C8 progress in Texas

[alleramilitaria]

hey i know what you mean about the radiator, i need to get mine recored for my truck and when the places around waco all said it would cost around 900.00 i could not beleave it.

[David DeWeese]

Hi Dave,
The radiator shops were probably trying to scare you off. Even if you would have said yes to the 900 bucks, they still would have found another reason not to have done it.
Back in the late 70's and 80's there were quite a few good old school radiator shops around Dallas. Now there are none.
The ones that supposedly "repair" radiators automatically tell you your's needs a recore, then try to sell you a new one at twice what you pay on the internet!
I do all my repairs myself these days. It looks like crap, but gets the job done!
Thanks, David

[Phil Waterman]

Back when I was unsure if my orginal Pattern 12 radiator was going to re-usable I started looking for a shop that could build a new one. I found an outfit down in Alabama US that makes big truck radiators, and has a side line making radiators for hot rods. If prices shown on their web site are correctly their prices are on par to buying a radiator for a modern truck.

They have a 38 Chev listed GM 2003 $395.00 38 CHEVROLET CORE SPECS: 17.125" X 25" X 2.25" INLET: 1.5" OUTLET: 1.75"

Here is their web address http://www.cgj.com/ I have not bought anything from them so I can not say how good they are.

Cheers Phil

[alleramilitaria]

yup and ....
when they see what its going into the price goes up even more....

hey if you see any good CCKW cabs up by you let me know, im looking for one.
thanks
dave d

[Phil Waterman]

Hi Dave

The guys in our area who are the CCKW experts can be found at http://cckw.org/ In particular Bill Wolf and Steve Keith aka Dr. Duce. Send me a private message and I'll give you their e-mails.

CCKWs seem to follow Steve home, I've lost track of how many he has found owned over the years.

[David DeWeese]

Had to attend to making a living the past few weeks, but managed to hit a few licks on the C8 between paying jobs.
Had a driveshaft made to fit my mis-matched rear axle and transmission, so drivetrain is finished.
Test-fitted the C8 hand brake components onto the new transmission. Surprised to learn it all fits without modification, and sits in the stock location.
Got the radiator situation taken care of for now until I can find a better one. Used a 1941 Dodge 1.5 ton cabover radiator that I had in excellent condition and soldered in a filler neck I had saved from a motor home radiator. Radiator fits great without any clearance issues, but.....
Also made up an alternator bracket set-up for the 235 to replace the generator.
Thanks, David

[David DeWeese]

Hi,
Very close to firing-up the C8 for the first time, and was wondering if anyone has a source for an original temperature gauge to fit the instrument cluster? All the clusters I have here, the temp gauge tube has been cut.
Thanks, David

[Phil Waterman]

Hi David

Been down this road many times over the years, though you may get lucky and find a NOS that works. I buy them on E-bay when I see them and price is cheap, about half are good. Problem with several of the NOS ones I've picked up over the years is they work but are not accurate. Though with the 11 or 12 Cab the length of the tube is not that important as almost any of the standard civi will work. On the Cab 13 the tubes are just barely long enough.

My suggestion is check Hemmings for a shop that will rebuild or supply a new one. It is almost always the tube that fails.

Cheers Phil

[Alex van de Wetering]

David,

Did you find those Hand brake cables in the meantime? I am also looking for replacements for my C8, but can't seem to trace the partnumber to an civil equivalant at any of the parts suppliers.

Alex

[David DeWeese]

Thanks, Tony!

Hi Alex,
Since I ended up using a modern rear axle under my truck, I never looked much for original cables....

Of course, if you wanted information on how to install an Isuzu/GM rear axle under your truck, I've got you covered!

Seriously, sorry I couldn't help you out on this...

Thanks, David

[Mike K]

Originally Posted by Alex van de Wetering

David,

Did you find those Hand brake cables in the meantime? I am also looking for replacements for my C8, but can't seem to trace the partnumber to an civil equivalant at any of the parts suppliers.

Alex

I found hand brake cables from a late 1930's chevy commercial vehicle fitted perfectly , correct length . I think it was a 1/2 ton pickup . But Im not 100% sure .

Mike

[Alex van de Wetering]

David, Mike,

Thanks for the responce. It might even be harder to find an Isuzu axle here than replacement cables for the handbrake

Mike, will see if the 1/2ton Chev cables match, thanks
Alex

[aj.lec]

It will be good to know exactly what model fits as I also need some right now
Unfortunately I am not close enough to a Chev parts dealer to compare lengths and fittings as to get the correct ones

[David DeWeese]

Hi,
Got tired of walking past the C8 roof panel sitting on saw horses at my shop for several months, and decided to devote the weekend to some repairs. The blistering heat here has sucked the fun out of any un-necessary shop activities, but some progress simply had to be made...

Tackled the bent lower angle iron brace on the roof panel first. Measured carefully and found that not only was the back of the panel caved in severely, but the damage had spread the sides out by nearly an inch.
Took a hand winch,(we call it a come-a-long here), pulled the sides together gently, and the damaged rear angle iron popped back straight without barely a fight. Some times you just get lucky I guess....

more to come....

Thanks, David