73-87chevytrucks.com
73-87 Chevy _ GMC Trucks => Members Rides => Topic started by: vervepipes on August 17, 2011, 10:35:37 pm
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I realize I havent taken any pics of my $300 special, but I've been doing very well at the Edmonton pick n pull(3 hour drive to get there so I stop in any time I get to town). My first trip I picked up a push bar from a ford, which turns out is actually meant for this generation of GM(go figure, it looked a bit off on the ford), an almost new tranny cooler and some wing windows for both sides. Today's trip produced a brand new(seriously, not a single bent fin) from a Bumper to Bumper store's work truck, another almost new tranny cooler identical to the last one I picked up, some Headman headers and headlight adjusters.
I have a lead on a second set of headers for peanuts so I'll likely sell one pair and one tranny cooler(unless I run them in series...) to make up for the purchase.
All I've done so far is change the spark plugs and wires, and a new air cleaner so the fun will soon begin.
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nice to hear of another 3+3 :)
get some pics up dude
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I would, but at the moment I'm 400 Km from home and heading more south in the morning to the Calgary Zoo to top off out family trip. The mechanicals are well looked after but the bedsides and cab are rough. The front fenders must have been replaced at some point. It is currently painted flat black but will be reverting back to some form of blue as it originally was.
Plans are to convert it to dually as I intend to haul with it, and it sill either have a flat deck or a service body/ flat deck hybrid as I've seen before to accommodate a fifth wheel and goose neck.
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Cold Lake eh? Not too far away from my home town really.
Just a hint, Kendale Trucks in Edmonton has lots of parts for these older pickups, although sometimes they can be a little more pricey than other places. I also sometimes wander over to Aldon Auto and Salvage in Lamont for parts.
Kendale will remove parts for you, they don't let you snoop around for them. But Aldon will let you snoop around and remove your own parts, or I believe they will remove parts for you if you require them too.
No intention to hijack, but I think I have the exact truck your aiming to build. It is coincidentally a 1986 as well, dually and blue....
(http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f350/gophergunner/IMG_0233.jpg)
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Can't wait to see some pics!
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Thats pretty darn close to what I'm aiming for, I think thats even thr blue thats under my black paint. So far Pick n Pull has been very easy to get parts from, I havent tried Buck's Auto (formerly kar basher) on the east end, up Clover Bar Road, it is also a u-pull type of place. Unfortunately right now until I really look the truck over and work the bugs out I'm limited to what fits in the Grand Caravan and we don't have salvage yards near Cold Lake any more...
When I get back to work I'll sandblast the push bar and headers, we have a nice blast cabinet, about 5x4x4 feet, self contained with filtration because a by-product of what I work with is copper-berylium which is very toxic. What we use at work is crushed up plastic as the abrasive, but if I put my own stuff in there I empty the hopper and use a mix of that plastic and aluminum oxide to really cut rust.
I should have pics up by monday, depending on if I have to work at the motor hobby club on sunday(the floor grates are out for repair so I don't know if I have to work yet!)
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cant wait for more of this build
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well here she is, as I bought it except that the push bar is mounted loosely, soon to be sand blasted and painted in bed liner. Today I pressure washed the years of gunk off the steering and suspension, installed a battery blanket, and replaced the broken door quarter window. I tried to pressure wash the black paint off but it is stuck on harder than it seems...
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v627/vervepipes/102_4856.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v627/vervepipes/102_4857.jpg)
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danggg. those are some mirrors on that thing. hahah. ive always wanted a crew cab. ill eventually find one in my price range. lol
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that's a cool looking truck. I'd have to keep it as it is (less rust)!
I kinda like the used look :)
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Get a turbo spin nozzle for your pressure washer, I bet that will take the paint off.
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love the truck man !!
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Well the pressure washer I used was a high powered one, it got the flaky areas on but it actually has 2 coats of tremclad over the original blue paint and it aint budging!
Working on the bed today when I have time in spurts. The bedsides are coming off and being replaced by wood sides. The front and bed floor are being kept as is and I'll find a way to incorporate the wood sides to them. I'm also saving part of the tailgate, I'm going to cut out the GMC logo and find somewhere to put it, maybe I'll weld it onto the push bar or the bed front... I'm sure I'll find something creative.
I have a nice little tool box made from aircraft sheet aluminum that will be bolted into the box as well, that and the headers have been started in the sand blaster during my coffee breaks.
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Bedsides are almost off, just a few bolts left. It turns out they are quite easy to remove while the bed is on the frame
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One bedside is off, the other is half off, the wood sides will come later at some point after I wire up some lights. Even the lights will wait a bit I think until next pay but at least the hard part is done! Not sure if I will do a stepside style or fleetside, the box sides will likely be 2x10 stacked 2 high and stained a red of some sort. Of course the bed will have markers along the sides, I need to be seen lol.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v627/vervepipes/102_4858.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v627/vervepipes/102_4861.jpg)
One bolt didn't co-operate because the entire side was bent over from it's own weight, so I hopped into the bed and with a hack saw it was dealt with and the side happily fell to the ground, much to the dismay of my annoyed neighbor, I hadn't realized that is was 10 PM.
