Hello everyone!My names Danny Acker, im 17 from San Martin Ca. and would like to tell you about my first restoration project.
I guess ill start with when and where i got the truck.It all started about 3 years ago.When i rode the bus home from school i noticed an old truck sitting on someones property with a for sale sign on the window.My dad and i were kinda looking for a truck for me that we could both work on together.So after a couple weeks of seeing the truck sit there when we passed it on the bus i would tell my friend "hey, someday that truck will be mine and ill get to work on it and make it run and drive it to school". He said..."that big piece of junk,...sure whatever you'll never get that thing". Sure enough, i talk to my dad about it and he gives the guy a call about it. He says it doesnt run and has no brakes.We go and check it out.It has the stock 216 in it with everything except a radiator.As for the brakes, you could just push the pedal down and it would stay....trashed main cylinder. After some negotiating on the phone that night, they were able to come to a final price of $700. That weekend we went over to go tow home the truck(only like a quarter of a mile down the road)My dad chained up to the front of the truck and my neighbor to the back of the truck to act as brakes.When we got it home i went straight to work with the pressure washer
http://www.watertruk.com/49%20Chevy.HTMLThe project had begun
Not long after, my dad and i had gone to do a leak test on the 216 to find a crack the length of the block(probably freeze crack)well.... there goes that engine.What a good reason to tear apart the front end and clean and paint the chassis.Why not, just do the whole chassis front to back,top to bottom while im at it? After the long search of a new engine, we finally found a cheap 261.We brought it home and went to work on rebuilding and painting it... before:
http://i612.photobucket.com/albums/tt202/dantheman176/261straightsix003.jpgafter:
http://i612.photobucket.com/albums/tt202/dantheman176/0526081918.jpgMonths and months later we finally got the engine dropped in and hooked up. We got it to drive under her own power.no more towstraps! next was brakes which we are still in the process of doing.So far currently 4/24/09 we have the backplates with shoes,springs and new cylinders hooked up.Im just waiting for my wheel beaings and seals to arive so i can put my hubs and wheels back on and drive it to the garage and install some brake lines so i can finally stop this beast. Check out my photo bucket to see all the differnt stages of the restoration.
http://s612.photobucket.com/albums/tt202/dantheman176/Thanks for checkin out the truck! see ya in the forums!
