1942 WC52 3/4 ton Album by Kevin Foust. 1 - 415 of 415 Total. 17998 Visits.
1 These first photos were taken when I went to look at the truck in Richmond, Indiana. It had obviously been sitting for quite a while.
2 It was used as a logging truck to drag logs in the woods according to the owner. He saw it sitting in the woods and asked if they wanted to sell and they agreed on a price.
3 Had a LOT of mods done to it and very rough. I was looking for combat rims and took a chance that a few may be okay. It has the main body of the MU2 winch as well.
4 Motor was siezed and not original to the truck
5 Had a toolbox bolted in on the passenger side and drivers seat was just a plastic school chair.
6 Owner said it did run when he got it but had since got stuck. At least it looked like the hood was shut.
7 This rim should be okay.
8 You can see the comfortable seat there in the bed. No "Rich Corithian Leather"! LOL Does have a spare.
9 Lift boom was all welded in.
10 Hopefully another good rim.
11 Always interesting to see what people add to these trucks.
12 Guessing this one is junk.
13 Maybe good?
14 Tag is still there.
15 This tire looks to have been replaced right before they stopped using it.
16 Lots of welding to the frame and it has a lot of rust.
17 Got it home as I took a couple of my spares and changed them before loading. Glad I have a winch on the trailer as it made it easy to drag it on. Truck was stuck in gear but owner got it out just before we got there.
18 I did have it chained down pretty good. Dad went along with me and it took about 3 hrs of total time. I had a 3/4" 4 ft breaker bare and 1/2" cordless impact along with other tools. When we had it loaded the owner looked at me and said," I can tell this isn't your first rodeo". LOL It did go extremely well and quick.
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23 Plan is to roll it off the trailer and push it in the shop to work on it. That and to see what is really there.
24 Highly optioned truck as it has the overhead fuel tank along with the deluxe barn roof with OROPS
25 Close up of a miner fender dings.
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27 They had rigged up their own power steering conversion. This just amazes me. Study the pics and hold your jaw as it is going to drop.
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31 I pulled the plugs and started soaking them. Got underneath and took the flywheel cover off and worked the ring gear with a prybar. It broke loose! Went 3 revolutions till it got easier. Starter had the sheetmetal band rusted off so I pulled it all apart and cleaned it and made a new band. Put the juice to it and it spun! Reinstalled on the truck and spun the motor with the plugs out. 4 dead cylinders, one good, one weak (40PSI). I hoped just stuck valves. Kept lubing and oiling and finally got 4 cylinders to have good compression. Made a tool to push the valves down and after some fighting I got them to release. I then pulled the carb and tore it down. Made a new top gasket and put a new fuel line on. After some cranking it actually ran. Some tuning and it idles pretty good. Has an exhaust leak. Power steering actually works and hadn't leaked. I ended up driving the thing around.
32 Think I'll try to get the winch fixed so it is usable. All the brake, lever and yokes were missing. They had it locked in and just used the lever in the cab to operate it. these 2 bolts on the winch case are sheared off flush so we'll start there. I pulled the pieces off another truck to copy.
33 They've welded a lot of the winch together so I'll have to see what I can do to get the drum off. I want to drill those bolts to try to get them out. The less I have to do the better.
34 My plan is to 4 bolts on the left side drum bracket off and pull it off. Then, on the other side, take the 2 bolts(front and rear) closest to the winch drum off. Then loosen the outside 2 bolts and that should allow the gear case to rock upwards so I can pull the drum off. The grill will probably have to come out too.
35 Here you can see how it worked. the driveshaft is still attached but it allows just enough movement to let the drum clear the framerail.
36 Now I have some space to work in.
37 Now for the bolts. I ground the surface flat so I can center punch them better.
38 I like using an automatic center punch to start. It allows you to get pretty accurate to start a dimple.
39 Once I hit it a few times I go to a normal center punch and make them bigger so the drill has a good dimple to start from.
40 Bad picture but they drilled nice. Feeling good as they aren't very deep and there is a big void behind them.
41 I have used several different brands/styles of easy outs and these have worked the best for me. Granted, sheared bolts like these are normally not bad but I have done quite a few twist offs with these.
42 Close up of the easy out. As you turn to loosen, the tapered spiral pulls itself in.
43 I drilled the prescribed size hole and hammered in the easy out.
44 Both of them came out great. One was a 1/4" and the other is 5/16"
45 Cleaned up the shaft and everything else. Made sure everything moves freely and installed the keys. then greased it all and slid the drum back on.
46 Next up is to try to replicate all the parts that are missing. I don't mind putting some time into this as I like making stuff. I have little scrap pieces right here in the shop that I should be able to whittle down and weld together. One piece at a time but hopefully will end up with a functional winch again.
47 First piece is the one that mounts to the winch case and holds the handle. Looks simple but it has some features that make it a little more involved.
48 Here you can see it. Mount is on an angle and holes aren't. Always a challenge to make it function and look like an original piece.
49 We'll go to the scrap pile in the shop and see if we can find a cutoff that will work with as little of waste as possible.
50 We have a winner! Same thickness so I'll grind the slag off and get started.
51 I'm spoiled here as I use the surface grinder with a cut off wheel. Makes dead straight cuts quickly with virtually no clean up. Metal stays cool enough you can pick it up when it's done.
52 Leaves a tiny burr that basically one pass with a file removes
53 I put a digital readout on the surface grinder so it makes this real easy. With the wheel off, just touch the back rail and zero out.
