Grizz's Redneck Express 1966 Chevy Short Fleetside BILLYBOB

[Grizz]

Bucket lists, being what they are sometimes stay just that.

But, in spite of a few setbacks recently, including redundancy, unemployment etc, I have been able to keep busy.

Gutting and rebuilding the kitchen, a bathroom etc.

Nicola, my wife also pushed me to strike out/off some of the items on my bucket list.

One was my trip to South Africa to ride 6500km with my brother on motorbikes, a lifelong dream fulfilled.
Thread link below, main pic report started on page 22.

Grizz & Dozer's Ride South Africa, Ride Report Complete. YouTube Videos.....

I think most of you knew the Grizz-Mobile I bought about 5-6 years ago with the help of Oldbus in Germany.
Then there was Myrtle, Nicola's 56 Ford Anglia 100E again, fetched with the help of the Oldbus transport system.

Last year we had decided to sell both these cars in order to get one car, so that we could go to shows etc together, towing the Grizz-Pod Trailer, rather than in separate cars. Part of the deal was that I needed another job.
This happened while I was in the middle of who knows where in South Africa on a motorbike.......















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So for the last 6 months or more I have been trawling the interwebs around the world, primarily the USA and UK for another item to strike off the Bucket List.

Nicola and I had figured out we could land a Chevy truck of our own description/spec on our drive from the USA for sensible money, compared to what was available in the UK, so were prepared to do the work to find and import one as there is not a lot of choice over here.

What we wanted was basically a 1960 - 1966 Chevy C10/C20 Short Fleetside truck, with as much chrome as possible.
We like the LongFleetside and Stepside models as well, but a Short Fleet would be ideal. Extras like V8, Disc brakes, new paint (not primer or Matte black)power steering etc would be good too.

One of the important points to keep in mind was that we did not want to spend more than the other two cars had brought in.

Over the weekend I got a prompt from Andy "Motorama" on RodsnSods forum. He had a lovely Long Chevy Fleetside to sell, but of course we wanted a Short Fleetside.
So I checked out the link, loved what I saw. Contacted the seller, spoke to him for quite some time and set a time for today to go view.
In the mean time I had loads of emails, PM's and chats with various people about the trucks spec as I know NOTHING.

A Massive Thank you to all who took the time to explain to me the difference between various upgrades etc. You all made the purchase easier in the end.

That brings us to today.

We left home early and got to Rye on the coast by 10.00 and to the seller, Rob's place a little later, after I had messed up on the destination.

Turns out Rob is a trained nurse (my second trade after military)working in Stroke rehabilitation. He and his wife just had a new baby and the truck just is not right for them now, time for a sensible 4x4. He is also a hardcore biker, and allround nice guy.

After two hours of tyre kicking, a test drive (with Nicola grinning like a Meerkat on speed in the passenger seat) and more time crawling about under the truck like a drunk monkey, we decided to buy the truck.

Insurance was £98/year comprehensive, and £36/year for £3000 recovery service, including European recovery. So total cost for cover £134.00

The truck will need quite a bit of work over time to get it where we want it, but it is a good base.

You can see some of the flaws in the photos.

Here is the sellers description, which actually under sold the truck.

