One year later

The truck has been at our house for one year. My goal was to have it legal by this time. We still have a few things to do to get there, but all in all, it has been a good year.

Here is a post from one year ago:

Our's is the 5th house on the left, with the cool old Chevy truck in the driveway

Lots of changes since then. Most notably, only one child is in diapers now.

I would go snap a picture, but it is butt cold and windy out there, so just use your imagination.

Non-truck week

The Boss Lady was off work this week, so I haven't played with my truck in a while.

Last Sunday I did a little more painting. In the center of the grill there are two black bars. They are not real noticeable, but I ground off as much surface rust as I could and painted them black again. I took some photos, but the difference does not really show up. Believe me, it looks good on the truck.

After that, I only moved the truck out of the garage to make room for our new Saturn Vue, a long awaited replacement for the 2000 Ford Windstar.

Hopefully we can limit the miles we put on the Vue and since the kids and I don't often drive as much as the wife, I get to drive the new car.

Feeling a little guilty about getting a new car without having a job, I washed and waxed The Boss Lady's 11 year old car this afternoon. Tonight the boy and I took it to the carwash to get it vacuumed out. Monday the wife and I will both be cruising clean cars.

Mine is just a lot prettier.

Truck day

We are having a party here for fifteen couples and their kids this evening. So I am avoiding the house and playing trucks.

This morning I ground as much rust off of the front bumper as I could. I did not deal with the big dent on the driver's side. Or any of the other dings. That will have to wait for some real body work. Once sanded, I hit it with a couple of coats of red primer and followed that with a few coats of white industrial enamel. After this stuff dries, it should be pretty tough.



While I was at it, I threw a coat of paint on the rear bumper, too. It is in pretty rough shape, so I did not spend much time prepping it for paint. It got a couple of coats of the same cheap silver spay paint that is on the wheels. I am going to dress it up a little bit, though. I am going to get some red paint and paint in the name of the dealership that is stamped into the bumper.



All in all, I think it looks pretty good. If the white looks OK when it dries, I'll probably use this same paint on the white parts of the grill.

By the way, this is not the mod I blogged about in the last entry. That is a replacement oil pan that I will install sometime later, since the truck has quit leaking oil. For now.

A practice in plagarism

This morning I received the next truck mod. Stay tuned.

Not bad for $11

UPS dropped off my tachometer this morning along with the new satellite receiver. Of course, TV won out, and I waited until the wife got home to work on the truck. I bought the tach for $11 through Ebay.

It took me about an hour to hook up the tach. The hardest part was running a wire through the firewall to the ignition coil. I ran it through the same grommet where the oil pressure tubing runs. Hopefully that won't cause a problem.

My gauge cluster lights are not working right now. I suspect that the dimmer switch is bad. The tach has a light that should be tied to the gauge lights. Instead I ran the tach power and light power to an ignition switched tab on the fuse box. All this really means is that for now, if the truck is running, the tach is lit up. Someday I'll change that.

All in all I think it looks dandy. By the way, My truck is idling at 900 RPMs. It sounds good, but I think that might be a little fast.

Seven concerned citizens

I am up to seven people asking me where the truck has gone, now that it is parked in the garage. One is a neighbor from our block. He drove by and asked while we were riding bikes in our gravel free driveway this morning. Another neighbor stopped and asked while on her morning walk a few minutes later. A few days ago one of our friends asked The Boss Lady about it.

And finally, this morning, while they were making their rounds, the recycling truck drivers stopped and asked. An hour later the yard waste truck driver stopped at the curb and yelled his inquiry. "Where that cool old truck go?"

Sure is nice to have neighbors who care!

Doing what trucks do

I used the truck to pull a trailer with a couple of wheelbarrows full of gravel to a neighbor's house a couple of blocks away. This is the first real work this truck has done in 13 years.

Tachometer deal

I have wanted to put a tachometer on the truck since getting it running. The stock tachs are evidently not very accurate and they are pricey to add. Since my truck is a rusty beater, I could not see dropping $400 on a new dash cluster to add a stock tach.

I started shopping for after market tachs last week. This one was the one I came closest to buying. But I started wondering if I could get it cheaper than $30 at Auto Zone. Yesterday I bought a used one on Ebay for $5 plus $6 shipping. We will see how good it is. I figure if it is too beat up to install, not bloody likely, then I can rig it up to use as a diagnostic tool for tune ups.

I was feeling good about the truck and getting the leaks mostly stopped, so I moved it into the garage this weekend. I am pretty sure last night was the first time in 38 years that the truck stayed in a garage.

A blast and a goof

I got brave this weekend. I cleaned out enough of the garage to pull the truck in, so that I could keep working through the cold rainy weather. I got a new tool this weekend, a pneumatic spark plug cleaner. Since It was cheaper than a new set of plugs, and my dirty plugs only have a hundred miles or so on them, it was worth the try.

I had the plugs out to run a compression test, so it should have been easily done. But I almost killed the battery while cranking the engine, so I had to reinstall the plugs to get the truck out of the garage. After that, I pulled them once again and ran the spark plugs through the cleaner. I am impressed. The nice clean plugs were installed while I stood out in the cold drizzle.

When I first pulled the truck into the garage, I decided to check the oil. It showed a little low on the dipstick, so I added some. Still low. Add more. Then it hits me. Since the truck is half outside the garage, it is sitting at a pretty steep angle. Sure enough, when I back out into the almost level driveway, I am way too full.

The way the engine is designed, I was able to remove the oil filter and drain some of the oil out of it. I did this a couple of times, until the dipstick showed the proper level. Crisis averted.

Almost road ready

After my last post, I started wondering what else I need to get done before getting the truck inspected. My list is growing very short. And a lot cheaper than when I started.

Of all the items on the state list, I still need to get the windshield wipers working and I need to get the parking brake adjusted properly. I think the wipers need a new switch that costs about $30 and the brakes need to be bled again and re adjusted

There will still be a lot of work to do after these things are done, but I'll at least be able to take my hard work out on the road.

One step closer to legal

This afternoon I finally got around to installing a lamp for the rear license plate. Before the truck can pass inspection, this had to be done. Good easy repair, too. I bought a replacement light assembly for about $7 at Autozone. There was only one wire to hook up.

The rear wiring is already hacked up pretty bad from when a trailer light connection was added years ago. The hardest part was figuring out which wire to connect to. There is a brown wire, a dark green wire and a black wire (which is the one I needed) along with a couple of other wires back there. Of course the wires were hard to tell apart because they were all covered in lots of red dirt, like everything else under the truck once was.

It only took me a few minutes to get everything installed and working properly. Ain't success sweet?

By the way, 30 hours since last oil leak!

Truck Ride!

Adapted from an email I sent last night...

I found a solution (for now) to the oil leak. I ended up putting the original plug back in with a little bit of RTV super black for valve covers around the drain hole. It is not dripping oil, for now. Of course it is losing tranny fluid and rear diff fluid still, but we will deal with one drip at a time.

