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61 unibody "Turk" project build

Posted: October 15, 2010, 5:08 pm
by unibody madness
So I have been putting this off long enough
I purchased my first 1961 unibody back in 1976, at the ripe old age of (deleted because of the laughter from the other room) for $1000.00. It had 98 thousand miles on it, from a friend of my fathers, for college transportation. To this day I have been unable to find a single picture of it
It was originally pale yellow with a 292, t-98, chrome reverse rims and mooneyes, 10 inch tires on the back and 8 inch on the front. No dings no dents, black painted roll bar, the rear bumper was a made of three inch c channel with a piece of 2x6 redwood attached, burnt with a torch and covered with envirotech for that shinny look, Boy was I cool!!!
I worked on it with the tools at hand, which was minimal, and replaced kingpins, intake manifold and carb, rear pumpkin ect, put in a rebuilt 292 from San Francisco Engine Remanufacturing, because of the mileage, and the belief back then that an engine was only good for about 100 k,.. , it appeared to be good for another 100 k, per Art, the builder, when I returned the rebuild because of a bent rod. Along the way it got a root beer brown, metallic, Imron paint job.
Fast forward a number of years and the uni is gone thanks to the gas shortage of 1979, even and odd fueling days, two block long gas lines, twelve miles to the gallon up hill, down, hill with the wind, against the wind, loaded, empty, two barrel, re jetted four barrel, lower rear gears...you get the picture.
I bought a fully loaded 1980 Volkswagen rabbit, brand new, for 7600.00 I made my car payment, insurance payment, kept the tank full and put $10. a month back in the bank on gas savings alone...those were the days!
Fast forward some more, and just over two years and a lifetime ago, my youngest got in a fight with a fence in the 2000 dodge Durango, on a rainy day and the dodge lost. I then spent a small fortune on it once all the repairs were done because the dodge 318 now wants to run on alternate 7 cyl. Even after replacing everything, except the wire loom (that’s next) .Then it dawned on me...I do not even change the oil on my cars, and I used to do it all, sooooo... the madness began.

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I began looking at eBay because I did not know any better, and found and bought the long bed, then two short beds in stupefied succession, looking for that special elusive 61 uni.

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Along the way I found a hobby I could share with my two boys and bought a 61 step side for my youngest,

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we began working on the trucks together, buying pieces and parts here and there, in an effort to jump start my need to build, repair, or just do something with my hands, something I had always done, but stopped after a very trying six years where I lost both parents and my only sibling.
Then one day, while trolling on Craigslist, I found The Turk. Having learned my lesson not to buy trucks sight unseen, I traveled the distance to look at the truck.
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I ended up back at the house at three in the morning with the Turk on a rented trailer, and my ecstatic son driving a 1966 step side in original paint, a daily driver to be sure, it made the return trip in much better shape than the Durango, and you don’t want to know!

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I bought them from a nice Veterinarian, whose’ husband had bought them for their twin boys, and due to marital difficulties, and lack of interest by her sons, just wanted the trucks gone.
I was told the Turk had been left in a barn for twenty years, after the 223 had a hole punched in the block by a rod on the number two cylinder, and other than some rather large dents in the quarter panel and a lot of mud wasp nests, it is in grand shape.
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Having originally bought a Gibbons/Cordoba ifs kit and having the 292 out of one of my unibodies, rebuilt, I decided to put it all in the Turk.
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So for the past year I have been working on the Turk when I can in between my real job, and all the other things that need to be done. I am currently at a point where the engine is rebuilt, if you can believe it by Art, at San Francisco Engine. He is in his eighties and still going strong. The trannies I have available have been gone through and painted, although I am still looking to put a t-5 in it. The Cordoba suspension has been mocked up, and the chassis is ready to be sand blasted and painted.
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I have a lot more pictures but have to find a way of shrinking them down to a reasonable size from photo bucket. I hate it when it takes up the whole screen and I am doing it one by one.
John

Posted: October 15, 2010, 7:55 pm
by Greg D
Very Cool Story!

