Freightrain

I know mine used to sound "whimpy" years ago, til I figured out that the trumpet had come loose and it was leaking more air then blowing through the trumpet. I tightened it up and WOW.....it's pretty loud. I don't have the little twin set up, but a single long horn. Maybe that's the difference? I have another long one to put on, but missing the front support bracket. Few years back our ATHS chapter used to be in a local parade. I'd get the "blow your horn" request and I'd let it rip(for 5 seconds or so--til it showed I was loosing too much air) and i'd either get a "YEAH!" or you'd see people holding their ears LMAO!!!!!

Very Cool! I got to admit I got to fulfill a lifelong dream of actually DRIVING a 500hp V8 Super!! Well, not very far, but last weekend at the Cleveland IX Center, I got to move Stan Lemans Superliner out of the building. It was bumper to bumper and could only idle around, but hey.......better then nothing! I did get into 2nd gear . I made a little video on my "new" smartphone, just need to get it downloaded. Nothing special, but hey, I got to drive it! Someday I'll get up to Stan's and take it for a real "cruise".

...........and everyone already knows he ain't got none to drop no more cus the fact they've been dropped on by a big hammer from the missus.

A "U" model has the step built into the rocker panel, visible below the door(which this truck does not have).

Got my email. Guess I'll be adding a lil something to my bill next week.

Get a rough measurement of the plate and how many bolts(mine was 6). Don't think it's a big deal, might call them to check the options. The stuff is pretty standard.

Those plates are easy to get. Nothing special about them. I had one with a pinhole and leaked. Picked one up at local truck parts store. If you want to check on getting compressor rebuilt, check with Mason Truck parts http://www.masontrucksales.com/ I've been by the place on my way to one of the local race tracks. Nothing to look at, but they do good work. One day shipping for me, one day for them to rebuild it, one day back. TruFlo 500? something like that. I did get a new coupler for mine as the original bakelite one had a couple cracked teeth on it. Mine puked tons of oil before I had it done. I'd fill that lil tank up pretty quick and had to make sure I drained it every trip. For the last 8 yrs, not so much as a drop of oil in the tank!!!!

Ya, we were there.............no disput'n it! (the wet weather sure does make the old dawg look ALOT better then it is) With all the pictures in WOT and such, they missed my rusty hulk each time. On page 25, the center picture of the blue Acar.............my truck was directly behind it on the other side of his trailer. If you look at the big overall shot on page 5, in the middle left side. You'll see a bright green Pete with a short dump trailer hooked to it. I'm behind it, and if you look REAL close you can see the white round roof of my truck between thePete and trailer. So close, but yet so far. Oh well. In that same shot, you can see Mike Harbison's Mack in the lower right corner.

Holy SMOKES!!!! I had my compressor rebuilt for $500, door to door in a few days. Few hours labor to get it on/off. Are you going to get your $442 core money back?? Why did you get charged if they had a core? I'd pay someone $100 to put a pan gasket on, just so they can get all dirty! Only problem, mine leaks everywhere else too and you'd never know the pan gasket was dry anyway?? LOL!!

Well, I did a bit more investigating tonight. I checked king pins and tie rod ends, but I looked a bit closer. I just felt the tie rod ends, but rolling it around. Seemed snug enough? Wrong. Jacked on the tie rod end and it's loose(both sides). Guess that's the reason for the wobble. Going to call Barry tomorrow and check on parts.

Back to square one. Tire shop found nothing wrong with the tires. Both run dead true and even. We did dismount each front tire and check for balance stuff. There was "Counteract" in them and it was all loose and doing it's job. I priced new Firestones($863 mounted) for the front. Ouch. Did drive it a short hop up the freeway, but had a hard time keeping it under 55 to see how it was. 3 lanes of madhouse drivers, so I ran 65-70 with everyone else and got back off and went home. I know it still has some issues, need some open highway to play around on.

Welcome aboard Nick. Plenty of stories and pictures around to keep you busy.

I'm taking it in tomorrow afternoon for a look-see. Hopefully they will find something drastic and I can get this nightmare over with. It's first come, so I'm going to have to take my chances if they aren't busy. If things continue in a bad way, I'll give you a call. I do agree, it does feel like a tire issue up front. Thinking back from last weekend, while taking a slow corner, I can remember the wheel still slowly shaking in my hands as it pulled around the corner. That tells me it's front tires.

I rotated the pass. tire to the rear and took it for a drive last night. No change, still has wobble at 55 mph. I swapped that tire back up and then rechecked runout of tires. Still has a .05 low spot on each front tire, about 12" area around circumference. I checked across the ribs, and seems pretty flat, except the outer rib is lower, but it does need a check on alignment as it's always kinda cupped the edges slightly. It's 60 yrs old, I don't expect it to be perfect. I'm making a call today to set up an appt to have the fronts taken off and inspected for what is inside them and if that is the problem. I'm really hoping it's something simple(make that cheap), as I haven't priced new tires but I'm betting they haven't gone down in 9 yrs! I found my original receipt and it was $254 each. My trip to Michigan this weekend is looking pale due to weather that is coming. Won't have to go if it's raining. I won't go if I don't get truck fixed.

Grant, B models have the rubber clamp in the front. Haven't poked around that part, but pretty sure it's okay. I talked to the tire shop. They say "Counteract" is silicone based and can't harden. I told them these tires are 10 yrs old and they said they did use another product(Equal) back near that time that "could" be an issue. Only thing they can do is take the product and and spin the tires.

