The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area General Truck Talk Re: What did you get done on your 'Bolt today?

Thirteen days over 100 degrees. I get down in the garage sometime after 8:30/9:00 each night. That gives me very little time to accomplish anything. Monday night I put the interior windshield molding in on the right side. Last night I put the two glove box hinges in. Tonight, the right side molding... At this rate I project completion of this to be sometime in 2040.

Sorry you're going through that heat wave Jim...

I finished rebuilding my Rochester carb the other day. Don't know if it runs yet but it looks good.

Put my transmission back in for the second time in a week. Just need to un-jam the shifter, it's in reverse but the shifter won't let me get neutral.

Every old Chevy I ever had from age 15 to 27 had that problem and was my teacher and instructor in the art of cussing.

As hot as it is here in Dallas...

I blew the dust of my truck, and started to research aftermarket AC units.

I finally got my rear brakes reassembled and reinstalled, including new wheel cylinders and park brake cables. Next up is reinstalling the front brake shoes.

Snapped the bolt that attaches the brake line to one of the rear wheel cylinders. Gonna have to replace that. After all the shoes and cylinders are reinstalled, I'll be flushing the brake fluid anyway. I should've known better, it's 60 years old.

I got my a/c line on and the unit charged, I tried to decide which was dripping more me or the A/C drain tube.

Been working for a couple of months to switch out the original SM420 transmission with a new NV4500 5speed. Got the transmission and new driveshaft in. Next is to get a crossmember fabricated and installed, then the speedometer and figuring out how to move and reinstall the emergency brake system. Hope to post some pictures when I'm done.

Richard

I put the newly upholstered seats in the Suburban today. See pics in the Interior Forum.

Been working on the frame swap, the kit finally came in. Been grinding old mounts off the frame. got the bed set up with the new hardware. will try and mount cab and other body parts this weekend. but as someone else stated it's HOT HERE IN TEXAS !!

Well it is still hot here in Texas....
I had to drive it - I have had her on the road for only 3 months - so the new has not worn off yet...

I ran to the feed store and hardware store - heat be damned..

Found out - the wing windows really do a great job, so don't go to a one piece window unless you have AC.

Where are you in Texas - need a hand with anything....
Geez I need a new project.

Got her on her "new" wheels. The 74 Camaro running gear is now tacked under the 49 Chevy truck frame. Now i just need to put in the eng/trans, cab and front fenders to make sure everything lines up and it's welding time. [IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v518/Blacktailer/frame001.jpg[/IMG]

Installed a brass glass sight/w reflector in my SM-420 for $10 bucks. It is nice to just glance under the truck and see the level without having to take out a plug and stick my finger in it. I will post some photo's next week. Oh and before you ask I add oil by removing the stick shift (much easier).

Got all the relined brake shoes and new wheel cylinders installed. Flushed the brakes lines with new fluid. Went to start the truck for a short ride to test the brakes... and the battery dies. It's on the charger. Have to wait to take that test ride.

As posted previously I got the hood "down" at the cowling but then today I put on the hood latch plate and the latch mechanizm itself.
I had the inner fenders/fenders ect still loose so I could raise the back of the fenders for better fit to the hood. The driver side I'm happy with but the passenger side kicked my butt. I still got it "acceptable" or should I say "the best I can do" at least for now. The hood shuts and latches really good.

Tomorrow it goes to my nephew. He's going to put the wiring harness in next week. The end is really in sight now...I think

ahhh today was the first time I have touched my truck in 3 months. Its been so dang hot I am not going outside for nothin! But today I just couldnt stand it anymore. I have all these things I want to get tackled swirling around in my head so I took the doors off this evening and tomorrow I will start welding in some braces so I can remove the floor and firewall for complete replacement. any suggestions?

Heck, you can feel welcome to come on over to the Lake Highlands area and help me put parts on. It's really frustrating to have all the parts to finish but not the time to do the work.

I picked up hood and front fenders from sanblaster.Hope to get parts mocked up this weekend. Yea im on the vent window project.(see my thread in doors)

Installed a Wolo Big Boy air horn! A great little horn with a big horn sound for $40....

Loaded the panel up on the trailer today and took it to my nephew's. He is the "wiring specialist" so he's going to wire it. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. It saw more sunshine to day than it has in the 5 years I've been working on it.
With it gone maybe I can tinker some on the 37..... and get my shop cleaned back up!

Changed the oil and put in Rotella T, and a zinc/phosphorous addative to help with those old flat tappets. Can't hurt

I also adjusted the toe-in using a trick I read on here- I bolted a piece of angle iron to each tire and just measured across the front and back. I got it 1/8th inch more toed in in the front, but it still has that wander it had when it was toed out... Not as bad though, so I'll take it. And dang was it ever good to drive it..

