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Making progress...frame is primed and painted with the Bill Hirsch Chassis Black. That stuff flows super nice through the HLVP.
It now has all new shocks, new brakes, new SS brake lines, and a new fuel line. Brakes are bled and solid.
I'm waiting on the rear seal for the output shaft in the transmission and the yoke seal for the differential right now...should be here this week.
Since that put me at a stopping point, I started working on the driveshaft. I ordered all new U-joints from Moog which will be here this week as well.
Which brings me to the intermediate bearing...I finally figured out from the drawings that this consists of a cast housing, a rubber support, a bearing, and 2 different p/n collars.
Here's the question...how do those collars keep grease from slinging out around the casting when they don't seem to touch the bearing?
If they touched the bearing, they would wear. There seems to be a good size gap between the flange of the collar and the bearing...big enough that I can see the inner part of the bearing.
I rapped on the collars to see if they would slide in further, but nothing happened. Amazingly, I can get new collars...the bearing is in perfect shape and the rubber seems to be just fine, so I believe the PO obviously replaced these at some point.
So...can anyone chime in and tell me what's missing that will keep the grease from flying out of that gap?
TIA!
Slide your driveshafts into the carrier unit, you'll see that the felt seals inside the collars bear on the shaft surfaces. You should oil those felts before final install.
Haven't posted in a while...Florida heat and humidity do not make working in the garage much fun this time of year.
Body work, stripping and priming has begun. It appears I have one of those odd trucks with a black gas tank. The PO hired a guy to glass bead blast the truck, which worked sort of. I'm not super impressed but it did most of the work for me, so I'm not complaining.
However, there is zero evidence of blue paint on the gas tank. But there is/way blue overspray on the back of the cab. My best guess is...the fuel tank got replaced at some point. Regardless, it's going back painted blue.
I'm still just amazed at how little damage this truck sustained over 73 years...absolutely crazy time capsule. A few holes in the fenders that patched in minutes and a couple of small dimples here and there that a body hammer took care of.
The one rectangle that the PO cut out of the side of the bed has been welded back in place now and I just have to find some rivets to replace the 3 that are missing.
Good progress, but a lot more to go.
Thanks for the up-date. You are going to have a very exceptional truck when you are finished. My truck is original like yours, but underneath the shiny paint it's rusted and worn out. It had a hard life and was reduced to, "Poor condition not driveable", with a sale price of $42.50, by the time the Coast Guard was finished with it. Your truck apparently lived in less harsh conditions and had gentler care.
I wish I knew the history...It was either a Cowboy Cadillac or a Garage Queen from the looks of it.
I can find the previous 2 owners via a national title search, but that only takes me back to 2013.
Before that, it's like this truck never existed. No records anywhere that I've been able to find.
Haven't posted in a while...Florida heat and humidity do not make working in the garage much fun this time of year.
Body work, stripping and priming has begun. It appears I have one of those odd trucks with a black gas tank. The PO hired a guy to glass bead blast the truck, which worked sort of. I'm not super impressed but it did most of the work for me, so I'm not complaining.
However, there is zero evidence of blue paint on the gas tank. But there is/way blue overspray on the back of the cab. My best guess is...the fuel tank got replaced at some point. Regardless, it's going back painted blue.
I'm still just amazed at how little damage this truck sustained over 73 years...absolutely crazy time capsule. A few holes in the fenders that patched in minutes and a couple of small dimples here and there that a body hammer took care of.
The one rectangle that the PO cut out of the side of the bed has been welded back in place now and I just have to find some rivets to replace the 3 that are missing.
Good progress, but a lot more to go.
Why was this rectangular piece cut out do you suppose? Was it rusted out?
Very nice truck. Keep us posted with your progress.
I was told it was a rust area. Local guys welded a new piece in its place and I've ground it down and leveled it. Once I get some rivets back in the holes and prime it, I don't think you'll ever be able to tell.
Starting to get blue parts painted finally! Weather has cooled enough here. Still mastering the finish, but where I've messed up has been pretty easy to wet sand and buff. Sheridan Blue is a beautiful color...
Some progress pictures...
Took her for her first spin...just needed a small idle adjustment. Otherwise, ran great!
Bed and tailgate are next...wood has arrived, so I'll be trimming the boards to fit and starting the finish process over the break.
Plenty of little odds and ends to work on, but coming along nicely.
She's mostly wrapped up and I took her out to her first show this weekend. I heard a new saying that I totally agree with..."90% complete and halfway there". Yup...sounds about right.
The number of people who stopped to talk and tell me they were so glad to see that I had NOT LS swapped the engine and how much they appreciate seeing it "the way it should be" was HUGE.
Lots of folks using it a camera backdrop and telling stories...this happened to be a BBQ fest/car show so it was a blast!