54 Then move out to the desired length.
55 I then move the table and downfeed to around half way through.
56 Flip it over and go till it is 2 pieces.
57 Makes a nice cut that really helps when you get ready to weld and clamp together.
58 Once you know the exact distance from the backrail, you can use that as a preset and make exact cuts from the backrail all day. Cutting the bolting side of the bracket here.
59 After cutting the height of the mounting side I have all the pieces.
60 Marking the holes is done by just tracing the originals with a scribe when it is laying on the new piece.
61 I then dimple them with an automatic center punch in the center of the scribed lines.
62 This gives you an idea of how straight the cuts are. this is after running a file over it twice.
63 That makes holding them easy. When clamping them in a vise they are straight to each other and don't move around. I then spot drill them.
64 Drilling the holes. Evidently it had been striped out at one time as one bolt was 1/4" fine and the other was 5/16" fine. I'll go with it.
65 Doing a trial fit and we are good.
66 Filed the same angle on the end till it was the same as original. Used it as a guide as shown here.
67 Once both were done I TIG welded the easy side as a tack weld. I'll grind this out later to get more strength and penetration.
68 Before putting it on, I ground an angle on the inside edge. This was a hard corner and I'll grind the excess weld out when I'm done. that way it'll still be plenty strong. I needed a good weld on the opposite side as this is going to want to pull hard towards the fill weld.
69 After welding the inside, I ground out the ends.
70 Welded them up and will grind smooth as well.
71 Ground out the TIG weld and ready to final weld.
72 One side done.
73 It all checked fine so now I can just use a spacer to locate the other side with out doing the TIG weld. Went ahead and ground out a groove.
74 All the welding is done now so time to clean it up. Everything looks good as far as size and angles go.
75 First up is to clean out the inside. Just using a square corner wheel but has to be a newer wheel to reach to the bottom. I dressed a side straight, then dressed the bottom.
76 Just made sure the bottom was flat as well as the sides to the wheel. Basically just cleaning the excess weld for bolt clearance.
77 To get the sides flat again I use a 9 inch angle grinder with a newer/new wheel. takes some practice but if you lay it down flat on the face it does a nice job.
78 I rough the obvious high spots down with a smaller grinder. Just saves the new wheel and you can do more that way.
79 Here it is done.
80 On the other side you can see how I just go down till it ghosts the original surface.
81 With that done, I now have flatter side to clamp on so I'll drill the hole. Hole is angled to the bottom but inline top the mating surface. With a Mill it would be easy but I don't have one. Old school time!
82 Well, Maybe I cheat some. A digital protractor helps me a lot with things. I can find the angles and use them to set it up.
83 First thing I do is grind the top to be in line with the bottom. This will allow me to hold it safely.
84 If you look close you can see how this is a parallelogram now like the original.
85 Clamping it in the vise I can verify the side is straight and lay it the other way on top to verify that it is not crooked.
86 After center punching, spotting, pilot drilling, drilling and reaming it came out fine. You can see the original in the background and how they are the same.
87 On to more clean up. Dressed a .250 radius in a wheel and coping the original part.
88 I just move in till it blends to the mounting side.
89 My goal here is to just make it look original and function as such. I rather play at this stuff than watch TV.
90 Looks pretty good so on to the next step.
91 To make the radius on the end, I just use a washer and scribe a line. I'll rough it in with a grinder and belt sander. I've finished lots of stuff with a belt sander but the surface grinder makes them real nice.
92 Got them close and sine the stock is 1 inch wide, I dressed a .500 radius in the wheel. Dead wheel touch off on the top and sides and set the digital readout to 0. The just dial down and in to .500
93 Once one side was done I reversed the wheel around, redressed and repeat the process.
94 Action shot for you. This really makes the part nice.
95 To finish smoothing I use a die grinder and a soft pad. Any sticky back paper works and I just cut the out as opposed to buying precuts.
96 Putting them side by side and it's pretty close.
97 Originals were cast one piece but with a little time you can copy stuff.
98 As mentioned earlier. I have different size mounting bolts and that is the reason for that difference.
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100 All in all, turned out decent so on to the next piece.
101 This piece will be easier. In looking at it and figuring a plan of attack, I think it will be easier to make it with a rod and then cut it when done. This way the holes will be aligned with each other. Found a piece of 1" bar stock.
102 It was originally all cast at once and I'll be piecing it. Legs are splayed out some but don't know if that is original or got bent. The flat piece has a slight bow so I'm assuming it's tweaked from original.
103 Rough cut the shaft to size and spotted both ends. Drilled half way through and repeat. Once it broke through midway, I drilled a 1/32" small and reamed to size.
104 Once the holes were reamed, I turned the length to finish size.
105 With that done, I needed a pattern for the arms. I use cereal boxes and cut the straights. then use a ball peen hammer to do the rest.
106 Scrap pile yielded a perfect piece of 1" wide strap with a pilot hole already in it. I drill it close to 1" and then grind it to finish. One hole with do both pieces.
107 Now I just need to cut it in the center of the hole.
108 Dressed a .500 radius and clamped them both in the vise back to back. Did the math for touch offs and went down to clean. This will make set up easier when getting ready to weld up.
109 You really get spoiled with a surface grinder.
110 Clamped them together and drilled the 1/4" hole. Then bolted them together and ground the angle. Used the belt sander for the sweeping curve. Doing both at once makes them the same and it's easier to keep the straight as it is a lot wider.
111 Cut out the Pad face and predrilled it for rivets. Made it smaller as I'll have to see what I have for rivets. I decided it would be easier to make a solid piece for the angle braces. then, once welded in, I'll cut the center out. this way they will be straight to each other and easy to hold for welding. I purposely made another piece the same size so I can clamp it all together. A spacer if you will.
