Builds 1975 frame off. (1 Viewer)

[brian]

finally got around to replacing the windshield on it...i procrastinated pretty hard on that, even made myself proud...the glass that was in it was from the 80s at least...the last inspection sticker on it was from 1987. it was pretty fogged and steadily getting worse, driving into a morning sun was brutal.
the lesson here is, it's far easier to do these with the frame off the cruiser, but that wasnt going to happen today....also decided that since i dont like people, i shall be doing this myself.....all in all not a terrible idea. a hand would have been nice a time or two and might have finished a little quicker with help but still was only about an 1.5-2 hour job.
an oem gasket was used, the glass was cut at a local glass shop, using another fogged windshield as a template..

looking back, it's been almost 9 years to the day that i put the other glass in the frame.

 

[77CruiserDog]

So funny.... "also decided that since i dont like people..."

More and more, I'm understanding where you're coming from.

 

[brian]

So funny.... "also decided that since i dont like people..."

More and more, I'm understanding where you're coming from.

that pretty much has been this entire story.
i needed some help moving the tub around and when i dropped the trans the last time i needed to "phone a friend" to help get it out...need to drop it again here soon...the lessons learned the last time should prevent the phone call this time as i had no problem getting it back in myself.

 

[brian]

Painted the bezel international harvester white this past weekend. i thought i recalled it being a closer match to the 012 white the cruiser originally was....i was going to go with till i figured out a white body, with a white top and a white bezel, is a lot white...but im not feeling the new color, granted it was a 25 year old rattle can. The light isnt doing the picture any favors, however it seems too creamy.
One time i look at it and like it, and next i dont.

 

[Chungas Revenge]

Painted the bezel international harvester white, cause i thought i recalled it being a closer match to the 012 white the cruiser originally was....i was going to go with till i figured out a white body, with a white top and a white bezel, is a lot white...but im not feeling the color, granted it was a 25 year old rattle can. The light isnt doing the picture any favors, however it seems too creamy.
One time i look at it and like it, and next i dont.

View attachment 3004676

mmmmmm hmmmm. Roll with it.

 

[mattressking]

First time finding your thread - very much enjoyed cruising through it!

 

[rainingagain]

First time finding your thread - very much enjoyed cruising through it!

Same here. Those first pics of the frame !

 

[brian]

Same here. Those first pics of the frame !

Pretty easy repairs with the tub off.

 

[shmukster]

finally got around to replacing the windshield on it...i procrastinated pretty hard on that, even made myself proud...the glass that was in it was from the 80s at least...the last inspection sticker on it was from 1987. it was pretty fogged and steadily getting worse, driving into a morning sun was brutal.
the lesson here is, it's far easier to do these with the frame off the cruiser, but that wasnt going to happen today....also decided that since i dont like people, i shall be doing this myself.....all in all not a terrible idea. a hand would have been nice a time or two and might have finished a little quicker with help but still was only about an 1.5-2 hour job.
an oem gasket was used, the glass was cut at a local glass shop, using another fogged windshield as a template..

looking back, it's been almost 9 years to the day that i put the other glass in the frame.
View attachment 2944035

View attachment 2944036

View attachment 2944037

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Recently I replace the liftgate glass in my 60. Same concept seal-wise as replacing a 40 windshield. I asked my neighbor to help and install was a breeze. Like Brian said, it's doable by yourself but easier and quicker with a helper.
And I must say when I replaced the windshield on my 4o I had the WS frame sitting nicely on a padded workbench and it was much easier I believe than if the WS frame was bolted in place on a 40.

 

[brian]

Was getting some clunks, pops and bangs from the suspension. I thought it was just bushings, and they were gone, seems that the shackles were trying to eat through the bolts.
So i made some side plates and went with an oe style splined
fixed pin, greasable....surprisingly no more groaning and popping.

