I look forward  to getting back to work on my truck. I have been preparing for a very long time. There always seem to be one more thing I need to do to get back to her. Time is not the problem, money has been tight yup. Over three years I have gathered tools gathered supplies. Little by little it’s coming together. Got the Cab and box off. The cab is almost ready for sandblasting and repair.

To get there I had to mostly empty out and paint a room. To become the blasting room. Lift the cab off. Move the frame out. Flip the cab on to the firewall.  Dragged pushed and pulled the cab into the blasting room.

Saved enough for a gas powered compressor. Saved enough for a pressure pot sandblaster, buy sand Ordered tarp zippers from Amazon. Left to do in there. Get plastic up to keep the sand and dust contained mostly to recover the sand for more runs through. Secondly to keep the sand out of the rest of the shop.

Oh and Lighting I ordered some 12v led tube lights for lighting, I am on solar. They are here but the wire is not.

I plan on concentrating on the drive train now. The frame and the donor truck are inside just in time foot of snow fell the other day.

That is after I finish the wall removals. One wall is done. The other I worked on today soon to be finished, I hope. Then I need to find places to put all the stuff I displaced from the wall removal. And then clean all the mess from the Reno. This wall was removed to let more daylight into the room where my frame is sitting. Also, more heat. I have wood stove in there. I will need it. It can get -52 here in a bad winter. Also, bad is I have not re insulated the top of the walls I just changed. And the ceiling above the frame needs doing as well Good news is I have lots of insulation from the walls leftover. Bad news its fiberglass and there is mold in some of that. I have switched over to rock wool since I built this shop. It used to be a bike shop for the Harley. Exercise room, and a woodwork shop. Now all been repurposed.

All for Lucille.

Soon I hope I can get back to her. Next after the cleanup pull the engines trannys, transfer cases out of both the donor 1990 Chevy 4×4 and the Yukon Frame. I have both vehicles sitting at 90 degree angles to each other nose to nose so the engine hoist can be used on both. Well its dark now, so I am going to spend my evening being a cowboy RD 2.

Lately on Facebook I have been criticized for downgrading an 18 year old drivetrain to an older 1990  version to fit under my 1955 body.    All this on a group for people restoring older Chevy pickups. WTF.

This is what the plan is so far:

I own a 1955 1st series Chevy pickup. I trade some old Harley parts, a broken welder and some other stuff.  I picked up my pickup days after spinal surgery and a 45 day stay in three hospitals. I was tboned by a truck two days after my birthday.

I was in pain barely able to shuffle when I saw her for the first time, a friend was kind enough to drive me there with a car hauler to her pick her up. I fell in love the second I saw her.

I got her home and spent a ton of time on the Internet researching the options. The body was sitting on a 1999  4×4 Yukon Frame.

The drive train: vortec engine, 4l60 e transmission, NP246 transfer case. At least three computers, one to run the engine, one to shift the transmission one to control the transfer case. Yuck.  As I did more research the more horrified I became. I read about the failures of the transmission then even more failures of the transfer case and failures of the main computer. I decided that they all had to go.

I kept doing research and found out that an older 4×4 Chevy could supply the drive train I was looking for. 700r4 transmission, NP241 manual transfer case.  Along the way I acquired a safari van with a 200 hp 4.3 liter engine. But what I really wanted was the  braking system. I was told I could take it out of the van if I took the van home.

The original plan was to use the engine and tranny out of the van. But I had nothing else to drive then, so I repaired the van, and I am still driving it.

So I mention to people I am looking for an older Chevy 4×4. I  run into someone who has one sitting in his yard. It belonged to him, and he gave it to his son, who ran the shit out of it and destroyed the engine and fresh tranny rebuild. We made a trade,  he was kind enough to deliver the truck to my acreage.  It had what I needed. I didn’t take a good look under the hood but did some research on the internet. It mentioned that the truck came standard with a 4.3 v6 same as in the van.

So the plan evolved engine out of the van, transmission out of the van but the tail shaft from the truck. it was all going to work out.

I had a visit from the previous owner, and we talked more about the 1990 k1500 truck.  I mentioned the six cylinder in the truck,  he said nope it was a 350  V8. The Yukon frame had a  v8. Back to do more research. I learned that  v6 motor mounts didn’t match up with a 4.3l 6. So I came up with a new plan.

