--UPDATE--

Sorry the posts have been latent for almost a month! some budgeting for tools for the truck project has been going on, and that involves a little bit of saving. on deck, is an air compressor, and not the little one you use for nail guns on the job site. I'm going for the big boy that needs its own 220 circuit, the kind that is permanently mounted with manly bolts into the concrete slab of the garage... yeah (insert Tim the Tool Man Taylor grunt here*).

This air compressor is not just for the truck, it also opens up major opportunities for the current house remodeling projects, and my wife's side business as well: http://www.etsy.com/shop/colorstorydesigns

speaking of house remodeling... in the down time for the truck, house projects are being knocked out at a record pace around here! The remodel, is what I will be posting about in the next few posts, so if things like IKEA, Built in furniture, and demolition tickle your fancy, then stay tuned!

thanks for checkin in!

all about timing

It's been a bit of a frustrating week on the truck front. Monday afternoon, I had some extra time on my hands, so I decided to do some follow up maintenance to the 454. This engine had 360 miles on it, when I got the truck, so it is now "broken in," and ready for some minor adjusting. The valves (in the heads of the engine), fall into this category. This is not typically a major job, but leave it to my recent luck to turn this into a major job. I first, adjusted the valves by the book, I followed the same method I have used for years, on V8s. As I was re assembling everything, literally, the last bolt I was tightening... BROKE! The bolt broke off inside the head of the engine! it broke flush with the surface. insert moment of quiet panic, and anxiousness, followed quickly by loud outbursts of select expletives--here.

So now, this is priority no. 1. Get the bolt out. I drilled successfully into the center of the bolt, with a small drill bit, and proceeded to follow the small bit with gradually larger bits, until the bolt was able to be pulled out in small pieces. so, I'm out of the woods, right? everything is moving-relatively-smooth. ok... last drill bit size, here comes the bolt, awesome... SNAP! The ... wait, what? (it is beginning to get a little dark out) what just snapped? oh! of course it is the drill bit... so.. F*C@!#@$!!! Now I have a broken drill bit, inside of a broken bolt, inside of the head!

24 hrs later, some expensive drill bits, some careful dremmel-ing, and holding my tongue right, and we have usable threads! ok-- button it up, tighten the bolts, and let's get this thing running.

CRANK, CRANK, CRANK... NOTHIN'. crank...crank...crank...BOOM! I'm pretty sure that backfire cleared out all the deer in a ten mile radius :) well... truck's not running, what happened? must have messed up something in the valve adjustment??

oh geez.. It's now Saturday, and this is easily one of the most frustrating mechanic days, I have had in a long time. That's the most of the drama really, bottom line, it took me the entire day, saturday, to get the valves adjusted correctly, and the problem ended up being a combination valve adjustment, and timing. all in all, the timing of the stroke of the engine, is a VERY finicky, low tolerance, fine tuned, process.

The truck DOES run smoother, and start, and shut down much cleaner. But, taking a running vehicle, adjusting something to make it run better, and then ending up with a non-running vehicle, is extremely frustrating. I'm glad it's done, and in the future, even though you are supposed to adjust the valves after break-in, If the engine is running great, LEAVE IT ALONE!

I have done some body work on the truck, another post coming soon about all that progress.

thanks for checkin in :)

If you build it, They will come...

well... as most of my household projects are begun, this weekend, I began by taking out a bush. 1.) it was in my way, every morning while going to wake up the '71 (nothing should be in the way of this process!) and 2.) we have been thinking about extending our garage roof line to make a carport. Of course its for the '71! we wouldn't want her to have to sit in the wintery rain, especially after she has had a beautiful paint job. So this carport... we are going to basically add on to our garage, keeping the same roof line, just extending it by about 12' or so. We may poor some strip footings, that way, if we ever decided to enclose it and make it a full on garage-mahal, then we could do so easily.

The carport will serve double duty really. Ok, my real motive creeps in in about 12 seconds... You see, I only have a one car garage right now. for the normal weekend warrior, this should suffice, so long as you don't plan on parking a car in the garage, OR you don't plan on restoring the love of your life WHILE remodeling your house. The garage acts as double duty workshop/storage for things to work on in the workshop. So... if I can have somewhere for the storage to move i.e. back of carport, then I can actually use the workshop as a 'workshop' or paint booth, etc. what? a paint booth? indeed! A decision has been made, I will be painting the '71, and she will be Rally Red, its the color red they used on the '67 corvettes (my dream car.)

I have done lots of research into the whole painting gig, what you need for tools, what is the best, what to avoid, how to practice, practice, practice. And how to do it all over again after you fudge it up. I have a friend from back in high school who owns an IMMACULATE '54? gmc.. sorry Chris*, I know the year is somewhere close. But he painted the truck himself as a teenager, so I consulted him, and it seems like if I get in any tight spots, he will be the guy to call. Yes, Chris, I signed you up for this :) Anywho... I figure If I'm going to go all out, and do this truck build, then I should have the facilities for it. And I'm sure at some point during construction, Satchel Page and Team will come slowly creeping out of the 8' tall blackberry patch that is my front yard, and start swingin' hammers with me to get it done...

So the drawing/planning/building will begin. The truck is in great shape right now. I have it to where it is a comfortable everyday driver, and in the meantime, before disassembly begins, I will be patching in some rust free rocker panels, and continue to clean things up under the baby's belly. sorry folks, no images for this post, so if you have made it this far into the reading, congratulations, and thanks for keeping up. I will put up pics of the "before" for the carport soon, and will update apppropriately, as needed.

*No names have been changed for protection of identity. his name really is Chris. and he's a good guy.

Time Capsule Discoveries

Today I began some interior work on the truck. I am thinking I should replace the "resto" name tag with "Rusto." I knew all along that this truck had rust in the usual places (rocker panels, kick panels, etc.). Knowing it is there, and removing flooring to see it, are two very different things. I can put my hand through some of these holes! well... once the shock was over with, after removing the rubber mat, and all the sound proofing on the floorboards, I got to taking the seat out of the cab. It all came out pretty easily, no surprises.... UNTIL I actually got the seat out and into the driveway. In the framing of the seat, on both the back and bottom, I found these build sheets! these are documents placed into vehicles as it is on the assembly line. Build sheets note every little detail about each vehicle, including build dates, model numbers, trim package details, which GM plant, etc.
Cleaning everything down to bare metal allows me to line up a gameplan for what to replace, what to refurbish, and how to prep for paint. I am starting to enjoy the challenge of doing a full restoration while leaving the truck a 'driver.' As for the cab, I am going to cut out all the rusty pieces, and weld in new "patch panels" (replacements). Under the dash, I will replace all the duct work, reinsulate everything, and I will install a product called Hushmat. Its a soundproofing mat that goes under the carpet and along the firewall. This will help make the cab nice and quiet while allowing me to get my loud exhaust fix everytime I set off any and all car alarms in a given radius :)

now that the holidays are over, and I am done having the road trip of a lifetime, (more to come on that later), the updates here will be a little more frequent. thanks for keeping up, and look out for ugly trucks with a lot of horsepower! oh-and the cute... chick? is apparently Rhonda... she has been under my seat for a LONG time, clearly!