Projects 1950 3100 Truck Project

Well, we will both know better next time, right?

Anyway, finally got the leaks sealed up, but the pedal goes to the floor. I am going to pull the master and make sure I got the push rod lines up, doesnt feel like its even pushing on the master.

I also ordered a ton of stuff from Classic Parts, should be here next weekend.

 

Brake flares really aren't that hard to do, but a quality tool is WELL worth the $$$$$.

 

Yes, the tool I have now sucks big time, but I used a borrowed MAC set the first time. Some of the leaks were fittings that snugged up, two were bad flares that had to be redone, and both "new" (reman) calipers had shit worn out banjo bolts. Put new banjo bolts and washers and no more leaks, for now. I regret going that route, should have bought some good ones right off the bat. I am going to leave it alone this week, need to regain some of my sanity...

 

Chasing problems is tough..........glad you got it fixed!!

 

Glad to hear you're back on the right track with the brake lines. I'll be doing mine this Spring...

 

lookin better, hang in there .. Bill aka Tnomoldw

 

http://www.piratejack.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=11:typical-brake-system-configurations&catid=12:tech-support&Itemid=18 Brake set ups

 

I am jumping the gun saying all the leaks are fixed....I was getting leaks at 10-15psi with the pressure bleeder. Tech told me to run it up to 25 to bleed, which I did. But of course, I would think the pressures would be a hell of a lot higher during normal operation. Had to bring the bleeder back this morning to work so I ran out of time. I need to mess with it quite a bit more before I give the all clear....

 

Oh yeah, I do have residuals 2 front 10 rear as recommended. They seem to work to because even after you relieve pressure at the master the rear still leaks for a bit since it still has 10psi in it! What a pain in the ass...

So the lesson here is if you have the chance to get your brakes squared away when you are working with a bare chassis, TAKE IT, it sucks fixing leaks when the truck is back together.

 

I like the hinged hatch in the floor pan....

 

I wonder if maintaing residuals assists in moving air to be released while bleeding the system , like you start a bleed the next day, hmm always seems to be messy inside on the floor. Bill aka Tnomoldw

 

Got an order in from Classic Parts...all glass, clear, except corner windows which I have two sets of. All rubber with chrome beads. Windshields wont be here till end of this month.



Headlight buckets with headlights, gaskets tail lights (got the 54-55 round style, headlight switch, park lamps, random hardware




Finally got around to readjusting the rear fender to running board so I could bolt it all together, fits perfect!



After rearranging the garage and gathering up all my parts, I found my tailgate chains and put them on. Sweet! Disregard the chrome tail light brackets. First, the chrome looks terrible. Second, they are for 47-53 tail lights, didnt realize there was a difference. So I have to order black brackets for a 54.



WE HAVE EYEBALLS!




Next I sanded down the inside of the front bumper, primed and painted it, same with brackets and bolted it all together with new bumper bolts. Then I sat it on jack stands to start trying to figure out how to mount it. Thought I would take a pic first, hell yea!!



Next four pics are showing where the brackets end up. Thought I would get some input on what you guys think I should do here.

 

How would they line up if you put the right on the left and the left on the right. It still wont fit but may be closer. May have to remove the braces completely and reconfiger.It appears you will need to run a couple sticks of 1x2 or 1x3 tube forward from the lowest part of the flat sub-frame.....

 

Alright, so under the 25psi the pressure bleeder put on my brake lines, I finally got all the leaks fixed. Got it bled out but pedal still went to the floor. Found out that I had neglectd to install the deep bore adapter that came with my master booster, so off came the master AGAIN, installed adapter, reinstalled master, bled again and now I have a nice solid pedal. Started engine and put the back wheels on jack stands to check the rear brake operation and see how the trans shifted and if all was well I was going to go for my first cruise....

FAIL...

I suspected this would happen, front brake line at framre to rubber hose connection leaking, tight as I can get it so I guess that flare sucks too. There is obviously a lot more pressure that what the bleeder puts on it. Plus, the rear wheel was shaking pretty bad, I guess those cheesy aluminum spacers dont allow for even torque so I need to pull those back off and hope I dont have a bent axle. I am actually glad it went the way it did, I was really rushing to get to go drive it and something bad probably would have happened. Back to the drawing board.

Bumper is on though, just need to pull it back off and finish weld everything...pics soon.

 

You were running the drive train with no load on the bearings , it will Ping-Pong like that. Like a wiffel ball on a string. Good Luck ! Sounds like your almost ready for a road test. Horah!

 

...here's how I did the bumper mounts on the last AD I worked on,...mite have to shorten the rear end of brackets a bit.

 

Say again? I barely got up above 5mph and the wheel had about 1 inch of lateral runout, so it isnt sitting flush on the drum is my thinking. When I put those spacers on I knew they werent going to work for 2 reasons.

