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grover
grover HalfDork
2/3/18 8:57 p.m.

My family is young.  

What I mean by that- is my dad is 20 years older than me, my grandpa 40, and my great grandfather was 58 years older. So naturally, I knew all of my great grandparents pretty darn well.  I was closest to my Great Grandpa Shadrick.  He lived in the same cove as my grandparents farm where I spent nearly ever non school hour growing up.  He taught me how to kill a rattlesnake with a forked stick,  catch a coyote, ya know- redneck stuff.  I should probably add here that I went to the preppy private school in the city during the week, and played redneck on the weekends.  Regardless, I thought he was awesome.  He had an f100 with a gun rack, bench seat, and his name on the dash in those old black and gold mailbox stickers: DILLARD 

This is a tribute to him, and a chance to teach my son about cars the way that I learned about them, by fixing them.  

 

on I saw this on craigslist Monday after looking for months. On the phone he said he'd take $2000 so I told him I'd think about it.  I texted him back and offered $1,500 a day later, and he said he had a few people coming to see it at $2,500.  I wished him luck on the sale, and that I would have come friday if I had known he was going to be around.  He had told me before on the phone that saturday was the only day he'd be there... So that afternoon he texts and asked if I was still in for $2,000 and I said yes.  Today my 8 year old and I drove up and hooked her up to blue.  

To be honest, it's in pretty decent shape.  Nearly all of the trim in in place, and the only bad rust I can find is the passenger floorpan needs replacing.  The transmission does nothing at all, so I'll  need some advice on that.  The truck starts and runs ok, the heater core is bypassed of course. But all in all, really clean.  I love it already.  


 

So what's the plan? 

Well, originally the idea was to buy an old truck for a quick flip, but then I found this one.  It will still end up getting sold- but I've already had people that I car about wanting to buy it when I'm done, and that means it needs to be done right.  Brakes, drivetrain, etc all need to be reliable and ready to put kids in.  I'm going to have to paint it, which bums me out, but it's been done before so it's not like i'm killing original paint.  

Question: 

-This appears to be the first year of the c6, and so I'd like to keep this particular one with the truck if possible.  Where do you go for a rebuild? This seems way out of my skill set.  

 

All in all that's where this sits.  It's in the shop now and I'm hoping to get started tomorrow night by checking out the motor in closer detail. 

 

759NRNG
759NRNG Dork
2/3/18 9:08 p.m.

Whatever you do, dont' toss the trim especially the 'Ranger' badges....it appears to be in very decent shape.....the expression on juniors face is priceless......when it's finished you might have difficulty telling him it's going to a new home......   wink

grover
grover Reader
2/3/18 9:17 p.m.
759NRNG said:

Whatever you do, dont' toss the trim especially the 'Ranger' badges....it appears to be in very decent shape.....the expression on juniors face is priceless......when it's finished you might have difficulty telling him it's going to a new home......   wink

It's going back stock, I'm going to shine up the trim.  I believe that stuff is all aluminum right? The missing F100 badge was in the gearbox! 

ultraclyde
ultraclyde PowerDork
2/4/18 8:01 a.m.

Nice. You should print out a small photo of your granddad and mount it up inside the dash somewhere. It will always be there and it will mystify the next mechanic.

grover
grover Reader
2/4/18 10:02 a.m.
ultraclyde said:

Nice. You should print out a small photo of your granddad and mount it up inside the dash somewhere. It will always be there and it will mystify the next mechanic.

that's an excellent plan. 

grover
grover Reader
2/5/18 7:28 p.m.

News! 

The truck wouldn’t start when I got it home- turns out the coil + wasn’t attached. 

I started checking fluids since I had it in the shop and couldn’t drive it. The oil dipstick is missing, which makes it difficult to check the oil level. The transmission was dry! I filled it with 2 gallons of fluid- and I’ll be durned if that crazy thing doesn’t drive. I ran half a can of sea foam through it, added some Lucas for good measure and some marvel.  I drove it all over town today! It slips like crazy in 1st when it’s not warm, and both exhaust manifold gaskets are perished- but it runs great! If 120* of play in the steering wheel is normal. So- I got a quote today for 600-800 to rebuild the transmission (is this a good price or should I try this myself?). I am 90% sure I’m going to go ahead and pull the motor and transmission. That will allow me to give the motor a reseal at the least and possible rebuild (it’s smoking pretty bad on startup) and also clean up the engine bay. I may also repaint the motor on the cheap. 

I need to source some side view mirror and start removing trim to prep for paint as well. So far, it’s about what I expected if not a little better. 

759NRNG
759NRNG Dork
2/5/18 8:36 p.m.

G any idea how long 'Ranger' had been sittin"....curious 'bout stale gas and all that????

grover
grover Reader
2/5/18 9:28 p.m.

In reply to 759NRNG :

The tank was empty so the gas is now fresh. I don’t know how long it sat to be honest, but the fuel filter will get changed out. 

grover
grover Reader
2/5/18 9:29 p.m.

Went back out to the garage tonight and noticed some things. 

- I believe this thing has had the brake lines replaced. 

- fuel tank is shiny- must have been replaced. 

- two small bottles of fireball were in the seat pocket

ultraclyde
ultraclyde PowerDork
2/6/18 5:03 a.m.

That doesn't sound bad for a trans rebuild to me, just make sure the shop has a good rep. 

120* of steering play is only slightly above average for those trucks at this point.

A truck without whiskey is suspect. But I'm not sure Fireball counts.

AngryCorvair
AngryCorvair UltimaDork
2/6/18 11:19 a.m.
ultraclyde said:

A truck without whiskey is suspect. But I'm not sure Fireball counts.

It was probably a girl's truck.  Not that there's anything wrong with that.

grover
grover Reader
2/6/18 3:00 p.m.

