As I mentioned in.my last update, it has been crazy cold. I have found that as I have gotten older, I have difficulty keeping my hands warm. It is crazy how much heat a cold dolly sucks out of your hands when it is 0 out. So while the rest of me is fine, my hands are my work limit.
With all that, we have been working on the inner fenders. They were pretty straight, but the right side below the battery area had a fair amount of surface rust. We are lucky that even though it was rusted, there is almost no pitting. The inner fender seals where they meet the firewall were a melted mass of goo. Kevin removed the staples that held the remnants of the old seals, and I dollied the area straight. The right front fender had a pretty sharp dent just above the headlight. This must have been a hard impact, but there was no damage to the inner fender. They have both been sanded, wire wheeled and gone over so they are ready for primer. It has just been too cold to apply the primer.
While doing some further engine inspection Kevin noticed that the exhaust manifold is cracked directly under the area if the carburetor. We have been soaking the bolts, and so far I have all but 1 broken loose. I gave it another shot of Kroil last night. I am confident I will get it loose. We then need to make a decision on whether to weld it up or replace it. That begs additional questions. How to weld, braze, stick... TBD. If we replace, I have found a possible donor, but I have not confirmed the condition, or whether a 235 manifold will fit a 261. If anyone reading this knows, please post a comment.
Right now we have up to 3 feet of snow that is going to keep me out of the salvage yard for a few weeks at least. I will post a photo of the possible donor. In part 12, I will cover the right cab corner.
