I like the fact that you expose errors and how you address them. That’s what these projects are all about, it’s not a simple task of executing to a plan, it’s about adjusting the plan as you move along.
As an Automotive Mechanical engineer who is responsible in the Research and Development Department in my company, I really enjoy your videos when it comes to restoring vehicles and making your work an engineering achievement!! It is amazing how you guys can really do what you do! Keep up the amazing work for us. Peace and love from Malaysia!!
@@22cine hi there mate, in my professional opinion, anything which has a "weld" will have limited tensile strength, rigidity and most importantly, it has limited amount of "toughness" that being said, it can't absorb too much of stress as it is not a "whole part". Aesthetically, it looks amazing, physically, I wouldn't use that too much, if you know what I mean. Regardless, it is amazing piece of work!! =D
A local repair garage employee uses one of these vintage tow trucks, in original condition, for their daily driver to and from work. Often times I'm driving along side it on home from work. I appreciate them keeping it going all these years.
It's always a pleasure to see people care enough to resurrect those old classics that some of us grew up with. I prefer keeping things as original as possible. The original motor and transmission are critical must have's when possible. My 89 Chevy Cheyenne 1 ton dually 350, 4 speed granny was owned by an old guy who didn't have the money for tires, tuneups, throttle body rebuild, etc, etc, etc, so it sat for years with 95 thousand miles on er. I spent the money to clean er up, tune er up, (cap, rotor, wires, plugs, oil & filter change) ,new brake shoes, wheel cylinders, hanger/carrier bearing, wheel bearings, hoses, water pump, belts, battery, throttle body, cab lights and other interior work, and so on, and put it back on the road. Even found an original screw jack to put back in the holder behind the seat. Pieces like the original interior cab light cover was a bear to find, but I found er. The service box is rusty but no cancer on the cab or frame and not a single crack in any window. Since it's not my work truck I have only driven it about 500 miles since I bought it in 2018. The next owner will get a nice vintage truck when I pass on........... But not until.
Back in the day I had the pleasure of operating a Chevy square body 4×4 1ton tow truck, full locking everything! Best truck ever! Never let me down, all repairs done very quickly. Gave us the time to improve other things.
I swear they did about as good of a job on this build as their haircuts lmao!! Let take one of the strongest and dependable transmission out as well as the P.T.O. drive to run the wench and cable, that way it's no longer even a tow truck and put a weak and totally underrated automatic transmission!!! Making it a unreliable heavy truck that can't even tow a VW beetle!! I figured this would be a good episode, but just like the Camaro build they took a decent vehicle and made it useless or completely stupid looking!!!!! Now it's just a CARCASS!!!! At least I know where they came up with their name!!! These guys couldn't make a decent bicycle that would please a 5 year old!! COMPLETE JACKASSES!!!! WHAT A DISAPPOINTMENT THIS WAS!!
It's not impossible, but without the manual transmission you can't use the P.T.O. to run the winch and cable making it useless!! That was my main point, but the manual transmission is proven itself to be one of the strongest transmissions, so why change it when everything worked perfectly????
@@anthonyjones8043 700r4, not 4l60. I have a 700r4 in my 87 and a sm465 manual(which was in he tow truck) in my 83 crew cab and my 465 is far better and doesn’t get hot when it comes to towing.
That Tow truck is a sensible build... It falls right in line with the many business capabilities you gentleman have displayed so far. I appreciate learning from you guys.Also that lesson on scrutinizing the mathematics when applying (drill bits)in metal bend work... I'm definitely going to have to review that again. Thank you. Uncle Larry 😎 . Uncle Larry 😎
First time watcher. I enjoyed this resurrection video a lot. I usually like less produced more grass-roots type restos but this hit a nice spot all-around. Though I know this was much more difficult than it looks I did like how the guys kept it understandable as to the big things. Obviously there is lots of "junk" out there that can be saved to an impressive degree without going "all-in" and fully restoring. I'm impressed. Love the fact that this is one more facet to one of America's great cities, Nashville, TN.!
With recent events, more older vehicles should be saved and put back on the road. Planned obsolescence is wasteful. Enjoyed the build, cheers from Australia.
Don't get me wrong i'd be first in line to serve Bernard London a well garnished knuckle sandwich, but all it would take to get a driver in this to the pearly gates would be a fart in the wind. No, what we need is a tight leash on rampant capitalism/induced consumerism. They got rich off our backs long enough, time to skin the fat cats and get some of that "trickle down".
It's very helpful when you make a cut like you did on the frame, before you cut it measure back away from the cut line an inch or 2 and center punch another line known as a reference line so you can then take all your measurements from that. Just a tip for anyone
@@bigboreracing356 yes but that's not going to have near the pulling power of the original P.T.O.!! Trust me I own a 75 almost identical to it and with the 350sbc at idle it can stand my truck straight up on the rear and lift the front head high in the air with the 200lb bumper I've got on the front, that little electric winch isn't going to pull near as hard as what it already had that was already in working order!!!!
Love this type of build. I'm kind of amazed that you didn't put any rust reformer behind those kick plates and everywhere else. Simple quick step that would have added years to the body.
As with the cars that were in Pimp my ride, their only concern is that the final product looks nice, they don't care about how long the car will last. If they did, it would have to be completely stripped down to the last screw and sent to a chemical bath and i not gonna say about complete rebuild of engine, chassis and etc.
I have a 1981 Chevy tow truck with a 454 that belonged to my dad. His health got bad as he was rebuilding it. I'm not the car mechanic he is so it's taking me a while to figure some things and I want to do as much as I can first before sending it to someone. This video helped me a lot with ideas.
Awesome build! Everything you did was amazing with the exception of getting rid of the 4 speed manual. I don’t see a good reason not to have it honestly.
