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Chalet's 72 Jimmy Thread

Overview Gallery Discussion
Glad to see pics of it!

The p.o. before me said that he had a ski rack on it, but couldn't find the rack. The RV vent was interesting, so I just took the top off so I didn't have to look at it.

Sorry to hear about the rust. I never pulled up the carpet because I didn't want to mess with the 3 layers and the shag carpet dash pad. There were so many things that I wanted to do with this when I bought it, then life happened and I kept spending time/money on the '77.

Glad it is with a good owner and hope you enjoy it.:wink1:
 
I'm trying to fight off the urge to pull the top until Spring. That being a ski rack would make sense, as I've never seen one. No worries on the truck, its in pretty darn good shape.
 
Can you 180 the r/v vent? then it might function properly, it does tend to get a little stagnant and stuffy back there.... I know that i ran across a thread about th the spare tire carrier... do a search and see what you find. I think that it will limit your tire size though. unless you are staying really close to the stock size?
 
I have that tire carrier intact on the back of my rig that has (I'm embarassed) a flat tire that doesn't match anything, been that way for years. It's in good shape. I'm not gonna use it if the truck ever makes it out of the garage again. I'll trade for something...
 
Thanks, I thought of that as well. I haven't looked real close at the vent, but turning it around for the time being is a good idea. Probably after winter, I'll pull the top to make necessary repairs and deal with it then.

ChefBear. I'd be interested in trading for the tire carrier, but don't know what I have laying around that you'd need. Most of the truck parts I have laying around are 2nd gen. I could maybe go find you a nice piece of mesquite to turn?

Progress as of today. Got the dash apart right now doing the dash pad swap. Got the old pad out, and the new one from LMC fits pretty good. Had to destroy the old glovebox to get it out, so I'll need to order another insert. Is there anyplace to get one that's not cardboard?

Also, some of the a/c ducting is coming apart. I think I'll just duct tape it back together, it seems to be in pretty good shape for the most part. Hopefully tonight I'll get the dash clean, the pad bolted back in, and the dash put back together. I've got the pad laying on the windshield in the sun so it will warm up and be nice and flexible when I bolt it back down.

Still trying to fight the "might as well's". Might as well get a new dash bezel and some fancy gauges, might as well replace all the a/c ducting, might as well find somebody to fab a steel glove box, etc. I need to stay on track for now.
 
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I got wood when I went in to work today! Not a Chunk, it was a very nice big log, 200+ lbs!

Damn good Trade!

As soon as I get the Jimmy out of the garage again I'll be able to get several pieces out of it.
 
Good, I was worried it might get lost. I tried to find a piece big enough that you could make a set of something.

Got new plates and tags on the truck today, which means its finally 100% road legal. So I took it on about a 10 mile run around town after the kids went to bed to celebrate. This thing rides rough, I'm guessing because of the yellow, Napa heavy duty shocks its riding on. Also the steering isn't the best. TRE's seem to be pretty worn on both ends.

1st order of business is to take it to a tire shop I use and have the front end checked out and aligned.

2nd thing will be to take it a local engine shop that I've gotten a couple of good referrals on and have them check out the engine. It smokes pretty good out of the drivers side exhaust when you start it cold, and quits after it warms up. Consensus of people I know that have more engine smarts than me is that its got a bad valve seal. Also, the oil gauge shows the pressure to be real high. There's no numbers on the original factory unit, put the needle stays pegged to the right, and just a little under when idling. I don't know if that's something to worrry about or not.

There's no steering stabilizer, and from what I've read they weren't factory on 1st gens. What's a good aftermarket one to install?
 
Took the truck to the tire shop yesterday and it needs both tre's and one new ball joint. I sent 2 of the 5 brand new BFG 32"AT's that I've got mounted on my 76' stock wheels(bought those, then decided to go 3/4 ton on the Chalet) so they could mount them on the front after they put it all together and get an alignment on it. But, parts won't be here until Monday so I had them leave the old tires on. Big mistake on my part, one went flat on the way home and I didn't have a jack or a lug wrench that fit it - good thing I've got lots of people around here. Also, about halfway to the house after putting the spare on, the engine was cutting out for about 1/2 mile, bad enough that I had to pull off on the shoulder and put the flashers on. Then it just stopped all of sudden and everything was fine for the last 10 miles. I'm thinking distributor or coil problem?

