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

[Palf70Step]

Got the road map set yet?

[Grizz1963]

Originally Posted by Palf70Step

Got the road map set yet?

Not yet Bill.

Need the time to be approved by my boss, they prefer us not to take more than 2 weeks at a time.

But then I need to figure a new route for 2022.










Friday.

Message from @craigrk in India.

Seems the new [font size="4"]RR[/font] LED lights have arrived, not,sure,what the final delivered price was.

Also got some nice new number-plates ordered and delivered in 48 hrs.

Time to start tidying up the interior some more.

Carpets to be cut and glued some time today as I am working from home.








Happy Friday indeed.

[Grizz1963]

Being out in the garden before 06.00 this time of year, does have it’s perks.

Same can be said for insomnia and being done with early morning admin before 06.30 as was the case yesterday.

First training meeting of the day was -9.15 on Teams.

So I thought getting these to front floor sections wrapped up, made sense.

Sections cut from the roll of carpet I bought.

Contact adhesive both sides, laid down, trimmed, stretched, glued on the rear and two parallel sets of 10mm staples run in.

Perfect. I hope.



Other side.



Done.



Happy with that.

A small carpet will protect the heel area on drivers side.

[Grizz1963]

So……

One of those awkward jobs done after work.

Well, the prototype really.

As I only have enough vinyl for one go at making the black gearstick gaiter.

First job was to remove the rubber from the original MX5 rubber unit.

It will be used to hold down the final gaiter…… far from a professional job, but anyone is welcome to pop over and make me one or mail me a complete replacement piece.



Measured and filed away the excess.

For those who forgot….. the extension of the gear stick makes the sweep more exaggerated so the hole has to be bigger.





I fetched the roll of “Rusty patina” vinyl originally bought when I wanted to buy @pedalcarjoe ‘s wagon, from the garage,

Initial plan was to make 4 piece pyramid.

Then lodger John arrived with 6 mini Pork pies, and a tub of Chicken Kiev Scotch eggs, a Sprite for me as I never use alcohol if power tools may be used and a Desperado beer for him.

“Why not cut a huge circle, pierce the centre and drape it like a skirt, pin it top and bottom…. Job done”

BUGGGERR…..Of course he is right, or is he.

Both options.



Draped.



Captured.



So……..

Will it work??



Later today I will cut the black to size.

Then the transmission tunnel carpet has to be measured, cut and glued down.

Followed by refitting the floors, seats, maybe even the last time.

But first, I need to get some new work shoes and apply for a new passport.

[Grizz1963]

[quote author="@cynicaldave" source="/post/2733956/thread" timestamp="1653769635"]Don't stop posting 😮

I know I don't comment much, but I'm thoroughly enjoying following along....
It's the first thread I turn to...
Can't wait to see it on the road😁[/quote]


I think some days I just feel that I am not sure if I am wasting my time as it takes more than a few minutes to create this content.

And I do see this as a record for my own reference.

This is not a pity party or anything like that, but it amazes me at times when clearly (I wrote and post on another 8 forums) people only read the photos, and then ask some pretty stoopid questions.

And if you point it out, they either leave or make some limp wristed comment .




So, to answer your request.

Today I did two jobs, along with buying a new pair of work shoes and a £39.00 pair of very neat flip flops, not garage level either….

Some gardening, taking aound 50 photos of myself to try get a passport application in. And it kept failing me, as it saw my eyes being shot (not) and then my face and the magnolia wall being indistinguishable……

Eventually made it to the garage around 3.00pm.



But I also made up a plate for the removable show plate to fit on the front















There was more done.

Pics uploading as I type this up.

[Grizz1963]

Part 2 of yesterday’s short day.

Changed all the nuts for Nyloc’s

Cut and fitted some high density foam to cover the protruding bolts etc.

Carpeting will be next when I get some more in.



Both sides done, floor down.



Then measure and cut the two parts of the transmission tunnel from the remaining carpet.