I got the plugs back in after I cleaned them a little more. They were really oil fouled. Several months ago I forgot about changing the oil after the fuel pump went bad. So I had a lot of gas in the oil. Hopefully that is why the plugs were so gunky. Yesterday I finally got that oil change finished up. I checked out the points, cap and rotor and all looked fine. After I reset the timing, she is running well. The son even got to take a truck ride late last night.

The next sunny day that I have some free time, I will pull the plugs and do compression test. Or maybe I'll get brave and clear out some garage space while the weather in nasty this weekend. Yeah, right.

No run, no fun

Last weekend I promised to take The Talker for a ride in the truck. We did not make it out of the driveway. The truck started OK, but it was idling like crap.

It died and I could not get it restarted. Finally killed the battery, cranking away on it. Took the batter to get charged and tested and the starter to get tested, too. Both checked out fine.

The points look OK. The cap and rotor and plug wires all look fine. I tweaked the timing a little, but no dice. Today I pulled the plugs and cleaned them. They were all really oily and wet. After I reinstalled the plugs and messed with the timing a little more, we were able to start the truck and back it further into the driveway. I think this means that oil is seeping into parts of the engine where it should not be.

Anyways, not much of a ride for the boy, but he liked it, since he got to ride the whole way in the bed of the truck! By himself. All 15 feet.

Now I am seriously thinking that the engine needs a rebuild before I hassle with getting the truck registered.

Oil dump

Last week it rained. And when it rained I had two partially full oil change pans sitting under the truck. But of them filled up with rainwater. And then I had a huge mess to clean up.

I ended up with about 30 quarts of water and oil mixed together. And you can't dump that mess at the local oil recycling center. So the kids and I went down to the hazardous waste drop off site yesterday.

I poured the oily mess into two 5 gallon buckets, hoping that it would not slosh out while we were driving. Just in case, I set the buckets in big plastic bins and wrapped the whole mess in big trash bags. After I threw in a couple of rags, just in case, we were off.

What a pain to haul a mess like this in a minivan. I can't wait to have a truck to carry junk like this.

Sitting still

I have not seen any evidence of fuel leaking in the past week. I have left the seat out of the truck, so that I could keep a close eye on my repair job. Hopefully this weekend I'll have some time to play trucks.

Fuel issues

The gas tank was leaking a little bit since I filled it up. I thought it was a slow leak. Which might not be a huge deal, if the gas tank were not right behind the seat, in the cab. I finally got around to taking the seat out and getting a closer look. And I was surprised to find A LOT of gas on the floor. Turns out there was a pretty good leak at the connection to the fuel sender. After I tried reinstalling the fuel lines at the sender, the leak went away.

Until I killed the ignition. Then the flood started again. I found a crack in the brass connector on the fuel sender. I'll be needing another sender, soon.

But for now I removed the fitting and used a couple of inches of rubber hose to make the connection. No more leak, but I won't feel too safe with it like this for long.

Stalled Out

I could not get the truck to fire up yesterday. It was parked for a few days, out on the street, and I just wanted to move it to the driveway.

I changed the fuel filter and it still did not want to start. Once it did, it installed and idled really rough for a long time. But once I finally got it back in the driveway, it seems to be starting fine.

I broke open the fuel filter to see how dirty it really was, and it did not seem to be too clogged. The only other thought I had is that the truck was parked on a hill for several days. And it sits pretty level in the driveway. I don't know if the incline affected the fuel flow or not.

A close call

Last night I moved the truck back into the driveway. Good thing, because I saw the neighborhood parking control officer, cruising the street this morning. He tagged a neighbor's car, which means that someone complained about that car being parked too long on the street. Which I bet means that they complained about the truck, too.

But the cop did not come into our driveway to tag my truck. Good for him. He really did not want that much hassle out of me.

But the big problem is that we obviously have a neighbor who is calling in complaints if someone parks for more than a day or two. I assume it is either Wonder Woman or a guy who lives up the hill, but he has a back gate onto our street.

Same old

No truckin time lately. I did drive it out of the driveway and parked it on the street today. The first time I have moved it since Tuesday.

Once it wasparked out there I noticed the usual leaks and a new one. The fuel line is leaking at the connection to the fuel pump. And I think it is leaking at the fuel sender, in the cab, too.

Of course, in the grand scheme of truck things...  The wheel paint and pretty hubcaps might not make that much difference.

Bling Bling

Today I finished painting the truck wheels.  A cheap project that looks like a cheap paint job. Two cans of paint from Walmart, $1.88. One hour of prep time. A couple of hours of dry time. And my swap-meet treasure hubcaps installed. What a great look.

Of course, this tire is the only one that I plan on keeping. So I painted the other wheels without masking off the tire. So now all of the other tires have nice silver side walls. Classy!

Oops

Tonight I had a few minutes to play with the truck, so I tried to find a couple of small things to mess with. I noticed a pin sliding out of the gear shift lever. As it was the pin holding it to the steering column, I decided to hammer it back in.

And guess what. It was not the thing to do. Now I can barely shift into first or reverse. And I can't get the pin to slide back down, either.

Oh well, I live and learn. Just not backwards or in first gear.

Milestones.

We hit two major points this weekend, one cool one a little worrisome.

First the good news. The odometer now shows 45323.9 miles. Therefore I have driven the truck more than 100 miles. 100 miles of uninspected, unlicensed and uninsured fun! Hopefully all of those items will change before another 100 miles clicks by.

We have come along way since that first mile.

And now the news that bothers me. I am officially $1000 into the truck. It still may not look like much but I am quickly running out of small things to repair or replace. The worst part of this is that the stuff that is left is mostly going to be expensive. Stuff like body work, paint and repairing the bed floor will all come later and drive that total cost way up.

I'm such a hoser

Saturday afternoon I finally got around to swapping out the radiator hoses and the heater hoses. Since getting the truck running again back in June, I have known that I needed to change these.

AutoZone only had one of the radiator hoses and the heater hoses in stock, so I installed everything I could. Later I stopped at Advance Auto and picked up a lower hose. While I was there I decided to pick up a new thermostat, too.

The thermostat was one of the first things that I replaced on this truck. And I bought one just like the one I removed, a 165 degree thermostat. This time I put in a 185 degree thermostat. I'll see if I notice any difference in performance. One change already, I wasn't sure my temp gauge worked, because the old thermostat kept the needle pegged on the cool side. Today it was moving towards the normal range, but still on the cool side, even after idling for an hour more.

After getting the new radiator and heater hoses installed, I filled the radiator to check for leaks. Quickly I noticed the lower hose on the heater core was leaking like crazy.

Sunday afternoon I pulled the heater core out and cleaned everything up. I must have pulled 10 pounds of junk out of the heater box. Guess the farm mice found a way in there. I am considering not even having a heater, since I don't use the truck in cold weather and the internal parts are all really rusty anyways. After I priced the core at AutoZone, I decided to do without it for a while. I reinstalled everything except the heater core and the heater hoses.

