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Build The Clustertruck Rides Again - Refurbishing a 1975 Chevota
- Thread starter RWBeringer4x4
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- Thread starter
- #402
It was indeed a beautiful day to careen, brake-less, across two states! Of course, it's been pouring ever since, so work has slowed. The last couple of miles, braking was done primarily with the shifter, and the e-brake, and we all no how good the T-case e-brakes are on these trucks. I called my fiance's dad on the way over and said, "Where do you want me to put this thing, I'm only gonna have one shot at it..."
In the end, it just reaffirmed my belief that overhauling the brakes was the correct "next move." (Should have been the first move).
Nope - 1951 Mercury. One of the small fleet of classics my future-father-in-law is working on. More seem to keep turning up in his driveway on an almost weekly basis. Here's a shot the day he got it:
Believe it or not, it starts, runs, drives, and stops, better than my 40 - original flat-8, too. It's going to need to be re-wired in the near future. All original wiring is showing its age - lots of exposed metal. He has it spray bombed green at the moment to keep the rust from getting any worse while he cuts out the worst of it and patches it.
Fixed it.
Looks like you scored with a Father In Law as well. Great excuse to get out and wrench "Your dad called and he needs some help in the shop" heh heh heh. Big 
in
in
That back
Model "A" backfiring may be due to timing issues-on the front of the engine there is a timing cover-has a pin-shaped nut poking out of it. remove the nut and stick the pin end into the hole-roll over the engine-there should be a detent in the timing gear that the pin will fall into as the engine is turned over slowly-that's #1 cyl. Check the dizzy to make sure it's on that one(rotor pointing) I don't remember the adjustment for this if it's not on #1 other than pulling the dizzy up and rotating the shaft 'til it is correct.(I don't remember any "slot" that the dizzy has to seat in-just the gearing)
Model "A" backfiring may be due to timing issues-on the front of the engine there is a timing cover-has a pin-shaped nut poking out of it. remove the nut and stick the pin end into the hole-roll over the engine-there should be a detent in the timing gear that the pin will fall into as the engine is turned over slowly-that's #1 cyl. Check the dizzy to make sure it's on that one(rotor pointing) I don't remember the adjustment for this if it's not on #1 other than pulling the dizzy up and rotating the shaft 'til it is correct.(I don't remember any "slot" that the dizzy has to seat in-just the gearing)
- Thread starter
- #406
Truth.
Looks like you scored with a Father In Law as well. Great excuse to get out and wrench "Your dad called and he needs some help in the shop" heh heh heh. Big
Yeah, I chose wisely. Not only is my finace' used to the men in her life spending absurd amounts of time working on old hoopties, but her dad will lend me some driveway space, air tools, a spare set of hands, and ~40 years of accumulated knowledge for a 12 pack.
Seems to me you have worked on one of these before! Yeah, we have messed with the timing pin and THINK we have the dizzy set up correctly, but that truck is something of a different animal. It has a VERY long way to go - a lot of seized linkages, etc. that could be part of the problem as well.
Yes-owned 2 of them early on. One of them was a screamer--ran 72 mph(course there was no body to speak of on it)-cowl/frame/half hood--wooden floorboards(except where the exhaust mani burned a hole through it from running it without any connection--very,very pretty blue/yellow flame out of that).
I could replace a tranny cluster gear in this thing with my eyes closed-ditto the rear pinion--I guess you get the drift; I was young and foolish with this truck-I wish I had it back!!
--the right rear brake was the only one that worked
In a Fla flag pond, this thing would put up a 20 foot rooster tail of mud in high gear-you could bury just about any other vehicle in a few minutes(and did)
I could replace a tranny cluster gear in this thing with my eyes closed-ditto the rear pinion--I guess you get the drift; I was young and foolish with this truck-I wish I had it back!!
--the right rear brake was the only one that worked
In a Fla flag pond, this thing would put up a 20 foot rooster tail of mud in high gear-you could bury just about any other vehicle in a few minutes(and did)
- Thread starter
- #408
Moved on to the rear axle today. Got the truck up on 4 jack stands, pulled the tires, then the drums. No leaks here, just a bunch of cobwebs:
Driver's Side:
Passenger Side - Again, looks like a "fresh" wheel cylinder:
All in all, I can honestly say the only issue with the brakes on this truck was, apparently, a bad adjustment and master cylinder. It didn't even (really) need an axle rebuild yet. We're way past going back now, though!
Next I pulled the diff cover, and took a look at the rear. No major signs of wear here either. Pretty healthy looking diff, albeit dirty:
I lost some studs in the removal of the diff cover. I'm certain they will be a pain to replace!
