The Brown Truck

[SFTorange]

I got some work done last night. I finished installing the front steering linkage, and then got to work on rear brake lines. I've been pretty intimidated by the thought of bending new lines, but I read about the hand bendable stuff from Napa and used it in precut lengths. It was pretty easy, but won't win any beauty contests. I was just glad not to have to do any flaring. I managed to get all of the brake lines for the rear finished up. My disc brake kit from Early Classic came with pre-bent lines for the front brakes. Those will be installed when I get my cab installed.




After that I test fit the 350/700r4 combo. I was very pleasantly surprised to discover that my driveline will work with the new transmission without modification. It had already been shortened to accomodate the Turbo 350 I had used previously, which is about 3" shorter than the 700r4. When I had the driveline cut and balanced then, I measured about 1/2" too short so with the Turbo 350 I had a bit more play in the slip yoke than I needed. I am using 67-72 engine perches with the forward holes in the frame which gave me the other 2 1/2" I needed, and everything seems to line up perfectly. I just need to install a new u-joint to attach to the 12 bolt.



Man, I need to wipe the dust off and repaint that driveline!

[SFTorange]

I spent a bunch of time this weekend tying up loose ends on the frame. I finished running the brake lines to all four wheels, chased down a conversion
u-joint to make my driveline compatible with the 12-bolt, cut and installed spark plugs and wires, and installed new 8-inch harmonic balancer. I also realized that I'll need to install longer wheel studs since my new rear brakes are wider than the stock ones.

Here's a picture of the plug wires.

[SFTorange]

I installed my power steering box today. I would have bought the adapter plate from CaptainFab, but I had already bought the complete kit from Don at REZ Engineering in Great Falls. It's nice to support a business here in Montana, plus if I need any parts on short notice, shipping is overnight which is really nice. This is going to be a different truck with a 700r4, 3.73's, power steering and a sway bar!

[Captainfab]

I just noticed in this pic that your brake drums appear to not match up with your backing plates



And you say you need longer wheel studs due to the wider brakes. You should not need longer wheel studs because of the wider brake shoes. The drum should still be tight up against the axle flange. So the original wheel studs will be long enough. It looks and sounds like something is not right with your rear brakes.

[SFTorange]

Originally Posted by Captainfab

I just noticed in this pic that your brake drums appear to not match up with your backing plates



And you say you need longer wheel studs due to the wider brakes. You should not need longer wheel studs because of the wider brake shoes. The drum should still be tight up against the axle flange. So the original wheel studs will be long enough. It looks and sounds like something is not right with your rear brakes.

Thanks Captainfab for pointing that out. I looked into the lug studs yesterday, and realized that I did not need to replace mine. I just assumed that with wider brakes I would need longer studs, which I now see was incorrect. I test fit one of my wheels, and it fit fine. I just went out and double checked the brake drum from the picture and it was not fully seated on the axle flange. It looks better now.

[packrat42]

Good lookin stuff

[SFTorange]

Originally Posted by protrash64

Lookin' good SFT!! I just re-did my rear brakes and came out at roughly 150 getting my parts at Autozone. Re-used the adjusters and the emergency brake stuff.

Never tried to install coils without the whole truck on top!! Usually just jack up the a-arm and put on the nut!!

Yeah, that was an adventure! Thanks for the note.

Originally Posted by tommys66

Im glad to see your building the truck that was passed down to you, you'll be proud when your finished. A frame off build takes alot of patience! Don't get discouraged if something doesn't go right. Keep at it

Thanks! This has been a long time coming, and it is going feel great when it gets back on the road.

Originally Posted by Alan's Classic

Your welcome. Glad I could help. You are making some fantastic progress.

Thanks Alan! I'm headed over today to check in on the body work. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that he's making some progress!

Originally Posted by packrat42

Good lookin stuff

Thanks!

[AZ66GMC]

Looking good

Wish I could do a frame off...

Keep up the awesome work



Tony

[SFTorange]

Originally Posted by AZ66GMC

Looking good

Wish I could do a frame off...

Keep up the awesome work



Tony

Things are coming together! I just got my hubcaps from ksbrktracer.

[SFTorange]

I played around a bit tonight. I tore into the gauges, and with a lot of trial and error managed to zero out the speedometer. It was kind of like a little puzzle. I repainted the needles with Testors model paint, and got ready to install a repop tach. I also stripped the paint off of two of my new hubcaps.

[SFTorange]

I got a bunch of small things done this weekend. I finished up the driveline and did the final installation of the engine and transmission. I installed the bracket for my Lokar shifter, and dipstick. I'll post pictures soon.