Use the v8 in the frame get rid of the computers put a carb and manifold an older distributor. Mate the newer engine with the 700r4 and fit the np241 . Was it possible?  back to the internet. I spend time going through dozens of forums and learn that many others have done all the above.  with some special parts everything would work. I would need an adapter and new flexplate because the output shaft on the engine is .400 longer. I would need a special intake to fit the vortec heads or use the heads off the 1990.

Vortec heads flow much more air but are prone to cracking. The rest is basically a standard small block Chevy.

I find out the transfer case swap is straight forward I needed to use the front drive shaft from the 1990.

The carb Rochester. I remembered that a friend had one sitting out in the weather. I make another trade, now I own a carb. More research I found out where the serial number is and I find out what I traded for. 170 series quadrajet. I  read more and find out that the racers out there you race with Quadrajet look for the 704 series QJ. I go out to my old rv and check and sure enough I find a 704 series.

So the plan is coming together. it took me three years to get here. Including the renovations I had to do to fit everything into my small shop. The time it took to buy the tools I needed to do the job while surviving on a small disability pension. I f i finish the renos, so I can have heat .I may get some work done this winter. Just about finished the renos just one more beam to put in , but a little concerned about the snow that’s on top, yup another supporting wall, so I am taking my time. In the meantime I started to work on the vortec. I  started to pull it apart it would have to go to a machine shop in the spring. for honing and the heads needed to be checked for cracks.

So that where I am today its November 9

More than a few times after I joined truck groups on Facebook and had people wonder why I am changing out most of the drive train.

Anything with a computer or needs a computer needs to go. The NP246 transfer case controlled by the tccm (computer). The transmission 4l60e can’t even shift without a computer. The main computer that works with the three other computers deciding when to send fuel, when to shift and even when you need four wheel drive.

 or 

Try using the second one when the power goes out.

Nope give me a carburetor I can tune. 4 wheel drive when I want it. And  an automatic manual shift transmission that I can shift up or down when I need to.

So I found me an older donor truck with a 700r4 transmission.  NP241 transfer case.   Now I could even use the tbi off that because edelbrock makes an intake for that. but no I needed a carb. Truth is I have two here already.  Oh and I would have to switch to hei ignition.

So what next. I do a ton of research on the internet. I find I am not the only one. Many have changed to similar combos. Many have chosen to switch to carb.

So what comes first.

The engine. Disassemble all the wiring take off the ac, alternator, power steering pump.  Disconnect the exhaust system remove.

Pull the engine out put it on the engine stand pull off the heads. Send them down for magnafluxing.  and machine work .I need to check for the notorious cracked vortec heads. Disassemble the rest of the engine and send the block down for boring and magnafluxing. Oh yeah I need to buy pistons for that for the process.

Transmission 4l60e pull that. Pull the NP246  computer controlled constantly spinning transfer case off, and front drive shaft and rear drive shaft.

I will need to order a new hei distributor, put on a different gear for the roller cam.. On the front I need to do more research on the harmonic balancer.  I wont be needing the seluctor WTF is that.

I will need to put a different flex plate and adapter to make up for  .400 difference on the engine out put shaft. And maybe there is more. I will find out when I get there.

Its time to disassemble the k truck donor I didn’t buy it , just like the 55 I traded for it.  Cab and core off so I can easily access everything. Oh yea did I mention I am disabled.  Broken neck broken back some repaired some not. Living on a small pension. This will all be a challenge. I am relying heavily on utube videos to get me through.

I am not connected to the grid. I have solar not enough. And I have generators, so I can run power tools. I have a gas powered air compressor for air tools.

It will take me longer to get all this done but it’s the journey that is important. And I hope one day I will be driving Lucille as part of that journey.

NP246 DELETE

When I first started this website. I planned to replace the vortec engine, with one out of my safari van donor. Then I got a 1990 k1500.  I was going to shorten the frame and use the Tbi 350 in there. Which all was included on the dual fuel setup.

Now the plan is to use the vortec and get rid of all computers. The engine has one, the tranny has one and even the transfer case has one.

So to do that a carb and manifold plus hei distributor with a roller cam gear on the bottom would have to be installed.

The 700r4 out of the k1500 and the transfer case and front driveshaft would go into the Yukon frame as  well. I found out doing research I also needed a new flex plate and a spacer. The output on the vortec is .400 longer than on the TBI engine.

Jegs has one.

Now I needed a carb I remember a friend having a Rochester sitting outside his house in the weather it had been there for years. Got it for free.  But it is in bad shape. I also have one sitting in a an older camper van with a 350. I will pull that tomorrow to see what it is. Hoping for 704.

