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1952 Chevrolet 3100 Project

This journey started in February this past year and I am thrilled to be able to document my progress and share it with my fellow “Stovebolters. I grew up riding in my grandfathers 50’ Chevy Suburban, so this seed was planted over 60 years ago. I want to thank John and Peggy for allowing me this opportunity to take you all along for the ride.

Some of this journey has already happened, so some of what I documented has already taken place and was written when it happened. I have some catching up to do, so I am going to present this journal in chronological order until I catch up, then it will be in real time. I hope I don’t disappoint!

A Little Background: In High School during my Junior and Senior year, I attended a trade school in the morning then regular classes in the afternoon, to learn autobody. For me it was an easily way to get my diploma. I wasn’t the scholarly type, so working with my hands seemed to be my only viable option. Looking back, it was the first class in school that I really loved to attend. This program also helped place me in my first job, a “Mom and Pop” autobody shop in a little affluent town in Westchester County, a suburb of New York City. This opportunity allowed me to work on various vehicles including a model A Ford, Bentley and some other high dollar automobiles. My love for the industry started to bloom. However, this being a “Mom and Pop” shop, the “Mom” who was the bookkeeper, would show up usually about 10 or ‪11 am‬. Every time she entered the shop she would stop me in the middle of whatever job I was doing and instruct me to clean various areas of the shop. I got tired of this real quick and only lasted the summer.  I landed another autobody job in a little less affluent town in another “Mom and Pop” shop and this didn’t work out much better. During this time I was making $2.50 an hour and if I wanted to, I could work a half day on Saturday and work “off the books” for $10 cash. 

One of my best friends worked at a nearby Nuclear power plant as a janitor, a union position with full benefits paying $2.76 an hour with more overtime then he could handle. They were looking for people to hire, so to make a long story short, thus started my 41 year career in the “Nuc” industry. I remember my Mom questioning me why I would even consider a janitorial position vs being a prestigious Autobody repairman. 

I had quite a few automobiles in my lifetime. My first car that I put on the road was a Covair. I replaced a few gaskets and O-rings to stop the fumes of oil coming in the car every time I used the heater, repaired some rust and dents, then painted it with some left over paint from previous jobs I had painted for other people as I didn’t couldn’t afford to buy paint. As I recall, grabber blue with a white top and two flat black hood and trunk stripes similar to that on a SS Camaro and a set of “thrush” mufflers to round out the sceme. I laugh today over what I, an 18 year old found appealing.
 
I followed that with a 1961 Chevy 2 door Impala bubble top in which I replaced the old tired oil burning stovebolt 6 cylinder with a 307 V8 from a 1968 Impala. Not that that motor was such a powerhouse but I quickly blew 2 transmissions and a rear end.
 
My new job afforded me the opportunity to buy a 1967 GTO, a HiPo 360 HP with a 4 speed and 3.90 gears, a true muscle car, from a colleague for $800. This was in 1971 and I loved that car. I got married in 1972 and was expecting my first child in 1973. Add the oil crisis in the fall of 73 that limited you to 10 gallons every other day and the fact she only got about 10 miles per gallon, the GTO had to go. I sold that car in 1974 in near perfect condition for $1,000, a fair price at the time to a serviceman who just returned home from overseas. I only wish I had the means to hold on to that car, but that’s life. 

In 1976 after a divorce, I bought a 2 year old 1974 Chevy work van with a 350 automatic to get into the custom van scene. I customized the interior and the exterior including a new paint job, Keystone custom rims, BF Goodrich TA radials, fiberglass fender flairs and a front spoiler. I joined a local van club and traveled for two years with the club attending rallies from Englishtown New Jersey to Watkins Glen In New York. In 1980, I met my present wife and we continued to use that van for camping for several more years. We sold it in the mid 80’s as it no longer fit our needs.
 
Between the 1985 and 2012, I was not into the auto scene. Life got way too busy with the responsibility of 4 children and a couple of homes that needed allot of TLC, knowing all along that one day I would return to that scene.

