47-55.1 55 years ago I was given this USAF 54 3100

[vintovka]

Simple bolt on affair with end bent over to attach bolt on knob. I did clean up my wire mess so they wouldn't get caught it the swing of the arm.

[joedoh]

nice work vin!

[vintovka]

Thanks . Now i need to pull it off and paint it. Really makes a difference and safer too. Its funny how this used to be an easy 2 minute fix and now at 70+ its an all day event (with post install pain). Keeping the 67 year old cut-off knob.

[mgchevyparts]

Your time in Thailand, 1972. Was that Takhli or Udorn? I was at both during the same time. Went to Danang Jan 1972 Nixon pulled us out May or June of 72 and went to Takhli. Another PCS from Takhli to Udorn around Sep 72 until I went home early Jan 73
I remember F-111's at Takhli but not sure if we had any at Udorn.

[vintovka]

Originally Posted by mgchevyparts

Your time in Thailand, 1972. Was that Takhli or Udorn? I was at both during the same time. Went to Danang Jan 1972 Nixon pulled us out May or June of 72 and went to Takhli. Another PCS from Takhli to Udorn around Sep 72 until I went home early Jan 73
I remember F-111's at Takhli but not sure if we had any at Udorn.

Was at Tahkli from about June 72 to march 73. F-111s were only at Tahkli at this time. 430th, and 428th. We lost 10 aircrew. You do know that During December 72 the threat of 24 F-111 each loaded with 4+ nukes was reason war ended. My target was Phuc Yen Airfield 19 miles North of Hanoi. Nice Spiker with a delay long enough for them to drive out to see if it was a dud. Shoulda done it.

[mgchevyparts]

I remember lots of F-111 crashes out of Takhli. If I remember correctly they got shut down not too long later.
12/72 while short in Udorn I remember my friend telling me "something was up" after they loaded 100% of F-4's with air to air missles on the night shift. I was in the MMS squadron that's when we bombed Hanoi and Haiphong from B52's. They even loaded the base defense F-4's with missles and we only kept 1 F-4 on the ground for base defense, normally 4 F-4's were kept on the ground ready for base defense.
If I remember correctly, VN ended in 1975 because we threw in the towel.

[vintovka]

They actually gave up and pretty much conceded to our stupid demands then and there by new years day 1973. Was in Intel and saw/read everything and they dragged out the official end to 1975 and promptly overran the south. They used the 2 years to stock up and recover. Like always NEVER believe the papers. The F4s were running protection and distraction. Spikes were necessary flying at 300' agl at very high speeds. Speaking of crashes was there when one broke an axle and burned with 24 500 pounders on board. was too close when they cooked off low order. hence the hearing aids. Did see a 53 AD running around Nakon Sawan, Flat bed and rusty as hell.

[vintovka]

Back to fixing stuff. The shift indicator illumination bulb was burnt out so a quick trip to autoparts store was in order. Like everyhting today the cost of the bulbs was up to a whopping $15.99!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (you has to buy a pack of two for some reason. Uh, NO! Anyway way too much for a tiny bulb and ever use the other. Gave it some thought and realized i had a whole pack of small led panel lights (3 for $0.99 on ebay). After some fiddling the panel was attached with its own sticky back tape and some leads were soldered on. Whole thing was encased in some unshrunk for now) shrink tube and run down the side of the column. Already wired the truck so all the dash lights come on when key is on and had taps ready. I need the extra lights in the day and night, Pics say it all.

[Dan in Pasadena]

^^^ Awesome!

[vintovka]

Well went to alignment shop down in Brookings OR (80 mile round trip). Shop said whoever installed the brand new Pittman arm installed it wrong and was not seated properly. They tried to fix it, but no and wouldn't align it. (Tell me again about how wonderful pothead mechanics are) Anyway, and more importantly I noticed the automatic electric fan wasn't running and barely made it home without stopping (all 40 miles!!). At home it went up in smoke when shunted around circuit breaker.

I posted for help picking a new fan and got some good advice. The best being replace with same type and kind!! Got a brand new OEM 1995 Taurus fan. Copied some small relief cuts i made in back in 1996!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!. And installed. Due to memory loss i finally remembered the guys saying this was the best hod rod fan ever!

