'65 GMC 1500 project. From the Netherlands

[Prowbar]

Here are some pictures of the mentioned repairs, such as the heater lever repair. See pictures.

Some other things:

Converted VW LT van front door checks into usable door checks for the GMC, since the originals were gone and are basically engineered to fail. These have the added bonus of having 2 extra detents for in tighter spaces.

Rebuilt the light switch and installed the dome light.

Finished the rest of the interior, such as the new glove box, wiper switch and inside mirror. Still waiting on some new parts such as the heater hose and the window seals, should have these Monday. Then I can finish the doors and final points of the interior. Also waiting on parts for the turn signal switch.

Repaired the bench seat, one seat bolt was missing the the caged nut on that side was missing also. Turned a new cages nut and welded it in. Also repaired the bench seat angle adjustment, which works like it should again.

Had the heater box pieces powdercoated, save for the cast zinc/Zamac piece, because of the expected warpage with higher temperature. I also had the squirrel cage powdercoated, which I regret because it threw the balance off. Going to rebalance it with a little setup.

Original blower rebuilt, soaked the bearings in oil, remade the little rivets that hold the bearing assembly etc. Runs good now.

Rebuilt the sliding window mechanisms, installed with new rivets and grease.

Still need to remove the gas tank as the plastic filler neck is cracked, have a new one from steel on order, will replace the hose also. Going to remove the gas tank to gain access behind there to fully rustproof the rear of the cab.

When that is all done, I can focus on getting the bed built up.

[Prowbar]

Also took the valve covers off top inspect the PCV valves. What a mess. Makes sense, it being a farm truck. The last oil change was... well, it will be changed out soon anyway.

Cleaned up most of the mess and gave the PCV valves a good soak in solvent, they look to be in proper condition. Had the breather element replaced earlier with a new one from Wix. New rubber valve cover gaskets, as the cork remains on there were almost turned to stone.

Still have to adjust the valves, no pushrods were bent so that looks good.
Will change the oil when I take off the oil pan to repair that nasty dent and inspect the oil pump pickup.

The oil I will be using is 20W-50 with high zinc (ZDDP).

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Also added some pictures of the rebuilt blower motor and powder coated heater box.

[jagarra]

Another oil with high zinc is the Lucas brand of Hot Rod Oil, available at Summit, I am using 20/50 high zinc in some of my flat tappet motors.

[Prowbar]

Originally Posted by jagarra

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Another oil with high zinc is the Lucas brand of Hot Rod Oil, available at Summit, I am using 20/50 high zinc in some of my flat tappet motors.

Ah yes, the Lucas is available here as well, but much more expensive. I know the Lucas should have a higher ZDDP content (I believe around 2000 PPM), this MPM stuff runs around 1200 PPM I believe. We'll see, it might still be 'overkill' with the oil bath cam and relatively low pressure valve springs.
But I'd rather spend a little more on oil than on a new camshaft and lifters..

[James]

Originally Posted by Prowbar

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Ah yes, the Lucas is available here as well, but much more expensive. I know the Lucas should have a higher ZDDP content (I believe around 2000 PPM), this MPM stuff runs around 1200 PPM I believe. We'll see, it might still be 'overkill' with the oil bath cam and relatively low pressure valve springs.
But I'd rather spend a little more on oil than on a new camshaft and lifters..

You all now the saying "Pay a little now or pay a whole lot more later". With these engine lasting almost forever I would hate to tear it down due to the wrong oil being used.

[Prowbar]

Originally Posted by James

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You all now the saying "Pay a little now or pay a whole lot more later". With these engine lasting almost forever I would hate to tear it down due to the wrong oil being used.

Yes sir. Take care of it and it will take care of you.

[Prowbar]

Update:

Fitted the wiper and cowl. Remade one of the wiper shaft bearings as a piece had broken off. Made adapters for the wiper arms to facilitate the use of modern style wipers.

Added separate ground wires to the turn signals, these work now like they should. As a connection I used the caged nuts that are used for Chevrolet turn signals, but are not used on the GMC. These are 8-32 thread.

Took the fuel tank out to rustproof the double wall behind the cab and rear of floor, and to replace the plastic filler neck as it was cracked.

Most work is going into the preparations to build the bed back up. Paint work on the cross sills and bed strips, weld work on the fenders etc. Lost one cross sill in the fire, had to fully redo a repro piece of junk to get it fit properly.

Still working on the heater box, the heater core leaked, a solder repair should to the trick. It was full of calcium so that was cleaned out. If it does not work out I will order a new heater core.

[Prowbar]

She's coming along nicely.

Mentioned a solder repair would do the trick on the heater core... No sir. A local radiator shop soldered a new core on, which was about the same cost as purchasing a new one and having it shipped from the US. They did a nice job, which allowed me to put the heater back together, finally. Got the heater installed. Then the blower motor would only work at the highest speed. Replaced the blower motor resistor, works fine now.

Replaced the crusty heater hoses with new ones. I figured the elbow fitting on the coolant crossover was not original, so I took it out. Turns out it is original? Anyway, will probably add it at a later date.

AZKen helped me by sending new lock wafers to rebuild the original worn out locks. The package stayed about a month with the customs... I also had new keys made by a guy on Ebay. Very satisfied with the rebuilt locks, they work as they should now.

Finally started on the bed. Got the cross sills and new bedsides installed. Everything is looking good. Will have to square up the bed and do some rust repair on the wheel tubs. The tailgate will be installed soon also. Made a new wiring harness for the taillights, installed it also, with separate ground wires. I added the connectors in the harness as I'm not sure how I would have to install them otherwise, except for taking apart the taillight bezels with the pigtails. This modification is easier and user friendly.

The taillights did not work without a bypass ground wire to the cab, so I will install a separate ground wire from the bed to the chassis, and possibly from the cab to the chassis as well. I already suspected that ground would be an issue with the bed since I used pads from thin rubber between the chassis and cross sills to reduce noise and metal to metal contact.

The bed wood that I will be using is IPE. Very hard, durable hardwood that is usually used for flooring and decking. Read about it on a forum, others had success with it.

[Prowbar]

Took her out for a test drive the first time. The brakes work well and have settled in quickly. First, it pulled to the left when stopping, which went away after a couple of tries. The engine did warm up nicely and the new heater works well. I'll remove the pan to repair the dent and change the oil next time.

The second gear synchro from the SM420 is pretty worn out, probably from its use on a farm. I've read that the 2nd gear synchro is integrated into the first gear. I hope to rebuild the transmission if I can find another unit to use temporarily. These pop up from time to time.

The speedometer or cable, or the drive in the gearbox still makes some noise when driving. Not sure where it comes from yet.

Picked up the Ipe wood for the bed floor. Don't have a picture, unfortunately. Assembling the bed floor will be the next task.

[Prowbar]

Here you can see the IPE wood. Because of the width of the original bed planks, some still need to be glued together as they are not available in this width. I've matched the planks as to get a nice result. There are lots of variations in the IPE which should make for an interesting look.

However, for now, a temporary plywood floor will have to do.
To have it registered here it will need to pass an inspection first. This is planned on the 3rd of January of 2022, meaning pretty soon.

Due to covid I had to spend about a week at home in quarantine meaning I could not do as much as I had planned. No issues, just a cold basically.

Will have to finish the last details and it hopefully passes first try.

From then on I'll work on the proper bed floor, rust repairs etc. But the first priority will be the propane conversion. It still runs on regular gas now.

As a comparison: The cost of a gallon of gas is 8.08 USD here. (calculated)
Propane is less than half of that luckily.