Welcome Home, Gentleman Jim

[swissarmychainsaw]

Today, I'm excited to say, I found my new truck.
A 75 Gentleman Jim.

It's in a bit rough condition, but I picked it up at a good price, with some room in my pocketbook to make some improvements.
Today I looked at it and closed the deal, tomorrow I go get it!

Truck has been sitting for a long time. Had to jump start it, but it fired right up and ran great.

Leaks coolant (water) out of the Water Pump really badly, so I filled it up first and went for a test drive! I have a two hour drive to get it home, and maybe I'm crazy but I'm going to put a new water pump, belts and hoses before it even goes to the gas station.

The owner is the sweetest lady ever and she is going to let me do the work in her carport. Hopefully the job goes smoothly, and quick. Supposed to be hot here.

Replacing the pump looks really straight forward. What gotchas should I look for?

The truck has the AC compressor but no belt, so I'm going to leave it.
Do I need to pull the alternator out of the way?

What's crazy awesome is that this truck is nearly 40 years old, but the auto parts place had everything I needed for it in stock! Score! and it was all cheap!

It has some pretty bad damage to the bed, but other than that its in decent shape (for a beater!)

I has been repainted at some point (some black in the body trim). Its a pretty good "30 footer".

The other slightly scary thing is that the trans leaks a bit and was low on fluid. Reverse did not clunk into gear and would only engage when I gave it a little extra gas. I'm hoping that some added fluid and some lucas additive will help. That or I'm nuts.