So one thing led to another

[RiverPatrol]

The access panel on the left side of the transmission cover is normally covered with a rubber cover. Maybe they lost the cover and that was their bolt on solution.

[PetrolPatrol]

The access panel on the left side of the transmission cover is normally covered with a rubber cover. Maybe they lost the cover and that was their bolt on solution.

They took the idea and ran it with as there's two more on top of the cover. Still not sure what I'll do about it.

Reassembly.jpg

Not a big update and I'm not going into nearly as much detail as some of the builds here as they are far more knowledgeable than I am, but the reassembly process has finally started. The POR15 went on pretty well with a foam roller and foam brush but the valleys caused some uneven application. I think I'll have enough to go over it with a third coat and even it out though. Sadly the gasket material I bought wasn't big enough so I'll just pick up some RTV Red and use that. The copper diff cover will (mostly) match my wheels but I'm not sold on the red tow hook just yet. I had the paint laying about though and it can always be removed later. Given it all used to look like this though I'm pleased with the progress given how little I'm trying to spend.

Former.jpg

Will need to figure out what tail lights I want as the old ones practically crumbled in my hands when removed and I think I have a plan for the exhaust, so that'll come after our vacation. Been playing with the 3D printer a bit as well trying to figure out settings, heat levels, etc. Best thing to come out of it so far

3D Print.jpg

This is great for keeping all the dust, bugs, paint, and everything else out of my beer! Plan is to make a battery mount with it as the battery was sitting on some cardboard previously, but that'll come when I get to the cab section of the truck.

[PetrolPatrol]

Been a while since I got to work on my truck. Been busy installing power steering and a new iBooster on the girlfriend's truck so no time. I finally got to a point that it's close though and with the rain I was able to dedicate some time to mine. To that end, I was able to get the leaf springs back on!

Rear springs +.jpg

The original plan was to buy new springs but the price has gone up considerably in just the past two years and the name of this project should be something along the lines of "cheap skate" so that went out the door. Got them re-arched, new bushings, and had a broken leaf replaced at a local shop instead for a price even I could afford. Knock on wood once everything is back together the driver side sag is eliminated.

Originally I was going to try to remove the exhaust in parts and take it to a shop to have them replicate it and install it back at home, but that's not going to work. So since I'm waiting on some parts anyway I moved on to the cab floor which will allow removal of the exhaust whole sale.

Cab Floor.jpg

Cab Section.jpg

Every. (naughty word). Bolt. along the way broke. A PO had also replaced some of the bolts with self tapping screws along with misc. other things to keep it all together, so I'm going to be spending the next spare days in rusted bolt removal hell before buying all new hardware to put it back together. Fortunately the body continues to be in good shape and I found a local media blasting person who will come to me and strip the layers of everything off.

Questions:
What is this? Appears to be padding mixed with eons of dirt & dust, but wondering how necessary it is to replace when reassembling?

What is this.jpg

And also, does anyone have a picture of what the battery rubber/pad/mat is supposed to look like when complete? Mine has always been in tatters and I'm not sure if it's supposed to cover the battery or attach somewhere else on the other side, etc.?

Battery Tray.jpg

[PetrolPatrol]

Had a couple of hours to myself and got some things put together.

Got the exhaust out in one piece. Thank goodness I finally got the GF's truck running this past weekend as we can use that to haul it. Think it's a bit too big for the Fiat. Put the axles back together wrong, so I had to take em out, back apart and then do it correctly. Everything came back together nicely.

Brakes & Axles.jpg

Reusing the old pads until it's time for a real upgrade - if that's even needed. With new slave cylinders, the adjusters working, and new lines throughout I'll be curious to see how the braking performance is impacted.

Also finished routing and flaring the brake lines for the rear.

Brake Lines.jpg

Rear end is basically done now until it's time for the electrical work to begin, just need to fill the diff and put the truck back on all fours so I can move it around again. Slow progress but I've never tackled anything this big before so I'm please so far.

[RiverPatrol]

Great progress, looking good. A note on the brakes: once you have everything back together the key to the brakes is bleeding and adjustment. Bleed thoroughly, adjust each wheel so the wheel will spin about half a rotation before stopping. Each front wheel has two adjustments, make sure they are equally adjusted. With new brakes they will need frequent adjusting as the shoes wear in. Keep the adjustment up and your brakes will perform beautifully.

[PetrolPatrol]

Been a slow month thanks to way too much going on in life. We had officially run out of space in the garage, so took a break from the truck to hire a shitty contractor to expand the garage!

Garage Expansion.jpg

After not that long at all (especially given just how much things costs these days) all three classics fit in the garage with space left over for work benches and tools.

They all fit.jpg

Despite some misgivings regarding the contractor and the work done I'm glad to have the extra space. I wish I could have gone back another 5' or so but this is enough if I stop buying more things

So with that done, got back to work on the truck. I had started back on cleaning duty - the transfer case, under the cab, etc. but that wasn't working as I needed more space to work, so more body panel removal was needed.

Grill Off.jpg

Harness Out.jpg

So the grill, windshield, radiator, and entire electrical harness came out.

So with the harness out I can finally tackle the electrical system properly. It's actually worse than I thought as I'm finding bad splices, burnt wires, cut insulation, and all sorts of other goodness that comes from 53 years of usage.

Harness.jpg

Right now I'm in the stage of just cleaning up the harness, removing the old tape, and planning the rebuild of it all. Picked up some of that German goodness felt electrical tap, some labels, and already have most of the connectors, heat shrink, etc. that I'll need for the rest of it. I've certainly found/seen some missing connections, wires going to nowhere, etc. so I'm sure I'll have questions in the future if I can't find new parts to replace the old or can't make heads or tails of the hack job that's been done.

I'm going to be removing the engine/transmission/transfer case soon as well. The plan is to remove them all as a unit and place them on a dolly so I can move and clean them without too much effort. Ironically, the biggest problem is I'm running out of space. Where the (naughty word) do people put all the parts when they're doing this?

[RiverPatrol]

Ah yes, the joys of remodeling projects. Nice that you got more room though. If you think you're running out of space now just wait until you pull the engine!

[PetrolPatrol]

Electrical Exports, need someone to double check my work and make sure I don't burn down anything.

Originally I was going to just refresh the existing wiring but leave the fuse box the same, but that seems stupid since I'm already neck deep in this. Besides, the idea is to learn some new things while making the truck better while spending as little as I can. So to that goal I want to expand to newer style fuses with a better fuse panel and add relays so everything is operating as it should (or maybe even better than it would have from the factory if I'm lucky).

Planning it out I have a list of what I'll have fused and what I'll have relayed

Fuse and Relay List.jpg

And then how it would all work

Wiring Diagram.jpg

Edit - rough mock up of the Relay Panel. Note it doesn't have all the relays but shows the idea/layout I'm thinking.

Relay Panel.jpg

I'd be using a 12 circuit Blue Sea Systems fuse box, and would make the relay panel (unless I find one I like that holds more than six) which would have its own fuse box for each relay and then of course the outputs/switch inputs all centrally located. The relays would use a common ground and the main fuse block + relay panel would share the positive.

Am I missing anything? Lights I forgot, a switch that's essential. Do I have this all wrong or does this look like it should work?

[jwgreen]

What is the tank for on the inner fender well?

[faux40]

What is the tank for on the inner fender well?

Nicely tig welded!