About time for some fresh photos. As promised, here's a picture of the carb all plumbed, and set up. You can see in that photo a new problem that showed up. Thank god I put a clear filter on the damn thing. Don't want much of that crap getting in my brand new Holley. So, that set me back a bit. It's kind of a snowball effect. I needed to pull the seat to get the tank, and while I had the seat out I may as well do something about the nasty floorboards. I just had the seat out last summer, and replaced it with this clean bench I picked up off of Craigslist. That's out of a 71 Sierra Grande, and it is a direct drop in. Ssssssh, don't tell anyone that these things interchange. So, now I'm down to the tank. This one's certainly never been out. Out it comes Lets see what's in it. Nothing good. This tank didn't give me any problems, and I was getting good clean fuel out of it before I left last winter. I even topped it off to make sure it wouldn't rust. Something tells me that fuel I put in was garbage. So, now I have the tank out, and I'm deciding how to procede. New tank = $150 Having this tank lined = about $150 The new tank is going to a Chinese POS I'm sure, but, I've heard mixed reviews on having tanks lined. I'ved heard of the lining coming off, and clogging stuff up. Anyone with any experience on that, feel free to speak up.
So, now I'm down to the bare floorboards. While I'm here I have a few things planned, but, they may be cut a bit short. I'd really like to drive this thing around of the 4th of July. This really surprised me. Like I said, I had this seat out last summer, and I'm not the kind of guy to leave something this dirty, and put it back together. I had this all cleaned up pretty nice, and had even washed all of it with soap and water before putting the new seat in. Looks like I did such a good job that some mice decided to make it home over the winter months. This truck really took a hit while I was gone this winter. There's nothing worse for a car in Washington State than to let them sit. Anyways, back to work. While the seat was out I wanted to clean it up, and get the remnants of the old floor mat out. I don't know what that adhesive is, but, you need some heat to get it to free up. Passenger side done, and ready for serious cleaning The remnants on the driver's side. aaaaand it's gone. Next was to get the sill plates off. I knew there was going to be some ugly hiding under there. The screw heads are completely rusted, and gone, so, I just cut them off. The sill plate was trash, so, I wasn't too hurt about it getting even more destroyed. There's a little bit of cancer in there, but, not quite as bad as I expected. The tools all tucked away for the night once the rain started. This will all get cleaned up, and POR15'd before I put the seat back in. That should be a good base to protect the floorboards while I do a few really small patch panels on the outer edges of the floorboards. I'm going to skip doing anything to the center hump now, as I have to cut that for the overdrive unit that's getting installed soon. While I have the tank out, I think I'll also figure out some speaker boxes for the rear cab corners. May have to get out the fiberglass and do some custom boxes. More to come when the rain stops.
the rain stops in Washington?? Looking good the intake and exhaust treatment is a nice touch ! your rockers look better then mine i have a little more rust and holes As far as the tank goes I have always been a cheap ass and never have bought a new one or lined one, Ive done this to my 54 ford and the past two 60-66 trucks that have had rusty gas tanks and has worked pretty well so far.....i take the tank out open all possible openings, fuel sending unit hole etc.....drop a long tow chain in....fill part way with water and slosh the chain and water around back and forth for a lengthy amount of time breaking up or knocking off any rust built up inside,drain and repeat sloshing process...... and then drain and rinse thoroughly and postion tank so itll drain out the spout and let air dry.....then grab a few of those cheap clear fuel filters from the auto parts store and reinstall the tank and drive my rides replacing the filters until eventually they become very clear.....I usually always run two filters one where it exits the tank and 1 at the carb...this is just what ive done and might get you by until you locate a new tank or better one...just a thought
Thanks for the ideas on the tank. There is very little actual rust sediment on the inside of this one, so, that should definitely do the trick. Maybe I'll rig up a tumbler of some sort, and just leave something in there to tumble for awhile. The exhaust turned out kind of cool. I did the tips with the Buick Ball attachment on my tubing machine. Flared the 2" out to about 2 1/2". Kind of gives it that bellflower look. I'll get more pictures of the exhaust when the weather clears up, and I get it back on the lift. And NO, this rain NEVER stops.
Well, not many updates as it is the busy season around here. All the holidays and work have kept me running. I did manage to snap a few photos this evening though. Just wanted to show that I've kept my promise of this truck seeing use. The only way this thing will ever be called a trailer queen is because it will be towing them. She got to put in some work today. I wonder how long it has been since this truck has earned it's keep doing farm work. The weld on my exhaust hanger broke.... I better fire my incompetent weldor! Really though, I didn't want that tip welded on too well. Looks like I achieved that goal. One last load before it gets dark.
To cool! Great shots, take a few more around the farm and you can make your own calendar! What did you do for the gas tank problem?
Put a chain in there, and sloshed it around a bunch. It worked great. Nice clean fuel now. Thanks for the advice. Then I threw everything back together so I could drive it around on the 4th of July. I didn't get the floor done the way I wanted, but, I have to take the seat back out to mount the stereo, and do some fiberglass boxes in the back corners for some speakers. I'll get it all done then. It was worth it to drive it on the 4th.
Great build-up thread. There are lots of similarities between our trucks so I'll be watching for updates.
