So after three years of owning the truck, today I drove it to work and had no problems! So I feel like letting everyone know what it took to get here!
To start, I bought the truck in September of '06 when I was 17 from a family friend (Who also happened to be my then girlfriends dad). It had been sitting for about 10 years with a quarter tank of gas. I yanked out the hideous brown carpet he put in when he bought it in '79, boiled out the tank, replaced all hoses and belts, new fuel pump, new thermostat. had a valve job done and rebuilt the carb. Had horrible carburetion problems so replaced the carb. replaced the solenoid and starter motor. wire for start to solenoid was bad, replaced it. had a short in the wiring that fried my amp gauge, fixed that. installed a stereo. replaced cap, rotor, points, condenser, wires, and plugs. Also put on original style mirrors. New tires
Wow, took a lot more than it felt like!
Left to do, inside door handles and window cranks, The speedometer currently is not working, so I REALLY need to fix that! new shocks, and for now that's it!
So now I just want to say to everyone here... THANK YOU FOR ALL YOUR HELP!!! I couldn't have done this without you guys!
CONGRATULATIONS, ISOGRIFO!!
WAY TO STICK WITH IT -- GOOD JOB!
Now that you've got it driveable, it's easy to start racking up miles.
Maybe you've already addressed all or some of these issues, but since you didn't mention them, I'll remind you to not wait too long to schedule them into your available time:
- change the rear end gear lube and transmission lube
- get a front-end alignment
- check for excessive wear & grease all the tie-rod ends, kingpins, any U-joints
- check the lube level in the steering box
- squirt some oil on the clutch and brake pedal linkage and the hood & door hinges
- pull the tires and inspect the brake drums and shoes/springs on all four corners & bleed the entire brake system.
- I'd also do a voltage check on your charging system to make sure it's up to par and will keep your battery up
- New windshield wiper blades and radiator cap.
I'll assume you changed the coolant when you changed the hoses and thermostat.
These are not big things, but they do seem to get forgotten when you busy cruisin....!
Good Luck and keep us posted on your progress!
Hey, I respect that you're on the road. I've had my truck for almost 10 years, since I was 16, and I have never cruised farther than around my neighborhood (that should probably be a sad face)
Sky, Nothing like confidence in your ol truck. If you aren't afraid to drive it 25 miles and have done so regularly without any problems, take it out on a little road trip. If it wasn't reliable why would you have a 40 year old truck in the drive?
John
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In the cool still quiet hours of night, you can hear chevies rusting away.
Well, whenever I go over a bump there has always been a rattle, and I always thought it was the center caps on the wheels as they don't fit that great. Well I figured out what it truly is. The front driver side shock, it has a mounting bracket to attach it to the frame. well that bracket's two bolts are about to fall off! yikes!
Also has anyone found that the c4 tranny likes to slip when it's cold? or is this just mine that's worn out?
Well, whenever I go over a bump there has always been a rattle, and I always thought it was the center caps on the wheels as they don't fit that great. Well I figured out what it truly is. The front driver side shock, it has a mounting bracket to attach it to the frame. well that bracket's two bolts are about to fall off! yikes!
Also has anyone found that the c4 tranny likes to slip when it's cold? or is this just mine that's worn out?
Well, now that you're able to drive the ol' Slick some, I suspect you'll discover a few more of those 'rattles' along the way. The next time you've got a few minutes and the truck isn't hot from just returning from a run somewheres, you might want to crawl under your Slick with a flash light or trouble light and give the other shocks a shake, give the driveshaft a wiggle to check those U-joints, twist on those tie-rod ends, inspect those leaf springs for any missing sections or cracked leafs, check the brackets where the leaf springs bolt up to the frame for excessive rust, check all the wiring for any hanging down or loose, inspect the fuel or brake lines for any hanging down or badly corroded, hanging emergency brake cables, etc. do this all in an effort to spot future trouble issues before they get worse or be the cause to leave you stranded somewhere you weren't planning on being at.
Regarding the C4 auto, when was the last time you checked the ATF fluid level when it was hot and idling? Maybe it is just low...... How long has it been since the fluid was changed? Maybe instead of adding some, now would be a good time to change it.
just dropped the pan to put on a new gasket and filter, so the fluid is full and brand new. about two weeks old.
I got some stuff at checker (shucks/Kragen). bottle that supposedly helps reduce slipping, wear, and leaks. haven't put it in yet, haven't had a chance to drain some fluid to be able to put this stuff in and see what it does.
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UPDATE!!!!!! :)
(that should probably be a sad face)
