1969 Custom/10 clean up

[Steve-W]

Yesterday I visited an acoustics shop, where they sell everything that has to do with sound deadening, house, boat, car you name it, they'll have it.
and ofcourse I couldn't leave empty handed, so I picked up

4 sq meters that'll be about 13 sq foot of Vibraflex for the floor
2 sq meters (6,5 sq foot) StP Gold for the doors, rear wall and fire wall.
I just realized that might be a bit to little..but I'll find out as I'm installing it.



Hopefully I'll get to it this weekend, because now where having decent whether and I'm busy smoking 8 pounds of Livar Ribs..yummie!

[hgs_notes]

Originally Posted by Steve-W

4 sq meters that'll be about 13 sq foot of Vibraflex for the floor
2 sq meters (6,5 sq foot) StP Gold for the doors, rear wall and fire wall.
I just realized that might be a bit to little..but I'll find out as I'm installing it.

Your math is off. A square meter is about 11 sq ft each, so 4 sq meters would be almost 44 sq ft. You should have plenty.

Good luck with the brakes.

[RockinKees]

Steve, do you have a link to this company?
I need some of that too in the near future....

[Steve-W]

Originally Posted by RockinKees

Steve, do you have a link to this company?
I need some of that too in the near future....

pm sent

[RockinKees]

Thanks!!

Don't forget to mention if it works!!

[RockinKees]

Nice new parts, Steve!
Are you ready to testdrive it yet, tomorrow?
If so, succes!!!

[hgs_notes]

If the door panel is hitting on the arm rest you should see a mark there when you remove it. Just chisel or use a router to remove some of the wood there so it sits back further. Could even cut all the way through and the arm rest will cover it.

I have used the thread-o-lets or riv-nuts on my truck. They work great. If you can put a bolt in them from the back side then set the door panel in place and tap it where it hits the end of the bolt you will know exactly where to drill the panel.

Good luck on your test drive today.

[Steve-W]

Originally Posted by hgs_notes

If the door panel is hitting on the arm rest you should see a mark there when you remove it. Just chisel or use a router to remove some of the wood there so it sits back further. Could even cut all the way through and the arm rest will cover it.

I have used the thread-o-lets or riv-nuts on my truck. They work great. If you can put a bolt in them from the back side then set the door panel in place and tap it where it hits the end of the bolt you will know exactly where to drill the panel.

Good luck on your test drive today.

that's some good advice, the truck didn't even have armrests when I bought it, so I didn't know it would cover the hole.

I'll be heading over to the garage in a hour, first picking up a mate who will help me out.

we'll be filling the cooling system with water and the cleaning stuff to get rid of the muck and grub. then proper coolant. I'll be sure to film the first yards it drives Mostly I am curious about the brakes.

[hgs_notes]

If you still need arm rests, let me know. I probably have some extras in the garage.

[Steve-W]

Originally Posted by hgs_notes

If you still need arm rests, let me know. I probably have some extras in the garage.

I Appreciate the offer, but don't forget I live on the other side of the pond.
I think the cheapest way of shipping would be US postal?
at LMC a set only costs $60,- so if I would order it at a dutch importer, it would cost me in total (including freight) about $110,-
So depending on what shape their in, color and shipping cost, yes I'm interested

[Steve-W]

So..last night was the night of the testdrive..
I watched a movie on Youtube how to pre adjust the rear brakes, so I did that, adjusted the E-brake, put the wheels on and put it on it's wheels for the first time in over 2 years..
filled the tranny fluid, checked the engine oil and filled the radiator with water and the cleaning stuff.
ofcourse she fired right up, but from the first moment she started rolling I could tell the brakes weren't what I expected...but hey, it was the first yard, so maybe the brakes needed some adjusting, setting etc.

down below there's the movie of the very first yards it drives, I actually took it out a second time and rode it around the block, going halfway the block backwards pumping the brakes so they would adjust..but the brakes suck bigtime! they are hardly any better then having non booster powered drums in front and the back brakes closed off (yes the PO did that to prevent it from leaking?...)
So or the I got the plumbing back to front on the master cilinder, which I don't thing should make such a difference, or the booster isn't working, because I do have vacuum. any advice is highly appreciated here.
second disturbing thing I noticed what the harmoning balancer wobbling around and making a clunking noice? I tried to move it with my bare hands, but it seems to be on firmly..so whats that noise and why the wobble.
I'll make a movie of that to, so it's clear what I'm talking about.

ok without further ado..here's the vid' of the test drive
check out this movie!


here's two pic's of how it looks now, second one is my 4,5 year old son testing the hood

[hgs_notes]

When I adjust the rear brakes I usually set them just below the drag point. Push the pedal and it grabs, release and it's not dragging on the shoes, but close. It's possible you have them reversed side to side, meaning the adjusters are on backwards. In any case, the front brakes should work well enough on their own. Some master cylinders are plumbed the opposite of what you think it should be. Normally the front brakes come off the forward most fitting and the rear off the back, but not always. Long idle trucks also can have problems with the pro portioning valve not working. I know you bled the brakes, but bleed them again. You used the vacuum method and if you didn't use the pedal method at all there could be air in the master cylinder, which should have been bled also.

It sounds great though. Good luck.

[Steve-W]

Originally Posted by hgs_notes

It's possible you have them reversed side to side, meaning the adjusters are on backwards.

I'm very sure they're on correctly as you can see in this picture of the left side..only thing is the bottem spring is the wrong way around, but I changed that before completing the brakes.