LostHope, I'll be getting some of the exhaust and everything this weekend. I'll finally get a little more time to get the cars off the lift, and out of the shop so I can finish weld everything underneath. I'll try to get some of the exhaust while it's in the air, and some under the hood with everything as it looks now. I'm going to be getting the overdrive here before too long, so, that should increase my posts too.
FINALLY got around to some shop time tonight. I've been working on some things, but, haven't really had much time to run in, and grab the camera. Today I made it a priority. I'm going to go get some tacos real quick, and then I'll tell the tale.
Got a little bit of a break from work today, so, decided to put some time in on the truck. I've hopefully got about 10 weeks before this truck is getting pointed south on a trip to Arizona. Time to get some stuff done. I've needed to get to work on an solving an intake leak, but, have had a bunch of little things to do. I picked up this valve cover at a swap meet this spring. Somewhere along the line one of the valve cover bolts got snapped off in the head. So, after removing the stock cover, and comparing the cool factor I had to get to work to get that broken bolt removed. I didn't snap any before photos, but, there was just a tiny bit of the bolt sticking up. I used an old trick. Find a nut that will drop over the top, clean everything up, and weld the nut on to the remaining piece of bolt. Find a nut that sits on the bolt well. Clean the hell out of it. Weld it on. The heat helps really well to remove the bolt, most of the time. I did the work, and then photograped the steps, but, I DID have the rockers, and everything very well covered. I had everything well protected, I just went back to take these photos to give an idea how it went. Once I got the trouble bolt out I was relieved.
Now was time to test fit the new valve cover. Big problem. The front of the valve cover hits the thermostat housing to the point you can get nowhere near dropping the cover in to place. The arrow points to the point of contact in the photo below. Even after removing the thermostat housing, and putting the cover on first, it was apparent that the cover/housing just weren't going to get along. Bolting the thermostat housing back on would push the valve cover back to where the holes would no longer line up with the ones in the head. I started by removing a fair amount of material from the thermostat housing. That still was nowhere near enough to clear it. Even with multiple gaskets on the between the thermostat housing, and the head it wouldn't have cleared, so, since it is hidden I removed some of the fin material from the Offenhauser valve cover. Didn't have to remove nearly enough to weaken it or anything. Finally got everything to line up well, and have plenty of clearance. With gaskets added everything should clear quite well. All in all, a pretty good day. That valve cover bolt has been eating at me, and now that this is nearly complete I can get to the intake gaskets.
Great Thread! I'll be watching as I too am in the process of working on a 66' short fleet, with many similarities to your's.
Cool deal, I'd love to hear some details, and see some photos. Also, be sure to check out LostHope's build thread. He, and I are going two seperate build directions, but, if you are looking for threads about 60-66 GM pickups, his is a must read.
I purchased this ol' heap recently, no engine, no tranny, no tail gate, ect. I have since installed new winshield, 350 cu. in., 3 speed manual tranny, and got it started. Plans are to replace bed wood. I have replaced bed wood in two stepsides (57' 1/2, and a 54' 1/2 ton), I did not realize the difficulty of a fleetside. Should be a challenge. Thanx again for the insperation.
If you've had the patience to do bed wood before, you should have no problem doing it again. The only thing that takes much work is getting everything aligned, and then drilling the perimeter holes. There's quite a few of them, BUT, you know how rewarding the finished product is. Looks like you are off to a great start. This is one thing I love about the H.A.M.B., I'm probably the only person in my county that has a running driving shortbox. You just never see the 60-66 generation around here. It's cool to see people out there reviving them.
Nice truck! I know what your saying about seeing the beauty in the beater. Those hills in the background when your truckin hay look familiar. Skagit County maybe Praire RD? or Snohomish County, Jordan RD? Am I close?
Good eye, and thanks. The trucks come a long ways. Hard to hide where you're from to a local when you show pictures of the area. I'm in eastern Skagit County. That's Sauk Mountain in the background. You can see it from Sedro-Woolley, I-5 at the Cook Road exit, and all over up the valley. It's quite the landmark.
Hey, i'll have to introduce you two next time your both in town... In the mean time, Bodi meet Alex, Alex meet Bodi.
Nice to meet you, Bodi! I had a great time touring a few of the local hot rod digs with Chip when I was there last month. Maybe we can hook up the next time I'm in town. Hopefully, it'll be Goodguys in November! Do you by chance ever get on www.67-72chevytrucks.com ? Great website, and it's divided into the certain styles (i.e: 47-59, 60-66, 67-72, etc). There are LOTS of guys from the Phoenix area on there.
Nice to meet you too Alex! I'm looking forward to getting back down there, and meeting more people. Hopefully we can get together at Goodguys. Touring the shops in that area is a blast. The number of them, and the hospitality is just amazing to a guy that grew up a Washingtonian rain hermit. Speaking of touring shops, about time to start the job hunt for this winter. I would love to make it down in time for the November Goodguys. Seems like there's a hand full of events in early November that sound like a blast. If the truck cooperates, I think I'll make it. I am a member over of 67-72 (same name), I just don't post there very often. I think I have just a couple posts complaining about my headers, and intake. It is an excellent site. I'll have to check on there a bit more.
Well, time for a quick update, then I have to get back in the garage. The biggest update is in the title, but, here's a hint of what's to come. I'll have a few more photos this evening. You guys will see this part in real time. I sure hope I haven't jinxed myself by talking about it before hand. Feel free to place your bets here.
The Jalopy Journal
