#6 - Now that's a nice rear end!

Well its been a good couple of weeks. I have actually been able to work on Cornholio for three weekends and after work when I role in. I have a 70 mile one way commute everyday so I am loving having a bit of daylight when I get home.
In the last week I have finished the front end axle, steering and suspension. Everything has been wire brushed, de-rusted, simple greened, primed and painted. How many of those 4 things are actually words, I will leave that up to my publisher. The rear end came off Friday night with only one hitch, except that it is heavy. I guess out on the farm when something breaks you just weld it back. Simple fix right, unless your trying to actually take it off again. It seems like the pins that hold the leaf springs to the truck were treated to this 'barbaric' restoration. OK, maybe that is too strong of a term, but I also noticed that the bed had been welded to the frame in a couple of spots. Hmmm, is there a trend, I dont think so. I have surveyed the rest of the truck and I think the mad welder just had a fit or too. Did I mention that the rear end was hevy, %$#*^^$& heavy.
Here are a couple of pics to savor, I dont think the next few weeks will be very productive as I have both of them booked. I still have a quandry regarding starting the engine. A friend of the who turns wrenches for a living is afraid that something else could disentigrate if go and give her the battery juice. This week I think Im going to give her a whirl, last week it was to not be a puss and pull it out first. Only time will tell...

#5 - Its me again...

I cant believe its been almost 6 weeks since the last post. But what is to post with having a four day party for your friends. That means power cleaning the house for a month prior to visitors and every weekend has been booked until last weekend. So I have been working hard to get caught back up to me schedule. Schedule..yeah right, but it has been fun getting dirty and greasy again. It has given me time to think and organize my next step, I tend to obsess about these things, but what else is there to do? I have been working hard on scraping some dirt and rust of of the beautiful beast.

This nice little pile was about 15 minutes worth, nice huh. But I have managed to remove, grind with a wire brush, de-rust, de-grease, prime and paint the entire front steering and suspension in about a week of late nights. I think I now have the process down to a science. Luckily there is no substitute for American steel, I haven't sheared a blot yet even thought they are 60 years old. Once something is taken apart it is wire brushed with a variety of tools. That would be a beastly bench grinder, key is beastly, a 8" wire brush needs HP to push through steel without bogging down. Next is a Milwaukee 5" adjustable rpm grinder. The 5" grinder holds a 4" wire brush just right without rubbing the guard and bogging the speed down. The variable speed is great. Then there are is smaller ones on a cord and cordless drills and all sizes and shapes of brushes. Once the grinding is done spray a bit of 'Rust Cure' on everything, be sure to gently wipe off right after spraying to keep from puddling up. Neatly fold up a paper towel and leave a even coat. The next day all rust we be done, then just degrease with a scrubbing brush using about 1/3 Simple Green and 2/3's water. Let dry then prime and paint. Here is a simple before and after of the brake shield which holds the brake pads. The master brake cylinder and wheel cylinders have been sent off for re-build, if things go well I will post his name and number. The rest of the week will be the leaf springs and then complete reassembly of everything I have taken off and painted, before I forget what goes where, let the nightmares begin.....