Prior to disassembly, I had already taken the truck to Stan's Powertrain. I let the experts change the pinion gear from the standard which I believe was 4-11 gears. I also had them install 3-55 gears so I could at least keep up on the back roads with local traffic.
Knowing that I planned on keeping the torque tube rear end, I also had the bushing for the drive shaft replaced. I purchased all new lowered leaf springs that would bring the whole truck down about two inches. I cleaned the whole rear end and torque tube and repainted it with Napa chassis black. Installed the rear end and the new leaf springs back on the frame.
Then I moved to the front. The kingpins did not seem bad but this seemed like the appropriate time to address them so I would not have to later. So I completely rebuilt the front end, checking the tie rod ends. They did not look excessively worn so I cleaned and painted the axle and springs etc. to match the rear end paint.
Once I installed the front end and added the wheels, I could move the frame around to work on it.
I had purchased the dual master cylinder, disk brake conversion so I disassembled the front hubs to change from the old style bearings to roller bearings and install the disks to each front hub. I used the NAPA paint to match everything else. I really was happy with this paint for the good uniform coverage. It was very hard to make it run and you could not see any lines where you previously sprayed.
Mounted the dual power master cylinder in the appropriate location. This allowed the existing brake pedal to be used with no modifications. The hole in the floorboard with the rubber plug was no longer over the cap for the new master cylinder but oh well: much safer. I am easily able to lay under the edge of the truck and pop the cap off to check the brake fluid (stick my finger over the top). I have a nice squeeze bottle with a curved spout if it's necessary to add fluid.
I changed all the brake lines to stainless steel and switched to DOT 5 silicone-based brake fluid which will not absorb moisture. I had repainted the engine with Bill Hirsch"s engine enamel which is supposed to be the correct color. I am not sure there is a correct color since I have seen so many different variations.
I put the engine back on the frame at this point so I could crank it. I wanted to make sure I did not have any issues before I changed the intake, exhaust and carburetors out. It ran fine but noisy without any exhaust.
So I bought two matching Rochester B carburetors and a dual Offenhauser manifold and installed both. I bought a set of stainless steel headers. Before installing them, I pulled out the pins in the front and back of the manifold and drilled and tapped them so a bolt could be used instead of none at the front or back.
