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Page 14
Some More Updates... |
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June 24, 2007 - Well, I got some good
progress done today, but then hit a major brick wall.
I finished up the installation of the rear rollpan by sanding
down the filler at the joints. Fig. 01 is a shot of the
finished rollpan with the tailgate installed, just to make a
final check that there was no interference between the two.
Then I spent a good part of the afternoon getting the bed
painted....same drill as before, two coats of POR-15 and then
several very heavy coats of Krylon Flat black. Fig. 02 is
a view of the finished product.
I then rolled it outside into the driveway so I could get the
shop cleaned up a little bit, since I'm basically done with all
welding and bodywork. Figs. 03 and 04 are shots taken
while it was outside. Don't mind the splotchy paint...I believe
I mentioned earlier in this build-up that the whole truck is
going to be sprayed with John Deere Blitz Black very soon. But
at least now you'll have a better idea of what it's actually
going to look like.
Anyway, since the bodywork is 99% done (still have to paint the
tailgate and hood) I decided to get to work on the engine. The
390 I was going to use is one I bought several years ago as a
rebuilder core for my '67. I've been stockpiling some parts for
it, including a rear-sump 4WD oil pan, which I decided to go
ahead and install today. So, I dropped the oil pan and got a bad
surprise. There were some presents for me down in the bottom of
the pan, shown in Fig. 05.
There's a small oil gallery plug, as well as a couple piston
wristpin keepers...which pretty much means that at least one
piston is toasted. I hadn't heard this engine run when I bought
it, but was told it did...and was really hoping it was in good
shape. However, it's now appearing that the 390 is going to be
going through a complete teardown to inspect the internal
carnage.
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Fig. 01 - Here's a view of
the rear rollpan, sanded down and ready to paint.
Fig. 02 - And the bed is now painted!
Fig. 03
Fig. 04
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Fig. 05 - I found this collection of small parts setting
in the oil pan of the 390. |
So much for the project picking up momentum! I was thinking I
was seeing the light at the end of the tunnel, but it just took
several LARGE steps back. |
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Fig. 06 - I spent an
evening after work tearing into the 390 to see what kind of
internal carnage there was, as a result of the lost wrist pin
keepers pictured in Fig. 05. Here's a view of the back two bores
on the left side.
Fig. 07 - OUCH!! When the
wrist pin keepers fell out, the wrist pins slid over and
seriously damaged the bore walls. Since the block was already
bored .030-over, it couldn't be rebored to clean this up, even
if the gouges weren't nearly this deep. |
July 11, 2007 - Well, I haven't had a
chance to get to the shop lately, mainly due to getting some
stuff whittled off my 'Honey-Do' list. (Figured that by doing so
I might have a better chance at persuading her that an engine
rebuild should get put onto the credit cards to get it done
sooner.) Plus I felt a little guilty about leaving her with
three curtain-climbers to deal with all day and her being 9-1/2
months pregnant.
I did spend an evening after work tearing down the 390 only to
find that it's complete garbage, and not rebuildable (see Figs.
06 and 07). This block is toast. I can save the crankshaft
and cylinder heads and the engine's outer hardware, but the
block is destined for the scrap metal dealer. I do have another rebuildable 390 in the shop
though...however, since the 460 that came with this truck is the
engine that was always destined for the choptop, I'm leaning
towards just getting that one rebuilt first...pending a teardown
of each to see what each would need in terms of parts and
machine work. I spent some time online and on the phone pricing
rebuild kits for both, and was surprised to find that
Federal-Mogul rebuild kits for both are virtually identical in
price. I just need to start selling some of my parts inventory
and raise the money to get one of these engine rebuilt...both
need it anyway, so...
The 460 is partially disassembled, so I checked it out and see
if I had everything. It's was just a bare long-block, so I knew
I'd have to round up a power steering pump and brackets,
alternator brackets and exhaust manifolds (or headers). After
posting my progress report in the forums, I was able to get the
PS pump/brackets and an aluminum Edelbrock Performer intake
manifold from 'dablack00', a
FORDification forum
member. (Thanks Austin!)
The only good thing that's come about now, due to the current
engine situation, is that my wife and I have agreed that it's
not feasible for me to give up the shop just yet, before I have
any running engines (we were discussing my giving it up to help
out a little with the family finances). So I'll at least get to
keep it through this next winter. That takes a little bit of the
strain off me. So now we're just waiting the birth of our fourth
child! |
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July 19, 2007 - Well, we finally got
there...even though we're two weeks overdue!
We have a new son!
Here's the scoop:
It was an interesting evening last night, and morning too. We
had a sudden severe storm come through last night...one minute
it was completely still, and just like someone flicked a switch,
in a matter of just a few seconds we suddenly had 60MPH winds
and rain. We had limbs and branches flying all over the place,
and one apparently landed on the power lines to our home, as our
entire side of the street went dark a little after 11PM....JUST
as I was mentioning to Mary that I probably should go shut my
computer down. I didn't even complete that sentence before
everything went black.
 Hmmmm...well, since we had a 6AM appointment at the
hospital this morning so we could start inducing labor, and
since all our alarm clocks are electric, we ended up setting our
cell phone alarms to wake us in case the power wasn't restored
by the time we got up. Of course, it wasn't, and it was still
dark at 5AM, so I got the experience of taking a shower by
flashlight!
Made it to the hospital by 6AM and got Mary hooked up
to the machines. Since she's a nurse there, and is normally the
one doing the paperwork for new admissions, they just gave her
the clipboards and laptop computer, and she admitted herself!
Anyway, to make a long story short(er), she finally gave birth
to a very healthy baby boy at 12:38PM this afternoon.
Zachary Tyler Dickson weighed 8 lbs. 1 oz and was 20-1/2"
long.
Here's a few pictures: |
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