Redtruck runs
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I posted about this project on Old Oppo but it looks like those posts are lost to history. Bummer.
New year's day this past year, a day full or promise for a year that ended up one of the worst in modern history, I made exactly one resolution: The truck would run by year's end. Should be easy enough, right? I already had a new wiring harness in hand, the fuel system had been replaced, and most of the front end engine parts had been updated. So sure, in 12 months I should be able to turn the key and crank this baby up.
Long story short, I was right. Wiring was tedious even with a pre-fab universal harness, mainly due to the mix and match style of component selection. I'm keeping a running list of the parts on the truck because they don't make much logical sense.
For a couple months I have been putting off the final touches of this stage of the project, partly due to other obligations but mostly because I was a bit scared that it would either a) not work at all and I would have to trace some failure or b) it would start up then fail spectacularly.
But yesterday I grounded the fuel pump relay and water sensor, dropped the fuel line into a gas can (no need to sully a new tank when it's going to sit a while), hooked up the battery and gave it a shot.
At this point in the story I planned to post up a video but apparently I can't do that here? Bit of a letdown.
Anyway it runs. A 302 at 1000rpm idle makes a racket on open headers
Header image is the before picture, right after I got it home. I have since greatly improved both the appearance and function of everything under the hood:
edit: I did a youtube
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I think you might have to post the video somewhere else first (YouTube) then link that here.
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@longtime-lurker That sounds like a hassle. Maybe I'll get around to it one day.
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@zaphod-s-heart-of-gold You might be able to find a cashed version of the article if you remember what the exact title was.
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@e90m3 I think I can come up with the name. How would I go about this search?
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@longtime-lurker Did a youtube thing, video now posted.
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@zaphod-s-heart-of-gold I would search with the title + oppositelock + your kinja handle in google.
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@zaphod-s-heart-of-gold I like the red truck. Run on little red truck, run on.
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@zaphod-s-heart-of-gold Congrats! She's a beauty.
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There are some archiving efforts underway for the old site, even in its absence. http://jimisaherb.com and http://jbboin.phpnet.org/oppo/extractor/archive/ are the two I know about.
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@zaphod-s-heart-of-gold Huzzah!
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RedTruck. . . . . it is undoubtedly red. And it runs! That is a very good sounding engine. Very throaty. Looks pretty decent too. What year is it?
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@whoistheleader It's a 1956. Looks good from a distance but is so-so on the fit and finish. When I brought it home it was a mechanical disaster. I thought it just needed some wiring work until I found the steering column was not great (wiring had been hacked to death and it was very sloppy), gas tank leaking, duraspark distributor had been swapped to an older points one and wired in wrong, seats were all wrong for the application, bushings are rotten, the whole rear end was put together poorly, radiator barely hanging on.....
So I bought a wiring harness and it sat in the box for a year while put a whole new fuel system in it, rebuilt the carb, found a 3g alternator, new duraspark ignition, new PS pump and brackets, new pullies, water pump and belts....then the new harness, electric fan conversion, new lights. Still a lot to do but my wiring (as much as I have tested) works and I can move on to other things.
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@zaphod-s-heart-of-gold Glad you have given it the love it deserves then. Sounds like it was a comprehensive mechanical overhaul then. Sounds like somebody did a home brew rush job on it only to find out they'd have to redo all they already did so they dumped it.
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@whoistheleader The baffling thing is how well the body work was done compared to the mechanical and electrical work. The body is not perfect (paint has not survived as well as if a pro did it), but overall is in the right shape and not rusting.
But boy howdy was everything else a bodge job
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@zaphod-s-heart-of-gold Someone else must have done the bodywork. Maybe it was a sanded and primed shell that someone did a garage hack job on.
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@whoistheleader I have a picture book showing the body restoration in the guy's garage. Not full factory fresh restoration quality but a magnitude better than the mechanical work done.
Luckily I can do mechanical and electrical work but have no space or time for body work. So I can take care of everything I need to, given enough time and money, but it's still frustratingly shoddy.
I got this truck from my grandfather. He bought it 7-8 years ago I think and it never really ran for him. He is not a mechanical person, and this was not at his usual home (he lives in california and bought a second house in the NC mountains about 15 years ago), so it just sat. He told me in 2015 if I wanted it I could go get it. I tried once and failed since I could not get it to run. In late 2018 he had a shop get it to run for all of 10 minutes, after which he stored it in a more accessible place with a guy who could get it started and I picked it up March of last year, been working on it since.
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@zaphod-s-heart-of-gold Must have been a somewhat competent body man that overestimated his mechanical skills. So it has a history in your family too.