It had a full service carried out earlier this year, all grease points are done regularly (there are lots of them!). New battery was fitted about 3 months ago, New steering box fitted 1 month ago (from LMC Trucks US).
Engine;
It is running a period 327ci SBC V8 fitted with camel hump heads, Edelbrock manifold and carb, Edelbrock intake, Hedman headers, Flowmaster side exit pipes, HEI ignition, Carbon leads, Hi-Flo oil pump, Alloy corvette style rocker covers. 3 speed auto, column change with the obligatory 8 ball gear shifter! Also fitted starter solenoid upgrade to eliminate poor starting when warm due to the headers running close to the starter, never had a problem with starting.
Reciepts present for the majority of engine work which was carried out by a previous owner.
The engine block was painted red at this time but could do with doing again.
Body;
Painted in the states before importation, to be fair this is the weak bit, the paint is in fair condition, very thickly applied, and has helped to protect the vehicle, but there are a few runs here and there plus a couple of scabs on the rear quarters of the front wings (pic) and a small crease on the passenger door where the wind has caught it and flipped it open. The repair panels for the wings are between $10-$20 plus p+p from LMC Trucks US so cheap enough to fix.
There are no structural problems, cab corners, floor and truck chassis are solid, pickup bed is good solid sealed plywood with a rubber liner and a tight tonneau to keep the weather out.
Glass is excellent all round, lights all good and working, as are all other electrics.
Note: This is a Big Back Window truck (If you are reading this, you probably know what it means VS Small Back Window trucks)
Brakes are drums all round but have servo upgrade, very powerful.
Fuel tank relocated from inside cab, to under bed at rear, behind axle, sensible filler neck inside bed. Original fuel tank converted to packing space.
Truck has Radio/CD player fitted in steel dash, looks like it was done with a meat cleaver.
Auto Meter gauges in dash, badly fitted, but all work well.
Truck fitted with Chrome Smoothies with good white wall tyres/tires.
Rear Chrome bumper fitted and has built in towbar with American electrics.
The truck has no spare wheel.
The interior has been retrimmed along the line somewhere, bit 70's style, quilted PVC seat and headlining, classic chrome with holes steering wheel, seems to suit the truck.
I have used this this truck as my daily driver for a year, its done tip runs, carted motorcycles about, I even used it to move house,  the only problem I had was the steering box giving up a few weeks ago, now the new one is on it, it is driving better than ever.
These C10's are an easy classic to live with, parts available worldwide, easy to drive and maintain.
60-66 Chevy C10/C20's have been predicted to be the next big thing as they are now being discovered. They drive like a car, but work like a truck.
And.......... you can take the BBQ to shows!!!

Truck Freshly MOT Tested on 14 June, so a year of carefree driving ahead.


I guess it is time for a few pics.


Meet BILLYBOB......

















Where Fossil Fuels are happily converted into Smiles per mile.



Harley the fearless immediately came to mark and inspect the latest addition to the Grizz-Household.



Last pic, Happy man on his truck.





Tim "Bratman" knew that one of Nicola's conditions for getting the truck was to have a "Mexican" Blanket on the bench seat, so when we met up recently in Guildford, he brought me a grey blanket to hide in the car when we went to look at the truck, and then idea was to give it to her if we did buy the truck......
Draped over the bonnet of his '74 C30 Camper Special.

Thanks Tim.



Tim has also sourced us a Chrome towball to go with the rear bumper so that the Grizz-Pod can get around.






[font size="6"][font face="comic sans ms"][font color="52e619"]MEMPHIS FLIERS.......[/font][/font][/font]

A Rockabilly Band who had the truck before Rob had it as a daily.

Their FB page linked below, with some cool pics of the truck.

https://www.facebook.com/MemphisFlyers?fref=ts

I am trying to find out more about the other previous owner of the truck, who I believe built motorbikes and choppers.

Here are some photos of the truck in its previous guise with different wheels.





Future plans for the truck are many, and will be discussed over time.

Please feel free to add info, opinions etc here.

[Grizz]

Went through all the paperwork in the substantial file the truck has generated over the last 9 years since it came into the UK.

About £5000 spent on it by various owners shows that this hobby is not too cheap.

It also tells me why the truck feels as good as it does mechanically.

Cosmetically it will get sorted over time as finances allow, as the purchase price took the whole budget, but the truck needs no work right now, except for the headlights which refused to work the day after its MOT roadworthyness test. Typical of these old cars.

I found a copy of the original California title.



Also made sure I got the trucks security sorted.



When I bought the truck it was obvious that there is no spare wheel.
So the stud pattern is 6 x 140 pcd, so that should be the same as most Japanese 6 stud rims.
Next job is to find a spare to throw in the back for long trips.



So today I did a few things after I got in from work.
I had some spare keys cut, as I only got one set..... typically one works, and one does not.



Then I went down to the garage and got the truck outside, to clean the bed and prep it for paint.
It will stay like this until I can afford to change it all to a wood strip and steel bed.

One of the things I noted when I bought the truck was that whoever did some of the mods in the past, had a very heavy hand.
Some Auto Meter gauges have been fitted, two into the original instrument pod, possibly cutting the holes with C4 plastique explosive or a hammer and chisel. The bottom has also been covered with a piece of ally that seems to be glued on there with super glue.





Loads of cracks in the plastic everywhere you look. Another replacement later type job.



The modern Radio/CD player seems to have been fitted by a mad Badger with a meat cleaver.
Note the edges...... WHY, Why Why can people not do stuff right or just leave it alone if they have no bloody clue?



Then after vacuum cleaning the inside, I turned my attention to the load body.
Plywood, sealed on both sides is better than nothing, but one day when I have some spare cash I will replace the bed with strips and either stainless, painted or chromed strips.

