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

[Grizz1963]

Nicola went out shopping and visiting with an old friend all day today.

Tonight when she came home her face was PRICELESS when she saw the truck. (Well, what is left of it)

Martin popped around this morning to give me a hand to lift off the load bed and also roll the cab back so I could work on the underside.

Had to grab this pic....... I have a tipper truck.





Then we rolled the cab onto its back, thanks to the mattress Scot "Jabbo" had given me some time ago.

The bed was stashed out the way on top of my Biltong/Beef Jerky making cabinet.



Also decided that for once a selfie was appropriate.



While the cab was off I drilled the four mounting holes for the battery tray.



After mounting the battery and bracket I went into my local village Hoo St Werburgh and again remembered what the old days were like, having the local motor spares shop keep stuff in stock that you do not expect...... I went to buy a tin of seam sealer to use on the cab. I had ordered a tin from EBay but it will only be here on Tuesday evening. A few pounds more but convenient.

I think we need morre local spares shops like this.



As always Harley was on hand most of the day, she just loves to be around the garage.



With the cab on its back the jobs today included grinding back all the welds I had done, also the welds where the plate was welded over gearbox hump.
Then I scraped, chiseled, wire brushed the chassis, cab floor clean, followed by 6 liters of petrol to wash it all clean.
Eventually I was happy with it.



Once cleaned up I needed to dress back the terrible edges of the welded plate, I also had to repair and straighten out the lower sills as both side edges seem to have been dragged over a high kerbside.



Once all was done, I then tackled the rust converter on the chassis and all under the floor.

Hopefully it will dry overnight, then I can do the seam sealer and underseal on the floor tomorrow after working in Nicola's dads garden and Bootfairs most of the day.

The chassis will hopefully be painted by tomorrow evening as well. If this happens I will be a very happy man.

[iceman777]

Originally Posted by Grizz1963

Nicola went out shopping and visiting with an old friend all day today.

Tonight when she came home her face was PRICELESS when she saw the truck. (Well, what is left of it)

Martin popped around this morning to give me a hand to lift off the load bed and also roll the cab back so I could work on the underside.

Had to grab this pic....... I have a tipper truck.





Then we rolled the cab onto its back, thanks to the mattress Scot "Jabbo" had given me some time ago.

The bed was stashed out the way on top of my Biltong/Beef Jerky making cabinet.



Also decided that for once a selfie was appropriate.



While the cab was off I drilled the four mounting holes for the battery tray.



After mounting the battery and bracket I went into my local village Hoo St Werburgh and again remembered what the old days were like, having the local motor spares shop keep stuff in stock that you do not expect...... I went to buy a tin of seam sealer to use on the cab. I had ordered a tin from EBay but it will only be here on Tuesday evening. A few pounds more but convenient.

I think we need morre local spares shops like this.



As always Harley was on hand most of the day, she just loves to be around the garage.



With the cab on its back the jobs today included grinding back all the welds I had done, also the welds where the plate was welded over gearbox hump.
Then I scraped, chiseled, wire brushed the chassis, cab floor clean, followed by 6 liters of petrol to wash it all clean.
Eventually I was happy with it.



Once cleaned up I needed to dress back the terrible edges of the welded plate, I also had to repair and straighten out the lower sills as both side edges seem to have been dragged over a high kerbside.



Once all was done, I then tackled the rust converter on the chassis and all under the floor.

Hopefully it will dry overnight, then I can do the seam sealer and underseal on the floor tomorrow after working in Nicola's dads garden and Bootfairs most of the day.

The chassis will hopefully be painted by tomorrow evening as well. If this happens I will be a very happy man.

hi grizz can i ask why you have put the battery there

[Palf70Step]

Nice work. I feel very lazy just seeing what you did today. I though washing 6 months of dried in bug guts off of mine was an accomplishment

[65sub]

While sometimes, when you're grinding welds or discovering new rust holes, you might feel your progress is "frustratingly slow" from here it looks like you are getting things done at good pace. Slow and steady with attention to the details will soon get your truck on the road.

[disasterbus]

fantastic progress buddy, great to see

[Ta2Don]

Great work mate!

Hard to believe you missed a pic of Nicola's face when she spied the truck in pieces...

See ya soon!

[61K10]

RIAN---glad you are going the extra mile/klm. you will have a beautiful tk when done and it will be the way you want it. Harley seams to be supervising the progress well as i have one also (Blkcat) she's a great super also, as long as her bowl has food in it lol!