Today I made a big decision and ordered my a/c setup. I went with the Vintage Air Gen IV Magnum setup. It'll take a bit of extra work on the installation since they don't make a sure fit kit for our trucks in that model. Mark from Vintage Air (coolair) is going to help me setup the controls in my original panel, and set me up with the right information and parts for m truck. TR65 already installed one, and his pictures and advice have been a big help. I'll be sure to document the install process as I go.

More soon.

[SFTorange]

Here are pictures of my latest progress. I never thought I'd get to this point, but I'm waiting on my body guy to get the cab ready

[structures]

Your progress looks great. Looking forward to more.

[SFTorange]

Originally Posted by structures

Your progress looks great. Looking forward to more.

Thanks! I'm starting to think about wiring. I hope the American Autowire kit makes it a relatively easy job...

[SFTorange]

It's amazing how much time you can spend to accomplish almost nothing, but progress is progress. I buttoned up my front suspension today, and finished bolting up the gas tank. I also cleaned the garage today, which makes me feel a lot better. I've got two huge shipments of parts coming in tomorrow, and my wheels should be painted and ready for tires. This thing should be rolling by tomorrow night!

[SFTorange]

Look what greeted me when I came home from my lunch break today! A big box of new parts from the truck shop, and my new a/c setup! I also picked up my newly painted wheels today so I can get this thing on the ground. Some bad news though, one of my junkyard wheels is so bent that it can't even be balanced. It's pretty frustrating, but part of the process I guess. I'll just have to track down another one and get it painted up.

[jonzcustomshop]

lookin' good!

[SFTorange]

The truck is rolling for the first time since October! I got some used tires installed on my newly painted wheels, so I pulled her out for a rinse off and some outdoor pictures.




The wheel color also serves as a preview of the main body color.


How it will look with a hubcap.



I haven't mentioned the shocks I went with. I have Monroe Sensa Track on the front, with Sensa track load adjusting shocks on the rear. I liked what the rear shocks were advertised to do: keep the truck level while carrying up to 1200 lbs, and still have a smooth ride unloaded.

[Miller92]

Great progress! Coming along very nicely!

[structures]

Those are interesting shocks. Where did you get them from? You really are cruisin' thru this build, it's great.

[Corts60]

I really like the color on the wheels. Very clean!

[SFTorange]

Originally Posted by jonzcustomshop

lookin' good!

Thanks Jon. Couldn't have gotten this far without your help!

Originally Posted by Miller92

Great progress! Coming along very nicely!

Thanks!

Originally Posted by Corts60

I really like the color on the wheels. Very clean!

I'm really happy with how they turned out. Even better, seeing some color is getting my wife more on board with the project!

Originally Posted by structures

Those are interesting shocks. Where did you get them from? You really are cruisin' thru this build, it's great.

They are monroe sensatrac load adjusting shocks. More info is below. I got a great deal on them from Amazon. They seem to really help with stability.

Monroe 58567 Sensa-Trac Load Adjusting Shock...

[SFTorange]

My dad came to town this weekend, and we finished rebuilding the vent windows. It wasn't too hard with further help from Alan's rebuild tutorial. I did end up using pop rivets to hold the vertical strip in place because I accidentally drilled out the holes in the frame too big when I took the original rivets out. They turned out really nicely and now open and close much more smoothly. The only problem was that I installed one of the washers in backwards and didn't realize until we installed the pivot rivet. The window wouldn't open up, and I had to drill out the new rivet to fix it. It looks like I'll be making a call in the morning for a couple more rivets.

I also rebuilt my windshield washer pump and spent a bunch of time messing around with my 12 volt power supply to see if it works. It is a really interesting setup how the windshield washer pump is engaged magnetically when the switch is activated.

[SFTorange]

The tire shop put a ding in one of my wheels, and they gave me $60 to get it repainted. I'm still thinking about if I'll leave the ding or not, but I used the money to order a new chrome 110 amp alternator from DB Electrical. I'm not sure about the quality, but it has a 1 year warranty and an unbeatable price. I'll post pics when it comes on Thursday. http://www.dbelectrical.com/c-8468-110-amp.aspx

I bought a 3 wire alternator. I'm going to leave the ammeter unhooked, and rig up a warning light in place of the tandem lock light. I'm now thinking that I'll rig up a parking brake warning light for the overspeed light while I'm at it. Thanks for the idea Jocko!

[SFTorange]

They say patience is a virtue, right?