@@theronwolf3296 if that was true semi trucks and farm tractors would have been automatics. If you actually knew anything about transmissions you would know that a clutch in a manual trans can definitely handel more torque then a torque converter can especially for its size.
Lost me at pulling the SM465, don't care what your excuse is, that is the single best heavy duty transmission ever built. You made this truck all show and no go. I'd never, ever replace the SM465 in my '83 Chevy C20 with anything but another 465.
Look at the rear fab work, 1st off id never go mig on this id go 7018 stick, second off that shits gonna flex like no other third no holes drilled to mount the channel so once it hits ots torsion limit itll bust right off
@@roballan4944 Dunno much about 'em, I know a drove a newer Chevy 3500 series with one in it, felt like a nicer 5 speed version of a 465. Less dump truck, more car-ish, just with dump truck gearing haha. I liked it, but I'm not picky about manuals as long as they aren't made of glass.
I started driving a tow truck in 1984. I was excited to see this build. As soon as they said they were putting in an automatic transmission, I stopped the video. I’ve had bad luck with automatics. I needed a trans in one of my vehicles. Mechanic recommend this nationwide engine-transmission rebuild service. I warned him how bad automatic trans were. He assured me 3 year 10K mileage warranty. Okay I agreed. The newly rebuilt trans went in and was being replaced 670 miles later under warranty. 👎👎
@@kylez2141, nothing wrong with Mig if you know what you're doing. I've been welding for over 40 years and still have yet to see anything I have fabricated fail due to insufficient welding. If they mount that wrecker body properly, torsion won't be an issue either. For my money, that truck was a little too far gone to be anything other then crushed and recycled but since it's not my money, it's not my business either.
Damn, this brings back memories. My first real job was working for a full service Marathon gas station. Most today are convenient stores that sell gas. We had 3 full bays and an alignment bay. We also had that exact tow truck. They wouldn’t let me tow cars but it had a generator that would drive a welder and air compressor. I was 16 years old out fixing flats, welding broken boat trailers and jumping dead batteries. That truck did it all
im not so sure, the engineering is great and measuring is spot on , but i wouldn't tow anything more than a VW bettle. when you formed the rear frame from scratch i thought for sure you were putting that on the inside of a replacement frame from another truck, as i think the weight classification of the frame is going to be lower that its designed for, having worked in the tow industry for some years i have seen some stress put on tow truck frames, even now my truck has a double frame built for weight and stability, also the gusset metal thickness is very thin , most of the stuff i have ever seen was 1/4 thick to 3/8 thick , only my opinion of course.
This rear frame seams to be too weak for the job. What steel plate quality is use? Fe360? In my oppionion calculations are required on bending forces to have a safe constructies. Must such new frame construction on a truck be inspected on safety by authorities? Overhere in Holland you can not build you own truck chassis without strengh calculations and an inspection by the authorities, including the welding quality. But Nice to see How the project progressies.
I loved going through old scrapyards. I think back to the day when the car was brought home brand new how the owner was proud of it and showing it off to friends and family.
I like this show because they explain some of the steps involved in fabricating. Wheeler Dealers used to be good show because they would explain how car parts worked. Most car building shows kind of ignore those things and just tell you you need a certain piece but if you are not a fabricator or experienced mechanic then it's a less than educational form of entertainment. Guess I am interested in being shown exactly how to do something, because it saves a lot of headache for us occasional and novice project guys.
I have NEVER had a floor pan fit that nice the first time. Forbthosebwho don't know, tv/behind the scenes.... they easily have a couple weeks worth of days working on this truck.
@@Alby_Torino very true, I came here to watch this as a guy that watches a lot of junkyard revival videos by types like vice grip garage, they show the full work of getting the car running and just gives it a better feel for us guys that really do this lol
@@joshthatguy9094 same here, total TV show type "restoration" plus replacing the original motor and trans, totally destroying the value of the truck to a real collector.
I just discovered this channel today and I'm really enjoying it. I was a huge American Chopper and Monster Garage fan when I was younger and this reminds me a lot of those shows... minus the drama!
I know every car guy like myself has watched every second of this video... I'm only about a third of the way from completing the video but I'm already thinking about getting a square body
Great job on the fab work. A crummy 77R4? Why? Perfectly period correct 4 on the floor. Aside from the unnecessary expense of a blunder of a trans, you now need to add cooler, shifter and cross member. This expense could’ve been better appropriated towards paint body etc, or just avoided altogether.
@@trevorpotmesil9288 Well, apparently they don't because the 4 on the floor was a better choice. Just because someone is successful, rich or famous doesn't mean they're smart or right or better than anyone else. It just means they are successful, rich or famous and as often as not they got that way by luck or jumping at the the right opportunity at the right time.
I'm an old dog from these ancient days! I worked my way through college behind the steering wheel of a couple Ford wreckers doing insurance towing. (Blizzard of 77) I just love the older less complex designs, especially the GM's. I am also an electronics engineer, so new stuff is awesome, but I have never lost any love for the now older ladies! We 'matured' together after all! Great job you whippersnappers!😃😁
nice sounds like a cool guy its kinda impersonal to drive a brand new truck as a grim reaper for the old cars going to the scrap yard. IDK i'm weird but it seems more appropriate to have an old workhorse that never dies drag them to their final resting place.
This is binge worthy. Algorithm is good. I been trying to find something worth watching that I can actually take something from. This popped up? I'll take it.
What possible benefit was there in ditching the manual transmission? For anything heavy and for any towing, the sm465 is the tool of choice. No "built" automatic will be able to stick in there like the sm465 could.
The way you guys are working on this truck is how you do it beautiful work guys I love the way you guys put this project together thanks for filming it guys
That's so freaking awesome! I wish i have had the chance to go on this field, all those tools it is just wonderful... Makes me want to drive that tow truck for a day work,,, Congratulations guys that's a great job...
