bkahler Posted February 26 Author Report Posted February 26 I managed to finally find time today to install the rear fenders. Overall the job wasn't all that difficult. Biggest issue was the lower front bolt on each fender. It took a little bit of pushing and pulling along with a few choice words to get the holes lined up but I prevailed in the end This is the first time since 1996 that I've seen this truck with all it's sheet metal in place. Once the fenders were on it was finally time to take it for it's first real test drive so I drove 4 miles to the gas station and 4 miles back. Guess what, it drives like an old truck 😄 It became obvious pretty quick that the speedometer was not accurate. I had my phone GPS open so I could see how fast I was going and where the speedometer read 30 mph, I was actually going about 45 mpg. Not sure how I'll deal with this just yet, but I know I don't want to leave it that way. I think I hit the top speed of 47 mph. I didn't want to push it because the 29 year old tires are hard as rocks and I haven't really set the toe-in yet other than an eyeball setting when I was installing the steering components. Once I got back and parked it in the shop I found two leaks. I have a glass bowl filter right off the gas tank that feeds the electric pump and it was dripping gas. I tightened the bowl retainer nut a little and that seems to have resolved that problem. The other issue was the brake master cylinder had brake fluid all over it and it was dripping on the floor. It did not appear to be coming from any of the fittings. It's possible I had over filled it. I'll look at it again tomorrow and monitor it to make sure there isn't something I'm missing. Other than the ABS headliner and rear window surround panel the truck is pretty much done. There are a bunch of minor details I still need to take care of but, assuming the brakes are ok I think it's a driver now 6 Quote
JBNeal Posted February 27 Report Posted February 27 Lookin good...you're not gonna letter that tailgate? 😁 1 Quote
Brent B3B Posted February 27 Report Posted February 27 19 hours ago, bkahler said: I managed to finally find time today to install the rear fenders. Overall the job wasn't all that difficult. Biggest issue was the lower front bolt on each fender. It took a little bit of pushing and pulling along with a few choice words to get the holes lined up but I prevailed in the end This is the first time since 1996 that I've seen this truck with all it's sheet metal in place. Once the fenders were on it was finally time to take it for it's first real test drive so I drove 4 miles to the gas station and 4 miles back. Guess what, it drives like an old truck 😄 It became obvious pretty quick that the speedometer was not accurate. I had my phone GPS open so I could see how fast I was going and where the speedometer read 30 mph, I was actually going about 45 mpg. Not sure how I'll deal with this just yet, but I know I don't want to leave it that way. I think I hit the top speed of 47 mph. I didn't want to push it because the 29 year old tires are hard as rocks and I haven't really set the toe-in yet other than an eyeball setting when I was installing the steering components. Once I got back and parked it in the shop I found two leaks. I have a glass bowl filter right off the gas tank that feeds the electric pump and it was dripping gas. I tightened the bowl retainer nut a little and that seems to have resolved that problem. The other issue was the brake master cylinder had brake fluid all over it and it was dripping on the floor. It did not appear to be coming from any of the fittings. It's possible I had over filled it. I'll look at it again tomorrow and monitor it to make sure there isn't something I'm missing. Other than the ABS headliner and rear window surround panel the truck is pretty much done. There are a bunch of minor details I still need to take care of but, assuming the brakes are ok I think it's a driver now ATA boy Brad! I see a road trip in your near future! What better way to work the bugs out 😁 3 Quote
JBNeal Posted February 27 Report Posted February 27 might need to adjust something climbing them Colorado hills 🤔 Quote
bkahler Posted February 27 Author Report Posted February 27 18 hours ago, JBNeal said: Lookin good...you're not gonna letter that tailgate? 😁 Lettering the tailgate is on the bucket list. It won't be done by me. When I was a kid I never could color within the lines, so I'll find someone better qualified 1 Quote
bkahler Posted February 27 Author Report Posted February 27 3 hours ago, Brent B3B said: ATA boy Brad! I see a road trip in your near future! What better way to work the bugs out 😁 Your little mileage chart only lists the fastest time, it doesn't list the slowest Two weeks at best would likely be more appropriate, one way. That is assuming I have the wind behind my back both ways 🤣 1 Quote
bkahler Posted February 27 Author Report Posted February 27 3 hours ago, JBNeal said: might need to adjust something climbing them Colorado hills 🤔 That's when you get up behind a semi and draft.... 😉 1 Quote
