Avengers to the Rescue!

Well, good news!  After I power washed the bottom of the cab, I found that all of the rust damage was limited to outboard of the longitudnal supports.  What does that mean?  Well all of the damage was on the outside of the floorpans and none on the inside.  This is really good news because it means we can paint the bottom and front, then set it back on the frame.  And, that's just what we did.  However, Lori and I couldn't lift it (we tried).  So, we called our daughter Maggie (aka Nick Fury) who quickly assembled the team of young people to put the cab back on the frame.  Maggie and all her "Peeps" swooped in and saved the day.  I'm very sorry that I didn't get pictures of the operation, but it was over in mere seconds.  Good job Avengers!!

Here's a shot of the bottom after two pressure washing sessions and acid treatment.

So, now that the cab is back on the frame, I can fix the rust damage with it in place.  I also have a lot of other work that can be done.  I spent all day prepping the dash for paint.  Here's what it looked like once I got all the old paint off.

Black is the new orange, right?  Here's the dash with a handsome coat of black primer.   Hmmmmm.  I kinda like the flat black.  More to come.

A "Ruddy Mess"

I was watching a British sitcom this weekend and realized that I don't use the word "Ruddy" enough.  Well, this is the perfect opportunity because the old truck project has turned into a ruddy mess!  Lori and I tipped the cab onto its back with the help of the tractor.  I wanted to pressure wash the underside of the cab and get a better view of the rust in the floorpans.

This is what we found.  By the way, its not supposed to have big holes like that.  The problem will be finding good metal to make the repairs.  Just a ruddy mess, a ruddy, ruddy mess!  Lori says, "Watch your language Mister!"  I could say its a Bloody Mess, but I'm just not that vulgar.  Stay tuned because it it bound to get better.

Pistol Pontifications

If my dad is a pistol, does that make me a son of a gun?  Hmmm.  Makes you think, huh!  Well, I encountered another detour while working on the old truck.  A pistol found its way to me that needed some love.  This is a Browning Buckmark semi-auto .22 pistol.  This poor little thing didn't work at all and looked like a train wreck.  Someone had actually tried to refinish it with paint from rattle cans.  Isn't that crazy?  So, I decided to refinish it with, um...  Well, a rattle can, but this is different.   I used a product called Duracoat.  It is a two part finish in an aerosol can.  It's cool, when you are ready to spray you simply punch a button on the bottom of the can and the hardener is released inside.  Then, just shake it for two minutes and spray away.  The resulting finish is as hard as Chinese math!  

Step one was to completely disassemble, strip everything off and use the blast cabinet to take all the finish off. I soda blasted all of the individual pieces. As I disassembled everything, I noticed a few internal pieces that needed to be replaced so I ordered them online.  I wanted to be ready when it was time to reassemble everything.

Then, I sprayed each part with WWII Olive Drab Green.  Last week, I had a friend who drives a Prius suggest that my "Huge Truck" wasn't earth friendly and that I should be more "Green" minded.  So, this is my first attempt to be green!  Right?  Starts with the guns....

I sprayed the screws individually.  Notice them in the cardboard.

In the end, it turned out great.  I took it out to the range and rattled off a magazine of .22 ammo and everything fed perfectly. 

It's ALIVE!!!!

Dr. Ricky said it looks like someone on life support.  Notice the gas can hanging from the ladder and yes it does look a little like an IV bag.  I won't bore you with all the details, but when I first tried to start the newly rebuilt engine it didn't light right up.  Instead, it stumbled along, coughed, sputtered, and even back fired. It waited until I was leaning over the carb to explode in my face; it singed my hair.  You should have Bugs Bunny and Road Runner visions in your head.

Well, I recently went to Tennessee and attended an FAA school where I got certified as an Airframe and Powerplant Mechanic.  Why do I mention this?  Because, it helped me diagnose the engine trouble in the old truck.  How you ask?  I finally narrowed the problem down to a very weak spark.  I checked the coil and that wasn't the problem.  But, there was a test question in the FAA course that asked, "What hastens the spark from the coil?"  Answer: The condensor.  So, a condensor tester would cost $80, but a new condensor costs $5. I can do that math!  I went and got another condensor which took about thirty seconds to install.  Then, it fired right up and purred like a kitten.  

Now, with the engine all sorted it's time to start on the cab.  I have to weld some new floor pans in, but I'm excited to get it done to get the cab back on the frame. 

A little more rust and we could use the Fred Flintstone brakes.

Stay tuned, we'll be doing some welding soon.