I have always been a DIY type of guy. This is due to the fact that I am very meticulous, sometimes to the point of being borderline OCD and I can’t see paying for a job that I could do myself. A good portion of the work that I have hired out, I was not happy with. Doing it myself was the only way I could assure to get the job done right. I used to kid my wife that I could do brain surgery if I had the instruction book. I have since matured realizing I’m not an expert in every field. This realization was aided by the occasional “getting in over my head” and breaking a few things while trying to fix them. Additionally, as I became more financially secure, some jobs I just don’t want to do anymore.

I retired in 2012 after a 41 year career in the “Nuc” industry. During which time I worked as a janitor, operator, a mechanic, a machinist and finally as a Maintenance Planner writing work packages and procedures for the nuclear mechanics and technicians. From 1975 thru 2002 I honed my skills in metal working in the machine shop and welding shop. 

All during my down in the custom/resto car scene, I was busy acquiring some of the tools necessary to restore a vehicle. A mig welder, HVLP spray guns, engine stand etc., all in preparation of my new retirement job, restoring old vehicles. 2012 thru 2016 slipped away prepping our house to be sold and bringing our new home up to spec. In 2017 I bought a 2008 Honda Civic SI from our son who was moving across the country. Mechanically the vehicle was sound but suffered with a few dents and the typical clear coat de-lamination for a Honda from this era. I figured that this was a good opportunity to get back into resto scene utilizing the new paints and products vs what I used some 40 years ago. I did underestimate how much work was involved as it went from repairing a few dents, and repairing the clear coat on the top of the car to a full paint job. I did learn allot about the new (to me) 2k paints and primers along the way. I also made a few dollars, enough for seed money for my first restoration. 

I figured to obtain my ultimate vehicle, a late forty’s or early fifty’s Chevy or Ford pickup, I would need somewhere around 12 grand to buy something that wasn’t a total rust bucket, wasn’t hot rodded and was mechanically intact. I didn’t have that much money saved so my plan was to do another flip. I was looking for a early to mid 60 pickup, one that was unmolested and mechanically sound so it would not require allot of money to flip. New paint, fix any mechanical issues then sell it.

I’ve been looking in Craig’s List for the last six months and on 2/11/19 I saw an ad for a 1952 Chevrolet 3100 and she just reached out to me.  The price was in the ballpark of the 1960’s pickup I was looking to flip and the condition seem to be too good.

She was over three hours away and the thought of the logistics of driving there, getting cash out of the bank, renting a U-Haul trailer almost stopped me but after talking with my wife, she got me back on track and the rest just fell into place. The owner already had several full price offers when I got there but gave me first shot since I was the first one to call. We bought the truck that same day and after a very long day and 5 hour journey home,she was now parked in our yard by ‪11 PM‬. 

I woke up the next morning, glanced out the window and saw our new 52’ still sitting on the trailer, still in disbelief that we were able to score such a beauty as this. When I went outside to look her over I noticed that a headlight bezel was missing. I thought that it was there when I left North Carolina but was not sure. I had taken some pictures before we left so I went inside and grabbed my phone to look. Sure enough the bezel was there when we had left and must have fallen off during the trip. I checked the other one and that one could have fallen off too. The clip on the bottom that holds the retaining screw had rusted out. The passenger side was pretty beat up, so It was no big loss as I needed to buy new one’s anyway.

This was the start to my new project...

My immediate plan is to get her road worthy, enjoy her for the first summer then off to a full frame off restoration.

Phak1,

It looks like you scored a beautiful '52 3100, congratulations! Keep us posted on your projects and let me know if I can be of any assistance with your Project Journal.

Good luck,

Your story sounds familiar, I know how life gets in the way sometimes. Glad to have you on the site.

