WOW! That looks great!

 

Thanks, Jim. A whole lot of thumbs up on these pictures.
That is the way a panel should look. Looking forward to seeing it in person.

 

Looking good Jim

 

Thanks everyone. It's been an interesting journey for sure. My Dad would be pleased that his truck won't be going to the scrap yard anytime soon. I spoke to the couple that is going to paint the door insignia for me. They have been waiting for their turn for about 2 years and seemed anxious to finally get started.

I also spoke to my mechanic friend. He helped with the clutch adjustment yesterday and heard a bearing noise. He thinks the transmission needs to come out and some work done on it before I consider a trip to Kentucky. Will the "bleeding" never stop?

Just to be clear, my truck looks much better in the pictures than it does in person. There are definitely some dents and runs. Speaking of runs, can these be sanded and buffed out? If so, how long should the paint cure? I used Omni single stage paint with a hardener. Thanks.

Jim

 

If I remember, you have the spur gear transmission. Be aware, these old transmissions are inherently noisy.
Ask your painter how long before "working on" the paint. If he used the Omni with hardener, you can probably work it now.
If you don't have one, consider getting a paint nibbler or paint file for runs.
There is this type and there is another type that uses a flexible blade, like a razor blade.
http://www.tcpglobal.com/MTGRR-1_2.html#.WVPmuOmQwdU

MacTools UK | Paint De-nibbler File

 

Yep, there's a reason they called the 4-sp synchro trannies "Synchro Silent"!

Still, it is always better to head off trouble before it bites you... on the side of a hill in northern KY, in the rain.... There is precious little to the spur gear trannies, as long as the gear teeth are in good shape.

Are you near Bob Jones? He is well versed in the spur gear trannies and would recognize problematic sounds. Also FortyNiner.

PS -- your trans should have a PTO cover, you could pop that off with the trans in the truck and get a good look at the gears

 

Bob and Forty-Niner are about 3 hours away. My friend hasn't test driven my truck yet, so we are early in the diagnosis process. He will need to actually drive my truck before jumping to any conclusions. He does think what he was hearing when we adjusted the clutch is bearing noise rather than something gear related. I am very familiar with the distinctive whine that the gears make in crash box transmissions. I like it.

Thanks Ray on the advice on the paint. The painter was actually working on some of his runs when I came to pick it up yesterday, but he said it was a little too soon, especially for someone inexperienced like me to be messing with them. He advised I should wait a few weeks. I read on-line, however, that you can, and even should, fix runs right away. Others cautioned that paint should be allowed to cure for 90 days before working on it. In light of the mixed messages, I thought I would get some advice from the FTE experts.

Jim

 

Your truck looks real good to me, Thanks for sharing the pictures.

 

Thanks Dennis. Pictures are very flattering. Up close and in person there are some issues, but I'm still very pleased. I wanted my truck to be presentable, and it is. At some point, maybe someone in my family will be inclined to do a real restoration. My goal was to honor my Dad by fixing up his old truck, and to have something that would be fun and I'd be proud to drive. A secondary goal was to preserve the truck so there would be something of at least some value to pass on to the next generation in my family. I think I've accomplished these goals. An unexpected outcome is that I discovered a retirement hobby. I found out that I enjoy writing and reading other people's posts on the FTE forum. Thanks everyone for contributing to my enjoyment of retirement.

Jim

 

Things always seem to take longer than you think they should. It's already August! It took until now for my mechanic friend to finally get another chance to think about my transmission noise. Having done so, he feels the main shaft bearing is failing and recommended we pull the transmission and have a look.

To prepare, I purchased a T9 transmission rebuilding kit from Van Pelt Sales that included new bearings, seals, and gaskets. The gears we hoped would be ok.

Here are some pictures of the gears:













With the transmission apart, my mechanic friend now recommends we replace the low/second slider gear and the reverse idler gear. These parts in my original transmission were found to be even more worn, so yet another "investment" will be needed.

So, yes, the "bleeding" continues...but the unexpected added expense to upgrade the condition of the transmission seems justified given my goal of having a respectable looking truck capable of making the occasional long road trip.

Does anyone care to comment on the condition of my gears? I've never really seen the insides of a transmission before, and so it's hard for me to know just what I'm looking at. I do know that the gears in my original transmission are even more "rounded", but it still seemed to function.

Jim

 

I agree with your mechanic friend. See if you can find another crash box for free in your area. Watch Craigslist for folks selling flathead motors out of trucks and see if they will give you the crashbox.

 

My mechanic friend suggested we should maybe look for a T98, but that's going to involve more time and money. The truck would be more drivable but would loose some of its original "charm". My understanding is that a T98 would not just bolt right in. If installing a synchro transmission would not be too difficult, I might be tempted.

Jim

 

A T98 will not bolt into your panel. The early T98 is a semi bolt in for F-2 and larger trucks. The cross member on F-1 frames will not accept the larger truck motor mount setup.

If you want a synchronized transmission your only bolt in options are the light and heavy duty three speeds.

 

Thanks for the clarification, Fred. I'll probably just fix what I have. You get to thinking you might like the ease and convince of a synchronized transmission, and first think you know you're fantasizing about power steering and air-conditioning.

Jim

 

It's a slippery slope to the darkside!