As many of you have probably noticed, I've bounced around for about a year now on what I want to fill my garage (anddriveway...and backyard ) with. I've debated how much I ultimately want to spend, and I've considered (and decided on, at one time or another) just about every combination of ways to spend it.

I'd pretty much settled on an E46 M3 as daily driver and track toy, and an early Bronco as boat tow rig (and off-road toy). Now it looks like I'm going to be able to end up with my granddad's pickup in lieu of buying a Bronco (I still want to get an EB, but it can wait a year or two).


My mom's dad is the source of my motorhead sickness. He got me into cars, trucks, motorcycles, and airplanes. Currently featured in his fleet of vehicles are a pair of 1966 Chevy pickups (C-10s), and a 1969 Chevy C-10. One of the '66s is an original example that he bought probably 10-15 years ago. It has a 250 I-6 and a 3-speed on the column..."small" rear window, 2wd with an open diff. It's had a lot of stuff redone over the years, but it's generally just in decent original shape. The '69 model is one that he bought brand new 40 years ago, sold to his father-in-law (my great-grandfather) a long time ago, then got back about 10 years ago when he died. It's in the middle of a frame-off (I helped him take everything apart, and he fixed most of the stuff, but he's never gotten around to putting it back together). It's a 2wd with a 292, 3 on the tree, posi rear.

The other '66 model is one that my OTHER grandfather bought new in '66. I learned to drive on it when I was probably 13 or so. It was relegated to farm truck/work truck duty by then. Well, a few years ago, my dad's dad decided that he never used it anymore, and so he gave it to my mom's dad. My mom's dad fixed a few things that it needed (taillight, driveshaft support bearing, welded in new floorpans, had seat reupholstered, and i think he fixed the shift linkage, which was severely worn). While it ran when he parked it in his shop a few years ago, he never registered it and drove it on the street...

1/29/2009 12:49:26 PM

/blog

1/29/2009 12:52:02 PM

Well, my dad's dad has lung cancer. The docs told him that he had 6-8 months to live about 4 months ago, although so far, he seems to feel just as good as he has for the last several years. My mom's dad has Alzheimer's...he's still coherent and aware of his surroundings and all, but no longer really capable of restoring either of those trucks. We've never really talked about it, but with the 3 trucks, I'm assuming that someday, one will go to my brother, one will go to my mom, and one will go to me, at least if my brother wants one. I'd like to go ahead and get that '66 and start working on it, hopefully getting it into at least pretty good shape while both of my grandfathers are alive and in good enough health to appreciate it. I know that my grandfather would say yes if I asked, and for that reason, I didn't want to ask if he still had in his mind that he might want to work on it himself (even though I know that he'll never be able to finish it). I talked to my mom, though, and she said that she and my grandmother are concerned about him cutting, welding, and getting underneath jacked up vehicles, anyway, and that she's confident that he wouldn't mind giving the truck to me, and would enjoy seeing me fix it up.

I don't know exactly what else it needs. Offhand, I know it needs a new tailgate (old one is hopelessly dented), new wood for the bed, new tires, some bodywork, and a paint job. Even assuming it still runs ok after being parked (indoors, thankfully) for a couple years, there will be lots of little stuff after all that. Hopefully I can do the big stuff that'll make it presentable pretty quickly, though. This is gonna be cool--I'm looking forward to it.

[Edited on January 29, 2009 at 1:06 PM. Reason : ^yeah, but it isn't as cool without the background info]

1/29/2009 1:05:29 PM

If you already have a DD and the truck is already in pieces you might as well do it right and fully restore it the first time. That way you can just focus on enjoying it for years to come.

1/29/2009 2:15:30 PM

oh definitely, except that this isn't the one that's in pieces (that's the '69).

1/29/2009 2:22:12 PM

are you aware of how many posts you have on this subject?ist l

[Edited on January 29, 2009 at 2:37 PM. Reason : its on par with that one users posts about japan]

1/29/2009 2:37:17 PM

sorry about your grandfather Duke. He has a pretty sweet workshop/garage and it was great when he let us work on our cars there.

1/29/2009 3:55:14 PM

Quote :

"are you aware of how many posts you have on this subject?"