2/12/19: After doing research, mostly on this forum, I have found that a rebuilt 59’ 235 with hydraulic lifters from a car was installed by a previous owner, which is both good news and bad. The good news is, I have a bigger, rebuilt, full pressure, engine with 838 heads. The bad, the truck engine was not original and the modification was more of a butcher job. To compensate for the 235’s longer water pump, the radiator was moved forward, cutting the upper radiator support out, cutting the lower splash pan and cutting the hood latch pan. I am a bit disappointed that the motor isn’t original, but as I have found out on this forum, many of these swaps have been done after the old 216 gets a bit tired.

I’m recouping from yesterday’s adventure (yeah it’s great to be retired), so research is on the agenda today.

You most likely mean "848" heads (3836848 : 1956-1963)?

"838" heads (838773) might be 1937-1940 216s (valuable to a restorer/purist, maybe)?

You are absolutely correct. I wrote this in February, and I apparently did not proof read it very well. I now know better and thanks for the correction!

2/13/19: Today I noticed the alternator is not aligned properly with the water pump and the balancing damper pulley. The existing generator bracket (mount to the engine) was utilized to mount the alternator by using a threaded rod and a few more nuts. The rod is too small and is bending under the strain of the tightened belt. In addition, the bracket to tighten the alternator was too short and extended by adding 2 additional pieces to the bracket to extend it.
 
The existing generator bracket looks like it could be modified to make a proper mount for the alternator. This could be accomplished by cutting the right side mount and welding it back in the proper position. I think the only solution for the tensioning bracket is to replace it.

Another solution is to buy a prefabricated mount and belt tightening bracket especially made just for this conversion. This kit sells for about $60. This sounds like the way to go.

2/15/19: I noticed that the resister mounted to the coil was not hooked up. One of the previous owners did a 6 to 12v conversion. 12v systems with a set of points usually run a resistor on the battery side of the coil to reduce the voltage down about 4 volts to keep it from burning up the points too quickly. This arrangement should have a bypass wire that supplies full voltage while the starter is engaged enabling better starts. This sets off a bunch of red flags for me. I don’t know if the 12v conversion was properly installed. This requires further research.
 
First to address, is the ballast resistor. I found and ordered a starter switch on ebay that has a side mounted terminal that supply’s full voltage while the foot switch is engaged. A wire from that terminal to the coil will enable full voltage to the coil, bypassing the resistor. The other issues require more investigation.

2/16/19: Today I noticed the following:
* The parking lights are not hooked up
* The wiring going to the tail lights although updated, the connections look questionable
* The passenger side headlight is not hooked up
* The brake light switch is sticking and the brake pedal is not retracting fully leaving the switch in the on position
* A kit to install signal lights was sloppily installed with wire nuts and all of the wires are dangling under the dash.

I removed the hood latch panel and discovered none of the wires for the parking lights, right side head light and horn were connected nor were the ends taped to prevent shorts. Basically the old wiring is disintegrating and any of the repairs or additions were not done correctly.

The installation of a new wiring harness is required. I plan on doing this after the truck is painted during the reassembly. In the meantime, the wiring needs to be identified and restored to a safe condition prior to me even thinking of firing this old gal up.

PHAK,

I see we kind of do things the same way. When doing my 53 I found much work done 1/2 @ssed or completely wrong. The biggest being the fact that the clutch disc was installed backwards and the hardened springs on the disc ground down the flywheel bolt heads, making it a complete whore to tear apart. Basic rule is the deeper you look the more you find. I purchased a 66 GMC a couple days ago and headlight dimmer switch doesnt work, nor the front parking lights, no tail lights, heater motor does not work, neither the radio or dome light/backup lights. So bad I unhooked the battery in fear of it burning down the garage and my restored 53. To be expected, old wiring and bad grounds, worn out headlight switch etc. etc. None of this upsets me because I am going through it all anyways. Enjoy the ride, it is so much fun. The sound of those solid lifters on that V6 bigblock is better than a Mozart symphony though, so it is all good.