Heres a short video that says it all. So if youre looking for a fan to fit a OEM AD radiator this may work for you:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HSN42EOTC_o

Its a two speed but run it on high with a 60 amp relay. With its built in shroud it sucks hard and will blow your hat off!! Best part was under $60 shipped, from a private seller who only had the one. Also cheep on rock auto Can highly recommend this one as it served me well for 25 years and really does the job. Forget that other junk. Thanks all.

[vintovka]

Well i played with the old fan. I cleaned both the ground and the positive contact that links the high and low fan functions. For fun I bypassed the fancy 2 contact clip on plug to a single contact that runs it on high only. Guess what ?? it works!! About took off like a drone cause it was face down on the bench. Amazing!! All that and the 25 year old fan works as new. Guess my grand kids will have a spare. Again these beat the h--ll out of those new chinese aftermarket jobs.

[vintovka]

With the 2019 Oregon Rainy Season opener scheduled for this next week i thought i would accelerate the major issues left on this build. This included having the exhaust run out past the rear bumper, Getting the windshield sealed and the front end aligned. When the first part of the exhaust system went in they said the under bed tank was too big and not possible. The glaspacs exhausted down in front of the axle and created a loud headache inducing drone. Thanks to some very talented guys at Mufflers and More in Brookings oregon the drone is gone and i have very cool "TWICE PIPES"!!! Not bad work for a 75 year old muffle man and his almost geriatric assistant.

[vintovka]

I'm finding doing the small stuff is now a challenge due to age. I also figure i better get it done while i still can. Tasks today included an annoying alternator belt squeal and a dead backup light. The Belt was really easy. Dumbass pothead mechanic used a belt that was 3" too long. grabbed a shorter one from my belt array and Volia!. Alt belt changes are super easy with no Fan blades in the way.

Second issue was the dead backup light. Only 1 year old and dead. Moisture got in. Bought a new set just like the front fog lights and rewired it all. Used soldered joints and shrink tube. Made some "L" brackets up and mounted lights off the back of the existing bumper bolts. Now "hella" bright and very necessary as eyes are going and there are no street light for 10 and 20 miles in our area.

FWIW i wanted to see how bring the existing front ones were. Going down a dark (pitch black) HWY all by my lonesome and switched the existing Halogen Headlights off and the leds on. WOW!! They are 10x brighter than my brights and can see 1000' feet ahead. That just created another project. Hooking these up so they come on with the regular brights.

These are good:

Nilight 60001F-B Bar 2PCS 18w 4" Flood Fog Road Boat Driving Led Work Light SUV Jeep Lamp,2 Years Warranty

These are bad:

Willpower 2Pcs 6 inch 18W Spot LED Work Light Lamp off Road High Power ATV Jeep 4x4 Tractor off Road Light Fog Driving Bar Rree Truck SUV Car


Some pics

[vintovka]

Well the Oregon Monsoon season has begun and the truck is now mostly confined to quarters. Will be doing some more minor fixes and improvements. Appears some of the tranny leaks were coming from the NP208 fill plug and Speedometer connection. Grabbed the teflon tape and wrapped the threads on each and seems leaks have stopped. Will be attempting to make front LED floods come on with High Beams. Probably illegal but beyond caring based on what govt does nowa days. Also will be wiring running lights to be on when engine in running. Its really dark here at time and too many are watching the waves where i pull into 101. Also bought a neat little gizmo that shows time, date, inside and outside temp and voltage. Switchs from blue to green illumination i can actually easily see with my aftermarket eyes. Only $12 and blocks some of the NRA horrible work on the dash. (see i didn't say pothead!). If you want pics just say so.

[vintovka]

heres the display For $12 bucks its nice AND i can see it in daytime with sunglasses on.

[rgunlock]

Pretty cool gizmo. Where did you find it, and where did you mount the sensor for outside temperature?

[vintovka]

This is the item on amazon

OLLGEN Multifunctional 4 in 1 Car Digital Clock in/Out Thermometer Voltage Monitor with Stand and Magic Tape.

Temp sensor was run over to the pass side, thru a grommet and down fender to under running boards. Very easy. very accurate. Has green and blue backlights. I like blue. Had a previous version for 20+ years. It still works but only a black display. I already had a dual plug outlet hidden under dash so power was easy. At 12 bucks its the cheapest voltmeter alone you'll ever find.

[rgunlock]

Thanks, got me one. Appreciate the tip.

[vintovka]

Mine serves a number of purposes plus with age i need all the "visible" help i can get. Next battle (with loose steering) is coming up later this week.

