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

[Grizz1963]

Originally Posted by aggie91

Nice progress on the Rockit.

Sometimes good sense is needed to refrain from a potential for a good time!

Karl,

Hard as it is, you are right, wish I had more land






One of my American buddies is building a house for a lady friend……..

I am always amazed at what people get up to.

Andy is beyond 70 and very successfully retired from the Oklahoma oilfields.

I guess some people need to keep busy.

I asked him for a pic that included him.




Wonder what I will be like in 15 years.

[Grizz1963]

Couple o random pics.

Showing where you could start and where the horizon could be,

Have decided to take Friday off work, day vacation in order to get some random small jobs done on the Rezin Rocket.






Looking forward to some small bits of progress again.

Stuff needs to get done.

[Grizz1963]

Working from home today……….

Been online since 06.00 to try figure out and sort some listings for the new boss that the office screwed up REALLY BADLY
Why can’t they leave stuff alone that works perfectly.

Anyway, what it may just mean is a longer lunch hour and not commuting 2.5 hours

Leading to you know what.

And taken tomorrow off as a vacation day

That does mean three 4 day weeks in a row.

Is life good??

[Grizz1963]

Weather changes mean George is not here as much.

But last night and this morning he was back.



I do like it when he pops in.

Minutes or hours.

[Grizz1963]

LOVE IT WHEN SCRAP WORKS.

ALL FREE STUFF MOVING ABOUT.

Drawers are off to a new home tonight.

[Grizz1963]

Vacation tomorrow, and an extended lunch, plus zero miles commute, and starting work at 06.00 meant we have this tonight.

Two hours of CAD, cutting, fitting, heating, melting, fitting, cutting, shaping, swearing, swearing, and a bit more forcing, grinding, swearing.

@nickwheeler would just have stood and laughed at my frustration.

But it gave me this.

CAD



Directed



Marked



Cut



Trial fit in hole



Then the wheel arch intake.

Awkward, very awkward.



Reshaped.



Upside down

Not a fit.



Reshaped with heat.



Looks like a better fit.



Getting there.



Trumpet needs to be refitted, with super adhesive.

As will the tab to attach it to the inside of the inner wheel arch need to be drilled and fine tuned.



Another small, but time consuming job mostly wrapped up, final fit once the body is bolted down.

[Grizz1963]

Remember the dash…..?


Vinyl got to be delivered today.

So tomorrow I need to get on with the dash.\

Need to go buy some contact glue.





More little jobs.

[Grizz1963]

Last night I got these photos.

Progress on the fuel tank.

Includes welded baffle plates to keep it tight.

Original MX5 fuel tank with pump and senders and returns.

I hope it all fits in under the floor.

I envisage lengthening of some wires to make them reach.

















Early start at the garage, Sally is off today, so I may have to payback a bit (unlikely) and mate @craigrk is coming to collect a load of stuff I collected for him and staying over before heading back to Shropshire tomorrow afternoon. Also need a tin of contact adhesive for the vinyl work once all is prepped.


Loads to get onto today.


Later.

[Paul Y]

Might have been 6 years ago Rian but I am still wearing the same clothes in the garage!

Good progress.

P.

[Grizz1963]

Originally Posted by Paul Y

Might have been 6 years ago Rian but I am still wearing the same clothes in the garage!

Good progress.

P.

Well, you will be pleased to hear that I am still in that T-shirt and my red hoody survives too.


Shorts and tracksuit pants have died along the way.







Was looking for a pic that shows how and where the fuel tank used to sit.

Looks low to be honest.

Found these pics from 18 months ago.

Just how far has it come.

Thanks to all the helpers, advisors and watchers.




Copied and pasted for my own pleasure.





So late afternoon yesterday after getting back from shops and various jobs, Sally and I were able to start on looking at, and cleaning the Piggy.

She continues to surprise me.

By the time I came out the house after doing some work stuff that needed to be dealt with, this is what I found.



