Well, the adventures have begun. We need lots of help but first the sad story:
We have maybe 10 miles on the truck since it was delivered from Montana and the the cast iron tire on the harmonic balancer separates from the mounting wheel, slides forward enough to mangle the fan which in turn takes out maybe 1/3 of the radiator core. In approximately 2 seconds we went from getting it ready for my son's prom to tow truck city.
Well the good news is that the damage is limited to radiator and fan -- and we need a new harmonic balancer of course. Where do I start? Does anybody know where I can get a HB and a fan for my 270? Can the radiator be rebuilt and where can I get the radiator hoses? Here's the tough part. I'd love to surprise my son and have it running by next weekend. Am I dreaming or is this even remotely possible?
Here's the part of the story that even I don't believe. First, the tow truck driver (the first number I see in the yellow pages) can't believe his eyes when he drives up. He has a '54 GMC that he's rodding out and he says ours is the only other 54/55 he's seen in the state in 7 years. It turn out he has the steering wheel, bumpers, bumper brackets, grill trim, hub caps, and "some inside trim" that he says is in perfect shape and that we were going to be looking for. He says it's in his garage because he didn't want to throw it away. It gets better -- Secondly, he lives just a few blocks from our new shop we've rented. Thirdly, he works in a body shop for his day job and offered to teach my son and me "everything we need to know" to fix the minor dings in the truck. And last of all, he's big in the local club and he's going to help me arrange a regular drive in at my hardware store. I don't get it. Am I living so wrong it just seems right?
all help is appreciated,
sunk in salt lake -- jerry
