Re: Rat repair.
 

I'd keep above or below the feature line minimum 3-4" if you can IMO. Stitch weld slow. I seldom use the entire patch panel. Trace, cut and trim panel to fit whats needed. I had to use the entire cab corner. Previous owner had a set brazed in. Warping was real bad. Not fun doin bodywork inside the features on the rear of the cab. I'm by no means a pro.

Re: Rat repair.
 

Nice progress btw...

Re: Rat repair.
 

Today i got the dash out, i took my time to try and leave as much meat on the dash flange as possible, then i broke out my acid respirator and filled a spray bottle with Muratic acid and doused everything i could with the stuff, i didn't continually reapply it, really didn't have time today. hosed it all off about 4 hours later. I got to say i absolutely love that respirator and would never do any acid work without it, tried it once and felt the after affects for about 3 days.. duh :smoke:

I know this is no substitute for sand blasting, just want to get the rust in check and this is the first step. still need to do the rockers but this cab is still on my trailer and the side rails are kinda in the way, need to prop it up on some timbers, that will continue next week, i need a fun weekend.. ;)

Here's a couple pic's, first the inside where the dash mounts, note its rusted thru just below the antenna hole, least i think that is the antenna hole, i just noticed the same hole on the other side. And a couple pic's of the rain gutter, dirty but 99.98% still sealed.

Re: Rat repair.
 

Oh, I ordered a set of floor pans today, the place i ordered from ( in Wa. ) said they only stock what they use, usually Tri Plus, Key Parts or Dayco, he said what they have in stock right now is Dayco so that what i'll be getting.

First I called the place i ordered the other panels from when i got the 20% discount, all he could tell me was they were made overseas, couldn't tell me what brand at all so i decided to call elsewhere

He said they tried Tabco floor pans and they were really bad.. Humm, i know a Washington state guy that makes a side living on these trucks and he just posted that he liked the Tabco floor pans and a few other of their parts but not the rockers.

Re: Rat repair.
 

Thanks again for the comps and advice!

If any of you see something i could do differently that may be better I'm all ears, I'm just learning as i go. :lol:

Re: Rat repair.
 

Last post for a bit, Earlier I posted here on the forum and the local Facebook page looking for a patch panel for around the heater and drip rail, had one no luck hit on this forum, but within about 3 hours i had a positive hit on Facebook, he lives about 15 minutes from me, grabbed a few tools and took off, came home with this, still not perfect but i think between the two i can make a good part.

Re: Rat repair.
 

nice find!

Re: Rat repair.
 

Back on post 483 i mentioned i needed a fun weekend, had a great time but it was HOT! road the bikes down to Eastern Oregon on Friday with a bunch of friends and came back on Sunday, About 8 hours each way when you include gas stops and lunch. Also took today off to catch up on my rest and run some errands, back to the grind tomorrow..

Stopped and the transmission shop and the guy said they had to replace my tranny case, he said the inside where the packs ect engage were worn out, this was what was causing my tranny to bang when it was shifted into reverse, i had previously tried messing with the modulator with no luck. I didn't bother asking him about cost even tho it came to mind, it also raised a question about why he didn't call me about it first but i let it slide for now but hoping there won't be a B.S move on there part to screw me over..

Found this nice little chevy truck when in eastern oregon, kinda wished i could have driven it home!

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awesome truck!

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I like the rat mobil parked on the street. It looks home to me, good luck with the cowl repair

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that's a hell of parts truck. I wouldn't mind running that down to the store for some spark plugs!

Bummer about the tranny, but i guess it'll be right now. Nice to know what is wrong as apposed to wondering. Keep up the good work.

Re: Rat repair.
 

Life go's on, i knew the tranny needed work, actually for a number of years but didn't have it done.

Still don't have the truck back from the shop, he said it should be done sometime today so i told him i'd probably have to pick it up Saturday.

Admittedly i haven't done anything all week, its been hot and have been enjoying a break, my feet and legs are thanking me! :lol:

I did get the floor pans Tuesday, still haven't opened the box yet.

I have been thinking about the other cab for the 67, thinking its probably a lot easier to run a Vintage air system than trying to rebuild and repair the stock setup, but i am not sure about all the firewall mods that would need to be done, don't want to spend a lot of time repairing the fan mount if its not necessary, not sure if it is necessary at this point. if anybody has or remembers a thread with an AC cab/Vintage air conversion i'd like to read about it, the Vintage air instructions didn't show the heater fan area in the firewall mod. I also need to find out if a Vintage air system will work with an Inline 6 250. My plan has been to rebuild the 6 on this truck.

Also debating if i should buy a system for my Rat, its non AC.

Re: Rat repair.
 

1) Cool! something special about seeing a six still powering a classic.
2) Tough week to decide if you want air or not? LOL

Re: Rat repair.
 

looking good. It looks like you got a few broken springs on your seat. Too much pressure on that vise man. It must be all the mussels you have. When I was working on my firewall I remover the old heater box and plugged up the holes. I also will be adding a vintage heat and air in the future. I just don't want to be bothered with a old set up with old problems. Now all I need to do is drill two or three holes to run my lines inside the cab. Thinking ahead.

