Still plugging away a little at a time. Life is soo busy right now we projects and work........but the end is near for Henry!! Picked up a seat cover and seat rebuild kit from LMC. The cover is nice. Wish it was 2 pieces so I could removed the bottom. I bought a seat rebuild kit. Not overly impressed with that. Basically just some foam, a chunk of carpet and some hog rings. And only enough to cover either the back or bottom, not both. Live and learn. Anyway, got the bottom part of the seat cover done and installed. Bolted on the taillights that I got from Wood1 last night. Still need to wire them. I found some awesome old 3/8" rusty galvanized flex I am going to use to cover the wires. Still need to get the fenders bolted up solid and bolted to the running boards. The bolt the bed down. Install rear bumper. Stereo is ordered......will be here Tuesday!! Itchin to drive this old dawg!! I had a little help last night. Colton, age 1. Colton and my oldest, Kennedy.
Had a marathon late night session last night and got the brake leaks fixed and the brakes bled. Also tightened up the steering box. This morning I finished up the rear tail lights and put the rest of the cover on the seat and we set out for a test drive. Put about 20 miles on around town and came back to the house. Ran great, except ran a bit warm IMO. Check all the fluids, the anitifreeze was a bit low. Rest was good. Set out again for a little tool around the neighborhood. After stopping at a couple places around town it left us stranded. Seemed like no spark. Called a buddy and we pulled it home. Further inspection found no point gap at all. Adjusted the gap and started right up. Replaced the rotor and cap for good measure since they were shot. Went out for another 45 minute cruise tonight. Temp got up over 200 (gauge showed 212 which is maxed). Stopped and took some pictures and let it cool. Drive home and the longer I drove the more it crept up. Got home and the coolant level is fine. Should I flush the cooling system? Any advice?
I think , if the truck gets too hot when driving it is water flow issue , if it gets too hot when idling it is air flow issue. I had a problem once when I put a new thermostat in . It was a modern design and I discovered that the valve was smaller dia and it did not open as far . The original bellows had a bigger valve and opened further. Just offering the suggestion . Oh , did you check the replacement radiator for flow before you installed it ? Regards. ps, did you put a little lube on the distributor cam?
OK.......so a little playing and working on the truck the past weekend. Last night my son and I flushed the cooling system with water and replaced the old thermostat. Topped it off and let it warm up. Comes up to temp perfect now. Went for a spin around the block and the temp rose again. Came home and checked coolant and it was a little low. I am guessing I had an air bubble. No problem. Topped it off again and went for a longer spin and it stayed right at 190 the whole time. I am holding out hope the cooling system problems are fixed. It runs great and the more I drive it the better it gets. Getting a ton of looks, and thumbs up around town. What a hoot. Last night after a 20 minute cruise the brakes seemed to be dragging. I am wondering if I have the pedal set a little tight and it is building up pressure. I still need to align the truck but it drives straight and so far is a delight. Obviously it is not a fan of rough roads.
Gall darn that's it....perfect. Super pumped for you. As much fun as I had just driving mine around the block I can imagine how nice it is to be able to take a long cruise through town. Your pics are awesome as usual, congrats and cute kids...
Am I seeing things or are the front fenders off of a GMC? Chevys had the parking lights/signals in the grill and GMCs had them under the headlights. It looks like your truck has both. It's great to see that you are driving it. I am still years away!
