Just posted this in the 73-79 F forum, thought I'd put it here too because I'm in St Louis.

I just joined this forum a week or so ago, thought I'd post a link to a pic (it's hosted on another forum, but please don't hold that against me!). It's my '75 F600, 330-V8, 4-speed New Process, 6.8:1 rear, 13000lb rear axle, 5500lb front axle, 19200 GVWR, 176" wheelbase, 5mpg.

I triumphantly passed MO annual inspection yesterday. Over the past week or two I replaced brake hoses, some hard brake line, both tie rod ends (a BIG thank-you to Bill at F&C Trucks in St Louis for removing the ends from the rod ), turn signal lenses and passenger mirror. Next up is some exhaust work, a new (used) rollup door, and eventually, some rust work.

http://www.yesterdaystruck.com/trphotos/a916.jpg

Here's some interesting stuff I found out recently about MO inspection. If you have a medium duty truck like mine, but less than 24000lb GVW, you can register it in MO as a 'personal' vehicle rather than a 'commercial' vehicle. This is what I did when I bought the truck, but when I called around about inspections, the shops told me 'we don't do trucks', and everyone pointed me to commercial vehicle inspectors. It turns out that regular passenger car/light truck inpsection stations CAN inspect <24000 GVW trucks, provided that you aren't registered as 'commercial', which requires a DOT inspection as well.

I know this now because I had a really difficult time with Degel Truck Center on Gravois. I know fully well that my truck needs a lot of work, but these guys were zero help in the inspection process. They left the parking brake on when they inspected it, and declared my rear brakes to be inoperable. Somehow they couldn't get the horn to work, although it works for me EVERY time (after I fixed it a year ago). They declared my tie rod ends to be loose, but when I replaced them I found out that they were SUPER tight--and although I'm better off with new ends, I could have spent that $150 on other parts that I need more. Finally they complained about a cracked taillight and mirror--which were indeed cracked, but which they also passed the last time I had it inspected, and so I had thought that these small cracks were acceptable. Anyways, I know these guys are just doing their job, and they lose money on a $12 MO inspection, but I was looking for a place that would work with me. I'm perfectly happy to throw some reasonable work at them, and pay them a lot more than $12, provided that my truck is safe, inspected and approved at the end of it. What I don't need is a runaround and misinformation. Having given up on Degel's because they wouldn't even give me a quote on replacing the exhaust system that they said wouldn't pass, I found a custom exhaust shop that was able to help me fix the bad pipe and complete the inspection so that I can renew my reg. Guess who I'll be sending my business to in the future...?

Again, I think Degel's runs a fine shop, and I don't mean to slam them, but clearly they put their priorities on the fleets and commercial outfits that send them a lot of business, and can't afford to work with a little guy like me. But...if you have a truck <24000lbs and register it 'personal', you can go ANYWHERE, not just to a commercial truck inspector.


Mike

 

A huge thank-you goes out to Bill and the others at F&C Trucks on Choteau. This is a Mack/GMC dealer/service shop. Last Saturday I walked in off the street with my tie rod in hand, looking for a machine shop that could free up the frozen ends. Bill (in Service) was busy, but told me to hang around and he'd see what he could do. Fine by me, I hung out for 15 minutes or so, then he took the tie rod and disappeared. About 10 minutes later he came back with the job done, and when I asked him what the charge would be, he just shook his head and said 'it's on me'.

Now THAT's cool. Let me tell you, if I ever am in the position of spending serious $$ on a great big truck, I'll be going to F&C. I love my Ford, but the guys in the Broadway Ford parts department often give me a hard time even when I walk in and drop $300 on parts. I'm not a professional truck mechanic or driver by any means, but I've been backyard wrenching for almost 30 years, and since buying this old Ford I've found that there's often more attitude in the medium/heavy truck world than there is even in the Euro sports car world (Bimmers and Porsches).

Anyways...KUDOS to F&C Trucks (Choteau) and B&B Muffler and Service (Broadway).