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The tranny shop called and left a message on my cell when i was driving to work yesterday, its done so i got to go get it tomorrow hopefully.

A question for all the bodymen around here:

I need to do rockers, floor, lower A pillars ect. also need to rebuild my hinges and do door repair.

Where should i start? Doors? or body? I'm guessing doors.

Re: Rat repair.
 

Start with door hinges for sure if needed. (Pins and bushings) that way your door is set solid when aligning your gaps. I did my doors last... Just because I had them on and off a dozen times and didn't want to risk damaging fresh doors. My lower skins were still intact so I had a line to go with.

Re: Rat repair.
 

IMO, if the doors are OEM and in relatively decent shape, I'd rebuild the hinges first, then re-install and adjust them to get nice gaps all around. Scribe lines to mark the hinge placement then remove a door and do the rockers and lower pillars on that side. Use the door as a guide to make sure the replacement pieces line up. Move to the other side and repeat. Do doors last.

If metal repair was previously attempted and butchered, all bets are off and the answer is, "It depends". You have to decide what to use as the base for the current repairs.

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^^^ Vic nailed it

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Thanks both Vic and Molberg!

As far as i know my truck is all original, my step dad bought it in the early to mid 70's, i got it from him.

I have the pins and bushings already so that's where I'll start, kinda wish i had an extra set of doors at times, i figure i should have mine media blasted. I wanna drive my truck for a bit too to check out the tranny rebuild.

Off to work i go.....

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That's amazing. We lived in Woodinville and I worked in Kirkland for almost two years back in the 90's. Our vehicles were wet all the time. Everything sort of melts into the ground up there. To have a truck in original condition in that part of the world is a minor miracle. :lol:

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Well Vic, this was originally an Eastern Wa truck until i bought it about 1994 and brought over to the west side, I even got to drive this truck during high school off and on, it didn't have an ounce of rust on it then or when i bought it, an engine rebuild and lift kit 95 thru 96, altho the engine ran fine.

Unfortunately the Eastern Wa sun and heat did a number on the gutter seal and all the rubber and i didn't realize how bad it leaked for a long while as it all ran under the floor mat and under the door sill plates, I got a wake up call one rainy morning when i hopped in the truck and pulled out of my driveway only to have about a 1/2 cup of water that built up on the bottom lip of the dash land on my lap, then i got super frustrated not being successful at finding the leak sources, and there was more than one, kinda gave up and let the truck sit for a number of years in the elements as a back up work truck..

So enter the information age about around 2000, slowly but surly i graduate from a computer smaller than a 286 and dial up bulletin boards, 56k modem, 286, Pentium, Pentium 2,slow speed internet via phone, and on to today with cable internet and quad core processors ect, i start to find there is a lot of good stuff out there to help with my cause of repairing my poor truck and i slowly start educating myself on restoration.

Then one morning about 6 years ago i looked out the window and there sits my poor neglected truck in the back corner of my yard, and its covered in this weird fuzzy green and black spotty looking stuff, i looked at Meg and said, man my poor truck looks like a swamp rat and the name stuck. So now due to my neglect and lack of a garage to fit it in, plus my desire not to let this truck rust to death has brought me here. Sorry for rambling on, had a long day at work and just unwinding with a Shock Top. :lol:

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Bummer... The tranny shop says they cant send anybody out to pick me up today because i wasn't able to call them at 8am... My neighbor is gone to work, taxi will cost an arm and a leg... If i call at 8am tomorrow they will send somebody out, but i just realized i have an appointment tomorrow at 11am, sigh.

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:(

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Cool history

Re: Rat repair.
 

Haven't been on here much the last 2 weeks, been dealing with a couple issues, one being my wife and i got into a bit of a spat, but things are looking up, the other i got moved to a different plant in my job , supposed to be temporary but it still wasn't welcome, the commute takes an extra hour out of my day, but at least I'm still working right! Anyway haven't felt much like doing anything for a bit.

Anyway, i picked up the rat 2 days ago, naturally it was raining then so back under the cover it went, rained again yesterday too, hoping to get it out and drive it a bit tomorrow.

The drive home seemed fine as far as the tranny go's, they did however have to replace the case as some of the inner ribs/lugs that are used to hold the internals were wearing down allowing a clutch pack to rotate back and forth a little, least that's what they said, its been probably 30 years since i had one apart. The pic's are of the old case, the little nibs are supposed to be aw wide as the rest of the area..

I'm not sure if its just because i have no floor mat or insulation/sound deadening on the floor at the moment but the drive to the shop i was hearing a high pitched noise that sounded like it was coming from the transfer case, I mentioned it to the tranny shop when i dropped it off, it happens from 55 to 60 mph, they took the Transfer case apart and inspected everything when they resealed it and said everything looked fine, but it still made the noise on the way home, but it was a little quieter. still don't know what to make of it but i want to go back and talk to them about it.