112 Laid the round in and put the spacers in. Now you can see the reasoning. I'll tack the pad holder to the arms first. then worry about getting the angle brace correct. Made sure everything was equally spaced before welding.
113 I then welded the arms in place
114 Welding the angle brace was next and after it was done I rough cut the center out with a hacksaw.
115 Then slip dressed a 45 degree angle on a wheel and went to blends.
116 Starting to look like something now.
117 Cut out a piece for the center tab and welded it in as well. I did make it a little higher as my originals hole has barely any stock to the edge.
118 Once the tab was welded in I ground the welds with a radii to smooth. Next was the .500" collars. I ground 435 degree reliefs for more weld penetration. I'll be grinding away the welds to flush. Simply clamp in a vise to hold and everything is nice and tight.
119 Other side welded and I'll hit the edges on top and bottom. then I'll smooth and blend it all out.
120 All cleaned up now and I'll drill the center tabs hole next while it is still a solid piece.
121 I hold it in the vise on it's side on a flat surface then tighten. I checked it in the press and the bit went through easy so I know I'm aligned right. I'll drill half way through and switch it around and drill from the other side. This will tell me if I'm completely straight and true.
122 Stopped just as the tip[ of the bit broke through. We are good.
123 Clamped it in again and cut the tube making the 2 collars. I made them a little longer than stock as I see no need for that much play. If it is needed, I'll grind it out later
124 All done now and blended.
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127 Not an exact copy but pretty close.
128 I'll have to dig up some belting and rivets for the brake.
129 Installed the 2 pieces I've made for a trial fit. It's just slightly angled on the drum face but when the belting is on it looks like it will be dead on.
130 Well I found some old belting in the barn and it'll do fine. Found some semi tubular rivets as well.
131 I cut a small piece off and drilled the holes to sizer, then countersunk them. Pressed the rivets in with the arbor press. Was in a hurry and used some washers which was a mistake but it'll work.
132 Used my mandrel for the headlight retainers and it a really nice crimp.
133 On to the next piece.
134 First up is the long piece. I'm making this in sections and welding the turn up on. It is thicker anyway as it tapers up to size. Made a pattern so here we go. Another scrap will be used from the pile.
135 I smoothed the edges straight. Cutting it to final width here. I just plunge cut by bringing the wheel down and move to the edges. I just stop before going all the way through as it would pinch the wheel. Reclamp and finish the cuts on the end. This piece is offset on one end with a ball like feature you can see in the pattern so I'll angle in.
136 Here I am finishing the end. Super smooth, accurate cuts.
137 With that cut I need the up side of the El shape. It grows to .600 thick which is an odd size. Got some 1.00" thick scrap stock and I'll cut it to size. Here I have it cut away from the whole piece.
138 With the 2 pieces close, I'll drill the holes next while they still have straight edges to hold. I'll do the Knob side first so I'll have a self aligning pattern holder.
139 Here you can see how it tapers out. Piece I'm going to use is on the Vise.
140 With it drilled, I just lay it over the protruding pin that the knob controls. Now I can cut the thicker piece to the final height and mark the hole accurately.
141 With it to size, I can easily trace the originals hole to drill.
142 Once marked by tracing, I drilled and reamed it to size. With the edges straight, I can just clamp it all in a vise to weld. You can see it is where it should be as it is on top of the original handle and you can see through it's hole as well.
143 Before welding, I snagged the edges here as well for strength. I'll be smoothing them up as well.
144 Welding it on.
145 Grinding the weld down and tapering the 2 sizes like the original.
146 With that roughed in a little closer I'll start on the collar that is under the knob handle. It is 1.00" stock that tapers to .860". The spring is in there and it is riveted on so I'm not positive how they did it. Don't want to tear it apart so I'll figure something out. Didn't have any round stock the right size so I'll turn down a piece of 1.25" stock.
147 My old lathe isn't much but it chews it off!
148 Fiddled around till I got the right taper and drilled the through hole as well. Decide it would be easier to just weld a plug in the end to hold the spring. It should work.
149 Cut the collar of and now I have a guide to size the end of the handle. Just use the drill bit to hold it. I'll grind it close and finish on the belt sander.
150 Before I weld the collar on I figured I'd better do the rounding on the handle. It would be easy to do without the collar in the way. this is how I do this. Take an angle grinder and hold at a slight angle and keep it even the length, holding a straight line. repeat on the other side. Takes some practice and you want to lay it basically flat so both edges of the wheel are cutting. Once that is done I ink it up with a magic marker.
151 Here is an better view of the ground angles.
152 I then run a flat file over it on the same angle. this is 8 passes with a file and it'll show you the lows as they are still red. takes a while to get the hang of it.
153 Bad pic but here is both sides filed. You can still see that the lines are uniform though.
154 Then I hit it with the die grinder with 80 grit sand paper on a soft pad. It rounds and blend it all really nice.
155 Once the long straights are done I do the rest. This gives you a guide to blend and make it look the same.
156 Now I'll weld the collar on. I relieved the handle and the collar where I'll grind it off. On the inside, I left it tight as I'll TIG weld that section. I use the drill bit again to hold the hole true. Put it in the vise and hold the collar snug and tack weld the outer corners.
157 Then I reclamped it low and welded the outer edge.
158 TIG welded the inner.
159 To blend the outer part of the collar, I ink it all with Magic marker. Use the grinder to rough it in close while trying not to hit beyond. Next is to file it to blend.