One, they dont center, the hole in the center of the spacer is bigger than
the part that sticks up off the drum that the rim centers on, and the holes are slotted for various bolt patterns, so when I lay them up there they slide down and are way off center from the wheel face. Plus the threads dont stick out very far from the lug nut and arent even. I just have been too lazy to take them back off.

My problem is when I am laying in bed or driving to work I tend to think of the worse case scenario (bent axle) and then dwell on it, I hate doing that.

That is more or less how I did it, I got your email with pics. What I did is cut the end of the brackets off 4 inches, then welded them underneath and then welded angle to the cross bar like yours, then bolted them up. It seems kinda flimsy, but its not easy to weld upside down. I am going to pull the supprt and weld it better, and if it still has too much flex I probably need a bigger or thicker piece of square tubing as a crossmember.

I just hope I dont even need to use the front bumper, man that is going to tear some shit up as well as do next to nothing for me safety wise....

 

That will work, What's for the back ? Got a scheme for a disappearing trailer hitch? Added spacers can be pia. If it was easy we wouldn't be talking about it.

 

I am probably going to run a roll pan off the bottom of the bed. BUT.....before I do that, I hadnt mentioned it before since I wasnt sure what the issue is, but my rh frame rail is about 1 inch lower than the lh frame rail. It seems to be fairly even side to side all the way back to where the frame arches up over the axle but after that is when it is off.

I cant decide if the rh is lower or the left higher, but after I get it driveable I am going to bring it to the shop here and get the body guy to help me measure it all up and stretch and pry it as necessary to get it straight. Then I can take the big stack of washers out of the rr corner of the bed I put to make it look level for now so I wasnt always thinking about it...

 

I had a prob on a truck bed while taking it off I hooked a strap to it like right-front corner and left-rear corner . I warped/bent it a bit but was ok once bolted back down.do you have wood or metal floor in the bed ?

 

Nothing yet, but plan on wood of some type. My dad wants to do the finish work on the wood as his contribution to the project, so I am looking for something that will really look nice....

 

Oh I hear ya man, that stuff always hits your mind at the worst time. One thing leads to another and you're imagining the truck in a ball of flames or balled up on the side of the road. As far as the bumper, I pray I never have to use it either. I don't put a ton of faith in their safety value regardless of how they're mounted.

 

Ha, yep....considering I have almost driven through the back wall of my garage into my bathroom twice just backing it in that isnt much of a stretch!

 

So last night I replaced a section of brake line, used the preflared end on the frame and used my new BLuepoint double flare tool set to make the other end and then bled the front brakes again using a vacuum pump and my wife holding the pedal. So far so good, we will see soon enough.

The way I figure it is that if it had gone right the first time I wouldnt have all this extra experience in dealing with leaks. I guess I gotta look at the positive side of things every once in a while....

Also, I removed the cheesy aluminum spacers from the rear wheels. The only reason I put them on to begin with is there isnt much room between the bedside and the inside of the rear tires. The bedsides are a little floppy right now with no bed floor so they should tighten up a bit when its all bolted together and not be an issue.

I decided I am going to go with the Altman easy latch kit. I dont have a dr side latch and the pass side is questionable, plus the striker plates are worn badly. I figure I'll be better off in the long run going that route anyway, although the kit is a little spendy...

 

So here is how I ended up doing the bumper, should hold up ok...

 

Hey buddy... I know I said Id shoot you some photos of my exhaust exiting the back of rear fenders and totally forgot till now! Not sure if you finished yours yet but heres the shots I promised! Trucks looking good, glad you got those brakes fixed! :]

 

Finally finished the pass door bottom..





Removed the stock striker plates and cleaned up, going to go back with the rotary jaw latches.



Cleaned and painted the seat frame...



Here is where is gets dumb. When I installed the pass cowl, I didnt drill out the mounting holes big enough to allow any adjustment. Didnt want to do it right the first time so I had to take it all back apart on the dr side just to enlarge the holes....



Got it back together after drilling the holes bigger



Still have this nasty gap. The cowl didnt form up just like the orig one, and when I tighten it all up this is what I am left with, any ideas on how to get rid of the gap?

 

That's got it !good job.! I was going to suggest some 5/8 rock maple from a native sawmill but you and Dad will figure it out. I did my 69 Chevy with yellow pine from Sutherland Lumber I treated it with EVERLIFE .stained it PECAN and Urethane after it was installed.

 

Thanks for the pics man. I have not done anything with the exhaust yet, but the should work. I dont know how much room I have there between my frame/tire/gas tank though. I'll have to take a peek.

The other option is stacks.............................seriously..............ok, no............

 

The nutsert affair is holding the fender from lining up tight. install a short bolt .then hit with a ''BFH'', using judgement ofcoarse