"Papa Smurf" - 1966 GMC 1500 Custom

[LordNatedawg]

Tires and alignment complete. I went with Hercules TerraTrac CH4. A nice highway tire that is very affordable. The PO had 245/75/R16, but I switched over to LT235/85/R16. A taller and thinner tire should help with MPG and it greatly reduces steering effort. Running 40psi in all 4 tires for now. I can switch that to 60psi front, 80psi rear if it ever gets a heavy load.

As for alignment specs, I was surprised to find that the Hunter alignment machine at work had factory specs for a 66 GMC 4x2. Modest positive camber, about 2.5* caster, and a pretty insane amount of positive toe. It wanted 0.18*, but I left it at 0.15*. Just a word of advice: if you bring your truck somewhere for an alignment, make sure to give the tech coffee and donuts. Camber shims are no fun to mess with. The tech will be grateful and will ensure that your alignment is dead on, not just "good enough". Talking from experience here. Lol.

And of course, my posts would no be mine if they didn't end with a new problem. My blinker fuse keeps blowing at random. I haven't found any way to get it to blow reliably; I don't know what's causing it. One minute they work, but the next time I go to turn them on I suddenly have nothing. For now I'm going to do a "fix" by installing a breaker instead of a fuse. That way I can get blinkers back when I'm on the road. Also saves me money. I've already put 3 fuses in it this week.

[LordNatedawg]

I'm still trying to track down the source of my blinker fuse issue. I've inspected all the wiring that I installed and can't find any dead shorts or worn through insulation. The only wiring I haven't inspected is within the steering column itself. But without a consistent fuse blow, it's hard to say what the issue is. Sometimes it blows when I'm sitting stationary, sometimes it happens as soon as I try to use the blinkers, sometimes it happens when I'm turning. Some drives it doesn't happen at all.

I added a few grounds to my battery and engine. It won't solve the issue I'm having, but it will help with overall electrical efficiency. I already had the main ground from battery to engine. I added battery to chassis and frame, engine to body, engine to frame. I also added one from hood to chassis.

I've been enjoying my truck and discovering new problems with it. I expected new problems to arise once I actually started using it. On top of my blinker issue I have discovered that my coolant reservoir is too small. Kind of expected that. I'm running my truck hotter than some classics, as well as running a lower pressure radiator cap; there is going to be quite a bit of expansion. Not a huge issue, but should be addressed. I also found a loose u-joint in my driveshaft. That will need immediate attention. No fun having a u-joint explode at 65mph. Ask me how I know...

All that being said. I am still very much enjoying my truck. It isn't registered yet so I can't take it to work yet. But I have been using it for grocery runs or quick errands down the street. That will have to cease until I can fix the u-joint though.