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Good that you caught it when you did. Sometimes those kinds of problems have a domino effect and the next thing you know, you've got parts scattered all over the pavement.

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Well, my problems aren't 100% solved yet, if anybody can help I'd appreciate it, here's the thread..

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=637392

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Glad your back on the road. What type of oil are you running in your transfer case? I've heard various oils can cause different amounts of noise from them. (Meaning synthetic vs conventional). A friends dad ran synthetic in his case and complained it was louder... Viscosity difference?

Re: Rat repair.
 

If it does the chirping in neutral as well... What are the chances your flex plate cover is rubbing the flexplate/torque converter somewhere?

Re: Rat repair.
 

Finally did some preliminary checking of drive line angles.

Rear shaft is approx 3 deg on the forward end and 1.5 deg on the back.

Front shaft is about 10 deg on the the forward end, It was too cramped to get a good check on the
Rear but it has that C/V type joint. ( I forgot the real name ) Edit: Double Cardian ?

What is a proper caster angle for the front axle?

Re: Rat repair.
 

I pulled the front drive shaft today and the Double Cardian joint is due for a rebuild. Had to stop at the hardware store for some 5/16 24 nuts to put on the T-case yoke as the bolts are too long to remove without pulling the yoke.

Still looking for the castor spec to see if I might need some tapered shims. Might just make an appt with a front end place and be done with it.

Per the noise I hope its just the front drive shaft. Will hopefully find out tomorrow.

Molberg I think that t-case was filled with atf but I didn't ask.

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front caster will be great in the 5-8 range i bet. i dont know the spec as per the book, but that is a good place to shoot on a d44.

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Well as it sits now with my crude measuring system of a protractor and some large scales measuring to the center of each ball joint i come up with 4 degrees positive caster. If I was to use angled shims to increase the caster then i would also increase the drive line angle which is allready about 10 deg.

Thinking about it, i added Offroad designes shackles which are about .5 longer than stock, that would increase caster a little, not sure how much the 4" lift springs affect the angle but i would hope the company engineers the same angle into the spring

Going to have to take my drive shaft to a local drive shaft place for a rebuild of that Cardian joint, i don't think i should try that one as i think that center pivot is warn out, i can do U-Joints no problem. Maybe cheaper to find an aftermarket replacement?

Any idea who makes this speedo calibration unit? I don't think its stock. ??

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No clue. Maybe check with these guys, if you haven't already.
http://www.tacomaspeedometer.net/

Driveline angles! Hoping I don't have to go through that. Hurts my head.
A buddy who's doing the same V8 Volvo swap is fighting his. Nice that he is a step ahead of me. LOL
Good luck with yours!

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Well, front drive shaft off i went for a test drive, the noise is still present in 2 High, 4 High and 4 Low, all seem to be in the same RPM range of about 2100 to 2500 RPM.

Gues my next move will be to disconnect the speedo cable, but that will have to wait. gotta run for now.

Re: Rat repair.
 

Nope haven't checked with them yet but it may be a good idea to be re calibrated in the future, that calibration unit was on the truck when i got it from my step dad and it had smaller tires on it than it does now.

Working this weekend again and have to go shopping first thing for dress cloths as i have a wedding to go to soon. Guess i out grew the other stuff.....

How was the metal meet?

Re: Rat repair.
 

Update time, its been a slow 2 weeks for working on the truck, worked the last 2 weekends in a row plus some OT thru the week.

Front drive shaft is at the driveline repair place, they said if the center pin is within spec then it will be about $80 to rebuild it and throw a coat of black paint on it. Rear driveshaft is removed but the u joints are super smooth so it will get cleaned up and reinstalled.

Did more testing on the noise, took both driveshafts off and blocked the wheels, revved up the engine and it still made the noise in that RPM range, i grabbed my stethoscope and started probing around under the truck with the T-case in gear at idle (all 3 gears to be exact) nothing sounded bad at all. So i decide to pop the hood and listened around more around the top of the tranny and front of the engine nothing, then i revved the engine.... what the heck? the noise now sounded like it was at the top front of the engine.. Found it! A while back i was dealing with an alternator belt squeal, well i guess in my frustration dealing with that i must have tightened the belt too tight, the bearing in the alternator had let go..

How this sound made its way to the area around the transfer case and floor of my cab i can only attribute to not having carpet and insulation in the cab at the moment and the kicker, i also have the boot unscrewed from the floor. The darned truck has become a ventriloquist. :) Almost back on track now but i feel a little foolish thinking it was the T-case now.. :p

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Well I consider that to be a good find !!! That's a whole lot easier to to fix than pulling the transfer case !!!!!

Gary

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the speedo calibration units not stock? cool because i have the same one on my sm465

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I've owned 4 69-72 4x4 trucks and all had the speedo calibration on them. I believe it depends on what gear ratio the truck has in it. 4x4's read from the transfer case, 2wd read from the trany and they are corrected by using different internal gear, 4x4's are corrected externally by different gears in this little box !

Gary