Jegs again had a manifold that was a very reasonable price. With good reviews price $149

I could use the TBI in the k1500 but that has a computer. I am anti computer. Do I think North Korea will send an EMP and wipe out every vehicle with a computer? Maybe but mostly I think they are a major point of failure. We depend on them too much. I know I am a computer tech.

Back to the conversion also needed to switch out the fuel pump apparently the stock Yukon pump send 65 pounds the carb needs six. I think i will probably invest in a fuel pressure gauge and mount that in the engine bay.

So now I am pulling the motor apart and getting it ready for the machine shop. they want a ton of money to hot tank and magnaflux. Magnaflux is neccesarry for the heads as vortecs are nototrious for cracking.

Now I looked into the whole hot tanking thing. A lot of people out there are just making their own hot tanks with chicken wire and baking soda.  I plan to do that and probably pressure wash the units.

That will take off about four hundred dollars off the machine shop bill. Now if I could find a decent price on the electromagnet for magnfluxing I would probably do that too. Then all I need is the powder and a turkey baster, and I am off to the races. This way I don’t have to send my heads away and pay someone to tell me they are cracked.

Now onto the machine work. I plan to remove the pressed in studs that hold the rocker arms. so the machine shop can tap the holes and put in threaded studs. I also learned the vortec heads . Need the area under the valve springs milled, so I can put in a cam with higher lift. Then the heads need surfacing.

The block. I need new pistons to go down with the block to the machine shop. so they can bore them to match the pistons. So back to jegs I go and research pistons. They will cost about $32 each. Now i need to total everything and see if it would just be cheaper to buy a crate vortec. So much research to do. I will fill you in as I go

I managed to get the donor truck in the shop a few weeks ago. When I closed the outside doors. I realized that I wouldn’t be able to pull the engine out. The hoist was tight against the wall.  My shop was originally designed for working on my Harley not an extended cab truck.

That wall had to be removed. No problem except it was ten feet high by 13 feet wide, and supported a heavy roof.  I spent a few days coming up with a plan. The roof needed support and I needed to be able to lift a new beam in place. A beam that was three heavy 2 x10 ‘s 13 feet long and that was after cutting away the supporting wall.

So I cut three 2x 10’s  to support the roof and sledge hammer them into place. I grab my sawzall and start cutting the wall studs. An hour later the opening is cut. Then of course the wind picks up , just what I needed . I had visions of the heavy roof falling on my head.

I kept working. I built the pillars and now came the fun part. The beam. There was no way I would be able to lift a heavy beam nine feet in the air. So  I chose to build the beam in place. I lifted the boards one at a time then used some long grk screws to hold it together. The roof was now supported.

I trusted my work, well  mostly. I left the extra support boards up for a couple of days.

I noticed that I might be able to shoehorn my 55 frame into the new space I created. I thought I should order some wheel dollies. I looked around to get the best price. These things are dirt cheap in the states insanely expensive in Canada. Best I could do was $159 for four from amazon.

A couple of weeks later I got the dollies and assembled them. I made some measurements and realized my old office was in the way it would have to be shortened.  Another supporting wall. I managed to get through all that and was left with a huge pile of insulation left over from the walls. I built a platform above my old office and stuffed all in there for future use. One more thing, lots of one more things, I had stairs that were in the way no problem only three they had to be moved. That was three hour job.

Now all the stuff I had stored in there needed to go, two trips to the dump and a lot of sweeping I had the area clean enough to bring in the frame. I needed to pick up the pace snow was in the weather forecast.

Next obstacle, the donor was still in my shop. With two flat tires. I put some air in hoping they would hold long enough for the move.

Throw a chain around the bumper and onto my van and I pull the donor out and down the driveway.

Now the 55 frame. I had no way to move that and off course it had two flat tires.  So I pull out a rusty come along that I found buried in the dirt at the back of the property, my tow chain and a chunk of heavy propylene rope. It was only a 60 foot pull. The come along moved everything an inch with every lever pull.  Every 5 feet I would have to coerce the rusty old thing to loosen up the cable so I could shorten the rope and chain as the frame got closer.

After two hours of painful levering the frame was up to the door. That was as close as I could get.  There were no more places to anchor the come along. Now I needed a way to get it inside up a slight incline.  Then I remember my car ramps for oil changes.  I jack up the back up the rolling frame, slide the ramps under the wheels and lower the jack. It works the frame rolls forward six inches up hill. Twenty or thirty more tries and the frame is inside.