I agree w GTs Dude Garage. You should have kept the manual transmission and restored the old winch. Head to head, no comparison the manual tran would beat the auto in every way. That old hydraulic winch was BY FAR superior to that junk little electric one. The electric one wasn't meant to have multiple thousands of pounds constantly hanging on it over bumps/potholes and getting yanked around. It WILL fail. The old hydraulic winch was built for that. Plus, removing to he pintle reciever off the back will decrease the number of calls it can run. I agree with another comment, you built it for show, not working....this all is just my opinion, and yes, i did run/operate tow trucks for several years...
It never ceases to amaze me just what incredible results anyone can achieve with a limitless budget, first class equipment and a team of unsung vehicle technicians, engineers and technical consultants on hand who remain behind the camera at all times.
That is fantastic. I really enjoyed watching the structural assembly work. The engine/trans/sheet metal and other work just made it run great and enhance the safety of the vehicle. Now I know it's a truck, but watching drive down the road it just seemed to have that look that says, "Look at me now!"
Great job on the entire truck love how you brought it back to roadworthy status. Thank you for sharing all of your techniques so we can learn and do these things to our own projects great show and thank you for all the laughs David from Fort Lauderdale Florida USA
I just came across this show and I have to say I love it I've been spending my time wondering which guy had which skill set meaning who the fabricator who's the motor guy etc. they seem to be matched in skill but I would always trust the seemingly older guy more just remember your not just paying for the job your paying for the experience
@@wildwolf196 Nah. I wouldn't haul with that winch, no sirree. The old one was bolted into the bottom of the A-frame and was an integral part of it, not perched on top bolted to a couple of rails with gussets.
I can't believe you left the fuel tank in when replacing the floor pans. That thing is a bomb waiting to explode. What did you do about the driveshaft and brakes? Another thing I noticed was you built nice heavy duty brackets for the rear of the winch but what about the front winch mounts? That's where all the stress is.
The spring hanger difference was not a cab/chassis thing or a 2wd vs 4wd issue. The one-ton trucks, both cab/chassis and dually pickup, used a narrower spring perch spacing compared to the 1/2 and 3/4 ton trucks. This narrower spring perch spacing made room for the cab/chassis dually wheels, and did so by moving the shocks inboard of the frame. The 1/2 and 3/4 ton frames kept the shocks outboard, since they shared parts with the Suburban and Blazer, which both needed a fuel tank inside the frame rails.
nice project, would've kept the old transmission and I'm totally unhappy with all of the rust you where enclosing with welding the new pieces in/ painting over it 😬😬😬🥺 makes my heart bleed
Claudia, you are beautiful. I also hate the rust rod look, as it is essentially saying, "Hey, I am too damn lazy to completely restore the vehicle", and then the person that does the deed to a vehicle pretends that it is an artistic choice.
@Pax Humana well I get that there weren't enough time to do so and yes, I also feel the rod look sometimes, but they took out the rusty spots and without adressing the rust in those hard to reach areas welded new pieces in.. that's totally not cool
Cool project. Def wouldn't want yall to do frame work tho. It is what it is for sure. But, if it was me I would have replaced the whole frame.. the step up for sure should have been double plated. Also that's a huge no no to weld in cross members. The need to be able to flex. Eventually those welds are gonna fail. Next time consult with me first. 🤓
that what i mean this frame is as weak as the one o nthe front half all show no go . Ya cant even tow with it now ,needs to be boxed end to end all new frame not jsut make it pretty bac half.
@@Thevacomaticvacuumcorner and heat treated and at that point just rerail the whole truck.. it is what it is tho all for show really they'll probably never tow anything with it anyway lol
Great video, I like the way you 2 work together so well, you're knowledge, problem solving and the way you both explain what you're about to do and the way you do it, thank you for the video! 🙂
Ok dude, turn in your man card immediately. I hereby sentence you to an eternity of being duct taped to a chair and forced to watch "The Lakehouse" over and over!
Hell yeah, let's "restore" this truck by essentially replacing everything with new bits!!. I have a 20 year old yard broom, it's only had 7 heads and five handles in all that time.
First never use mild steel on any frame of a backhalf like this it is weak and break under stress should have found a better frame or use high tensail carbon steel thats flexable under stress the same as the frame and weld it corrcetly preheat, weld, postheat and the right wire or rod they make testing tools to see what kind of steel frames and other metals are
For me If my health was better I would be doing body swaps... putting something from the 50s or older on a modern chassis wit modern interior. This way you have the good breaks an suspension, plenty of power and good gas mileage, and all the safety features. I love the style of the older vehicles.
"Patina" is code for rust. But, tastefully done. Also, most old school guys would rather spend their time/effort/money on go-fast goodies or fixing the needed mechanical stuff.
@@bmstylee Yeah, he is. I was just saying that leaving Patina don't necessarily mean they're too cheap or lazy to fix the body. I personally like it on the right rig, such as this one.
I got one of those deep dish grilles for like 20 bucks a year ago off an older guy on fb, has some cracks but I'm going to go through it and strengthen it up and itll sit nice on my k20
Use the right tool and technique for the job. At 49:28 you used a flat punch on the cotter pin, and I don't know why in that way. You take an alignment punch and punch through the eye with a hammer. It will start to pull and expand the eye out. Hold the alignment punch with a wrench while the other end is pinned in the eye of the pin. Use a hammer to draw out the cotter pin. You can make it harder on yourself if you like, but this is easier
The only foul-up on this thing was replacing the 4 speed with the winch PTO. You stated that you wanted to keep it patina'd, yet you have the shiny new electric winch. You could have kept the 4 speed and installed gear vendors. Other than that, it was a very satisfying and educational video
That frame work was shoddy at best. I cannot believe you thought 1/8" tubing was appropriate for a tow truck chassis. I would imagine you could have sourced replacement frame rails somewhere for an old squarebody that would have at least put some of the factory strength back in it.
