Sounds like the home made oil pan gasket worked. Bravo!

 

Good news and some bad news guys....

Today I did road trials in the truck and learned a few things that will affect my ability to drive this truck from Maine to central Pennsylvania.
First the good:
After 15 miles of various accelerating, braking and coasting - and about 90 minutes engine run time including parked idling - the truck doesn't leak a drop of oil anywhere. Every gasket and seal is bone dry. I know time will tell if the new rear main seal will hold up, but it is doing it's job for now.

Now the not-so-good:
During the engine warm up period I heard a growling noise coming from either the 12-volt generator or the water pump. I put a listening stick on each and it is the water pump bearing. I confirmed it by squirting water on the gen and pump individually and the noise goes away for about 8 seconds when the pump shaft gets wet. The noise returns every time. I removed all the tension on the belt so that the pulley has almost no side-load and it still makes noise. The pump has never been rebuilt. I have a spare but it has not been rebuilt either, it came off a donor engine and I have not heard it spin. Just an emergency back-up and/or rebuilding core.
The next setback was the rear brakes. I have a '71 F250 Dana 60 rear in the truck, and I fabricated the parking brake assemblies so that I could use the stock firewall brake handle & cable set-up from the old Timken axle. It has been 4 years since I took apart the rear brakes to look inside.(requires draining the axle gear oil and pulling the axles to get the drums off) When I replaced the rear seals the other day I noticed the parking brake lever and cable tensioner for the star adjusters were out-of-whack so I 'fixed' the situation by changing the spring tension on both sides. The only way to test to see how it went was the fully assemble the rear axles and hub/drums. I thought i had the brakes adjusted good enough until I went on today's road trial. I have almost no rear brakes. Since I live on a dirt road i was able to see if they would lock up, and they won't. On the paved road I only had about 60% of my 'normal' brakes and the front discs were doing all the work.
To fix this I have to tear apart both axle and brake sides and start all over fabricating those parking brake cable and lever rigs. I don't have time to do that before Truckstock. And it isn't safe to go 1,000 miles without the brakes in top notch form.

Between the water pump and the brakes - and all the small electrical things that I still haven't gotten to on the truck (fuel gauge, windshield wiper linkage and horn) this truck is not ready for the big road trip. I gave it a hell of a try though. Really wanted to race against Ed's F3 up the Hyner View mountain again.
I will still be going to the party though. My daily driver will make the journey - and I'm looking forward to riding shotgun with as many of you guys that are going as I can. I have talked to Abe on the phone to let him know about my Plan B arrival.

Here's a pic taken today of the road trials - the engine was just re-installed yesterday. I left the hood off in case I needed to make adjustments. Stopped at a buddy's house (he is a Ford guy too that knows Flatheads well) so that he can listen to the pump noise. He agreed with my conclusion on the pump bearing.
Tom

 

Tough to accept - but sounds like the right call, especially with half the brakes. Now you have an unencumbered opportunity to be a bad influence on all other attendees.

Bravo for the attempt.

 

Good effort! Sorry to hear it didn’t come together. It is rare that a thrash goes flawlessly especially when working mostly alone.

Don’t know the rear brake setup as I am new to these trucks, but do you need the ebrake? Can you disconnect the cables and just get the drums working properly for the drive. I am sure you thought of it but I figured one last straw to grasp maybe!

 

I've got an open seat in the cabover. Its loud inside but a different kinda ride. Fun to ride/drive

 

Although I don't need an e-brake in most situations, I find I use it often enough to want it. the Truckstock trip includes a drive up Hyner View Mountain and extra brakes will be required if we have to stop on the way up. I don't trust the 6.5:1 compression ratio on my engine to hold back the truck in 1st or reverse gear when parked. But it isn't all about parking.
The problem is that my rear shoes aren't expanding enough to fully make firm contact with the drum - thanks to the way I reconfigured it last week. I didn't know until it was all back together and tested on the road at various speeds. A Dana 60 rear end is no picnic for simple adjustments and inspections.
Tom

 

I have never ridden in a cabover. You've got a passenger! Will try to do as many ride-alongs with you guys as I can.
Tom

 

You gave it a great effort. It sounds like you are making a good decision.
The one benefit to not taking your truck is that you get to pick and choose what truck you want to ride in. I'm sure everyone would love a passenger. I sure did for the one leg that I had a passenger last year.

 

I know how disappointed you must feel. 2 years ago my input shaft bearing on the transmission broke 1 week before Truckstock. Had to come in the suburban.

 

That’s too bad Tom. You put in a ton of effort, but brakes are kinda important. FWIW I never leave my truck in gear, I’m afraid I’ll hit the starter by accident, did it once and almost drove through my shed.

You’re welcome to ride with this newbie, looking forward to meeting everyone!

 

Hey! Save those stories for around the campfire.

Looking forward to meeting you too.

 

One of the advantages of using power instead of ground to activate the starter relay is you can run it off the key. With the key off the starter button is dead. Something to consider on the older trucks. It wouldn't be hard to change.