Today began a new chapter in the life of this ol' truck, as she was formally introduced to her new homeland Sweden. This morning at 7 my friend Dennis and I left for Gothenburg, a three hour drive in the rain

We got to borrow a converted Saab 9000, a "Solstad Saab", capable if loading 2 tons.

The rain cleared, and by the time we arrived the sun was shining, and there she was!

Two flat tires, left front wheel locked up, and looking as lovely as ever! Another car had made it over too

 

We loaded up, and went on our way






To have any hope of unloading at the garage, we figured we needed to deal with the flat tires. We stopped at a shop, bought two used tired and put them on

 

All was going well, and then BAAMM! The hood latch decided it had done it's bit, and let go... the hood popped straight up like a sail, bent the hinges and bounched up against the cab...on the freeway...at 70mph...





All in all, it could have been worse... now atleast She's in the garage, ready for the next step...

 

I lost a latch about 25 yrs ago on my '70 F100. Yup, scary deal but even worse since I was actually driving it at 65 mph down the highway!!!

Looks like quite a project, what is your intentions for it?

 

That saab is awesome! it looks kind of weird but 2 tons is alot for a small car like that... probably the weirdest thing I have seen in awhile.
what is it just a sawed in half saab with a trailer welded to the back?

 

I have to say it looks great, faded paint and all. Congratulations on making the journey!

Also, that image of it loaded on the converted Saab is one of the stranger automotive things I've seen.

 

People slam the heavy hood down, over time this bends the hood lock plate downwards.

When this occurs, the hood flies up. The safety catch is just about worthless.

This is somewhat common on all 1961/72 trucks, but more common on 1967/72's.

 

Had that bed been any shorter, I mean even an inch or two, it would not have worked. Loaded nicely though, and drove well even with that big load! We got many smiles and waves on our way home :-)

 

I bet that was scary. I remember riding in the backseat of a Volvo 244 in the late 70s, when the hood popped up like that. Luckily my friends mom who was driving kept her cool, and managed to pull over safely.

My plan is to first get it back on the road, and then have it as a rolling project, gradually improving it as I go... I like the patina, and I have a really good body-guy, who can keep the look even if we have to fix some holes along the way.

 

Did this a few years ago... a 1966 SAAB 96 2stroke, it had been in a ditch in 1978, and was parked in a barn until 2013...





...kind of like it that you can see traces of the "life of the car"

 

Congratulations on the aquisition of the truck. It's probably not too common to see one of these old trucks in Sweden.

I had recently worked on a friend's '72 F100 (I put front discs and a power brake booster on it). Notice the ratchet strap going across the hood. He didn't want to risk the hood flying up on its 87 mile trip back home.

 

Nice truck! No, they are very uncommon around here. Had I just been smarter I would have had a strap across mine too, but unfortunatly, I'm not...

 

While it's something you hate to have happen, it can be fixed.

This is a photo from last weekend when I drove up to where my friend lives. We went to the wrecking yard to get some parts off of some Bumpside ('67-'72), Dentside ('73-'79) and Bullnose ('80-'86) Ford trucks. My truck is the dark green '69 F100 short bed Ranger.

 

Got two of my sons to come with me to the garage to push and pull the ol' girl into her bay, and while we were at it I thought I'd try and loosen the seized up left front wheel... any tricks to getting the drum off? I got this far;



The cap, pin and center nut came right off, no problem at all. The bottom half of the drum can be pulled out about half an inch, but then it goes right back, as if it is hooked on a spring...

Oh well, I'll read the shop manual I bought and see what it says too. Big Red will just have to wait until I return... she's pretty though ��

 

Most likely the drum brake shoes are seized to the inner surface of the drum. Back the adjuster all the way off and take a hammer and bang on the outside, perimeter of the drum --but, don't get too carried away doing this. It can shatter the drum casting if you hit it too hard.

You may also have to apply some heat from a torch to the circumference of the drum to get it to expand away from the brake shoes.