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I took advantage of a short spell of dry weather (and my son's free help) during a couple days of vacation and got a little further with the project. I needed to get four wheels back onto the truck so I could roll it outside for further disassembly.

First up was getting the rebuilt spindles installed. Everything went together pretty well. The Classic Parts king pin kit comes with five .005" steel shims for the top side of the axle (figuring you'll need one or two for each side to take up wear). Because I lightly faced off the top ends of the axle to get them flat, there weren't enough shims to go around. I made a couple of .010" shims from brass shim stock and sandwiched them between a pair of steel shims for each side. That got the free play below .005" per the shop manual. While I did that, my son cleaned up the front hubs and re-greased the bearings before installing them onto the spindles. I don't have any brake parts for the front end yet, so this work is temporary. We also temporarily installed the tie rod (upgraded with new sealed-type tie rod ends) to keep the front wheels parallel. Four roller wheels went on the truck and then it was pushed outside.

I am fortunate to have access to equipment that most folks don't have lying around their yard or garage. After unbolting the rear cab shackles from the frame (I inserted wood shims under the rear cab wall to keep it from dropping) and the one bolt in the right front corner (the left didn't have a nut), I removed the cab with a strap passed through the cab with the doors open. I had previously disconnected everything between the cab and the frame/engine, or so I thought. I will be purchasing a new parking brake rod. The cab was put into storage, then we removed the 250 and Turbo 350 from the frame. Now I can finish cleaning, repairing and painting the frame.

Another item we accomplished that day was getting the recently acquired 235 onto an engine stand. After my son removed the pistons (they were all stuck in their bores and had been soaking in Marvel Mystery Oil) he was able to get the crank to slowly turn, allowing him to finally remove the flywheel, and then the bell housing. I used the bell housing face to make a paper template, then fabricated a 1/2" thick adapter plate for the engine stand per Deves Tech.