As is typical with my projects they start out simple and get complicated. It all started off with a brake shoe keeper that came loose on a rough road. Of course I had to pull the drum on the right side. Then naturally I wanted to check the left, sure enough one of the keepers was so loose that it fell off when I moved one of the shoes. Then finding the keeper for an F-2 was fun. Nobody stocks #2296 but I took a chance and ordered the similar car part 51A-2125 from Mac's. After I received it I think that it looks the same.

Then of course things were very dirty so brake clean fixed that. Lots of rust on the backing plates so I took them off so I could clean them up and paint them. I knew the left tie rod end had too much play so I removed it from the suspension. But while I was doing that I noticed that the sector shaft on the steering gear was moving up and down about 1/4". No wonder the truck had the "death wobble" going down the road.

Then as I rotated the suspension through out its travel I noticed that the steering box felt like it had rocks in it. I guess it is time to move up to power steering. Of course this means a new steering column too.

Finally today I tried to take the bad tie rod end off the tie rod. The clamp nut, as you can see from the picture below, had corroded so badly that it was almost non-existent. Time to cut the bolt. But first I thought that since the left was corroded I should check the right end. That is when I discovered that the tie rod was seriously bent. Then the right end would not come loose from the suspension. Time for a trip to the local NAPA store for a pickle fork.

Does any of this sound familiar to anyone or am I the only one that has this kind of luck? Aren't old trucks fun? If anyone hears of a bank being robbed in Michigan it wasn't me.

 

With all the folks going to IFS, I'd think your best bet might be to get someone's front suspension and steering take-offs. In good condition I'd trust original parts more than aftermarket knock-offs.

Just be glad you caught all this before you were cruising at 65 mph in traffic!

 

Hey Pete - everything on my truck seems to move in that direction. The deeper I dig, the deeper I dig.

 

The old Pennsylvania Dutch saying "The Faster I Go, The Behinder I Get"

 

Sounds about normal for one of my projects too. Some cars want to be bought back from the dead, some just want to be left in peace and will fight you all the way! My F3 is a fighter...

 

Hey Pete,
I hear you loud & clear! It took 3 AOD transmissions to get one that wanted to run. The guy that built my engine did everything right but used non-hardened push rods so it cratered. Got to love your truck ....

Ben in Austin

 

Mine is fighting too. It just doesn't want to be good right now. I keep feeding it and feeding it but it just won't comply. I am going to put it on a diet for a while and then come back and see if it behaves. Good luck Pete, we all need it sometimes...

 

Thanks guys. I'm glad that it is just not me. Actually I have been so involved in correcting or coming to terms with the things that various POs have done that I am now just getting into the things that Mother Nature and wear & tear have done.

These are such great looking trucks . . . they need to be fun to drive.

 

The PO did some strange things on mine too. He put a Chevy drive train - 350/TH350. The motor mount was a homemade metal bar bolted directly to the frame on both sides, curving under and had plates bolted directly to the block. No rubber mounts at all. The transmission was the same but the bar he made was just sitting on the frame - no bolts and no welds. Plus about a gallon of bondo and a yard of fiberglass on the front fenders. When I got all of that off, I found that the fenders are pretty much toast. There was a ton of rot that he just covered with fiberglass and then bondo. He actually built it up over 1/2" thick where the two pieces of the fenders meet. It had a B&M shifter for a powerglide (2 speed) with two screws in the inspection cover and a cable. It wiggled around so much I don't know how he ever shifted it. And a dozen other rigs all over the truck. Took me quite a while to even figure out what some of it was. All his BS is gone now, but I still have a ways to go to be driving. I have had the truck one year this week.

 

Pete , that is par for the course these old trucks take us in . Been there 2x . I have a spare stock tie rod if you need .Kep on truckin' ,Denny

 

Thanks Denny. I just got back from a trip to Philadelphia. I'll PM you.