So, thoughts on me trying to rebuild the transmission? I've never done it before- and I'm honestly wondering if it's worth the effort vs cost to have it done.  It leaked out 1.5 gallons of fluid overnight...seems like I've got a cracked case or something. I suppose i'll know more when I pull the motor and transmission

 

ultraclyde
ultraclyde PowerDork
2/6/18 3:03 p.m.

Building autos is an art. The few times I've had to have one dealt with I paid someone to do it, even though I'm a pretty competent mechanic. I've heard several people talk about learning to do it, and my impression is that the first one you do never comes out right. But then, I've never done it, so take that with a grain of salt!

 

I'm sure there are guys on here that have though, maybe they'll chime in.

grover
grover Reader
2/6/18 3:13 p.m.
ultraclyde said:

Building autos is an art. The few times I've had to have one dealt with I paid someone to do it, even though I'm a pretty competent mechanic. I've heard several people talk about learning to do it, and my impression is that the first one you do never comes out right. But then, I've never done it, so take that with a grain of salt!

 

I'm sure there are guys on here that have though, maybe they'll chime in.

I suppose if I was keeping it I would be ok with possibly having to do it again, but on a vehicle I'm planning on selling- I want it done right.  Good thoughts. 

Recon1342
Recon1342 Reader
2/6/18 3:21 p.m.

In reply to grover :

An auto trans is full of mystery and black voodoo magic. Let the witch doctor deal with it.

 

I’ve done a couple of 700r4 transmissions, and it’s something I’d just rather not mess with anymore.

grover
grover Reader
2/6/18 3:33 p.m.
Recon1342 said:

In reply to grover :

An auto trans is full of mystery and black voodoo magic. Let the witch doctor deal with it.

 

I’ve done a couple of 700r4 transmissions, and it’s something I’d just rather not mess with anymore.

that pretty much decides it for me then. 

 

Found a hoist the next town over for $90.  I had one 2 houses ago...but when we downsized I sold it off.  Now to find an engine stand as well.  

dropstep
dropstep SuperDork
2/6/18 10:02 p.m.

My auto tech teacher was a transmission specialist before becoming a teacher. He always said the best way to do a transmission r&r is take it out, take it to the specialist and bolt it back in when done. I really want another truck in this bodystyle so ill follow along!

stanger_missle
stanger_missle Dork
2/6/18 10:29 p.m.

It sucks you have to repaint it. That patina is so fitting on that truck.

It's funny how memories of old trucks stick with you. I remember when I was a kid, my dad had a '68 F250 Camper Special. It was 2wd with the 360/C6. The horn button was missing. I can still remember how the cab smelled.

What a cool dad/son project!

grover
grover Reader
2/7/18 7:06 a.m.
stanger_missle said:

It sucks you have to repaint it. That patina is so fitting on that truck.

It's funny how memories of old trucks stick with you. I remember when I was a kid, my dad had a '68 F250 Camper Special. It was 2wd with the 360/C6. The horn button was missing. I can still remember how the cab smelled.

What a cool dad/son project!

I think the next one will be a camper special- I’ve just missed on a few and hopefully I’ll have a larger starting budget next time. Agree on the paint, but it’s a little too far gone from a poor respray before. 

grover
grover Reader
2/7/18 7:07 a.m.
dropstep said:

My auto tech teacher was a transmission specialist before becoming a teacher. He always said the best way to do a transmission r&r is take it out, take it to the specialist and bolt it back in when done. I really want another truck in this bodystyle so ill follow along!

Hahaha. Well, that’s good advice then I suppose. I’ve always sort of defaulted to the same thought so I don’t feel so bad about it this time. 

grover
grover Reader
2/9/18 11:42 a.m.

Hey y'all.  Planning on pulling the motor and transmission in the next day or so. Should I pull them together? Take off the front clip first? 

help.  

enginenerd
enginenerd Reader
2/9/18 1:00 p.m.

I don't know that particular truck well but I've always found it a bit easier just to pull them together if they both need some work. Makes it a lot quicker for me when it all goes back together. You can pull it from the top but you will probably want a load leveler and you might risk running out of lifting height (and/or lifting capacity depending on how the hoist is designed). Pulling the front clip will take more time but for me makes it safer and easier.  

grover
grover Reader
2/9/18 1:06 p.m.
enginenerd said:

I don't know that particular truck well but I've always found it a bit easier just to pull them together if they both need some work. Makes it a lot quicker for me when it all goes back together. You can pull it from the top but you will probably want a load leveler and you might risk running out of lifting height (and/or lifting capacity depending on how the hoist is designed). Pulling the front clip will take more time but for me makes it safer and easier.  

That's what I was thinking, less height needed and allows me to get inside easier. ok, i'll see how this works.  

Bubbaz
Bubbaz New Reader
2/9/18 3:48 p.m.

If you have a shop that sells quality auto transmission parts and have access to any special tools needed then the hardest part of rebuilding an auto is taking it out. I once bought a non running Nova for it's real magnesium wheels for $100 and when I got it towed home put a battery in it and it started right up but wouldn't go into gear. At the time all the parts to rebuild it were less than 1/4 the cost of having it done by a shop.

The only problem I had was the rebuild instructions that came with the parts was a photo copy that was hard to clearly see the photos. The photo of the placement of the anti clunk reverse spring wasn't clear so I just left it out. Whenever I put it in reverse it made a clunk so clearly it was almost as if it was spelling the word CLUNK out loud.

Crackers
Crackers Dork
2/9/18 8:08 p.m.

Wait, so you're building a truck as a tribute to a beloved family member, and you don't even intend to keep it? 

I can't be the only one that thinks this is odd.

Don't get me wrong, do what you will. It's just surprising. 

Looks like a good base to start on in any case. 

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