Next day I am excited I get to try my new wheel dollies. Intoxicated by visions of pushing the frame into place with one finger. One wheel at a time I jack up each corner and put the dollies in place.

I try pushing the frame it doesn’t budge.  I realize the problem, I opted to save money by not making the garage floor smooth. The dollies don’t move at all. I grab a two by six and stick it under a dollie and use it as a lever. The frame moves six inches but the tire now flat doesn’t hold the dollie and it shoots out at me. Twenty more tries and the frame is on the smooth concrete. This time a little hard push and the frame is moving. I get it into place and now all the work is coming to fruition.

I sweep out the shop and now it’s time to roll the donor back in. The tires now flat again. I can’t steer it, so it means moving the truck a few feet with my van and then jacking it up changing the steering letting the jack down and rinse and repeat until the 1990 Chevy is back in the shop and the doors closed.

It’s all good snow is on its way. Then I realize the box for the 55 is still outside. I forgot it out there. It may stay till spring.

It will take a few days to recover from all the work I did. I forget I am disabled sometimes at least until the pain rolls in.

Now comes the easy part disassemble the donor remove the cab the box and the fenders remove the drive train, do the same on the 55 frame and replace with the donor drive train. No problem hahahahaha. Oh yeah the tranny and engine from the donor both need rebuilding and one more supporting wall has to go so the heat and light can get in. Easy Peasy.

Same song thru the ages

This image was borrowed.

Every Year I see people and how they react to Remembrance day. I watch a local sawmill that doesn’t even pause or take time off to remember what there is to remember. People go on not remembering our veterans or the sacrifices they made.

Why is it important to me? I am a vet. I didn’t really see carnage, I didn’t do anything except be ready for the war that was expected. I served during the cold war. The only war that I know that kept us in fear of total nuclear annihilation for 45 years. For 5 years of that I served in the Canadian Navy. I was proud of my country, proud of my flag.  I am proud of the men and women that have served in all countries.

I am disabled but that didn’t happen during a war. What all the men and women that served during the same time as did, is train and train in case we needed to fight. We did lots of rescue work in the Pacific, even a major drug bust. But we didn’t see action, but we were ready.

Take one minute at 11:00 am on November 11 to remember the ones that died, the ones that survived and like me the ones that were ready to die for our countries.

Here is the story behind the poppies

http://www.greatwar.co.uk/article/remembrance-poppy.htm

I wanted to tell you about a remarkable young woman who inspired me to get working on my 55. I ended up watching all her videos. Thanks Hannah I hope you make it back to do more videos. And thanks to her teacher which I assume is her dad.

I knew I would have to do some sandblasting and I did a search on youtube and found Hannah’s Bug.  A series of videos about a young woman restoring a bug. The first one I watched was about just that.

I liked her video and that got me going so I went online to find the best price on a sandblaster. I found one at my favourite shop KMSTOOLS.  The price was so low that it must have been a mistake.

So I made the trip in bought that last month. Two days after I bought the price jumped up $60 bucks. I guess someone figured out that the price was too low.  Didn’t matter KMS honoured the advertised price and a week later I had it home. Right aways I hooked up my thousand year old 2 horse compressor hooked it all up and actually managed to sandblast one square inch.

I knew that the little compressor wouldn’t be enough to power the sandblaster but it didn’t stop me from trying.

I knew I would need a bigger compressor but I didn’t have the money then money showed up. Today I picked up the compressor, tomorrow I will put gas and oil in it and fire it up and try to do some sandblasting. Due to my injuries I will only last about an hour, so I will make sure the work is all laid out, to be more efficient.

Painful but doable. It is what it is.

I am a little behind schedule. The winter storms will be coming later this week and snow will become a problem. I had to get my blasting done so I could get my donor truck inside for disassemble.

Ignore the long haired kid I am sure he will grow up to be a politician.

Well winter is here we hit -23 c the night before last and -19c last night. It is in the minus whether you are in Fahrenheit or not.

I am out there chopping wood and bringing it in.  Yup I know I am disabled and feel I feel it every swing and really feel it as I push that wheel barrow with 900 lbs of wood up hill into the house. I aint looking for sympathy. I just do what I need to do to survive.

Soon that woods is gonna run out maybe before I get new wood in. I have a promise of a logging truck load to come Dec 1. I will be happy if that is true. It means I wont die in my house freezing to death. The cold part of winter is not here yet.

