Joe, after reading his second response I think he is talking about seat springs.

 

This is me with an extremely red face of embarassment. Took time last night to read the entire thread, possibly a saga, of the build of this beautiful piece of Americana. It truly humbles me to see the dedication it took to overcome the obsticles along the way. I had tears in my eyes when I read that you acquired the badges of your Grandfather. It makes the quest even more rewarding. I am overwhelmed by the moral and spiritual support yielded by the members of FTE. I have known for some time how open and supportive this group of humanity is. Thanks to each and every one of you.
There is nothing like coming in post completion to give help (redness coming back) with information. The seats look really nice and your upholstery person did a truly beautiful job; loved the use of the tacks to give it a more authentic look.
I couldn't help but notice the lines and design of the trucks of that era are quite similar to the Post War Chris Craft boats. The stylish lines and flow of contours it quite striking. Loved seeing it all and it has me more inspired to complete Joey's truck.
Take a breath and enjoy it !

Gear Up

 

Gear Up no need to be embarrassed. Thanks for taking the time to view the entire thread and for your very kind words. Looking back over this thread, I too am amazed at the outpouring of support and encouragement from my fellow FTE members. It been a great journey and a fantastic finish.

 

We worked on the brakes today. I brought my drums and one hub to a brake shop and they turned the drums. (They couldn't turn the drums without the hub) We disassembled the brakes and found the adjustment gears in the shoes to be rusted shut. One was also missing a washer and a snap ring. I called Chuck from Chuck's Trucks today and as usual he gave great advice and spent some time trying to find my missing washer. Thanks again Chuck if you are reading this. We got them freed up and then cleaned, lubed and reassembled on the side that we removed the hub from. We then put the hub back on and adjusted the brakes. We removed the shoes from other side and found one of the shoe adjustment gears also rusted shut. We will have that side put back together and the wheel back on in the morning. I drained and refilled the differential today also. I still need to change the transmission oil too. That should be done tomorrow too.

 

Soon You will have nothing left to fix Keith. Than what ya gonna do with all yer spare time?

 

Well DUH!!! Drive around town with the siren blaring and bell ringing.

 

Rich there will always be something to fix!!

We got the brakes all together and adjusted. Just need a test drive which will be next week. Some pics of the brake job ....

 

That's great Keith! Nice looking drum.

 

 

Thanks Joe. The drums turned out good although there were some tiny heat cracks after they were cleaned up. It was $60 for the pair and there just aren't that many shops that do the big drums. I really didn't want to pull the hub but I had no choice and we were lucky that the seals came out and went back in undamaged. The right wheel was locked up before and now it turns real nice after being cleaned and adjusted. I think we need to pull the front ones apart and do the same thing. Well, maybe after the parade in a little over 2 weeks.

 

Heck, they have to charge $60 just to lift those huge heavy suckers up....lol. The price doesn't seem to unreasonable to me.

I sure hope this means that the long frustrating saga of the breaks is finally behind you. I know they have been constant battle for you for years now. I'll keep my fingers crossed.

I'm sure everything will work perfectly for the parade. We need video of your boys wailing on that siren.....not just a little whirr, wwhhirrrrrr, wwwhhhrrriiiiiirrrr but a full blown, fingers in your ears, step back in amazement, protect the women and children, maniacal fire guy playing with a new toy wail! Let 'er rip!!

Bobby

 

Thanks Bobby, I hope the major problems with the brakes are over too. One of the rear wheel cylinders were questionable so after the parade I will pull the set of wheels to make sure everything is OK.

We will be shooting a lot of parade video. I spoke to Ron the other day, the man is so excited to be driving us in the parade. After we will be setting up an area at a local park where we can display the truck and people can meet Ron. There will be a lot of people there for the festivities.

 

That is going to be a great day!

Enjoy it, you deserve it

Bobby

 

Looking forward to the day!! I bought some chrome lug nut covers ... I think they look nice!!

 

Not just nice, very nice