Redtop's 1978 620

[redtop]

Today's date is Sunday August 21, 2011. Recently I had purchased a 1978 620 in original condition as a project. The build will take place at Classic Motorsports in Weyers Cave, Virginia. The telephone number to the shop is (540) 234-0707. Please feel free to drop by the shop. John and Kay Davis, the owners of Classic Motorsports, are friends of mine. I encourage you to contact them for your project. I recommend Classic Motorsports for any and all of your automotive needs. I intend to place new pictures of the build, at least once a week, in new threads. I am limited to the number of photos I may post in this thread. Check my newest content for new pictures as work on my 620 continues at Classic Motorsorts.

 

After my 620 was towed to Classic Motorsports, the first priority was to get it in running condition. When I bought the truck, the motor would start. However, the engine would stall immediately. John and his mechanics diagnosed the problem quickly: It was a dirty carburetor. I would like to replace the original carburetor with a pair of 38mm SU carburetors. I understand that these carburetors are known as 510sss carburetors and that Z Therapy provides services to rebuild these carburetors. If you have a set of SU carburetors suitable for a 610, with the linkage and manifold, in good to excellent condition, that you would be willing to sell to me, please let me know. Just this evening I purchased a set of carbs off of eBay that are in questionable condition. I am looking for a choke cable, also known as a throttle cable. If you have one for sale, please let me know. Several days ago, John replaced the spark plugs, the distributor cap, the points, and the rotor. The truck is running more smoothly now. We have plans to drop the gas tank and to clean it.

 

After getting the motor to run, the next job performed by Classic Motorsports was to throroughly clean the exterior and the interior of the truck in order to assess the overall condition of the pickup. In the picture below you can see Scottie, a Classic Motorsports mechanic, hard at work on my 620. When Scottie removed the grill that is located underneath of the windshield (the cowl), he found debris and rust.

 

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After several days of pressure washing the 620 (Yes, it was that dirty), we discovered few places where the rust had rusted through the metal. The majority of the rust is surface rust. I have created several albums on photobucket.com under Redtop620. I welcome you to view the photos in the albums.

 

Presently the truck is on jack stands. The wheels have been removed.

 

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The truck was sold to me with a total of five (5) wheels. There were three (3) different kinds of wheels on the truck when I bought it. I don't know why. The wheels have been stacked inside of the shop. I had purchased three nonventillated original wheels off of eBay to match one of the original nonventillated wheels that was on the truck. I now have 4 matching nonventillated original wheels, 1 nonmatching nonventillated original wheel, and 3 ventillated original wheels. The 5 nonventillated wheels I own will be cleaned, painted, and wrapped with new whitewall tires before being put back on the truck. I am looking for another nonventillated orginal wheel to match the 4 that I own that are similar in appearance to use as a spare. Please let me know if you have one for sale. I intend to sell all of the steel wheels I do not intend to use. Please let me know if you would like to purchase any or all of them.

 

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Below you will see a picture of a tach I had purchased off of Craigslist. I don't know if it works.

 

 

 

This is a picture of my truck on its way to Classic Motorports.

 

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These are several of the first pictures that I took of my 1978 620. The pictures had been taken about 2 weeks after I had purchased it from its 4th owner in Berryville, Virginia. It had been advertised for sale on Craigslist. Last Monday I loaded it onto a flatbed trailer and towed it with the help of my friend, Red, to Classic Motorsports in Weyers Cave, Virginia.

 

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On the way to Classic Motorsports, Red and I met our friend, Jerry. Jerry and Red are pictured next to my truck.

 

 

My friend, John Davis of Classic Motorsports, is carefully inspecting the truck the old fashioned way - by kicking the tires.

 

My truck has an automatic transmission.

 

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When I removed the floormats, I discovered rusty floorpans. I suspect that there is a leak from the windshield gasket. Click here to see 25 pictures of my truck. <a href="http://<div%20style=" width:480px;text-align:right;?="">">My link

 

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Click here to see 25 of the first photos I took of my truck, including shots of the body and of the interior. <a href="http://<div%20style=" width:480px;text-align:right;?="">">

 

A picture of the engine.

 

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Click here to see 31 additional pictures of my truck, including shots of the engine, the mismatched wheels, underneath, and the headliner. <a href="<div%20style=" width:480px;text-align:right;?="">">

 

I have spent several hours over the weekend washing the truck. I will post additional photos when I'm done.

[darrel]

link not working. fix it,,,, NOW!!!

[redtop]

Darrell, I am having trouble with the link to photobucket.com. Any suggestions? I have edited the post to show where pictures of my truck may be seen on photobucket.com. Perhaps you may be able to determine why the link I used was not working correctly on this site. Thank you for your help.

[darrel]

Not sure. If your PB account is set to public, then you should be able to copy and paste the link.

[redtop]

Darrell, thank you for bearing with me last night as I struggled to figure out how to post pictures and links.

[SR20-620]

your name says redtop, so are your plans for your truck adding a redtop? nice truck!

[redtop]

See below.

[redtop]

SR20-620, my nickname on this site refers to the nickname of a 1974 Mercedes 240D my father once owned. The 240D had been repainted two-tone (red and white) after my father had a small accident one winter when he slid on the ice into a fence. He was OK. The car was not. The insurance company did not want to pay to have the whole car repainted. Most of the damage was confined to the roof. Consequently, my father decided to have the top and the hubcaps painted red. I drove the redtop when I was in high school. I loved that car. I haven't decided what color or colors to paint my 620. I may paint it red and white. The blue has to go, though. I am open to suggestions. Thank you for sending to me the information regarding other sites which I may find useful with my project truck. I appreciate your help.

 

Also, thank you for the compliment: "nice truck!" I like the truck. It has potential. It hasn't been messed with - yet!. The pickup has a looooooooong ways to go, though, before the truck will compare with several of the really nice trucks owned by members on this site. I am looking forward to the build. Check back for additional pictures I will post here as the build progresses at Classic Motorsports.

[pharouh]

Nice score! :wub: Looks like you've got a great start there. Automatics are kinda rare in these too. The blue is nice,but I'd have to see it cleaned up first. Keep posting!

[Z chopper]

http://s1140.photobu...pics/?start=all

 

this might work for you guys