John-T-53

Merle - thanks for the info. The NAPA p/n checked out at the local store, and they said it was a special order and would take a week. I called Rare Parts in Stockton and they now stock king pin sets for our trucks. One day later, the kit is in hand! See pics below for comparison. On the left is the import, on the right is from the home team. This one is very high quality and blows the import kit out of the water. The pins are made by Trayer in NY, and the bearings are stamped "Irwin Bearing Co Cinti. O.". The pins are very hard steel like the original and slip into the axle eyes with ease. Now just have to re-do the bushings in the spindles and we'll be in business. As has been said before on this site, Rare Parts sells only high quality, USA-made parts, and they have Drag links, Tie rod ends, spring shackles, shocks, and king pins for our trucks. They make many of their parts in-house, often with improved design and matl's from OEM. Highly recommended!

Looks like nice original bolts holding it on. Did you have them replated? Original washers too?

Yeah I was surprised the new shocks didn't come with new hardware. It's been a while since I bought shocks. Today, it's less for more.

Does anybody know of a source for new washers for the shock studs? looking for a new shiny set....

yup, there are fabricators out there who can weld stainless studs back on. The place that did mine in So-Cal charged their minimum of $90 to do it. It hurt, but it was good to get the emblem back on.

Two years later, I forgot about the NAPA king pin kit and ordered one from Robert's. The packaging was suspicuous as it was unmarked, had rusty staples in the box and overall looked chicom made. I had the new bushing pressed into the spindles and honed out for .001" clearance. I attempted installing one spindle today on the axle, but it's a bust. I'm disappointed with the quality of parts and fit. The king pins are made of steel a lot softer than the original. The bearings seem cheaply made and are too tall - one side doesn't even go on. The disc seal plugs are too small. The pin deformed a bit when pounding in with a brass drift. Now it's stuck and the spindle is binding. Now looking for another kit. Anybody know if the NAPA king pin kit is USA-made and have an opinion as to the quality? Are there NOS kits available? Thanks,

Just about ready to haul a couple yards of gravel! Comin' together there...lookin' sweet!

You guys in the central valley should be used to the heat by now, haha! I'm lucky to live in a "sweet spot" wirh a mix of coastal and inland weather - got up to about 72 today here, which allowed for a pleasant day working on the truck in the driveway. Today, 15 miles north of here it was in the 60s, and 15 miles south it was in the low 90s.

To drive out and install the guides, you need an appropriately sized driver and a big hammer. Then you'll need a mic, depth guage, valve guide hone, and dial bore guage to size the guides to your valve stems. Then you need a seat cutter (stone) or better yet a valve guide and seat machine to cut the seats. Then finally, lapping compound. http://www.cylinderheadsupply.com/valve-guide-tools.html 360's have hot press pins, but these flatties have floating pins - thumb press as stated by wally below.

I believe the roof paint would be the same as the lower body color as part of the factory Spring Special option. I think the originals were only available in two shades of green. This is not a Spring Special - but a nice truck with a two-tone paint job.

This one has a borg warner OD in it! They left out that important detail in the description. See the last pic.

I'd tip a glass of Schell's to that tailgate (if it were available out here)! Nice!

The area on the inside of the frame boxed in by the fuel tank is prone to debris accumulation...I just removed my tank the other day and there was a lot of crap in there, along with moderate corrosion of the frame. This is where the rear brake line passes through. Case in point - when the brakes failed on my truck several years ago, the problem was in this spot - the brake line rusted through from the outside in. It was just a pin hole, but enough for the brake pedal to go to the floor and send the truck out of control!

Are you gonna start building a new collection of farm stickers on the tailgate, like it was when you got it? Lookin' good!

Way to go! That's a very sweet lookin' truck!!!

I agree, the Roberts bumbers seem abbout 85% the size of the original. Fortunately I only needed one! There must be many suppliers out there with similar style bumpers to choose from.

Ditto on using a good tool. After making all the brake and fuel lines for both my vehicles using low cost flare tools, it would have been worth it in the beginning to get a quality tool. I've gone through about 4 or 5 cheap(er) flare tools and a lot of frustration in the past 15 years. All that ended up costing more than the tool GTK talks about below. Time for an upgrade!

I'm all for this idea! Highway 33 is a nice alternate route I've heard - looks like you've got it marked on your map. One of these days I'll do it! CA 25 and 49 would also be cool.

The P73 looks like the Napa 1080, a pleated paper element. I've used the 1080 in mine, but it's not a depth media element like the sock type. It'll filter the oil no prob, but might clog up quicker. Some have said the pleated elements are designed to flow from the outside in, where most of the canisters we have on our flatties flow from the inside out. On the other hand, the Napa 1011 (sock) has a small internal open area (the intake side). The correct sock filter should have a large internal area for the purposes of not clogging. Check out this Purolator I got on Ebay a few months back. It fit perfect.

I was just at the local Napa and asked about ordering the JC-405. The guy looked at me funny, then looked it up, and said it crosses to Napa 1011. They can't get Baldwin products. Where have y'all bought the Baldwin?

That carbon fiber piece is really cool! Great idea! Any update on that one yet? haha..

...As it should be! Made in the USA too...nice!

With the 5-speed overdrive, I've achieved up to 20 mpg on the hwy when the conditions are right (rare). Average is still 13 mpg around town. This is a 1/2 ton with a stock 218. Adding dual carbs and dual exhaust will help. HEI ignition might also help. I'm not sure about what a cam will do for mileage...George sells a "380 cam" with a bigger lift and longer duration (I've been told 375 is stock lift). Cams are all about compromise - give up one end for gains on the other. Maybe some of the guys here who've installed different cams can chime in...

The only way it'll go in is from the inside. It helps to install the windshield in warm weather - then let the truck sit in the sun. Tighten the garnish trim screws gradually over a few days as the rubber sets, but not too tight. The glass might be too big - my glass guy recommended making it 1/16" smaller all around to minimize chances of cracking. Before reinstalling, hold the glass up to the opening w/o the seal and check the fit.

Jim - I feel your pain! Them head gaskets arent' cheap either.