Steve

Steve, the amazing part of that is that it apparently was driven that way. The first time the clutch pedal was depressed it probably let out a hellacious racket. That and that it probably didn't shift for crap.
I find stuff on my truck that makes me scratch my head, thinking "Why would anyone do that??", but nothing that crazy.

sstock, Stay tuned! I have six months of updates before I catch up to present day, and restorations by PO’s get worse. Thanks for following and for your sympathy.

Phil

2/17/19:
* I removed both taillights, cleaned, reinstalled and spliced new wire where required.
* I traced out the wires and spliced in the right side head light.
* I removed both parking lights and cleaned. The housings on both lights have been modified for signal lights by drilling a 5/8” hole and installing a push to mount socket. The bulb is a single filament dash light bulb and is way to small to effectively work as a signal light. There are several solutions for this issue. One is to buy new reproduction (repop) parking lights with a dual filament bulb for about $60. I question the quality (made in China) and would prefer to either repair or replace the existing housing with unmodified OEM. New sockets are available to replace the single filament with a dual filament so the signals can be hooked up.

2/23/19: I disconnected the gauge cluster, headlight switch and the speaker trim from the dash to gain access to the wiring. The main 12v splice was a soldered joint made the original fabric wire. I looked over the wiring diagram and the configuration under the dash and determined how to eliminate the splice by utilizing the extra terminals on the headlight switch.

I first:
* Connected the alternator to the 12v feed on the Head light switch using 10 gauge wire.
* I then made a jumper from 10 gauge wire connecting the the 12v feed to the negative side of the amp gauge.
* I then connected the positive side of the amp gauge to the starter with another 10 gauge wire to complete the circuit.
* To supply the current to the ignition switch I made a 14 gauge wire connecting the negative side of the amp gauge to the ignition switch.

These changes eliminated the rest of the old fabric insulated wire except the gauge lights on the dash.

2/25/19:I installed the new starter switch and installed a new bypass wire to the coil. I re-wired the coil so the current from the key switch goes thru the resistor. Seems to work, I need to get her fired up to see. Allot more work to do before I get to that point.

2/20/19:After discovering the butchery that was performed to accommodate the longer water pump, I looked for possible solutions to remedy the issue and return the truck close to it’s original condition.

The water pump sticks out further then the 216 did so your unable to mount the radiator in it’s original position. It is also lower by about 3”, so the fan is not centered. Apparently, the owner during the 216 to 235 swap decided to move the radiator to the front of the radiator support to gain fan clearance. In order to accomplish this, the lower splash pan was cut and the hood latch panel in front of the radiator was cut and bent down to provide the required clearance.

The solution, I found in this forum. “Pre ‘68 Dave” sells a water pump relocation plate that utilizes the original water pump and the original fan from a 216. The harmonic balancer must be replaced with one from a 216, in addition to the alternator pulley and the fan belt to 5/8”. This will enable me to return the radiator back to it original position. At that point I will be able the fix or replace the modified splash pan and hood latch panel. This is definitely a future project, but in the meantime, I’d like to get her running.

2/24/19:The gas gauge pegs to full when the ignition is turned on. To make a long story short, after spending the day troubleshooting, rewiring, checking grounds etc., I determined that the sending unit was bad. I ordered a new sending unit.

After taking out the sending unit trying to diagnose the gas gauge problem, I discovered that the inside of the tank is varnished from old gas and is rusting. I suspect that the whole fuel system needs to cleaned out.

2/25/19:I removed the shutoff valve and it was plugged with varnish. I cleaned it out and it appears to be good. I disconnected the gas line from the fuel pump and blew it out with air. It was really dirty and should be replaced. The tank was boiled out by a PO about 5 years ago but the bottom was still pretty dirty. I tried to clean out the tank with rags on a stick but I’ll need to remove it to clean it better.

2/27/19:I removed the gas tank to clean it out a little better. I plugged the fuel line inlet, added about a pint of gas to slosh around, then emptied into a pan. I repeated the process a couple of dozen times until my arms were killing me and I got it to run fairly clear. After reinstallation of the tank I added an extra in line filter between the tank and the fuel line to address any left over debris in the tank. The amount of rust and debris that come out of the tank was unbelievable. 