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Both bedsides are off. I've decided for sure on doubled 2x10 walls forming a stepside with 2X10 skirts, that will come another time... I am working on a trade: my '81 Yamaha Maxim project bike for the lumber I need, I don't see myself working on the bike any time soon so the lumber will be useful at this stage of the game.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v627/vervepipes/102_4864.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v627/vervepipes/102_4863.jpg)
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Thought I'd post some pics of my work space, I work at the base auto hobby club so my personal hours there are free. 5 hoists, 3 floor bays, tire changing machines, plasma cutter, welders, everything you could ask for except a paint booth... I'll cross that bridge when the time comes...
The grey van was a donor for my old dodge shorty van V8 conversion.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v627/vervepipes/van%20build/100_2777.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v627/vervepipes/van%20build/100_2744.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v627/vervepipes/van%20build/100_2743.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v627/vervepipes/van%20build/100_2742.jpg)
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I've gathered all the lines and fittings I need to install my twin tranny coolers (I was going to sell one to recover the cost of the other since I got them both at the Pick N Pull, but I think I've decided on a twin setup for good measure). This is also a good time to install the new radiator, also a PNP find, looks to be brand new, brass tanks, not sure how many rows but it was in a dually with a large (at least 10-12 foot) service body, so it must be at least 2 row. My tranny is leaking, havent looked to see where from, but with it being low on fluid it's also a good time to do this so there will potentially be less of a mess to deal with, coolant is an ugly colour so it needs to be flushed anyways.
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Nice shop!
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Hmm, things never go as planned... The 2 tranny coolers are in, temporarily held in by zip ties, but the "brand new" used radiator is about 2" shorter, so the top mounts have zero contact with them. Looks like I'll have to fab something up. It really surprises me considering it came from a dually cab and chassis work truck... Oh well, if my temp guage worked I'd be able to tell if it cools as well... My tools are such a mess right now because we have our house for sale, so everything's crammed into the back of my minivan, that makes it hard to keep track of what's where...
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Thats a cool shop area! Nice to have some heavy equipment.
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Rad's in, the tranny coolers are too and the rad's solid enough to drive around until I either fab something or get the proper mounts.
The best part of the shop is that lifts are 4 bucks an hour, and floor bays are 2 bucks per hour to rent and most car parts stores in town give a discount for the base auto club members.
The most "wild" thing I've built in this shop was an '85 Toyota tercel 4wd wagon with a block from a 1.6 corolla and the head of the 1.5 tercel, larger tires and a push bar. I miss that car...
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I loved going to the auto shop on base when I was in.
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Think I've figured out the temp gauge not working. The green single wire was hanging down so it was easy to see that it wasn't connected, however the temp sender itself is the wrong type, with more of a nipple connection. I tried to work something out temporarily by wrapping some extra wire around the nipple and twisting it snugly with lockwire pliers, but still nothing on the gauge... Also found that my rad hose was leaking and one of my brand new spark plug wires had a hole burnt through it, so I tightened the coolant line and wrapped the wire in self vulcanizing electrical wrap, the kind used on aircraft wiring repair, shelf life expired so it can't be used on aircraft but still good for other uses.
Well, next pay I guess I'm buying the proper sender and while I'm at it, new coolant hoses since I'll have the coolant out.
On the bright side of things, it looks like the previous owner installed a petcock on the block to drain coolant where a regular plug would normally be, so it should be easier to do a proper drain/flush. Also noticed that the power steering hoses are new and the sealant on the diff is fresh looking, however it is still leaking a fair bit out the pinion seal.
By the way, still under $600 so far including purchase, air cleaner assembly, spark plugs and wires, oil and filter yet to be changed, two tranny coolers, tranny filter and oil, headers, radiator and coolant. Maybe there's a few things I've forgotten in the list, it is late at night after all.
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While changing the engine oil and filter today I decided to check the valve cover tie downs, all were loose so hopefully when I de-grease the engine it will stay tidy. All of the carb bolts were loose too, one I could unscrew by hand and the others needed at least 1/4 turn before I felt the snug contact. Oddly though the truck ran fine with the carb that loose. I cut open the fuel filter too and it looked partially plugged with rusty deposits. I plan on getting plastic tanks if I can find any to avoid that in the future, but for now hopefully the new filter solves the hesitation on hard accelleration. One brake line from the master cylinder was loose too, it amazes me how much stuff was loose and still functional, although there were some signs of the brake leak. I'd better go through this one with a fine toothed comb! lol
So I was driving out of the car wash with the new minivan and I spotted a wreck of a truck in the ally. I took my chances and muddied up my newly cleaned grocery getter and although it is a rusty pile with no motor or hood or windows, it has a nice tube grille on it. I knocked on the guy's door and asked, and he said he'd sell me the grille for 40 bucks. I guess he just got the truck for the motor and has had the rest sitting in the ally way collecting grass and rust. When I go back to collect my prize I'll check out the condition of the rest like the exhaust and tranny, maybe I'll offer him 100 for the entire truck, especially if the hood is in decent shape.
Kind of makes me want to scan the town one road at a time!
