Junkyard Jimmy Super Low Buck Build Thread

[VA72C10]

nice score on the bedside! And sounds like some good scores still waiting for you for next time! I need to find a semi-local yard to me or move....all the ones i've found focus on late model stuff and simply crush anything older than the 80's...

[Tynee]

Man, the progress is amazing. I've got to find the time to check in more often.

[hgs_notes]

The new shocks came yesterday, so I started installing them and thought it would be a fairly quick easy deal, but it never is. I started with the rear air shocks because I wanted to see it leveled out once. Spent about $16 in new grade 8 hardware. The shocks mounted up easy enough, the problem was the airlines. I hooked it all up, but couldn't get air into them. Nothing. I thought it might be the valve not sticking out far enough for the air nozze to engage, and ended up over tightening the cheap plastic tee and it broke off. The local napa (the only open part store) did not have any air shocks on hand to get a new valve out of. I looked through my hardware drawers and found a tire schrader valve extension and was able to get it on the broken stub and with a little silicone it actually sealed up ok. Still no air going through the tubing. pulled the tubes out ofthe fittings and blew threw them, actually attempted to blow through them, and nothing. No kinks in the lines I could see. I'll pull them ut today and run a wire through to find the blockage. And I might have to find a new valve tee anyway, but I want to see them work once.

The fronts will take like 5 minutes to install. Pics when it works.

[hgs_notes]

I got some time to play outside and the weather cooperated. So the front shocks got bolted in, but not before I made another quick trip to the hardware store for bolts. Two were just a bit short for the top shock mount.



I called rockauto.com yesterday about the air line problem and they are shipping a new hose kit. So I should be able to pump them up next week.

As I thought, I had a manual choke cable in the corner of the garage, and after about 10 minutes, had it installed. Works great. The pic also shows the glove box door installed. I realized I had the wrong shift indicator on, but found the correct one in a box the other day, so I'll swap that out soon.


My battery charger has an alternator test feature I never used before today. I've had problems with the battery draing, so I tested it and it says the alternator voltage is low. Oddly enough, I had it tested at the napa store before I installed it and it checked out ok then. Oh well, replacements are not hard to find.

Not much else to say, except that I had to try a burnout with the new tires and it'll roast the 32's just fine. Got a nice long smokey one on the street. I am trying some tranny leak stop to see if that helps. Tightening the pan bolts a bit helped also. Need to do something with the transfer case leaks though. The driveway is looking rough under there right now. Will probably work on the rear brakes next and then the lights.

[VA72C10]

nice progress! I can't wait to get back to a build. (mine's on hold pending a new donor truck) I want my next one to be like this one is now where I can drive it and make improvements as I go...

[hgs_notes]

Originally Posted by VA72C10

nice progress! I can't wait to get back to a build. (mine's on hold pending a new donor truck) I want my next one to be like this one is now where I can drive it and make improvements as I go...

I can't wai to drive it legally!

Todays progress, worked on the rear sat. Why? Hellifiknow. Actually there is a reason. The seat was taking up valuable space in the garage and I needed to make room to pull the bed off my C-10. So rather than stuff it into another corner, I put it where it belongs.

Strted by welding the re-inforcing strapon he right seat mount back down to the bed floor.I had cut it last year in order to get the odd size bolt out of the hole. Then I ran a tap through all of the seat mount and seat belt mount holes.


While I was doing that I soaked the belts in the kitchen sink in hot soapy water. Once the jimmy was prepped for the seat, I went in and scrubbed the hell out of the belts. I think they turned out pretty good.


So the rear seat mounts are bolted in, the seat belts are bolted in, but I need to find the front mounts. I think they are in the garage attic.



And then, just out of curiousity, I set the push bar in place and used some wire ties to hold it up. I'm undecided on whether or not to use this. If I did, what color should it be? Seems odd to have a black bar and white bumper. Give me some opinions please.

[nightmare]

Originally Posted by hgs_notes

And then, just out of curiousity, I set the push bar in place and used some wire ties to hold it up. I'm undecided on whether or not to use this. If I did, what color should it be? Seems odd to have a black bar and white bumper. Give me some opinions please.

I think that it looks good on there. Are you planning on using a different (i.e. chrome) bumper on there? If not, I'd say leave it black. Black would still be a nice color for it. Maybe paint the mounting tabs the color of the bumper so that it looks like it is just floating there.

[hgs_notes]

Ok, One for the push bar so far. Any against?

Today my youngest had a softball tournament in a neighboring town. Between games we had some time to kill and it was the city wide garage sale day, and the wife can't hardly pass by one of those. She makes me get out and stroll them with her, which is fine because sometimes you actually find some boy stuff. Such as these posters...



And a classic flashlight and steering wheel knob...


But then you find the greatest thing ever. Old school back seat entertainment center...


But I think it looks good up front also. Maybe some plywood scraps to build the awesome console...


You bet it's AC/DC! I have an rf signal converter and I think I could still get an HDTV converter box. Wonder if the gov't is still handing out vouchers? I wonder if my atari would hook up?