Resulting in these weird shapes.



And draped in position.



These will be glued in place once the gearshift is locked in place, @nickwheeler has a plan for that.

Then the gaiter bolted in place and holes for the stick and parking brake cut in the carpet, plus fitting.

Seats back in and bolted down.

Bootfair totally sucked, cold outside today, and possibly rain this afternoon.

[Grizz1963]

@nickwheeler came over for a while today.

We both kinda lost our mojo and not a lot got done.

But stuff got done.

Richard his buddy popped over……..

In a red 4 door Metro they built a couple of years ago.

Cool, standard looking transplant.



And



Rear view.

Any ideas on what it is packing yet?




And looking around it, serious load carrying capacity.

I love Slotmags.



165/55 - 14 inch steels.



Looks like a pretty standard car.



It certainly is not, and I love it.

More in a bit.

[Grizz1963]

[quote author="@nickwheeler" source="/post/2734061/thread" timestamp="1653852234"][quote source="/post/2734059/thread" author="@skodacious" timestamp="1653851102"]That Metro looks like a proper little sleeper. Would there be a turbo hiding in there somewhere?
[/quote]It's a VVC, with a mildly ported head and the later engine management. Which should be nearly 160hp. Stock K-series turbos want to fit where the radiator is in a Metro[/quote]

[Grizz1963]

I need prayers too………..

Did the DIY renewal of my passport after about 50 photos and 9 submissions failed the test.

I eventually submitted a 50% liable for success photo.



Lets hope HM Customs etc, approve of the pic I submitted.

[Grizz1963]

From the Metro owner.

The Metro has been my daily for almost two years and Nick had a big hand in putting it together, the plan was to make it look as much like a factory built car as possible and 99% of it is MG Rover parts bin, mostly MGF bits for the mechanical upgrades then a rare leather interior, electric windows etc from higher spec Metros. I absolutely love it but will sadly have to move it on soon to pay for my TR7. Glad you liked it Rian, really good to see the progress on the Rocket since I saw it a few weeks ago. They effort on the little details now will make such a difference later

[Grizz1963]

So, is there a road trip in the future?

Let’s see if this gets replaced with a new one.



Sometimes, as @merlind100 Richard and @nickwheeler said to me yesterday, sometimes we are so close to the work we are doing, that we cannot see the progress ourselves.

Yesterday, even fitting the removable license plate mount to the front bumper became an issue, with me walking away in a huff because I could not get the second R-Clip inserted fully, so I went to make coffee and grab a pack of Pork Pies. Nick pushed it through later when the car was up on the jack and axle stands to fit the 3rd newly made brake line.

So plate in position.



While I played with the inner carpets etc, Nick made up a pair of braided stainless steel hoses.

One for the rear end that had failed, and another to replace the new rubber front hose I bought earlier on.

Now the whole lot are uniform.

After much pumping and checking, all four corners are bled and feel good. Plus they seem to work in static testing.

One litre of Dot 4 has made its way into the system, soon to be drained and replaced with fresh new DOT 4

Handbrake will get set too.

Nick,took a better photo of all the hoses together, but this will have to do, my eager, out of sync pic.



Back to the interior, trimming and making fiddly bits…..

Nick made a couple of Slim hexagonal nuts with a 10x1.25 thread, to use to make a locking nut for the gearstick, in order to lock it in place. Locktite later.



Also delivered by the Man from DelMonte was a vacuum fitting for the brake booster.

Nice job there too.



While Richard was here I carried on shaping and planning the carpet over the tunnel.

Cutting out the handbrake lever gaiter nd holding plate sized hole to allow lart one of the fit.



Next up, a folded back collar on the rear edge, glued in place, and the gearshift hole to be cut in.




Then it was back to a redesign and rethink on holding the carpet and gaiter in place around the gearshift.


YOU SEE………

THIS IS WHY THIS IS TAKING SO LONG.

CAR BUILDERS TANGO….. TWO STEPS FORWARD, THREE…….