Phak, good idea on the inline filter before the pump, dont use one of those little bitty ones, you will have issues immediately. I learned that lesson on my T bucket build years ago. A filter with a removable canister so you can clean it out like this one:
fuel filter The pump has to be able to draw through the filter under vacuum, some are built to be pressurized through them, definitely dont want one of those.

A rusty tank may mean all the anti corrosive coating is gone and it is just going to rust more, new tanks are just $150, you might rethink it later. Keep building, you are moving along.

Steve

I like that fuel filter you linked to and a new fuel tank or coating the existing is definitely in her future. Thanks for your suggestions and support!

FIRST START: 3/4/19
The first start didn’t go so well. In preparation I removed the valve cover, the distributor and fabricated a rod to turn the oil pump. I spun the pump with a drill and got oil up to the rockers. So far so good. I replaced the distributor, checking the timing mark and the firing order. I then added a little gas to the bowl via the breather tube and I was ready to go. The moment of truth had arrived. I turned the ignition switch, hit the floor starter and it started after a few cranks. The valves were clattering, the engine was shaking and quickly sputtered to a halt. I tried again to start her up and it results were the same. It acted like it was starving for fuel. I was both ecstatic that it did start but disappointed that it didn’t run so well.

Thinking it was starving for gas, I took off the carburetor, disassembled and re-cleaned with spray carb cleaner only to get the same results. After studying the downloaded Rochester Carburetor rebuild manual, I took off the carb again and found two orifices that were still plugged. One is in the throat where the throttle plate sits for the idle control and the other for outlet of the fuel pump. I thought for sure that I had found the problem. I reinstalled with the similar results. Very frustrating.
 
Still convinced it is starving for fuel I bought a gallon of carb cleaner so I could soak it for a few hours. I let it sit for the afternoon and this time it came out squeaky clean. Reassembled, reinstalled with exactly the same results. At this point I’m not sure what it is.

I read a few post in Stovebolt and one post hit me to keep it simple. I didn’t do much with the distributor aside from checking the points and checking for spark so I figured I would start there. I did a deep look and found that the rotor was a bit wobbly and the cap needed to be replaced. I wanted to get new points and a condenser also. Local parts stores didn’t have any of the parts, so I ordered them. Nothing to do but wait.

3/13/19:After my failed “First Start”, my new distributor parts arrived and I was anxious to install them. The distributor was pretty dirty so I figured it would be best to pull it from the engine. I disassembled the distributor down to the advance weights, cleaned out decades of old grease and dirt then reassembled. I tried to install the new Delco points and couldn’t get them to close. I removed them and reinstalled them a few times and it wasn’t going to work . I compared them to the old set and noticed that they were slightly different. arm was not bent  properly. I needed another set of points that would take a few more days to get. Frustrating!  I took the existing set, cleaned up the contacts, reset to .018” then installed the new condenser. I reinstalled the distributor, the new rotor and cap, rechecked the firing order then reinstalled the wires. The moment of truth. I stepped into the cab, pumped on the accelerator, pulled on the choke, turned on the ignition switch then hit the floor starter switch. Vroom! It started!  A had a big grin on my face. Yea! 

The engine was rebuilt by a previous owner and I didn’t know if a break-in procedure was performed, I decided to do the break in. I placed a stick between the seat box and the accelerator and brought the RPM’s up to 2,000 - 2,500 or so (I don’t have a tachometer), then set my timer. I was shooting for 25 minutes. The engine sounded great. I left the valve cover off so I could see if oil was getting the lifters and they were. It didn’t have any knocking and the valves lifters quieted down pretty quickly with no noticeable leaks. I kept an eye on the oil pressure and the temperature. The temperature peaked at about 180 and after 17 minutes the oil pressure dropped to about 15 lbs. This had me concerned so I shut her down, checked the oil and it wasn’t even on the dipstick. I had checked it before I started it and it was on the full mark. I needed to add oil so I decided it was best to just change it, that way I knew what I had. The oil looked a bit thin and had a strange smell to it. I don’t know if it was break-in oil from 5 years ago or it was diluted with old gas so changing it was the only way to go. I drained more than 6 qts of oil including what was contained in the by-pass filter. Off to the store again.