There's still some cool stuff there. A buddy of mine has a salvage yard (LaPoint Discount Auto Parts) that used to have school busses full of parts along with lots of old cars. He doesn't have anything older than 20yrs old anymore and all the old stuff is gone including the busses because the old stuff didn't sell, at least not like more modern stuff does. He has thousands of cars but its not all that interesting to browse anymore because it's all late model vehicles.
I've been to a bunch of different salvage yards and none of them let you walk around unless it's a self serve and none of them will sell a whole vehicle
I wish they still made it that easy to swap an engine in these new vehicles I had a 88 Chevy pickup truck with the same engine You can tell just by the rockers And I can't remember how many miles I got out of it but it was a lot They were great engines.
![Felix "Unfair" | [Stray Kids : SKZ-PLAYER]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/Oswujxm2Ag0/mqdefault.jpg)
I like the fact that you expose errors and how you address them. That’s what these projects are all about, it’s not a simple task of executing to a plan, it’s about adjusting the plan as you move along.
1976 chevy bonanza owner here and the spirit is still strong here...still my daily driver kept in the family....runs great
As an Automotive Mechanical engineer who is responsible in the Research and Development Department in my company, I really enjoy your videos when it comes to restoring vehicles and making your work an engineering achievement!! It is amazing how you guys can really do what you do! Keep up the amazing work for us. Peace and love from Malaysia!!
So, what do you think about the safety of the frame on the vehicle they welded together?
@@22cine hi there mate, in my professional opinion, anything which has a "weld" will have limited tensile strength, rigidity and most importantly, it has limited amount of "toughness" that being said, it can't absorb too much of stress as it is not a "whole part". Aesthetically, it looks amazing, physically, I wouldn't use that too much, if you know what I mean. Regardless, it is amazing piece of work!! =D
@@Dharshanth.k Thinking the same. Thanks man!
@@22cine Anytime mate! Stay Safe!
A local repair garage employee uses one of these vintage tow trucks, in original condition, for their daily driver to and from work. Often times I'm driving along side it on home from work. I appreciate them keeping it going all these years.
I would love to see more of the older work trucks restored, that would be so awesome
Check out Classic Truck Rescue. Vice Grip Garage and Mortske Repair sometimes rescue old farm trucks too. They don't restore em though.
Use your love and the information provided here and make that dream a reality brother.
I wish I will succeed in that
I am working on restoring a 72 C30 for my next welding rig.
@@Michael_Bradburnto mxx0xxix0x
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It's always a pleasure to see people care enough to resurrect those old classics that some of us grew up with.
I prefer keeping things as original as possible. The original motor and transmission are critical must have's when possible.
My 89 Chevy Cheyenne 1 ton dually 350, 4 speed granny was owned by an old guy who didn't have the money for tires, tuneups, throttle body rebuild, etc, etc, etc, so it sat for years with 95 thousand miles on er. I spent the money to clean er up, tune er up, (cap, rotor, wires, plugs, oil & filter change) ,new brake shoes, wheel cylinders, hanger/carrier bearing, wheel bearings, hoses, water pump, belts, battery, throttle body, cab lights and other interior work, and so on, and put it back on the road. Even found an original screw jack to put back in the holder behind the seat. Pieces like the original interior cab light cover was a bear to find, but I found er. The service box is rusty but no cancer on the cab or frame and not a single crack in any window. Since it's not my work truck I have only driven it about 500 miles since I bought it in 2018. The next owner will get a nice vintage truck when I pass on........... But not until.
Back in the day I had the pleasure of operating a Chevy square body 4×4 1ton tow truck, full locking everything! Best truck ever! Never let me down, all repairs done very quickly. Gave us the time to improve other things.
Good job fellas!
Awesome build fellas. I would rather y'all had put the manual trans and restored the old winch but the way you reused the old levers was cool.
I swear they did about as good of a job on this build as their haircuts lmao!!
Let take one of the strongest and dependable transmission out as well as the P.T.O. drive to run the wench and cable, that way it's no longer even a tow truck and put a weak and totally underrated automatic transmission!!! Making it a unreliable heavy truck that can't even tow a VW beetle!! I figured this would be a good episode, but just like the Camaro build they took a decent vehicle and made it useless or completely stupid looking!!!!! Now it's just a CARCASS!!!! At least I know where they came up with their name!!! These guys couldn't make a decent bicycle that would please a 5 year old!! COMPLETE JACKASSES!!!! WHAT A DISAPPOINTMENT THIS WAS!!
@@mermaiddreams83 4l60 is fine for pulling cars. You're really overstating it.
I agree I would have kept a manual trans
It's not impossible, but without the manual transmission you can't use the P.T.O. to run the winch and cable making it useless!! That was my main point, but the manual transmission is proven itself to be one of the strongest transmissions, so why change it when everything worked perfectly????
@@anthonyjones8043 700r4, not 4l60. I have a 700r4 in my 87 and a sm465 manual(which was in he tow truck) in my 83 crew cab and my 465 is far better and doesn’t get hot when it comes to towing.
That Tow truck is a sensible build... It falls right in line with the many business capabilities you gentleman have displayed so far. I appreciate learning from you guys.Also that lesson on scrutinizing the mathematics when applying (drill bits)in metal bend work... I'm definitely going to have to review that again. Thank you.
Uncle Larry 😎 .
Uncle Larry 😎
I could live the rest of my life walking around a salvage yard..
. Heaven on Earth for me!
First time watcher. I enjoyed this resurrection video a lot. I usually like less produced more grass-roots type restos but this hit a nice spot all-around. Though I know this was much more difficult than it looks I did like how the guys kept it understandable as to the big things. Obviously there is lots of "junk" out there that can be saved to an impressive degree without going "all-in" and fully restoring. I'm impressed. Love the fact that this is one more facet to one of America's great cities, Nashville, TN.!
grass roots my butt that start up was seriously fake
What ain't fake these days anyway...LOL!@@isaaclawson9355
With recent events, more older vehicles should be saved and put back on the road. Planned obsolescence is wasteful.