bkahler Posted March 1 Author Report Posted March 1 (edited) I drove into town this morning and had new tires (225/75R16 Solarus HT BL 104T 4-ply) mounted. Back when I was assembling the front end (fall of 2020) I just eyeballed the toe-in and moved on. Last week when I drove to the gas station to fill up the steering was, well interesting Yesterday I finally took the time to check and adjust the toe-in, so it's not to surprising that the toe-in was out by 1-7/16". I started adjusting and got it to about 1/4" before I ran out of adjustment. The tie rod tube is bottomed out against the ball joint on the right side and just about bottoming out on the left side. I don't remember if the tie rod is original to the truck or if I grabbed a replacement out of a junkyard. It's kinda straight but isn't perfect by any means. I just looked at DCM Classics site and they sell a new rod, but they mention that it has jam nuts. My tube is split on each end and uses clamps to keep it tight. I'm now debating on whether to replace mine or shorten it so I can get toe-in set correctly. I also looked a little closer at the difference in the speedometer reading and the gps, and at 30 mph on the speedometer the gps is showing 50 mph. The only other issue that I noticed is the voltage regulator that I had converted to a new high dollar electronic voltage regulator seems to have bit the dust. I'll stick a NOS regulator on to see if it starts charging, if it does then I have the joy of dealing with either getting my money back or getting it fixed I almost forgot to mention, when they were spin balancing the wheels most of them had a little bit of wobble and one of them had a fair amount of wobble. The one with the most wobble is now the spare. Despite all of the above, it was a fun drive into town and back! Edited March 1 by bkahler 1 Quote
JBNeal Posted March 1 Report Posted March 1 If the toe is that close, I say run with it...it may show in tire wear after 10k miles, but steering should be fine. And if your wheels ain't perfect, then tire wear will be a little off as well. My thinking is that tires are easy to replace, and as long as the brakes suspension and steering are in good shape, then spending $$$ on good tires gives the best bang for the buck rather than getting everything else perfect...brakes suspension and steering have safety margins built into their specs, so if you're close to that measurement, you're still in the safety zone. I had the front rotors turned on the Blue Bomber years ago when it was around 150k, and to get the warp out, the guy at Meineke shaved to just under minimum thickness and did not want to give them back. When I explained that I was installing new brake pads, and that the previous pads lasted 75k, so it would be several years before the calipers might be getting close to popping the pistons out of their bores, he took my $$$ and handed me those freshly turned rotors 1 Quote
Los_Control Posted March 1 Report Posted March 1 I was trying to picture in my mind how rough the truck would ride with 29 year old tires on it I was thinking these trucks would have had 7.50 x 16 tires and they would be the same height as a 235 75r 15 Seems a smaller tire would make the speedometer turn faster ... Maybe 5mph, not 20. I dunno, maybe 225 is the correct size ... lots of people run them. I bet that first drive you were grinning from one ear all the way over to the other Quote
bkahler Posted March 1 Author Report Posted March 1 5 hours ago, JBNeal said: If the toe is that close, I say run with it...it may show in tire wear after 10k miles, but steering should be fine. And if your wheels ain't perfect, then tire wear will be a little off as well. My thinking is that tires are easy to replace, and as long as the brakes suspension and steering are in good shape, then spending $$$ on good tires gives the best bang for the buck rather than getting everything else perfect...brakes suspension and steering have safety margins built into their specs, so if you're close to that measurement, you're still in the safety zone. I had the front rotors turned on the Blue Bomber years ago when it was around 150k, and to get the warp out, the guy at Meineke shaved to just under minimum thickness and did not want to give them back. When I explained that I was installing new brake pads, and that the previous pads lasted 75k, so it would be several years before the calipers might be getting close to popping the pistons out of their bores, he took my $$$ and handed me those freshly turned rotors For the time being I will be running it as is. I've got a laundry list of things I want to take care of and the toe-in is not a pressing issue. Best thing I ever did to brake rotors was to have them cryogenically treated. Those things lasted for ever. Quote
bkahler Posted March 1 Author Report Posted March 1 5 hours ago, Los_Control said: I was trying to picture in my mind how rough the truck would ride with 29 year old tires on it The darn things looked brand new. The guys at the tire store were shocked at their condition. I added up the miles and they had no more than 17 miles on them in 29 years 5 hours ago, Los_Control said: I was thinking these trucks would have had 7.50 x 16 tires and they would be the same height as a 235 75r 15 Seems a smaller tire would make the speedometer turn faster ... Maybe 5mph, not 20. I dunno, maybe 225 is the correct size ... lots of people run them. According to my B series owners manual the largest tire would have been 6.50x16. 6.5 tires have a diameter of 29.1" The radials I installed have a diameter of 29.29 inches. Close enough for me 5 hours ago, Los_Control said: I bet that first drive you were grinning from one ear all the way over to the other It was mostly grins except when two pickups pulling trailers came around a curve and one of them kicked a stone up into the air and it landed on the cab roof I still haven't looked up there to see what if any kind of mark it left. Oh well.... Quote
Los_Control Posted March 2 Report Posted March 2 23 minutes ago, bkahler said: The darn things looked brand new. The guys at the tire store were shocked at their condition. I added up the miles and they had no more than 17 miles on them in 29 years The rubber just naturally ages if they get used or not .... then the rubber gets hard with age. If you let the truck sit for 10 years without moving it ... the steel belts will form flat spots I know cars that have sat for 5 years or more will have some vibration to them .... 29 years ... Sad about the rock, glad it did not hit your windshield ... the life of a truck on the road I put the 235's on mine .... no idea what the speedometer will read .... but we have gps. 1 Quote
