FOUR MONTHS LATER

Okay, well, I finally made it back from Jacksonville. Company had me up there to finish a project, so I wasted a whole summer I could have been working on my truck.

Right, well, since last time, I've bought a rewiring kit for the truck. I tore into it Saturday, and man, it looks complete. It looks like I can just rip out all the old wires and start from scratch. Which is good, since I've always been chasing electrical ghosts in that thing.

In other news, I've started a welding class. I'm certain any skills I learn there will be useful, especially on that top roof seam and that frightening looking rear axle support.

The big problem now is the garage, or the lack thereof. To do the bodywork, I want to start on the cab, which means tearing stuff apart. I can't do the new electrical system until I get the body torn apart. I don't want to get into the engine anymore until I pull the front fenders. Undisclosed person's backyard is not suitable for any of these operations. I have to move soon- I'm only looking at places with garages now. Awesome.

April 28th

It started off that today I was just going over to the truck to pick up some hose clamps left over from my fuel line reworking, so I could attempt to repair my washing machine (which is a whole other story in itself). Naturally, I couldn't find any, so Hayden I went to the auto parts store to buy some more. And I think, hey, my generator light keep coming on, maybe I should take my alternator in to have it tested out. Apparently years and years of sitting is not good for an alternator, so it had developed a short, and was not putting out the voltage it should. It was only 40 bucks. But I went and bought a new voltage regulator for it, too. No idea what year the alternator is from, but it seems the regulator (a black box mounted just inside the hood on the drivers site) is original 1966 equipment. The guy at the counter, with whom I'm starting to become pretty good friends, and
I decided to open it up and take a look at the inside. It's got some coils inside, and some contact points. Unfortunately I don't remember exactly how the thing is supposed to work. Maybe it is fortunate, if you readers don't care for me rambling on about outdated technical mumbo-jumbo. Not that I don't ramble about other things. Right, anyway, I just dropped off the new parts off at the truck and left, as I still had a washing machine to fix.

The good news is that I might have a lead for a garage to put the truck in!

The bad news is that the company is talking about relocating me to Vero Beach.

April 21st

Instead of travelling today I decided to stay in town. So I bought some rubber caps for some vacuum lines and replaced the oil sending hose, which leaked both inside the cab and on the engine. Then I found that I already had a length of that hose, after losing the little fittings. Oh, put a new fan belt on too. Tried to match it up at the auto parts store, but got the wrong size, of course.

April 17th

Hooray. Oil change. I didn't even have the right filter. After eight years, I forgot that it takes the short kind, as the long one won't fit in because of the routing of the rad hose. Got it done before dark, though.

I have found out that my parts truck is gone. That's unfortunate, because I still had some usable (and needed) parts on that thing.

On the bright side, my new LMC truck catalogue came in.

I really want to get rolling on that engine. I would need to take over the garage for a whole weekend to do it right, as I want to pull the inner fenders (which also means removing the hood) to do so. Good luck coming up with a weekend free.

April 11th

It's been cold and rainy for the past several days. I'm hitting a standstill because:
1) I'm almost out of money in my restoration budget for the month.
2) I'm still trying to find the best way to handle the rust problem with the gas tank.
3) I'm super busy, and now that I've been sent back to the office, I don't get home as early.
4) To do the type of engine work I want to do, I really ought to have a garage.

Updates will come as progress occurs. I should at least get a few more pictures up in the next few days.

April 7th

Well, today was fun. I started by removing some non-critical (and by that, I mean not used, or ruined) wiring from the truck. After I got bored with that, I took the right rear tire off, because it only holds air for a day and a half or so. I managed to twist off one of the studs in the process. Once the tire was off, I removed the brake drum to check it out inside. It was surprisingly intact. Even more surprising was its striking similarity to the drum brake found on the rear of a 1991 Camaro. In 25 years, I would have thought the technology would have changed a little. Next, I took the spare tire to a neighbor's house to fill it up to see if it holds air any better. It certainly does not. So I filled up the original tire and put it back on, so I could move the truck.


To move the truck meant putting the fuel tank back in (which I wasn't ready to do yet) or put the bypass back in so I could run off the gas can again. Once the bypass was in, I fired it up. It ran fine for a second, then revved way up, so I shut it back down. I tried starting again, a few more times, and it was just running way too fast. I guess something might have happened to the carburetor when I had it off yesterday. It might have gotten something shaken loose or stuck inside somehow. Maybe because I dropped it. A couple of times. Stupid gravity.

Took the carb back off and decided to take it apart. Most people that know about cars know that this was against my better judgment. Most (if not all) carburetors have little rods and mechanisms and springs that like to jump out and vanish, and my Rochester Monojet is no exception. Fortunately, some time ago Jen gave me an old textbook she found called "Auto Engines and Electrical Systems," which has given me relatively advanced knowledge about carburetors, in that I knew what each of the little pieces are for and what they're supposed to do. That didn't help me much when I thought I had it almost back together and then dumped some parts in the grass. That's where the metal detector proved more useful than the book. Dark colored springs disappear really fast in grass. Anyway, I think the problem was in the mechanism that allows more fuel into the carb throat when one steps on the gas. (It contained a dark colored spring.) There's a little rod that operates a valve that opens to allow more fuel, and it looked like it had come loose from where it was supposed to be. So I put everything back together, after cleaning it really well, and bolted it back to the truck. Somehow it works fine now, so I guess I must have fixed it, and I managed not to lose any parts. I didn't intend on rebuilding the carb today, but I was, after all, curious as to what it looked like inside.

April 6th

Today was a big day for the truck. I dropped in a new battery, and then proceeded to rework the fuel lines. I replaced the old rubber ones and reinstalled the original steel ones, which I had already cleaned out. I added a fuel filter just after the tank. The steel line that once arched over the engine has been rerouted around the valve cover. It seems that bending steel lines is not my forte. I also cleaned out the fuel tank with laquer thinner. I've got it sitting out to dry now. The bypass that allowed me to run the engine from a gas can has been eliminated, so if I want to start the truck now, I'll have to get that gas tank back in.

I also fabricated a new choke cable clip and linkage plate. Somehow the choke works perfectly now. I must have done something right. Now, I can use the correct air cleaner for the truck, but the one I have is not only rusted and crappy, it is also the wrong type. It'll work for now, but I think I'll just get a chrome one at the next swap meet.

BEFORE
















AFTER

April 5th

To date, I have spent about half of my month's restoration budget. Not good, since I had done that by the fourth. Anyway, Sunday Mike and I went to the Webster Auto Swap over in Sumter County. I bought a new chrome valve cover and thermostat housing. Turns out the housing is wrong, so I'll trade it out for the correct one next swap meet.

Wednesday, I removed the fuel lines and cleaned out the steel ones. They seem to be ok. I bought new rubber line, since the old ones are all all rotten and cracked. I picked up another fuel filter as well. I also removed the carburetor (a Rochester Monojet) and messed with the choke valve. I'm going to have to fabricate some way to connect my choke cable to the valve linkage, since the Monojet is set up for an automatic choke mechanism.

I have made two observations. One being that I really need a garage. The second, and more troubling, is that every time I really spend time looking at or working on the truck, I discover that it's really worse than I thought.

The Plan

The plan is to get it mobile on its own again, meaning repairing the gas tank and putting a new battery in it, and trying to patch up the tires so they hold air for more than three days. I only have one really bad one. After that, I'll work on the engine, which runs great, it's just ugly. It's really the only part of the truck that's worth anything. After that will come the body, interior, and electrical system. Haven't decided what order yet. My goal is to have it at least roadworthy in two years so I can drive it back to my 10-year high school reunion.