160 Then to the 80 grit soft pad. hard to tell it wasn't a cast piece.
161 On to the fork. Stopped by the local steel yard and in their "selection they had just what I needed. 5 inch diameter pipe with a .500 wall. Close enough to work it into what I need.
162 First up was to true the sides and bring it to the largest width. these are tapered on the finished piece but I need something to hold onto for now.
163 Kind of unrelated but here is a trick you can do with a surface grinder if you want holes every 90 degrees. Lay the vise on the side and clamp the piece on the chuck as well. I grind a flat so I know where the center is on the round part, turn it 90 degrees and do the same.
164 If you make the flat a little deeper, you can square off of that and repeat. Old school.
165 Here's a close up of the small flat. If you don't want a flat all the way across, you can use a thinner wheel that will all be removed when you drill the hole.
166 The piece I need is actually bigger than 1/2 so I drilled on hole to size. Then I rolled it around and marked the centerline of the other pin. I rolled it in the vise to an eyeball and then use the grinder to verify it was correct before drilling.
167 Once both were drilled I cut through the center of the holes.
168 Now I need to spread it wider to match the original. Needs to be that wide across to clear the winch engagement spool. you can see the dark outline of the original at the bottom in the center.
169 Off to the press and grabbed a hardened round to spread it out.
170 My original isn't very uniform but I got spread to size. Took it slow and after three presses I got it. Didn't want to have to try to put it back!
171 I laid in a piece of .625 round and welded it in. I had relieved the edges pretty hard as it needs to have a sharp corner on the inside. I left it long and then just cut it off once it was done. Makes it easier to hold.
172 Here I'm starting to file it back. I've inked it all up for a blend.
173 Getting closer here so I'll use a mill file the rest of the way.
174 Close enough.
175 Cleaned up everything else. I'm guessing I'll have to relieve the inside more as the original is domed there. I'll do some trial fitting once it's tacked together.
176 The outside should be to final here.
177 I'm just glad I could find a 5 inch diameter pipe with a .500 wall thickness. Saved a lot of bending and headaches.
178 Now that it is done I can weld it on to the handle. Original is below the new.
179 I take a marker and mark it where the original lines up. Everything is basically 90 degrees from there.
180 After installing it with the ends tack welded, it aligned with the holes and pins and moved the slide into the winch. I will have to relieve the inside as it was rubbing. I was confident enough to call it good so I final welded the handle to the yoke.
181 I began to to the final blending and smoothing. Used the surface grinder with a .250 radius here on a 1 inch wheel. Lots easier than filing. Did this to both sides and will file to blend on the rest.
182 I angle relieved the inside of the yoke. This clears everything fine now. I did the other side to match.
183 Smoothing the grinding marks out with 80 grit on a soft pad.
184 Now I'll get the spring loaded release and knob done. Found a little piece of .625 and a spring from something. I don't know exactly what they have in their as it is pressed together so I'll wing it. I have something that will work in my mind anyway. LOL
185 I'll do 3 step downs on the tang along with center drilling the end. the center drill will allow the end to be pressed with a point to spread it out and hold it all together with the sporing pressure on it.....Fingers crossed.
186 All turned and I'll leave it on the tang till I'm ready to press it together. That way if I need to change anything, I still can easily.
187 When I was at my scrap yard I looked for some 2" aluminum bar stock but they didn't have any. the original was aluminum but I have some 2.250 stainless so that is what it is going to be. I'll cut a piece off so I have something to get a hold of and still keep it close to the chuck. Too big for my lathe to pass through.
188 Off to the surface grinder to cut. Too big to cut all at once so I'll roll it after cutting as deep as possible and repeat.
189 I spotted it and drilling the though hole.
190 I'll have to do some math and have internal shoulders that I need at certain dimensions. I had rigged a quill digital to my tailstock and a simple bracket and a hose clamp keep it in place on the chuck.
191 Once a center is drilled you have to guess where the tip is. Here is a way to get it exact. Just slip a piece of metal on the face of the part with the drill snug against. Next zero out on the digital.
192 Then measure the piece of steel and move in that much. Zero out again and you are even to the face at the tip.
193 Now I just drill in to the desired depth.
194 I need flat bottom holes. First I drill the hole to the depth. This is the tapered cobore and the small end is .875. If you don't have an expensive flat bottom reamer you can use an old junk/broken/short bit. Just cut it off square. This is another .875.
195 Since you removed the majority of the stock and it has a guide of the same size, it works great. I touched off using the same method as stated before to get an exact depth. Now I have to flat bottom cobores and I need to taper the .875 to 1.00". This will match the taper they have on the handle with some slop, just like the original.
196 Didn't have any of the right inserts to do it correctly so I just clamped down a standard reamer. Sometimes you just have to improvise.
197 You laugh, but it works. I inked up the inside to let me see better where I'm at for the blends.
198 Next I turned the .250 deep shoulder.
199 Now I'll get the outside diameter to just over 2 inches.
200 I scribe a line from the shoulder to my centerline of the handle button. the ink makes it easier to see once again. This will be free hand work so I just lay the original nearby to look at and compare.
201 You can still see the scribed line here. and I have a pretty good radius taper.
202 Now I have to remove some stock so I can do the top side with the turning tools/inserts. Just have to stay away from the knob side enough but remove as much as possible before switching.
203 I'm just using a modified parting tool to reach around for this. I know the total length I need so I measure that till I'm there. this will give me another guide for making the contour.