I used a short length of the old heater hose to make a bypass from the water pump to the block. One guy on the truck forums suggested that I just plug the water pump and the block and ditch the hose completely. I might look into that if I really decide to lose the heater.

Best of all. Nothing is leaking. From this repair at least.

Oil pan? Still leaking. Rear differntial leaking? Youbetcha. Rear Tranmission seal still leaking? Well for some reason that one stopped leaking when I changed the oil in the trans. Dunno.

The only hassle I encountered in this repair was pretty easily handled. I had to remove the hood to get the heater box off of the firewall. Evidently you either have to pull the hood or the passenger fender. I dropped one of the bolts and never found it and one was already missing, so now the hood is sitting even worse than before. When I replace the bolts, I'll try to get it lined up better.

A little inspiration is all I need

I have not ventured out to truck in a few days. Too busy to mess with anything else right now, I guess.

Anyways, I read in our local paper that the city is stepping up efforts to tow abandoned cars from neighborhoods. In the past they have concentrated on cars sitting on the roadway that were obviously not drivable. Our neighbor had an Isuzu towed, after it sat on the street for at least 2 years.

Anyways, now they are towing cars right out of driveways. And all it takes is a neighbor complaint. The police department tags the vehicle and tows it 3 weeks later if it is inoperable, my truck isn't, if it has expired inspection tags, the truck's expired in 1992, or if the license plates are expired, the ones on the truck expired in 1969 AND they were never registered to this truck!

So I am thinking that I might need to get to work on my ride. Or maybe I'll just hide it in the garage or the backyard.

Add all that to that the fact that I don't really think the city ought to be able to tow something out of my driveway, and this might get real interesting if one of my neighbors complains about the truck.

Me next

The Talker and I took a truck ride last night before dinner. A couple of blocks, just checking out the neighborhood. When we got home, the 20 month old Princess had been crying the entire time we were gone. "No Daddy, MY truck ride."

I could not resist, so she and I went for a ride on the other side of the neighborhood. In total, the kids and I probably rode 5 miles or more.

The wife? She rode in the truck a while back, and that ride ended in a walk of shame. For some reason she hasn't been begging to go again. (But she did chaperone the kid's ride last weekend. I forgot about that sucessful ride.)

TruckinDaddy, chauffeur

I took the kids, one niece, one nephew and two cousins for a truck ride after lunch yesterday. The Boss Lady climbed in with us, to chaperone all of the kids in the bed of the truck. The Princess and The Babysitter rode up front with me.

We cruised our street and one street over. Could not take it too far away from the house, but everyone had a lot of fun cruising, anyways.

I'll try to post a picture, soon.

Tire time is coming

I am getting really close to getting the truck to pass the safety inspection. A little more wiring repair (it has to have a license plate light on the rear plate) and some brake adjustments will get most of the problems out of the way.

But I have to put new shoes on the truck, too. I still have one of the tires on it that I brought it home on. Two of the other tires came out a junkyard, when I bought some wheels. The 4th? My old spare from the minivan. 4 tires, 3 sizes, 4 different makes. Classy!

The dry rot is obvious on the three old tires, so I know they have to be replaced first. But I am trying to decide what to do.

I could go buy some new cheap tires at Walmart. For about $200 I could have 4 brand new tires. Or I could find a decent set of used tires. Might be out $100-$125 this way.

Then there is my grand plan. The tires on the minivan are junky. They are safe, but we have had lots of problems with several sets of these tires. So a while back I started thinking about putting new Goodyears on the minivan and moving the tires that are now on it over to the truck. Total cost for this plan, about $400, maybe $425 if I have to pay to have the tires mounted on the truck wheels.

This might be the best option. The minivan gets new rubber and the truck gets decent tires that should last a long time, with as few miles as it will be driven. But these tires are smaller than I really want on the truck. And it might look a little silly.

The sacrifices I have to consider making for the family...

Yeeeeeeeeeeeeeee Haw!

The kids and I went for a ride down the street this afternoon. The Talker was sitting in the passenger seat and The Princess and I were snuggled into the driver's seat belt.

When we started driving, The Talker screamed Yee Haw! At the top of his lungs. This child is a city kid. I don't know where he learned to do it so well, but he can yee haw with the best hillbillies.

I had no choice. I laughed at him and yelled yee haw right back. Then The Princess threw her own into the din. Then it just didn't stop. We were an old truck cruising, screaming happy bunch of fools. Quite a site to see. And hear.

After we got home a neighbor told me that he could hear the three of us yee hawing from five houses away, as we were going around a corner. Now that is a yee haw to be proud of.

Yee Haw!

Truckin again

This afternoon I received a fuel sender that I bought from a guy in Virginia. I mailed him the check last Tuesday so this was pretty good turn around time.

I had no plans to work on the truck today. But I could not resist installing the new fuel sender and getting the fuel system plumbed again. While I was at it I moved the fuel filter closer to the tank. Someone told me that my installed location might lead to vapor lock, because it was too close to the fuel pump. Since I don't know any better, I moved the filter.

Once I got everything buttoned up, I could not miss out on taking a quick cruise. Sitting on my milk crate, I made a couple of runs down the street. I only had a little gas in the tank, so I kept the cruising short. I dumped 5 gallons in the tank tonight, so maybe the boy and I will take a ride Tuesday.

After seeing the neighborhood, I reinstalled the seatbelts and the seat. The Talker had fun bouncing around in the truck when I was finished for the night.

Almost as much fun as I had on my first ride in a couple of months.

Brake line update

I guess I did a decent job on double flaring the brake lines. I found two places that are leaking. One might be due to a bad joint that I made, but the other leak was between the brake hose and a block that just needed to be tightened up some more today. Hopefully I can get the brakes bled sometime next week.

Then once my fuel sender arrives, I can put Marge back on the road. Or rip her drivetrain out. I haven't decided which I should do next.

Cool truck sighting

The kids and I were pulling out of the Costco parking lot after lunchtime and we got passed by the coolest looking medium red 68 Chevy longbed stepside. He even still has the original hubcaps on it. I have two sets of these non-reproduced caps in storage right now!

The only major difference between our two trucks, except that his was nice, awesome, red, and running and mine is a rusted out beater that hasn't seen a street in two months., was the side mounted spare tire. Which did not have a hubcap on it...

I ended up in a turn only lane, so I could not stalk the guy. Next sighting, I will chase him down. I want to see more of this cool old stock ride.

It did not have any obvious evidence of old decals, but it might have been an old fire truck. I guess this because of the red lights on the roof and the searchlight mounted in between, with the control handle was up on the center of the cab ceiling.

My great uncle's farm truck had a search light mounted on the roof just like this red truck. I always thought it was the coolest thing about his farm trucks.

Now if I can just find that red truck again...

This makes six 1967-1972 ongbed stepside Chevy trucks that I have seen since getting my truck home. Mine, this red 68, a green and white 71 or 72, a medium green 69 or 70, and two I saw at a swap meet last year. But one of those might have been a GMC...