Just having fun, but then again...

[litew8]

Originally Posted by hgs_notes

Ok, One for the push bar so far. Any against?
You bet it's AC/DC! I have an rf signal converter and I think I could still get an HDTV converter box. Wonder if the gov't is still handing out vouchers? I wonder if my atari would hook up?

Just having fun, but then again...

dude, even if you get the atari hooked up, I bet your joysticks are all worn.

[VA72C10]

nice progress! Those belts look great!

[swamp rat]

LOL! I'll bet the girls are wearing wigs. Your entertainment center i beleve is period accurate too.

[1956cameo]

Looks good. I have an ancient black and white TV like the one in your blazer. My dad has had it since 1973. Since they converted over to HD signal it has not worked due to not bieng able to accept an HD reciever. I left it on the day of the switch so I knew it would broadcast until the last second. For some reason I don't have the heart to throw it away.

[steppside69]

I like the guard, looks mean!!!!
Eric

[hgs_notes]

Here's my old school cup holder. Doors on newer cars are too thick now, but these work great.

[Tynee]

Count me as a vote against the pushbar. If it and the pumper were chrome, I'd be for it. I think you are getting away with about as much as you can with the chrome grille and white bumper.

Plus, if this is lowbuck, you can sell that pushbar to finance other required parts, like the plywood for the entertainment center console...

Hey, you asked for opinions...

[hgs_notes]

Originally Posted by Tynee

Count me as a vote against the pushbar. If it and the pumper were chrome, I'd be for it. I think you are getting away with about as much as you can with the chrome grille and white bumper.

Plus, if this is lowbuck, you can sell that pushbar to finance other required parts, like the plywood for the entertainment center console...

Hey, you asked for opinions...

Yes I did ask, and it doesn't bother me a bit to hear dissenting opinions. I was thinking about painting the bumper black and repainting the push bar. What do you think?

Had to take it for a brief ride today. It was blocking the garage door where my truck is and it was going to the body shop. My old Optima battery just had no CCA left in it. It would only start (turn over) with the charger in start mode. So after a junkyard battery that failed after a year or so, and my optima giving up the ghost, I splurged and bought a new battery. I went with a walmart everstart Maxx 34 which was really highly rated by consumer reports and cheaper than the diehards, napas, etc by a significant amount. With tax, about $94.

*updated* Forgot to mention I sold the rally wheels and tires to Sharpie for $100. Now with the shocks, tires, battery, etc I'm at a total spent of $3460. I haven't had much time to do anything with this project lately because I've been getting my C-10 ready for paint, and work/family commitments. I've got some intermittant stall happening with it and I don't know if it's fuel, ignition, mechanical or what. The new shocks make the ride a bit stiffer. Still need to get the air lines ran to the rear shocks and jack it up a bit. Brakes and wiring, blahblahblah. Need more hours in the day, and days in the week.

[hgs_notes]

I think the stall is from a carb adjustment. After revving it wants to shutdown. Further investigation is needed. I installed the rear seat hold down brackets after cleaning them up and painting them. So the rear seat is solid now. I took a few minutes to hook up the air lines to the shocks. They work and I got an immediate 1" of lift. My compressor doesn't run more than 135 psi though and I think I need more pressure to level it out more. Or I'll just get some 2" blocks and be done with it. The shocks were still too good of a bargain to pass up, so no loss there.

The new battery is great. I always thought I had a ground somewhere and disconnected the battery when I wasn't running it. Now I can leave it hooked up and still have power, which is a huge relief. Finding grounds is a pain.

[Darkrider]

Great project! any updates?

[hgs_notes]

Not really. The C-10 in my signature got all the love this summer. Turns out that getting a truck painted and re-assembled takes up a lot of time? Ask my wife, she'll give you an earful. The truck isn't quite done yet and whatever time I get goes to that project. I figure by the end of October I'll either have it done as far as I can go or it'll be too crappy outside to matter and I'll park it until spring. Then the Jimmy will start getting some attention again.

The biggest thing and the priority will be the passenger bedside. I have 2 sections of truck bedside to use as patches but also have a blazer bedside from a project I'm parting out. Once I get that part off I'll decide which route is better. It just depends on what rust I find on that one and how much welding will need to be done for repairs. Then I'll fix any floor rust I find and get the inside of the tub sprayed with some liner, I'm thinking Al's Liner now and if I like how that goes, I'll do my truck bed also.

I hate to make estimates on time for these things, but I'm hoping to have it all painted by spring and mostly assembled. I've learned a lot about body work the past couple years and I'm much faster now. Right now I'm thinking gold and black, maybe yellow and black, with a few surprises.

I picked up a door panel for the drivers door ($10). Sorted through my stash of parts to make sure I have the small bits to put it together later. I'll also have some leftovers from my truck build for it, such as a new gage bezel and lense for a vac/tach set up (if I can find a deal on those gages). I "might" try to install a windshield in it this week. I watched the pro do my truck windshield and I did the rear window and it doesn't seem that difficult. I need to rebuild the carb also. The windshield and carb are basically what kept it parked this summer. I just didn't have the time to do anything.

