Build thread for the 72 GMC, finally. Thanks John!

Work on getting better. You need to be able to handle kids, not die grinders. 

In reply to mazdeuce - Seth :

Working on it! It was fun not being able to go up stairs by myself.

The clip in that picture looks ugly. I may work on that also.

This look promising

You mention Tunakid #1 helping with the ball-joint. How old is the oldest now?

In reply to NOHOME :

Read again! Tunakid #2!!!

He's seven. I was basically unable to do anything. I stood there, about ten feet away, and tried to explain what to do to put the ball joint boot on. He did it himself. I literally could not get on the ground at that point, well, not if I wanted to get back up again.

Tunakid #1 is nearly ten. He mowed the lawn and laid brick for me over the weekend because I couldn't walk. Also laundry, but that's less exciting.

I have been hemming and I have been hawing.

Ideally, in a "reality TV show based restoration" I would spend about $500 for Impala SS calipers and a sweet rear disc conversion kit, and go and grab some aluminum D52 front calipers and be set.

But no, that's too much money for now. So what I will do it throw the stock stuff back on there and rebuild the calipers so I can get the thing moving around and that way I can throw primer on it.

I am finally mobile again. As such, I finished the bracket on the passenger side. I also installed the universal joint and cleaned up the driveshaft. I have no pictures of either of these things because they are incredibly boring.

I need to get better at pictures.

The front end is all together again. Swaybar, tie rods, control arms, spindles, everything but brakes. I did something weird with the ball joint boots. Essentially, the QA1 ball joints have no provision for a clip, so I got some safety wire and some pliers and clamped the boot on the joint but it still tended to pop off in extreme angles, plus the boot left some exposed ball joint taper above it. I just took the other smaller set of boots and put them on top of the other boots. It looks fine, though a bit strange perhaps.

I cleaned up the driveshaft and ordered a new set of caps, so I'll be throwing that in next.

I used a chunk of heater hose to keep mine in place

I thought about the hose, but I didn't have anything conveniently sized. I had bought another set of boots as an attempt, so I just used two stacked on top of one another.

Also please don't look too hard at those welds.

I need to body-work faster/more  or you are going to be done before me!

Pete

Sorry for the massive delays guys. I took a time to install floors and a bunch of other long-term house projects, and then got sick again. Not super weak like I was back in April, but super sore and fatigued. Nobody seems to know why. Stay tuned.

It is a truck. It looks pretty good from where I am sitting.

Scuff the whole truck with 80 and then 220 grit epoxy and then load up a cheap Eastwood gun with Epoxy  primer and call it a day. The next step leads to the hopeless pursuit of perfection that I find myself stuck in. Don't do it. Life is too short. It is too late for me, but I can warn others!

Pete

we've been patiently waiting!  

In reply to NOHOME :

In reply to tuna55 :

Just joined up and looking through the projects.  But I see this post.  Have you been tested for Lyme Disease?  I have no idea where you are, but here in New England that is what the Doc's would be looking hard at with your symptoms.  Lyme is everywhere now a days and you might be in part of a world where the docs aren't as hip to Lyme as here.  Just a thought.  And cool project too!  keep up the good work.  Bob

In reply to Belltownbikes :

I'll ask about it. I think it was mentioned and ruled out, but I don't know why.

My latest communication with the doc was like this: "Hey dude, I am an engineer and not a doctor. I get that I'm a layman. I just want to simplify things. I'm a simple dude. If I have this one weird blood marker, brain fog, and random fairly severe pain for weeks at a time, weakness which is so bad I can't stand up, and everything else about me appears normal, what can I try? I'm willing to try diets, vitamins, excersize, whatever."

Basically, if the car is understeering, you may try tire pressure, shocks, then swaybar, then springs, then etc... you don't just go "hmm, I can't figure that out. I guess keep driving"

On the bright side (pun coming) I spent a couple of hours in the garage cleaning up and getting things moving a bit. I also bought some big lights for the garage so I can actually see stuff. I am trying, but I am exhausted. Reminder that every single night I do: Laundry, dishes, family worship, reading time, kid showers, bedtime, kids planners, kids school grading. Some nights I have a leadership training class, prayer meeting, and many many home improvement projects.

Working. Slowly.

NOHOME said:

It is a truck. It looks pretty good from where I am sitting.

 

Scuff the whole truck with 80 and then 220 grit epoxy and then load up a cheap Eastwood gun with Epoxy  primer and call it a day. The next step leads to the hopeless pursuit of perfection that I find myself stuck in. Don't do it. Life is too short. It is too late for me, but I can warn others!

Pete

1: Steering column

2: brake lines

3: brake job

4: shifter

5: scuff/primer

I need to be able to move this thing somewhat easily before I get it to the driveway under the tent to paint it. I can't paint in the garage I think. 

Don't paint in the garage. Your wife will finish you off  because of the fumes.

I did once paint a car in the basement of my parents forced-air heated house. Things were tense for a while.

Pete

tuna55 said:

On the bright side (pun coming) I spent a couple of hours in the garage cleaning up and getting things moving a bit. I also bought some big lights for the garage so I can actually see stuff. I am trying, but I am exhausted. Reminder that every single night I do: Laundry, dishes, family worship, reading time, kid showers, bedtime, kids planners, kids school grading. Some nights I have a leadership training class, prayer meeting, and many many home improvement projects.

 

Working. Slowly.

Looks like your family build thread is coming along well - that's the most important one!

Update:

i bought a floor brake for my cart so I can actually move it around in the garage then I went to the grocery store to get some things for the house. I just about fell down I was getting so shakey. I ate a ton for lunch and feel slightly better. Still bad. 

Did i I say this was going slowly?

Did i I say this was going slowly?

You did.  But now I'm going into withdrawal.

5 months and no updates. What is Tuna doing? Killing us with suspense is not working anymore. 

In reply to Sine_Qua_Non :

Have not heard much from Tuna at all.

Pete

So I am here. Things got a bit busy.

My health is not 100% in a general sense regarding my big scare from last year. I have an apt with the brain center to try and figure out where it may have gone. I had an MRI, and it looks like it's still between my ears.

The family went on an epic road trip this summer. Rockies, Tetons, Yellowstone. We loved it. Then we got home, and everybody got strep throat. What I mean by that is that we have had ten positive strep throat diagnoses since then, the most recent just this week. Tunawife has another apt with her specialist in Vanderbilt University for her unique issues. What she has been doing isn't working. I have a part time wife now, because she's so often just out of steam by the time I get home from work.

Oh, about that. I got laid off from GE along with the other small country worth of people. I didn't do anything wrong but work for the wrong executive, who left and made a mess, and the whole group under him got shredded. I ended up with a better job very quickly, paying more, but now an 80 mile round trip commute. Hence the Honda is no longer sufficient. One of the cool things about GE, the basically limitless vacation, actually ended up killing me. My layoff date was the start date of my three week vacation. I had four interviews awaiting when I got home, and got a super strong verbal offer on the spot on interview 1.

Anyway. I want to replace my steering column. I am not happy with rebuilding the GM one, and I want tilt, and it would be even better if I could have an easy way to retrofit electric power steering, and I believe that aftermarket columns are more expensive than they are worth, and I somewhat doubt that the quality is OEM spec.

Does anyone have any thoughts?