Building a clone of grandpa's service truck

Nate,

I'm glad to hear that your physical therapy is going well!

All,

I'm hopefully going to be finishing the assembly on my 235 engine real soon. Which documentation (shop manual, overhaul manual, vehicle manual, etc.) do you recommend for following for engine assembly? I'm guessing there are several options out there, I'd like to know your preferences and why. Planning on ordering some (Chevy gray) engine paint and maybe a hardware kit soon, just to dress it up a little bit. I also want to remove the front bearing cap and modify it for moving the two lower timing cover bolts to the outside of the oil pan.

I still haven't finished disassembling the "new" 235 to remove the intake and exhaust manifolds and front plate yet. Today was -14 without the windchill (-31 the last I looked, so I stopped looking) so that'll have to wait til maybe this weekend when the mercury is supposed to reach 40+ degrees.

I also need to get the steel paneling hung up on my shop walls so I have more floor space to work INDOORS. That'd sure be nice. So many projects, so few hours in the day.

Damon

 

No thoughts? Perusing other forums leads me to believe I need to get a truck manual for the year of the engine I have. As dumb luck would have it, both the project engine that I rebuilt, and the "new" engine I just picked up a couple weekends ago... both are 1958 engines. So, should I get a 1958 shop manual? Any guidance would be great. I'd like to get something bought soon so I can work on finishing my engine.

Thanks again.

Damon

 

Manuals

O.K. yes ;

FSM for the year or series engine you're building (FWIW , in '58 they again increased the diameter of the oil galleries to the lifters in a hopeless attempt to stop the hot clattering of hydraulic lifters) , the FSM for the year and series of chassis you're working on .

Then , a MOTORS MANUAL the covers your year rig and every single Haynes Book Of Lies , Chiltons , Glenns (yes , I'm old get over it) , etc. , etc. ~ IMO you cannot have too many books but you have to actually read them , few do .

The basics :

As you assemble the main bearing caps hand turn the crank 360? each time you torque one , this will allow you to catch a mistake in time .

Remember : ALL bearing caps are directional to match up the marks .

Both the pistons and rods are directional too so look up the indicating marks , many pistons only have a boss in the wrist pin boss under neath the skirt .

Other than that it's just look at the pictures as you go along ~ if you have nice vintage manuals , make copies of the relevant pages and tape them up at eye level for quick reference .

I use some sort of very thick oil for bearing lube during assembly .

Remember : cylinders must be cleaned with Windex and white paper towels until nothing is visible on a clean white paper towel , then wash the pistons and rings with starting fluid and assemble bone dry .

Everything else gets mondo lubrication , if you mixed up the cam lifters in their box , order brandy new ones now , it's O.K. to put new lifters on a used cam . use some good brand of cam lube , it'll come in a tube .

HAVE FUN ! this isn't rocket science , it's an old truck you're in love with so relax , play soothing music on the radio , don't answer the 'phone so on and so forth .

If you break a piston ring or drop an oiled bearing cap in the dirt , don't get mad , just stop and find it , rinse it clean with the starting fluid , allow to air dry and do it again .

Never , EVER touch not wipe a bearing shell with anything ! not even a used one , it's extremely bad practice .

 

Nate,

Thanks for all of the pointers, I really appreciate it. Especially about which manuals to find. I agree whole-heartedly that one can never have too much reference material.

My short block is already assembled, I just need to install the cam, lifters, push rods, timing plate/engine mount, timing cover, dizzy, etc.

Gonna get some books and paint coming, and maybe a hardware dress-up kit.

Thanks again!

Damon

 

I'm waiting for more Chevy 235 engine reference material to arrive so I can finish my engine assembly. So, in the meantime, I thought I'd post a picture of my plans for tomorrow: hanging tin liner panels in my shop. I have one scaffold tower assembled (three sections high) and I plan on borrowing another two sections to create another tower the same height. That way I can safely hang the ceiling panels as well... one tower isn't wide enough to safely try to hang panels that are 12' long.

Tomorrow is supposed to be 46 degrees, so the big bay door will be open to let in the light, and the intention is to get as much steel up as humanly possible. Here's the picture of the scaffold tower in place, ready to start the job in the rear corner of the shop. I'm gonna start at the rear and work towards the front, that way the overlapping seams aren't as visible when you walk into the shop from the front.



I can post more photos of the ceiling and walls as the tin-hanging work progresses. I just thought I'd throw some garage/shop porn at you guys since I haven't been able to work on the pick-up lately.