Great job---------

kimble

[mjh1965]

To make my rewiring job harder

[Grizz1963]

Originally Posted by Palf70Step

Nice work. I feel very lazy just seeing what you did today. I though washing 6 months of dried in bug guts off of mine was an accomplishment

Never feel lazy, there are big days and little days, you cannot just have big days or little days.

I am sure there are days you get to bed and know you paid your dues.

Originally Posted by Ta2Don

Great work mate!

Hard to believe you missed a pic of Nicola's face when she spied the truck in pieces...

See ya soon!

LOL Don, thing is she is mostly used to the stuff I get up to, so the surprise and also her face seeing how rusty n dirty my face was, was pretty cool.

Originally Posted by 65sub

While sometimes, when you're grinding welds or discovering new rust holes, you might feel your progress is "frustratingly slow" from here it looks like you are getting things done at good pace. Slow and steady with attention to the details will soon get your truck on the road.

I suspect there is some way ahead to get the truck back on the road, but it will be a great journey.

Originally Posted by disasterbus

fantastic progress buddy, great to see

Thanks Kerry, good to see you check up on us.

Originally Posted by 61K10

RIAN---glad you are going the extra mile/klm. you will have a beautiful tk when done and it will be the way you want it. Harley seams to be supervising the progress well as i have one also (Blkcat) she's a great super also, as long as her bowl has food in it lol!

Great job---------

kimble

Thank you for the motivation Kimble.

I never planned to go this far, but the can of worms just keeps on producing.

I just feel sorry for my wife, she never signed up for a full resto (well, for me doing one on the truck that is )

Originally Posted by iceman777

hi grizz can i ask why you have put the battery there

Hi mate, good to see you on here.

If you look at Ian Browns build thread on here you will see he moved his as well, to clean up the engine bay a bit.

Remember I am fitting a deluxe heater, it takes up space, so this will liberate a bit of space.

Originally Posted by mjh1965

To make my rewiring job harder

You still crying buddy ???

[Grizz1963]

Woke at Stupid-O-Clock and had a mug of tea, then lay surfing the web for three hours and went to one dismal Bootfair.

Home by 08.00 and pressure cleaning and washing outside the garage where I had the petrol and underseal fiasco yesterday.... Still looks terrible.

Then did the seam sealer so that it could go off while we went to Nicola's dads place where I cut down some trees and shrubs for him.



Back home just after 12.00 and then painted the front half of the chassis, top and bottom after masking some bits.



Very happy with the outcome so far.

All the cleaning and preparation paying off, it does take up the majority of the time but if you do, the result will not come back later to bite you in the bum.

Floor was seam sealed inside and outside on joins and all welds.

Underseal brushed on, I have also got spray on Schultz underseal but prefer. Getting into corners and around the back of folds.



Altogether now.......



At about 5.30 Martin popped over to help me get the cab down and move the bed into the back of the garage.

He seemed happy with the progress and result, he has a super critical eye.

So this is where my weekend ended, during the week I will paint the inner floor as I had done a second coat of seam sealer as well.



I am really pleased that I got this lot done this weekend as it means I have an episode to close before heading to Clem's shindig.



Tired tonight, but happy.

[uber cool]

Excellent progress over the weekend. Certainly a job well done

[Ta2Don]

Great work mate... considering the time difference, 10 days!!!

[Modges'66]

Very,very nice work!!!

[Palf70Step]

Looks great Rian! You made a big step forward for sure!

[Grizz1963]

JUST SEEN PERFECTION.

C/10 King's Fireball.



This is how I want my truck to look when it is done.

I want those White walls too.

Like Goldilocks' porridge, not too wide, not too narrow.

I have seen the future.

[mjh1965]

So are you getting the red paint tinted so it's Orange then . That truck does look great though . We both have a lot of work ahead .

[Grizz1963]

Originally Posted by uber cool

Excellent progress over the weekend. Certainly a job well done

Thanks Andy, you should know, your progress has been highly motivational.

Originally Posted by Ta2Don

Great work mate... considering the time difference, 10 days!!!

Indeed Don...... Note photo below.

Originally Posted by Modges'66

Very,very nice work!!!

Thank you, I am pleased.

To me there is no such waste as a job half done.

I always say that I am inherently lazy, so I never fail an examination or do a half arsed job as I cannot be bothered doing it a second time.

Saying that, I also often hate myself for my own standards as they take a lot more time to attain.