Then I got a mechanical temperature gauge hooked up. Next is a tach, then timing!

The summer is winding down, and I'm starting to wonder how much the pace of work on the truck is going to drop when I go back to college and my dad has to do all the work... lol We shall see.

Did A 12 volt conversion

Your wandering could be a number of things:
-worn tie rod ends or other ball joints
-did you roll the vehicle back and forth and check your toe-in again?
-Older bias ply tires can pull in strange ways, only replacing can tell for sure (or maybe just rotate front to back and see if anything changes)
-Your caster may be off, that has as much or more to do with straight line stability as toe-in. Hope that helps.

Got my power window mechanisms finally bolted down and aligned. Spent several hours fabricating little brackets to hold everything aligned. Amazing how much time is consumed having to custom make all the little bits and pieces. Got out the SOS pads and scrubbed off the scuff marks on the whitewalls - have to be more careful. Gave it it's first bath while I had the hose out.

Mr. Farmer, I did not roll it back and forth to recheck it... but I will do so later this week. Thank you!

I have decorated my truck to look like a local oil company my Grandpa and Uncles used to work for called UTOCO. I finished adding the letters to the doors this weekend.
http://community.webshots.com/photo/2723236270102454676KcgBrA

Looks like the real deal Brad. I like the bed rails.

Looks good.

Not as much as I would have liked but at least I got something done,I stripped and painted the underside of one of my running boards.
I started the truck and got no reading at the oil pressure gauge....
Needless to say I killed the motor sharpish!
It was previously 60 to 80psi,I sure hope it's an electrical fault!
(I haven't had time to investigate)

Put a tachometer in and drove it! It sure is nice to see what the engine is crankin at. Next up, adjust the idle up, and set the timing and vacuum advance!

I got the passenger side running board and splash apron assembled only to discover it would be so much easier to install if I remove the rear fender.
Which in turn involves the removal of the rear wheel,which then requires a jack and axle stand etc,etc,etc......

It seems to be a common thing when re-building vehicles, fit part,remove same part,re-fit,adjust,check manual,scratch head. Try again......

On a brighter note, my Oil pressure crisis was traced to a bad connection at the gauge. That's a relief!

Jock, I haven't bolted on my rear fenders yet (soon I hope) and I wonder, would it be easier to install the running board and splash apron with the fender off?

I would say so Jim,I assume the 3600 splash aprons fit the same,just that they're longer.
By doing it before the fender's on means you can fit the splash apron and board as a complete assembly.

There's a tab on mine that fits between the fender and bedside.
I found that with the fender out the way it lessens the chance of scratching either the rear fender and/or the cab as it takes a bit of finessing to get all the running board bolts seated.
Probably more so with the 3600 ones.

Thanks for the heads-up on this Jock.

There is a junkyard in Arizona that has tons of AD parts, and a lot of parts I was led to believe impossible to get. I will be getting a side-mount spare tire carrier. He has carriers for both 1/2 tons and 3/4 tons.
Email him at.
mothertruckeraz@aol.com

i got my bolt monday night, the truck started but then died out. this happen several times so i took the gas tank out and sent it to be cleaned it was full of RUST. carb is being rebuilt. i might run new gas lines, fuel pump was checked...we will see

Thanks for the tip on the AZ salvage yard!

It's been a while since I've posted but to update, I've Swapped out the Rocker arm shafts (I still need to set the valves). I also installed the Pertronix system in the distributor.

Installed the new battery cable (2/0 instead of 1 gauge), put in about 5 gallons of gas, and went for a short drive to finally check those brakes I've redone. Works great! Now on to body work stuff.

Yesterday got the truck lettering painted on, got it out to several job sites. Today got the back door latch working again.

Tough day had minor knee surgery, but the bright side was we stopped at Wal-Mart on the way home to pick up my prescriptions and my body/paint guy was there. He has my fenders, headlight, buckets and some interior parts prepped and primed and is ready for my cab and bed! Yippee, So I go home hook up the trailer, load the truck and made a drop and pick up. I'm busting my butt to have this truck presentable for the Nats in Louisville on Aug 4th and the Frog Follies in Evansville on the 26th. With any luck at all If I can get it back by Monday I will get her bolted back up by Wed evening. I'm very experienced in putting and taking it apart! LOL. If I get a few drives and runs out of her by fall I'll pull her down one more time for final paint. It really gets exciting when the light at the end of the tunnel gets brighter.