Danny Boy is BAACK! w/ '55 Big Window

[Dan in Pasadena]

Sarge and Kabwe on the same day? I'm honored.

My truck will never be as nice or as custom as your two but it will be as loved! This hardly qualifies as a "build". I suppose its a refurbishment or something.

Going this afternoon to see if anyone still actually carried "points & condensor" ha ha. The joke in my head is I finally own a vehicle I'm qualified to work on. I LITERALLY haven't changed points and set the dwell on a car in what? 35 years!

Anyway, thanks guys for sending well wishes, Dan

[Kabwe]

Originally Posted by Dan in Pasadena

Sarge and Kabwe on the same day? I'm honored.

My truck will never be as nice or as custom as your two but it will be as loved! This hardly qualifies as a "build". I suppose its a refurbishment or something.

Anyway, thanks guys for sending well wishes, Dan

Nope I'm honored that you think that much of my build. And about the well wishes that's what its all about man. I'm glad you are enjoying your ride. That's just cool.

[Dan in Pasadena]

Okay, I promised some better-than-crappy-cell-phone-pictures and here they are. My truck wearing "new" vintage shoes. I want to polish that outer lip but I'll get to it...eventually.





I also finished grinding out the spot welds the original owner used to hold a thick piece of sheet metal down over the wood floor. As expected the wood is shot. A lot rotted and I pulled it out by hand. Incredibly, there is ZERO cancer under that plate! Even though there was dirt packed solid and hard around the edge - which was undoubtedly wet over the years - there's no rot through. Not even that much surface rust.





I also found one of those Velcro heat shields for my starter today at O'Reilly's. Haven't installed it yet but once I do I intend to take the truck out for a long drive to see if it works.

[Dan in Pasadena]

I bought one of those fiber type paint and rust remover wheels and I also have a small sandblaster. If I use either and can get all the visible surface rust, what do I use as a final "wash" of some kind before priming? Should I prime with epoxy primer, or what?

[Kim57]

Looking good Dan.
Kim

[ChuckDriver]

Looking better everyday!

[FFredo]

Dan, I just saw and read this thread. Very nice truck, I wish mine was in that shape when I bought it last month. Your truck is a dimond in the not so rough. Congrats, I'm realy digging the small touches like your choice of wheel and tire.
A cpl of years a go I redid a 63 econoline. Like you I didnt know how to mig weld but the 63 had so much cancer I had to learn. A cpl of cokes while watching a butt load of youtube vids and I was off and running. My advice is spend as much as you can on a welding hood. Being able to see is half the battle when welding.
Remember the pomona swap is coming up soon. Save your pennys and take a good pair of walking shoes, steal your neighbors kids little red wagon for hauling your loot back to the truck at the end of the day.

[Dan in Pasadena]

Thanks all you guys - Kim, Chuckdriver, & Fredo (you broke my heart! Sorry, a little "Godfather" humor. I couldn't help myself)

Today I got home a bit early and put the vlecro insulating blanket on my starter. Drove to a buddy's house, let it sit for 5 minutes then went out and it started right up - excellent, I thought. After an hour or so, I left. Stopped off at Pep Boys to return something...it wouldn't start. Took well over an hour for it to cool enough. This is well after the headers were cool enough I could touch them...FRUSTRATING! I guess a mini high torque starter is in my future afterall...AND I'll reinstall that insulating blanket since I kind effed it up!

I also pulled the differential cover off my 10 bolt. Here's what I saw:


I don't know Jack about differentials but I don't THINK this is a posi, is it? My truck is so damn tall I didn't lift it to drain it so I couldn't rotate the wheels to count the teeth. What I could reach I counted so 18 teeth on the pinion and about 37 teeth on the ring gear. I know that's not accurate but I'm hoping one of you more experience guys can tell me what my final drive ratio is likely? PO told me he thought it was 3.37:1. Does that sound right to you?

Anyway, cleaned her out and found no mettallic bits at all. Fluid was brownish...kinda dirty but didn't smell. Buttoned her back up with new gasket, a bit of RTV and put new synthetic fluid in it - 32oz. bottle, is that enough?

Tomorrow? Replace a broken wheel stud, cut out the remaining wood in the bed, clean up/paint bed strips (& set aside, start wire wheeling/sanding the bed interior for primer. Let's see how much of all that I get done!

[Dan in Pasadena]

Well, it sucks to be me right now. I post about my truck on another board and someone who saw the above picture posted THIS:

"Number one, the bolt that retains the spider gear shaft is broken off, did you find the head? Not a good thing to have floating around in there. Number two, you need to rotate the carrier, that's the part that the ring gear is bolted to, so we can look inside to tell if it's a posi. Number three, if you look on the end of the pinion gear it probably is stamped with the gear tooth count. If you had rolled the truck forward or back for enough to look inside of the carrier you could have probably seen the stamping on the pinion. Number four, It should take a little more than two quarts of oil, you want to fill it until a little runs back out of the hole.

http://www.nastyz28.com/forum/showthread.php?t=107063

Good pictures...You need to get that bolt out and install a new one. I've seen them after the pin slid out because of a broken retaining bolt, it locks up the rear end and you might as well junk it. Once you remove the retainer don't let the pin slide out and drop the gears. It can drive you nuts getting the spider gears phased where the pin will line up. The rear end in the picture is a posi, you can see the spring in the middle of the carrier. It sucks to reinstall that spring if you have to remove it."

So, EFF me! I'm in for some work. Not tomorrow, but I won't be driving the truck til I get this sorted out. Damn....but I guess its better than a lot of bad cancer in the truck. Wish me luck. Anyone with experience on getting this broken bolt out, please chime in.

