Nikwillig

Here's a couple of the "tools" that I've got laying around. Though, really these two are more for decoration, rather than usage.

Got somewhere between 5-7 inches here in Shelburne Falls, MA. Lost power around 7-8 pm, and it returned for us around 2 am... Much of the town however, is still without power.

Update! Thanks to pflaming, I've made a serious note to plan on upgrading the front drums to disks, though, it will still be after I get the chance to feel how well it stops with the drums. As for the drum, there was more than enough material there to have it machined down some, and I must say, it turned out well... Took the radiator out to get a leak fixed, and have it painted. We suspect the leak was caused by the cap being a pressurized cap. Other than that, I learned of a fella down in Palmer, MA (Pease Antique Auto Parts, 43 Foundry St, Palmer, MA.) that has a whole bunch of parts for classic vehicles. I wound up picking up only a few things while I was there, a non-pressurized radiator cap, two front wheel bearing dust seals, an oil pan gasket set and... A pound of water pump grease, the "real" stuff, even though it is yellow in color, and the fact that this little bit may outlast me. While the drive for me, was about an hour one way, even if he didn't have anything of what I wanted, I'd still feel it was a worthwhile trip. I do seem to enjoy seeing walls packed full of older parts... I think I need a good excuse to drive back down there again, to try and look around some... Gah! I should have asked about a key!

These may or may not be what you're looking for, seeing as it's from my 49, but they may be of some use. First up, where the ring hooks into... Followed by the hook on said ring. Hope it helps regardless.

Beautify done. I know that the feeling of having something that you, yourself have made, on the truck matching the style, and looking correct. Can be a far better feeling, than say, having an after market deal, that needed some massaging for it to fit... But of course everyone's different, and some like, or even prefer fiberglass over good steel.

This past week, I got to thinking, Is the drivers front drum dented? My guess is yes, as it seems to stick in one, or two spots, and looks to be a tad out of round when spun. My question is, would it be crazy, foolish, insane, unsafe or all the above, to either try and bend it back into shape... potentially making it even worse, or to have the inside machined down so that it would be more round, less grabby. There may or may not be enough material there to do so... Or should I just go all the way and upgrade the front end to disk brakes... I guess a 4th option would be to replace the drum itself, but... where's the fun in that? Note: I know about three places to go for bits and bobs, Rustyhope, Scarebird, and AAJbrakes... Plus, I've no problems checking out the semi-local salvage yards to see what they've got sitting around for parts. Thanks for your time.

For the 2 grand he's asking for it? Well, sadly I no longer have that laying around, that went to one that was already cleaned/running. This B1/B2, well as expected of a rig from New England, has a few nests under the hood, nuts stuffed into the carb, and... due to a missing window, there was a Porcupine living in the cab at some point. And, lets not mention the rust... *shivers* But as I said, I feel any offer I'd make on it, would be a bit of an insult to the guy. And, I'd rather not try to insult him any more than I already have. Edit: I'm probably making the rust out to be worse than it is, but... it's worse than what I got.

Stopped in and took a look at the local trucks, I'm guessing they're a 76-77 and a 78-79 from the looks of them... Of course, I'm probably most likely wrong on that. They're in, amusingly, in the condition I was expecting them to be. Sadly, they won't be parted out, and they ain't exactly being given away either. Here's a shot of each. Due to various town laws regarding unregistered vehicles, (you're allowed one, I've now got Two) I decided to leave them both there, and not bother to give him an offer. Plus, my offer would probably be an insulting low-ball offer anyhow. On a side note, I stumbled upon a pair of Jerry cans, one that's stamped 20-5-87, its interior is practically flawless, kinda like it was never used, or.. recently refinished. Probably the former. The other is stamped 20-5-78, its interior shows that it has been used, as it's slightly rusted. I think they'd be a great addition to the truck, or, if I ever change my mind... Well, I'd probably be crazy if I were to change my mind. Thanks for your time.

Glad to hear that you've found what you're looking for, and that things are now moving in the right direction. I bet that's a load off your shoulders, for now at least.

Welcome to the community, that rig looks rather nice, and From one newbie to another, my two cents for you would be, 1) Pick up a notebook and make notes in it of what you, Need to do, Should do, Probably should do, and what you'd Like to do. 2) Read through some of the other topics to see what people have done/are doing to their rigs, those may give you a few ideas. I know I've gotten quite a few so far. Also, I tend to be partial to keeping things stock/original, or having any changes that are made, to have them so that they can be undone with only a little effort. However, I can see the desire to change things up by sticking a massive engine under the hood too.

