Teen wanting to Rebuild. Any advice?

Any suggestions on how to keep the body in good shape without putting an expensive paint job on it

 

i'm jelous ..kids dont deserve a master piece like this to start out with ....restore this one to factory showroom perfect with the same factory color they came ...find restore paint shop who would know the exact colors they came in and pick one you like ...do a frame off if there is too much rust under it ...pickup trucks like this are easy to strip down using tall "cherry picker" engine lifts ...you can pull the cab with one big enough and even the bed !!!!! and then your ready to detail everything ..and it was a 21 year old kid who restored 18 wheelers who showed me this trick with big engine pickers ..and today places like harbor frieght sell lifts pretty cheap..... get one with a wide base so it will be stable and not inclined to flip over or tip over so easy ....go on ebay and you might even find the owners manual and factory shop manuals ...and look for trim pieces like for around the glass and the interior etc etc ...if you can afford it get inconel intake valves and sodium filled/inconel exhaust valves and valve seats and professionally installed with recomended valve guides and you will be able to burn any bullshit they force us to buy at the pumps.>>>>>this will explain it all >>>>
http://www.enginebuildermag.com/2016/03/valves-and-seats/

back in around 1976 we did this trick valve job to my cousins brand new ton ford with a 360 cu in v8 ...cause the valves where already burned out in less than 35k miles from no lead gas that was all you could find back then ....the machine shop bill total to mod the heads and ready to slap back on was $450 bucks back in 1976 ...a bunch then ...but today just the valves will be much higher to buy

.... other wise with stock valves , guides , and seats for an old chevy the stock valves running todays no lead bullshit gasoline they force us to buy at the pumps have no additives to lubricate the valve guides ..and stock old school chevy valves will seeze up in the guides and "weld' theirself together and stop moving ...plus the valve faces get "white" hot and spot "weld" and brake little chunks of valve seat material off the valves and seats on no lead ...and makes a big mess ..and then it's all over but the crying ...been there and done this...

and there are cheaper ways to get by ...using Black Nitride Coated Valves and guides
https://www.supertechperformance.com/faq

more info about nitride valves

https://www.google.com/?gws_rd=ssl#q=black+nitrided+valves


...my friend does this in his shop called "the shop" here in terre haute rebuilding and restoring old harleys ...but it doesnt last forever ...i have solid titanium everything in my new screamin' eagle heads on my new twin cam Dyna ...but the heads with everything in titanium cost 3 grand ( that is the roller rocker arms , springs , retainers , valves , guides , and push rods in brand new screamin' eagle heads CNC milled and polished done by Vance & Hines in their new shop in Brownsburg ind. not far from me but will never break ..and you cant afford not to with the cost of an engine for it

google shop for titanium valves >>>>>>>>>>>
https://www.google.com/?gws_rd=ssl#q=titanium+valves&tbm=shop

back in 1968-69 i was working in a I H Farmall farm tractor dealship doing valve jobs ..and all the farmers wanted the better valves cause before they where burning out stock valves about as fast as you could put them in the "560" gas tractors ...so we started using stellite sodium filled exhaust that where supplied to us from the International Harvistor Parts manual for the "560" tractors as an optional part ..the sodium pulls the heat out of the valve very fast and transferes to the guide into the head and water jacket and problem solved ...but even back then a stock exhaust was around $ 2.50 each ..but a stellite sodium filled was around 30 bucks each ...before it was over i done about all the "560's" around and then not too to no more big valve jobs to do and i was out of work ..hehe ! so it does fix the no lead gas problems and valves ....and back then we used a stainless steel valve for the intake ..cause they dont get so hot as an exhaust ...and i think they where made by TRW ...so you might go to a local machinist in your area and get the latest info on what they are doing to combat no lead fuels and their putting methonal in the gas now days that makes the problem even worse..cause methonal runs way way too lean in a gasoline carb ..and we found that out the hard way when we changed over our late model stock car from race gas to straight menthonal ..and blew the tops outof all 8 piston in 30 seconds after firing it up 1st time ...gasoline by it's atomic weight burns well at one part of gasoline to a ratio of 14 parts of air ...BUT NOT METHONAL ....you gotta shovel it in there at one part methonal to only 4 parts of air and keep shoveling at 100 bucks worth per night on a little 1\3 mile dirt track ...so you can imagine what it does to your stock engines when they put methonal in your pump gas ...titanium everything fixes harleys sothey can burn anything wfo ..and the stock car got a Dale Ernhardt outlaw small block ...like this one

fix that truck to drive forthe rest of your life ..and pull a race trailer withit to the drag strip with cheap bare bones hot rod like a fabbed '23 "T" bucket as about as bare bones as you can get ..open chassis and stuff anything in it to play with ..build it and i will hate you for ever ! hehehehe

so now you know what to do or so confused you dont know where to start ..but your going to have to do something about your valves with little hitlers running our government so we have no other choice

 

You state that you plan to enlist after high school. That implys that you will be away from this project for a number of years. FOR THIS REASON:

As others have mentioned, check and fix if necessary brakes, exhaust, and tires; and drive it.

DON'T clean the engine compartment. If you are away a few years, the stuff there now will help prevent rust until you return.

Clean the interior (young ladies prefer not soiling their clothing in a dirty vehicle!).

A 6-cylinder Chevy truck of this era is going to be "sluggish" if compared to a modern vehicle. Learn how if you don't know already, and do a compression test. If the engine is in reasonably good shape, do a COMPLETE electrical tune-up (points, plugs, rotor, cap, condensor, plug wires). Resist the urge to get in there and rework the engine. These things always take more time than estimated, and if you go away for awhile, parts not reinstalled may "get lost".

Attend one of the local "cruise-ins" and look for anyone else that may have an original vehicle of this era. Get pointers from them on local suppliers that may be able to help with new old stock parts.

In short, enjoy your last year of high school WITHOUT the responsibility of trying to finish the truck before you enlist. Drive it, preserve it, and it will be waiting when you return. It is just possible you currently have one of the most interesting rides in your high school. Enjoy!

Jon.

 

I do this, but I also add information I run across that's pertinent to what I want to do.If I see a neat way to do something, or a trick part that will solve a problem, I photo-copy or print it out, and stick it in the binder. Then
I can find it later.

 

Another thought:

While there are LOTS of really great people on this forum, the forum focus is more on modifieds than stock. Here is a link to "stovebolts". These are people that pretty much live and breathe Chevrolet and G.M.C. 6-cylinders, especially in trucks. You might find this forum useful as well as the H.A.M.B.

http://www.stovebolt.com/

Jon.

 

Yes, replace the "rubber hose gas line" with steel, get a factory type fuel filter that threads into the carb inlet. I worked for Chevy for so many years, can't recall how many fires the rubber hoses and plastic fuel filters started.

 

What bout puttin a new windshield. Could I good that myself easily or better off on having a professional install?