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Eddie

A blog by TrampSteer in General

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About this blog

A conversation with my Dad

Entries in this blog

The destination doesn't tell you how the road winds

I've been asked a lot of things by a lot of different people in my life. Giving advice, lending a hand, being politely asked to leave..., they are all generally of a similar class of requests such that not many are ever a surprise anymore. That was true most of my life until as of late. Now I'm getting surprised all the time. Here's some examples. Looking for any and every excuse to drive my truck, I took my kids to a birthday/costume party. In a few minutes parents were asking for kids to pose
TrampSteer

TrampSteer

8

Chapter Two - being a truck owner has changed

I used to worry about big things. Can I really do a McArthur on the frame and survive. Will the gas tank fit. Does anything forward of the spliced midsection of the frame actually work. Will the DMV let me drive it. Can I afford to keep doing this. Now I think about little things. Ignition switches with real Dodge keys. Blinkers signaling inside the cab. That paint chip on the tailgate. How to keep the smell of gas out of the uninsulated cab. How I will sound proof. If I should redo the doors a
TrampSteer

TrampSteer

5

Like a little kid with a really loud toy

Well, I finally drove my truck today. Only took 16 months. The first 9 looking for it, and the other 7 making it safe enough to get behind the wheel. This would not have happened without everyone here. Thank you one and all. If a picture is truly worth a thousand words, here is War and Peace. The loud parts at least. http://youtu.be/w1xa4SypW04 Post script (next day): I've put on fourty miles now, and the carb is clearing itself. Only a little hesitation left so I don't have to drive a mani
TrampSteer

TrampSteer

7

Back to the future

Well, we started the engine for the second time in six months. The difference being that this time it really can move under its own power (and stop) if we were so inclined. Granted there are things like parking brakes and seat belts that still need to be implemented - I think we all know there will always be something, even after you sell it; "I remember ol' bessy. Dag gummit, if I had her now I'd be able to ..." So after troubleshooting a bit for the bad fuel flow ... ... we finally turne
TrampSteer

TrampSteer

4

Setbacks vs entertainment

I was in a scramble to get everything lined up. I was taking the wife to her annual week in the Sierras camping - and with this truck by now - I sure owed her. So I flew through the ordering and rushing of parts to have dropped shipped to my guy. By the time I got back, we would have the sending unit, tank, new lines and associated sundries all installed. I figured that if the deliveries went through, I would be driving the truck when we got back. Guess what? ... Half of the work is done.
TrampSteer

TrampSteer

4

Springs is here! - updated

The truck finally came back from the frame shop. Parked right next to me was this. I swear he was just taunting me! LOL <-- not my truck! But back to important matters. Not only did they line up the two halves and splice it together but they also took out a 1/4" diamond shape noticed in the new section. Nothing left to that part but the worrying. Now that we have a real frame, things started falling in place faster. New brake lines could be run, bled and completed Rear wiring back to
TrampSteer

TrampSteer

4

Patience Grasshopper - the end is nigh

I wait. I'm impatient. But I'm not in a hurry. I contradict myself and am consoled in hiding within that. We are still in the frame shop but I don't press my man for dates or even a reason why a weld should take so long. I make an excuse to myself that he just got hit by a garage door. In fact, he just went for knee surgery today because of it. Whatever the reason, he is busy. I use that to buy myself more time. But really, I'm just afraid of getting the frame back and done. I think about havi
TrampSteer

TrampSteer

6

Some progress at last

Well, we finally got a couple of things done and I am happy to say that the truck is off to the frame alignment machine for final welds. Should have it back Tuesday to start working the gas tank, then brake lines. I am really very glad about the decision to go back to stock height. It will make it drivable I should think and - based on the trigonometry - the drive shaft should fit properly again (it was a bit short). It does add the need to replace the front wheels and springs, but I'm thinking
TrampSteer

TrampSteer

0

You never know ...

... what's around the corner. Well we were supposed to have the frame spliced by now but we ran into a little delay. My buddie who is doing the heavy lifting at his garage had the 12x20 foot garage door fall off its hinge and land on him. No broken bones but more than one doctor visit, crutches, a physical therapist, some pain medication and two weeks of healing a black and blue mark from his toe to his hip . Now he is limping enough where we will give it a shot next week. In the meantime I d
TrampSteer

TrampSteer

1

It looked a lot easier on you tube

Cleaned up the frame yesterday with an angle grinder and 3" wire wheel. Took seven hours including two coats of rust prevention. Man am I sore - my old knees hate me. Never had so much fun though. After cleaning with the wire brush and noting the areas to touch up we coated the entire frame with Zero Rust. My friend used it on his early 60's Willies Jeep with good results. Plus it was only $81 a gallon instead of the $165 for POR-15. Some day we'll see if that was a good cost-cutting decision.
TrampSteer

TrampSteer

3

Now that I look at it ...

Now we are finally ready for the long haul. All the parts are here to rectify the framing problems thanks to pFlaming and 48Dodger. It also has given me a chance to compare the two parts to understand what when wrong with the previous work. Remember the old - "One of these things is not like the other"? We plan of splicing it forward of the main cross member (under the cab) with a little boxing to ensure strength. It was pointed out that these things are supposed to move under load some am
TrampSteer

TrampSteer

0

Community

Tomorrow I get to go and get the parts so I can fix the truck so that it drives like it was supposed to when I bought it. Without two pretty darn nice guys it would be a lawn ornament. PFlaming and 48Dodger have restored my faith in humanity and kept the project viable and moving forward. I cannot thank them enough, but I will at least start here. Thanks Tim Thanks Paul You guys are the best. Mike
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0

Marking Time

My daughter and I were able to spend some time together this week to work on the bed - recently removed from the frame. Honestly, we were only going to stain the bottom. Guess we both got carried away. Should be back together this weekend.
TrampSteer

TrampSteer

2

Into the frying pan

My Dad passed April of last year. A small inheritance came after but it really bugged me to just spend it paying off the car, or some bills. I wanted something more than a receipt to remind me of him. At the same time, I always wanted an old truck. Seemed to me that I am at an age where it probably is the last vehicle I'll ever buy. That seemed fitting so with the OK of the Misses, I set off looking for something. I'm a renter. Have almost no room to work on something and not that much experie
TrampSteer

TrampSteer

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