Posted: October 15, 2010, 11:34 pm
by Anthony
Sweeeeeeet!!!!!! I love the engine colors... very tasteful.... :thumright: :thumright:

Posted: October 16, 2010, 2:53 am
by Alan Mclennan
Hey John, try pixresizer, someone here posted it ages ago! and I`ve used it since.

http://pixresizer.en.softonic.com/

Posted: October 17, 2010, 12:01 am
by 64shortbed
Thanks for sharing your story. I'll be watching this one!

Posted: October 17, 2010, 2:39 pm
by unibody madness
Thanks to all who have viewed and answered,
Greg and Anthony,somehow I thought you would appreciate the build.
Allen,I have downloaded the program and will let you know how it works for me, if I could figure it all out.

So to straighten a few things out, I found my youngest sons' step side shortly after the madness took hold, having bought the longbed with the 460. I was looking for parts and goodies for the grand old beast, knowing in my heart that I was not pleased with it, because having bought it on e-bay, and looking at twenty nine pictures, it never entered this feeble mind that it was not a short bed. I know better now.
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Now before all you longbed lovers take offense, you have to remember I was chasing my youthful dreams, and that happened to include a shortbed. I have been around long beds my whole life albeit my dads chebbies, and if I were buying it to work, as they were originally sold, it would have been a longbed.
Back to the tale, while looking through craigslist I happened to find the stepside within driving distance of Paradise, Ca., where my son was starting college, so I called him and told him if he and his mother would go check it out, I would buy it for him. I really got a great deal on it and other than the damage to the front end and a rather tired 223, it was in great shape. We began by taking the damaged area apart and searching pick and pulls for parts, bonding and building memories. Shortly thereafter I found my next truck with the 223 and had it brought to me by a good friend from southern Ca. who I met and helped bail me out when I bought the longbed. But that is a long and embarrassing story. So the search continued and I found and bought this rebuilt 292, and had it shipped from Troy, N.Y.
(After paint)
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Throughout all this I was regaling the fellows at work with my misadventures, and a grand gent who I work with decided to ask if I wanted another project to work on with my sons, and gave me these pieces to a 39 ford truck minus the frame he had spread amongst his holdings of pieces and full vehicles from the thirties and forties. It is on the back burner but never far from my thoughts as it is in the garage in Paradise and we have to walk around it whenever we work on my sons ‘truck.
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Still searching for the perfect shortbed I found the third truck with an almost rebuild able 292 that eventually turned into the motor already posted that I will use on the Turk. The red 292 will eventually go into the 39 as it has a street cam in it and I have a three duce set up to go with it. I then bought this rebuilt 223 for much less than the cost of rebuilding one, so it is going to go into my sons’ truck

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Here is the frame just before going to the blaster on Friday. Sorry for the detour, but needed to clarify the process it took to get here.
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Although it may seem I am a spend thrift, this all took place over a three year period and I have less invested in all, than most people have in just one vehicle. I have been lucky in finding most of it at prices that don't hurt too much
John

Posted: October 17, 2010, 5:22 pm
by Anthony
I AM loving this!!!! this is a cool build.... and I, just like you, try to be as thrifty as I can... It just sometimes don't work out that way... :wink: Cheap and free is the best way to come across anything.... Keep those updates coming as you can.... hopefully I will have updates for mine by the end of Nov... 8)