Next, I pulled the carrier pin. With no brakes/axles/driveshaft, there is no way to hold the diff still. I managed to get enough torque to move the carrier pin bolt with one hand, while grabbing the pinion flange with the other.
With the bolt removed, the carrier simply fell out, along with the spacer, and what I assume to be an oil slinger of some sort. Didn't see where it came from - any ideas?
I don't see anything that I would consider to be an abnormal wear pattern - no grooves that catch a fingernail. I'm not seeing any problems so far!
Driver's Side:
Passenger Side - Again, looks like a "fresh" wheel cylinder:
All in all, I can honestly say the only issue with the brakes on this truck was, apparently, a bad adjustment and master cylinder. It didn't even (really) need an axle rebuild yet. We're way past going back now, though!
Next I pulled the diff cover, and took a look at the rear. No major signs of wear here either. Pretty healthy looking diff, albeit dirty:
I lost some studs in the removal of the diff cover. I'm certain they will be a pain to replace!
Next, I pulled the carrier pin. With no brakes/axles/driveshaft, there is no way to hold the diff still. I managed to get enough torque to move the carrier pin bolt with one hand, while grabbing the pinion flange with the other.
With the bolt removed, the carrier simply fell out, along with the spacer, and what I assume to be an oil slinger of some sort. Didn't see where it came from - any ideas?
I don't see anything that I would consider to be an abnormal wear pattern - no grooves that catch a fingernail. I'm not seeing any problems so far!
- Thread starter
- #409
With the carrier pin out of the way, I pushed in the axles, and pulled the C-clips:
And with that, out popped the axles - no sweat compared to the fronts!
There is some VERY minor wear on the race of one of the axles. You can sort of see it in this photo. I'm not sure it is an reason to be really concerned. I can SEE it, but I can't feel it.
Lastly, I pulled the six bolts (and brake lines) that held the backing plate to the axle. Then, broke the rust bond, and coaxed the backing plate off with a BFH:
Not much left to do now, but pull the differential, pull the housing, and get to grinding and painting!
And with that, out popped the axles - no sweat compared to the fronts!
There is some VERY minor wear on the race of one of the axles. You can sort of see it in this photo. I'm not sure it is an reason to be really concerned. I can SEE it, but I can't feel it.
Lastly, I pulled the six bolts (and brake lines) that held the backing plate to the axle. Then, broke the rust bond, and coaxed the backing plate off with a BFH:
Not much left to do now, but pull the differential, pull the housing, and get to grinding and painting!
That side gear shim shouldn't have come out... You'll be able to tell which side gear it came from. If you didn't wear gloves while moving that diff gear, you found out how sharp they are 
- Thread starter
- #411
@Stumpalama - seems like there is nothing really "retaining" the spider gears aside from the carrier and the gears themselves. Do I just slide this shim back in where it belongs or is there more to it than that? I didn't think that was supposed to move, but it literally fell out the second I slide the carrier pin out.
and yes, I didn't wear gloves, and yes, they are way sharper than they look! No major injuries though!
and yes, I didn't wear gloves, and yes, they are way sharper than they look! No major injuries though!
You don't realize the cuts right away, then there is a stinging and you wonder what could be making your finger tips sting like that , then you notice like 50 paper cuts.
As far as the shim goes, it should just slide between the side gear and the carrier, but check the FSM to be sure.
As far as the shim goes, it should just slide between the side gear and the carrier, but check the FSM to be sure.
- Thread starter
- #413
Decided to switch gears this morning and start bending my own brake lines. Started out making wire templates to determine the new routing. Some of the routing I have been able to keep stock, but most of it will be modified to get around the V8, add the proportioning valve to the rear circuit, etc.
Here is what I've decided on for the new routing of the front brake circuit. I figure this will keep it out of harm's way better than the PO's "1" off the outside of the frame rail" routing. I also added a flex coil back in (missing on the PO's rendition) to hopefully result in a safer, more protected brake system.
New route, down over the frame rail, in front of the engine mount, and down under the steering column:
Will terminate at a clip/soft line junction here, in front of the mount.
Fabbed up a (mostly) direct copy of the stock rear circuit line, with the addition of the Wilwood Valve. I'll be fabbing a bracket to hold everything in place:
A shot of my highly advanced flex coil bender:
And lastly, a shot of a couple of finished lines; the new front circuit line, and the replacement frame rail line to the rear axle:
All in all, getting accurate (or at least functional) bends was way easier than I thought it would be. Hopefully, flaring will go just as smoothly!