Internet Parts

I stopped at five chain auto parts stores yesterday, looking for the rubber pieces and fuel sender. No luck at any of the stores. I made a deal on a truck website for a used fuel sender. I still need to order the rubber parts for the tank install, but I am getting closer to putting the interior back together.

I wanted to run the engine a little yesterday morning since it has been sitting for a month. After checking everything out, I could not get the engine to fire. I was tempted to call around and ask my buddies to suggest a solution, but I diagnosed the problem myself. It seemed to be getting no fuel. The fuel filters were not dirty, and the line to the carburetor looked pretty dry. So I decided it was time for a new fuel pump. Seemed like the logical solution. And it turns out that I was right! A first time for every thing? After I installed the new pump, the truck fired up quickly.

When I bought the fuel pump, in May, the parts store had two in stock. A $12 pump that had a 3 month warranty, or a $14 pump with a lifetime warranty. I guess that was a good $2 spent, because the store swapped me for a new pump and I was out of there in 5 minutes. Without spending any more money!

Which is nice, because I noticed a new leak yesterday. Now the rear differential is leaking. I think it about time to remove the driveshaft and fix the oil seals on both ends.

Hey Rick, how do you pull the driveshaft out?

All hooked up

I got the last of the rear brake system hooked up this afternoon. I'll have to read up on bleeding the brake system before I add the fluid and know for sure if my new lines will work.

I think I got the oil pan leak fixed tonight. After I removed, cleaned and reinstalled the SureDrain plug, there was no oil dripping from the usual spot. I'll check again in the morning, just to be sure.

Finally, I cleaned the gas tank some more, tonight. I kept knocking crud loose inside the tank and then I would rinse it out with some clean gas. The last couple of times the gas was pretty clean when I dumped it out. I'll try this again tomorrow, too. If the gas comes out clean a couple of more times, I'll reinstall the tank.

I won't be able to completely finish that job this weekend, though. I will have to get a new floor/fuel line grommet and a fuel filler grommet along with a new fuel sender. The grommets were destroyed during removal, and the fuel sender is trashed.

Rear brake plumbing almost complete

The last hose I needed for the rear brakes arrived today. When I picked it up at the auto parts store, I was worried that the connections would not match up to the new replacement line I installed. Both ends looked too big. No worries, though. The new hose attached tot he new lines perfectly.

I was having trouble getting one of the retaining clips back into place. So I disconnected the frame rail brake line. The clip went in easily, but now I can't seem to get the connection to tighten up again. I'll have to revisit that this afternoon.

Want to get everything tightened down today or tomorrow, because I hope to bleed the brake system this weekend.

New brake lines

I spent a lot of the day underneath the truck, installing new brake lines to the rear brakes. I could have bought a set for the entire truck for about $150 plus shipping, but I wanted to try making the lines myself to save a little cash.

I still need to buy and install the rear brake hose. Once that is done, I'll find if my efforts were worth the trouble. If it leaks when I add the fluid, I might still be ordering a complete set of lines. I bought the lines for about $30 and the double flaring tool and bender for about $15.

One of the lines had metric fittings installed on it, so I ended up back at the parts store this evening, buying another line, and spending another $5. Then it was just a matter of remaking the line to match the first one.

Of course, this line was the line with the most complex curves on it, the line along the rear axle that serves the driver's side brake. In the end, the first line looked a lot better than the second. But the second actually connects to the rest of the system and should work.

This morning I thought I had defeated the oil pan leak. But I didn't. When I was finishing up the brake lines, I saw a nice spot of oil under the truck. I was going to address the rear oil transmission seal today, too, but if the truck is leaking from one place, it might as well leak from two (or more).

No help this time

The Princess gave up on helping in the garage. After the wife got home, I headed back out to tinker. I finally decided to tackle the oil leak on the truck. I stripped some threads on the oil pan a while back. I have a plan to fix the leak, but I need the oil plug out and the surface around the drain to be clean and dry. So I started with half an oil change today?

What's that, you ask? . I have all of the oil drained and the new filter installed, but I won't finish the repair until this weekend, so the truck will sit a few more days dripping oil.

Which really is not that big of a deal, seeing as the gas tank is in the garage, right beside the bench seat and the rear brake lines are currently hanging on the bike rack. This truck would be sitting all weekend, even if it had oil in the engine.

Tonight I spent some time organizing and cleaning tools. I am learning a lot about the old truck lately. But I still have the same low level of organizational skills. After getting all of that done, I spent a few minutes listening to a little Willie Nelson and fixing up The Talker's Shrek scooter.

My right hand girl

This afternoon, while the boy napped, The Princess and I worked in the front yard. Mainly she played with a doll and a toy stroller while I gave the minivan an oil change. Before I started I set the box end wrench on the front porch. After I showed it to her, I told The Princess that I would need it soon and that I would appreciate her brining it to me when I asked.

When I got ready for the wrench I asked one time and she was right there, wrench in hand. Of course, she wanted to keep the wrench and give me the doll, but she had the right idea and her timing was perfect.

Learning as I go

I found out that my truck does not have a proportioning valve on it. What I thought was the prop valve, the junction of front and brake lines right after the master cylinder, is in fact an electric switch that lights an idiot light on the dash, if either the front or rear brake lines lose pressure.

Odd, what I learn when I actually pull out the repair manuals.

I got the sumbitch

I spent the entire afternoon underneath the truck. After another 4 1/2 hours working on it, I got the rear brake lines removed. The line running from the proportioning valve, under the engine and to the passenger's side frame rail was in great shape. Maybe due to being buried under 2 inches of oily crud for no telling how many years. After I got all of the muck off of the crossmember and off of the steel line, I reinstalled the one good brake line.

It went back in pretty smoothly and should give me a good point of reference to make sure I get the other lines installed properly. The rest of the rear lines are really rust and weak. I do not think they are worth reusing.

The only casualty, besides my knuckles - since the scarecrow is wearing my work gloves, was the rubber line that connects the main line to the smaller lines that service each rear brake. I was working around that hose, but eventually I realized that the line is 38 years old and not worth saving. Once I cut through the hose, I made much quicker progess, too.

Dirt Dauber habitat (aka The rear brakes)

Here is a picture of the driver's side rear brakes as soon as I got them opened up. I quit counting when I knockewd 40 nests out of there. The passenger's side was not as bad.

The good news, once I got most of the nests and dirt out of there, it looks like all of the parts are still in place, 37 years after installation!

I give up

I am going to remove the entire rear brake line set. I am not sure that I can separate the lines without a vice and a lot of cussing. So tonight I started removing the lines from the proportioning valve and the master cylinder. The line between the master cylinder and the prop valve does not have to come off, but it is a 6 - 8 inch line.

If I end up replacing the rest of the rear brake lines, this one should not cost very much, right!?!

The biggest problem with the new plan, under the engine I need to get to the clips holding the lines to the frame. And they are buried under some of the worst crud on the truck. Looks like a lot of scraping is on tap for this weekend!

Brakes to Grime

I planned to remove the rear brake line this afternoon. This was to be the third attempt and I would not surrender until the dang thing was off of the truck.

