Well, weather has been kind, and the extremely busy summer has wound down. Been spending some quality time on the Big Job. I've managed to get the air system almost done, some running board bracketry built, and numerous other things. The cowl has been reworked, and is almost done with the cutting and welding stage. The hood is a ways off, but has been tacked together for a rough idea. No body work as of yet. Well, for the heck of it, I threw a battery at it, and jumped the solenoid. After sitting for the last many months, the Detroit 6-71 lit right off on about the third revolution. No ether, not even really trying to start it, but it hit, and lit right up, and sounded danged good. It had some left over fuel in the system, so I may drop a few gallons of diesel in the tank tomorrow, and take a video of the "Screamin' Jimmy" running, and maybe even try bipassing the switches for the "Jake Brake" and give it an uncorked rack of the throttle. Man, gotta love the sound of a straight piped Detroit, especially with the Jake set. Anyhow, there are some more pictures in my signature link, and here's a few. I'll get some more photos up tomorrow, of the passenger side, and some other things.

 

looking good ! glad to see your making headway !! the hood look's ...umm interesting ..but .. yep you are getting there ..

 

Yeah, it's a mess. The pieces are all just roughed in, so that I had a starting point as to what I have to build. It's not a priority right now, and I may finish building the hood over the winter. Right now, it's all about the truck, and getting it to where it's able to be started, and moved before winter comes. So far, it has been built almost entirely from used, and salvaged parts. I've only had to buy a few brass parts for the air system. I used three junk hoods, a bed side from a wrecked super duty, the angled steel from a queen bed frame, some junk door metal for the cowl, and so on, and so forth.

 

I understand ..but ..bed frame ?? that stuff is so damm hard to drill and harder to work with ..just ribbing you about the hood !! and yes it feels damm good when you get to fire her up and drop it in gear for the first run..with working brakes ....and I still have not got a hood on my truck yet ..so yah .. a little envy on my part ..it is a great truck !

 

Is this a new project because I thought you sold it or maybe I missed something, at any rate looks like you're going great guns.

 

Nope, same truck. I sold off most all of the excess stuff I had around. I was getting in a funk, because I didn't have a dive train for it, since the other tandem axle frame was a big pile of steaming bull poo. The donor 1980 L9000 kind of fell in my lap, and I couldn't pass on a $800 deal. I made all my money back, plus a little. I had a friend go with me, and drive it the 47 miles back home. My wife says I have ADHD, but I just think it's the incurable Ford-Truckin-itis. So, one minute I may be ready to call it quits, as nothing seems to want to work the way the 900,000,000 ideas in my head do, then the next minute things seem to pan out, and I can't refuse a great deal when it happens.

 

Wish I lived closer, that's a project I would enjoy seeing in person.

Thank's for the updates.

 

Yeah, you can't beat the sound of a good running 6-71 Detroit. Well, you can....a good running Detroit, and the sound of that Detroit on the Jake, without a muffler. There's some feedback on the sound, but it still sounds danged good.

 

Well, I got a few more things done to it. I relocated the fuel filters, built the steering shaft, and found the only spot I could to put the power steering resevoir. I also started throw some wiring at it, and hooking up a few things. After that, I fired it up, and checked the air system. I was able to back it up a few feet, under its own power, so that I could sweep that area up a bit, and pick up little things I didn't want to have to crawl under it get.

 

Great progress, love this project!