So sorry to hear about your mis-hap amigo. I do not blame you one bit, for taking a short hiatus, and working on a back-up plan.. I found my 4 core, all aluminum radiator, on Evilbay, and promptly bought it. It was made in Michigan, (where they have made a few radiators in the past), so figured it would be just fine. I was even told, by the company owner, that they could make one for a "6", as the bottom pipe is on the opposite side from V8's.. So, it came to San Diego, I hauled it 1000 miles South, only to find that they had put the bottom pipe on the wrong side.... grrrrrrrr.
Like you, I had to come up with a "Plan B"... so took it to Cabo, found an aluminum welding shop, (Not easy to do here), and for $30.00 the guy fixed it up just fine.. I even went to Cabo Wabo for lunch while he did the job, and returned to LR the same day..
I did put in a new water pump, with the radiator, as wanted to prevent the old one, from loosing a shaft and the fan eating the new radiator... An ounce of prevention and all that... Yes, I was a Boy Scout... Good luck with it amigo, which I am sure you will have...

Baja

 

Gavin, just have to chalk it up to chit happens, and move on. It sucks, I know. Hey, you're doing great work, so, carry on, my friend!

 

At least you didn't backup into your friend's truck...........

 

Gavin, It's obvious Randle is a good person !
He just offered to get another one and all will be well.
Hope your not still bummed. Good luck, can't wait for more !!

 

Definitely not a report I wanted to give.

Thanks Randle, I appreciate your generosity so much. Let me see if the one I got will work.

I'm glad that worked out for you Russ. Thanks to a tip from Randle I got a brass/copper 3 core for the 300 I6 from AutoZone.

Thanks for the knid words Pat. It still makes me sick when I think about.

Oh nooo. Sorry to hear that Roy.

It's gonna be hard to forget such an epic fail. I've got so much to do on the F100 right now....so it may be awhile before I get back to the highboy

 

Gavin, Sorry to hear of the mishap with the radiator. I loose sleep for sometimes little chit that I do wrong. I would probably loose sleep for a week or more over that one.

I have been getting a little more done on the Bronco all the time but slow go really.

Take care

 

Hi Tim, good to hear you're making progress on the Bronco. I hope to get the radiator installed in the next 2 or 3 weeks.

 

wicked thread man!

 

I know the feeling-I bought a new 12 blade nylon fan with a new clutch, for my Explorer a while back. I took it out of the box, placed it on the hood of the 69 F250(it was facing the Explorer). I turned around to grab a couple of the bolts, when I turned back to the fan, I was just in time to see it slide off the hood and shatter two blades. I think it was $159, going in the trash can that night.

 

Thanks!
I hate that feeling.

I've had a chance to put over 100 miles on the truck the past couple of months and I have a few observations.

Starting:
The Summit Racing 600 CFM carburetor is fantastic! All I had to do was adjust the idle it starts easily hot or cold and throttle response is excellent.
Drivability:
The biggest issue I have with the truck is bump steer. The first time I hit a bump and the front of the truck shot to the left I thought something was broken. Someone had suggested that I switch from push pull to crossover, I didn't think it would make that much of a difference. I was wrong. I need to take a leaf out of the front spring pack to soften the ride. The Skyjacker rear leaf springs along with 10 psi in the air bags works great. I also went from 50 psi to 35 psi in the tires, that also helped to smooth out the ride. The power steering is typical of an early seventies car, there is no feedback and the brakes are extremely touchy. It will take some time to get a glaze on the front discs and rear drums.



Drivetrain:
This thing needs overdrive so bad. Instead of the 4:10 gears I should have gone with 3:73 or something lower. Other than that the NP435 works great.



No buzz, squeak or rattle to speak of. When I first ran the engine the two-piece header on the passenger side was rattling but one sheet metal screw took care of that. The cab is nice and quiet until you hit about 45mph and the vent windows start to whistle. The exhaust is perfect, it's not too loud until you hit a about 2500 rpm under a load.



Issues:
The rear main is leaking at the rate of about drop per week. The PTO cover on the NP435 is also weeping oil. I have a couple of leaks in the on board air system and I'm thinking about getting mud flaps because the tires are rock chuckers.



Overall I'm happy with the truck. It's a blast to drive!

 

I have never built one that I didn't have a few bugs to work out. You have sure got it looking good. Looking at your picture's as got me wanting to start my 4x4, but I guess it's going to have to wait it's turn.

 

I still think it looks awesome Gavin, a few bugs is normal I guess,
nothing you cant fix, great looking toy!!!
except the gears, that will take time & lots of money to switch but is it really worth it?

 

Great job Gavin and great pictures!

 

Very nice. Your build has been an inspiration for me to get a bump.

 

Justin if you sell ALL your trucks you'll be able to afford Gavins HighBoy,
BWAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHA ........ just kidding chum