Enjoyed the build, cheers from Australia.
Okay thanks for letting us come up with us to Ted Ted red and red p
Vehicles are the most recyclable things built. If not saving the entire car then the parts. Then the body can be melted down.
Add blue...
@@SGTJDerek rebuild>recycle
Don't get me wrong i'd be first in line to serve Bernard London a well garnished knuckle sandwich, but all it would take to get a driver in this to the pearly gates would be a fart in the wind. No, what we need is a tight leash on rampant capitalism/induced consumerism. They got rich off our backs long enough, time to skin the fat cats and get some of that "trickle down".
It's very helpful when you make a cut like you did on the frame, before you cut it measure back away from the cut line an inch or 2 and center punch another line known as a reference line so you can then take all your measurements from that. Just a tip for anyone
I would have left the manual trans
Agreed!! And now without the P.T.O. the winch won't work as should and it's a completely useless truck!!
@@bigboreracing356 yes but that's not going to have near the pulling power of the original P.T.O.!! Trust me I own a 75 almost identical to it and with the 350sbc at idle it can stand my truck straight up on the rear and lift the front head high in the air with the 200lb bumper I've got on the front, that little electric winch isn't going to pull near as hard as what it already had that was already in working order!!!!
Me too!
Or at least a TH400.
Same here. Nothing beats the feel of a manual trans from the 70s
Good job guys. It's heartwarming to see that old girl resurrected. Long may she tow.
Unfortunately this was several years ago and the projects are crushed later on. The production company requires it
Love this type of build. I'm kind of amazed that you didn't put any rust reformer behind those kick plates and everywhere else. Simple quick step that would have added years to the body.
Only thing they care about is if it makes it to the end of the filming
As with the cars that were in Pimp my ride, their only concern is that the final product looks nice, they don't care about how long the car will last. If they did, it would have to be completely stripped down to the last screw and sent to a chemical bath and i not gonna say about complete rebuild of engine, chassis and etc.
I have a 1981 Chevy tow truck with a 454 that belonged to my dad. His health got bad as he was rebuilding it. I'm not the car mechanic he is so it's taking me a while to figure some things and I want to do as much as I can first before sending it to someone. This video helped me a lot with ideas.
Awesome build! Everything you did was amazing with the exception of getting rid of the 4 speed manual. I don’t see a good reason not to have it honestly.
@XxTNTBOSS750xX it’s still a cool truck but it takes all the fun out of driving it and the manual would have definitely been good for towing.
My '77 Silverado C10 came with a automatic transmission with column shift. Plan to keep it that way. I'm a sucker for automatics anyway.
@XxTNTBOSS750xX L
If you're going to be towing, an auto is advantageous. Torque converters handle heavy start stop loads better than clutches.
@@theronwolf3296 if that was true semi trucks and farm tractors would have been automatics. If you actually knew anything about transmissions you would know that a clutch in a manual trans can definitely handel more torque then a torque converter can especially for its size.
Saya dari Indonesia,saya suka chanel ini.sangat menginspirasi meskipun saya sendiri tidak punya mobil.
Lost me at pulling the SM465, don't care what your excuse is, that is the single best heavy duty transmission ever built. You made this truck all show and no go. I'd never, ever replace the SM465 in my '83 Chevy C20 with anything but another 465.
Look at the rear fab work, 1st off id never go mig on this id go 7018 stick, second off that shits gonna flex like no other third no holes drilled to mount the channel so once it hits ots torsion limit itll bust right off
Any thoughts on a tremec tr40-50?
@@roballan4944 Dunno much about 'em, I know a drove a newer Chevy 3500 series with one in it, felt like a nicer 5 speed version of a 465. Less dump truck, more car-ish, just with dump truck gearing haha. I liked it, but I'm not picky about manuals as long as they aren't made of glass.
I started driving a tow truck in 1984. I was excited to see this build. As soon as they said they were putting in an automatic transmission, I stopped the video. I’ve had bad luck with automatics. I needed a trans in one of my vehicles. Mechanic recommend this nationwide engine-transmission rebuild service. I warned him how bad automatic trans were. He assured me 3 year 10K mileage warranty. Okay I agreed. The newly rebuilt trans went in and was being replaced 670 miles later under warranty. 👎👎
@@kylez2141, nothing wrong with Mig if you know what you're doing. I've been welding for over 40 years and still have yet to see anything I have fabricated fail due to insufficient welding. If they mount that wrecker body properly, torsion won't be an issue either. For my money, that truck was a little too far gone to be anything other then crushed and recycled but since it's not my money, it's not my business either.
Nice job bringing this old girl back to life. I love seeing old trucks, especially tow trucks, given some tlc after working for so many years.
Love these projects that look almost impossible but they work through the challenges like professionals they are.
Amazing.
When you have unlimited money anything can be fixed
@@Moneymike29
And hidden work crew behind the camera, too..
@@Moneymike29 #facts 🤣🤣🤣
@@IceTTom 👍👍👍👍 yup
That truck is perfect to me. I wouldn't worry about somebody scratching the paint or hitting it with a shopping cart. I dig the interior. Very nice
So you remove the strongest most reliable transmission ever and replace it with the weakest…..🤔….that’s a bold strategy cotton.
Was thinking the same thing!
Not to mention a build like this and you swap from manual to auto....how lame is that?!?
They straight up told the soul of that truck f’u in all kinds of ways
Why are you so mad. The truck with be halfway in the Earth if it wasn’t for them
Doesn't matter, cause of they keep that clear glass tube gas filter on there it's gonna catch on fire anyway
When I absolutely need to know how to do the job right, this is where I go. Great video guys. Keep em comin.