PB Blaster, heat, flare nut wrenches... threw everything I had at these 37 year old compression fittings. They won. The line is still attached to the truck.

So I pulled the front wheels and took a flathead screwdriver to the caked on crud and muck on the front suspension and frame parts that I could reach. I worked for two hours scraping anything that I could get to. Afterwards, I had another huge pile of crud under the truck. Since the truck is not drivable this time, I guess the pile will sit there, under the heap, until the next big rain.

While scraping, I tried to add up how long I have spent scraping under this truck. Best figure I could come up with, more than 10 hours, but less than 15. And I think another 5 hours would get most of the crud off of the truck and into the pile underneath.

Brake question

I just had a question about the emergency brake, but I don't know the answer.

If there is no brake fluid getting to the rear drums, will the emergency brake still work? I know that there is a fluid leak on the main line. So I know there is no fluid at the rear brakes.

Could this keep the emergency brake from holding? I thought the emergency brake was purely mechanical, so that you had brakes in case of a loss of brake fluid.

The manuals don't say.

Emergency Brake non repair 101

I pulled out the repair manual today and decided to tackle the Emergency brake. It has to work in order for the truck to pass inspection.

After making the written adjustments, with no change in performance, I decided to open up the rear brakes. Did you know that dirt daubers will nest in brake drums? I have photographic proof to post, someday.

Nothing seemed to be obviously out of place or missing inside of the rear brakes. But I still did not manage to make the emergency brake hold.

It's not about the pay...

When I finished working on The Boss Lady's car this weekend, I started cleaning it out. I found $1.03 in loose change under the floormats and seats. I would have added that cash to my truck fund, but I bought a soda instead.

Besides, it was kind of depressing to think that I worked on the car for 10 hours and all I got out of the deal was $1.03 in sticky change.

Right idea, wrong vehicle

Since the whole family is gone for the weekend, I wanted to work on the truck, but I spent all day working out some bugs on the wife's car.

Tomorrow I may mess around with the emergency brake on the truck. Or I just may take a nap.

Fuel line install

I cleaned up and re installed the fuel line. I did not find a suitable replacement for the missing clip, but it is one of four, the other three are holding the line tight and in place. I'll keep looking for another clip, but for now, it is good enough.

While under the truck, I switched up the install for the inline fuel filter. Now, the gas line after the filter makes a much less severe curve before the fuel pump. I was worried that the sharp turn might be restricting fuel flow. By using a longer section of fuel line, the curve is hopefully less restrictive.

Still trying to decide what I want to do about cleaning the fuel tank. I may try to clean it up myself, soon. Then I'll just need a $30 fuel sender and float set-up to be running a complete and clean fuel system.

Got it!

I swapped a set of truck wheels for some miscellaneous parts. So i have gotten busy the last couple of days, swapping out old parts for different old parts.

But the biggest move of all on the truck, is that I FINALLY got the fuel line removed from the truck. It was easy enough, save for the last clip holding the line to the frame. I mesed with that clip for an hour last night and for an hour this afternoon.

Turns out it was just a clip, through the frame, like all the others. But this one wrapped around the line and doubled back on itself. Plus it was really hard to reach. Not real sure how I'll get another clip back in there, but I'll worry about that another day.

Truck?,

What truck? I haven't had time to look at any trucks? And I sure haven't had time to disassemble any trucks.

Maybe if I quit my job.

Oh yeah, never mind.

Truck Update

I have not made any real progress on the truck, since getting most of the fuel system removed. I still have one rusty steel line to remove from the frame, but it parallels the brake line that I need to replace, so I'll remove them at the same time.

Since getting the tank removed, I have run the engine once. I hooked up a fuel line and filter to the pump and ran it straight into a can of clean gas. I can't drive it this way, but at least I can keep the truck running and starting.

I also made a few calls about getting the tank cleaned and sealed. There are a couple of radiator shops here in town that can do it. $75 to get it cleaned and another $75 to seal it seems to be the going rate. Unfortunately, all of these shops are on the far side of town, 20 miles or so from here. Eventually I'll have to make a special trip down there to drop off the tank.

Gasoline Dump

This afternoon I planned to get the old gas out of the truck tank and into gas cans, so that I could haul it to the city hazardous waste collection site. The main problem I had involved getting the gas from the tank into the cans for hauling.

So ignoring most common sense and safety, I dumped the gas into a 10 gallon bucket that we used to wash cloth diapers in. Then, I was going to pour the gas into the cans a little at a time with a funnel. The gas was really cruddy looking and I did not want 8 gallons sitting in a bucket for too long. But while I was getting ready to transfer the gas, I noticed that the rust and junk was settling quickly.

After a few minutes, I siphoned off the top 5 gallons and I poured it into a can and then into the minivan. Hey, we won't be driving this thing for more than a couple of years, so what can it hurt, right? Most of the rest of the gas went into a 2 gallon can for use in the lawn mower. But the last gallon, and all of the crud at the bottom of the bucket, went into a smaller gas can. That one will get dropped off at the city chemical waste site along with my 10 gallon diaper bucket.

Introducing the gunky gas into the minivan was not a perfect solution, but no one spontaneously combusted, so I consider it a successful afternoon.

Tired of the crud

I decided to pull the gas tank out of the truck this afternoon. The removal went pretty easily, except that I ended up destroying the filler grommet and I cut the rubber grommet where the gas line passes through the floor of the cab. Both of those pieces are cheap and easy to find, so I was not too upset.

I thought I was low on gas and that it would be a good time to get the gas tank cleaned and sealed. Turns out, I have a lot more gas than I thought. But it is really gunked up with rust.

Racecar Man and I tried to filter the gas out of the tank and into gas cans, but we gave up, after straining a few gallons through several layers of cloth diapers. There was so much rust that our diaper-filter would clog after just a few seconds.

I am going to price having the tank cleaned and sealed at a radiator shop. The DIY supplies seem to cost anywhere from $20 to $60. A new tank costs $200 plus shipping with a new fuel sender and float for the fuel gauge. Before I do anything with this tank or order a new one, I am going to look around a little, to see if anyone around here has a used tank in good shape.

Boat Update

I don't wanna nother blog and you can't make me start one, so the boat stuff is going right here, for now. But I grabbed BoatinDaddy on blogspot, just in case.

I have been looking online for info about the bigger boat. It is a mid to late 60's Texas Maid, Fleet Model. It is a 14 ft fiberglass V Hull with a 1965 Mercury 20hp outboard hanging on the transom.

There you have it. All I know about boats in one short post.

Running on empty

I am trying to run the truck out of gas this week. I put a fuel filter on a week and a half ago. It is getting clogged already, with rust and crap out of the fuel tank. I am going to put another fuel filter on and hopefully I'll get a lot of the gas out before I remove the tank.

I want to read up on cleaning the tank and sealing the insides before I reinstall it. But when I do that, I have been warned that it will need a new fuel sender set-up, too.