I do have one question. When I checked the pass. tire, I noticed the low spot was the area that was sitting on the ground. It was wet from some grass and I noticed it. The drivers side was dry and I didn't know where it was sitting originally. Should I take it for a spin and warm them up and try again? I can't believe that new radials would flat spot like an old Firestone bias ply!! I had the balance stuff put in the tires back when. Does that stuff go bad? Should I put it in new tires(if I Need them)? Oh, BTW, If I were a betting man, I would say that likely she'll say that she will buy them for me. She bought my rear tires for the race car this past spring. I'm a very lucky man. The "boys" will be just fine(and in good hands LMAO).

Well, just ran out and did some checking with a magnetic indicator. Seems the drivers tire has a low patch about 12" long(around) that dips .04 or so. I also checked the passenger side and Bam the same thing. Guess I need a pair of steer tires?? Ugh, there goes the g/f xmas present money LOL!!!

Few years back, on my '67 F100 I had a similar problem. About 55-60 mph it would have this slight shimmy feel. Never really could figure it out, til I finally needed tires. I aired the fronts down to dismount them and the RF tire had a big sunken pocket in the edge of the tread. Hmmm, guess that was it. New tires and it drove fine. I'm going to do a closer checkout with the front tires again. Might air them down a bit to see if they get distorted like my other tires did. This problem has been driving me nuts and I have to go to Michigan next Saturday.

Same tires/rims. They seem to all run true.

The new forum has me going spins also. Adding picture links seem to be a problem now. Used to be simple click/paste. Now it seems to get picky on when you do it?

I ran 70 psi all around on my truck when it was sprung. I bumped them up to 80 psi now.

Seems a fellow on ATHS knows the reason for the dropped headlights............seems it's a regulation over there about distance from the ground? If I recall correctly?

Ok, this is all related to my stretch job on my B model. Last year, it drove perfect with no issues. After the stretch job, the first day out on the road, it acquired a wobble at about 55 mph. It happens with or without the trailer. The best I can do to describe the feeling is say it's not fast(driveshaft type speed vibration), but a slower, say about 1 second interval type wobble/shake that moves the whole truck. It seems a front/back motion as best as I can tell, as the cab/bunk/steering wheel all do it in harmony. It starts about 55 mph through about 60 mph and goes away to a point. It's still there, barely, but not at the extreme it is from 55-60. I had all rear tires off/on back after Southbend, so I know they are running true. I checked RF tire yesterday morning before heading to Wellington show. I checked the wheel bearing for tightness and also king pin. I was drawn to that corner as two different occasions after a 2 hr road trip I found my RF turn signal had fallen out of the mount in the bumper. Only thing I could figure was the shake was more concentrated there and with those snap in rubber gaskets being kinda loose it allowed it to fall out. This thing really has me confused and at a loss as it was just so "sudden". It has new bags/shocks on the rear, but could it be a bushing that can cause this problem? I know the rear support crossmember(where bags/shocks mount) needs replaced as it's pretty beat out and the cross bar is leaning backwards. It doesn't seem driveline related, as I kept the angles the same. Same tires/rims. Any thoughts?

Hat, it was 20+ yrs ago.............it's all fuzzy now LOL!!! I knew what I wanted to say, just couldn't speel it corektly LMAO!!!! Here's a little trivia: Are you familiar with Haines Criss Cross directory?(look up a phone number to get an address) Ya, Bill Haynes. That is where we stayed down there as he was a buddy of my friend from way back. Haines owns/owned a big condo building on the inland waterway. I can't recall the name of it now(too many years ago). He lives here in Canton, Ohio as that is where the company is based out of. www.haines.com 41, I knew that rear end looked awfully like a Ford? Guess that is the reason. I was just a very young rookie with no way to do anything with it at the time. Like I said, if it was now, then I'd be all over it.

(dam, look at that THICK, DARK hair LOL!!!!!) Readers digest version. Retired friend bought car in Florida(late 80's). Blown motor, apparent issue with recent rebuild, wrist pin locked up and threw piston out the side of block(6cyl). Three of us run down and haul it home. Fellow in picture is another friend where we stayed overnight in Stewart, Fla. Friend gets motor back in one piece and running. He then burns up rearend due to lack of grease. With some finesse, I bolt a 9" ford under it and get it back to driveable(sorta). You don't want to know what it would have cost to buy another Rolls gearset. It has a early Ford banjo style housing that bolts together. It had crazy mechanical brake linkage all hooked up around it. No way to make it work with the 9"(well, at least at that time in my life). Friend takes ill and passes. He left the car to me(about 1994). Motor ran, and likely enough to move it around, but I wouldn't say it was perfect. Body was rough underneath. Everything was crusty/rusty. Brakes were nill and all the gobbly gook mechanical crap I had to leave off the rear to make the Ford axle work. Heater core started leaking. It was RH steering, leather interior was "ok". I had the original Rolls manual(really cool piece), but had to give it up to buyer(dammit-shoulda kept my mouth shut--note to self). I kept a copy of the original title with my name on it. Just a lil keepsake. I also have a Franklin mint model too. Looking back, it would have been really cool to have it now, but 20 yrs have come/gone and all the work/money it would have taken to make it right.