The front of the MC won't bypass and leak into the booster, so where else could it go?
If the proportioning valve is leaking you would surely see it.
If the rears were that far out of adjustment the springs would force the fluid back towards the reservoir.

To me brakes are more important than anything else on a vehicle.
I'd rather have a leaking fuel line than failed brakes.
Glad you caught it now!

 

I don't know where it went. And, I can't honestly say that I know the MC was topped up when I was driving Rusty - which was at least a year ago. But, I filled the MC and bled the rears as well as adjusted them. Wow, were they OUT! It took over 40 "clicks" for the LR to grab, and a bit less for the RR. I seated them so they wouldn't turn by hand, beat on the backing plates with a rubber mallet to ensure things were centered up, and then backed off 12 clicks. The pedal is now HARD and barely moves, although that's with the engine off. Will take it for a spin later to see how much improvement there is, but I'm sure it is dramatically better.

Going to install some nice-to-haves now, like a bumper, grill, etc. Maybe even a glovebox.

 

Got the bumper, grille, headlight bezels, etc on. (Not sure why Ford had to make the grill and other trim so fiddly.) And, took it for a drive. The brakes are dramatically better. Didn't do any really hard stops, but there's plenty of pedal and the back brakes are working now. In fact, the LR is adjusted a bit tight as that is the one that slides first. And, that drum was warmer than the RR drum. So I will back it off a few more clicks and call it good. But, I'll watch the brake fluid like a hawk as well as the inside of the tires to see if there's any leak.

About all that is left is to secure the instrument trim panel, install the glove box and trailer hitch, check the trailer wiring harness, wash the windows, and then take it for a longer spin. Maybe next week I can start moving Dad's truck home.

 

Didn't do much today on Rusty as other things were going on. But, I did test the hood/cowl seal. Works perfectly! Put Rusty out in a what turned out to be a long, driving rain and when I brought him back in the shop I checked and the engine was bone dry. Not a drop got past the seal.

And, I also replaced the right tail light that I broke the other day. I thought No problemo, I have plenty. Well, as it turned out I have one and it was extremely dull. Hmmm, I wonder what Mothers Power Ball and their headlight polishing compound would do. The first pic is before, the 2nd pic is of the right square polished and the left not, and the last one is the whole thing polished. It is much better, but not perfect by any stretch. But, for Rusty it'll do.

 

Got a bit more done on Rusty today, but took a break to say goodbye to Ray. Bittersweet as I got to finally meet his wife Holly and his sons Ray and Levi. They leave at 2:00 AM, yes AM, for Kentuck tomorrow morn.

Anyway, I got a glove box installed - "a" not "the" as I put a much better one in than the one that came on Rusty. Put the wiper switch in. Cleaned and installed the instrument bezel as well as the tubular trim piece that goes around the steering column. And, as the picture shows, I learned that the tilt wheel columns take a shorter trim piece than the others.

Still need to put the horn pad on and a piece of windshield trim, take the extra tool box off the back, and install the trailer hitch and check out the trailer wiring. Should be able to do that tomorrow as well as take it on a longer test drive. Then I may take it up to see Dad on Tuesday - 250 miles. If it passes that test then it is ready to go get Dad's truck, pulling a trailer.

 

Knocked a few more things off of the to-do list today. Finished out the interior by installing a radio bezel and radio, although I didn't bother to hook the radio up as I won't be using it - just wanted to fill the void. And, it is a RadioShack unit so it would take some wiring.

While doing that I noticed that the ashtray was full, so pulled it out. And, I was surprised what it was full of. And, how badly it was rusted. So I cleaned it out, primed it, and painted it. I used some high-build primer that I hoped would fill the rust pits, but it didn't work all that well. Anyway, it is far better.

Then I moved on to the rear of the truck and checked out the trailer wiring - but someone had cut the plug off although the wiring itself was there. However, there was shaggy electrical tape on the connections to the truck's wiring so I pulled one piece of tape and found a nice soldered joint. I replaced the tape and then protected the whole connection area with two more layers of tape. And then soldered on a connector and protected those joints with heat shrink tubing. Clipped the test light to it and everything worked - although the turn signals blinked quite rapidly, which I solved later with a HD electronic flasher unit from O'Reilly's.