I am also debating whether or not to remove the heater from the truck. As far as I know, it is functional. I know it needs all new duct work and the slides don't seem to move through a full range of motion. Plus, I don't plan on going too far north in this truck, so I'll doubt I'll ever use the heater. If it is too cold to ride in, then it is also too cold for yardwork or fishing.

Even if I do remove most of the system, I'll likely leave the controls in the dash, though. Otherwise everyone would ask me why is there a big hole in the dash. And I'll have to think up some witty answer. I already have to say "You put your weeeeeed in it..." every time someone asks about the hole where the cigar lighter should be.

By the way, magnets stick to the gas tank.

Bigger Boat, Better Price

I went out Monday to look over another boat. I guess this one will be making it's way home eventually. Just have a few thing to do before I bring it home.

The perfect accessory for a fishing truck

Back in this post, I told about getting the truck one step closer to being my fishing truck. Today, we took a huge step in that direction...



A neighbor was selling this beautiful aluminum boat in a garage sale.



Like everything around here, it needs a little TLC before The Talker and I can hit the water, but it looks like it was made to ride around in the back of my fishing truck!

TruckinDaddy

My older brother and most of his family stopped by today. They were in the middle of 10 hour drive and needed a place to let my Nephew run for a while.

Bro also got the run down on the truck. After I took him for a ride, he climbed behind the wheel and got to experience the lack of power steering and power brakes for himself.

By the time we got home, we both had big grins and had shared a few laughs. He last drove the truck when he was about 15 or sixteen, more than 20 years ago. Just for the record, Bro is only the third person to drive the truck since I got it home.

Blame the wife

She has worked at least 75 hours already this week. So no time for the truck, except for a quick drive down the street last night. The wife and kids were out walking, so I picked up The Talker and we rode home, after doing a couple of donuts in the cul-du-sac.

On a roll

This week I have made several trips down the street. Not feeling too brave, though. I have not ventured off of our street, or gone out when the Mrs. isn't around to bail me out.

But we are incident free, since installing the new fuel filter. Which is good, because walking home sucks.

Sold the wheels

A guy off of the 67-72Chevytrucks.com forum wants to buy the slot wheels. Assuming the money order actually comes this week, I'll get them shipped ASAP, so that I can pile some other crap in that spot on the garage shelf.

Fuel filter, take 2

I ran to the parts store this morning and grabbed a couple of $2.80 fuel filters. The clear ones come with an extra filter insert for $10. Think I'll stick to the biggies for now.

And the filter was definitely needed. The old one was clogged with crud and liquified rust. But the small filter in the carb is still pretty clean, so the primary filter is doing it's job. Lesson learned. Truck has gas, won't stay running, check the fuel filter.

The rust does not surprise me. But it's source might. I assume there is some rust in the tank. It is not leaking, but it did sit with gas in it for 12 years. Also I bought some rubber fuel hose, to replace the hose from under the cab floor to the steel line on the frame. While I was swapping the lines, some gas spilled out of the tank. It was clear and not rusty.

Could that mean there isn't rust in the tank? Dunno. And if the tank is not rusty, then I guess it is coming from the steel line between the new rubber hose and the new fuel filter.

Either way, I spilled some gas on my chest and arms while I was tightening up the new hose. The gas burned like crud, so after a quick shower and a test drive to the end of the block and back, I called it a successful day of truck repair.

Truck, what truck?

I have spent no time on the truck this week. I walked by it a few times yesterday, just to make sure it was still in the driveway.

The city is hauling off old cars that are sitting on the street. If a car has expired registration or inspection stickers, then it is subject to being towed off, 10 days after it gets tagged by the police. That way the owner has a little time to take care of the car, first. Of course, the truck is in my driveway, so it should not be a big problem.

Our crazy neighbor had a 90's model Isuzu Trooper literally drug off, because it had been parked on the street for two years and the tires rotted off of it. A dead give away that a car is not being used - when ivy vines start growing around and into the car. I just thought he was making an SUV shaped topiary out front.

I have heard of a couple of cars getting tagged sitting in a driveway. I can only assume they were blocking the sidewalk, so the police could tag the car even in a driveway. Otherwise, there should not be a problem. But our driveway is long enough to get 4 full sized cars completely off of the street and there are no sidewalks on our side of the street.

Add to all of that, the truck is parked at the front of the driveway, 20 feet from the street. But if an orange tag shows up on my truck this week, you'll hear about it. And so will our local police. 'Cause I plan on doing a whole lot of whining if I have to clean out my garage to fit a truck in there.

Not the gas

Last week I thought I was out of gas. The truck stalled out and once I gassed her up, we drove home. I was a little surprised, since I have put gas in several times, a gallon or two here or there, and I have only driven 60 miles in the five months since I have had it home. The truck has also idles for a few hours in the drive way during that time.

Still, if I have added 15 gallons of gas, and only driven 60 miles, then I am getting exactly CRAPPY miles to the gallon.

After a little family drive the other night that ended with pulling the truck home, I am now convinced that I was never out of gas in the first place. There is some other fuel problem. Possibly rust in the tank.

I installed a fuel filter a while back. This weekend I'll remove it to see if it is clogged up. Hopefully that is all it is.

Hey you, wanna buy some wheels?

I am selling the slot wheels that I bought a while back. I decided that I really want the original hubcaps that I bought last spring, so I'll be keeping my stock wheels.

The whole city wants to help

I blogged elsewhere about some suggested improvements for my truck. And I don't feel like typing it all again, over here...

Also, The Odometer has been updated.

Cruising

Took the 68 out for a quick drive this evening. After walking home the other night, I did not venture far. Just a couple of trips to the far end of the street.

But I drove the whole way there and back. No Walk of Shame for me tonight.

NOW I am convinced

that the gas gauge does not work. I had to take my second Walk of Shame Wednesday evening. Luckily, I only had to walk 4 houses when I ran out of gas. Actually, I ran out up the hill, but I was able coast most of the way home. Plus, it was a gorgeous night for a walk.

So I borrowed a gas can, emptied that one and one of my own into the truck and made it the rest of the way home without problems. Except the problem of explaining why 10 gallons of gas in the truck ended up costing us almost $100.

It really is simple, I had to go to the gas station since both cans were bone dry. So while there, I filled up the wife's car. $35 gone. Then I decided to gas up the minivan and refill the gas cans. Another $60 gone. But that got both cars filled and 10 gallons into the truck.

Kind of sad, $100. And the gas gauge still does not work.

Truck ride!

I pulled out of the driveway last night and cruised the neighborhood for a little while. And again this morning. On the way home today the truck stalled. It restarted easily and I got home without any other problems.

I don't know what happened. Probably driver error. I was pulling up a small hill and it acted like it was not getting gas. Could be almost out of gas. The gauge does not seem to work. Hopefully that is all it is.

I am seriously considering tearing into the rear brake lines. I want to remove the busted one and see if I could make a replacement for it myself. I can buy one for about $30. A cheap flaring tool costs about that much. But I need to replace fuel lines, too. If the same flaring tool will work, it would be cheaper in the long run to do it myself.