Damn, this brings back memories. My first real job was working for a full service Marathon gas station. Most today are convenient stores that sell gas. We had 3 full bays and an alignment bay. We also had that exact tow truck. They wouldn’t let me tow cars but it had a generator that would drive a welder and air compressor. I was 16 years old out fixing flats, welding broken boat trailers and jumping dead batteries. That truck did it all
Shoot now adays 16 year olds can’t even be lube techs due to insurance problems
Matter lives Thats the sound of a hunter for wrecks. LOVE it.
im not so sure, the engineering is great and measuring is spot on , but i wouldn't tow anything more than a VW bettle. when you formed the rear frame from scratch i thought for sure you were putting that on the inside of a replacement frame from another truck, as i think the weight classification of the frame is going to be lower that its designed for, having worked in the tow industry for some years i have seen some stress put on tow truck frames, even now my truck has a double frame built for weight and stability, also the gusset metal thickness is very thin , most of the stuff i have ever seen was 1/4 thick to 3/8 thick , only my opinion of course.
and also on fix the bak frame half what about the rusty frame at the front ???
This rear frame seams to be too weak for the job. What steel plate quality is use? Fe360? In my oppionion calculations are required on bending forces to have a safe constructies.
Must such new frame construction on a truck be inspected on safety by authorities?
Overhere in Holland you can not build you own truck chassis without strengh calculations and an inspection by the authorities, including the welding quality.
But Nice to see How the project progressies.
@@Brian-mp2mv I think the main issue is how it's married to the existing frame. The rest looks OK, but I would go heavier.
Should of been stock or better
Yeah they halfazzed the whole build
I loved going through old scrapyards. I think back to the day when the car was brought home brand new how the owner was proud of it and showing it off to friends and family.
i was in columbia yesterday, much love to these guys for saving cool old rigs. some of Tennessee's best.
ruclips.net/video/ScLm9sWlfrM/видео.html
Jeez these videos are classic cars and they found a truck! Awesome!
I like this show because they explain some of the steps involved in fabricating. Wheeler Dealers used to be good show because they would explain how car parts worked. Most car building shows kind of ignore those things and just tell you you need a certain piece but if you are not a fabricator or experienced mechanic then it's a less than educational form of entertainment. Guess I am interested in being shown exactly how to do something, because it saves a lot of headache for us occasional and novice project guys.
I have NEVER had a floor pan fit that nice the first time. Forbthosebwho don't know, tv/behind the scenes.... they easily have a couple weeks worth of days working on this truck.
Seemed a little suspicious how easily they had all the exactly parts and how clean that fuel came into that filter
Right, it's always a good idea to drain the fuel tank before starting an engine in a scrapyard. Probably there was a lot of prep work done before.
@@Alby_Torino very true, I came here to watch this as a guy that watches a lot of junkyard revival videos by types like vice grip garage, they show the full work of getting the car running and just gives it a better feel for us guys that really do this lol
@@joshthatguy9094 same here, total TV show type "restoration" plus replacing the original motor and trans, totally destroying the value of the truck to a real collector.
@@chippowell1 when I saw the comments that the swapped them out I stopped watching
brand new studs for the carb... all set up had luck with everything perfectly always... oh well
I love it good job guys ,I am doing a 1949 chevy 3800 it is still a good ole truck
Good job. Don't use those fuel filters unless your a fan of fire, they're junk.
I just discovered this channel today and I'm really enjoying it. I was a huge American Chopper and Monster Garage fan when I was younger and this reminds me a lot of those shows... minus the drama!
I know every car guy like myself has watched every second of this video... I'm only about a third of the way from completing the video but I'm already thinking about getting a square body
This is worth watching from the start to the end.
Great job on the fab work. A crummy 77R4? Why? Perfectly period correct 4 on the floor. Aside from the unnecessary expense of a blunder of a trans, you now need to add cooler, shifter and cross member. This expense could’ve been better appropriated towards paint body etc, or just avoided altogether.
You think they would know what they are doing when they have over a million subs. Let them do what they want.
SM465 ???
@@trevorpotmesil9288 Well, apparently they don't because the 4 on the floor was a better choice.
Just because someone is successful, rich or famous doesn't mean they're smart or right or better than anyone else. It just means they are successful, rich or famous and as often as not they got that way by luck or jumping at the the right opportunity at the right time.
@@barrylinkiewich9688 The 5 litre V8 engine with carburetor got replaced with a 5.7 litre V8 with fuel injection.
I'm an old dog from these ancient days! I worked my way through college behind the steering wheel of a couple Ford wreckers doing insurance towing. (Blizzard of 77) I just love the older less complex designs, especially the GM's. I am also an electronics engineer, so new stuff is awesome, but I have never lost any love for the now older ladies! We 'matured' together after all!
Great job you whippersnappers!😃😁
My dad is 75 and still uses old school wreckers to drag car to his junkyard.
nice sounds like a cool guy its kinda impersonal to drive a brand new truck as a grim reaper for the old cars going to the scrap yard. IDK i'm weird but it seems more appropriate to have an old workhorse that never dies drag them to their final resting place.
This is binge worthy. Algorithm is good. I been trying to find something worth watching that I can actually take something from. This popped up?
I'll take it.
Great job guys, I really appreciate that you don’t drop a lot of bad language….very professional 👍
Well done you all my students
You all doing good keep doing, I'm so proud of you
What possible benefit was there in ditching the manual transmission? For anything heavy and for any towing, the sm465 is the tool of choice. No "built" automatic will be able to stick in there like the sm465 could.
Agreed the only automatic variant would be an allison with pto, but they shouldve kept that sm465 truely a beast even in stock form.
