As regular readers here would guess, I follow several different online sites that feature pictures of old pickups. It's great to see what others do with their projects and I've picked up some great ideas for my own, but the main reason I enjoy looking at all the photos is because I know there's a story behind every single truck. I love to hear these stories. I love to see the patina of a decades old pickup and imagine the original owner driving the shiny new beauty off the showroom floor, where it went, all the different things it's hauled over the years, etc...
Last spring, 34 years after my brother drove it home from Missouri to Connecticut and into our family, I finally lived the dream of driving my truck for the first time. My story is a tribute to Mom, who died tragically while my brother was making his way home with the truck in 1981. It's impossible to look at or think about this old Chevy without also thinking of her.
My mother always loved the idea of an epic road trip, which is something I've also been dreaming about since my teen years. I can recall a specific conversation where she talked about her desire to drive the entire Alaska Highway, and I said how I would totally want to ride along. My dream is a coast to coast run, including Route 66 end to end and rolling into Ohio for our annual family reunion on the way back, where I saw this truck for the first time.
We're obviously a long way from being ready for such a tremendous jaunt, and getting there will not be cheap. As I'm sure all the working people with similar dreams understand, the day job alone won't get it done. So I decided to put my story out there for three bucks a pop, hoping to bring in enough extra cha-ching to make the road trip dream happen. It's definitely a long shot, but the ideal scenario would have it happening in the summer of 2018, with the truck cruising into our 50th family reunion that August.
It's my kind of e-book: A short story with lots of photos. Available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Smashwords. I would be honored and very appreciative if you would like to help this overgrown boy live his dream. And of course please feel free to share with friends... ;-)
Thank you! See y'all down the road!
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Sunday, May 1, 2016
Saturday, April 16, 2016
Update from the Tranny Back...
Turns out we won't be able to use the S-10 drivetrain in its entirety, since it's too long and the rear end is way too narrow. We will use the transmission and maybe the drive shaft (depending on the cost of cutting it down vs having a new one made), and we still have the '69 Firebird rear end that measures up perfectly. Looking at tweaking the springs as well, to lower the stance slightly - not more than a couple inches. Hoping to have it all wrapped up sometime in the next few weeks.
Feeling a little nostalgic as we approach the one year anniversary of my first ever drive in the dream ride next month. Here's the first photo taken the day we pulled her out of my brother's garage and she became mine...
See y'all down the road!
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Feeling a little nostalgic as we approach the one year anniversary of my first ever drive in the dream ride next month. Here's the first photo taken the day we pulled her out of my brother's garage and she became mine...
See y'all down the road!
###
Sunday, March 27, 2016
Drivetrain Drama
Funny how projects like this can take their little twists and turns. This latest phase started with my desire to swap out the original rear end for one that will get us up to a decent cruising speed on the highway. Could have kept the original and just gone with a new gear kit, but I also want to match up the five lug disc brake kit we already have up front with five lugs in back, and the easiest way to do that is just go with a whole new rear end.
As it turns out, my friend and main mechanical man Alex (the "adult supervision" I often refer to in my online posts and comments) has a '69 Firebird rear end that he thought would work well. I stopped by his place one afternoon to measure it up, then came home to measure the truck. Couldn't believe it when the truck rear end measured up exactly the same - 56" between the backing plates and 42.5" from center to center of the spring mounts. Good to go!
Almost.
While getting ready to clean up and prep the Firebird rear, which was in pieces, we discovered one of the axles was missing. Alex thought he might have sold it off, but wasn't sure. I made a couple stops on the way home that day and ended up with another friend, Lew, who thought he had a line on a Nova rear end that would work. Just had to wait for his connection to get back to him.
A week or so later, while waiting for word on the Nova, I got a text from Alex:
"Found the other axle."
Suddenly the Firebird rear was back in the mix. I called Lew immediately to let him know so he wouldn't keep searching. Turns out the entire Nova had just been dropped off at his shop and he was getting ready to call me. "No problem," he said. "If anything happens and you end up needing another rear end, it's here. Just come get it." Great big thank you to Lew. Can't say how much I appreciate his willingness to jump right in and lend a hand. Check out his business here. They do pretty much everything, including incredible custom and restoration work.
