Saturday, October
02, 2004 - Spent the day in the shop again, but
spent as much time cleaning parts as anything else, so there really
isn't a lot of pictorial-type updates. I ordered new flexible front
brake lines yesterday and stopped in and picked them up this morning.
Last weekend I sandblasted and painted the clips which old the flexible
lines to the frame brackets, but when I went to install them today, I
could only find one, so I had to swipe another off the parts truck and
sandblast/paint it. While I was under the parts truck, I also removed
the front e-brake frame bracket so I could sandblast and paint it, and
got it mounted.
I then decided I needed
to get the fuel line put in. The parts truck has a good line, so I went
back out and removed it. However, I decided to hold off getting it
cleaned up and mounted until I can get the fuel tank permanently
mounted, since there will be some minor fabrication involved, adapting
the in-cab fuel tank line to the underbed auxiliary tank I'm using.
When I went to install
the front flexible lines, I found out that the new lines didn't come
with the special hollow bolts which attach the line to the caliper, so I
had to go scrounging in my parts bin and round up a couple of them and
get them cleaned up. Got the flexible lines installed and then went on
to finish up the front lines. I also picked up a new 60" length of brake
line (the longest they had), but found out that it was still going to be
about 6"-8" too short. Therefore, I had to decide whether I wanted to
special order the length I needed to go splice two pieces together, and
I opted for the latter. After doing some careful measuring and bending,
I was able to put the splice up alongside the frame rail where it will
be pretty well hidden (Fig. 3)
I then spent almost two
hours cleaning up the power steering cooler and getting it mounted (Fig.
4). I decided to try using the '73-'79 style of cooler which is mounted
to the L/F inside frame rail. After some unpleasant experiences with the
earlier engine-mounted PS cooler, I decided to try this one. However, it
appears that the front crossmember on the '73-'79 trucks is a bit
narrower, allowing the cooler to sit closer to the pump. I had to
slightly stretch the lines to clear the wider '67 crossmember, but I
think it looks good. However, should I decide not to use this as the
project continues, I can easily remove it and go with the engine-mounted
style. There was only one hole to drill in the frame to mount this.
After scraping the gunk off this one, I then scrubbed it down with
cleaning solvent, then hit the lines with some coarse steel wool to
further clean it, then polished it up with some fine steel wool. I like
the look of the raw polished steel, so I'm going to do some research to
find out what can be done to keep it looking shiny without worrying
about rust issues.
Well, I'm about
98% done with the rolling chassis. Next on the list of items to do
is the fuel tank. I need to sandblast it and the skidplate, flush it
out and coat the inside. I picked up three more bags of silica sand
today specifically for this purpose. Once the tank's mounted, I can
run the fuel line from it up to the front crossmember...and I'll be
basically done with this phase, and it'll finally be time to start
on the rust repair on the cab! Stay tuned. |
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Fig. 1 - Here's a shot
of the finished-up front brakes.
Fig. 2 - ...and here's a close-up of the L/F corner.
Fig. 3 - I was forced to put a splice in this front line, but it's
in a fairly hidden spot.
Fig. 4 - Here's a view of the '73-'79 style of power steering cooler
that I'll be (tentatively) using.
Fig. 5 - One last view of the rolling chassis, which is about 98%
completed.
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