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So I may have to head to Edmonton tomorrow morning, good news is I found a incomplete set (5) of 19.5" dually wheels with good tires for a measly $120, so I'm going to pick those up and either run singles on the back for the time being, or wait to find another 2(a spare is always a good idea) to do the swap. I like the idea of the 19.5's having a smaller sidewall with less flex since this will likely haul a 2 car gooseneck in the future.
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good find man. 120 great deal long as there not thrashed. make sure you get pics if you do indeed pick them up. id love to see em.
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So the toughness of this truck never ceases to amaze me. I drained the tranny oil and changed the filter, and there must have been a complete needle bearing on the magnet, in various sized pieces. Lots of gear teeth chunks too. Looks like I'm gonna hunt for another TH400, maybe the truck I spotted a tube grille on it will have one, and hoping the guy will let it go cheap, maybe $100 for the whole truck if I haul it out of his yard.
I'll definately take pics of the rims, they don't look too old and have loads of tread left. I think it's off an '02 Silverado HD, so the bolt pattern should still be 8 on 6.5. Tires still look to have over 70% left. Add says perhaps trade for tires to fit his F350, maybe I can pull my tires off and leave the truck on bare rims while I go to the city tomorrow... Or then again, I could probably get more than that selling them locally. Like I said though, it's only 5 rims so I'll have to run single in the back until I can locate hopefully 3 more in the future, not like I'll be hauling any time soon with the condition of the gearbox...
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Found a near-twin to my truck (mine originally had red rims when I bought it, rattle canned them black as soon as I could). I like the look of the 19.5's, not something you see every day, I'd probably sand blast them and paint them either white or silver though, maybe even the tremclad blue I plan on painting my truck with...
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the link went dead, I'm not heading to the city today anyways, so those rims will likely be sold by then at that price. I'll have to keep a lookout locally. On a side note, the wood bedside framework is up and the brackets are welded to the bed floor, just need 2x4's and 1x4's to complete the job. The plywood I used as a template was free, courtesy of the scrap pile behind the base wood hobby club, so hopefully somebody tosses some 1x4 before payday so I can finnish the bedsides and new tailgate. Pics to come when I find the camera, the joys of constantly cleaning because the house is for sale...
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Found the box with my camera, however the sunset made for poor quality photographs
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v627/vervepipes/102_4867.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v627/vervepipes/102_4866.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v627/vervepipes/102_4865.jpg)
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Inspired by the TV shows "American and Canadian Pickers", I've been driving aimlessly around looking in back alleys and acreages, and right on the edge of town in an unmarked, fenced off yard is what looks like a late 70's squarebody sticking a little out of the years of grass and shrubs overgrowing it. The truck is parked behind a few other old trucks, I assume in order of their demises or retirement. This one has a nice looking flatbed on it and is a dually, regular cab but there may be a few other parts that I can scavenge. We'll see if I can find who owns the lot and see if they want the truck hauled off thier property....
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After a goose chase twice around town, talking to 4 people, I found out that the donor I wanted isn't for sale, they plan on putting it back on the road. But, I found some "old school Chevy truck" guys as they call themselves, and they are calling everyone they know to find stuff for me, they even had dually rims for me but I didnt want 16.5's because of the difficulty of getting tires, plus the whole tire bead safety thing, but they have my number and are keeping an eye out for me.
Anyhow, long story short, no new flatbed so I carried on and painted my box sides.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v627/vervepipes/102_4874.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v627/vervepipes/102_4873.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v627/vervepipes/102_4872.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v627/vervepipes/102_4871.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v627/vervepipes/102_4870.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v627/vervepipes/102_4869.jpg)
That little black box is actually larger than it seems, I can usually get most of my groceries in that box
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It took quite a bit of searching, but I've found the top brackets I need to install west coast mirrors using the factory tripod mount. I'll have to measure the legnth I need, but they have 2 separate ones each with separate adjustment lengths. I'm sure some bending of the brackets with a torch will be needed, but I can re-finnish the rod easily enough to make it presentable. The good thing about this type of truck is it can only get better!http://www.finditparts.com/products/492047/truck-lite-97722 (http://www.finditparts.com/products/492047/truck-lite-97722)
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Picked up the new grille, it's from a single square headlight truck so it doesn't bolt directly in place, I have to make some adapters when I get a chance. It also doesnt have provisions for turn signals, so I'm going to buy some small trailer marker lights and bolt them to the rad support, hidden from view but not when lit. I also have turn signal assemblies from an '87 Honda CRX in my shed that happen to fit nicely between the low and high beams... I've been toying with ideas for the headlight surrounds since I don't have any. As a minimum I'd get factory style replacements, but I was also thinking of making my own from aluminum bar to match the grille. The biggest idea that will probably not come to life it making headlight doors controlled by an actuator to flip them open at night. We'll see, this is a budget build after all.
As a side note, I offered to take whats left of the truck off his property for free and he seemed open to the idea as long as he could get the tranny out. It is a regular cab long box, very rusty, no windows, no motor and standard tranny. I'm thinking no windows would make it easier for body work since I wouldn't have to work around window seals, I can keep it in storage at the base auto club until I get my work truck to where I want it.