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Cabbage Hauler - WD-21 Build Thread


Jomani

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The engine came to life today. I finished up the stand - control panel installed, electronic ignition and charging system wired up, battery installed.

 

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My tach arrived but the gauges didn’t make it. Fired it up anyway - had to hear it run.

 

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I picked up some Borla mufflers that will eventually go on the truck. I will use them on the run stand for now. It is a bit noisey with 2 foot straight pipes. 

 

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Finally got the gauges and air cleaner. Installed the mufflers and fired it up again. Got the timing and carburator dialed in and ran it at 2500 RPMs for 30 minutes to get the cam properly broke in. Purrs like a kitten...

 

 

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  • 3 weeks later...

Had some time today to get back on the frame. I decided to build a stand to raise the rear up so that I can level the frame when I go to mock up the drive train. My driveway has a significant slope so the rear ended up fairly high in the air.

 

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The differential came out to make room for the Dana 60 from the old motor home. I will leave the front axel in until I get the engine set in and motor mounts fabricated. Once all the clearance issues are dealt with. The front axel will come out for rebuild.

 

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I had plans to get the frame ready for primer today but the rain came early. I ended up pulling the front axel and the rear springs off the frame and started breaking everything down. Got one of the rear springs disassembled and painted. Lots of springs to clean up - wire wheel did a good job knocking the rust off. Time to order some bushings for the springs.

 

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I'd suggest putting some white lithium grease between each spring. Helps with future rust and made them slide smooth and a nicer ride.

 

DJ

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6 hours ago, DJ194950 said:

I'd suggest putting some white lithium grease between each spring. Helps with future rust and made them slide smooth and a nicer ride.

 

DJ

 

Definately need to put something between the springs for smoother movement. I was thinking about using a leaf spring liner with a lip to help keep it in place. Anyone tried this stuff? It comes in 1 3/4” x 20’. I think it will take a roll and a half to do each of the rear springs with the overloads.

 

 

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As far as I can tell, leaf springs came from the factory without anything of consequence between the leaves for every truck made by every manufacturer, even today.  This part of the suspension bears the weight of the vehicle, and the leaves themselves are not moving much or at a high speed with the dampening effects of the shock absorbers.  Leaves stick together when their surfaces corrode and there is not enough movement of the leaves to break any oxidation buildup.  Any extra effort to protect these leaves from oxidation with paints and plastic covers may ultimately do no more good than to just applying a surface lubricant that displaces moisture as well as reduces surface friction.

 

I know from experience that vehicles that have sat for extended periods are rough riding and squeak like there's no tomorrow until their suspensions have cycled full travel several times (without being oiled). The last time this happened was on a truck that was not that old that had not been used for a few months; after it pulled a very heavy trailer with a full load in its bed, that truck was a dream to drive, as it had shook off all the rust.  I stuck my head under there and could clearly see the bright orange rust powder on the edges of the leaves which had been ground up and displaced from between the leaves.

 

I did something similar with the '48 as I had been motoring down a lumpy paved road and hit a dip a li'l hot...by the time I got back to the house, that stiff and squeaky old buggy was smooth ridin' and quiet, almost respectable enough to drive it to church.

 

I have considered treatments and dividers for spring packs on my yard art, but my experience tells me they would not perform any better than thoroughly cleaning each leaf to bare metal then applying a rattle can coating of semi-gloss black with annual application of lubricant at the areas of the leaves that show some abrasion + corrosion...after all, if ya really want to see the suspension, ya gotta crawl under the vehicle, and few folks want to perform that exercise, they just want to go for a ride :cool:

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14 hours ago, JBNeal said:

As far as I can tell, leaf springs came from the factory without anything of consequence between the leaves for every truck made by every manufacturer, even today.  This part of the suspension bears the weight of the vehicle, and the leaves themselves are not moving much or at a high speed with the dampening effects of the shock absorbers.  Leaves stick together when their surfaces corrode and there is not enough movement of the leaves to break any oxidation buildup.  Any extra effort to protect these leaves from oxidation with paints and plastic covers may ultimately do no more good than to just applying a surface lubricant that displaces moisture as well as reduces surface friction.

 

I know from experience that vehicles that have sat for extended periods are rough riding and squeak like there's no tomorrow until their suspensions have cycled full travel several times (without being oiled). The last time this happened was on a truck that was not that old that had not been used for a few months; after it pulled a very heavy trailer with a full load in its bed, that truck was a dream to drive, as it had shook off all the rust.  I stuck my head under there and could clearly see the bright orange rust powder on the edges of the leaves which had been ground up and displaced from between the leaves.

