Well Guys,,, been working some on special projects and the 1988 Jimmy I bought bout a month ago. Got the 454 purring like a kitten and and after some tweaks and promises, finally got it to move of it's own power and it will Move out  right smartly,,,,!!

 The tranny kinda concerns me as there is a slight hesitation when first put in forward gear,,,I'm hoping maybe trans oil filter as it has been a rig welder's trk forever and prolly has not been serviced in several years,,,,,? It does change gears good going down the road tho,,,,

 I got the driver side door and fender replaced and installed except for that dang heavy spring that keeps the door from swinging closed,,,tried for two hours and never got it to stay in!! I've got my favorite brick and claw hammer ready to start hammering out what few dents on the body and hopefully paint the door jambs this weekend and body next week,,,,,

 Caught a steel bed on a good sale on the Marketplace couple weeks ago and my sandblaster friend is susspossed to come by and brush blast the trk frame and bed to get some shiny black paint on both. The bed is 18" shy of being as long as I want it to be so will add that 18" in the front of it.

 My question to the gurus is, I am going to install a "hide-a-way" ball for a gooseneck in the bed and am curious as a friend told me the ball for the Gooseneck has to be in front of rear axle but did not know how far in front of axle,,Anyone know for sure?

There's three concerns of hitch placement.

First is the centerline-  it's obvious, but make sure the hitchpoint is on centerline.

Second is height.  The advantage of a gooseneck, is that your hitch point can be significantly LOWER than a 5th wheel, and as a result, you'll experience less tow vehicle roll, pitch, and yaw reaction from the trailer's motion.

Third is position with respect to the wheelbase.  Placing the hitch point directly over the rear axle means that when you load the trailer, all hitch load goes directly on the REAR axle, and NONE of it (in a static state) will appear on the steer axle.  It is usually preferable to have SOME of the tow vehicle's hitch weight to appear on the steer axle- it improves stability, as an unladen steer, with a heavily laden drive, results in a disproportionate spring load, and a nose-high condition of the tow vehicle.  This opens the tow vehicle to unstable dynamics on the road.  Remember- the vehicle was designed to carry load on both axles, not just the rear.

Having the hitch point adjustable fore-aft is a good thing, just watch out for situations where the trailer nose might tag the back of the truck cab.

  OH, I sure do,,,!!!And most times I might even word my questions to tickle Dave's curiosity and get him to respond.

Plus he's a good friend and always willing to help us,,,,,

 A bit of an update on the One Ton,,,I'm getting her ready to paint the door jambs and hood edges hopefully TODAY,,,,!!

 THe guy that painted "Ole Red" for me is who is going to paint the trk on a "Trading Work" agreement and is how I like to do my work outs,,,,great for all concerned too,,,!!

 I will paint the jambs etc and than take the trk to him and leave it for painting the body in his shop,,,,,,can't wait,,,,,

 Well,, I got a bit of an update on the GMC one ton. Got up early(5:30) and finished up the masking on the door jambs about 8 Am,,,,,

 Blew off one more time as the dang wind had started blowing as the time passed,, Thought I was gonna have to postpone when the wind suddenly died down so I started to get the Primer Sealer and paint ready for a good Shooting Match!! Shot two coats of 

the primer sealer to coverage and called her good for painting the door jambs. I'm using Urethane single stage cause I had a gallon of Porsche Red rat holed and forgot what project I bought it for so it became a good donor.

 It was touch and go on the reducer and hardner as the mixing part of label was not too clear but my luck was holding great as the flowout was doing great with no orange peel,,,,yea!!!

 Gonna load it on my trailer first thing to take to the same Dude that painted the 55 for me.

 Trying to get all my chit caught up  as I have a trip headed back to Thad's country this weekend,,,,,,,,

  OK, I feel some like ole Shameless "might" be breathlessly waiting on a progress report on the old One Ton I been working on,,,,,, My friend, who also painted "Ole Red" has done a number on the 1988 GMC One Ton ,,,,and from where I'm sitting,,,it looks many wonderfuls,,,,!!!! The paint is Poly-urethane in Porsche Red that I had bought for another of my Forgotten projects that must of fallen by the way side,,,,Ya'll know how us senior folks tend to be quite forgettful at times,,,,

 Anyway,,,,the painter got her done this past weekend and it sure is pretty!!!