[vintovka]

Next fix is the sloppy steering. Column is from a 87 c10 van. The steering shaft is a jury rigged two piece affair done over 20 years ago and was about worn out before that. The lower column bearing is shot as well.

Marked the shaft when fully installed, pulled it and drilled 3/8" hole. Test fitted a 3/8" bolt and painted the whole thing. Yes, I know all about the column thru the chest danger by eliminating the sliding column thing. Too old to care.

While it was out i disassembled the column bearing and replaced with a new one. Very easy job. Pull clip spray with wd-40 remove cover, slide off bearing and holder. Old bearing was missing a few ball bearings.

Reinstalled shaft and bolted tight. Steers much, much better but upper column bearing and infamous 4 bolts in the tllt collar need attention. Maybe next time,

Lower column kit is listed as a jeep part but works, Here it is:

Crown Automotive 4487696K Steering Shaft Bearing Kit

Pic are of assembled fix. went too fast tho take before pics.

[vintovka]

The repro original style rear view mirror has been giving me neck cramps. Its either too high or i have shrunk in the past 5 decades. Sadly i think it is the latter. After some quick fabbing i came up with a 2" x 1/2 extension and drilled 4 5/16' equally spaced holes in it. After some tries I used the top and bottom holes Drops mirror about 1.5" inches and no more cramps. Can easily see way back now. The extra length did cause some vibration issues. Split a 1" rubber firewall grommet and placed behind the mount and re tightened screws. You can just see the grommet in last pic. Damps it pretty good and hardly shows. If you have one of these i found the stud thread is roughly 1/4 x24 NF. Not having any handy I re threaded an 1/4 x28NF Allen head and the extra attaching nut. If you having same problem this is a cheap and easy fix.

[vintovka]

Next up is correcting poor headlight visibility. Really dark here and the yellow glow from the low and high beams are not enough (even with my brand new re manufactured eyes). The halogen fogs help but not when lots of light is needed in a hurry. The forward little LEDs ($12) do he job but their dash switch is hard to repeatedly find/reach in a hurry. One wire from LEDs input switch GM column stalk fixed it. They come on with bright but still work with their dash switch. Like a forward lazer array at your finger tips. Pics show it all.

[vintovka]

Still wish this could all be moved to the "build" thread!!

Veterans Day today. Washed her up and touched up the crappy paintjob . We were invited to a free lunch for vets at the "Wild Oats BBQ" here in gold beach or. Wife and I drove truck down there, got to park right in front of the restaurant and enjoy a 3 course lunch with all the fixins. Everyone loved the truck.

They had a "missing man" table set up with an empty plate and a glass of red wine. During lunch they symbolically added some salt to the plate which really drove it home. Made me think back all the F-111 aircrew had ridden with me so long ago. While OT heres some links to one Pilot who rode in it back in 1972. I am just to left in pic but I drew the attack plan shown in the crash pic when they found it like 30 years later,

http://www.f-111.net/combat/coltman/index.htm

http://www.f-111.net/combat/ranger23.htm

[dsraven]

for better lights try some led headlights. some better than others so check around. also, could you install/integrate a light bar near the front lic plate and make it look decent? some of those have a small curve built in so they shine wide as well as far. maybe what you are looking for? check the local regulations first, of course, because some are for off road use only.....

[vintovka]

Originally Posted by dsraven

for better lights try some led headlights. some better than others so check around. also, could you install/integrate a light bar near the front lic plate and make it look decent? some of those have a small curve built in so they shine wide as well as far. maybe what you are looking for? check the local regulations first, of course, because some are for off road use only.....

Thanks for the suggestion. I thought about the LED headlights but way too spendy. The cheapy leds are so bright I really don't even need the old halogens except for looks. As for looks, my current "light bar" is made from 2x2 steel angle bolted to frame and bumper and intended to look "HFS" (hell for stout) and does. Eventually was going to add a row of carriage bolts to it like faux boiler rivets.

As for regulations my immediate neighbors are the cops and they have more "illegal" mods (like leds ) on their trucks than can be imagined. Very few vehicle laws enforced here unless you have a non Oregon plate and then you are a cash cow. Heck even mufflers are considered an "optional accessory" and many are even ripping out catalytics.

My forward LEDS are only on with the normal brights so i can dim them manually for oncoming cars. Working on getting a sensor/system to do that automatically FWIW I think new cars with "projectors" may even be brighter than what i had.