204 More hand work and getting real close here.
205 After a little cutting work I ink it all up and use a file to smooth. have to keep cleaning the file on every stroke. then some sandpaper. ready to cut off now.
206 I stay a little ways away as I want the dome to continue as opposed top being flat.
207 With it off I'll grind the obvious off with an angle grinder.
208 Now a soft pad and some 80 grit. You just want to keep going around keeping it all even looking. Holding the Die grinder at the same angle while going in circles. takes some practice but pretty easy once you do a few.
209 Now you have a nice even looking button.
210 Slipped in the shaft and everything looks good.
211 Next is to make the shoulder stop for the handle. This is what will keep the spring in place and let it have constant tension. I drill it to .375 so the shaft will slip through and turn the OD to a press fit for the handle.
212 When doing the math for the shaft, I allowed .100 for the shoulder spacer. this will give me more spring tension area inside.
213 I pressed the spacer in with an arbor press.
214 I tested the shaft, spring and button and everything worked fine so I TIG welded a few spots to hold it in.
215 Used a chamfer tool to angle the button out. When it is all assembled I'm hoping I can press it into the bell with an angled point.
216 Here you can see what I'm going for. I can smooth the excess then.
217 Needed the little bracket that holds the adjustment and spring for the spool drag/pusher. Drilled the hole and rounded the corners and cutting it off here.
218 After measuring and putting it where the original was, I welded it home.
219 Pretty much done with the handle now so I'll shoot some paint on it.
220 Let the paint dry overnight next to the stove in the shop so I'll press the knob onto the handle. I had made this up for another project and it should do the job.
221 Ready to press and shouldn't take much of the 40 ton.
222 It belled it out really nice. Now I'll smooth it to flush.
223 The handle is completely done and I like the way it turned out. Since the knob and pin are stainless, I'll let them as they are. I packed grease in there before I pressed it together.
224 New on is a little beefier in spots but that is fine by me.
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226 Here's a close up of the pin smoothed to flush. It's a lot smoother than the original as I kept the clearances a little tighter.
227 Now all I have left is the pins and hardware. The big pin I'll make out of a bolt. I'll make it look the same.
228 First up is to grind the head to the same thickness.
229 Now I'll spin grind it to round.
230 I use a Harig fixture and indicate it central.
231 Then spin it to the diameter I want.
232 I then drilled the cotter pin hole. I'll cut the excess off now and it'll be done. I made the smaller pin using the same method.
233 Decided to grind the 5/16" bolt head to the same size as the 1/4". Pretty tight to get a socket in there and this will solve the problem. I made a whole set of thread hoplders when I was doing bolts on the truck and these come in handy for a lot of things. Just index the flat and knock it central. Harig index every 15 degrees so this is real easy.
234 All ground and I'll smooth up the burrs now.
235 No one will ever know till they take it out.
236 Down to one more piece to make with these done.
237 Original piece is fine thread but I had this screw which will be easier to work with.
238 I TIG weld a little piece of scrap on to the end after grinding the screw head flat.
239 Then I grind it square using the Harig and a thread holder.
240 Clamp it in to spot and drill the hole.
241 I made it a little heavier duty as well.
242 Everything is done now. If i ever get rid of this truck I'll switch out the stuff I made and put the pieces I copied on there. Too many memories!
243 I'll play with the spring and may take a coil or 2 off. Can't put them back on though so I'll see how it does first.
244 Withe the drum away, I assembled it all and tested for smoothness and function. All was fine.
245 Engage was fine as well.
246 When I loose bolted the winch I noticed I needed to adjust the drag pad a little. I decided to just go ahead and put a Nylock nut on the other end as well. It will make it easier to adjust.
247 Unspool mode drags just enough now.
248 Engage keeps it away with plenty of distance.
249 This one locks nice.
250 As well as this one. I had it all bolted tight at this point so this phase is done.
251 A buddy who scraps out cars constantly said I was welcome to anything I need so I got a set of bucket seats from him. Just quick bolted them to the floor with wood spacers.
252 Vast improvement over basically nothing and will make it a lot easier to drive. Function over form here.
253 Up next is to get the exhaust leaks fixed. It runs but is annoying being that loud plus the fact of putting heat where it shouldn't be. Don't want a fire on something as there is a lot of grease build up in there. I sprayed the manifold down for 2 days on the stud nuts prior to starting this.
254 I'm guessing this is a prior "fix" for a crack. there are 2 of them on the same exhaust port. First port on the front of the motor. There is noise coming from the backside where I can't see.
255 Some studs pulled out instead of the nuts coming off but nothing twisted off or stripped. The one long stud was a problem as the rust had filled up in there and I had to do a lot of gentle persuading to get it off. Didn't want to break anything. The coolant did drain out but not a big deal. I developed a little leak in the radiator so I'll take care of that while it is half drained. that will be a later project.
256 The other clamp was right by the flange.
257 Houston, we have a problem! This has me puzzled.
258 Houston, we have another problem. This one is ate away with cracking as well. I'll have to get the die grinder out and see how far I have to go back to get something to work with.
259 Paper thin so this is going to take longer than I thought.
260 I ground out the bad and cleaned the area up with a carbide burr. Welding cast is more difficult than normal steel or cast steel. For structural stuff and critical safety things you'd preheat and use a different method than what I'm going to do. This is basically just getting it closed up again. I start by bending some copper to match the inside contour I want to fill. This will allow for easy buildup and a heat sync at the same time.
261 Had to take out quite a bit. Weld won't stick to the copper and makes cleanup/smoothing on the inside a lot easier. I'm going to use a MIG welder with standard .035 wire.