Sorry for no updates.....not a lot to report I guess. Last week I installed the floor mat and shift boot Newfisher sent me. Today I installed a stereo and some speakers, along with an amp and sub for the box I had built below the seat. Still have a couple speakers to install, but at least I have some tunes now!! After flushing the cooling system multiple times it seems to be cured. Solid 190 all the time once warmed up!! I have been driving it daily if possible. Mostly short trips around town, but tonight I took a 15 mile cruise at highway speed. Took him all the way up to 70mph without issue. Plenty of pedal left, but no idea of the RPM's I was turning. Tracks down the road great......no shakes or wobbles. I can hear a distinct vibration at anything over 50mph. Some sort of drivetrain vibration I would guess. I do not feel it in the steering wheel. Not sure if it is a driveshaft issue? Transmission makes a lot of gear noise all the time, IMO any way. I really have nothing to compare it to. I need to get it over to my father in laws place and put it on the hoist to change all the fluids in the next week or so. Doing work!! Poppin wheelies Bath time
Great truck read the whole thread and inspired just got me a 1950 3600 and can't wait to bring it home and start on it. Got good info hear thanks a lot and keep on it good stuff here is my girl. P.S. sorry for the pic
Great truck, great tech. I think you're nailin' it. I'm gonna adapt some of your rear spring ideas to my 55 3100. Enjoy that sweet ride, man.
No much room in the cab for spare parts and tools so I rounded up this old cooler for a tool box!! Picking up my new engine today!!
Cool, you just reminded me of something I have been meaning to post. My VIN starts with HMB......what are the odds....
Retread all the posts. It's looking good. If you haven't added a front sway bar, measure one on a Bronco 2. It fit my F100 like it was made for it. Grab all the brackets also.
Did some shopping today. Picked up a 1954-55 261 complete. I also picked up a 235 with a '848 head. I picked up a set of tube headers. No identification on them. No idea how they will work but the price was right! The best part of this deal was a dual Fenton intake with Rochester Carbs. Set up is complete!! Do not really have much of a plan yet. Take the '848 head off the 235 and scrap the rest. Bottom end is shot. Strip the 261 down to the bock and rebuild.
Weekend in the life of Henry!! Friday of course we picked up our engines, intake and headers. We also swung by the local Scrap metal place to take a peak. Scored an old AD windshield mounted rear view mirror and some old Desoto hub caps to hang on my garage wall. Score!! Saturday was a busy day. Trip to the dump with used oil jugs, and a bed full of grass clippings. My wife and my youngest (Colton) were sitting on Henry between errands because he is obsessed with it!! Only 1, but already hooked on old trucks!! Then it was off to my in laws farm to haul the motors to for storage. My wife drove our other truck out with the engines in the bed and later my older son, Ryder, and I came out in Henry. Unfortunately after 12 miles of 65mph.......we got hot. Had to sit by the road for awhile until it cooled down. Not a huge deal. Beautiful day!! Same thing happened on the way home. Local radiator shop wants $100 to rod the stock radiator......think I am going to buy a 4 core alum and call it good. Today I spend some time tinkering. Installed the bump stops in the rear notch. Made some speaker boxes for a couple 6 x 9's I had ordered and wired them in. Made a quick trip to the storage unit with my Wife and Colton. She has not sat that close to me since high school!! Finished off the night giving him a bath..........on a beautiful evening!!
2 week update. I am not sure on the exact miles, but he gets driven almost daily unless it is raining. The more he gets driven the better he runs. Starts awesome and purrs like a kitten. No issues there what so ever. Knock on wood. My heater control valve leaks when I close it. Not a huge deal, I am going to bypass it for now and order one. No need for heat for a while. Steering is nice. I did tighten up the steering box a little bit, but I think I need to do it some more. No wandering or pulling. Brakes are awesome. The pads are broke in now and no issues with stopping power. Handling. Good considering the ride height and amount of travel. On some sharper edged bumps I get a tooth rattling slam. I am probably running out of travel. The back is far worse than the front. I also think the shocks I have are probably a little soft for the application. Might have to invest in some Bilsteins. Constantly chasin rattles which is to be expected. I guess I should just turn up the radio louder. Thanks for the inspiration and help guys. It has been a blast. Henry is far from done, but I will be taking a break for the summer. I sold my existing garage and on Friday some house movers are moving its new home. I have some concrete to break up and then pour a new slab. Then I will start building my dream garage. 24' x 42' with 10 sidewalls and a complete bonus room upstairs. Should be a fun project......looking forward to the added room!!
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