Mike

 

It's good to hear there ARE decent shops in that area. Not long ago I blew out a hydraulic hose on a 10 car hauler mid-load. NONE of the shops I called would help me (it was evening and they wanted to go home, I guess) nor would any of them refer me to someone who COULD. I drove west with my PARTIAL load, stopping at shops and dealers along the way. Finally a Tow truck driver had the name and number of a guy who came to where I WAS and fixed it. Now that IS service.
Another time, also in the st louis area, my Freightliner threw a fanbelt. The local dealer didnt have one, same story as with the hose I mentioned earlier. Finally a guy at Oh realllys matched one up for me. So many shops, so little service.

 

Geez, just a hose...? You'd think that would be an easy fix. I understand it can be rough when you're in the middle of nowhere, but you'd think near a city it wouldn't be a miracle to get a hose made up.

I really enjoyed my 15 minutes in F&C's shop. You could eat off the floor there. Nice big, shiny trucks everywhere, in various states of disassembly, which I don't get to see very often.

 

well, it WAS 26 feet long....
But you are right... I thought What the ???? I knew 3 places at home I could go and get it fixed, yet in STL I was hittin' my head on a wall.
Pay no attention to the shiny big trucks... they are the Siren's Song....

 

Glad to hear your truck passed inspection. It looks like it's in pretty good shape -- what are your plans for the beast?

 

Next time you have hose problems, remember the farm stores... many of them have hoses on stock, or can make them...

 

Thanks...but noone I had talked to that day could direct me to one! I mean, that was one of my FIRST thoughts, lol

 

The truck looks like it's in good shape in that photo, but it's got a good amount of rust on it. I bought some patch panels for the cab corners, and it REALLY needs a new hood. The door bottoms have some rot, they could stand a repair. The fenders are servicable with a few holes, but they're available new as well, so I'm tempted to buy them while they're still to be had. I need to patch the inner fenders in a few places, and the battery tray is swiss cheese right now. I'm looking for an original air cleaner, too. The dash pad is shot, and I found a not-so-shot one in the junkyard, I might pull that when I get a chance. The heater setup needs some work. I might replace the cheesy plastic door panels with some steel panels that I found in a dump truck at the junkyard. The transmission makes some disconcerting noises when I'm in reverse, the tires could stand to be replaced at some point before going long distance (good tread, but very weathered), and the driveshaft hanger bearing looks like it won't last long. The mirror brackets are weak, I'm going to replace them with stainless brackets. Then of course, there's paint.

Now for the box...the rollup door is rotten, I need a new/used one, the junkyard says $125, which isn't bad. The roof has a few leaks, I need to do some caulking, and some sanding/painting of the steel framing.

My overall plan for this truck is to make a combination rolling shop and redneck camper, depending on my needs at the moment. I'm thinking of installing a generator under the frame, maybe an air compressor as well, tooboxes, workbench, etc. The camper setup might include some windows cut into the sides, maybe a skylight, a potbellied stove, a couch or futon,water tanks, camper fridge/sink/etc., and racks of camping gear.

The 'extreme' pipe-dream for the camper is to build a new box that is actually kind of a modular cabin. I have 20 acres in Montana that I plan to see more frequently at some point, and I'd like to show up with my redneck camper, disassemble the cabin from the back of the truck, and erect it on cement footings. Then I'd head back home with a bare truck, and next time, bring another room.

Just got my new tags this morning before work. It's a good day.

 

Battery tray? What's a battery tray?

Sounds like a GREAT plan to me. I'm jealous. Have fun with it!

 

Plans are always great. If I can accomplish half of it, I'll be happy.

 

The O'reillys auto parts I work at makes hoses. as do all of them I think. and if they dont there is another oreillys in 10-15 miles that can.

 

Hell, Terry here can help you make one out of 2x4's! He's an expert in THAT field!!

 

Wow! That's a new definition of mobile home!