And the back of it looking like this



So proceeded to get a brush, wheelie bin and scoop.....

About 1/3 of the bin filled with leaves and debris.



Moss next, and leaves under the hood.

How does it all get in there?



After all this, I went to get my pressure cleaner, forgetting that it really does not work anymore, resulting in waking Mickey up from his 6.00pm post pub sleep, he was zonked.

Got his cleaner and then proceeded with the job for an hour or so.





Only got the rear half done, as it turned cold and light was fading.

But happy so far. Need to do the rest today.



Starting with it looking like this.......



Pressure cleaner left it like this, after intense, close up cleaning



Much better, but still not right.

I thought I would try a trick I used on the Chevy Blazer glassfibre roof before.

Domestos bleach gel, brushed on neat, washed off after 5 minutes, removes the staining, giving a much nicer look.




So off to the tyre place next, then back to pressure clean the rest of it, followed by bleach to remove the stains after that, and another pass with the pressure cleaner to remove it all.

Hope to get that all done today.

[Grizz1963]

Well.

So much for taking the day off to do stuff.

But, I did manage to clean up and sweep up the whole carport and drive after yesterday’s storms deposited half the garden un under the Rezin Rockit.

Mickey was clearing out his garage, and a load of electrical tools.

Now the first thing I will say is that you have to be bloody desperate for a few beers to stand and cut all the electrical cables of perfectly good power tools.

Sadly, he does like a drink, a lot.

So before the tools ended up on the sidewalk to be collected as scrap, I put them all in the wagon and brought them home, along with a couple of small metal toolboxes, one of which will be added to the rear of the car.

@craigrk will be here tonight to collect them and some more stuff I have collected for him over the last three months or so.

Dewalt cross cut saw is in working condition as are the others.





It never ceases to amaze me how wasteful people can be, and then complain about the cost of living.

I was also speaking with,Darren at Unit Engineering this morning about a good time to collect the fuel,tank, which is now completed.

So after agreeing to “any time” I messaged Sally to ask if she wanted to go with to Sheppey.

She needed new trainers, a soft toy for Bonnie (from a charity shop) and I needed to find a large piece of high density foam to add to the inner firewall as noise absorption and to tidy up all the visible fasteners in there.
No luck on finding an inch thick yoga mat type piece of foam, but trainers and toys ✅


Then around to Darrens shop to collect the tank and scavenge as usual.


I also had marked the gearshift extension where it needed to be kinked.



So we put it in the hydraulic press and managed to get it perfectly bent.

The sort of service you do not get many places.



And easy as that.

Kinky.



Back home, Sally went off to get her seedlings potted for this year. And I unpacked the car.

First thing…………

Screw it in.

Love it.



Scavenging at Darrens yard, I found and traded two sets of gokart wheels.

One set for me, one set for Craigs wagon he is building on the chassis he bought off Uncle Bob.



Why would you want a 3 Series or C-Class sedan when you can have a wagon.

Loaded.



Love a wagon, did I mention it already?

Unloaded.



Tank needs to be dried out before assembly.

I am also going to drill and weld in a drain plug in the bottom, in case one ever needed it.

Then once fitting starts, I will make up the tabs to weld on and bolt it under the body so all access is free to the feeds and wiring.

The Mazda fuel tank parts were shortened to fit in the 10 inch depth of the new tank.



Now headed down to the garage for a late start.

What next.

[Grizz1963]

Smallest parcel ever.

Replacement fog light switch.



One of the small toolboxes Mickey threw out will become the fuel filler cover.

Mocked up with the back cut out, and lockable should work.





Back to the new tank.

Do I add in a drain plug on the underside?

Cutting this one from the old tank and cleaning and welding it in.



Made some new mounting tabs for the new tank.

Hope to get them on today.





I am hoping for around 10 inches clearance at the rear, and more than the diff once tank is filled, and new tyres are loaded.



Breakfast next.