Later that day I checked the old condensor and found it to be defective. All that trouble for a tiny condenser.

3/14/19: “Maiden Voyage”: I bought 7 qts. of 10w-30 Valvoline and installed. I added oil to by-pass oil filter housing then reinstalled the filter and the cap. It took all 7 qts. to top her off. I started it up and it sounds great, oil pressure was good. The engine wasn’t running perfect but it was time to see if she would drive. I called for my wife to go for our first ride. We didn’t go far but enough to shift thru the gears, go in reverse, feel out the clutch and see if the brakes work. They all checked out OK. I am thrilled. I now have a running, driving antique truck. The gods are shinning down on me.

I parked her in the front yard, to show all the neighbors, (that have been stopping by to see my progress) that I had finally got her started. Later that day I went to move her back to the temporary shelter I erected and she wouldn’t start. I noticed that the ignition switch was in the on position. That couldn’t be good. I had my wife crank her over while I held the plug wire near a ground and there wasn’t a spark. One step forward, two steps back! I ohm’d out the coil and sure enough it was shot. A lesson to be learned. Although I can’t figure how I left it on when I turned it to the off position to shut her down. In the future I’ll have to make sure it is in the off position. 

Congratulations to you, to your wife, and to your truck

And so the adventure begins. From the methodical way you're approaching problems you'll have a quality driver in no time. Good work and Good Luck!

RonR

Thanks for your vote of confidence! I'm sure glad I stumbled across this forum. There is such a wealth of knowledge and experience here for me and others to draw from. I’m sure I’ll be utilizing this resource allot as I progress.

4/10/19: Road trip to NC. I needed to get a signed “Bill of Sale” to get the truck registered because the guy I bought it from didn’t register it so the “title” was still in the previous owner’s name. Luckily I was able to track down the PO and he was more than happy to sign it for me. A retired gentleman in his late 70’s lived near Concord NC not too far from where I bought the truck. I have never been to that part of North Carolina and was surprised at how beautiful it was. Mostly a farming community, with rolling hills, Azalea’s and Dogwood’s in full bloom. I really enjoyed our visit with the previous owner. We talked about some of the issues that he had faced while he owned the truck. He said that he had the engine out several times and was concerned about the low oil pressure. I experienced the same issue when I first started the truck. Initially the oil pressure is pegged at 30 on my 30 lb. gauge but after she warms up drops to below 15 at idle. This does concern me but after reading several post in “Stovebolt” Forums, this appears to be very common to these 235 engines. I figure I’ll run it for the summer to determine if it truly is a problem. He also asked my intent and after telling him I am going to to a frame off he asked if I could keep him updated with my progress.

While in NC, my wife and I visited “The Truck Shop” in Concord NC. Amazing place! The showroom was packed full of antique Chevy truck parts, memorabilia and petroliana. I had a large list of some of the needed items, so we were there for quite a while to take in the place. I was able to get all of the needed parts to complete the new wiper motor install including new wiper arms, blades and all the assorted gaskets and grommets. In addition I bought all the needed electrical and mechanical parts to recondition and rewire the headlights.

4/11/19: Today I replaced the rear spring shackle assemblies. The job went smoother than I expected but I was well prepared. I read several posts on “Stovebolt” on how to remove and install and with a previous visit to a local hardware store, I assembled a removal/installation tool that I copied from this forum. It took a bit of wrenching effort but accomplished the task without a hitch. One of the bushings started to wear into the spring but I think I may have caught it in time so only a replacement bushing was required.

While I had the truck jacked up, I removed the rear brake drums to inspect the rear brakes. The driver’s side was covered with what I believe is rear end lubricant. I think the seal is leaking, requiring removal of the axle to replace the seal.