The 5 litre engine got replaced with a 5.7 litre fuel injected V8
The way you guys are working on this truck is how you do it beautiful work guys I love the way you guys put this project together thanks for filming it guys
So air time, man hours, crew salaries, parts, say about $60 thousand were spent on this truck to still have it look like crap. Nice vid, enjoyed it.
1.8 million views in 2 weeks, they are rolling in RUclips ad revenue, trust me!!
FWIW…Set your floor pan in place then cut both the new and old pan at the same time. That gives you a perfect line to weld the new pan in.
That's so freaking awesome! I wish i have had the chance to go on this field, all those tools it is just wonderful... Makes me want to drive that tow truck for a day work,,, Congratulations guys that's a great job...
I love that you guys picked a truck that was left for dead and is restoring it.
Bro, this build was several years ago and the projects are crushed later on. It is required by the production company.
I agree w GTs Dude Garage. You should have kept the manual transmission and restored the old winch. Head to head, no comparison the manual tran would beat the auto in every way. That old hydraulic winch was BY FAR superior to that junk little electric one. The electric one wasn't meant to have multiple thousands of pounds constantly hanging on it over bumps/potholes and getting yanked around. It WILL fail. The old hydraulic winch was built for that. Plus, removing to he pintle reciever off the back will decrease the number of calls it can run. I agree with another comment, you built it for show, not working....this all is just my opinion, and yes, i did run/operate tow trucks for several years...
there new age colledge dudes,what the hell do they know. its just content & a wage for them..
It never ceases to amaze me just what incredible results anyone can achieve with a limitless budget, first class equipment and a team of unsung vehicle technicians, engineers and technical consultants on hand who remain behind the camera at all times.
I know, right!
What about taking care of all the rest behind the kick panels and the floorboards I don't understand are you just going to let that rust away?
had this been any other truck i would have questioned how fast you would have been able to get it running. but the old square body will run forever
That is fantastic. I really enjoyed watching the structural assembly work. The engine/trans/sheet metal and other work just made it run great and enhance the safety of the vehicle. Now I know it's a truck, but watching drive down the road it just seemed to have that look that says, "Look at me now!"
Superb content really enjoyed the video I am hooked brilliant thanks
Great job on the entire truck love how you brought it back to roadworthy status. Thank you for sharing all of your techniques so we can learn and do these things to our own projects great show and thank you for all the laughs
David from Fort Lauderdale Florida USA
In Hollywood. Full service
Locstion
Location
Show me your technique
I just came across this show and I have to say I love it I've been spending my time wondering which guy had which skill set meaning who the fabricator who's the motor guy etc. they seem to be matched in skill but I would always trust the seemingly older guy more just remember your not just paying for the job your paying for the experience
this would be perfect for hauling new projects you get
How?? They removed the P.T.O. and manual transmission making it completely useless!!
they showed how at the end of the video
@@wildwolf196 Nah. I wouldn't haul with that winch, no sirree. The old one was bolted into the bottom of the A-frame and was an integral part of it, not perched on top bolted to a couple of rails with gussets.
guys you just restored my dream wrecker, am a Chevy guy to
I can't believe you left the fuel tank in when replacing the floor pans. That thing is a bomb waiting to explode. What did you do about the driveshaft and brakes? Another thing I noticed was you built nice heavy duty brackets for the rear of the winch but what about the front winch mounts? That's where all the stress is.
I don’t think there was any fuel in it.
😂 it's a brand new tank, there's no gas in it, genius.
Are your eyes bad Randall, 😂
The spring hanger difference was not a cab/chassis thing or a 2wd vs 4wd issue. The one-ton trucks, both cab/chassis and dually pickup, used a narrower spring perch spacing compared to the 1/2 and 3/4 ton trucks.
This narrower spring perch spacing made room for the cab/chassis dually wheels, and did so by moving the shocks inboard of the frame. The 1/2 and 3/4 ton frames kept the shocks outboard, since they shared parts with the Suburban and Blazer, which both needed a fuel tank inside the frame rails.
nice project, would've kept the old transmission and I'm totally unhappy with all of the rust you where enclosing with welding the new pieces in/ painting over it 😬😬😬🥺 makes my heart bleed
Claudia, you are beautiful. I also hate the rust rod look, as it is essentially saying, "Hey, I am too damn lazy to completely restore the vehicle", and then the person that does the deed to a vehicle pretends that it is an artistic choice.
@Pax Humana well I get that there weren't enough time to do so and yes, I also feel the rod look sometimes, but they took out the rusty spots and without adressing the rust in those hard to reach areas welded new pieces in.. that's totally not cool
Same here!
Cool project. Def wouldn't want yall to do frame work tho. It is what it is for sure. But, if it was me I would have replaced the whole frame.. the step up for sure should have been double plated. Also that's a huge no no to weld in cross members. The need to be able to flex. Eventually those welds are gonna fail. Next time consult with me first. 🤓
that what i mean this frame is as weak as the one o nthe front half all show no go . Ya cant even tow with it now ,needs to be boxed end to end all new frame not jsut make it pretty bac half.
@@Thevacomaticvacuumcorner and heat treated and at that point just rerail the whole truck.. it is what it is tho all for show really they'll probably never tow anything with it anyway lol
@@sfh294 ya all show but still only half fix
I’m not big on LS swaping everything but this is a good candidate for a 8.1 vortec
Great video, I like the way you 2 work together so well, you're knowledge, problem solving and the way you both explain what you're about to do and the way you do it, thank you for the video! 🙂
Ok dude, turn in your man card immediately. I hereby sentence you to an eternity of being duct taped to a chair and forced to watch "The Lakehouse" over and over!
It's very nice to restore such a powerful truck that you mentioned a while back I was working on it, what a very interesting profession
Enjoyed every moment. Awesome build, Content, and somehow was very therapeutic plus educational.
Hell yeah, let's "restore" this truck by essentially replacing everything with new bits!!.
