I just came across this thread and I'm happy to the point of tears reading it (don't tell anybody). Congratulations on your repairs and I hope your dad gets to drive it soon!
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PapaBearYuma

 

Thanks. As for dad driving it, not sure that will ever happen. He runs over/into too much stuff with his power chair, which explains the damaged fender and hood, plus why I had to swap out the front bumper. The left front corner is the closest to the steering wheel, and he still managed to hit stationary objects with it...... Has matching damage on the rear bumper.
I've only done part of the fender straightening on the lower part, and that was just to allow the replacement bumper to fit.

 

Aw come on...given the dedication you've shown to this project, you can find a really big parking lot...

 

Big parking lots are plentiful near dad's place. The problem is, they are usually filled with huge numbers of other objects, not all of which are stationary. Granted, even a drunk blind man could do a better job navigating a parking lot than some of those shopaholic soccer mom's and unlicensed illegal's do.......

 

Not a lot getting done this week, as it's been a bit cool. I did get the radio antennea swapped out today. The newer style with removable mast was a direct swap, other than having a bit of fun plugging the coax into the bottom, very tight fit.
Then I stuck a bolt in the exhaust manifold where one was missing. It's not often you see an FE that has an upper exhaust manifold bolt that simply falls out, but that seems to have been the case. Tightened down the bolt, and the exhaust leak went from loud and obnoxious, to barely audible with the hood up. That'll do till spring.
Naturally, it was the hardest one to get at, the rear bolt, passenger side, with factory A/C. I wanted to make sure the hole wasn't stripped. Quieting the leak to almost nothing was just an added bonus.......

Then I spent about 45 minutes chatting with dad. Been a pretty decent day.

 

The best part!
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PapaBearYuma

 

You know it! Even the time I spent with the kids (2)/grandkids (3) today, pales in comparison to the time spent chatting with dad. I get to see the kids and grandkids almost everyday, and enjoy having them around.

 

Been a while since I added any updates.
Have driven it a few times during the last month, and started hearing a "clang" everytime I put it in reverse or drive, along with a bit of vibration. Crawled under it, and sure enough, bad u-joint. The front one, with a 2 piece shaft.
I have a replacement laying on my desk, but have been a bit under the weather for a couple weeks, so have not got around to replacing it. Maybe this weekend will see a return to working on the truck.

 

Finally got nice weather again after I recovered from feeling ill. Got the u-joint changed today, which made the clanging go away. Haven't gotten it out yet, as I just barely finished with putting it back together.
Supposed to be in the 70's tomorrow, which ought to make for a nice day to get it out.

 

Weather is rather warm this week (85 today) so I got amibitious and attempted to replace the exhaust manifold gasket. The FE's reputation for breaking the upper bolts is well known to me, so I started with a liberal soaking of PB Blaster. The rear bolt had previously fallen out (hence the need to replace the gasket) so I didn't have to worry about it. The 2 center bolts came out rather easy. The front upper bolt twisted off way too easy, just below the bolt head.
I basically just walked away at that point, since it was nearing dark. Tomorrow, I'm going to try getting the manifold out of the way, and see if I can get a hold on the remaining piece of bolt with channel locks or vise grips.

At least it's the front upper bolt, on the passenger side. Of all the exhaust manifold bolts, it's the one with the most room to get a drill after it, if it comes to that. It will have to be 90* angle drill, but that shouldn't be too big of an issue.

Had to change a tire on it a couple weeks ago. one of those ~12 year old rear tires developed a leak thru one of the weather cracks in the sidewall. Can't say it came as a surprise.....

 

Very nice story, I hope you take pictures along the way to document what you did and add these posts to it. Would make a very nice memory book to pass down.

I have my grandfathers 77, and I wish I had more pictures of the things we did and times we spent in it while he was alive.

 

an amazing story, my dad just passed his 76 down to me, im 17 and couldnt be happyer

 

After having to fight with the upper bolts, I was surprised this evening when I tried the lower row of bolts. 2 were too loose to get the socket on, and the other 2 weren't much more than just snug.
Got the manifold out of the way, and tried the channel locks and vise grips on the broken bolt, but haven't had any luck yet. As it was starting to get dark, I placed the manifold back in place, and loosely bolted it back on. I don't like having a vehicle apart to the point I can't jump in and go if the need arises.
Maybe I'll have a bit more time to mess with it in the next few days. I didn't bother sticking a gasket in there, since I haven't even cleaned off the leftovers of the old one. I think it leaks less now than it did before. Can't help but wonder if simply cleaning the mating surfaces real good will result in a nice quiet seal.......

 

Hey, R_W. Nice rebuild of your dad's truck. I can't wait for your next update. Subscribed.

 

After trying every type of stud extractor known to exist, I managed to reduce the diameter of the broken manifold bolt from 3/8" to under 5/16".
Gave up, put a questionable manifold gasket in place, and put the other 7 bolts back in.
Quiet as a church mouse. For now...........