No time for truckin

I have been too busy to work on the truck in the past few days. But I have started it several times since installing the battery. Mainly because it will start on the first turn of the key.

And I want it to keep doing it.

Yep, just as I suspected...

Somehow I managed to kill the old battery from the wife's car. No problem, though. It had a pro-rated 7 year warranty and I had a $20 Autozone gift card.

So this evening I took the wife's battery out of her car for one last time. When the truck started perfectly the first time, I cruised the hood for a few miles. Then I swapped cars and headed out to Autozone for a new battery.

Not a bad deal, I guess. The old battery was three years old and the gave me $20 back on the warranty adjustment. We originally paid $36 for it. Kind of like battery rental for $12 a year.

Since I already bought a new battery for the wife's car, I grabbed one that is actually intended for the truck. Bigger battery, more amps and it has a pretty red top. Guess they want people to think that I am rolling with a $150 Optima under the hood.

What now?

The new voltage regulator is in. The alternator checked out, OK. The battery was good two weeks ago, and I have kept it on a charger for a while, but the truck wont' start.

It will, one time, right after I pull the battery off of the charger. But then, If I try to restart, it won't without a jumpstart.

I still made a couple of short trips in the neighborhood this weekend. And for the first time, I got stranded. Luckily, only two blocks from home.

Say Huh?

Number 8 seems to be OK. Number 5 is a little gunky, though

Another week gone

The truck has sat, untouched for a week. I bought some rubber washers the other night, so that I can mount a new voltage regulator. I have not bought the part yet, maybe Saturday. Then we should be back on the road.

As far as I can tell, the voltage regulator is original to the truck. I guess it was time for it to die, after 37 years.

One for the psych text books

Ever say something that ends up being much more revealing than you intended?

This, from a comment I made on the last post, was one of those times for me...

I am great at taking things that work fine and breaking them and repairing them so that they work much worse than they originally did!

There is a lot of truth in there.

Voltage regulator

I am going to have to order the rummber grommets for the voltage regulator. So the truck might be sitting for a while. Only $3 for all of them, from the first catalog I saw, but it would be about $10 in shipping for purchases up to $50, so I might as well order a few other things, too.

I tried to remove the ignition lock cylinder again today. No sucess. I have spent at least 5 hours jerking around with this thing. I want to install a new one that came with a matched set of door locks. Right now the doors don't lock. Hopefully I can figure out what is wrong with them while I am installing the new locks. But I don't want to do that until I get the ignition key replaced.

Electrical system progress

The 37 year old alternator tested fine. Good, because it cost about $40 to replace. Next I am going to pull the voltage regulator. Better that it be the problem because it cost $13 to replace.

Now if I can just get the damn thing off of the truck. The rubber grommets that hold it to the radiator support are proving to be difficult to remove. Especially since I don't know where I could get some more if I trash them during removal.

While I had the alternator off this morning I cleaned the bracket arms and everything else that I could get to easily with the alternator out of the way. A little oven cleaner and elbow grease did a lot of good.

Now the driver's side of my engine is lemony fresh, thanks to the Wal-Mart oven cleaner.

BUSTED!

Now that the weekend is here, and the family is heading out of town, I should get to have some fun with the truck. But not this weekend.

Something happened between the time that I bought a new battery for the wife's car and finally installed her old one in the truck. Now the truck won't run without being jump started.

I am thinking it could be the alternator, the voltage regulator or the battery itself. I'll have to read up on it this weekend, because I have no clue.

Broke down

no, not that kind. I am trying to promote marital harmony around here, so I finally broke down and bought a battery for the truck today. Actually, I bought a battery for The Boss Lady's car at Costco and I am leaving her old one in the truck.

Until now, I have been pulling her battery out anytime I wanted to run the truck. So just about every time she gets in her car she needs to reset the clock and radio. Yeah, I could do it for her, but it IS her car, you know...

Maybe just in time, too. When I got everything buttoned up on the truck, I turned the key and got nothing. A quick jumpstart with the minivan got it started and it seems to restart fine since.

Good enough for now.

Not quiet as bad, close up...

And they look even better from inside of the truck, where I can't see them while I am running the roads.

They are ugly, I tells ya

There are no words to describe how bad the new whitewalls look on my beautiful truck...

New Wheels, Again

After our zoo trip, The Boss Lady talked me into taking a quick run up to a Chevy truck junk yard that we pass when we go to The Queen Mother's house. But they always seem to be closed on those trips.

Within 2 minutes of getting out of the car, I was 50 buck poorer, but I had two stock wheels that would bolt right onto the truck, unlike the wheels I bought online, a while back. These wheels are white. I'll repaint them silver, eventually.

The big bonus of the deal, they had tires mounted still. I wanted the guy to take the tires off, but he said he could not do it then. Once we got home, I tried to see how bad the tires really were. Both are holding air and in much better shape than I first thought. Of course, a brick would make a better tire than what was on the truck yesterday morning. Yes, I have been riding around on this, the whole time. Or should I say 'hole time'...

The only downside to the new wheels/tires? The 1 1/2 inch wide white wall. I can't even describe the look. Especially when only the fronts have the stripe and the rears are still rolling on tall mud grabbers. I'll get a picture for you.

Odometer update

The Odometer has been updated.

For the record, I think when I talked to Rick last night I told him that I had driven 75 miles or so. I was wrong by more than half. So you still might have driven your truck further than I have driven mine.

Cruisin'

Made several short trips around the neighborhood this weekend, between rain storms. I tweaked the idle a little more, too. I had it where it sounded great, but it was hesitating a little on take off. Now, it is idling faster, sounds a little rougher and does not hesitate.

And unlike my usual method, of trying to fix something by seeing how broken I can get it first, once I got the idle set I left it alone!

Neighborhood run

Thursday morning, the boy and I got the truck started with no problems, so we went for a neighborhood cruise. While we were out, we saw Racecar Man and his family, so they hopped in and rode a loop of the block with us.

The Talker loved the ride, because all of the kids and Racecar Man rode in the back of the truck. They were not even disappointed that we were only going 15 miles per hour.

Too much rain today

for a ride or working on the truck. But it was cooler than in the past weeks, so I spent a little time cleaning the garage and straightening tools.

Big fun.

Gas run!

Lots of running around in the neighborhood today. A bunch of small trips and one memorable trip to the gas station. I was going to borrow a 5 gallon gas can from a neighbor, but he wasn't home. And by my estimation, it was only a couple of miles to the gas station, so off I went. I was feeling brave since the wife and kids were not around to bail me out if the truck broke down or the cops were not amused by my sweet ride...

When I left the station I was worried that my gas gauge might not be working properly. But then I remembered that my $5 bill had only bought me a couple of gallons of $2.15 per gallon gas. So the tank still might not have enough in it to get a good reading.

The station is less than a mile from our house, but since I drove side streets instead of the major route, it took me about 20 minutes and 6 miles to get there and back. Very exciting!