More CAD and woodwork.




Bevelled back somewhat




Remove part of Donor from tunnel. And yes, it is needed.



Fits, bolt heads recessed.

Needs black paint. (Where is Nick 😂 )



Early finish.

Monday morning and back to work.

[Braunschweiger]

But... yes, you do that and pick it up. The pipe connection looks good.

[Grizz1963]

Originally Posted by Braunschweiger

But... yes, you do that and pick it up. The pipe connection looks good.

Pipe connection………?



@nickwheeler knocked on the door

But

But

But

But…….. it is only Tuesday evening.

Sally was having dinner, I had already eaten, so we decamped to the kitchen.

Nick is amazing in the way he can contain his obvious excitement and pride.

Pride - rightfully so.

Excitement at completing this bit of reconstructive surgery on the MX5 cooling system pipework that he knocked out in no time.

I was super chuffed and impressed, thankful, pleased, all of the above.

Mr Smug-Mug



Love the detail he turned in here.





Final fine tuning to be done when fitting back on the car.



And of course the whole problem solver.



Thanks a million Nick.

The highlight of the week became even Highlightererer.

[Braunschweiger]

Sorry for the wrong term, does "hose connector" describe it better? But whatever, good progress.

[Grizz1963]

Originally Posted by Braunschweiger

But... yes, you do that and pick it up. The pipe connection looks good.

Originally Posted by Braunschweiger

Sorry for the wrong term, does "hose connector" describe it better? But whatever, good progress.

Harald,
Rohrverbinder Schlauchverbinder, alle sind gut genug. Ich vermute, die meisten von uns hier sprechen viel weniger Deutsch als ihr sehr gutes Englisch. Ich denke auch, dass es bei medizinischen oder technischen Beschreibungen zu einer komplexeren Situation wird, richtig zu übersetzen.
Vielen Dank für Ihre anhaltende Unterstützung und Ihr Interesse.

[realvc]

What he said, yeah that's it.

[Grizz1963]

Originally Posted by realvc

What he said, yeah that's it.

Thanks Vince.






So at last.

Carpet time.

Transferring the shapes to the carpet…… know how to do it?

Use blackboard chalk, draw the edges, and push the carpet down on it.

Cut out.

Job done.



Prepped the hold down as well, as I do not have any more vinyl left over, and am not buying a massive piece just to get a small 12x12 inch pice to cut out.





Next up………..

Glue time.

Contact glue is an absolute barsteward.

But the first tunnel section was down, after getting the safety harness bolts ready, cutting the holes in the carpet.



Fine threaded bolts with thin heads.



Using the Hooker Harness on the drivers side and the Simpson on the passenger side meant different fixings.

Fortunately it all works.



Passenger side.



One small job to do was to seal all the original MX5 gearshift plate to the transmission tunnel.



Next up was the big butterfly piece.

Thankfully David was out for a smoke, so I pulled him into the job as it needed four hands.

The contact adhesive is strong, and goes off really fast.




Pleased with the outcome so far.

Then Sally came and I came indoors to cook dinner.

Mote in a bit for those awake, interested, bothered to check in.


Back in a bit.

[Grizz1963]

‘Schmidt used to run a 400cc super scooter engine, “too scary” so downgraded to 250cc



Next door neighbour has some interesting, weird, rare, unusual stuff.

RO/80 is fitted with a V4 Ford engine.





Two owner 1937 Ford Flathead V8

Was replaced with the Jag that had the bonnet above.

[Grizz1963]

After dinner I cable tied and stapled the gaiter to the stick and also the anchor surround.



From the top.



Carpets and floor sections in.

Not yet got carpet for the firewall, so just gave it some satin black.



Dash added in just to get an idea of how it looks.



Closer up look.



And close up of the completed gearshift gaiter.

Some more detail work to be done.




I have to say, I am pretty pleased with the outcome so far.

Later.

[Grizz1963]

Well.