So we were finally good to go with the Firebird rear end but we also need a drive shaft, because the truck still sports the original enclosed shaft that won't work. And from what I understand there's a way to make the original 3 speed transmission work with this new configuration, but we figured if you're going to swap in a new rear and drive shaft, you might as well also go with a T-5 transmission (5 speed manual) from an 80's S-10, which will bolt right up to our original bell housing. The biggest challenge would be finding a T-5 that wouldn't break my limited bank. As I started my search I discovered this could be a problem. Those things ain't cheap.
After a couple days of searching and wondering, along comes another seemingly magical text from Alex:
"Found your tranny."
"Whaaat?! You did not," I said out loud to myself as I read it.
He remembered that a friend had wrecked his S-10 truck, bought another for parts and is going to make one whole truck out of the two, so he made a call. Sure enough, the friend is willing to sell the spare T-5, drive shaft and rear end. I'm not sure if the whole package will measure up with my truck, but we're going to give it a shot. Worst case, we go with the T-5, the Firebird rear end and different shaft. One way or another, we'll be rockin' 5 on the floor and hittin' the highway with ease this spring.
Here's some great info on the T-5 tranny swap, for any fellow Advance Design Chevy truck owners who might be considering it.
And check out the Facebook page where Alex posts pictures of his projects just for fun.
Grabbed this shot yesterday (3/26/16) after taking some measurements underneath
See y'all down the road!
###
As it turns out, my friend and main mechanical man Alex (the "adult supervision" I often refer to in my online posts and comments) has a '69 Firebird rear end that he thought would work well. I stopped by his place one afternoon to measure it up, then came home to measure the truck. Couldn't believe it when the truck rear end measured up exactly the same - 56" between the backing plates and 42.5" from center to center of the spring mounts. Good to go!
Almost.
While getting ready to clean up and prep the Firebird rear, which was in pieces, we discovered one of the axles was missing. Alex thought he might have sold it off, but wasn't sure. I made a couple stops on the way home that day and ended up with another friend, Lew, who thought he had a line on a Nova rear end that would work. Just had to wait for his connection to get back to him.
A week or so later, while waiting for word on the Nova, I got a text from Alex:
"Found the other axle."
Suddenly the Firebird rear was back in the mix. I called Lew immediately to let him know so he wouldn't keep searching. Turns out the entire Nova had just been dropped off at his shop and he was getting ready to call me. "No problem," he said. "If anything happens and you end up needing another rear end, it's here. Just come get it." Great big thank you to Lew. Can't say how much I appreciate his willingness to jump right in and lend a hand. Check out his business here. They do pretty much everything, including incredible custom and restoration work.
So we were finally good to go with the Firebird rear end but we also need a drive shaft, because the truck still sports the original enclosed shaft that won't work. And from what I understand there's a way to make the original 3 speed transmission work with this new configuration, but we figured if you're going to swap in a new rear and drive shaft, you might as well also go with a T-5 transmission (5 speed manual) from an 80's S-10, which will bolt right up to our original bell housing. The biggest challenge would be finding a T-5 that wouldn't break my limited bank. As I started my search I discovered this could be a problem. Those things ain't cheap.
After a couple days of searching and wondering, along comes another seemingly magical text from Alex:
"Found your tranny."
"Whaaat?! You did not," I said out loud to myself as I read it.
He remembered that a friend had wrecked his S-10 truck, bought another for parts and is going to make one whole truck out of the two, so he made a call. Sure enough, the friend is willing to sell the spare T-5, drive shaft and rear end. I'm not sure if the whole package will measure up with my truck, but we're going to give it a shot. Worst case, we go with the T-5, the Firebird rear end and different shaft. One way or another, we'll be rockin' 5 on the floor and hittin' the highway with ease this spring.
Here's some great info on the T-5 tranny swap, for any fellow Advance Design Chevy truck owners who might be considering it.
And check out the Facebook page where Alex posts pictures of his projects just for fun.
Grabbed this shot yesterday (3/26/16) after taking some measurements underneath
See y'all down the road!
###
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