Where is the crack by the levers? The top piece that has all of the notches is replaceable because there is a bushing in it. You can get that piece plus a steering column thread kit from the parts suppliers. Mike
It's cracked all the way around the middle where the levers come out in front of the firewall. I just picked the shaft up from the machine shop. I had them fix the threads because they were really really bad and I didn't want to screw it up worse. Cost me as much as a new shaft but saved me a lot of time and trouble in taking this already recently rebuilt box apart and pressing the worm gear off. Unfortunately I broke the steering wheel trying to remove it. I tried the rope trick with a puller and the hub shattered at the spokes but stayed stuck to the shaft. This wheel was in really bad shape as it was and I wouldn't have kept it long term anyway. Went ahead and bought a wheel off ebay so now there is officially nothing from the old steering column other than the pitman arm going back on the truck.
The spot where we were dicking with the truck when the wheel broke was really inconvenient and I didn't want to wait a week to drive it again, so I went ahead and stuck the wheel hub back together with a flux core welder for one last week of service and we'll just cut it off when it's time. I'm still surprised by the way this hub failed. I thought this whole assembly was stamped, but the exposed innards looked like a cheap casting or pot metal, with that sparkly powdery texture. I wasn't really expecting it to weld, but it took it OK once I figured out the right heat and got most of the debris out of the weld puddle. This will enable me to continue driving (and thus, working on) the truck until Wednesday when the new wheel is delivered and we can swap the entire assembly. There are some words scratched into the wheel cladding that I've never noticed before (not visible in the picture). I'll have to try to figure out what they say before we cut this wheel up to remove it.
Been a real busy week or so and I've been super sick for most of it but we had a minute today to swap the steering over. Feels great to have a nice, tight, smooth, adjusted steering box on this truck and a much better, smoother steering wheel. Took it on a long drive and it's just a whole different truck. Still haven't solved the mystery of the alternator. I took it to my local guy and he checked it out, replaced the regulator again, tested it and verified it works, and sent it back with me. Put it on the truck and... still nothing. Just for the sake of argument I took some 8 gauge wire and gave the alternator its own closed loop back to the battery with a dedicated ground wire and a hot wire that goes straight to the battery and still nothing... so I'm pretty puzzled.
I'm confident the alternator is spinning good. It's set up for a Model A and has a very small pulley.
I just found your project again tonight. Didn't know it had been shifted to the Antiquated. You're making great progress and solving problems left and right. Steering is always pretty ragged on the trucks. I figure it is because the boxes are iffy enough on the cars but not nearly up to the added weight and inertia that two tons of truck bring to the battle. I've been making progress on my '29 AA but sidetracked by home repairs following a tree that blew down on my house this summer. I decided to rattle-can it in Rustoleum hunter green and then wet-and-dry 1500 and a light buffing. We'll see how that comes out, but I'm 75 and have been working on this for more than 50 years so . . . tick tock! I did get the 351W engine, AOD transmission, Champion radiator and additional transmission cooler installed this spring. I got all the fluid lines hooked up. Next I'll be studying wiring diagrams this winter and trying to figure out how to combine a Rebel 9+3 with a '77 F-150 Duraspark II and a 1960 F-350 turn signal switch. I'm finally in over my head.
Does the Alt have a good ground? If it is running through the ammeter is it good? Sounds like somewhere there is a bad connection. Mike
Still no real headway with the alternator. The dude got sick and has been out for the whole month so waiting on that. I have exhausted everything I know to do on it, plus I took a week cruise... But we did get this done. It's not perfect and not completely "right" but as a practice run with cheap stuff I'm happy with it. It'll get swabbed with waste oil to stain it and I'll run it for a while.
Looking good. I'd trim the front edges so there is a bigger gap at the back of the body. Anything that can drop part of the way down is going to dent/rub against the body.
I need to come back and countersink the boards so those hex nuts will sit down better, but we couldn't find a spade bit (thought we had one) and wanted to go ahead and get it put together. Now that they're all tied down we are gonna snap a chalk line across the front and get them all even. I am building a stake box for it that will protect the cab but I want to get it better anyway. Forgot this picture lol.
In all the excitement yesterday I forgot to post an update on the truck. I've decided this will end up getting re-done now that I have a better understanding of the assembly, so I'm not going to bother pulling all the boards to countersink them (as they are only one-bys it would rob what little strength they have). But here it is after the first coat of oil.
That sure looks good for used oil! The other thread is going to go nuts, glad for you! It is understood if you don't get the alt situation sorted ASAP.
If you redo the wood…if you can, try and snag some White Oak. Strong and holds up exceptionally well to weather. Oh, and nice truck!
Progress has been a bit slow - we've actually just been using the truck around the shop a lot and haven't done a lot of work to it. But it got some love today. Seeing it out in the sun with the side boards and a load of stuff on the bed makes my heart happy. I really need to get serious on squaring up the cab but I feel a bit lost here and need to talk to some people.
Are you going to paint the stake sides to match the cab? Semi-gloss house paint is cheap, and I’m thinking it would look great, and provide good protection. Probably best to break the corners on all the stakes before painting…for more durability.
Probably going to let the wood age naturally. Not sure what you mean by breaking the corners on them. We beveled them, is that what you mean? Put her to work today on a ten mile haul to the junkyard. About 500lbs with a bunch of rotors and the smoked torqueflite from my modern truck. Truck weighs 3900 empty! No real issues to speak of except this trip was the very limit of what I can get away with without a working alternator. The guys at the yard got a kick out of seeing it rolling across the scale.
Yep, wood from the mill has sharp edges/corners. The edges can split off real easy. By breaking/rounding off these corners you can lessen the chances of splits. Guess you know this, but many on the H.A.M.B probably don’t! I was thinking that painting the stakes would look more factory/original/finished.
The Jalopy Journal
