The Stovebolt Site Forums The Parking Lot Big Bolts Need Picture of Dash of Tilt Cab

Thanks for the pics guys.
Dan, your splines look good. The transfer input spline shaft on mine is only about an inch long.
So only about 3/4 inch engagement. The female yoke appears to have been machined shorter to get to the right length
Truck has about 14,000 miles on it and it was in-service when I bought.

Now to change the topic.
My first vehicle was a 65 Chevy Van with no side doors.
Ex Goodwill van. Bought when I was 16 for 75 bucks from my older brother.
It had been hit in the side and had a blown 230. Dad and I rebuilt the engine, beat the dent out and I had my own shagging wagon.
This was about 1972. After a lot of work it, ended up with a 283, headers and side pipes. N-50's on the rear and G-60's on the front.
All on Keystone mags. Molded in fender flares, sunroof and a 400 turbo for a tranny.
And get this, we put a Vista Cruiser station wagon roof on it.
Candy apple red with the words in prism tape on the back door, "Cherry Picker"

Don

Looks like you were at a "Van Fest"...mid 70's...been there done that!

If you're worried about the short splines, have the shaft lengthened at your local drive shaft shop.

Mike B

Man, that brings back some memories.

I bought my van in 1969 for $900, it had side doors, had been a coffee company delivery truck in Minneapolis. 230, 3spd, 6.50-13 10 ply tires. After a lot of work, I had a 350, Quadrajet, headers, Turbo 400, G60-15 tires on chrome steel wheels and I purchased but never installed an Olds Vista Cruiser roof. Mine said "powered by Traco", a TransAm engine builder of the time, in small letters on the bottom of the front doors with racing stripes along the rockers.

I loved the thing, it was fun to drive, handled great with the big tires and some big shocks, and went like stink. Towed a Jaguar back from DC with it, which was not fun. I think the Jag out weighed it by a large margin and turning a corner was a serious adventure, a lot of steering wheel work going down the freeway.

So Don, your trans is only a couple of inches from the pump transfer box? Is it possible to pull that shaft without removing the pump or engine? How can that allow any flex in the frame without blowing the shaft under power. You really got me wondering now, can you post a picture of it?

I am still working on the wire through the vent hole trick, forgot that one.

Dan, you must be a retired hippie.
Van clubs and Truck in's were fun back then.
You had to cut out the doghouse to get that 350 to fit.
Did you have an overheating problem? I did and a flex fan helped cure that issue.

4 inches of foam in the whole backend with shag carpet made a big bed.
Stereo, cooler of beer and maybe a funny cig was standard equipment in those days.
I don't even tell young folks today on what it was like back then, they don't believe me.
Sounds like you and I had a lot of the same kind of fun back then!

I'll get some pictures of the spline setup later today.

Don

I was never a hippie but I have to admit to some of those things you mentioned... Mine was a truck and transportation, not a party van. Vans never hit here very hard, I never found a club or truck-in. I did camp in it quite a bit, but it was always rough. I cut the kick out of the floor in front of the rad and put in a tunnel to get more air to the engine. I also put tubes in the block behind the water pump to move more water to the rear of the engine, not much trouble after that.

I hung out at Brainerd International Raceway, was there for the first race in 1969 and volunteered for 20 years as a flat tow for most of the road races until they cut the track in two and made it unsafe for the spectators.

I bailed then but I had gotten interested in sports car rally so it was no big deal. I switched out the van for my '62 and built it up for sweeping, did that for 25 years. THAT was fun! High speed dirt roads in the woods at night in the rain, it just doesn't get much better than that.

Then I got the bug and bought this dang fire truck, oh well. I like it but most people can't tell it from a new truck so that is a little discouraging. I love that there is no computer, very easy electrical system, and a Chev V8. It would be better with a Turbo 400 though.

Darn it Dan, you are stealing your own thread.
Ever hear of the 100 Acre Wood Rally?
It is held every year in south central Missouri on National forest gravel roads.
Late Feb. no mater what the weather and a good part of it at night.
The van club I belonged to would be asked by the SCCA to be Road Marshal's every year.
Did that several times and those in the rally are really crazy.
90mph on a gravel road at night was common.
I always found a big tree to stand behind when they came by.


Headed out now to take pictures of the 67 drive train.
Don

100 Acre Woods is only a 12 hour drive, I have been there 3 times. We worked controls and rescue. The first year a team wrapped their car around a big tree (we had to pull it off after the ambulance took them to the helicopter that took them to St Louis). The Med Team for that stage was a lone young fellow at his first trauma site, I really felt sorry for him. We were just wrapping up our controls when the call came in, we had 2 experienced rescue people and a nurse with us so we ran over there and helped. Then on the way back to town a rally service crew that was ferrying their car back to town fell asleep, crossed the center line and killed a local woman. Very sad. We were at that one too but only to advise the local fire department on extracting the crew from their roll cage.

I started rally as a sweeper, extracting stucks and moving them to the highway so a crew with a trailer could pick them up. The rally schedule depended on reusing the roads so we always had to work as fast as possible. I have had my '62 up to 85 mph on a couple of those dirt roads, that is really fast for two solid axles and buggy suspension. (I have tuned it a bit, 6 big adjustable shocks and some alignment work.) I would still be doing it but 25 years of safety improvements were swept away with political decisions, I couldn't take that so I quit doing it.

I am waiting for the pics so we are still on track talking about old Chevrolets.

Speaking of Vans, we owned a 1966 GMC flat nose van in 1976. Bought it off my brother. It had a very hopped up 283 and a powerglide transmission. That bugger would run. We also had a ‘68 G10 with a 250 and 3 on the tree in 1974. Shag carpet and mural on the sides. Young family with 2 babies. Not very practical.

