July 6, 2004
Got some minor work done on Rusty over the long weekend. I installed the intake/exhaust manifold with new gaskets. I had a new carburetor spacer/shield, but it didn't fit correctly. I still had the old one and checked it and it was obvious that someone had widened the holes on it. Since I had destroyed most of my drill bits on the tie-rod end project, I used the Dremel and a grinding attachment to make quick work of it.
Next, I cleaned and painted the starter motor and reinstalled it using a new starter switch. I also cleaned and then reinstalled the existing ignition coil but will probably replace it shortly. I also hooked them both into the wiring harness.
I have done a lot of little things, but while reviewing the previous chapters, I discovered that I had never logged them - so I will just add it all here...
Stainless Battery Tray - installed. It's nice and shiny! Put in one of those goofy battery mats...
Electrical Junction Block - I ordered one of these from Chevy Duty since I had some optional equipment. All the wiring instruction show the optional equipment being connected to the ignition switch. I think there was only 2 accessory spots on the switch, so I opted to add the optional junction block. The one I have appears to match the original in looks, but I'm not sure if it is labeled correctly. Eventually the heater, windshield wipers, and cigarette lighter will be on the junction block - I think. All the lighting accessories (dome lamp, glove box lamp, dash lights, and heater lamp) will be on the headlamp switch - I think. More on this when I figure it all out.
Glove Box - the box itself is installed. I had to punch a hole in it to route the light, but no biggie here. I haven't attached the door yet since I haven't finished painting it.
July 12, 2004
My parents came into town Saturday to play with Little T. My step-dad, Jim, went out to check on Rusty's progress. As we were giving it the going over, I started to cuss the headliner trim - knowing full well that Jim would have to take a look at it (Jim is a retired engineer and excellent mechanic). He fiddled around for about 5 minutes and then asked if I had any Vaseline. No, but I had some general lube that would work. He greased the rubber trim and fiddled some more. The solution is that this was a 2-man job - one of us would hold the trim in place while the other would push (effectively pinching the rubber into a thinner line) and then guide it in place. The straight edges were a snap, while the corners required a little finesse. All-in-all, I'd say that we had the whole thing done in about 10 minutes once we started going. Can I get a "halleluiah"?
After everyone left, I went back out and installed the seat back. Next, I cleaned up all the grease and grime from the headliner trim task that got all over the headliner, ceiling and seat. For something fun I installed the sun visors and rearview mirror.
Before I put the front-end back together, I wanted to install a new oil pump while it is easier to move around under the engine. Since I had previously removed and cleaned the oil pan, the re-removal was a snap. I also had a replacement ground strap that needed to go on. However, the existing one was bolted to the transmission mount and so I had to take the clutch cover off to get at the bolt and nut. The clutch cover was never cleaned or painted so it will get some treatment before going back on. It was getting dark, so I decided to clean up and head in for the evening.
July 19, 2004
Spent the past weekend cleaning up the front-end parts that will have to be reused and trying to get the old oil pump out.
I had purchased new brake drums for the front mainly because I didn't want to clean up the old ones. I decided to paint the new drums the same red as the frame. Next, I removed the brake junk from the driver's side backing plate then cleaned and painted - black on the inside and red on the back. I also finished cleaning the misc. stuff for the suspension such as the little brackets that hold the u-bolts and the shims and the shock mounts. Those got hit with the red paint afterwards.
Next, I decided to try that metallic finish spray paint on the oil pan, so I cleaned it and applied a coat. This looked much better than the high-heat exhaust paint I tried. I also cleaned up the clutch pan and applied red paint to it.
At this stage I'm waiting for everything to dry and/or apply second coats of paint. I decided to tackle the oil pump. I easily removed the oil line connected at both the pump and the block. I couldn't quite figure out how the pump was held in place and couldn't find anything in the "Factory Assembly Guide" and the "Shop Manual" was pretty vague. Of course everything in the block is the same color - black 50 year old grease, but with a shop light and a little investigating by touch and sight, I finally located what I thought was a bolt. A quick peak at the new pump confirmed that there was place for a bolt to screw into on the arm. Next problem was how to get to it. A socket was out of the question and wrenches were too long to get up there. I decided to stop at this point and would schedule a trip to pick up a "stubby" 1/2" combination wrench.