If you have any shop tips/suggestions, please be sure to share!

Damon

 

Big Building.... Size Matters after all! Looks like a good shop in the making.

 

I have shop envy

 

Shop

WOW ! I wish I had a nice big shop or garage to work in .

What are you going to do with the floor ? .

I prefer ' sealed ' (shiny surface) cement as it's easier to keep clean .


Lights off to the sides so they illuminate better .

Drains in the middle of the floor or a slight slope towards the door so leaks are easier to sweep out of the enclosed building .

 

Thanks for the comments, guys. Don't get too envious just yet, the shop is a LONG way from being done. And it's not that big, either... 24' wide by 36' deep, with a 16' side wall. Planning on putting in a storage loft at some point down the road over the hose bed of the fire engine.

Nate - I'm gonna put concrete in for the floor, but it's going to be a while til I can do it, it's gonna cost a lil bit o' cash. It'll be a six inch thick pad with a floor drain or two. Also planning on running water into the new shop, as the old garage's water system (a well pump) is now defunct and not worth repairing. That way I'll be able to have a slop sink so I don't drag too much grease and grime into my living space.

Since I was still learning a good system for getting the walls up, I was only able to get three or four sheets of steel up. The ceiling panels are 12' long, so it's gonna take a second person to help me hang those, unless I can engineer a way to get them to the top of the scaffolding, and build a rig to hold them in place while I use a screw gun. I have a buddy coming over tomorrow to give me a hand. We should be able to get quite a bit done, I think.

If ya want, I can post a few photos of the progress as we get more steel on the ceiling and walls.

Damon

 

Pictures now !

I'm keen to see this steel ceiling .

I used to use a 'T' made of a couple 2 X 4's nailed , one was long and t'other as 3' wide , to hold up drywall when I was re doing my Po-mona house decades ago .

 

Well, Nate... I don't have a lot of steel ceiling to show you, but there are three ceiling panels in place.

Here are a few photos of the progress on the shop. The first photo is of the second tower of scaffolding I put up in preparation for the job. As mentioned before, I wouldn't be able to reach to the center of the shop from the corner scaffolding to install the ceiling panels, so that's why the second scaffolding tower was assembled prior to starting the job.



The next shot was taken after I got some wall panels up. I had three or four panels up Tuesday, but I didn't take any pictures then. My buddy Rob came over today and helped me out. We made quick work of the rear wall (to the right) out as far as we could reach on the scaffolding (without moving it).



The next shot was the only one I got of the progress in getting the ceiling panels up. The ceiling panels aren't as heavy as I thought they would be. My buddy is supposed to come back over tomorrow to help hang more ceiling, so the extra set of hands will be nice to have around. I'm considering building some sort of rig to hold the ceiling panels in place so I can screw them in when I don't have help around. We'll see if I get around to that.



All of the previous photos were taken with my cell phone, so I apologize for the poor quality. It also doesn't help that I don't have lighting installed in the shop just yet. I've just been using one of those 1000 watt halogen stand lights for now. I also have to thank my girlfriend's dad again, Jim. Not only has he helped me out working on the old Chevy pick-up, but he let me borrow a propane heater while I'm working on hanging the paneling in the shop. Came in real handy today when the windchill was down to -10 degrees. Thanks, Jim!

The last photo was taken with my 'good' camera, since the same photo I took with my cell phone turned out looking terrible. After Rob had to leave, I was back to working on my own. I was able to get the west wall (to the left in the photo - includes the open area going into the original garage) about two-thirds of the way done. I took the photo standing on the front bumper of the fire engine, I apologize for the antenna being right in the middle of the frame... but you get the idea.



I think the plan for tomorrow will be to continue putting up ceiling panels starting from where we ended today and moving towards the front of the shop. If we can get the ceiling done up to were I ended on the west wall, I'll be happy. If we can manage to get that done, I may try to finish up hanging panels across the back (north) wall. Working around the frames that hang the bay door track (when it's raised) is going to be tricky, but I think we have a pretty good plan for that. That's all for now!

Damon

 

Isolation and damp conditioning

Good morning Damon.

Nice to see the work in progress of your shop.
What kinda isolation are you using here ( stone wool or glass wool )?
Have you though of the condence coming between the plates and the paper protection layer. Maybe its a thought but would it be recommendable to use plastic to protect the isolation from getting wet ?

Martinius.

 

Looking Good !

Thanx for the update .