 

I did something similar with the '48 as I had been motoring down a lumpy paved road and hit a dip a li'l hot...by the time I got back to the house, that stiff and squeaky old buggy was smooth ridin' and quiet, almost respectable enough to drive it to church.

 

I have considered treatments and dividers for spring packs on my yard art, but my experience tells me they would not perform any better than thoroughly cleaning each leaf to bare metal then applying a rattle can coating of semi-gloss black with annual application of lubricant at the areas of the leaves that show some abrasion + corrosion...after all, if ya really want to see the suspension, ya gotta crawl under the vehicle, and few folks want to perform that exercise, they just want to go for a ride :cool:

 

You make some great points. My thinking is that It would be very rare for me to get much flex out of this suspension, especially with the overload springs. If I were planning to haul heavy loads regularly, I wouldn’t do anything different than stock. I only want to do this once so I want to make sure that I don’t regret skipping anything at this point.

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I got the front axle disassembled today. I was pleasantly surprised with the condition. King pins came out easily and had almost no signs of wear. I had already ordered a new set - had I waited I am not sure I would replace them. Drums came off easily. Bearings all look new. Drums are in great shape.

 

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I got most of the parts blasted and cleaned up.

 

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While I had the blast cabinet running, I decided to throw the axle in and get it cleaned up. Came out looking great but seems to have a bow in it. Tomorrow I will get the straight edge out and take some measurements.

 

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2 hours ago, Radarsonwheels said:

Nice! Your blaster fits an axle?! The parts look great

 

It was a tight fit but made it at an angle. I actually wish it were smaller - won’t fit in the garage so I have to leave it outside under a tarp. The price was right though - was originally a dental production cabinet that was fully automated (dentures placed on a turntable and fed through automatically) with a cyclone dust separator/collector designed for continuous operation. I couldn’t resist bidding a penny for it and ended up getting it. I removed all of the automation (except turntable) and added glass and gloves. The cyclone unit does a great job filtering out the 70 year old grease and grime and leaves the aluminum oxide looking like new.

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2 hours ago, pflaming said:

I missed this thread so just read it. Needless to say, very impressive. 

 

Thanks. These things are a labor of love. It has been a while since I have taken on a project this large - I keep forgetting just how much work goes into it. Getting older doesn’t help either.

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The bow in your axle may be normal.  I don’t have knowledge of the larger chassis’, but on the light trucks the front axle even has a bend in it. Some see this and believe their axle is bad, but it’s normal...

I had taken some photos of a spare 3/4 ton axle for someone not long ago but I must have deleted them for some reason. Can’t seem to find them now. 

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3 hours ago, Jomani said:

Thanks. These things are a labor of love. It has been a while since I have taken on a project this large - I keep forgetting just how much work goes into it. Getting older doesn’t help either.

 

I don't know your age, but I know mine. Just three years ago I could easily put in 8 productive hours of concentrated wrenching. Today maybe four occasionally six and the concentration vastly diminished. I'm closing in on my '53 Plymouth Suburban build and it has become a chore. I may drive it to Oceano early February, if I do I'll check you out.

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7 hours ago, pflaming said:

 

I don't know your age, but I know mine. Just three years ago I could easily put in 8 productive hours of concentrated wrenching. Today maybe four occasionally six and the concentration vastly diminished. I'm closing in on my '53 Plymouth Suburban build and it has become a chore. I may drive it to Oceano early February, if I do I'll check you out.

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I would love to see your Plymouth - definately let me know if you make the trip. I am not as old as I am worn out...

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I finished dismantling and cleaning all of the front end parts today. Pitman arm and tie rod ends need replacing - I already have new tie rod ends. Time to start looking for a new pitman arm. Also need to see if I can find a drag link repair kit.

 

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Everything else came out looking very nice.

 

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bow likely is correct.   My B3D has it.  JUST be warned, might want to check toe/camber before reassembling.  After 5 years I finally have enough wear on the tires to know I need to have might bent a bit to get it correct.

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10 hours ago, Young Ed said:

drag link rebuild kits are readily available from Roberts, DCM, etc.. Pitman arms however are hard to find.

 

I was afraid of that. I am going to look into having one made. From what I can gather, the ball end is readily available on many other applications. I have access to a great machinist who wants to look at it. He thinks he can make the splines and fit the ball end to what he fabricates.

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We got a break from the rain so I decided to get to work prepping the frame for primer. Scraping, wire brush, sanding, then an acid wash.

 

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