Next I installed the receiver hitch off of Dad's truck on Rusty. Wow, that thing is stout! It has 6 Grade 5 1/2" bolts attaching it to the frame, and drilling those holes was ..... fun. Chips went everywhere, inc on me. But, it is on and ready to tow.

After that I went for a spin - it sure runs good. But, I'm missing the aftermarket temp and volt gauges that I had on Dad's truck as the factory temp gauge is questionable. So, at some point I'm going to install those gauges as I'll go with electrical gauges for Dad's truck. Anyway, I still have some adjusting to do on the LR brake as it is the first to slide. And, I got the wrong speedo gear in as 45 shows as 50. Further, I realized that I don't have a kickdown link for the carb, although the gear lever lets me pull it down if I need to. So, all in all it is very close.

Also, it has been suggested that I Plastidip Rusty. Jon sent me a link to a guy doing that to an Audi - I guess the paint's no good on them: PlastiDip a WHOLE CAR - How-to by DipYourCar.com - YouTube Anyway, I'd not heard of that, but that might be pretty cool for a utility truck. Hit the rusted panels with POR-15 and cover that with Plastidip?

And then my son called from DE. Would you believe it, he's interested in Rusty when I'm through with him?! Thinks he'd like a lift kit and 35's on it to have a balance of off-roading and the ability to drive it on the street. However, I'm leery of that since that would seriously impact on-road handling, and Rusty's isn't the best already as he doesn't have sway bars and does have worn linkage. Further, I'm expecting that 35's would make the effective gearing so high we'd have to change the diff's from 3.50's to 4.10's. Anyway, that is an interesting development.

 

Rusty is ready for active duty as he's hooked up to the trailer and will head out in the morn to get Dad's truck. It'll probably take two days of shuttling back and forth to get it all, but I hope to have it done by Thursday afternoon. Here are a couple of shots showing his stance with the trailer connected - unconcerned.

 

You gotta be EXCITED....
You've been as busy as a one legged man in a butt-kicking contest...Trav.

 

I am excited. I thought through the whole loading process last night and realized that I need a come-along so will buy one on the way. And, then it dawned on me that I have no way to move the bed by myself so have enlisted a friend. But both of us are retired and like our mornings slow, so we won't get started until 9:00 at the earliest.

 

You need an electric winch and battery box in the nose of that trailer Gary.

Rusty is looking good!
I would drive him any day.

 

I wish I had a winch. I know how well they work as I installed one of them for my neighbor in PA. Pulled his drag car on very nicely. And I installed on on my next door neighbor's Jeep here, and the winter we had quite a storm he pulled many cars out of the ditch with it.

But this is a borrowed trailer so I'm not in a position to do that. Will have to make do with a hand winch and a come-along. However, in this case it is just the rolling chassis, probably with the bed on it, and then the rotisserie with the cab on it, so it won't be bad. I hope.

Headed out now to round up the tools and tie-downs and "Hit the Road, Jack". But, as opposed to Jack, I hope to come back. Several times.

 

Simple block and tackle can offer a lot of mechanical advantage.
Cheap pulleys might be found at someplace like Harbor Freight.

 

Rusty made two trips with the trailer today. I got everything but the two fenders and the front and back glass, which I'll get without the trailer tomorrow.

The trip is about 15 miles each way, with 10 of that being on the highway. I drove from 55 - 60 and the temp would creep up to the L of NORMAL by the end of that run. But, I don't think it was hot as it never pushed any coolant out at all, so I'm thinking the gauge is faulty. Or maybe the ICVR. However, it dawned on me today that I'm running straight antifreeze - no water. I thought I'd bought the pre-mixed stuff, but it isn't and there isn't a drop of water in it. Would that cause it to run warm on an 80˚ day? I can drain about half of it out and put water in, but I'm wondering if I should go with the aluminum radiator that I had in Dad's truck while doing that.

Also, it isn't idling well. It runs well at anything above idle, but it is progressively getting worse on the idle. After I make the run tomorrow I'll check to see what's going on.

 

Mmmmm I sure love the sight of a 351M/400 powered 80-81 4x4.

 

There is such a huge difference between Rusty's warmed-over M and the EFI'd 302 in the truck I borrowed that there's just no comparison. Before the idle problem started Rusty would turn the right rear from a stop, even with the trailer connected. Can't wait to see what Dad's will do with the roller 400 topped with Edelbrock heads.