I did take the top off while I had it in my warehouse and some help was around. I've never had a convertible before, it's a blast to drive. There's no hardtop squeaking/bangin , and absolutely no blind spots. Also, it moves a little quicker, of course you guys already know all this. Being in Texas, I ought to be able to leave it off for at least another month before it gets too cold. Just need to find somebody around here that can build a roll cage for it.
 
You are right about going topless - nothing else like it. I'm more used to driving the pickups and the first time driving my K5 topless was just kind of bizarre! I need to get my top back on pretty soon - starting to cool off here.
 
So I've got a battery drain issue and turns out the diode is bad. I want to upgrade to a newer one with internal regulator and have read through some threads here and am now looking on Summits site for a new one - probably 140 amp.

Question is, what case style do I need(GM 12si or GM 10si) and is there any issues running that many amps on a truck this old with the original wiring? I know I can call Summit ask, but would rather get my info here first. thanks in advance.
 
the amperage of the alternator shouldn't have any negative impact since it only puts out as much voltage as is needed. If your truck only sucks up 50A peak, then the alternator will only put out that much. Unless your electrical system demand is a lot higher than the stock alternator (~65A), then it sounds a little overkill to me.

I got an upgraded one from a 89 suburban which is ~95A, and it's plenty big to power my upgraded headlights, stereo, electric fans, and fuel injection. You can get the internal regulator conversion kit (for any internal reg. alternator) for pretty cheap, or crimp and solder the wires yourself.
 
Action Shots

Not much to report as far as truck progress, but figured you guys might like a couple of these pics. The barn is in the middle of about a 40 acre wheat patch in a mesquite flat and makes the perfect deerstand for hunting with little kids. I took my 4 year old and my niece and we saw about 20 deer that afternoon. I killed the 8 and a little doe, then built a fire so the girls could make hot dogs while I dressed them out. It was a great time.

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Great pictures!

Looks like you guys had fun. Glad to see the tire carrier being used. What are you making with the deer?
 
yep, beats the heck out of toting the spare around inside the truck. I cut the backstraps into thick filets for grilling, kept the tenderloins whole and will probably use them for Critter Wellington - same thing as beef wellington but smaller and individually sized because of the little tenderloins. The rest I ground up and made sweet italian, hot italian, and german breakfast sausage. Need to go kill something else because I need some brauts.
 
Don't take this the wrong way, but for me, it's kinda weird seeing a little kid posing next to a big dead deer for a picture. And it struck me as weird that I thought it was weird, if you know what I mean.

My kid (who's appears to be about the same age as yours) would probably cry and have a heart attack if I killed an animal. (I suppose I might cry too!)

I guess growing up in the city insulates me from that kind of experience. I remember my grandparents describing life on the farm and this just reminded me of those stories. It's kind of a shame that I've been so far removed from the real life experience of hunting for my own food. For some reason I feel like a wuss now...
 
No worries. Girls at that age are funny. They go from "shoot that one dad" to "you killed a mama and daddy deer and now they're family is going to be sad" in a heartbeat. Also, it was funny because her and my 8 year old girl were "going to barf" when I started cutting those 2 up, but by the time we finished the sausage they were helping out and talking about how it was the best they'd ever tasted. Being a dad is fun sometimes.

Also, I know lots of wusses that kill animals, so don't sweat it. Try a garden or something, its good for kids perspective that they understand food doesn't originate at the grocery store.
 
Kids and Food

I taught a class to a bunch of Kids last winter and the first day of class we did some butchery and made sausage, and we made Ketchup and Aioli (mayonaise). Most kids have no idea what or where food comes from. Eating regional and seasonally was a totally new concept

Last year we were at a charity event and there was a comotion in the center of the room, there was my 5 year-old daughter with two other little girls, both chef's daughters, and the 3 of them were standing there slurping down oysters. Nobody could believe it, but for them it was the most natural thing.

You need some morels to go with the tenderloins?
 
If they're wild then - heck yea. Send a recipe, too. The only mushrooms that grow around here come out of cow turds and are considered contraband.

Edit - How much wood is this going to cost me?
 
Got my 100 amp 1 wire alternator and HEI distributor in from Summit and started on that today. I've probably pulled out 75 foot of unnecessary wire and extra gadgets out and am going with the 1 wire to upgrade and simplify things a little. I've got a couple questions, threads in the Garage..

http://coloradok5.com/forums/showthread.php?t=245265
 
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