Merle Coggins Posted March 3 Report Posted March 3 Did you do a disc brake conversion on the front axle? If so this will require shortening the tie rod. At least that was the case with my Rusty Hope kit. The caliper mounting plate moves the steering arms inboard and I found that my tie rod didn't have enough adjustment to compensate for this. I ended up trimming off an equal amount off of each end and reinserting the tie rod ends. This gave me the adjustability that I needed. 1 1 Quote
bkahler Posted March 3 Author Report Posted March 3 Merle, as a matter of fact I have the Rusty Hope conversion. Thank you for that little tidbit of info. I'm guessing it is the width of the plates that were added to hold the calipers. Guess what I'm doing this week... Quote
bkahler Posted March 3 Author Report Posted March 3 On 3/1/2025 at 8:26 PM, Los_Control said: The rubber just naturally ages if they get used or not .... then the rubber gets hard with age. Kinda like my skin On 3/1/2025 at 8:26 PM, Los_Control said: If you let the truck sit for 10 years without moving it ... the steel belts will form flat spots I know cars that have sat for 5 years or more will have some vibration to them .... 29 years ... Sad about the rock, glad it did not hit your windshield ... the life of a truck on the road I put the 235's on mine .... no idea what the speedometer will read .... but we have gps. The ride was definitely better with the new tires. For some reason during the drive my generator decided to stop charging the battery so now I need to resolve that issue before I can drive it again Quote
Los_Control Posted March 3 Report Posted March 3 23 minutes ago, bkahler said: The ride was definitely better with the new tires. For some reason during the drive my generator decided to stop charging the battery so now I need to resolve that issue before I can drive it again That sucks, but kinda sounds par for the course for a vehicle first run .... What type of Generator/voltage regulator do you have? I'm just thinking about it, My rebuilt GM alternator was $35 and the solid state VR was $20 .... I paid more for my windshield wiper blades then I did for my charging system 🤣 You can believe I was cursing while paying for the wipers 🤣🤣🤣 Quote
bkahler Posted March 3 Author Report Posted March 3 2 minutes ago, Los_Control said: That sucks, but kinda sounds par for the course for a vehicle first run .... What type of Generator/voltage regulator do you have? Freshly rebuilt 12v generator. I have a couple of NOS regulators and a voltage regulator that I had someone convert to solid state. What baffles me is the NOS regulator gave the exact same results as the solid state regulator. Zero volts on the Field terminal and the Armature terminal. I'm going to look closer at the grounding to see if it's ok. 2 minutes ago, Los_Control said: I'm just thinking about it, My rebuilt GM alternator was $35 and the solid state VR was $20 .... I paid more for my windshield wiper blades then I did for my charging system 🤣 You can believe I was cursing while paying for the wipers 🤣🤣🤣 That's the way of the modern world we live in.... Quote
Los_Control Posted March 3 Report Posted March 3 (edited) My first random thought and thinking about the time the vehicle has been sitting .... you say freshly rebuilt generator ... what decade was that? I wonder if the brushes could be stuck from dirt ... So the brushes have been in a set position for how long ... you start driving it and as the brushes wear they ride on the armature .... but if they are stuck in their tracks and not sliding as they should .... generator may not be putting anything out. The fix would be to simply physically move them so they start to slide again .... just par for the course a vehicle not ran for awhile. Might be something different ... but a plausible solution. Back in the day we may have beat on the generator with a hammer to get it to work ... you could try that to see if the vibration will help Edited March 3 by Los_Control Quote
bkahler Posted March 4 Author Report Posted March 4 Los, I rebuilt the generator. I used a rebuilt armature, new brushes, bearings, etc. I just talked to a generator repair shop and I told him about the running test where you connect B+ voltage to the armature and the generator runs. The next test is to short the F terminal to ground and it should slow down and it does. The shop said the generator should be good if it does that and mine does. That leaves the wiring or the regulator. I swapped out the electronic regulator for a NOS regulator and no change. I have one more NOS regulator that I will try to day, hoping for it to work! Quote
bkahler Posted yesterday at 04:54 PM Author Report Posted yesterday at 04:54 PM Yesterday I added the insulation or sound deadener to the cab ceiling and this morning I had a friend stop by to help me set the ABS headliner in place. The installation itself was surprisingly easy, however there is an issue of fitment above the passenger side door at the front. The drivers side fits nice and tight, where on the passenger side there is about 1/4" to 3/8" gap. No matter how much tugging and pushing that I do I can't get the gap to close up. Any suggestions on how to correct this, or do I just live with it? Quote
Brent B3B Posted yesterday at 07:09 PM Report Posted yesterday at 07:09 PM I vote Just live with it 😊 Looks great Brad! 1 Quote
bkahler Posted 23 hours ago Author Report Posted 23 hours ago 1 hour ago, Brent B3B said: I vote Just live with it 😊 Looks great Brad! That's most likely what I'm going to do The only way I can see to close the gap is to remove the panel, trim some material off and try again. I'm not to keen on doing that. Getting lazy in my old age! Quote
LazyK Posted 23 hours ago Report Posted 23 hours ago 1 hour ago, Brent B3B said: I vote Just live with it 😊 Looks great Brad! I agree. With your +1 occupying that side of the truck you will have better thing to look at, and if the seat is empty your attention will be forward. 1 Quote
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