[Edited on January 29, 2009 at 4:30 PM. Reason : a]

1/29/2009 4:28:15 PM

I, for one, think that's a great idea. The '79 Malibu that I have in storage currently is not special to me only because it was my first car, but because my grandfather (mom's dad in my case) bought the car new in 1979, then my mom drove it for a large part of my childhood, and I got it at 16. Grandpa Dan passed away in 2001, so the car is something like a connection to his memory for me. Even cooler that the truck you're talking about has been in the family for 43 years now. If it only needs minimal work like you said, then you could definitely fix up minor issues and tow with it now, and then do more mods or a complete restoration a few years down the road.

1/29/2009 4:48:24 PM

This is Johnny? this makes me sad. I think he's one of the coolest folks I've known. I used to love going out to his place.

Oh, hold on. I don't know your dad's dad. but that still makes me sad. I have lost all my grandparents by now, and life isn't the same. Love'em while they're here.

[Edited on January 29, 2009 at 7:48 PM. Reason : oops.]

1/29/2009 7:46:57 PM

at least if he buys it he cant plan to buy it for another year.

taking bets on length of time before 1000$ worth of maintenance gets him to abandon the entire breed. it took awhile for the evo clutch to go!

1/30/2009 8:12:58 AM

I think clutches routinely dying at 20k miles is pretty abyssmal. Plus, I have good reason for being stuck in the planning stage and unable to execute. At any rate, I'll never get rid of that truck.

^^ yep, my mom's dad is the one you know. I know I'm biased, but I have long since lost count of the people I've heard say that he's one of the most awesome people they've known.

^^^ i don't care about keeping it showroom original, but I don't want to do anything really wild with it. I want to keep it somewhat in the same form as I remember it as a kid and teenager, except in good condition...no floor shift conversions, no V-8 conversions, no crazy body or ride height modifications. I'll put a wood bed back in it, repaint it the original color, etc. I may or may not do something like chrome bumpers (leaning towards just repainting the stock ones). I might put a set of headers on it with dual exhaust (and relatively mild mufflers), and a 2-bbl carb/manifold instead of the stock single.

I think there are a couple of old bumper stickers on the truck, too. If they're still there, I want to see if my cousin who owns a sign shop can recreate them for me. There's also an old "Mr. Butt Snuffer" ashtray mounted on the dash. If I can't get it cleaned up and looking decent, I might see if I can find someone to repaint it, or maybe scour eBay and try to find an old one like it.

1/30/2009 8:37:36 AM

The 250 I-6 is a great engine with a lot of coolness factor (though I like Ford's 240/300 better).

But that Jimmy 292 straight six goes down in my books as one of the coolest sixes of all time.

1/30/2009 9:18:51 AM

his other '66 is a 250. The '66 I'm getting and the '69 are both 292s.

He has at least one more sitting around, I think rebuilt and never installed. Don't know what size, though. I'll probably rebuilt the original engine whenever it needs it, rather than swapping anything else in (even another I-6). Any guesses as to how much that'll cost? I figure that it's on the horizon as something that'll need to be done.

1/30/2009 9:23:06 AM

You need to budget at the very least about $1000, and if you really want to do a good job, plan on $2000 or more.

Bore it. Have the crank checked for straightness, magnafluxed, and ground and polished. Find a shop that will grind and polish the crank for between 0.0015 to 0.002 inch journal clearance with a GOOD set of bearings. And it NEVER hurts to have the block line honed.

Match your rod weights and match the rods' big end to small end mass ratio. Weigh and match your piston weights. And for the older engines, I prefer plasma moly top ring, standard cast iron middle ring, and they all come with 3-piece oil rings with chrome-faced rail rings.

Never hurts to blueprint the oil pump assembly to ensure optimum spur gear to end plate clearance with minimal bypass. You can check spur gear to housing clearance with a set of feeler gages. If a parts store will let you check several pumps to find the best one, all the better.

Hell I could go on and on and on, but this is all words. Screw it!

1/30/2009 9:57:36 AM

Cool, I was figuring $1500, so that's about what I expected. Hopefully it'll go for a while longer, but it could need it at any time.

1/30/2009 10:15:07 AM

there a cliffs notes? too many words in this thread, looks like fucking soapbox.

1/30/2009 10:28:04 AM

maybe you would learn something?

1/30/2009 10:35:58 AM

Quote :

"there a cliffs notes? too many words in this thread, looks like fucking soapbox."