[hgs_notes]

The Jimmy project will start to get some love pretty soon. My C-10 is about 95% completed and I've been driving it for several weeks now. Just waiting for some time, money and the usual to have it completely finished before next spring.

Part of that project was an upgrade to a vac/tach dash. I got a new bezel and lense for it and was searching for the other parts I needed when Classic Industries had a 20% off sale. So I just bought their complete kit, which came with a lense also. So that means I have an extra lense. I also had a camaro tach sitting on the shelf that I could use. At a minimum I needed to find a front tin for the cluster that had the vac gauge hole. I pm'd livrat who does these conversions and sells them on the board and elsewhere and he had one extra tin for $20 shipped. I think I paid $5 for the tach. Now I just need to find a cheap vacuum gauge and I'll have what I need.

Last night I started cutting the tin to fit the tach. Here's how it looked to start with...


Then I cut out the spot at the top of the center circle and then used my nibbler to cut it out. I cleaned up the edges with a die grinder.


The tach had a couple spots top and bottom that needed to be trimmed to fit in the tin.



Just set a spare bezel on to see how it looks.


I'll have to modify the back tin also yet for mounting the tach, and I'll post that when I do it. I have parts to add a manual throttle set up to this if I decide not to sell them. New bezels are fairly cheap so I'll probably go that route rather than try to make mine pretty with a rattle can, but maybe I'll do something completely different with it. I have an idea rolling around like a loose marble in my head. Just one lonely idea that doesn't have anything else to bang against, but it's growing.

[VA72C10]

Looking good!

[71swb4x4]

Mike I might have an extra vacuum gauge and might need a tach/vac lens if that is the lens that you have.

[hgs_notes]

Yesterday I wanted to move the jimmy because I needed to clean up around where it has been resting. I pulled the battery out of my C-10, poured some gas in the carb and got it lit up. Here's the problem, and the main reason it was parked all summer, it won't idle for more than about 10 seconds. It'll start ok with a pump or 2 of the throttle and idle nice and smooth. Then after about 5 seconds it acts like it's starving for fuel and a few seconds later stalls. Now if you start it and then go to part throttle it'll run like that with no problems for as long as you want but will stall as soon as you let off the gas.

It's an edelbrock 1405 and I neglected to put a fuel filter in the line. Dumb mistake I know. So I pulled the air horn off the carb and sure enough it's dirty in there. It's possible it was like that before I installed it because it was used and I never opened it up prior to this. I cleaned out the little filters on the needle/seat assemblies, and the fuel feed to both bowls, cleaned out the bowls, cleaned out the jets in the bowl bottoms, adjusted both fuel floats for drop and float lift and put it back together and added a fuel filter.

Same exact results. I had checked fuel pressure before this and it sits at 6 psi. The next step is to pull the carb off and completely disassemble and clean it, but the thing is, I would like to know where the problem is. Maybe I can pull the idle mix screws and spray some carb cleaner through those first.

It has to be something with the idle circuit but I can't think of what because it will start and idle good for 5-10 seconds, except after part throttle. So if there are any edelbrock gurus out there reading my thread, please speak up. This is the first edelbrock I've had and it seems simple enough, just need some idea of what to look for.

BTW, I added some tranny fluid and at part throttle, I got it moved under it's own power. Funny thing is that when I 1st got this engine running last winter, I thought it was kinda loud through the exhaust. Sonic turbos and it's kinda throaty. After driving my C-10 around with the flowmasters, it sounds like my wifes denali compared to my C-10, damn that thing is loud.

[hgs_notes]

On another note, I discovered that there is some rust in my windshield frame. It's just above the gasket in the middle so it looks like I'll have to do some patching once I pull the windshield out. Yippee!

[hgs_notes]

I got a little time today to work on the carb. I pulled the idle mixture screws out and sprayed some carb cleaner through them, re-installed the screws and away we went. Drove over to the body shop and got a 2nd opinion on my hammered in bedside. Marv thinks he could pull it out. I think I'll take out the inner wheel tub on that side, and remove that piece that is tack welded to the inside lip of the wheel well and give him a shot. It would beat the snot out having to weld a monster patch into it. Marv is a perfectionist and if he can do it, it'll be good. If not, I still have plan B. The patches are in the garage waiting.

Just thinking about the roll bar and I'm not satisfied with how it sits at the floor. I think I can cut off the floor mount plates and either reposition them or cut new ones to fit better.

I bought a new battery today so I don't have to keep pulling the one out of my C-10. I got an 850 CCA 72 month warrantee Exide on sale at the farm supply place for $70. It'll be nice to be able to just move it around under it's own power as needed. I'm still trying to sell my extra parts here and on ebay to make room in the garage so I can pull the windshield out, fix the rust and make some progress on this thing. I have some regrets that I didn't try a little harder this summer to get this on the road, but concentrating on my C-10 and being able to cruise in that again more than makes up for any bad feelings I had.