The guy who owned mine only wanted a truck with absolute minimum maintenance and I do respect that. However there are certain things that are mandatory unless it is never driven.
I'm the opposite of that guy and probably a fool to many of you guys who are frugal. Just last night I was thinking about the fact that I've already spent $6000 on my 261 and I haven't even touched the head yet except to check the fit of my manifolds. The old 235 had seen some use in its time but if I only needed a truck for rare occasions it would have lasted for years with maybe $50 per year for points, plugs, and so forth. A spindle or rear spring would have snapped long before the engine gave up.
I didn't know diddly-squat about floating bushings. However I am not blind and it was very obvious that the bushing grease groove was not in the center, so I researched to find out why. I also forgot to mention previously that the bearing was upside down so it never saw any grease either. I planned to rebuild or replace every screw, nut, washer and rubber part on the whole truck anyway, but some things are just plain old stupid.
Now for the front wheel bearings; I know my life depends on them front wheels staying on the truck, so if I didn't know how to replace them I would definately have taken steps to find out.
If a rear spring or pin snaps it would make for a "fun" ride but at least you would have some ability to steer away to avoid a head-on collison.
I'm not angry at the previous owner and we still enjoy frequent communications and he loves updates on the progress. I thought this would be an intersting subject to see what scary things others have found.