Yeah, figures something like this would come from some fucker from Chocowinity (Choca Woca). The DWI capital of Beaufort County, and home to some really dumb fuckers.

1/30/2009 11:03:33 AM

almost, I'm not originally from NC at all.

though your statements about chocowinity are in fact true.

^^ I don't need to learn Duke's family history, kthx

1/30/2009 11:10:21 AM

yet you took the time to read through the entire thread and then reply?

1/30/2009 11:26:44 AM

haha i was talking about learning about cars, and from duke or zx. I will admit that everyone in the garage probably knows duke's every automotive idea...

1/30/2009 11:56:57 AM

^^ noooo, I skimmed over the first part cause its well known Duke's garage plans, and then I stopped completely when he started rambling about family stuff.

and so therefore didn't read any knowledgeable info from zxappeal or anyone else.

1/30/2009 12:36:10 PM

Quote :

"taking bets on length of time before 1000$ worth of maintenance gets him to abandon the entire breed. it took awhile for the evo clutch to go!"

This post refers to the e46 M3

Forgot to mention, if you get a pre 03 model, CHECK THE SUBFRAME. After 03 BMW actually put a rear subframe reinforcement kit on the M3 stock due to subframe issues.

Well the 80-90 oil changes are fun (granted every 7.5k, I would not go the factory 15k), along with the expensive everything else. If he DIYs it shouldn't be too bad.....but if its going to be a DD, its going to get expensive.

Valve adjustment is going to be $$$ (just the parts for the adjustment will run you over $400. The shim kit goes for $300+, or you can rent it the kit from someone and just replace your used shims). Anything OEM from BMW is going to be $texas. For example the diff and tranny fluids will run you ~100.

Just to give you an idea of the maintenance:

Inspection 1 (every 15k)

-oil change (see above)

-diff fluid:
OEM fluid Castrol SAF-XJ + FM booster
BMW part# PN 83-22-2-282-583

-tranny fluid:
OEM Fluid (6mt & SMG) Castrol MTF-LT-2 (NOT LT-3) fluid
BMW part# 83 22 0 309 031

-Clean MAF (Use CRC MAF cleaner, found at pepboys)

-Engine air filter

-cabin air filter

-valve adjustment

Inspection 2 (every 30k)

-oil change (see above)

-diff fluid:
OEM fluid Castrol SAF-XJ + FM booster
BMW part# PN 83-22-2-282-583

-tranny fluid:
OEM Fluid (6mt & SMG) Castrol MTF-LT-2 (NOT LT-3) fluid
BMW part# 83 22 0 309 031

-Clean MAF (Use CRC MAF cleaner, found at pepboys)

-Engine air filter

-cabin air filter

-valve adjustment

-coolant flush (50/50 distilled water and BMW coolant)
BMW Antifreeze/Coolant - 1 gallon jug
OEM Part #: 82 14 1 467 704

-Power steering fluid flush

-fuel filter

-spark plugs

-RSMs and RTABs (if you have the stockers)

Yearly (every spring works well for me):

-brake fluid flush

-general inspection-- eg cracks in suspension mounts, subframe, check belts for cracks, bent control arms, brake pads and rotor thickness (obviously continue to monitor more regularly if low), etc

-wiper blades


75,000 miles

Begin to think about replacing your radiator. The plastic parts of BMW radiators do NOT age will and when they fail (which they will) you must stop the car immediately or you will destroy the engine. Side note here, if the temp gauge is ever in the red, STOP THE CAR IMMEDIATELY. You may be able to time the radiator swap to go along with a coolant flush, which will save you a little money. I know my car should be due for inspection 2 around that point. There are several all metal radiators out there that mean you'll only have to do this swap once. I'll be putting a Zionville radiator in my car, which you can get from several places on the web.


100,000 Miles

-fuel injectors cleaned

-I would do a belt swap at this point, even if they aren't visibly cracking

-Belt-idlers

-FCABs

-tranny mounts

-guibo

-possibly engine mounts

Shocks

Shocks can last anywhere from 30,000 to 80,000 miles, depending on how the roads are where you live. Pothole and the like determine shock life, track use is not particularly hard on them. Lowering springs will also drastically lower their life (the lower the springs the faster they age).


Battery

replace every 5 years


[Edited on January 30, 2009 at 1:40 PM. Reason : .]

