E-tek Restorations: PROJECT THREAD

[djjsr]

Re: E-tek Resto's 56 Chevy Truck

Looks good!

As for the leftover parts, I just threw mine in a box. When I find something that doesn't work, I look in the box first.

 

[Nealcrenshaw]

Re: E-tek Resto's 56 Chevy Truck

Good to see to you back on the saddle!

 

[rickairmedic]

Re: E-tek Resto's 56 Chevy Truck

Now if someone can just tell me where all these parts belong, I'd be able to put this thing together!!

Hope everyone is enjoying their summer as much as I will be!!

The top one goes between the cab and the core support the bottom one goes on the back of the bed which you dont have back yet ( thus leading to the confusion ) .




Rick

 

[Motown 454]

Re: E-tek Resto's 56 Chevy Truck

It looks great. Its going to be interesting to watch it go to gether.

 

[dodgepolara500]

Re: E-tek Resto's 56 Chevy Truck

what an awesome restoration. I don't think you could duplicate it for 3x the cost. I would love to see more pictures of the finished and assembled truck. Could you post a few?
Thanks for sharing

 

[e-tek]

Re: E-tek Resto's 56 Chevy Truck

what an awesome restoration. I don't think you could duplicate it for 3x the cost. I would love to see more pictures of the finished and assembled truck. Could you post a few?
Thanks for sharing

Uhhh - it hasn't gone together yet.....stay tuned!

 

[tinbender 66]

Re: E-tek Resto's 56 Chevy Truck

Wow. I just read this whole thing in one sitting. Awesome tutorial. I'm just starting on my project ('66 Nova) and I picked up a whole lotta info. Thanks for sharing. Subscribed now.

 

[weegaz22]

Re: E-tek Resto's 56 Chevy Truck

What i want to know is what the hell did chevy use on the underside of its trucks as underseal?, as that is easily the cleanest bush find i have ever seen.

 

[e-tek]

Re: E-tek Resto's 56 Chevy Truck

What i want to know is what the hell did chevy use on the underside of its trucks as underseal?, as that is easily the cleanest bush find i have ever seen.

Aside from a coat of original paint, it had a coat of rubberized undercoating and that's it. It was a bit of luck how well it adhered, because it spent time in a few different lacales and must have seen the worst weather, highways and salt on it's way. Rust was found in spots leaves, mud and moistured remained, but was other clean. It also could have gotten a fresh run of steel, rather than stock that had sat, collecting dirt, debris, scratches and rust. Hopefully that, along with the treatments it now received - will keep it whole for years to come!

 

[e-tek]

Re: E-tek Resto's 56 Chevy Truck

Started sorting and cleaning parts that will be going back. As the truck was stripped by the owners pevious to my involvment, I'm having to do a resto-puzzle of searhcing and figuring where things go. Kinda like a box of LEGO -but at least it's 'old-school' LEGO!

After some sorting, begins the cleaning.....

Of course there's still some repairs to do, as seen in the aluminum valve cover that was damaged by lifting chains upon removal:

Next, I'll start attaching parts to the painted shell!

 

[MP&C]

Re: E-tek Resto's 56 Chevy Truck

Now for the jigsaw puzzle part....

 

[e-tek]

Re: E-tek Resto's 56 Chevy Truck

Now for the jigsaw puzzle part....

Ya got that right Rob! Unfortunately, I'm also doing a major reno at home (see other thread), so I'm not getting as much time on this project as I'd like. Gonna devote a couple full days to it now though - let the search for parts begin!

 

[e-tek]

Re: E-tek Resto's 56 Chevy Truck

More clean-up...

 

[gsport]

Re: E-tek Resto's 56 Chevy Truck

lookin good there E.... do you have a blast cabinet? it sure makes cleaning of the smaller parts alot easier.

 

[e-tek]

Re: E-tek Resto's 56 Chevy Truck

I do have one - I just used it on some pans and deflectors - but I wouldn't put engine or moving parts in it.

Today I rebuilt the distributor and generator and painted up the intake, exhaust and air cleaner. Once I get paint on the engine I can put it together, clock the dizzy and then wire the truck. Next week I'll put several full days on it!