 

[brian]

closing in on 100,000 miles....that i've put on it....if you have a 40 series and are not driving it, you are missing out.

first photo from the fall of 2013, about 6 months before it returned to the road, and now.

 

[brian]

So I've been on a wild goose chase the last whenever i feel like it...indicated oil pressure has been giving me fits.
I run this engine and i run it hard. hour long trips at 70mph plus are a weekly normal, a 300 mile day is fairly common as well. As such i pay attention to the guages, when there is a departure from the "normal" i start looking at stuff.
The sender that had been in it was new several years ago, but i cant recall if it was oem...nor can i recall how many years "several" is.
Its been reading low, real low. Before at speed it would show the needle on the gauge right on or near the high side of the normal operating range. Now recently its been just off the low side of the normal range at speed, and darn near all the way to the left at idle.
After replacing that sender with a new oem, the needle camped out on the right side on the top end of the normal zone, and hardly moved after that.
One sender shows pretty low on the gauge, the other shows pretty high on the gauge...now im torn, which is closer to right.. if either is?
So this afternoon i had enough.
A cheaper parts store mechanical gauge later and its off to the races. As it turns out the new oe sender is doing just what its supposed to be doing.
and yes there is a drip of oil off the plastic tubing for the gauge.

 

[rkymtnflyfisher]

Looks like healthy pressure.

 

[brian]

closing in on 100,000 miles....that i've put on it....if you have a 40 series and are not driving it, you are missing out.

first photo from the fall of 2013, about 6 months before it returned to the road, and now.

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View attachment 3316808

its about 2k miles away at this point

 

[brian]

Scored some new reading material

 

[dmaddox]

Awesome score on the parts catalog. I wish I could find one for a 1978. Was one even produced? Or did this 1975 cover a block of years?

 

[brian]

Awesome score on the parts catalog. I wish I could find one for a 1978. Was one even produced? Or did this 1975 cover a block of years?

a quick look through it, shows nothing pertaining to disc brakes, so looks like this particular example is strictly 1975, as it doesn't seem to cover anything earlier when i was looking at door parts.

 

[brian]

less than 100 miles to go, and that will happen this tuesday with little doubt...im calling 100,000 miles of seat time, this go around...i didn't really keep any kind of records in it's previous 15 years before the restoration.
first picture taken 10-30-13, it returned to the road a few months in the spring of '14.
the memory is getting fuzzy, but i only recall one other person driving it a handful of miles in that time span. the spark hasnt dimmed at all, still as happy to jump in it now as i was then.

 

[brian]

welp....it sees a lot miles, but not necessarily a lot at once. that cherry has now been broken.
i had to get to a job sight in olean ny to oversee a project for the week. my 80 series needs some front axle seals addressed and all the work trucks the were scheduled out already at the shop...so last sunday afternoon i jumped in the 75 for a 4.5hr 220 mile trip though the backwoods on pa's "highway to the stars". i wish i would have left later in the day to have been able to make drive in the dark...as it had been a beautiful mid fall day with clear skies.
this dreary afternoon i took the return trip on the same route, avoiding highways. both trips netted a very solid 15 mpgs with most posted speed limits around 45mph. my normal 1-2 hour trips around the area are typically taken at about 70mph...the mpgs from those trips are not as respectable as those from this trip.
i also have renewed faith in my fuel gauge, as i never really fully trusted it. i drove past a station on the trip north, not knowing it was the last station for way more miles than i was comfortable with, with the fuel gauge resting where it was at the time...i was pretty sure that a hike was in my near future, more so after pulling into a gas station that had clearly been out of business for a good many years. when i finally rolled up to some pumps, the 16 gallon tank demanded 13.5 gallons and the needle was dancing on the empty mark. i routinely stop when the gauge shows half a tank, and that normally is a 10 gallon fill.
as was expected the cruiser performed flawlessly on both the up and back drive.

 

[RevISK]

Great read, Brian.
Thanks for taking the time to document.

Ian