Originally Posted by Palf70Step

Looks great Rian! You made a big step forward for sure!

Agreed, having the cab ready for cab mount rubbers is good I my head and what I wanted to get to before coming out to the U.S.

Originally Posted by mjh1965

So are you getting the red paint tinted so it's Orange then . That truck does look great though . We both have a lot of work ahead .

Makes no difference what colour, it is a rather gorgeous truck and has the exact look I would love for mine.


IN OTHER NEWS.........

PERFECT WAY TO SAY: Ten Days to go.

[Grizz1963]

Teamwork..... Well, working together does make a huge difference.

Chassis prep went off while we sorted online info.

Then I pressure cleaned the top and bottom of the chassis, Martin got his new compressor up to pressure and used that to blow all the excess water out of every crease, crevice and joint. While he continued with that I went into the carport and pressure cleaned all vertical and horizontal surfaces, now that space is ready to paint the chassis in as well.





After all the blowing, spraying etc we carried the chassis back into the carport, with Martin's Amanda moving the chassis stands for us.

Next up we set it all even higher so painting will be easier.



While we were busy here, Nicola had gone for a walk on the farm and sent me this envy provoking photo. I think she wins on the best way to spend a few hours after work scale today.



There you go then.......... Counting down now.

[Grizz1963]

Another weekend that seems to have played into my hands........

Nicola wanted to go check up on her son at university, carry in food, soap powder, books and also see her daughter. Unfortunately, at age 20 and 24 the kids have no interest in me or use for me........ It does hurt, but hey, they have a good father and my wife is a great mother, so I should not take it personally I guess.

So today I had an early appointment with mate Martin to go to Maidstone to see if we cold get the ball joints pressed into the lower wishbones at one of his dealers, but alas, no luck.

Then down to The Money Shop to get some pounds changed to dollars, including a guaranteed fixed price buyback for £4.00

From there back to his place to drop him off, move his chassis about.

Then home to get started on cleaning up the rear half of the chassis and diff etc. but only after coffee and a sandwich as it is now lunchtime.

As I made the coffee, I heard a motorbike pull up outside and it ends up being my buddy Kevin who came over to show off his new R1200GSA

So in the end, we went for a ride, he on my bike and me on his, well, now I have serious bike envy. In the end we parked up in Rochestwr and had a coffee and chat, then home.



Once back home and in my garage clothes I started to clean the rear half of the chassis, but soon realised that I would have to remove the rear mounted tank as well. Found this damage where the breather had been bodged into place with some form of epoxy.



So I emptied the rancid, dirty petrol, after getting a mouthful when siphoning to start off the pipe. Jacked up at an angle, I got pretty much all of it out.



Dropped it with the jack after undoing the steel strap under it.



Then scraped and cleaned the tank, followed by a petrol wash, and then allowed it to dry.



Once dried off, I painted the rust converter as well and shut shop to allow the tank to dry. A lot of rust on the surface.



Finished here tonight.



So tomorrow it is back to cleaning up the chassis, then petrol rust converter and possibly paint.

[Palf70Step]

Originally Posted by Grizz1963

JUST SEEN PERFECTION.

C/10 King's Fireball.



This is how I want my truck to look when it is done.

I want those White walls too.

Like Goldilocks' porridge, not too wide, not too narrow.

I have seen the future.

[Ta2Don]

In the sky this morning...
Untitled by Donald Olivo, on Flickr

10 and counting...

[Grizz1963]

Indeed Bill, I love that look.

Don, that has to be the best 10 that I have seen.

Well spotted

It's amazing how much work you can squeeze into an hour when you,know your wife will be home soon and you spent the last two days in the garage.....

So tonight I pulled the truck out after work and "quickly" painted the floor, then cooked dinner..... Fried pork chops, butter and herb mushrooms and cous cous. Perfect.

First coat down, next coat in a few days, the sound deadening, felt pads and carpet once the paint is done.



Nothing else to do right now except start cleaning up the rear suspension, chassis and various other bits like brakes etc.

[C/10 King]

Originally Posted by Grizz1963

JUST SEEN PERFECTION.

C/10 King's Fireball.



This is how I want my truck to look when it is done.

I want those White walls too.

Like Goldilocks' porridge, not too wide, not too narrow.

I have seen the future.

Originally Posted by Palf70Step

Thanks sooooo much for the complements on my little Fireball!!!!

[Bomp]

Floor looks great.
10 days. Can't wait.

[flashed]

9 days.........................................