Grizz's Redneck Express 1966 Chevy Short Fleetside RESTO-GO!

[WhippinSaw]

Nice work on the tow bar, looks like its well engineered, When I welded my bumper up I had to take the welder of the gas and use the thickest flux core wire the machine could handle, by the time I was finished with it I was much better at laying down a bead, good place to practice on, most of the funky welds you can take a grinder to them and smooth them out. my fleet to step bumper conversion is here in murphy98's page http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...=616543&page=2

[disasterbus]

Originally Posted by Grizz1963

Like the cup holder idea - the cup holder in mine is a bit more 'old school' witn zero moving parts

Apparently the old boy who used to own my truck made it about 30 years ago and it's been in the truck ever since.

[Grizz1963]

Got home tonight and there was an envelope in the post......

Thank you Tim "Ruffgeezer" this is a very cool addition to my crazy collection.



And for those of you who like a bit of detail.......

This is the bike it came from.

[Grizz1963]

Last year, Nicola and I went out one day to just drive the truck about randomly, looking for decent places for her to photograph it.

One of the places we stopped was over on the road to Grain, with an industrial type backdrop, so she set her camera to pull out the red in the shot, and turn everything else to black and white, this also worked really well with the yellow of the rape seed/canola oil flower fields.

So I decided to have a canvas printed for my study using one of the high resolution images.

Today I collected it on the way home and tonight I put it up in the study...... it surprised me by its sheer size, sorry but I could not really get a decent photo of my office.




Last week I really battled with my welder and eventually after replacing some of the nozzle parts, Martin suggested I change the tips to 0.8mm to run the 0.6mm wire I weld with.

I did this tonight, and with power set high and wire feed sufficient, I am pleased to say that the towbar side mounting plates are now securely glued on.



In position.



Next up I removed the actual tow section from the cross bar.

The outer size of the towing section should just fit inside the piece of cross bar I planned to harvest from the Cherokee towbar.



YUPPP !!



Once liberated, and ground back on the bench grinder, I went to the woodwork shed and ran them both on my linisher, the belt will need replacing for woodwork, but did the job I asked it to do.



Not completely fitting in all the way, but as good as I believe I will be needing, I now need to wait till the spares I ordered in last year, including the 67-72 rear bumper gets here, then Martin and I will fetch them from Ron our importer and I can make the bumper brackets up, the fit the bumper up, followed by measuring, cutting the tow hitch, an lastly, welding it partly to the truck and bolting it to the cross bar, so that the towbar will still be removable from the rear.

This is where I stopped tonight.

[Grizz1963]

As I drove up to my house tonight, there was a large Parcel Force van parked across my driveway.

I saw the guy walk in as I stopped over the road, so met him at the front door, it was the second time he had been here today, thankfully he had thought of trying to see if anyone had come in since he had been here earlier to deliver another parcel from Searcy, Arkansas.

My door repair panels, cut out of Ta2Don's trucks original drivers door. And a retired Tattoo gun from his collection I had wanted to buy from him, but that he refused money for.

Not a very big or heavy parcel by any means, but thought I would add a photo of the costs associated with postage/shipping.



The tattoo gun was to be included in a birthday present I wanted to male up for Nicola, who has her birthday tomorrow on the 5th Feb.

I had the artwork from one of her tattoos that we both really like, mounted it inside a box frame, then mounted the gun, for which I had made its own needle/lance out of some 0.6mm welding wire, onto the backing board next to the pic.

It may seem a weird gift, but I know just how mad my wife is...... so hopefully it will be good.

Remember the Celtic Cross I carved for her birthday last year ??



By 7pm Ian, our old lodger was around to do some computer stuff and printing, as he does not have a printer.

Then mate Martin popped in while Ian was here and all work stopped for an hour or more.

After which Martin and I went down to the garage to look at the spacing etc of the removable tow hitch I am building.

