Grizz's Redneck Express 1966 Chevy Short Fleetside BILLYBOB

[Grizz]

I normally like to update threads as I go along.

Last night.......? Naaahhhh.

Yesterday my friend Henry, "51Rider" not "Rider51" as I had thought, (CAN ANYONE FIGURE OUT THE DIFFERENCE) was visiting for the day to help me replace the strip lights I had got from mate Euan "Moosevan" a few years ago and fitted in my special way...........

For a start, this was the temperature in my uninsulated, unseated garage.



Outside, neighbour Mickeys blue Ford looked like this.



So when Henry arrived, he bore gifts, best being M&S iced spicy buns and biccies.



Cuppa tea, chat, Harley all over Henry, and we were headed for the garage.

The old lights being removed, three working, one not, are looking for a new home. Collection only. Send a PM if you want them.



Henry assembling, I did not know how much OCD he had at the outset..... and hated it, as I tend to just get on with stuff, but the result was worth the tape measures, spirit levels etc.



I did actually make all the tea, sandwiches and operate the mains switches too, but inbetween he let me help a bit.

I have never in my life measured 300mm between saddle clamps while fixing a power line to the DB. Henry made me....... but the result did look smart.



Head torch and a halogen spotlight on an extension cord.
Poor guys arms and shoulders must have protested in the end.
At least I got to hold the P-clips, screws and power driver.



By the time we got to mains hookup it was dark, so more head torch and LED light action.



Henry let me switch on the new wall mounted and dedicated switch to the light, no more plug in an extension cord.



Last pic is for all the "screw clockers"

Yes, it seems He is a screw clocker too. OCD to the last.

This one is for 1/2 Cup and the crew.




Today I am actually doing nothing, my first rest day, but I will head to the garage in a bit to look at my welders goose neck and trigger as it needs attention before I start the welding on the truck parts.

In other great news, Henry discovered an unused 16 amp circuit (is that what you call it?) in the garage DB, which he will return to then wire up as a dedicated exit and plug for my welder as that is on a 13 amp plug as indicated by original instructions, but we know more is best in this case.

Time for a cuppa tea now then find something to do.

[Grizz]

.............. And then it it hit me hard.

Been walking with a threatening chest infection for two weeks, kind of ignoring it, but as you,know one cannot let stuff slow you down.

On Thursday after Henry left, I really felt rubbish, tired and coughing a lot more, had started taking Benelyn the day before at Craig's place, but I guess weeeks of not sleeping enough etc caught up. So I did not write up until yesterday, and ended up spending all day indoors except for honestly walking to the garage early morning to gloat at my new lights down the one side of the garage and to use the new switch...... yes, sh!t like this does give me a lot of pleasure. I even took a photo to text over to Henry as a thank you. Mad yes.



The second time I left the house was to go to the village 3 miles from here to fetch more cough syrup, bread and milk. And that was less than pleasant, cold, foggy and miserable outside.
I came straight back and indoors. Possibly my first day of doing absolutely nothing. But my body just said no.
So I never got to go to Machine Mart to get a new swan neck and parts for the welder.

I did however manage to binge watch 6hrs of recorded television, not even porn could keep me that busy that long.

I had recorded a programme on National Geographic called "Harley and the Davidsons" a three part series very much romanticised about the beginnings and progress of Harley Davidson
Really thankful for that.

I mentioned that Henry had noticed that my home DB was fitted with a 40 amp circuit feed to the garage, but the garage had a 60 amp DB.
So when the garage trips out, it happens in the house, necessitating a walk back to the house........ why would It be fitted like that ????
And of course we now will be able to fit a dedicated 16 amp outlet for the welder which obviously pulls the most current when it is working.



Today I am again just keeping a low profile, which is massively frustrating for me........

But at least I can look around on EBay for stuff I do not need, and cars I want but should not have.

I also need to start thinking about what I can do with these two massive headlights, think rugby ball, or teenagers head size.

They belong to a good friend and he asked me to give some thought to repurposing them.



Answers on a post card.


Ohhhhh, and of course Happy New Year when you get to it.


Here's to a better 2017.

[Grizz]

First day of the year.......

Still coughing and spluttering, keeping a low profile.

However, I did go to Machine Mart to go buy a replacement swan neck etc for the welder.

Got there and the shop was shut, so ended up having a shop coffee, Gingerbread Latté which to me is a luxury that always goes down wel..

Anyway, came home, had lunch and stayed indoors.

Have I mentioned that I hate doing nothing?? But I have little option, this chest infection is beating me up and I need to work on Tuesday.

Later Harley demanded a fire, so I started us a fire while researching something really naughty or bad, depending where you look from.



A load of skip find pallet wood works great to generate heat..... free is good.



Resulting in a dead cat.




Last day of my Christmas break tomorrow........

May just be on a mini road trip with Paul Y if I can get all my ducks in a row.

Later guys.

[CanAm17]

I had recorded a programme on National Geographic called "Harley and the Davidsons" a three part series very much romanticised about the beginnings and progress of Harley Davidson

Was a great series, shot in Romania, but also used quite a few film crew from South Africa.
Interesting titbit - all the period replica bikes were built from scratch here in Cape Town (actually Strand just down the road) in a couple of months by a team of guys who do props / sets etc for the film industry.

[bmwmaniac]

and suddenly i'm proud to be from strand

[Grizz]

I had recorded a programme on National Geographic called "Harley and the Davidsons" a three part series very much romanticised about the beginnings and progress of Harley Davidson

Was a great series, shot in Romania, but also used quite a few film crew from South Africa.
Interesting titbit - all the period replica bikes were built from scratch here in Cape Town (actually Strand just down the road) in a couple of months by a team of guys who do props / sets etc for the film industry.