[Edited on January 30, 2009 at 1:57 PM. Reason : .]

1/30/2009 1:31:44 PM

summary : buy something with >80k miles and drove it like you stole it. that's what I would do but I think BMW makes a great power train. Not that I have ever owned one.

1/30/2009 6:44:24 PM

i would not reccomend an early bronco for towing anything

1/30/2009 7:29:53 PM

It will only be for a jet ski, a small (couple thousand pounds) boat, or maybe occasionally a motorcycle, and usually very short distances, at that.

plus, i'll have this pickup from here on, anyway.

[Edited on January 31, 2009 at 5:03 AM. Reason : i'm with you in general, but i think it will be fine for my purposes]

1/31/2009 5:03:36 AM

(the seat is removed because my granddad had it re-upholstered. The right front fender is still around as far as I know...he probably just removed it to work on it or something else. Should have all the original wheels, too. I don't know about the rear bumper...probably around the shop, but I don't remember for sure. )

I have a few more pictures that I'll upload later. Last I saw, it ran pretty well, but it's been sitting for a couple of years now. I'm gonna have to see how much all of this will cost, but I'm thinking about pulling the motor to have it rebuilt, then having the bodywork and paint done while the engine is out.

I think my grandfather has a set of split headers and an aluminum 2bbl intake manifold for a 292 (although it may have been bought for his '69 project...but I suspect that they're interchangeable). I'm not gonna do any mega-performance build or anything, but I'll probably run headers & dual exhaust, a 2 barrel intake/carb, and maybe a slightly hotter cam and slightly higher CR pistons (or mill the head down) on the rebuild. Nothing big...very mild approach.



Any very rough guesstimates as to how much the bodywork and a decent single-stage paint job (I'll keep the original colors and the 2-tone scheme) is gonna run me (I figure I'll just get a new tailgate...the one on there is pretty thorougly beat)?


[Edited on February 11, 2009 at 7:38 AM. Reason : asfd]

2/11/2009 7:33:29 AM

The body and paint work will cost at least $1500. Thats a rock bottom figure to just get it done. Above that, it will cost whatever you want to spend on it.

I would find a good body guy, take it to him have him check it out, and see how far $1000, $2000, $3000 etc will get you and then decide how much you want to put into it. gk2004's buddy is a body man and just built a shop with a booth at his house out near Jordan Lake IIRC.

2/11/2009 8:17:24 AM

I don't know why you'd pull the motor for a rebuild if it runs well. Run a compression test on it and if everything looks good dump in some new fluids and save the rebuild for when you actually need it.

2/11/2009 9:16:07 AM

^^ that's actually not as bad as i feared

^ i figure that it's only a matter of time, and if i go ahead and pull it, i could have the engine bay painted.

2/11/2009 9:25:42 AM

more pictures in my gallery ('66 C-10 folder). i'll post them in here when it gets to page 2 (my internet connection is so slow out here that it'll probably bog down if i post them all on one page)

2/12/2009 3:52:05 AM

By the way, here's the newest addition to my garage (when I get home and get a garage).

2/12/2009 3:23:33 PM

duramax swap anyone?

2/12/2009 3:31:00 PM

nah, not gonna do anything exotic with it. i want it more or less like it's been my entire life, except for fixed up.


anyway, here's some pictures of the new toy (forgot earlier that i couldn't link to greenhulk.net, since you have to be logged in to see pictures)









2003 yamaha gp1300r w/ riva stage 2 kit. garage kept,
ski runs about 66-68 mph (radar). 80 hrs on engine 215 hrs on hull. Great reliable boat! It has a few scratches but are small. it has trim (up and down) and aftermarket seat cover and it has new renthal bars, plate & grate freshly powercoated this season. it has been updated to current pump specs (2005 and on) and has new solas race impellar on it. ski has aftermarket products: ride plate, scoop grate, trim tabs,extended nozzle, performance cyl. heads, pro series air intake , wave eater valve clips, hole shot accel kit, adjustable fuel tuner (already set), free-flow exhaust w/ D plate, race bars, decals removed, has race numbers on it. But can remove still have all the original parts and they will go with ski. Asking $4,000 Also have single trailer available for $500.