[Dan in Pasadena]

Back to the "fun" stuff (No, haven't fixed rearend yet). I pulled the remaining wood from my bed and started sanding. I ended up only doing one side of the bed in & out as there were a LOT of scratches to be feathered out. It's not perfect but for over 50 years old its in truly amazingly undented shape.

Wood I couldn't get out by hand was still fairly strong. Sawzall took care of it..mostly!


Forgot to take a picture after sanding, sorry.


Sanded/painted rear around tailgate I forgot to do previously. At least its all one color from ONE point of view!

[Dan in Pasadena]

Another small job I did was start repairing my cracked original steering wheel.

Fairly bad cracks, hope it works! Here's how it looked to start:


A lot of advice online says to widen out the cracks with a file. I did that before on my '46 and made them too wide. I used my Dremel this time to minimally "clean" the crack inside, blew it out and used JB Quik Weld (I may regret not using regular JB but its what I had without going out!)



Gotta leave a heavy "scab" of JB on the surface so you don't have to fill a second time-though you frequently do anyway. Tomorrow, I will thoroughyl sand and feather it all out, prime and paint later in the week.

[BlueJeep]

When you take another look at that diff, I bet it's a roll pin that holds the cross shaft into the carrier, as opposed to a bolt.

Great looking truck!

[flatbed51]

Love the Torque Thrust wheels!!!!!
Don

[Dan in Pasadena]

Originally Posted by BlueJeep

When you take another look at that diff, I bet it's a roll pin that holds the cross shaft into the carrier, as opposed to a bolt.

Great looking truck!

Man, don't I wish! Are you speaking from experience by any chance? Please, plase, oh please!

Originally Posted by flatbed51

Love the Torque Thrust wheels!!!!!
Don

Thanks Don, me too. I know they're most likely not REAL vintage TT-D's (anyone know how to tell for certain?) but the guy I bought them from said he'd had them from the mid 70's. Iroically, he'd been savingthem for a '55 Chevy Handyman wagon but was losing his business so he was selling off pretty much everything. I wish I'd had the cash to buy that wagon. It was in the same kinda shape as this truck.

[BlueJeep]

Originally Posted by Dan in Pasadena

Man, don't I wish! Are you speaking from experience by any chance? Please, plase, oh please!

Yes, I am. I've built 100+ axles (dana, ford, GM corporate, Toyota, etc.). I've seen carriers with bolts and carriers with roll pins, but I'd say better than 50% of the ones I've done have been roll pins. Get a can of brakleen, a good light, and a pick and you'll be able to figure it out.

[Dan in Pasadena]

BlueJeep, You're gonna be a life saver if it turns out there's no broken bolt. I'll DEFINITELY post pic's of what I find after I've lifted, drained, Brakleened and examined. Again, thank you for your interest and advice, Dan

[LakeShow24]

nice truck. any updates?

[01spirit750]

Nice truck.

Your starter problem sounds to me like the solenoid.

Too bad I live up in the Silicon valley area, I have a fairly new starter I would give you.

You might try replacing the solenoid. You will have to remove the starter to replace the solenoid.

Chris

[floridasteve]

I am not an expert by any streetch of the imagination, but my first thought was that there was no broken bolt. I cracked the rear cover of a 67 Camaro 10 bolt posi rear I have in the garage (future install). Sure enough it is a pin and not a broken bolt, you should be fine with it like it is. I have put a photo in just to show you mine.

I hope this help ease your mind.

[Dan in Pasadena]

Thanks guys for all the interest and advice. I haven't opened the rearend cover again becasue I haven't driven the truck - been out of town. Since my last posting I've finished the steering wheel repair and painted it. I've spent a couple hundred on small parts like tail light brackets, window anti rattle strips, locking gas cap, tranny floor cover, etc but haven't installed anything. I'll get some new pics and post them perhaps tonight. Thansk again for the interest, Dan

[Wheelie]

Super clean truck! I wish mine truck body was as clean as yours. Score on the bed too!

[Dan in Pasadena]

Originally Posted by Wheelie

Super clean truck! I wish mine truck body was as clean as yours. Score on the bed too!

Well, turns out it's not QUITE as rust free as I orignally thought

Ha, ha, some surprise there,huh? A 50+ year old truck with some cancer?! I was sanding the edges of the doors this morning so I could primer them before installing the new door seals and found some minimal (appearing) rust-through on the door bottoms. They are tiny holes but of course when I get in there it'll undoubtedly be more. I need to look up a thread on repairing door bottoms in case I have to peel back the door skins. But thanks for the kind words. I'm loving working on this truck bit by bit. On one hand I want to do it all at once and on the other, I enjoy doing one thing perfectly (well, close...for a frame-on) and then moving on to the next.

[FFredo]

Welcome back Dan, I've been waiting to see your next bit of progress.
Sorry I dont know what a door seal retainer is either. I know there are new seals on my truck if I remember I'll take a look tonight after work and if it's there I'll snap a pic.

[Dan in Pasadena]

Thanks Fredo.

I found a CL ad for (supposedly) rust free doors for as low as $60 ea. in Phoenix. Fortunately, I've got family there who visit L.A. often, so I could get them here. Just wondering from those that have done it...IF the "carcass" of these $60 doors is truly rust free isn't that a better deal than tryng to repair mine? The patch panels cost and I need to buy weld supplies-not to mention I need to practice. Plus, my doors each have two speaker holes in them I would have to repair. Possibly the Phoenix ones don't have holes (Yeah, a longshot I agree)

Your thoughts?
Posted via Mobile Device

[FFredo]

If you can get decent doors for 60 bones apiece I say jump on it.
In fact I need a drivers side for a 58-59!!!