Really great to know.

Thank you for sharing.

I knew they had to be replicas etc, but pretty cool nonetheless.

Made me want to build a little board tracker with Chinese single motor hanging from the frame.

[Grizz]

Not much to update.

Been feeling pretty grim this week, indoors still today.

However...... mini road trip tomorrow.

Interested?

[Grizz]

Road trip still going ahead.

Cash out of safe = Check

Dealer plates = Check



Alarm set = Check

Paul Y ready = errrmmmm Check.

Cryptic-ish hint at approximately what next = See below.





And finally

Got a text from mate Darren Hardy at Unit Engineering and Signs to say my garage sign is ready.



Wish me well for tomorrow's trip.

[neresh]

Enjoy it Grizz . Love this thread ,I always make time to read through it .

[Grizz]

Enjoy it Grizz . Love this thread ,I always make time to read through it .

Thank you Neresh,

Much appreciated, your comments are lovely.



Back at home after a great day and mini road trip out with Paul Y, just over 200 miles.

The preamble to this little road trip is founded in my 2016 being a bit of a mess. So I have possibly been looking for a fix or my general mood.

I have had some amazing support from the likes of CraigRK, JohnnyBravo, Paul Y and a variety of people on the various forums in different countries who read the various threads I contribute to.
There is also Miss Katy who does not necessarily understand or care too much for the madness of wanting an old car........ But she also said that I should do what I felt was right for me?

In May last year I saw an online advertisement for a 1971 station wagon, one owner, V8, Sunburned California Patina, P/S, A/C, Auto, P/B all sorts of goodness where it was in America. At that point I had a wife and a truck to get back onto in the garage, despite knowing she wanted to leave. I just loved the look of the car, but was not in the market for one.

Fast forward to November after my US road trip and my mood was a bit low, the truck was not going far very quickly and I started to look for a fix.

I Found this ad on Rods n Sods

http://www.rodsnsods.co.uk/forum/vehicl ... 800-467209

I found myself going back to look at the ad every few days........... know the feeling? I really liked this car.

On Old years day, my lodger gave me notice for end January........ this meant that my mortgage repayments were going to go up by 30% and I should not be even thinking of cars n toys.
Ohh, and of course I am a contractor, so job security is not ideal.... poop.

Just after Christmas I noticed the price had been lowered.

So I called the seller in San Francisco for a 30 minute chat from my mobile.

Still dithering about whether I should even consider buying this thing, I ended up speaking to an ex girlfriend from 10 years ago whose council I seek from time to time as she is a bit brutal and also quite blunt but always honest. She made a few valid comments and asked a few questions.

What value do you place on having that car?

ITS A TOY.

Do you think you deserve it?

ERRRMMMM?

How do you reward Rian for his hard work?

NOT SURE I REALLY DO

Will it put a smile on your face?

HELL YEAHHHH !!

Well imagine how wonderful it will be when you start doing things to please Rian?

She told me her car's brake pressure sensor needed replacing recently. The washing machine had broken down. And said " I am a single woman, looking after two children on my own with a mortgage to pay.....

Get my point ?"

If I make the statements above my life's narrative then I will be a grumpy old woman...

All this stuff is just part of life honey.......

The opportunity has opened up for a lodger with whom you can have a more rewarding experience....

Go look at the car and buy it if it is right.



So that brings us to today's road trip.

I met Paul at a predesignated spot.



I had taken along two 6 litre jerry cans and bought fuel to put in the car for a decent drive and road test.

Paul checking up on his world........



Then we drove over to where the car was stored.

Greeted by Dennis, an old fan of trucks and wagons, he rebuilds a lot of stuff and one of his new additions is this one owner low mileage F250 that had a camper shell on all its life.



His workshops are a dream, that is all.



I decided to not post loads of pics of all his toys but rather his latest resto project........ of course it's a pickup truck.

Can you guess what it was before?



Then it was on to the car we had come to see.

1971 Pontiac Lemans Sportwagon

Dennis drove it out and then onto the ramp so we could look under it and inside in the daylight.

And here is the kicker, the video clip below shows what happened today, the first time in his life......... not funny, but shows how easy things can change. We fixed that in a few minutes.

CLICKY LINKY: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mc-6QAvT-bc

Paul Y did the whole mechanical check and we found the car has many new maintenance parts etc, he will be along later to describe what he saw.







Back end with two way tailgate with electric window.



So after two hours with Dennis and Paul, I decided to walk away from the car, as it does not completely blow my hair back.

I am gutted that in the end it was not what I needed or wanted, but when Paul logically asked me "If you look at it from your kitchen window in the morning, will it make your heart beat faster and will it make you want to take it for a drive"

My answer honestly was that I did not think it would like the Chevy truck does.


[font size="5"][font color="e61982"]Now for the mathematics.[/font][/font]

At the advertised price of £5250.00 for a one owner V8 car which we both believe has really only done 31k miles if you look at the minimal wear on its controls, the fact loads of maintenance parts have obviously been replaced as needed over time. Trainsmission and engine oils are clean. All controls, lights, hooter etc worked when we went through them, the engine is smooth, transmission changes smoothly........

If you consider £2000.00 as shipping, then you know you are getting this car at bicycle money.

I am gutted, but it's not right to be the next Grizz car.

So this pic that I created a week ago in anticipation, will just be that, a pic.




Now go find me a car.......... or truck or something.