I am ill prepared for pulling axles on the grass under my temporary shelter so I decided to just clean it up and address the issue when I get the truck to my garage in New York I dubbed “Hak’s Alley Garage”. We are fortunately to own a winter home in South Carolina, splitting our time between our two homes. In 2013 when we moved to our retirement home in New York, my wife got me a street sign for our driveway located on a private road. The street sign say’s “Hak’s Alley” thus my garage we named “Hak’s Alley Garage. We’re thinking of putting that logo on the truck doors.

I like the way you are moving forward with this project. Getting it to start, run, stop and turn are all great things. Can't wait to see the logo for your doors. Good luck.

Seems like you should have the truck parked in SC.

4/19/19: I received the wiper motor from Fricken Wiper Repair and attempted the installation, but it did not go well. To make a long story short, I installed/removed the motor twice in order to get all the parts installed in their proper sequence before I heard the dreaded plink of something falling on the cab floor. A piece of the control arm pivot pin that was peened over holding the control arm on to the wiper motor fell to the floor. Disappointed, frustrated and pis**d off, I removed the motor. I packed up all of the parts and called it a day!

The next day, I contacted Fricken Wiper Service and they said they would take care of it , no charge. Today all is good!

4/20/19: My parts for the brakes came in today and I was anxious to get the truck back on it’s wheels again. I was also nervous that I would do something stupid like press the brake pedal and pop one of the wheel cylinders.

When I originally disassembled the rear brakes the emergency brake cables were not installed in their respective clamps but were instead cable tied to the clamps. Upon further investigation, I determined that they were not the proper cables for the 3100. I previously ordered the proper cables and it’s amazing when you have the correct parts, how much easier the job goes. The only issue I had wer the new boots that I bought didn’t fit on the threaded end of the cable. I used silicone to get them on, but they were stretch so thin I can’t see how they could possibly last.

I then installed the shoes and retaining springs without the proper tools. All of my brake tools are up in New York in my garage. I want to get my truck road worthy as soon as possible so armed with a screwdriver and a pair of vice grips I installed the rest of the brake components. I’ve done it before when I was young and couldn’t afford the proper tools.

I finished installing the rest of the components. While the truck sat waiting for parts, the wheel cylinders expanded and I could not get the shoes to contact the anchor pin. The pistons didn’t pop out but were not allowing the shoes to seat so I opened the bleeders to allow them to compress. Once I got the shoes seated, reinstallation of the drums and the brake adjustment went relatively easy.

Anxious to try out the brakes, I taped up the cut headlight wires and took her for a short ride on the street. The brakes and the emergency brakes seem to work as intended, another job to cross off my very long list.

4/23/19: On to the headlights. The first issue, the headlight bezel screw retaining bracket on both headlight housings were rusted thru and wouldn’t hold a screw. Thus the reason I lost the drivers bezel when I brought her home from NC. I was elated a few weeks ago, to find I could buy replacement brackets and didn’t have to buy new housings.That feeling quickly diminished when I installed them and discovered that they were so thin, bent easily and just another example of cheep Chinese reproductions.

I reinstalled my newly painted headlight housings with new gaskets. I then installed a new harness that I made, then reinstalled the headlight buckets. I anticipated the adjustment screws being frozen so I ordered new screws and nuts. Upon reassembly I realized why these parts were so cheap. I quickly stripped one of the new screws heads so I decided to reuse the originals, a little rusty but still worked fine. I tried to install the new bulb retainers (rings) and they also are inferior to the originals. The originals were rusty and cracked near the mounting screws so they needed to be replaced. I couldn’t get the replacements to sit right on the bulbs. There was too much of a gap (almost 3/16”) between the housing and the ring tabs. I took the ring off a few times to make sure the bulb was seated but ended up with the same result. I went ahead installed the screws and tightened them down as much as I dared, with the result bending the tabs and still leaving a slight gap between the ring tab and the headlight bucket. These will need to be replaced with originals or at least better copies. I installed the new stainless headlight bezels and she is looking pretty. Those bezels look like their nicely made and did install correctly.

