 and then hose it down.
I played around with my front drums and they came out looking brand new. I highly recommend this to anyone trying to clean up rusty parts. I'lll try to take pics of the next one I do.

[1963c-10]

The project is coming along great. Keep up the hard work, it'll pay off.