The Blue Truck

[99_ls1]

...a quick runner/driver and full restoration look a lot alike.

Oh, this is a lot rougher and cheaper than it looks. I described gobs of bondo but it was up to 1" thick in several places! It was also a biological waste dump with dead mammals that were there when I got it, BEFORE I parked it under the trees.

I will have zero bodywork and about $600 in paint that will last a year. The only reason I was gonna shoot the 2K clearcoat on the outside is to help it survive while bodywork happens panel by panel. I have not found somebody who wants to beat on this heavy sheetmetal yet!

The interior I am trying to finish off reasonably, but the exterior is nothing but a mess and will stay for now.

[Scott Liggett]

Wow. Build a quick runner/driver and full restoration look a lot alike. Great job.

The before brake mounting is just terrorifying. I am sure the jumbo Caddy brake pedal made things worse.

[milner351]

Sweet - dual master for four wheel drum - which resevior feeds which end of the truck? Which prop valve?

Drums have an inherent advantage - they're lower rolling resistance than discs. It's a truck - it will have plenty of brakes, discs up front can be a down the road upgrade.

Man - you're pushing me closer to getting an older ride to daily drive and just undercoat the whee out of it to fend off the tin worm.

I am continually shocked at the price of insurance for newer vehicles.... legalized extortion.

[99_ls1]

Thanks Milner!

I haven't put a wrench on the rear yet, but it's a 10-bolt, open, and I suspect 3:08, which most likely came from the some '68 Chevelle that gave up the crossmember. I was planning on opening that can of worms later this week!

It will stay drums all around, yes - 2 3/4" shoes in the front, 2" in the rear. This ole girl ran fine before and she'll do fine

[milner351]

Really loving this build! What's the rear axle like? Staying rear drum I'd assume? Hopefully something 3.42ish with a factory posi?

You've chosen one of my all time favorite colors - I don't care if it came from a spray can! This is going to be a heck of a nice truck!

Well done!

[99_ls1]

wow, project creep huh? awesome.

No, not really - I had intended on replacing the brakes, the fuel system, the transmission, and the wiring harness anyway. Where the creep happened was the second post. Can't do that much to it without cleaning it! Patina is one thing, but this was mold and rust...

Plus, it's still a quick a spray-can rebuild. Interior was 1.5 cans of mix and so far it has one can of 2K gloss clear.

I ain't spending more than I have to on this one. Scrape the bondo off of the outside and shoot it with a spray can.

So Scope Creep? Not really :D I took the first picture inside on 12/19! I think Squirrel has inspired me!

[JOES66FURY]

wow, project creep huh? awesome.

[99_ls1]

Coming along nicely.

On the brake deal - on my S-10 clutch master I made similar though smaller reinforcing plates then I found that I had the stock S-10 clutch master reinforcing rods that go from the steering column bracket to the firewall. I think there's a pic in my build thread. Anyhow, something like that might be a good thing for you if you want it even stiffer.

Dan

Yes, I have been interested in your build and still lurk, eagerly waiting for first fire. Go Go Go!

There is still some welding to do under the dash and I was planning on triangulating the pedal assembly up to the dash support it with some 1/4" round tube and 11ga plate before I was done. The mount on the brake pedal assembly to the bottom of the dashboard has also been graced with a torch, so even though I am somewhat happy with the firewall mount, the inside mount for the pedal assembly still ain't right.

[99_ls1]

So this means ShopDog is calling me out there and I have to go out and continue the FatMat and get the 305 on an engine stand so I can flip it and change the oil pan. yea, the oil pan has a hole in it that is patched with Epoxy. Not JBWeld, but old-fashioned household mostly clear Epoxy.

[99_ls1]

I've POR-15'd the floors, "patched" the extra holes in the firewall with aluminum slugs and dum-dum, and am in the process of coating the interior with FatMat. The product goes on very easily and it sure likes the heat gun, especially in this year's chilly temps.

I hope that the aluminum slugs will help the FatMat not get punctured.... We'll see.

[99_ls1]

So I picked '67 Marina Blue for the inside and out. I've got some darker metallic blue from the Firebird that I will spray the headliner, door panels, etc with. Under the hood is Eastwood 2K Satin Hot Rod Black.

[99_ls1]

As I did the floorpans, I moved the battery box back to its original location. It was hanging crookedly on the firewall before I got to it.

[99_ls1]

Well, remember I said earlier that the arc welding was scary but not cracking?

Guess where it decided to crack... I can think of several reasons why it could or would, but I decided to simply stop-drill, dig out the cracks with the cutoff wheel, and the weld 'em up to keep an eye on them.

This did have an amazing amount of arc weld slag pile laying on top of it I ground off - so I expect it was cracked before the grafting, but who knows.

[99_ls1]

So back to the loose steering column problem. I figured I'd use a U-Bolt and tie the bottom of the column to the bridge I was building. It seems to have worked out pretty good so far, no more flex!

[99_ls1]

Front Suspension has been rebuilt with 100% MOOG components. Springs are from a 1968 BBC Chevelle, it was mushy and bounced off the stops before. I took some off of the height, I might have to take more.