Here is what I've decided on for the new routing of the front brake circuit. I figure this will keep it out of harm's way better than the PO's "1" off the outside of the frame rail" routing. I also added a flex coil back in (missing on the PO's rendition) to hopefully result in a safer, more protected brake system.
New route, down over the frame rail, in front of the engine mount, and down under the steering column:
Will terminate at a clip/soft line junction here, in front of the mount.
Fabbed up a (mostly) direct copy of the stock rear circuit line, with the addition of the Wilwood Valve. I'll be fabbing a bracket to hold everything in place:
A shot of my highly advanced flex coil bender:
And lastly, a shot of a couple of finished lines; the new front circuit line, and the replacement frame rail line to the rear axle:
All in all, getting accurate (or at least functional) bends was way easier than I thought it would be. Hopefully, flaring will go just as smoothly!
- Thread starter
- #414
Speaking of flaring, realized today that my Wilwood valve is set up for Bubble Flares - which is problematic, given my lack of a bubble flaring tool...Anyone know a way around this? The inlet looks almost like it would accept a brass washer...
If you have a double flaring tool you can do bubble flares.
- Thread starter
- #416
Really? I thought there was a separate tool for that? Any further details or somewhere I could find instructions? Do I need a special adapter or something?
If you have a basic flaring tool with the dies to create double flares you can make nice bubble flares.
- Thread starter
- #418
Interesting, I always thought there was an additional step to making a double flare - could you elaborate?
There is an additional step involved .I could walk you through it with pics as I make one but I just googled how to make a bubble flare and several u-tube videos came up . Viewing a couple of those should get you underway. If not , let me know and tomorrow I will see if I can help.
- Thread starter
- #420
Progress has been slow - traveling for work, (and actually interviewing for 3 separate other jobs, and all the studying that goes along with it). Managed to get a little more accomplished. I've been spending a lot of time, once again, grinding/wire brushing 30 years of rust and flaking paint off of axle components. I'd kill for a decent blaster!
This weekend, I finally tried my hand at using the knuckle centering tool.
First, the new trunnion bearings had to be installed, which means I now have to keep all 4 of them straight, since they're all matched to a race:
Then, I installed the tool, torqued to between 4.5-5.5lbs on the fish scale (you'll just have to take my word for it, bad picture):
After a minor paint-pocalypse due to a paint-pen explosion, I followed up by scoring a line around the center of the tool with the scribe:
Then measured the external distance between the flat spots on the tool. I got to do this twice, because I forgot to zero the caliper...
Not pictured, because I am not a master of documentation like @Vae Victus:
Measuring the distance between the flats on the knuckle housing.
Installing the tool in the knuckle housing, and scoring a second line.
Measuring the difference between the two lines.
Luckily, this was masterfully documented by Coolerman, here:
https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/steering-knuckle-centering-tool-instructions-faq.280575/
Finally, Math Happened, and I got the resultant shim thicknesses I will need to perfectly center my axle to factory specs:
The short side results seem ok, (1.5mm on top, 1.5mm on bottom) but the long side has me a little worried I screwed something up...2.2mm of shims on top (virtually an entire shim pack), and virtually none on the bottom? Seems like a huge overcompensation...Has anyone run into similar numbers? Is this cause for concern?
This weekend, I finally tried my hand at using the knuckle centering tool.
First, the new trunnion bearings had to be installed, which means I now have to keep all 4 of them straight, since they're all matched to a race:
Then, I installed the tool, torqued to between 4.5-5.5lbs on the fish scale (you'll just have to take my word for it, bad picture):
After a minor paint-pocalypse due to a paint-pen explosion, I followed up by scoring a line around the center of the tool with the scribe:
Then measured the external distance between the flat spots on the tool. I got to do this twice, because I forgot to zero the caliper...
Not pictured, because I am not a master of documentation like @Vae Victus:
Measuring the distance between the flats on the knuckle housing.
Installing the tool in the knuckle housing, and scoring a second line.
Measuring the difference between the two lines.
Luckily, this was masterfully documented by Coolerman, here:
https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/steering-knuckle-centering-tool-instructions-faq.280575/
Finally, Math Happened, and I got the resultant shim thicknesses I will need to perfectly center my axle to factory specs:
The short side results seem ok, (1.5mm on top, 1.5mm on bottom) but the long side has me a little worried I screwed something up...2.2mm of shims on top (virtually an entire shim pack), and virtually none on the bottom? Seems like a huge overcompensation...Has anyone run into similar numbers? Is this cause for concern?