I Ain't Got No Body... Cha Cha Cha

Ok, even if you're not a fan of Mel Brooke's Young Frankenstein you still have to appreciate the fact that this truck ain't got no body atall.  We pulled the cab off and then started getting the frame prepped for paint.

 We started by pressure washing the frame and using a wire wheel to remove gunk from it.  This is before the washing. 

After burning two tankfuls of gas through my pressure washer, I pushed the frame back inside to see if I could scrape off any more debris.  This is what the shop floor looked like after the fact.

Then it went back outside for more pressure washing.  Then, I sprayed on some Ospho which is phosphoric acid.  It changes the chemical composition of rust and makes it inert.  It turns it black too.

Here are the before and after pictures.  Before.

After.

Next, we finish prepping and paint the frame.  

Pick Up Thy Bed

I know this is referenced in the bible, but this may not be what Jesus had in mind.  But, we got the bed off the HOT truck.

Now, Matt is the bolt whisperer.  He was able to get all of his bolts loose.  But, I had to cut most of mine.

What a mess!  What a rusted mess!  

Next, the cab has got to come off.  Then, we get to clean up the frame.  Fun!

My Motatater is Toe Up

That's right, it's toe up from the floe up!  The radiator isn't radiating, the alternator isn't alternating, the crank shaft isn't cranking and the pistons aren't, um....working either.  But, don't fear.  I know a guy.  And, my guy says he can make it work again.  Remember that valve I showed you that was supposed to be flush?  He says that unleaded gas was the cause!  Remember, in 1964 all gas had lead in it.  Then, the EPA made leaded gas a thing of the past.  But, my machinist says he can put new heat treated valve seats in the engine so that it will be able to run on modern gas.

So, here's what's is going to happen next... The engine will get new valve seats, new head gasket, honed cylinders, shaved head and block (so that will mate up cleanly), new camshaft, new main bearings, new rod bearings, new oil pump, new timing gears, new pistons, new wrist pins and rings, all new gaskets and seals.  And all in all, just a new lease on life.  It will literally be better than it was in 1964.  

I cleaned one of the push rods before I took his picture.  Can you tell which one? 

What do you think?  Is it time to clean up the transmission?  Yeah, maybe so.

Don't Lose Your Head

OK, i've been pulling the engine apart and Houston, we have a problem.  You see how the intake valve is nice and flush?  (The one on the right) The exhause valve is supposed to be flush too. (The one on the left) You'll notice it is recessed almost an eighth of an inch.  That's WAY out of limits!  

So, it's time to haul this chunk of metal to the machine shop to see if it can be salvaged.

I've pulled the crankshaft and it seems to be in pretty good shape.  The camshaft is really worn a lot, but I'm replacing it anyway.  More to come.

The Numbers Game

So, I've been doing lots of research about the HOT truck.  

There are numbers everywhere and each one tells a little part of the story.  Casting numbers are on the engine.  I thought the last four numbers meant that it was made in 1968, but that's not the case.

Stamped numbers give the manufactured date.

And trim/body style numbers tell how the truck left the factory.

I won't bother you with all the details, but here's what I've found.  This is the original engine.  I believe it has been rebuilt at least once because it no longer has it's Chevy orange color, but I did find some traces here and there. The engine was made on the 4th of June 1963.  When I told Lori that she said, "Hey, that's about when you were made!"  OK, ew!  I don't want to think about that, but she is right.  I was probably made in late July or August 1963 to show up in April 1964, but I digress.  The engine is a 230 cubic inch straight six cylinder engine designed for this 1/2 ton pick-up.  It has a three speed Saginaw transmission with a column shifter known as "three on tree". It came from the Baltimore Maryland factory in light blue as the primary color.  It had an Ivory top and accent color.  It also sported a Fawn interior.  I don't make this stuff up!  Bottom line, it's been painted, rebuilt, and reupholstered, but it's all still here and that's way cool to me.  So, will I repaint it in light blue??  Nah, I'm thinkin' red, anybody shocked?  Now it's time to tear into that engine. 

The Extraction Attraction

What time was the extraction, doctor?  It was at tooth hurty.  Get it?  2:30?  Seriously, it was closer to 3:30 when we pulled the engine and transmission.  I tried to pull it out by myself first.  And, nothing...

Then, we decided the tractor would probably work better.

Matt got the transmission loose and the whole thing came right out without a hitch.

Now, we need to look things over to see what we're dealing with.  More to come.

Making good progress

Matt came over tonight and we made a lot of headway in a hurry.  We got the entire front clip and front fenders off.  We found a LOT more rot than we expected.  So, it may require two new front fenders, we'll see.

The front bumper had six bolts so it should have taken five minutes tops.  Instead, it took well over an hour since we had to cut most of them off with a grinder.  

Finally the bolts relented and we won!  So now, we can disconnect the transmission and pull the engine and trans together as one piece.  

I took a picture of Matt hard at work, but....   I mean butt...  Not quite the Janet Jackson wardrobe malfunction, butt...  Seriously, he had bloody knuckles at the end of the night so you know he had fun.

Here we are loving the work.  More to come.  

Having a blast

Undertaking a project like this requires some fairly specialized tools.  So, yesterday I took my Harbor Freight coupon down and purchased a blast cabinet.  What is a blast cabinet you ask?  Well, it is where you put smaller parts to media blast the gunk off of them.  Your can use different types of media from sand to crushed walnut shells to soda.  I wanted to go with walnut shells, but they didn't have any.  So, I wound up with soda.  You've heard of baking soda?  Pretty much the same thing, in fact this had the arm and hammer logo on it.

So, I started with a big box of parts and a couple of hours later it looked like this.

You stick your part in, close the door, turn on the compressor and shop vac attachment to take care of dust and you're ready to start.  You stick your hands into the two holes you see there and there are gloves on the inside.  Then, you look though the glass and blast away.

Here are two parts.  One has been blasted and the other has not.  Can you tell which one is which?

Hot mess!

Most of you know that I retired from the military. And, the military loves accronyms.  Guess what?  Horny Old Truck makes a great accronym and it is HOT, literally.  So, I really do have a hot mess on my hands.  Here are just a few examples.

So, this is a view of the passenger's side floor board where someone did a "restoration" by using thinsheet aluminum and Bondo to make a patch.  Needless to say it just created more rust, surprise.

Then, there was the bird's nest.

And, then there was the "professional" wiring job.  OK, you can add a junction box in your house complete with lamp wiring and wire nuts, but for the record it is NOT OK in a vehicle of any kind.  

There is a saving grace to all of this.  Whoever did this work at least had good taste in music.  This is what I found in the tape player.  Elvis music and HOT just seems to go together.  

Horny old truck!

Lori says I can't call it the "Horny Old Truck"!  But what would you call it?  It had not one, not two or even three, but four horns.  I'm not even kidding!

Here's one!

Here's two!

Here's three and four!!

So, I'll be calling it the Horny Old Truck.  I would make other references, but discretion is the better part of valor, so I will abstain.  Ha.

I am old!

Well, this year I turn 50.  And, it has me thinking about how old 50 really is.  So, I decided to tackle a project I normally wouldn't do.  I am going to restore a 50 year old truck.  To be specific, it is a 1964 Chevy Step Side C-10 pick-up.  Now, the truck is in really rough shape like most 50 year old things.  But, it's OK my dad has an awesome set of tools (sorry, Fast Times at Ridgemount High reference).  So, my son-in-law and I are going to disassemble it one piece at a time and refurbish the whole thing.  When we finish it will be nice!