Not having the rear bumper yet, we had to guess the spacing and positioning of the sleeve, and I then cut off the last piece of the old towbar mount from under the trucks chassis and mocked up everything.

The sleeve and the slider insert can be cut to length when the bumper is fitted so that it is as far out of sight as possible.

I would love to know if anyone has a removable towbar fitted to a 60-66 C10 and what their measurements are.

Here is the mock up, if you look straight down the rear of the bed, it is 260mm



You will see the cross bar/bearer has been moved up and inward as well, as it was sitting too low and far out for when the bumper is fitted.



From the top of the bed, to the top of the sleeve is 170mm

I would again love to know what measurements anyone who has one fitted, has on their truck.



Another measurement, this time to the bottom of the sleeve, above my cross brace, at 230mm, if anyone van inform me what they have, this would be hugely helpful.



I also plan on making up a removable number plate carrier that should sit roughly like in this pic.




Lastly, sleeve without the insert, resting above the cross bar.



Any advice and info, measurements etc, greatly appreciated.

Thanks for looking in.

[Ta2Don]

Free sure offsets the cost of getting bits from this side of the pond!

Cheers Mate!!!

[Palf70Step]

Originally Posted by Ta2Don

Free sure offsets the cost of getting bits from this side of the pond!

Cheers Mate!!!

[Grizz1963]

Originally Posted by Ta2Don

Free sure offsets the cost of getting bits from this side of the pond!

Cheers Mate!!!

Originally Posted by Palf70Step

THIS....^^^^^ is very true guys.

And having Nicola along for the ride, and approving my purchases from the side line (she will never stop me doing stuff, but I respect her for it, and our relationship comes way before the truck) is a blessing too.
So making sure I stretch my Dollars/Pounds a bit further just makes it a bit easier.

OF COURSE ALL OF THIS IS SUPPORTED BY VARIOUS OF YOU GUYS IN THE USA HELPING IN VARIOUS WAYS.


SO A MASSIVE THANK YOU TO ALL WHO ARE BUILDING MY TRUCK !!

Ta2Don needs a special mention as his address and credit card is often Martin's and my saving grace when certain companies like Top Banana will not post to the UK, so he buys on our behalf, has parts shipped to his place in Arkansas, and then either repacks, or directly reposts to us, after which we get to PayPal him the funds for our purchases. Of course added shipping costs and duties do not make it easier cost wise, but we can at least build our trucks.

I do the same for guys in Germany, and South Africa and the USA who build weird stuff with no support where they are. Like this BSA Bantam where the parcel was posted end August last year and got delivered yesterday....... http://www.wilddog.za.net/forum/inde...topic=155455.0
My home address is a delivery address for many guys in Europe for their EBay purchases.

It is what makes this world go around.

[ibrown50]

Hi Rian,

It looks like you're building one of these? This is the one that came off my C10, it "quite sturdy". Would be ideal for towing oil rigs and the like, you're welcome to it if it's any good to you, we'll just need to figure out how to move it south.

Cheers
Ian

[Grizz1963]

Originally Posted by ibrown50

Hi Rian,

It looks like you're building one of these? This is the one that came off my C10, it "quite sturdy". Would be ideal for towing oil rigs and the like, you're welcome to it if it's any good to you, we'll just need to figure out how to move it south.

Cheers
Ian

Hi Ian,

Thank you for the offer, but I need to create a way to mount the new chrome 67-72 rear bumper, as well as a removable tow ball.

[mjh1965]

Regarding your present its not a problem Don't forget we are in the states for mine Hint hint . Bringing the present over wasn't a problem but the outside temperature this morning was

[markeb01]

Happy birthday Rian!

[ibrown50]

Rian,
Happy birthday!

[Palf70Step]

Happy Birthday. January is such a great month for birthdays

[Paul Y]

Hell Fire! Another one in the infamous post Christmas Birthday gang! Trust you had a great day.

P.

[Grizz1963]

Thanks guys.