Back on the front driver's side wheel... I needed to get the hub off the old drums. Of course I could not find anything relating to this in either of my books. So, back to the Word doc I created (with the help of Brother's Trucks) and removed all the bearings and seals from the hub. Most of them popped right out, but one was content to stay put and required a lot of pounding to get out (fortunately the Brother's tech points out that there are groves in the hub where you place your striking instrument. If I wouldn't have read this, I'd still be sitting there pounding on the hub and getting nowhere).
Now that the hub was void of all bearings and seals, it was time to remove the hub. I had purchased new wheel studs (probably not necessary) so I wasn't concerned about getting the old ones out, but they pop right out with a little hammering. At this point the hub is still sitting there in the old drum. There are some built-in knobs that protrude through the drum where the wheel studs go so I figure those need to pushed through as well. I hit one with the hammer a couple of times and noticed it was getting disfigured so I stopped. I'll have to look more into this.
After being defeated twice, I decided to quit and regroup for another day...
July 22, 2004
At lunch time today I went to Sears and purchased a set of "stubby" combo wrenches. Got home tonight and tried out my new 1/2" wrench and it was still too big. So as I'm laying there trying to figure out what miracle tool is going to get this job done, it dawns on me that I have never really approached this bolt from the other side of the block. With a little maneuvering, I could just get a 1/4" socket and extension on the bolt. I moved around a little until I got the best "strong" hold I could get on the little socket handle and finally got the bolt to break free. Old pump came off and I wiped it down and then put it in the table vise to get the screen and arm off for reuse. It came loose and I got it all cleaned up and the old oil line as well.
It was late, but I decided to test my luck and see if I could get the new pump installed. I gave it a few tries but couldn't get it to line up. I'll tackle this again another time when I can mark it up and get it aligned properly.
July 26, 2004
Got up Saturday morning and headed out to the garage. I wasn't going to quit today until I accomplished the following: Oil pump install, oil pan install, clutch pan install, and front axle install.
Oil Pump - This time I went under the engine armed with a screw and a Sharpie. The screw was to insert into the hole in the pump arm and then I would mark the pump and block with the Sharpie. This worked really well, except for one thing - the screw was too short and went too far into the slot and I had to crawl back out from under the truck a few times until I found the right combo of things that would allow me to remove the screw from it's hiding place. Tim's tip - use a long enough object as an alignment tool.
Anyways, once that screw was out, I threaded the mounting bolt to flush with the shaft and inserted the new pump to the marks. Next I was able to easily finish tightening the bolt. Now that was out of the way and I was a happy camper. I went in and cleaned up my hands before handling the freshly painted oil pan.
Next step was to mount the oil pan and new gaskets and then put on the bottom clutch pan using the new stainless bolts I got from American Classic Truck parts. No tricks here, just have to screw in a bunch of bolts. Once that was done I slid out from under the truck and quickly stepped on the oil-pump-to-block line. I will not repeat the profanity that followed... Back under the truck to remove the oil pan, install the oil line and then put the oil pan back on. No biggie, just a waste of time.
After a quick water break and an imaginary smoke (Sarah asked me to quit smoking before Little T arrived) I tackled the front axle. I had already mounted the leaf springs, so all I had to do was hook up the u-bolts, making sure the shock-mount-bracket was also installed. There is a shim that goes on each side, but I hadn't noticed that they were tapered in size until I was cleaning them up. I consulted the "Factory Assembly Guide" and it looks like the fatter end goes towards the rear, so this is how I installed them.
I had to stop here for the day.
Sunday was a busy day, but I did manage to get out to the garage later in the evening and work on putting together the driver's side brakes. The backing plate had been cleaned and painted, so this was just a matter of installing the new parts and a couple of old bolts. If you took the old one apart, then there really is no mystery on putting it back together. Just to be safe I placed the old passenger side brake setup next to the one I was working on as a reference.
That's it for July - let's move on to August 2004
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