The Talker and I took a ride this evening before bed. We went up to the park and back. He really wanted to stop and play, but I wanted to make sure we did not have to walk home in the dark if we broke down, so we headed home. Without breaking down.

Clutch Going Bad?

Of course I knew it might. Since I assume it is the original clutch, it is not unexpected in a 37 year old truck. Still it surprised me a little that Racecar Man thought the truck might need a new clutch soon.

Then I was reading over at Rick's place. And once again, he posts about a car problem 1500 mile away from here and mysteriously one of our cars ends up needing the same repair in short order.

Thanks again, Rick. By the way is David's dog limping? 'Cause mine is, and I thought y'all might know what happened?

The Odometer

BEGAN work with 45232.2 miles.
NOW reads 45800.4 miles.
TOTAL 568.2 miles driven.
PER mile cost $3.52.

PARTS off of at least 18 different trucks.

Most of it is still the original farm truck.
The right fender and door skin came off a junkyard truck.
The visors and seat belts came from a 1968 junkyard truck.
A couple of small engine parts came off of a 1970 junkyard truck.
Two of the wheels came from a junkyard in Waco, TX.
The mirrors and door handles came from a swap meet.
The side reflectors came from a 1972 Blazer.
The hubcaps came from a swap meet.
The replacement bed came off a 1968 Anniversary Edition truck.
The battery tray came out of a 1968 GMC in Temple.
The wiper motor came from Minnesota.
The washer bottle holder came from Minnesota, also.
Two fuel senders came from a guy in Virginia.
The rear brake lenses and 1 reverse light lens came from Virginia, too.
The other reverse light lens came from California.
The master cylinder cover came of a 69 Chevy from Leander, TX.
The cigar lighter delete plug came from Illinois.
The hood letter badge set came off of a couple of trucks in Pennsylvania.

40 different streets
2 trip on the highway
12 trips out of the neighborhood
30 miles, the longest trip was to downtown and back
3 Walks of Shame, thanks to a dead battery and a clogged fuel filter

Only two repairs have been done at a shop.
The drive shaft was rebuilt at Austin Drivetrain.
The BRAND NEW tires were installed at Discount Tires in Austin.

I'll update this post as the stats change, to come back to this post click on The Odometer on the sidebar

Check out the sidebar

I added a section to the sidebar, titled The Odometer. Several stats that you might find interesting over there.

Or not.

Edit:

I changed it up, to make it easier to edit. Click on The Odometer on the sidebar to jump to the stats post

Timing is everything

Back when Racecar Man helped me get the engine running again, we got the timing set pretty easily. And the truck was running fine, especially for a vehicle that had not run a dozen years. Afterwards, Racecar Man remembered that we should have disconnected the vacuum advance before setting the timing. Since the truck was running OK, we left it alone.

But then Wednesday the truck was hard to start and it was not idling smoothly, so I decided to tackle the timing today. And after just a few minutes and a minor adjustment, the truck runs completely different. As it turns out, we were about 15 degrees too far advanced.

So this afternoon I have cruised the streets in my easier idling, quieter and more powerful truck. I am amazed at what a small adjustment in timing did for this engine. Racecar Man even got to take a drive. He may not have been the first passenger, but he will now go down in history as only the second driver since the truck came back into service.

Saving money left and right

When I add in the miles I drove today and the cost of this morning's fuel, we are now down to only $112 per mile.

Rolling through the neighborhood.

The truck sat for more than a week without being started. So this morning I decided to make sure she remembered what to do. Alas, she had forgotten already. It took me a while to get the truck started. I suspect that I ran out of gas last time and it took a little cranking to get fuel to the carb.

Once it was idling, I went for a quick drive but the truck did not seem to be running as smoothly as before our week apart. Racecar Man confirmed this when I cruised past his house. This afternoon I was planning to tinker a little and I was going to check the timing, but Marge must be slowly remembering how to be a truck.

She started on the first try and purred like a kitten for The Talker and I to take a drive down to Racecar Man's house to deliver some swim towels this evening.

It is SOMETHING, at least

Yesterday I rolled the windows down in the morning and back up when we left the house, because it looked as if it might rain. If only I had left them down, it actually would have rained....

And this morning I put a Cabela's sticker on the rear window. So the truck is now one step closer to it's ultimate role as my fishing truck. Also at Cabela's yesterday, I saw some rod holders that I want to mount inside of the bed walls, so that I can carry six or eight 8 foot rods without having them rattling around on the bed floor.

Once the truck is road worthy, I'll decide how I want to mount them. They will need to be removable, so I am thinking about using some really strong magnets.

Have you seen my truck?

Because I haven't.

This is the first time since I brought the truck home that it has sat for an entire week without me touching it. I was out of town for several days, but mainly it is too freaking hot out there to touch metal and I don't have decent enough lighting to work at midnight.

So she might sit until October at this rate. Or should I say at this temperature...

Cruising the hood

During the last few days I have hauled six different people in the truck. Never more than a block or two, but everyone has made it safely to their final destination. Actually, The Talker and I drove the truck a couple of miles in one trip the other day. We even left our street for a block or two.

For the record, I have now driven the truck 7.3 miles. Considering the money I have spent on this thing so far, that comes to a little less than $125 a mile.

Making the new wheels work

I never thought to ask about the length of studs needed to mount the new wheels when I bought them online. And as it turns out, they need to be a lot longer than stock. Crap. Good thing I haven't bought tires yet.

The stock wheel studs are 13/16 of an inch long. I am guessing that I will have to replace them with studs that are at least 1 1/2 inches long. I have never taken the drums off of this truck and I have no idea how hard it is going to be to swap out all 24 studs. But I bet it will be a pain in the butt. Plus, the drum hub is a lot smaller than the wheel center. I don't even know now if these will work at all. Double crap.

And I want to make sure that I will still be able to use the original style wheels and hubcaps later on, too. If not, I might see if I can find a buyer for these and keep looking for a decent set of original equipment wheels.

Anybody need a good deal on 6 lug slot wheels? I can hook you up.

New Wheels Are Here

I recieved my wheels today from Wisconsin.  They are not the ones I thought I was getting, but they will work fine. I left it up to the seller which ever set he wanted to part with since he was making me a great deal on them.  A little cleaning and they should be good to roll with new tires.  In a few months.

Battery, maybe not...

I found my discount card, but now, I am not heading to AutoZone anyways. I might need the $40 for something else.

Might mean the tires have to wait a little while, too. And the brakes, too? Maybe so, but who really needs them anyways.

Battery Day

I was heading out this morning to buy a battery for the truck. This entire time I have been pulling the battery from the wife's car when I need to start the truck. And at least once I have moved it by jumpstarting it without having a battery in it.

But my shopping trip is on hold for a while. I have been keeping up with a frequent buyer's card from Autozone for two months. Today would be my last purchase before I get a $20 discount. But I can't find the @#$*)(@ card.

I saw it last night. Right by the bread box in the kitchen. So if you find an Autozone card with 4 punches already on it, can I have it back please?