I've been picking up derelict pickups around here for $250 - $300 and some of them have good cabs, and some good beds and tailgates, and ...... And, I've been parting them out or hoarding the parts myself and will take the leftovers to the scrap yard and will get much of the money back there. So, maybe you can do the same and get a good cab awa extra goodies. Good luck!

Well, today I got the tag updated on dad's truck, and got the paperwork filed for a replacement title. Since our heatwave took a day off, I went and picked dad up. We went to the tag agency a couple miles from his place. There were 2 seperate forms that he had to sign, as the registered owner of the truck, and they had to be notorized. The young lady at the tag agency was very kind, and actually went out to my truck to witness his signature and check ID, since I had no way to load his powerchair into the back of my truck. He got to stay in the truck, with the A/C running.

This evening, I bolted the new tag on. Then, finished the frame repair, got the steering gearbox reinstalled, steering linkage bolted back into place, and steering column reattached to the box. Missed 2-3 teeth on the flex coupler, so the steering wheel is a bit off-center. Will fix later.
Still have to hook up the PS hoses, and bolt a brake line bracket back to the frame. The bracket uses 2 bolts, one goes into a threaded hole in the frame, gotta run a tap thru to get the welding "bug" out. The other goes thru the frame and has a nut on the backside. Gotta clean the hole up a bit, as one of the cracks went thru the hole, and the welding caused the hole to no longer be quite as big.

PS hoses aren't that big of a deal. The PS belt is gone, so I'll have to install one before I can even refill the system.
I'm hoping I can bring it home in the next couple days. Once I get the parts for the rear brakes, I'm planning to take it up to Gary's for replacement. The lift and A/C shop sure are appealing.....

Maybe we can have another party that day - you, Ray, and me. He's complaining about the heat so want the A/C charged. And we'll need lots of help getting the '85 in and out. Well, out is easy w/the mower.

Well, I started working on my Drip-Rails yesterday. I found some small rust holes on the driver's side, the passenger side looked good though. Since this is mostly my first attempt at ant type of body work, I am looking for any and all advice that I can get as to what course of action that I need to take to repair this.
http://i774.photobucket.com/albums/y...ir100_4742.jpg
http://i774.photobucket.com/albums/y...ir100_4738.jpg

I'm no expert, so get more opinions. But, I do know how to use a torch and solder so would seriously consider that approach. I don't THINK the heat would distort the sheetmetal as it has the seam and curves to support it. Also, I don't know how that seam is sealed and what the heat would do to it. But, I do know the solder would keep it from leaking and you can't afford a leak at that point.

I was thinking along the same lines. I have my sons wire welder, and I was thinking about filling the holes by welding them, then grinding them down. Then, using a rust killer, applying a seam sealer, and finally spraying with a 2-part epoxy primer. I am not sure if this is the correct way to repair this, but I would rather not cut out and patch the area if I don't absolutely have to.

my neighbor restores 1928 ford vehicles, he has 5 of them in different stages in his garage, he would recommend JB Weld to fill the holes. Smashing the JB weld into the holes from the back side. letting it dry, then sanding it down smooth, then sealing it.

Keep in mind. all of his vehicles sit inside all year long, so.. take that for what it is worth. but he has some beauties and all of them are very professionally done, better than when they were new. I will share the pics with ya some time.

Started tearing apart the passenger side of the Dana 44... Have a pesky outer u-joint to deal with as well as one of the year old Warn Premium hubs is sticking. It appears the bearing inside the locking hub assembly is dragging, not a free spin like it's supposed to be. It's dragging the right axle and makeing the binding u-joint even worse. I have it down to the hub, but now 25 years of rust and dirt are impeding my progress. Funnily enough all the lock nuts came off of the spindle just fine. I left it soaking with some PB Blaster last night and today before I left for work. Well see how it wants to play this evening.

This is where the truck gods decided for me to stop last night...

HMMM...., Vbulliten is not sizing it down like it's supposed to...

Don't know how good you are w/the wire-feed, but I'm not good enough to seal those holes 100%. But, with what I think would be less heat I could make them tight w/solder. Grinding weld in the channel might be tough as well. Solder isn't supposed to be sanded w/a high-speed device due to having lead in the air, but I don't think it would be bad by hand.

Not sure a hardening epoxy like JB Weld wouldn't crack with the flexing, and cracking would seem to allow moisture in. Maybe there's something 3M or one of the body materials experts make that would go in there and stick while still being flexible.

Tell me how you would go about soldering those holes. I have soldered copper fittings in the past, but nothing like this.

Sounds ok with me. I could get there fairly early and get most, if not all, of my stuff done by the time Ray get's off from work.
Speaking of recharging A/C, looks like dad's truck will need a bit of R134a added as well, along with tracking down the vacuum issue. It only blows out the defroster.....

Sounds like you have a spindle bearing that is bad. Once you get that spindle off, look inside it. There's a small roller bearing that the axle rides inside.
As for removing the spindle, get a rubber mallet and whack it a few times. It that fails to break it loose, use a block of wood and a bit heavier hammer. Just be sure to hit the wood, not the spindle itself.
That spindle is a tight fit. It takes a little encouragement to get it loose.

Again, I am not an expert. But, I'd go online, including Eastwood's site, and see what they recommend. As for soldering, steel works the same way as the copper you've soldered - clean it, use the flux, heat and apply solder. Eastwood has a kit that inc's a DVD on using it.

Also, they have a lead-free solder that can be sanded. However, it takes more heat. In any case you need to find out if there is anything in the area of the gutter that won't appreciate the heat.

Sure am glad I got most of the hard stuff done on dad's truck last night. The heatwave is already back, with a vengance. About had a heatstroke in just the 15-20 minutes I was out there doing a simple oil/filter change on the 95 ranger clone. They don't come much simpler to do an oil/filter change than on one of these. Drain plug in perfect view on the bottom of the pan, totally unobstructed, and there's more room around the oil filter than on many full size trucks. That sun is INTENSE. Of course, the super high humidity level doesn't help......

That's one thing I had thought about and was going to look at when I got it out. The hub was rather hot the other day coming back from teh campground. whatever the main cause, It makes the wheel jump to the right when it grabs. Thought it was a worn out steering box flopping over center until it got worse.