After having spent a good portion of the past week dodging raindrops, I managed to find a large enough break in the weather to sneak into the garage. Once there, I managed to cut up some strips and rebuild a missing section. Currently all that's really needed is to, probably, fill in a bit more on the back, where it opens to the cabin, and add more material in spots for an illusion of a smooth finish. Probably won't though, cause who's really gonna see this portion once the fenders and such are back on, right? Up next, cleaning/painting/patching holes in the parts that were removed from that side, then to either A) put them back on... (Why would I do that I ask myself) or hang them somewhere, for the time being... After typing that out, I'm strongly leaning toward B. Then, shimmy rig over to the drivers side some, to give room on the passengers, to dig into that rotten mess... On a side note, I really should call a guy (I keep putting it off) that supposedly has a 52, and a 47-48 truck stashed in the woods. Knowing how these New England weathers are, I'm not expecting there to be much of them left though.

Well, I welded in the new chunk of iron for that corner, then set it back down onto the frame. I'm thinking it'll work, but, I'll find out for sure once I hit a few speed bumps. Currently it allows the door to line up perfectly with the hockey puck under there, I'll be seeing what kinda replacement I'll be getting if/when my local auto-parts store gets something in. So for now, the puck stays. Also I did a really, rough job at adding some support for the pillar... Hopefully, by the time I'm done with it, It'll look, and work better. So far, so good. Haven't started any many fires while "playing" with the welder. Thanks for your time.

Ah, Pictures. Really, I'm just milking this camera for what it's worth. Although, one can't really tell for sure about how, sturdy, or not the pillar is, I feel that for what I'm sticking in there, it will need some reinforcement. The sheet metal above the puck has a clear indentation of where the cab sat down. Hopefully my plan covers that, and then some. There, we can see the extent of what was cut out/replaced before I got it. Part of me still wants to pull it out, and start fresh, part of me says, just tack it down and use it... Oooh what's that I see? A wing-nut?? I'll have to see what THAT connects to. I'm sure that's not a stock part. (Edited in) Hah, I forgot about that. Turns out to be the plug I stuck into the sending units hole... Side note, while lifting the cab, I noticed that there was some flex to the frame and bracket... While it's more than what I'd like to see for flex of a frame, I'm sure it's somewhat normal, and will only worry/check into the area up to the point of trying to take off the cab. Seeing as I don't really have the space for that, the cab shall stay put. Oh, and before I forget, the slab of steel that I plan to slide into that gaping hole around the puck. It's some pretty sturdy stuff that I had laying around. As usual, Thanks for your time.

Took a closer look at the A-pillar today, and noticed it's looking a tad spongy. While, it's not that bad, I feel it's not that great, and may want try to and reenforce it. Regardless, after jacking it up a good ways, I just had to check the door... It closes brilliantly! Well, mostly... At least I now have an idea of a height to reach for with new bushings. The spot where the bushing would sit, is/was clearly less than ideal, so I've put together some angle iron and a bit of flat stock to slide in there and reenforce as best as I can, or wind up causing me more headaches down the road, who knows. (I'm probably gonna give myself plenty anyhow, so what's one or two more.) I'll aim for some closeups of what everything looks like tomorrow.

If you want my two cents to this Idea of yours. Which might I add, I quite like the idea of. *makes a note of it* If you were to have a set of lights near the stock location, I'd think about having these ones up high. Think, area A or "D" (upper corners, or above window). Otherwise, area C may be better. Now, I know how some things look nicer up close, so feel free to step back a car length or two and see what you think. If you can that is.

Spent a portion of this week, attempting to fix repair patch holes in the lower toe board. So far I've decided that purchasing my little gasless welder (flux cored) a few years ago was probably a good idea, even if I'm still learning how to "do it right." Before I fully "finish" the toe board, I decided it'd be best for me to deal with the rot around the drivers front body mount. So today I pulled the outer/inner fender & wheel off to allow better access to that general area. Yes, there's only three studs there, yes the other three will be fun to deal with... I was mildly amused to find that those lug-nuts are 1" in size... *scribbles something on paper* note to self: pick up extra breaker bar + 1" socket for eventual O-shi box.