[Grizz1963]

So Craig got in well after 8.00pm and we had fish and chips, and sat chatting till late.

Then off to bed, Craig slept on the couch, full,house at Casa Grizz.

Up, coffee and chatting by -6.15

Later we were out to gather all Craigs treasures, fetch my trailer from Uncle Bobs place, clean it and pack it all.

Then we found some 25mm square tube and also some 20mm to use as inserts…….

Craig chopped the chassis in 2 and I proceeded to weld it all up, 10 inches longer.

Shod with off-road buggy wheels, bought from John the lodger, it will be a great tool

Hacksaw at work.



And the 10 inch extension.



Braced, welded.



Some rattle can over the welds became burgundy all over it.

Mickey was already there inspecting, and then @mercdan68 popped in for a chat, declined coffee, but good to see him and chat about his boy destroying a perfectly good cat 😉



Dan left, Mickey left and by 1.00pm Craig left for his 200 mile run home, trailer behind the ML Benz.

As Craig left, Dean @gentabout and his daughter, I mean wife Yvonne arrived for a visit and to deliver some special cargo………

We sat out on the deck, shared 100 stories, great to meet up, and even nicer having good company.

Eventually they left, in his MG……….

Embarrasingly his car refused to start, as he had left the lights on when he arrived a few hours earlier.

Jump pack to the rescue, the car barked into life, and then they were off home.

Very Nice car.



And the contents of the parcel they had delivered………



Thank you very much Dean.

So answers on a postcard……

What is the paint for?

Thanks for checking in.

[Grizz1963]

So after Mickey and @mercdan68 left, Craig and I had less than an hour before he had to head back home via a detour to pick up another machine.

He came sans trailer, but left with my 5 foot, tall caged trailer and his car already half full.

So first was to generate space for the fuel pump pipes and wiring on top of the tank.

2x4 seemed a perfect shim to create and keep the space while setting up to weld the tabs.



Mickey had just reappeared to give me a nice two tin trolley jack, so took a pic of us worms, then promptly left again as they had a lunch date.



So welder out, tacking started, first two tabs in position.



At this point Craig had to leave, and s I saw him off, Dean @gentabout and Yvonne landed….. and an awesome visit followed.

Actually loved stepping away for a bit, like this mornings breakfast meeting.

Once we had done an mini inspection of the garage, they left, and I headed back down to resume fabrication.

Weird how I could not get the tank up square, the mounting holes were also not quite in position, so some drilling and filing ensued, followed by BFH action to make both step down a tad.



Tacked in, then removed for a decent weld up.



Good Sally had come back with the dog, so I shut shop early and went for a walk.



Found this oil can at the side of a farm building.

How long has it been there?



Right.

Breakfast and driving the S10 calls.

Later.

[Grizz1963]

Not been to the Kent Breakfast meeting for American cars for some time.

It had become a roving kind of meet and to be honest, bootfairs trump food any day in my world.

But they may have a new venue 20 miles from me……

So today I popped up there, after Sally suggested I need to take a break from the garage.

No regrets ultimately.

In early, had breakfast and left by 10.30

Nice to have the truck out for a proper blast down the motorway.

Company good as always, and I left early to carry on with the Rezin Rockit build.


Venue is just off the A2/M2 at Ebbsfleet near Bluewater



£9.95 eat as much as you can, drinks unlimited too is a decent deal at a pub style restaurant.



Breakfast included 3x Croissants, and two Flat white coffees from a machine that were quite drinkable.


Outside.

Stripes roolz.

















A nice group of guys, random mix of cars and trucks.

And no dick swinging.

[realvc]

Looks like a good place to eat and look at some cool rides.
Thanks for sharing the pics.

[Grizz1963]

Originally Posted by realvc

Looks like a good place to eat and look at some cool rides.
Thanks for sharing the pics.

Pleasure Vince.

Typical brewery chain restaurant.

Decent all round.




Back home and out by 11.00 today.