262 I start in the center of the copper backer just doing spurts of weld. Constantly wire brushing and letting it cool slightly. If you weld for long the quick cool down will cause all kinds of cracking as cast can't take quick temperature swings. This slowly warms it all up. Once I get the meat in the center, I'll burst the edges. Letting it somewhat cool before hitting it again.
263 at the top is where the crack ended. I drill the end and welded it first. Then worked from the center back. I had gouged the crack out as well. You can't do pretty here. It's just about metal buildup.
264 Like I said earlier, this is not a stress part that could cause injury if it were to break again quickly. I've done this method in the past with things like this and they have lasted.
265 I'll smooth it up some with the burr and see if I missed any spots of have any cracks. One void I'll get in the middle top but it's not cracked there. Just a welding bridge line.
266 Now I'll clean up the big hole side. I'll leave some meat here an the back was inset some so I'd have more inside as well.
267 Everything looks okay so this is good enough.
268 Here is the inside where the backer was. This has not been touched yet and you can see how it really helps to save smoothing time. I'm not going overboard here with smoothing either as it isn't a race motor or something.
269 A couple minutes with carbide burr gets it smooth enough for me.
270 Was getting ready for the big crack and after cleaning I notice that the holes were different sizes but the studs are the same. For some reason, someone had welded in spots with the crack open. Then to get it to go on the motor they had to enlarge the holes. I thought I'd heat it and put it back.
271 I went and got a straight. edge and found it to be perfect. I'd say they ground the flange but there shouldn't have been enough stock at the outer edge. Maybe shrinkage warp? This is what eroded away the flange port in my mind as it isn't centered. Thoughts? i'm just going to weld it back where it is and recheck. I'll face it when I'm done welding.
272 I start by sticking the copper backer on just one point and burst weld till it's even. Now I can burst weld from that weld and work my way back.
273 There was a lot of meat here so it was a lot easier and went well. I'll smooth it first before turning over.
274 Looks fine so I'll move on.
275 Drilled the end of the crack first. I'll clean it up and fill it with weld.
276 One more to go.
277 Welded the hole first and I'll reclean before finish welding.
278 I'm going to call this done.
279 Took a newer 9 inch grinding wheel and ran it over the flanges to check for straightness. You can see how uniform the one on the left that I welded is. On to the exhaust.
280 Truck came with just a simple 90 degree bent pipe and a Cherry bomb type muffler but it was broke at the flange with they had welded it to.
281 The pipe was also bent/crushed to where is is only about half size.
282 I'm guessing they had welded it wrong and heated it up to twist it for clearance. I think I'll trash the pipe and see if the junk pile yields a replacement.
283 I'll make this work.
284 Couple of cuts with the chop saw and we'll start. I have a trick to index the flange so I won't have the same problem they did.
285 Lay the exhaust pipe flat on a table and let the flange on the table as well. Put a block of wood on the flange and trace the holes and outside. Mark which direction is down. You can trace the pipes outline as well but this is just a simple 90 degrees.
286 Then drill the hole to the flanges size. You now can bolt the flange to the wood and it'll index it for you. All you have to do is center the pipe to the flange for a tack weld.
287 Got it all set up to weld so I'll do a few tacks and then finish.
288 Welded all the way around it so this end is done.
289 Sloppy fit as they are different pipe sizes. I just burst weld on the muffler(shown here) then I'll bridge weld the 2 pieces.
290 Finished that all up and need to check the flange next.
291 Facing the flange to check for flatness and it came or great. The ears are a little high so as it is tightened it'll make a better seal in the center. I've found this normally happens as you weld on the one side and the flange pulls up evenly around the edges.
292 Faced the Exhaust manifold again and it should all seal up nice. be a little nicer(quieter) to drive around the farm.
293 Cleaned all the ports and chased all the threads on the studs. I did order a gasket set from DC off Ebay. I splurged! LOL
294 Gasket set arrived from Dave Cirillo at DC Truck Parts. REALLY nice set at a fair price. They have the metal in them and he sent them very quickly. I will be back as he has a great reputation.
295 This will make it easy.
296 Here's a tip for you. Figured I'd reuse this clamp for a hanger. I chased the threads first and soaked it in spray oil. One broke free but the other was stuck and could tell it would twist off.
297 I use a die grinder with a carbide burr tip. You can use a normal grinder but these make it easier.
298 You just dig into a flat on the nut till you just hit the thread. You can see it here. It normally releases the grip just enough that they will break loose.
299 If not, just tap out with a chisel in the loosening direction and it will jar it enough to break the bond.
300 With using the die grinder like this, a standard tool will still turn it. A 6 point is better but this came off with a standard box end.
301 You can see there is very little left holding it together.
302 After putting the manifold on it was time to try the exhaust pipe and muffler. Everything is tight with the supplied gasket in place.
303 The bench trick I showed earlier works well and here is the proof. Makes it a lot easier. Use the pattern of a known if you can.
304 I made up a rubber isolated hanger for the exhaust pipe and installed it so it is all done now. Next is the power steering pump. It squalls and there is good reason. WAY out of alignment as you can see. there "system" flexes as well so I'll see if I can get something to work here.
305 Torch cut holes and scab welding. Not too much to work with here.
306 Not sure what is up with the C shaped mount. doesn't look like it broke there as the edges are to consistant. I'll look it over closer tomorrow.
307 Could be a partial reason why it moves around.
308 One good thing about dealing with bad welding, it's easy to get things apart! I just used a angle grinder on it and it didn't take much.