Maybe not practical but fun to drive if you ask me. Mine was empty, just tin walls, a little loud, cold in the winter, but very light and quick.

I stuck a wire in the spline joint as best clearance would allow. Looks like about 3 inches of engagement, making the spline about 9 inches long.

Really Martin! You are helping to take us off topic!
You better hope John doesn't see this and fire you of your high paying Sheriff's Job!

BUT.
Your sig makes sense to me now.
"I fought the law and the law won" now I are a retired one!

Back on topic. I want to keep this job. Nuke plants are too much work.
Pictures I took today of the drive train on this beast.

Don

Should we start a thread in the Spoon about old Vanner's?

More Pictures of the complexity of the whole under carriage of the 67.

Don

That spline is nuts, how come it has not fallen off already? The yoke should be bolted to the transfer box and a slip joint installed in the shaft at the transmission like mine has. Is there a threaded hole in the end of the spline shaft?

What is the hand pump in the first picture for?

The picture thru a side access door is the aerial ladder base.
The hand pump is in case there are any problems with the hydraulics of the hydraulic pump.
You can then hand pump the ladder back where it needs to be.
I think all man lifts have this option.
I do know we had it on the JLG man basket, when I was still working at the power plant.

Hot Darn, We are back on topic
Don

That is a good Idea!
Bolt the yoke tight on the input transfer case shaft and have a new drive shaft made/modified with a spline joint.
Heck, even spot weld it to the input shaft.
Being a retired machinist, I could also drill and tap the input shaft and clamp the yoke on the shaft.
The drive shaft is about 5' long and has plenty of room for a spline joint added to it.
You got me thinking big time!

OK Sheriff, back to your Vanning days. Got any stories you and Kathy would like to share?

Don

Before you get started drilling, that spline needs to be TIGHT or the bolt will just come loose. I do think that is the way to go however, maybe a new yoke would tighten things up to where a bolt would hold. There are versions of LocTite or other glues that might fill in gaps to remove any play... With a short output shaft like that, I am gonna bet there is a threaded hole there already.

Good ideas to consider Dan.
Wonder if an epoxy putty would work to fill in the worn splines and then a bolt to hold it in place.

Another thought, Drill a cross hole thru the yoke and the input shaft and then ream it to take a taper dowel pin.
Then have a new spline welded in the drive shaft and balanced.

Now to take us back off topic.
After taking the pictures.
I was sliding back out from under the truck and stirred up a wasp nest under there somewhere.
Our German Shepard knocked down three of them so I could stomp on them. Neither one of us got stung.
His nickname is Deer Slayer.
Here is a picture of him chasing a eight pointer across our pond and then a couple of boys dragging it back to the house, two days later.

Don

Take the shaft out and inspect before you decide on a plan. I would only use a glue that was "rated" for this sort of use, my experience has been that over expecting glues has not resulted in good outcomes. Bear in mind that a cross pin while tight initially would only have a small fraction of the cross sectional area that a spline has for transmitting torque, it would be much easier to break than even a poor spline.

It might be that a new yoke, pulled all the way in with a retaining bolt would fit well, at least where the new and the unworn sections mated. It might be more engagement that you have now and it would no longer move with torque. You could glue the new yoke on too, just because it was easy and might offer a little more support. I suppose a guy should make sure there was clearance at the transmission face for the new yoke to pull in, the yoke should bottom against a shoulder when the bolt is tight...

Do you have a "machine shop"?
Dan

Good ideas Dan.
I've been in the Machinist trade since I was 16. Always had access to a machine shop until 5 years ago when I retired.
I miss it some, but don't have much desire to set my own shop up.
Still have most of my tools though. Sold some to Grigg a few years back.
Nice set of Lufkin inside mics that go to 40".

First I need to spray and fog under the truck and hopefully get rid of any wasps, that may still be lurking around it.
My next step is to park it where it is easy to get to and pull the driveshaft.
Knock out the u-joints and really see what is going on with the input shaft spline and the yoke.
Maybe even put and indicator on it and check runout and play.
I'm just thinking and typing out loud here.
Then maybe use cut up shim stock strips to get it running true and solid.
Tack weld and bolt in place?
Then have the drive shaft fitted with a spline at the tranny and balanced.

Don

I know people weld things like this but that would be my last choice. I guess with a truck like this with very low miles expected in anyone's lifetime, I could sign on more easily to that. I guess that short of disassembling the trans and replacing the output shaft, there might not be any other way to secure the situation. That option would still be available if the shaft had to be cut to disassemble later, after it was welded.

It does sound like you have a plan, perhaps a couple of options. We are hoping for the best.

I got my cigarette lighter in, found an old Volvo lighter to fit the socket with a knob that is not too far off. Working on getting power to it. The wiring under the dash is a real mess, fire truck you know. I put in another fuse panel with 8 circuits for the lighter, electronic siren, 2 way radio, electric radiator fan, blinking lights. All that stuff but the lighter was connected very haphazardly with wires and grounds all over the place. I failed to photograph the mess before I started, I will try to post a shot of it finished. (Notice how I got back on topic?)

You all are, like, sooooooo totally BUSTED!

For punishment, you have to look at a picture of my current van (sold the G-20 a year ago to a kid in Fredericksburg to use for his garage band ). You guys didn't know I was a van guy, too, huh Yes it's a Ford, but it's a cool Ford.

Your driver looks pretty cool too! :{)

The Master at stealing a thread has officially stolen this thread!
And is out of the closet! You admitted, you own a FORD!

Back on topic.
I have a lot to do this weekend and when I get time and cooler weather.
I'll drop the drive shaft and start formulating a plan.

Lake side tomorrow!
Don

John, if the Ford guys see you trailering a Chevy with that van they'll think it's because the Chevy broke down, and we can't have that!! Need to switch places with the two vehicles and post another pic!