I spend about 90 minutes with a sharp scribe, hacksaw blade and the short end of my garage vacuum cleaner and a brush cleaning it up.
There is also a very nice rubber bedliner which I have removed till I have painted the bed and it has dried.



Last pic is a shot of the old inboard fuel tank behind the seat....... cut open and painted to make some neat packing and storage space. Maybe I will also carpet it, or remove it at some point, for now it is perfect.



Parked up outside the garage, a nice view that makes my heart smile.



Possibly my favourite photo of the truck so far, sent to me by Rob, the previous owner.

[zahistorics]

Nice buy Grizz. About time you got a 'real' vehicle to park by your pumps.

[gordini]

Welcome back here Bro....love your lorretjie

[Grizz]

Thanks guys.

A short clip of it coming home......

Note the gap between fence and house.

Just so you know. That was the first and last time it went head first down the drive.

I now only reverse it dow, weirdly its easier to get it to the garage that way as it took a 27 point turn at the garage to turn it around after taking it down head first.

[ters]

Welcome back Grizz!!! No excuses to stay away now! Great looking Fleetside, enjoy every mile.

Ters.

[Grizz]

Had yesterday and today off as annual leave and today moved a lovely leather clad chair and large foot stool over to my stepson, Tom's father's home for him to put in his bedroom.

The truck obviously did not feel the load.

Tom asked to ride in the back on his new chair, but of course in this day and age it could get you locked up for years..... So when we got there he got to test drive the chair in the back of the truck.






After dropping him and the chair off, Nicola and I went off to Hempstead valley shopping centre for a walk about, and coffee and cake.

She thoroughly enjoys watching people trip over their feet and walk into stuff when the Redneck Express comes by.

Parked to one side of the carpark, as the truck takes up a bit more spae than most modern family cars here.



As always, the smiles per mile ratio far outweighed the miles per gallon delivery.

This truck really is one of the best Bucket list things I have ever done.

Thanks to my wife

[Grizz]

Great weather all weekend, got some stuff done to the truck as well.

Firstly, went out shopping in it yesterday with Nicola who still refuses to drive it, but I live in hope.

She seemed to enjoy herself all day, sitting up like a Meerkat on speed.

Back home I had a few bits of cosmetic work planned, also a few pics to take to show the relocated fuel tank.

Fuel filler sensibly placed inside, but on the side of the bed, with cap halfway up the side.



No idea what this tank came from, but it fits just right.
Also note the rear lowering blocks.



Next job was to clean up and repaint the rear bumper.

I also removed the American trailer plug unit, to be replaced with a European one.




And while I was out back and under I thought it sensible to try use a jack to push the rear bumper back into shape.



Dully masked up all the bumper after removing the rear number plate.



Result.




While waiting for the pant to dry, I played with my extendable flagpole, as we have an American car show locally on the 4th July.



The next job I started at about 11.30 today, after bootfair etc.

Nicola had suggested that I go and T-Cut (mildly abbrassive polish to remove oxidized paint) the truck after washing it yesterday.

Started with paint on the flat surfaces that looked like this......



Did a whole load of this.....twice.





Ended up with this.


I then went back to the house for a cuppa tea, a sandwich and to research the engine bays in these trucks.

It seems most are black.

My truck has so muuch over spray, it needed to be sorted sooner than later.

So out came all my old painting sheets....masking tape and soon the front end looked like this, after a lot of cleaning surfaces etc.



This is the extent of the overspray, which is something I hate. Just shows shoddy preparation.



Ended here....




Done !!

Result??




After this we went up to the farm to take a few photos.

I will post them up if anyone is interested.

[gordini]

Post please post...i enjoy this tread. I hope you are going to cover up the ends of the square tubing sitting so open on the rear suspension
Body now looks great...nothin a bitopolish and a rag cannot sort out

[Grizz]

Post please post...i enjoy this tread. I hope you are going to cover up the ends of the square tubing sitting so open on the rear suspension
Body now looks great...nothin a bitopolish and a rag cannot sort out

Underside will get attention when I start doing the body and paint.

The whole truck needs to be repainted etc.

But in the mean time..... here are some piccies.














The Thames river behind the truck and tractor.



I will upload some more tomorrow, my pics are high resolution, so take a while to upload.

Final one, I was looking to take a pic that I can turn into a poster.

I enjoy black and white, as well as Sepia, so will try some more.