Originally Posted by hgs_notes

In any case, the front brakes should work well enough on their own. Some master cylinders are plumbed the opposite of what you think it should be. Normally the front brakes come off the forward most fitting and the rear off the back, but not always. Long idle trucks also can have problems with the pro portioning valve not working. I know you bled the brakes, but bleed them again. You used the vacuum method and if you didn't use the pedal method at all there could be air in the master cylinder, which should have been bled also.

thanks for the feedback and I guess my root-cause analysis will look like this:
first testdrive without the vacuum connected to the brake booster, just to see if it does anything, then reroute the plumbing, then take out proportioning valve..and if all that does't show the problem, I'll set her on fire and drink myself to sleep

@88Stanger, the front bumper came from LMCtruck partnumber 38-9495 $99,-

[Steve-W]

Tonight I didn't have much time, because some colleagues and me where out driving go karts for charity! but on the way back I passed the garage and I just had to solve one ohter issue I had.
from LMC I bought the turn signal switch. but once installed, I would connect my battery and the horn starts blearing!!

the problem is in the construction of the turn signal switch.
I had to file of some metal of my brand new switch, but hey atleast it works.


the circeled part is what connected to the top bearing switch support bracket thingy

[Steve-W]

Another productive day yesterday, didn't get around the brake problem, but I had solved the problem I had with my turn signals.

the PO put in LED taillights and the left one had worked, but didn't since I put in the Easy wiring set.
The turn signals also didn't work yet and when I pressed the brake, the brake light would turn off on the side which I selected with the turn signal.

So starting at the back, I discovered that the left taillight connector had come loose some how, that was easy to fix. next I checked my ground cables, which looked alright, but I cleaned the metal underneeth just to make sure it was metal on metal and not metal on rust

I then moved towards the front and re-read though my wiring set-up..
Shock and awe when I found out I connected up the wires in such a way the ground was completely missing

After fixing the left side, both front and back where working. tomorrow I'll get to the right side and hopefully the brake issue

[hgs_notes]

I've also heard of problems with new pro portioning valve not working at all. And I'm not sure if your mounting to the firewall and not set more level like they typically are matters or not. I don't think it matters, but maybe.

[88Stanger]

nice job. where did you get the front bumper?

[RockinKees]

And??
All lights are working now?
Got into your brakes yet?

[Steve-W]

Yup, all lights and blinkers are working fine now, so I changed the brake lines on the master brake cylinder back to front..but no improvement as far as I could tell. this tells me one atleast one thing:
It doesn't really matter how you hook up the front or rear brake lines.
I did a bit of a sloppy job bleeding the brakes, so the pedal is a bit soft on the first press, but still I could tell the brakes didn't improve.
One of my mates swears that it is because the brakes still have to be run in, but I know how new bakes feel and this is much worse

another problem occured that my gearbox was out of oil.. I know it's leaky, but I got stuck after 20 yards on my test drive having lost the power to the rear
filled it up a bit and drove back to the garage.

I think I’ll bypass the brake balancer with the front brakes and see if that might solve something.

[RockinKees]

Maybe a dumm question, but are you using a residual valve(s) in your system?
That helps to hold a little pressure in your brakeline....

[Steve-W]

Originally Posted by RockinKees

Maybe a dumm question, but are you using a residual valve(s) in your system?
That helps to hold a little pressure in your brakeline....

Well, the travel of the brake pedal is nog that big, so apart from that I wouldn't know what the advantage would be?
Posted via Mobile Device

[RockinKees]

The benefit is that you have a bit of pressure in the brakeline and brakecilinders, which gives faster responce on your brakepedal.
You can get these valves in different pressure values.

I had a '67 Volvo Amazon once with bad brakes, put in residual valves in the front and rear brakelines, and that made a huge different, just a thought...

[Steve-W]

Originally Posted by RockinKees

The benefit is that you have a bit of pressure in the brakeline and brakecilinders, which gives faster responce on your brakepedal.
You can get these valves in different pressure values.

I had a '67 Volvo Amazon once with bad brakes, put in residual valves in the front and rear brakelines, and that made a huge different, just a thought...

Ok, I never heard of it, but this is a good tip! I'll see if I can find them somewhere. it doesn't hurt to try

[Steve-W]

I was staring at my truck having a beer and a smoke when I had an epiphany.. could the brake linkage system cause the problem?

so the new MBC and BB came without the support frame. I luckily was able to purchase one from a member of this forum.
but instead of the pushrod going from the pedal directly in to the booster, there is a linkage system. ( see pics) how likely is it, that this diminishes the power I apply to the pedal to what eventually goes into the MBC?



further more I looked at the size of the booster and thought it was pretty big..(compared to European cars yes) but I have these two old MDC and BB's which I didn't use, because I bought the new one and looking at those, there is a significant size difference..not so much in diameter, but more in the depth.. the new one from bracket to mbc is 4" thick and the old one is almost 6" thick...that's, substantial!

[hgs_notes]

The linkage increases the movement of the push rod into the booster/master cylinder. If the rod from the pedal pushes in 1/4" the rod into the M/C is about twice that. Mine has the same set up. It looks like the booster on the truck is a standard C-10 unit and the ones in the box are the C-20 units.

Did you get the rod from the power brake set up that connects to the brake pedal? They are different lengths. The non-power brake rod from the pedal is shorter and won't work on a power brake set up. The rod into the booster may also be different between the C-10 and C-20 booster styles but I'm not sure on that.

Have you measured how much vacuum you have? It should be a good 15" or more at idle. Mine will run about 10-12" while driving and increase at idle. Drops to almost nothing when accelerating. Measure it at the vacuum line to the booster.

If the brakes and master cylinder are properly bled (not always easy, I did mine multiple times) and the brakes properly adjusted the brakes should be firm. If you have too much pedal movement before you feel pressure then the rod connected to the brake pedal needs adjusted.

When I converted to power brakes I had to learn how to brake again because they grabbed so much harder and quicker than I was used to. I used the C-20 booster set up.