Breakfast was nice, but felt like a waste of garage time.

Still, no regrets.

So I tidied up, and added a few bits to the welds.

Also opened the mounting holes on the tabs.



And on so that I could work out the next job…….

Guessing time.

What?





Once the tank is fitted the filler neck is now this low as I have dropped the tank so the MX5 fuel system can fit under the floor.



So I created a template to cut away the bottom of the toolbox that will hold the filler cap once completed.

Cut, cleaned up.



Ready for etch primer.



And primed.



I think it will be a Marmite addition to the car.

I like Marmite.

[Grizz1963]

For those who like animals, and in this case, dogs.

Went for a walk, met a German Shepherd named Gus. Adult dog.

She went straight in and was running circles around him.

Back home, typically, she figured out she could get into the bird bath for a drink.





Water dog?



Certainly worth the money the Parvovirus cost us.

Every day is a joy.

[Grizz1963]

I am sooooo looking forward to an early finish tomorrow as the last three weeks have been a bit full on.

And there is talk of another restructure for Q3 so June/July sh!t will happen for some of us, kills my head.

Last night after I got home and wrapped the work day up, I needed a small win to just help my head relax a bit.

So I grabbed the badges @peteh1969 had printed for me, and the paints that @gentabout Dean had brought over on the weekend and sat down indoors.

Starting with the Piggy Pink, I soon realised that I needed much more light, and a pair of reading glasses as some of the colour inserts are very small.

These is also paint spillage that will be corrected when I do the final fill with black on the raised edges, followed by application of a clear sealing coat as directed by Pete.




Piggy Pink done.

Bloody slow job.



At this point I poured a sherry.

Yes, something sweet.



I also decided to add some Silver to the Rocket as the black as per original artwork would blend too much and get a bit heavy.

Glad I did.



And finally I had to step away from the paint.



And closer up for the Zoomers.



Next job will be black edges etc to tidy it all up, followed by clear over the whole lot.

And no, not going to resin fill them, though it is extremely tempting.

I suspect that I would get caught out by the curing times and bubbles in the corners when you look at just how fine the tolerance is on some parts here.

So compared to the original from page one of the build thread, I am happy with the result.

Even from 3 foot they will look fine.

I trust.


u][/u]



And 3, 2 , 1 and back to reality and the day job.


Almost the weekend.

[Grizz1963]

Small jobs.










And then also painted the three new pigs.




While @nickwheeler crawled around, I made a splash apron for the filler neck.



Followed by a tacked in brace to keep the toolbox in place.



What it will look like. Later.



And the highlight of my day.

No words needed.





Gutted and super angry with allowing myself to get distracted like this.

The instructions were so clearly written on both sides.

I guess happens to some of us.

I did laugh and laugh.

Tired tonight.

[Braunschweiger]

Wow, you and your mate got it right, very good progress. Your Rezin Rocket Badges are awesome, top.

[Grizz1963]

Originally Posted by Braunschweiger

Wow, you and your mate got it right, very good progress. Your Rezin Rocket Badges are awesome, top.

Thank you Harald,

I am very pleased with the results.



5 minutes in the garage.

And it all ground to a halt.

One nut undone with an impact wrench.

One looks like it is welded, and rounded off with the rattle gun.

Do I cut and drill the studs out and start again ?







Thought I would lay the basics out on the floor.



Hopefully it will come together soon enough.

.

[Grizz1963]

Before I forget.

Ordered some Johnsons Klear off Amazon to coat the badges with.

Said to dry both hard and with UV protection.

Also did the black outlines.

Plenty Good Enough for a 3 foot inspection.





A lot of the detail will be lost on the casual observer.

But it makes me smile.

[Grizz1963]

Using my special, banned tool, I got the second nut undone.

The threads are good, and new gasket was ordered, will get some new nuts.

Job done.

[Indian113]

I imagine there were a few adjectives said under your breath at the same time! LOve those badges but it would take a steadier hand than I have.