Posted: October 18, 2010, 7:20 pm
by unibody madness
So I started deconstruction of the Turk after clearing the decks of the green truck that was occupying the garage in order to donate the 292 I had rebuilt
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No Rot!
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Out came the interior
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Then off came the front clip. Good news all the bolts came off with minimal effort
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Taking apart the 223 for future parts came next, everything was covered in caked oil and dirt from a blown front seal that never got replaced, explains the hole in the block and sludge in the pan. This shot was taken after hours of scraping crud off everything.
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Engine gone, tow bar ready for frame extraction and mess cleaned up. Cross bar for the Cordoba ifs, cleaned, primed, and ready for mock up.
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I used my engine hoist to pick up the body high enough to slide aluminum 2x3 stanchions under front and back. Bolted cross pieces up and attached four tongue jacks from Harbor freight to the corners. In order to get clearance we picked the frame up in stages, using floor jack and blocking.
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Still needed to remove rear tires and use the floor jack as a dolly, to get it out.
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Both boys putting rear tires back on.
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Cordoba ifs installation up next
John

Posted: October 19, 2010, 12:47 am
by 64shortbed
That is the prettiest 223 I've ever seen.

Posted: October 19, 2010, 8:44 am
by Santi
That is sweet.. Keep up the great work and keep the pics coming. :cheers:

Posted: October 19, 2010, 7:24 pm
by Leeroy
Great thread, looking real good. Never get tired of seeing a slick get resurrected. Also helps make me feel sane about what Im doing with mine!

Just a sidenote with pic resizing..... If you use a Mac, select the pics you want to resize in iPhoto or whatever you use to view pics and select mail or email images. It'll open up a new email with said pics and you can usually resize them to small/medium/large or actual size. Pick what size you want and then drag each pic to the desktop. Viola, resized pics sitting on the desktop ready to upload! Similar process if you use a PC, rightclick the image, 'send to' then 'mail recipient.' it should then open outlook express and you drag the pics onto the desktop as above. I've been doing this for years and it takes 3 seconds!
Only caution, avoid keeping original pics on the desktop as you'll overwrite originals with 'resized' pics.
Hope that helps!

Posted: October 19, 2010, 9:10 pm
by unibody madness
Thanks for the heads up, I used Allens program to resize the picks on my computer, resized all the pics on photobucket I needed, and made sure I limited the size when loading to photobucket in the future. But it was definitly a pain in the arse.
Got the frame back today from the blaster, Painted with epoxy primer
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I am going to let it set up for a few days, but am undecided between gloss black or low sheen black for a top coat..maybe a combo of both? Frame semi gloss, and gloss for all the hanging parts?
What do you think?

john

Posted: February 6, 2011, 12:34 am
by 64shortbed
Hi John! What's the latest on your project?

Posted: February 6, 2011, 5:53 am
by unibody madness
Thanks for asking
I have been meaning to update for a while but life seems to get in the way.
The chassis is painted and reassembled.
The rear has been switched painted and installed
The cordoba front end has been installed and painted
I am currently working towards installing new brake lines, but will have to rent one of those new fangled flare tools since doing it with the old style is not working real well
I will post pics at a later date , My wife is having some health issues right now and that is kind of all consumming
John

Posted: February 6, 2011, 11:08 am
by foodstick
Best of luck with your wife..hope she is feeling better soon..

These trucks go back together fast when everything is cleaned and painted...

Posted: February 6, 2011, 11:17 am
by Gritsngumbo
If you can remember where you put all of the bolts :-)

Posted: February 6, 2011, 4:04 pm
by Greg D
Hope your wife is better soon.

Posted: February 6, 2011, 5:44 pm
by 64shortbed
My best to your wife. I may need to find one of the new fangled tools you're talking about; my double flare tool is not working out too well either.

Posted: February 7, 2011, 12:21 am
by unibody madness
Thanks guys your words of support help more than you know.

I Have all the bolts and then some ..remembering where they all go is another story.
The double flare maker comes from the company that I bought the brake line from, about 25.00 a week rental but 375. to buy. There is one similar on ebay from eastwood for 179.00 item number 360342158533
I will post updates when things settle down
Thanks
John

Posted: February 7, 2011, 1:36 am
by Alan Mclennan
John, please give your wife our best wishes and hope she is on the mend soon!, with the flaring tool!, I found a squirt of WD40 made all the difference as I have one of those old style flaring kits! but have used a mates lever type flarer, but was determined to use mine.