Alllll the way from Mumbai (Bombay if you are older) via Shropshire…….


New headlights.






I really do hope they look as good in reality as it did in concept.


We will see, later.

[Grizz1963]

After work I thought I would go mock up the roll bar in order to calculate the rear braces.

Then realised that the seats need to be in to get the spacing and angles right, and that would result in the braces and top support being in tje right position.

Bloody hell, it took forever to get all the bolts n nuts fitted and fixed down.

I also added the second lap strap on the drivers side to the seat, bolting it to the original seatbelt mount.





Once the seats were in, and tested, and passed on QC, the next was to add in the CAD piece behind the eat.

Followed by the rear brace which mounts at the same level as the shoulder harness mounting brace.

I wanted them to be as unobtrusive as possible. Success.

It then mounts int the chassis through the rear chassis mounting plates.



If I manage to get the pipe bends right, this could work OK.

Next will be making up a CAD profiles for the braces.

Fingers crossed of course.

[Grizz1963]

Sunday morning a few yard jobs etc.

No bootfair as I was awake from 3.15 to 5.00 and then snoozed to 07.00

Then onto a bit more tidying up on the welds, which had actually gone really well, with deep penetration.

Hammerite



Mickey was around for an hour or so too.





Before lunchtime, an unusual treat for me, I rarely drink beer. But the heat and feeling good about the finished rollbar necessitated it.



Second coat later in the afternoon when Nick was here.



In the afternoon, Nick came, we chatted a while, opened another beer(s) and pressure tested the cooling system, a clamp tightened up more saw it all show as dry.

Nice testing kit.



Pressure.



One of the small eyesore jobs to do was clean and rattle can the radiator in a dusting of satin black.

So once more dismantling the front end, well, it became twice.



Blacker.



While at it, I also made and folded a blanking plate for the top of the radiator to drive all the air over it, and also close up the view into the engine bay.



In the mean time Nick and John were trying to figure out the wiring and lights……

Reported above, and looking for a left hand light unit.



With the lighting failure, Nick then added some Riv-Nuts to the back of the bumper to retain the lower lip of the front grille.






After final assembly, the black blanking plate and grille do look a lot tidier too.



So a weekend with a fair amount of stuff getting done.

Thanks for checking in.

[Grizz1963]

[quote author="@westbay" source="/post/2736092/thread" timestamp="1655105341"][a href="https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/125337339091?hash=item1d2eb004d3:g:ScAAAOSwBDJikUp7"]link[/a][/quote]


THANKS A MIL TONY.



BOUGHT.



DELIVERY BY FRIDAY, HOPEFULLY.

[Grizz1963]

Saw this on Bookface this morning, a builder I have followed a while.

The sort of thing I would love the Rezin Rockit to be.

He raffles 450 tickets at P2500.00 or 2500 Philippines Peso’s or £39.00

Last one was won by a guy in the UAE.

Shipping and collection etc would be your problem.


As mentioned by @redratbike in an earlier conversation today, it may not be an ideal daily.


But man, I would love to have one.



























Hope you enjoyed.


Feel free to add your Jeep fantasies.

[Grizz1963]

Look around.

Some nice stuff out there.

Over at Craigs for the Queens Jubilee weekend.












Last night Craig brought me some items I had asked him to collect for me………



Today Craigs wife, Lorraine asked me to make her a rustic garden bench using one of the new sleepers they have stashed out back.

So of course I could not just screw some bits together.

Went for a rummage in Craigs woodpile.

Found so e very green, moss covered wood.

Pressure cleaner to the rescue.





Measured and cut the sleeper.



While I was in an artistic mood, I called Elli, and asked her to draw me a cat……….



Got going with the router.

Result



Going further with the router, I managed to spell PEACE correctly.



Test fit.



Then made a backrest.



And job done.



Lorraine was very pleased. Even cooked me dinner.

I also cut a Hawthorn hedge which is a nightmare.

Couple of beers next.