I'll probably ditch the red-trimmed seat cover, strip most of the decals and race numbers off, and put a speed-pitched impeller back on it whenever the current one needs replacement.

2/12/2009 6:17:48 PM

I don't think I'd consider anything to do with you and vehicles remotely resembling a 'plan'

2/12/2009 9:32:43 PM

penismobile wut?





[Edited on February 12, 2009 at 9:35 PM. Reason : just do it]

2/12/2009 9:34:46 PM

Any recommendations on who to get to rebuild that 292?

2/24/2009 7:07:54 PM

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=280316021195

Anybody see anything I'm missing? I figure I'll go $15.5k. Maybe 16k. I'd much prefer to just wait until I get home and check cars out in person, but I don't want to let a steal get away.

2/27/2009 5:47:56 PM

^price is good if he is honest about review.

25% pad left on fronts and 50% in the back=you need new brakes probably all around.

if suspension is original at 76k it probably handles like a wet noodle.

what is the production date? that will determine if bearing recall was needed, and if it was, whether it was performed?

ask when was the last valve adjustment done? (should be every 30k).

2/27/2009 6:58:57 PM

That's a lot of miles on an 8 year old car with questionable paint. I can see swirling in the paint from the tiny ebay pictures. 8.5/10 my ass. Maybe 6/10.

Seems like a good deal at 12k. 15? eehhhhh

2/27/2009 7:02:13 PM

^^ doesn't give a mileage for the last valve adjustment, but the description indicates that it was recent. good call on the bearing recall...i knew I was forgetting something.

^ yeah, the paint does look questionable. not necessarily bad--it's hard to tell from online pictures--but i'm with you in that i'm not convinced that the exterior is as good as he describes.

78k miles isn't that much for an '01 model--that's only 10k per year. That would be a lot on, say, an RT-10 Viper, or an Exige, but M3s are actually driven. Regardless, you aren't going to find an E46 M3 for 12k unless it's owned by Fred and Lamont Sanford. $15k is stealing it if it's in good shape with reasonable miles.

I think I'll hold off on this one. I've bought stuff sight unseen before, but never an out-of-warranty BMW M-car. If I was home, I would probably be on my way to check it out in person and hopefully bring it home, but 90% convinced isn't quite enough in this case.

[Edited on February 27, 2009 at 7:34 PM. Reason : ]

2/27/2009 7:33:52 PM

if it was a 3-series, id say go for it. But an M car with no history and no warrant? EEHHHHHH

2/28/2009 6:05:38 PM

he got back to me and said that the bearing recall was, in fact, performed.

i just don't think I can buy an M3 sight unseen, though.

2/28/2009 6:32:12 PM

if the recall was performed, it has a 100k warranty...

2/28/2009 8:10:51 PM

So again, any recommendations for who to have rebuild the 292 in that pickup? Not going to do anything crazy...probably a mild cam, and maybe bump the CR slightly (along with headers and a 2-barrel intake setup, which I think my granddad already has the parts for).

3/15/2009 9:28:53 PM

get dan to do it assuming he's still taking things on when you get back. if i had to recommend a "real" shop, boyette's all the way with anything gm, especially older stuff.

Quote :

"I'll probably ditch the red-trimmed seat cover, strip most of the decals and race numbers off, and put a speed-pitched impeller back on it whenever the current one needs replacement."

yeah, def. on the seat cover. it's kinda torn on the edges too, doesn't look real great imo. you might consider ditching the hole shot kit too, he mentioned having some issues with it backing up occasionally.

just holler if you want me to go check out anything else/do any more deals, i'm always up for random road trips.

3/15/2009 10:19:12 PM

one more towards page 2 pics.

3/15/2009 10:45:01 PM

^^ yeah, dan would be an option...but what about machine work? I guess I'll just PM him and start figuring it out.

How's the seat underneath the cover? Also, I don't even know what the holeshot kit is or what the issue is. My Ultra was bone stock except for the impeller--the modded PWC thing is something pretty new to me.

If I see any screaming deals that I want to jump on, I'll let you know. At this point, though, I'll be home soon enough that I'm more prone to just wait.

3/15/2009 11:10:43 PM

I didn't think that M3 looked that bad, you guys are tough! That said, it's rather interesting how far used car values have dropped in the last few months, I really wish I was in the market right now. Great deals are all over the place.

3/16/2009 12:40:26 AM