 

[4BT]

Re: E-tek Resto's 56 Chevy Truck

Next, I'll start attaching parts to the painted shell!

Great Color!

 

[e-tek]

Re: E-tek Resto's 56 Chevy Truck

Engine gets painted gray. I've been told Chev didn't care which shade it was that particular day, mixing whatever batches they had in stock and painting the engines as they exited the engine componenet line.

I used a specific Manifold Gray on the exhuast and intake mani's though - because this stuff is impervious to heat and looks good for years after painting.

After rebuild, the starter and alt look too good to paint! Maybe a clear coat will suffice...

Tomorrow I'll bolt some of this stuff together.

 

[e-tek]

Re: E-tek Resto's 56 Chevy Truck

Many of you may know - I like restoring vehicles. I like the process of dismantling, bagging, tagging & photographing, then repairing, cleaning, painting and burnishing the pieces, before re-assembly. The key to doing this - to the level I like - is to keep things organized and in some semblance of order.

SO - imagine doing all this work:

To THIS level of detail :

When you've been given this!! willy_nil:

And that's AFTER picking that stuff out of the bottom of an old plastic box filled with dirt and old parts and cleaning it up some!! There's a lot of sorting, trial-fitting, buffing, burnishing and painting that happens before anything is bolted up and torqued...



Anyhow - I'm finally going to take a break from my reno projects puke
and get a move-on this project. Tomorrow I'll button up the engine and clean all the parts needed to install all the linkages and begin runing the new wiring harness. By weeks-end I hope to have power and brakes!

 

[gustoffur]

Re: E-tek Resto's 56 Chevy Truck

Yeah, not my neatest work on the engine removal. However, it is all there and I did pull it out by myself in a farmer's field.

 

[V70R]

Re: E-tek Resto's 56 Chevy Truck

Great build thread, and amazing attention to detail! An inspiration for sure

 

[LSVLance]

Re: E-tek Resto's 56 Chevy Truck

Trying to figure out where all of the fasteners go when putting back together is the toughest part if you ask me.

My SOP is to put the nuts and bolts back in their place after dis-assembly and LEAVE them there until clean and paint time then put them back in place once again.

Good work e-tek. Keep it up.

 

[e-tek]

Re: E-tek Resto's 56 Chevy Truck

Big Day Today! As promised (to myself!), I spent the entire day getting all the remaining parts for the engine and electrical ready for installation. All the linkages, pedals, regulators and such where cleaned, stripped and painted:

Also, polished and installed some of the engine controls(Choke, Throttle) in the dash:

Started repairs on the original steering wheel:

With a good selection of paints, I can match most finishes found in old vehicles. This gear selector column was matched with a caliper paint I had in stock:

While all those parts where drying, I started on the brake teardowns. The owners BIL had the forethought to buy pads and brake cylinders for all 4 corners - allowing me to completely rebuild and detail the brakes (the stuff no-one ever see's!):

Lastly, more organizing and sorting. Unlike the few nuts and bolts that where removed in a farmers feild, all the rest of the parts where properly bagged and tagged upon removal.

I even found a couple pieces that where labelled for the engine, which allowed me to button up some bits I couldn't find yesterday - like the floor pedal-switch that engages the starter:

 

[e-tek]

Re: E-tek Resto's 56 Chevy Truck

Looking good- love that 50s green.

Where on the restoration<-------------->hotrod continuum does this project land? Straight back to stock, minor changes, major mechanical hotrodding, airbags etc? I know a lot of people don’t mind it, but for my part I’d prefer moving the fuel tank out of the cab. I saw that the straps were left in there at one point, but I haven’t been able to tell if the fuel filler was left- which way is that going?

cool old truck- looking better all the time.

Sorry I hadn't seen this post earlier....
This will be a completely stock restoration. I hear you on the tank, but they where safe and effective for 60 years, so I'm guessing it must be OK! I love doing completely stock resto's - making things shiny and new again, bringing them back to day 1....makes me happy.

AS WELL - thanks to all for the kind comments. I appreciate them all!