309 Once the one side was open I hammered a chisel in and spresd it till it broke apart.
310 I then cleaned the edges up and smoothed it some. it'll make welding a lot nicer.
311 In looking at the pump they were using a heavy wire for tension of the belt. Figured the adjustment slide bolt was twisted off as it was so dirty it was flush. Once I cleaned it I found it was open. I then thought it was stripped but when I put a bolt in it I found it's fine. Odd to me but it'll make this a lot easier. My finger is pointing at the adjustment bolt hole.
312 I'll copy where they had it mounted, the 2 head bolts, but I'll add a strengthening base mount as well. Might not be the best place to mount from but it'll work. grabbed some flat plate and will cut a longer length than I need till I get a real world length. Better to be long than short. I use a plasma with cheater straight to make the cut.
313 Love the way this thing cuts. Only drawback is it cuts so fast that it will sometimes harden the edges. If you just face it with a grinder it's fine but it'll dull a file in a hurry if you don't grind it first.
314 I drilled the 2 holes for the head studs position and here I'm bending the downturn in the press. The pump needs to sit down some to clear the hood.
315 Now I have a nice solid base to get the positioning right.
316 I then check the 2 pulleys for straightness with a verified straight edge. Using a prybar here. I just clamp the pump down for a quick tack weld.
317 I then took the pump off and the bracket off to bench weld it.
318 I think it will hold. LOL
319 For the brace mount I cut a pattern the same size as the bars. I use a piece of round stock the size of the bolt I'll use and make a hole by tapping the edge with a hammer. Fool proof pattern that way.
320 Remount the main bracket and keep cutting the pattern till it fits. there is a slight angle on the non hole end. I'll now make it out of steel and install it all for tack welding together
321 Took it all off again and final welded it.
322 Since it is to size I'll now cut the excess off and cut some out of the center. It'll allow me to access stuff better and to see in there. The less bulk in an engine bay, the better.
323 I like doing this for larger internal holes. Draw some guidelines and drill some holes at the corners. this way the round corners are done and you just connect the dots.
324 Makes it look better too.
325 I found the open C on the one arm is the way it came and is not broke. We'll go with it.
326 All cleaned up and smoothed so I'll give it a rattle can paint job and install later.
327 While it is all off I'll address the small radiator leak. Looks like it was out before as someone decided to make it easy to pull the nose. Just torch the wrench access! LOL
328 Other side was the same.
329 Backside was even bigger.
330 Once the top was off I quick hammered the dents out of the nose to make it look a little better. the one side was pushed in so much it was rubbing the top of the radiator and had dented it too.
331 Should be easy to do now.
332 Radiator is out and I'll straighten the fins too. It's been hit a couple of times from both sides.
333 I'll chase all the threads while it is out and do some cleaning as well.
334 There is a section of the radiator where it looks like a stick was driven in. Several leaks there and it's real thin as well. To fragile and dirty to just fill so it looks like I'm going to have to soldier them shut where it is good.
335 The stick got these 2 cores so time to take them out. This is a budget build so it's about function so going for cheap here.
336 Now I have some decent metal. I can sand inside and out so it will seal a lot better too.
337 Both sides are sealed now and show no bubbles under pressure. I'll install it back in now.
338 Strike one! Came out to the shop to find coolant on the floor. I should have done this the first time but sometimes you have to learn the hard way. Made a tub for a submerge tank to test for leaks instead of just brushing on soapy water. I'll see where my repair is leaking.
339 As before I just use some inner tube and hose clamps to seal the ends. Radiator cap on top and I blow in air with a rubber tip nozzle in the overflow tube. It doesn't take much and would recommend turning your regulator down or stop as it will oil can quick.
340 Since I'm going to be rolling it around to check all sides, I clamped on a short length of hose for an extension. The good news is my repairs were fine. the bad news it's leaking all around the top inlet where it attaches to the tank.
341 I cleaned it all up and it has been repaired before. I'm sure to do it right you should drill the rivets and tin both sides. I'm going to try to just solder the way it is. Won't be pretty but it should hold.
342 Sanded into the crevices and will take out the old solder as well.
343 Now we are ready to try it.
344 As I said, it isn't pretty! wanted to be sure to bridge it to clean metal so it took more. I tested in the tank and no more bubbles so I'll reinstall, hopefully for the final time.
345 I took the alternator off to test and wasn't too thrilled to see they had cut the crossmember. jagged cut and it was hitting and would allow it to fully swing. Decided since it was already done to smooth it up and get the travel. I guess they did take the time to put a heavy piece in to help.
346 Put everything back on again and fired it up. No leaks! Did scare me thow as I reved it a few times and was letting it get warm and when I went to the front I saw coolant on the floor and lower radiator fins. Come to find out it was because I overfilled and it was coming out the overflow tube and getting sucked into the radiator from there. Glad that was all it was.
347 Since that was fine i put the nose and grill back on. Next will be getting the electrics working better. Lots of rigging went on here.
348 They had bare wires in spots, wrong gauge wires and hot lead to the coil was direct from the battery. That'll drain the battery down. I'm not worried about gauges at this point. Just want the alternator to recharge the battery and an on/off switch. Also not having a fire would be nice. LOL
349 I had stripped a 1978 Chevy truck down for parts and still had all the wiring. This makes an easy conversion as most of the lengths are close, right gauge wires and you get the loom and clips as well. I even got a needed junction block.
350 Even if you get it from a scrapyard it'll be cheaper and you'll have the needed fasteners and alternator connections. Makes a nice tidy looking job. you can see the junction block and and connectors here. I'll clean them up and start laying stuff out.