Great day out doing stuff and then at home with Nicola.

She took me out to,dinner, and then surprised me with two of our very good friends joining us for a Chinese dinner.

Back at the car which was parked about 20 meters from her work car park, yes really, we found a £60/$100 parking ticket...... So a bummer end to a great day, but hey....lists he first ever parking citation.

Tomorrow we will try to write a letter that gets her pardoned...... Doubtfully, but worth trying.

[Ta2Don]

Nice work mate... Practice… practice... practice...

[flashed]

I think your welds look pretty darn good ,you should see mine .I have had my welder for many years and just dont take time to practice .If I need something welded I get my nephew to do it as he is in my shop as much as I am.

[Grizz1963]

Originally Posted by 65sub

Grizz check out this build by mp&c http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=564201 he is an amazing talent. I picked up a lot of tips

THAT IS AN AWESOME THREAD, AND SOME INCREDIBLE SKILL IN METAL WORKING. THE MAN IS A MAATER.

Originally Posted by Ta2Don

Nice work mate... Practice… practice... practice...

Thanks Don, that's the idea.

Originally Posted by flashed

I think your welds look pretty darn good ,you should see mine .I have had my welder for many years and just dont take time to practice .If I need something welded I get my nephew to do it as he is in my shop as much as I am.

I have nobody to weld, but I do know that setting my current and wire feed, has already improved my welds.

Next up........ Learn to be patient and follow the advice in the thread quoted above.

[Grizz1963]

My truck has a huge, pulled dent in the passenger door, which has been repaired at least twice before.

The holes in there where it had been pulled before, and the grinding back of the metal on more than one occasion, has left it quite thin, so I had planned on cutting out and replacing the section with a piece of shaped metal.

During one of our Face Time chats ( don't you just love technology?) I mentioned this to Ta2Don over in Arkansas, and he came up with the brilliant idea of cutting the replacement section from his old door as he had bought two good doors for his truck.

While we were talking about it, I also mentioned the holes in my door where 6x9 speakers had been fitted before...........

Yesterday he was cutting up his old chassis which was bent beyond redemption with a plasma cutter, a job he seemed to enjoy tremendously, so while at it, he cut out the repair panels for my doors as well.


Door centre section cut out to replace creased, damaged section on mine.




Remember this ?






Speaker panel sections being cut out to cover 6x9 speaker holes that were hacked in before.



Spot welds drilled out.








All done and ready to be shipped out.

Thanks again Don, for making my life a whole lot easier.


Next up, Package, Post, Paypal.......

[Ta2Don]

Wooooo PIG!!!!

[mjh1965]

Well while doing a job at a Chrysler, Volvo , fiat and lotus dealer today I found this in there scrap metal pile . So I thought of Rian and grabbed it for him . Judging by the size I think it's more likely to have come off a Chrysler than a little fiat 500, but should be good for your truck Grizz

[Ta2Don]

Nice Score on the hitch...
Rian sent me a text with a pic of it and the lounge at the hotel where he's staying across the street from Windsor Castle… He emailed me some pics of the Castke and the changing of the guard… pretty cool! Cheers!!!

[Grizz1963]

Originally Posted by Ta2Don

Nice Score on the hitch...
Rian sent me a text with a pic of it and the lounge at the hotel where he's staying across the street from Windsor Castle… He emailed me some pics of the Castke and the changing of the guard… pretty cool! Cheers!!!

And the there was the video, shot by a colleague.

Changing on the Guard at Windsor Castle - YouTube

Tonight after work I was in the garage when the neighbours grandson popped over to deliver a parcel...... My bumper bolts, some welding clamps and green apple liquorice for Tom, Nicola's son.

Thanks again Don. You do

[mjh1965]

I am pleased the tow bar I risked life and limb for worked ok . As for your welder if you turn up the power you need to turn up the wire speed . That's why the tip is melting . Alternatively you can always increase the size of tip and the wire size for heavy duty welding