 The GF has agreed () to let me go visit my old homestead in a couple of weeks for a couple of weeks to do some re-assembling,,,,, of grill and a new to me "Cow Catcher" I had bought at a yard sale some time back plus mount the flat bed on it,,,,,

 Chit, I cannot find my USB cord to download the pics from IPhone to the laptop,,, I'll see if THad can do that for me,,,,,,

However love Blue!

and whats the story about the "GF" allowing him to go work ?? 

 besides,,,,,,UMMmmm,,,,never mind,,,,,,

 Well, Steve,,,,ole Thad is doing quite nicely all by hisself,,,,,,

   Well,,,I'm back to catching up on the one ton, as I went and picked it up at the painter's and drove it home about 50 MPH as the frigging speedometer is stuck at 50 MPH,,,I have a feeling I was going bout 98 MPH when the speedometer froze at 50,,,,,

  I modified the mufflers/tailpipes from a single exhaust to  a dual exhaust system with some mellow sounding Glass packs,,  I used most of the dual exhaust system I saved from  Jamie's 2010 Camero when we installed a whole new system from the headers back to the tips,,,looks great and sounds even better,,!! ( It'l prolly be getting 20 MPG now,)

 Now I'm setting the flatbed on the frame,,,,, but looks like it might be too high off the frame,,?? Is there an accepted height the bed should be from the frame?

 The PO had a welding bed on it before but he torch cut it off the frame so there is no measurement to follow. Any comments,,? 

 Ok,,Here's the measurements,,,,

  TOP OF TIRE to BTM of bed= 7 1/2"

  TOP OF AXLE TO BTM OF BED =24"

  TOP OF FRAME TO BTM OF BED = 9"

   "BTM OF BED" IS DEFINED AS BTM OF THE 2" X 2" X 3/16" square tubing the bed frame is made of.

  I had originally thought of drilling a bunch of bolt holes and bolt the bed on with 2" X 3/8" strap but have decided to put enough gorillas on there,,,, it ain't ever gonna come off,,,,

  Hey Steve,,,I have no idea what "Axle Stops" are and cannot seem to still be able to post pics here,,for some reason,,,,,?

  Hey Thad,,the bed frame is made of 2" X 2" X 1/4" square tubing spaced 20" apart with one running down the middle parallel to trk frame. . The dude that built the frame originally used 3" X 3" X 1/4" channel 6" long welded together that worked out just right to give me 5 1/2" tire clearance so I believe I will leave it go based on all of ya'll's  comments 

 Whoops,,just thought of something else,,,gonna have to crawl under it again to check out the placement for the Hide-a-way goose neck,,,,Chit,,,!!

 Actually Guys,,,I put that project on HOLD for a short time as I haVE run into all kinds of Guv-ment BS in trying to get a title,,,

 Now,,get this,,,I was told by Guv-ment peoples that ALL states now require a "Certified APPRAISALL" TO BE PERFORMED BY A "CERTIFIED APPRAISER" who can charge an amount  of money chosen by,,,,,,,,hisself. AND,,you will NOT receive a title unless you do so,,,!!  That is in addition to 6 other pieces of official guv-ment documents you gonna need.

 I spoke with my State Representative about this new BS law and he tells me it originated in the Eastern states because of a thriving car and trk thieving business that buys cars with only a bill of sale, then gets their buddies to apply for lost titles and presto they got a high priced car/trk " wit CLEAR TITLE IN HAND,,,,typical guv-ment process,,,don't punish the guilty,,,,PUNISH EVERYBODY111

ok, I'm done,,,

 

Basically obtain the surety bond from your insurance agent and go to your DMV with the paperwork and file for a new title to your vehicle. All will process normally and if nobody steps forward claiming ownership, you will be notified as such. 

I have done this with seven antique heavy trucks in the past and the process is seamless with exception of the surety bond which I think cost $100.00. This is a federal bond, not just Illinois. 

 Well Codger,,,like the "New Sherriff In Town"  the process HAS changed in all states like I was told by my State Representative. You NOW will have to pay for the Surety Bond based on "TWICE THE VALUE" of whatever you're trying to title stated on the NEW APPRAISAL REPORT!  and NOT what you just paid for that tractor or car or,,,anything!! Your Surety Bond will be based on TWICE the appraised value! Yes, it used to cost $100 for a surety Bond from your friendly Insurance agent but that friggin New Sheriff in Town BS is going to surprise lots of people,,,,, 

It may wash out as the deceased owner's family is looking for the title, but I went my proven way to ensure something gets done.

Taking a politician's word without fact checking is playing "Russian Roulette" with your own interests. Typically, they don't have your interest at the forefront but rather what will generate revenue yet keep them in office at election time.