I have a 20 year old yard broom, it's only had 7 heads and five handles in all that time.
Should have made a Z-cut in the frame, versus a straight cut.
why didnt you sandblast to clean the rust before putting new body panels in place
Fish plate to
First never use mild steel on any frame of a backhalf like this it is weak and break under stress should have found a better frame or use high tensail carbon steel thats flexable under stress the same as the frame and weld it corrcetly preheat, weld, postheat and the right wire or rod they make testing tools to see what kind of steel frames and other metals are
I use to work for grove world wide welding 50ton crane booms and lower and also weld manlift booms from 46ft up to 131feet in the air
Looks very sketchy
For me If my health was better I would be doing body swaps... putting something from the 50s or older on a modern chassis wit modern interior. This way you have the good breaks an suspension, plenty of power and good gas mileage, and all the safety features. I love the style of the older vehicles.
"it has a great patina" is code for "I'm to lazy to actually do body work"
"Patina" is code for rust. But, tastefully done. Also, most old school guys would rather spend their time/effort/money on go-fast goodies or fixing the needed mechanical stuff.
Patina is also code for "I'm too cheap to do bodywork"
@@bmstylee I stand corrected. Pretty sure bodywork isn’t in the PowerNation budget.
@@stretch130MFE Tommy is a pretty good body guy. The Regal he built was pretty good looking in red. They did some pretty good paint in the past.
@@bmstylee Yeah, he is. I was just saying that leaving Patina don't necessarily mean they're too cheap or lazy to fix the body. I personally like it on the right rig, such as this one.
Awesome Job! I'm s Tow truck guy myself! Glad you guys gave that truck second chance at life!
😂 unfortunately no. The production company requires the projects get crushed.
@@TheRoadhammer379 What? No way.. that's crazy.
I love seeing an old forgotten machine get some TLC and get back on the road.
BEAUTIFUL. Brought a tear to my eye.
The grille even broken is worth more then the truck . If you know , then you know. Why not make new chassis out of same thickness as factory chassis.
I got one of those deep dish grilles for like 20 bucks a year ago off an older guy on fb, has some cracks but I'm going to go through it and strengthen it up and itll sit nice on my k20
Use the right tool and technique for the job. At 49:28 you used a flat punch on the cotter pin, and I don't know why in that way. You take an alignment punch and punch through the eye with a hammer. It will start to pull and expand the eye out. Hold the alignment punch with a wrench while the other end is pinned in the eye of the pin. Use a hammer to draw out the cotter pin. You can make it harder on yourself if you like, but this is easier
Absolutely love this! What a great build guys! Perfectly done. Love everything you did. You guys definitely know what you're doing.
What can you say, Squarebodies rock....let alone round eye-models
You seriously couldn’t put the winch buttons underneath the bed 😂
The only foul-up on this thing was replacing the 4 speed with the winch PTO. You stated that you wanted to keep it patina'd, yet you have the shiny new electric winch. You could have kept the 4 speed and installed gear vendors. Other than that, it was a very satisfying and educational video
That frame work was shoddy at best. I cannot believe you thought 1/8" tubing was appropriate for a tow truck chassis. I would imagine you could have sourced replacement frame rails somewhere for an old squarebody that would have at least put some of the factory strength back in it.
seriously. I was looking at that test C channel piece against the OEM frame and almost gasped..
but he box'd in the gussets lmao
There's still some cool stuff there. A buddy of mine has a salvage yard (LaPoint Discount Auto Parts) that used to have school busses full of parts along with lots of old cars. He doesn't have anything older than 20yrs old anymore and all the old stuff is gone including the busses because the old stuff didn't sell, at least not like more modern stuff does. He has thousands of cars but its not all that interesting to browse anymore because it's all late model vehicles.
Getting rid of that bulletproof manual transmission for a junk from the factory automatic. Great choice.
700r4 not too bad. That truck is way to heavy for that transmission especially no transmission cooler!
That video about that tow truck is so cool, I didn't know that you can rebuild a old recker tow truck frame.
Would love to see an exterior rebuild. Make it look like it came straight out of the factory.
Thank God…no more rock crawlers! How many times can you see a rock crawler be built. This show is pretty cool!
Love the channel a little too scripted and sometimes cringey but y'alls work is amazing
Fully agree, there a so many RUclipsrs out there that are much more realistic. The days of PN scripts will soon be in the past.
Whining about free content that you voluntarily watched. Smh.
@@claytonbyrd6134 repeat customers is where success lies, not one timers. It wasn’t free either. SNN.
Forgot how much I loved these types of vids
I've been to a bunch of different salvage yards and none of them let you walk around unless it's a self serve and none of them will sell a whole vehicle
Movie magic.
Old yards are dead.
@@bigboreracing356
All the jyards around here are trashed and pullnsaves type. Old yards all been liquidated and repurposed.
@@bigboreracing356 How about, instead of making yourself look like a prick, you put out some info on where such yards CAN be found?
@@bigboreracing356 Yeah. You wanna translate that into English? Cos I don't speak pidgin . . .
What about the PTO (power take unit) for the tow boom/hook. You got to get some power to the boom gear box.
Great job guys, love watching these videos. Didn't even feel like an hour long video hehe.
Michael Brandon Jackson, Heeee heee
They didn't fix the bent and busted hood? I like the patina thing, but... 🤔
I wish they still made it that easy to swap an engine in these new vehicles I had a 88 Chevy pickup truck with the same engine You can tell just by the rockers And I can't remember how many miles I got out of it but it was a lot They were great engines.
Is that PTO winch for sale? I'll give you $20 for it, which is a lot of money since you guys think its old junk.
I love how a close up of a weld is the equivalent of a flash bang.👌
Wouldn't be a square body without the hood taco'd in the middle.
Well take it to Mecum and they will do it.
Watching old work trucks be brought back to life is way better than seeing another street rod build