I am excited about getting a compressor it will be here tomorrow. The Canadian government sent me some money and the Alberta government sent me a small check for climate change. Who knew I would get paid for us destroying the planet.

So I checked online at KMS tools to see if they had the compressor I have been drooling over for a while. It said in stock and on sale. I took the money I got from the governments and all the change I throw into a jar for buying tools, and I make the two hour journey to buy the compressor.

It is gas powered which I need cause I am on solar. I will push enough air to do a little sandblasting which I need. And even fill up the flat tires I have out here which I also need.

So when I get to the tool place someone else had already bought it. The salesman there promises that he will get me another and send it by courier to a town a little closer to me. So I plunk down my cash and make the deal.

I got a call later in the week that didn’t happen. The salesman told me that the cute girl at the store is going home to see her Dad on Sunday meaning tomorrow. So tomorrow if the old van starts, I don’t get hit by lightning, or a winter blizzard hits, or any other major calamity happens, I will have a compressor. Of course I have to lift the thing into and out of my van and bring it in to the warm part of the house, so I can  put oil and gas in it.

Hopefully if I can get a break in the weather, I can blast my truck cab.

Would have been nice to do this in the summer, I am not sure if the sand, or glass will flow in theses cold temperatures. I guess I will find out.

Now I am putting change in the jar for that MillerMatic 211. In another eight months I will have that too.

watch what  happens when Rednecks do rock

UPDATE: I HAVE REVERTED BACK TO USING THE YUKON FRAME WHEN I FOUND OUT iI CAN MAKE THAT VORTEC COMPUTERLESS

Well another trade happened. I traded some stuff left behind by a farmer a hundred years ago on my little acreage for a 1990 Chevy K ext cab 4×4 with a blown motor and tranny. Same tranny   that I had in the original donor the safari van. (no I didnt mean a transgender no disrespect meant), I am talking about a non computerised 700r4 transmission, in the 1992 Safari already slated for a donor for the 55 project. The problem with the Safari transmission was it had a long tailshaft. The pickup had the right one and a transfer case that didnt spin all the time like in the Yukon Frame I had got with my 55 when I made the trade. Best part no fookin computers. And me a computer tech for the last 30.

So I was set , the new frame had a motor, transmission no problem right. Just one little problem the frame was way too long.  If I did my research right about 25 inches had to be removed. So off to the internet. I find two good examples of frame shortening. One was Stacey David, a  tv personality and rodder Host of Gearz. I used to watch him when I had satellite tv. Which I don’t have anymore. I was happy to see he had a few short episodes on u tube. And one below had a frame shortening how to that was similar to one I had already found on the internet.

One uses fishplate and the other uses box plate to strengthen the weld. I plan to use both, since I already know I am gonna drive it like I stole it. I aim to misbehave.

Thanks to Brian at Rattletrap Productions for allowing me to use the following video.

Check this out too
Shortening a frame from 67-72chevytruck.com.

Some pics of my donor truck. It came with free firewood, deer antlers, some old work boots and enough mouse shit to fill a pool. As soon as I finish the sandblasting  I will start the disassembly.

I would like to also thank scottysdetailing on you tube for his videos on disassembling a similar truck.

Will all this be too much for a disabled man to do. As long as I believe I can, I can.

Looked out at the grass and saw my first frost of the season a reminder to pick up the pace lots of work to get done before winter arrives. Which according to the sandhill cranes heading to Texas for the redneck slaughter is now.

I needed to get access under the cab so I could cut out the cancer and weld in new sheetmetal.  That will be interesting enough since I haven’t done welding since high school. So just hook on some chains lift it with a baby cherry picker and lift easy. “Were it so easy” Quote from Halo.

It took four dangerous attempts 30 feet of chain all the vise grips I had and a few screwdrivers. Razor sharp rusty metal wanting to sever limbs at every attempt. Ya I know too dramatic.  I really should have had a second person for safety. That isn’t going to happen soon, Online dating just ain’t happening for me.

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So I will add more I hope later but right now I need to gas up the generator and start grinding. Oh didn’t I mention I am off grid. And I might mention I am disabled, not to let that slow me down much. enjoy the music i used to add songs when i wrote my other blogs. I haven’t written much of anything lately.

Notice the little white  spots on the roof all dings that need to be filled, The leading edge of the roof felt like it had bad acne.

three song day