Beatrice, the daily driver...

[Bears63]

This isn't so much an actual build thread, more the adventures of keeping a poor old '78 K30 going as a daily driver. First, her name is Beatrice and she has earned it.... I bought her for $500 running and actually drove her 50 miles home. The next day I went to get groceries in her and she quit in the middle of a major highway and I had to push her off the road. Thanks to the guy in the PT Cruiser who had his hazards on and waved traffic off while I pushed! Turned out (after a week of trying) the pickup coil in the distributor was bad. After replacing the distributor she has run well, but my trust was low and the stubborn ol' b*** earned her name. It just seemed to suit her. Well, I sold my car back in January of 2017 and Beatrice is all I have now to take me to work and all. She is rough, she is ugly, but she starts every dang day and takes me where I need to go. We have a love/hate thing going here Anyway, follow along on this long adventure of keeping the ol' girl going...

Pictures:
1. Me the day I paid $500 and picked Beatrice up.
2. First day home, before she puked on me.
3. Cleaning all the mouse crap and pee out of her.
4. More clean up. Replaced the printed circuit on the instrument panel at this point.
5. New and old striker bolt for the passenger door.
6. Striker bolt in place.
7. New hood hinges and springs a few weeks back. Wow, so much better!
8. Shot of old grille guard and grille.
9. After removing the old grille guard and putting in new grille.

Ol' Beatrice has earned my affection and is getting lots of new parts. I will be keeping my daily driver alive and still working on my '63 as well. Continue along on this adventure of keeping this ol' K30 alive!

[LT7A]

Hey Bears63, good to see that you got a build/keep-er-drivin thread going. I commented on your "New Parts" thread. Question on the door strike replacement: did the nut it threads into in the jam stay put once you spun the old strike out? I recently pulled a good strike from a truck at the pick-n-pull and heard the nut drop down when I got it loose. Curious how to put a new one on without that happening.

[Bears63]

Yeah, I took your advice and figured why not start this up. I have a lot to do and someone may find it interesting or helpful.

To answer your question, no, the plate the striker bolt screws into isn't held in place by anything else. You can just reach behind the mounting location and hold it though. If you look at the picture that has the old and new striker bolts, the plate the bolt screws into is partially shown on the right side of the picture.

[Bears63]

Beatrice is going in for some new tires on Monday, May 1! Kind of excited on this...lol... Getting some Hercules All Country A/T in 245/75-16. Will post pictures when done. The price on the tires is $118 per tire, mounted and balanced. I can live with that.

[cooperhw]

Nice. Looks like there is "plenty of life left in the old girl".

[Bears63]

Originally Posted by cooperhw

Nice. Looks like there is "plenty of life left in the old girl".

To be honest, this truck probably should be sitting in a junk yard. I just couldn't pass at the opportunity of a K30 though. So, it's more of "breathing more life into the old girl"

Here's a couple pics of the new tires I got put on yesterday. Nothing spectacular put they will do the job.

[Bears63]

Goodies arrived in the mail today. License plate lights and window handles from Truck and Car Shop. I dislike the plastic window handles so I went with these.

[81k]

You stole that truck. In my area that price gets you a bent 1/2 ton frame with no axles, never mind a complete running 1 ton. Its in decent shape too!

I'm going to have to tear my interior apart soon, as well. I keep my project parked outside and the field mice keep leaving me similar presents to clean up. If you ever find out how those things get into the cab, please let me know!

[Bears63]

I admit that I did steal it Prices around here are pretty high for running trucks as well. This one may seem in decent shape but trust me the body is really rough. I should take a picture of the left floorboard.... or what is left of it. Still, 1 tons this old are not easy to come by around here so I jumped at the chance to get it.

As for mice, those buggers can get in through very small holes. They can flatten their bodies out so it's pretty easy for them to get into vehicles. It doesn't take much.

[Bears63]

This morning's adventure was to replace the right side window regulator. Normally this wouldn't take too long but when I have things apart I clean. So I spent a lot of time and elbow grease washing the door. True, it won't be noticed by people, but I know it's done. Just one of those things I do to improve the ol' girl.

[Ol Blue K20]

Originally Posted by Bears63

This morning's adventure was to replace the right side window regulator. Normally this wouldn't take too long but when I have things apart I clean. So I spent a lot of time and elbow grease washing the door. True, it won't be noticed by people, but I know it's done. Just one of those things I do to improve the ol' girl.

Nice, that looks great

[Bears63]

Thanks, Dale! Slowly getting her spruced up a bit.

[Ol Blue K20]

Originally Posted by Bears63

Thanks, Dale! Slowly getting her spruced up a bit.

Your welcome, I'm doing the same to my dually. I've worked it to death since it was new. After looking at new ones, and seeing the prices "wow!" is putting it mildly.

[Bears63]

Yeah, prices on newer trucks is insane. I looked at some before I bought Beatrice and it was way out of my comfort range on price. Plus with all the plastic this and that and all the sensors.... I figure I may spend a few thousand over time on this truck but I will be much happier with it too.

[Jstock85]

Man that is an old beater. I love it!!! Keep it up

[Bears63]

She is rough as a dried out corn cob but she does still have a lot of "go" left in her. So, now I am giving her a whole lot of TLC and she is soaking it up!

[Bears63]

I took a vacation day on Friday and did a project on the ol' girl. I was hearing noises such as squealing, growling and knocks. Tracked it down to multiple things. So, this past weekend Beatrice got lots of new parts. New water pump, power steering pump, alternator and while apart for good measure a new thermostat, heater hoses and a 3/4" PEX ball valve on the intake line of the heater core to actually shut off the heat. I also did a lot of cleaning on the front of the engine and painted up some parts. She now runs a lot quieter and cooler. Here's the pics:

[Bears63]

Just went down and did a fluid check on Beatrice. Coolant is great, no leaks at all. Power steering is just a bit below the add line on cold and no leaks at all. I really don't know how I managed all I did last weekend without a single leak but I won't complain. She is running great! Just need to figure out the temp gauge now. The gauge reads very cold, gets up to a 1/4 on the gauge, thermostat opens and it drops. Not sure if it's the gauge or the sending unit at this point. The wire is good, I know that much.

[Matt Man]

Looking good! Not many 70s k30 trucks around.

[rusty76]

I'm late but I'll ride along on this one. Cool truck.

[LT7A]

I'm a big fan of your clean as you go methodology. The front of the motor looks great, and replacing those accessories all at the same time is a great plan. Speaking of fans, I have to kid you a little, how did the fan escape your washing, cleaning tendencies? Some guys have the guts, time, and money to pull these things all the way part and put them back together all clean, spiffy and new-looking. For me, one little job at a time and cleaning up the immediate area is all I can handle. But the years go by pretty fast, and I know that after 5 years my trucks will look more good than bad. Good work Mike