The headlights are now installed and they do work!

4/28/19: I was having an issue with the signal lights. They seem to work fine when the truck was not running went haywire when the engine is running. I had some time to work on the truck today so I wanted to eliminate the possibility that a bad ground was the causing the issue. To make a very long story short, I added grounds to the tail lights, headlights, checked all of the frame grounds and replaced any wire or splice that I thought may contribute to the issue. It wasn’t until I discovered that the installed flasher was meant for LED lights, which I didn’t have that I solved the mystery. After adding the proper flasher, the signal lights worked flawlessly. A small success but a success none the less.

"A small success but a success none the less."

A big success. Thanks for the follow-up.

5/3/19:My electrical nightmare continues. When I turn on the headlights and the truck is running, after a few minutes they began to flash. After searching on this forum, I believe the bi-metallic strip on the headlight switch is opening and closing. I removed the switch and sprayed contact cleaner in it and operated the switch several times. I reinstalled the switch and it seemed to take a bit longer to blink but it still didn’t solve the issue. I spent the next week checking grounds but no joy, so I ordered a new switch from “Classic Parts”.

5/15/19: I received the new reproduction headlight switch and hi/low switch from and was excited to see if it would solve the winking headlight issue I’ve been battling for the last few weeks. The quality looks to be very good, almost an exact reproduction. Installation was easy with my experience of removing and reinstalling the switch several times in the last couple of months.

I removed and replaced one wire at a time so I wouldn’t switch them up. I used a little bit of terminal grease to help prevent corrosion. After reinstalling the switch I reinstalled the negative battery terminal (safety first) and tested it out. I started the engine, pulled the headlight switch and the lights came on and stayed on. I let her run for about ten minutes and all is good. I had also bought a new dimmer switch so I installed that too. Although it was a success, the headlights seemed a bit dim. After reading several post on this forum, I decided to look into installing headlight relays.

5/8/19: About a week ago I did some research as to why the clutch pedal seemed too easy to push and why it was making noise when fully released. I looked underneath and didn’t see any return spring that is clearly shown in the assembly manual. I found and ordered the spring from Classic Parts and installed it today.

Although the pedal now feels normal, the noise when the pedal was fully released was still there. Subsequent pedal adjustments didn’t help either. My truck didn’t come with a clutch inspection cover (another part I need to get), so it made it easy to look at. The clutch fork is riding on the fingers of the clutch causing the bearing not to fully disengage. Upon further inspection, the fork is pulling away from the pivot ball. It appears that the fork retaining clip is installed, so I will have to pull the tranny to see what is going on. Another step forward and two steps back. I wonder sometimes why I do this to myself. As “justhorsenround” so eloquently said, "Welcome to the Stovebolt madness. There is no cure!”

5/13/19: To my surprise my wiper motor has been returned from “Ficken Wiper Service” this morning. They drilled out the pot metal control arm pivot and installed a new pin. Unfortunately, I did not take a picture of the fix, but I was impressed with their work.

I removed the radio grill to gain better access then reinstalled the vacuum wiper motor, the arms and spring clips that secure the linkage arms to the motor. I hooked up the vacuum line to the intake on the intake manifold, then installed my new wiper arms and blades. The way I accomplished the blade alignment was to place the wiper motor drive lever in a vertical position, then install the wiper arms in a vertical position. This gives you a starting point for alignment. I started the engine and gave it a try. One blade was perfect and the other I removed and realigned. Much closer this time but I could not get the the blades to align with each other. I remembered the vacuum motor was slotted and a small adjustment may be possible by loosening the wiper motor mounting screws and sliding it one direction or the other. That worked like a charm. The wiper blades are now perfectly aligned. After reinstallation of the radio grill, the job was done. Yea! Another success!

Phil -

I too need new headlight housings. Which ones/where did you pick up yours? Feel free to PM.


Cheers,
R