Seeing as this, not so young, whippersnapper never really did well in his history classes. He can say for certain, that rarely will he think about all the things that were happening during various time-frames.

Neal, thanks, I've put a copy of those, easy to read, diagrams in amongst my TO DO folder. Thanks, knowing that the studs ain't supposed to fit those slots, even though it's such a perfect fit... will help me when/if I manage to reattach them. Yes, thread/nut rust was the culprit, I probably should have waited a few more days while spraying it with fluid... The material? Yes, it is SURPRISINGLY thin. It almost makes me wonder what they were thinking.

Thanks Merle, I remember glancing at that wire harness diagram the other week, then promptly forgetting about it. I've make a better note on it this time. pflaming, that's an idea I most likely wouldn't have thought of. I've made a note of it, and that you don't really recommend it too. Thank you for your time.

Honestly, with my initial thoughts on the wiring, My plan will be mostly something functional and safe, while trying to stay with the 6 volt system. Then, sometime down the road, perhaps I will think on going with something more original looking. (save a buck now, spend ten fixing it later) I may also be somewhat crazy and think about adding a separate 12 volt system to run various auxiliary items, such as a radio, extra lights, whatever. Yes, I know, I should think about upgrading the whole thing to 12 volts while replacing the wiring anyhow, but where's the fun in that? Regardless, this is mostly something for me to chew on while I work on the body, that way, I'll have a clear vision when it comes time to mess with the electrics. Thank you for your time.

I pulled a few more parts off the body, the hood, what it attaches to, one of the floorboards, and the emblem. Soon to follow will be the stainless steel grills, though, only after I let the nuts soak up more penetrating fluid... Already broke a bolt off one of them. Anyhow, as I pulled the emblem off, two of the three bolts twisted right off, I'm guessing that they were not aligned correctly when put on or something, as the picture above shows three horizontal oval slots while on the emblem they were vertical... Guess I'm gonna have to either A) figure a way to braze, solder, or weld them back on in a better position, or find a "new" emblem and stick this one somewhere else. Either way, I hope the same thing ain't true for those on the hood... As for the floorboard rust issue, I ground down a good portion of the fiberglass that was there to get a good look/feel for what was done, needless to say, I feel it needs more work to properly hold up to someone of my size. Now I just need to take the time to spot a good jack point to lift that corner up a tad... On a side note, while looking at some of the wiring, and noticing how much it's starting to deteriorate in places, that I'll be needing to take a close look at what various places offer for harnesses, such as Rebel Wiring, and or RI Wiring. With all the topics out there, it seems to me that the choice between those two is, if I want to take the time and run the wires around myself, adding hookups and whatnot, or having one that's just about drop in ready. Also noticed that it seemed the battery was hooked up backwards. I didn't gleam much out of the various topics on that... One note is that the wipers were running nonstop. I think they're electrical. Thank you for your time.

Decided to put a coat of spray paint over the bare metal, that came with the truck, in an attempt to keep it in a stable condition until I feel like trying to do a "proper" job painting. That will be a few years down the road with the intent of returning it to the blue it was (probably) shipped with. For now, flat black will do the job, it don't look that bad either. With that minor distraction out of my mind now, I feel I can focus more on rust repair in various areas. Areas such as some of the "brackets?" under the fenders, and a number of spots on the running boards. Then there's my extra sources of ventilation, mainly in the corner below the passenger A-pillar. I suppose I could cut out the area and form a "decent" patch that way... The patching on the drivers side that the previous owner did looks, to me, rather crappy. While I'd like to take it out and try again, doing so would involve messing with what looks/feels like fiberglass. A big part of me is saying, "let it be" well, at least for now, but to be sure to try and get some rust converter in between the seams and then attempt to fill/cover any voids in some form or fashion, probably with more fiberglass before a good coat of undercoating+ Yes, that's a hockey puck. Which leads into a simple assumption that I've decided on. With the condition of the bushings on the rear mount, the difference in height is causing a misalignment in the door. I've already tested the door to see if it was a bad hinge, and so far I feel safe saying that the little bit of play currently in it, is the effect, not the cause. Thank you for your insights/thoughts in helping this novice step forward in the right direction. More careful thinking while typing this makes me question my assumption just enough to confuse myself...

Thank you Merle, as one who has only driven an automatic till now, that image explained more to me, than one could imagine.