 

[54FordPanel]

Re: E-tek Resto's 56 Chevy Truck

Thanks for updating this! Very cool to look at.

 

[rickairmedic]

Re: E-tek Resto's 56 Chevy Truck

Sorry I hadn't seen this post earlier....
This will be a completely stock restoration. I hear you on the tank, but they where safe and effective for 60 years, so I'm guessing it must be OK! I love doing completely stock resto's - making things shiny and new again, bringing them back to day 1....makes me happy.

AS WELL - thanks to all for the kind comments. I appreciate them all!

E tek the only issue of course is your resto will be 10 times better than day 1 was when that truck rolled off the line . Panel fit and finish even on new cars today " at least American cars " is nowhere near what a good resto will be such as this one .


Rick

 

[e-tek]

Re: E-tek Resto's 56 Chevy Truck

Some BEFORE and AFTER's from today:

Wiring Harness:

Go Pedal:

Wiper hold-downs:

Heater Unit:

Also got the pedals attached....

And then at 4:30, Mrs E-tek was calling me in - and she was wearing a spectacularly tight pair of white jeans that I love on her, so I left the gear shaft inches from entering the the bell-house.....which is where I started with the missus once inside!

 

[Omphaloskeptic]

Re: E-tek Resto's 56 Chevy Truck

E-tek, wrenching and wenching; 'tis a charmed life you live!

Just for clarification and certainly not to insult Mrs. E-tek...

wenching

From the verb "to wench".

One of the most enjoyable pastimes of young men. The act of shamelessly flirting, charming and pursuing women (or "wenches" with the sole purpose of bedding them.

 

[e-tek]

Re: E-tek Resto's 56 Chevy Truck

.....

 

[e-tek]

Re: E-tek Resto's 56 Chevy Truck

.....aaaand.....done! It was really hard to get that thing to seat! It's heavy when you're trying to hold it up when it just won't go. I finally grabbed some extra long bolts and used them to snug it up while turning the spline shaft from the prop shaft end.

Detailed a few more parts:

Then installed the steering rack and hooked up the arms.

Lots of new seals, gaskets and fastener sets - everything else gets sandblasted and/or wire wheeled. I paint very few fasteners as it just flakes of when torqued.

 

[Dan in Pasadena]

Re: E-tek Resto's 56 Chevy Truck

Hi e-Tek,
Thanks for posting all these pictures. Helps people like me that happen to be doing the same stuff now and in the future.

In the 3rd photo in post #346 above it looks like you MAY have left out the rubber grommets that go in the mounting holes of the voltage regulator? I only comment because I JUST got through taking mine offthe other day as I am trying to improve my underhood appearance and I'm cleaning up & spraying parts just like you.....well, not JUST like you. Mine's not a frame-off restroation but a "driver" refurbishment.

Here's my pic that shows the grommets if you look closely:

Can you tell me what paint you used for the linkage and gizmos in the 1st photo in #342? Maybe its just black but it kinda looks like a nice gray in the pic and I thought I'd ask. Also, what did you paint the carbuerator with? Product information is really helpful.

Thanks again for the info. I guess I should update my old thread on my truck too. Keep the pictures coming please!

 

[Motown 454]

Re: E-tek Resto's 56 Chevy Truck

Looking good!

 

[e-tek]

Re: E-tek Resto's 56 Chevy Truck

Hi Dan - good to hear from you!

Hi e-Tek,

In the 3rd photo in post #346 above it looks like you MAY have left out the rubber grommets that go in the mounting holes of the voltage regulator?

Nope - they're on there, just can't see them from that view. They are actually sandwhiched between two pieces of metal if I recal, so they don't come out. It insulates the box I guess. Also, as for any firewall grommets, I always put those ones on last. As you know (and can see in your pic), they have slits in them to slide the wires/cables in after. Even if they don't, I'll cut one in to insert them after. Quite often you have to string and re-string wires and cables and the grommets just get beat up. I find by putting them on last they look brand new and really pop against new paint!