I wish I had a nice shop like that to work in .

 

Here's a short update on the shop progress. By buddy Rob came back over today to give me a hand... thanks again Rob! The first picture is looking up into the northeast corner of the shop. We had just finished putting up the last whole piece of paneling on the back (north) wall. We had to trim the last piece to go into the corner down to 16" wide. The width of a whole panel is 38".



I took the next shot before our lunch break. The rear wall is pretty much done, except for the corner trim in the northwest (to the left in the photo) corner. The trim in the northeast corner was installed from the scaffolding. I later installed the corner trim in the other corner from a 24' extension ladder off of the old fire engine. Those ladders have been handy!!



The last photo was taken long after my buddy split and I finished up some stuff on my own. Before he left, he helped me hang a couple ceiling panels (they are 12' long) in the northeast corner. It was a bit tricky to get the panels line up with the ones we'd put up the other day (in the northwest corner), but we managed. I also got the corner trim up in the northwest corner... so the back wall is completely done, save for the trim that will go along the bottom of the steel panels, separating them from the plywood that will go under the steel.



The plan for the weekend will be to:

1. Either pull the fire engine out and hang wall panels along the east wall, or...

2. Move both towers of the scaffolding back to the west wall and work on putting ceiling up towards the front (south side) of the shop.

Martinius - The insulation I used is called kraft faced batting. The paper adhered to the fiberglass insulation is a vapor barrier, eliminating the need for plastic sheeting between the insulation and the wall covering.

It's coming along... can't wait to get this project checked off the to-do list!!

Damon

 

More progress on the walls. Got the east wall done from back to front, and got the full-height panel and corner trim up around the corner by the big bay door. My girlfriend's dad Jim (member here) stopped by this afternoon and gave me a hand. Not only has he helped with parts and knowledge on the old AD pick-up, but he can hang steel paneling, too. Thanks again, Jim!

First photo is of the east wall with the fire engine pulled outside and out of the way of the scaffolding.



And here's the work completed, visible over the top of the fire engine:



All of the steel that's up still has to be trimmed out at the bottom, but that'll happen soon, I hope. More to come later!

Damon

 

GARAGE Porn !

And ME LIKEY very much !! .

Don't you want to come to Sunny So. Cal. and build me a nice Garage ? .

 

I'd love to, Nate!! However, the cost of putting up my own shop has forced me to do it piece meal, plus travel costs, plus, plus, plus....

Thanks for the compliment!

Damon

 

Truck garage

Yeah this is clean and nicely done work.

Thanks fore sharing Martinius.

 

Work continues on hanging the steel panels in the shop. The panels, top trim, and corner trim on the walls are finished, but I still have to put up the trim around the bottom of the panels. Feels good to have those panels up and finished though. Thanks again to Rob and Jim for lending a hand.... I really appreciate it!

Now that the wall panels are up, I wanted to change gears and get back to work on the ceiling. Since my buddy Rob is moving out of town this weekend, I knew I'd probably be tackling the ceiling solo. To accommodate the loss of the extra set of hands, I built a couple of simple jacks to hold the long and awkward 12' panels in place so I could run the screw gun to fasten them into place. For each 'jack' I drilled a 3/4" hole in a 4X4 piece of lumber I had laying around, then fastened that 4x4 to the top of a saw horse with some simple "L" brackets. Then I welded a 5/8" coarse thread nut to the top of a piece of 3/4" steel tubing. Then I threaded some all thread into the nut. Two nuts jammed together on the all thread with a pair of Vice-Grips serve as a handle to adjust the height of the jack, then a 2X4 chunk with a hole drilled into it screwed to a 2X4 board about 46" wide serves as the support to hold the panels. Not gonna win any beauty contests or engineering awards, but they work plenty well to start hanging ceiling panels by myself. After I finished building the jacks last night, I had to test them out to see how well they worked. Here's a shot of the jacks holding up the first panel I installed solo. They're a little spindly, but they'll work just fine I think.



Using this method, I'll be able to install two ceiling panels at a time, then I'll have to walk the scaffolding towers into place before installing the next set. After the ceiling is up, I'll have to trim out the bottom of the wall panels, then I can get the spare 235 engine inside and start robbing parts off of it to finish my project's engine. Looking forward to getting back to work on the ol' pick-up truck!!

Damon

 

Good lookin' work, Damon, I assume the bottom 8' will have plywood standing up? That way you can pin-up well, you know,...pictures. Of fire trucks...