351 Even got the rubber boot and way better than a couple of spade connectors.
352 You need a dummy light for an exciter to get it to charge so I'll use a license plat twist lock socket.
353 I'll use this as an example of how easy they are to install. the the hole and then use a triangle file to create 4 flats. Only takes a couple of minutes.
354 Keep filing till it's central and the socket fits in.
355 then just twist. they work great on thin steel and easy to do and change bulbs.
356 Got all the wires to length, soldered the end terminals and tightened it all down. test fired and everything worked except the switch wouldn't turn it off. Found out I had to hook the dummy bulb wire (exicter wire) to the accesory terminal on the new switch. with all working I'll put the loom on and attach it all down to make it tidy. the factory clips are so nice as you can snap them on and a .250 hole is all that is needed.
357 Much nicer now.
358 Keeps the wires out of the way and easier to get the battery in and out.
359 Now we are good to go.
360 Dummy light works and is on when you turn the key on. Once it starts and is charging, the light is supposed to go off.
361 New switch in teh factory hole and added a new manual choke cable as well.
362 The hood had been tweaked on one one the side hinge rod had come about a 1/3 of the way out and was all bent up. here is how I clean the hinge up and make sure they are aligned correctly. A round file is just the right size so work it back and forth and blow with air to clean. If it gets tight, work it with a pair of Vise grips till it slips through. This cleans them and makes sure they are in alignment.
363 I pounded the dents out and some of the hinges weren't correct. A gentle tap with a chisel is just enough to push them out. Use a wide one and they move easy. Just keep working your way down and you'll be fine.
364 Reassembled the hood and with the major dent taken out some looks a little better.
365 Doesn't look as sad now and is becoming more functional which is what I'm after.
366 Next up is to see what I can do with the brakes. remember, the Passenger is always right(hand threads). LOL
367 Got the wheel off and needed to get the 3 slot screws off. Didn't want to ruin the slot so I made a tool up.
368 Small straight section and large radius is for strength. I Ground a 3/4" hex so I can use a standard socket on it or an impact driver.
369 It's hardened tool steel to a Rockwell 60. I will make more for sale if you need one but I'll use a 1/2" radius runout on the hex side as well. Don't want any stress rises that could cause a failure.
370 I prefer this over an air impact to break them loose. The added inward shock seems to do batter and less chance of coming out.
371 I don't think these have ever been out since 1944 when it was assembled. There are no marks or damage to the slot. I have just scraped it out here.
372 Set it in and give it a few wacks with a hammer.
373 They all came out with no damage. One wheel took about 2 minutes.
374 I will have to spin grind the outer edge to match the screw so it doesn't dig into the inner face.It'll self align that way and have maximum contact area.
375 After they are all out there is no damage to the tool.
376 Chased the 3 thread holes with a 3/8" course bottom tap and screwed in some bolts. I had soaked with spray oil where I could. Kept them even and tapped the face with a hammer. Cranked them in evenly and tapped till it broke free. Went really well.
377 This isn't good. Brake shoe material was completely broke free from the shoes and fell out.
378 Even worse the wheel cylinders aluminum is corroded beyond repair. It's dribbling out in flakes from the boots.
379 Nasty. I'll press it out but it looks like toast.
380 Came out easier than I thought but the bore is pitted badly and very rough. Would take a bore and sleeve and for the money and time, I'll go with new. truck probably isn't worth the cost but if I junk it, I'll take the new stuff off for spares.
381 this is one reason you always want to at least check your brake for obstructions. I normally always replace them on something that has been sitting for a long time. Completely blocked off.
382 Got all the old stuff off and freed up all the adjusters. You want everything working smooth so you can set the shoes correctly.
383 Christmas time! The parts arrived from Dave at DC truck parts.
384 Shoes are the better riveted on style and NICE!
385 Really impressed with the parts. Super fast shipping and great to deal with. I highly recommend DC truck parts. Wheel cylinders are even labeled as to which side they go on. Hoses had spiral spring protection too.
386 All installed and ready for the hub to go back on.
387 Need to remove the inspection cover to get the adjustment right.
388 The hand impact makes quick work of it. If you don't have one of these I'd highly recommend picking one up.
389 I always use antisieze on fasteners when reassembling. makes it so much nicer the next time.
390 All back together and adjusted. I'll recheck them after a while of running them as is. Makes a better pedal feel and stops better.
391 The brake pedal was froze so I decided it would be easier to work on if it was off. It is possible to take it out with the motor and trans installed for those who may need to do this. Took the master cylinder out too as it is bad.
392 They had put a remote storage tube in the top so stuff must have been leaking pretty bad. Rare for a Dodge truck. LOL
393 This is the only line that I might be able to reuse. the rest are obviously junk.
394 Ended up having to heat the pedal up red hot to get it to break free. It was there to stay and would have broke it without the heat.
395 It had just a little dirt packed in there. the broken spring was also wedged under it. I'll clean it up and put in a new zerk.
396 Found an old spring in the junk drawer and it moves freely now and ready to go. I'll leave it off till all the lines are in as it would just be in the way.
397 Brake line and fittings arrived so it's time to bend and flare. First time using the Ny-cop but everyone raves about it. I normally just use stainless anymore but wanted to try it.
398 These are the only 2 lines that were in tact to use as patterns. the rest were missing, mangled or replaced badly.
399 Trick I've used for years in making lines is to get some large wire. Old number 9 here. Start with the longest and bend it how you want it and cut to length. Once done, do the next shortest and work your way down. saves a lot of up and downs and wasted material.