Can you tell me what paint you used for the linkage and gizmos in the 1st photo in #342? Maybe its just black but it kinda looks like a nice gray in the pic and I thought I'd ask.

I sprayed those items with Eastwood's Chassis Black, which is a fairly shiny black, but very tough. Normally anything black underhood (linkages, etc) I spray a semi-gloss black, or more exactly, "Trim" or "Bumper" black. For the steering column and gear selector, I used a caliper paint that is a "soft" black, looking like gunmetal.

Also, what did you paint the carbuerator with? Product information is really helpful.

I use a lot of Eastwood products, as they have an incredible array of detailing colors and texture sprays. Some of the most used are Detail Grey, AlumaBlast and Manifold Grey - which is a paint-on and has a LOT of cast metal pigment. This is what I used on the intake, exhaust, steering gears and carb base. For the Carb top, I used Eastwood's Gold TopCoat, which I think they sell seperately, but I purchased it as part of a 3-part kit to mimick the color of Cadmium for brake boosters. You mix a red oxide, gold and transparent green, then clear coat to make brake boosters look like they where cad plated.

Thanks again for the info. I guess I should update my old thread on my truck too. Keep the pictures coming please!

Thank you for asking - I love talking about this stuff (can you tell!) as it really is my favourite pasttime. I love re-creating these vehciles, saving them and making someone's resto dreams come true. It also relaxes me, keeps me motivated and makes me some extra money so I can work on my own cars sometimes!

Please update your thread - and send me the link!! That goes for anyone else out there too - I'll post them on my E-tek Resto web site!

 

[PCO6]

Re: E-tek Resto's 56 Chevy Truck

I use a lot of Eastwood products, ...

e-tek - Do you use a Canadian supplier for Eastwood products? Hawkes Auto in Essex, Ontario seems to carry all of their products but have never dealt with them. Thanks, Stew

 

[emeraldcoupe]

Re: E-tek Resto's 56 Chevy Truck

you do REAL nice work! i didn't read the entire thread but do you do everything out of your 2 car garage? amazing!

 

[e-tek]

Re: E-tek Resto's 56 Chevy Truck

e-tek - Do you use a Canadian supplier for Eastwood products? Hawkes Auto in Essex, Ontario seems to carry all of their products but have never dealt with them. Thanks, Stew

I go through the US and got to know some of the guys in marketing and sales. I've done some stuff for them - product testing and write-ups - which they have on their site and I have on mine. The prices are good and shipping is excellent.

you do REAL nice work! i didn't read the entire thread but do you do everything out of your 2 car garage? amazing!

I have a 2-car and used to do everything there, but now I work in my 4 stall, 1000 sf shop with a BendPak lift. Over the years I've equipped it with pretty much everything one would need.

 

[PCO6]

Re: E-tek Resto's 56 Chevy Truck

I go through the US and got to know some of the guys in marketing and sales. I've done some stuff for them - product testing and write-ups - which they have on their site and I have on mine. The prices are good and shipping is excellent.

That's interesting. I used to deal with Eastwood quite a bit but stopped when shipping paints, chemicals, etc. across the border was banned by the Federal government about 20 years or so ago. I guess that was reversed ... when I wasn't paying attention.

 

[charger891]

Re: E-tek Resto's 56 Chevy Truck

great work! looks awesome!! want to come do some work on my truck?

 

[Vette60]

Re: E-tek Resto's 56 Chevy Truck

Just have to chime in - fantastic work. Looks really great and so detail oriented! Love it. Good luck with the balance of the resto - I am sure it will be great.

R.

 

[e-tek]

Re: E-tek Resto's 56 Chevy Truck

Thanks guys - and if you want me to work on your truck, ship it over!

 

[e-tek]

Re: E-tek Resto's 56 Chevy Truck

It wedding day!!

The soon to be happy couple:

But first....the preliminaries. I've started using straps to lift detailed engines, because chains tend to scratch and dent stuff - as one of the owners found when removing the engine earlier. To remedy this, he bought an engine leveler, but even with this gizmo, I found the chains where rubbing on the engine parts when I tried it.

But then, being someone elses ride, I threw on a set of chains - just in case!!