mattb73lt

I will agree there are supply chain issues, these nitwit's gave it no effort. It was a 20 minute search and a few phone calls. The parts for this pump are readily available, it's a common Vickers pump, albeit old. I had to ship it to Michigan, but they were able to readily ID it and confirmed they had the parts for it. As for the hydraulic cylinders, they took the long one apart that pushes the bed in and out and looked at it. That was about it. When I asked over the months were we were with, they were waiting for answers from a supplier. When they had questions of me for what they were, I always answered promptly. Then they were telling me it would probably cost in excess of $4K to rebuild all three. The other shop was saying about $2K and would be done in a few weeks. The local shop has done work for me before, but since covid, their abilities have dropped way off. I'm not sure how they'll stay in business continuing this way.

Slowly going back together, again. Waiting on my power steering pump to come back from being overhauled. Had to get it back from a local hydraulic shop after they did nothing but complain about supply line issues for six months. Did a 20 minute internet search and found a place that would do it quickly. I should have it back maybe this week or early next week. I’ll leave the left fender off until it’s back in. Just makes it easier. Now that I can move the truck again, I was able to pull the bed up from beside the barn, today. Took the winch out of it and a few other items to get it ready to move to my friends’s shop so he can do some repairs to it. Strapped it to the deck of the B42 to move it when he’s ready. I hauled the three hydraulic cylinders for the bed to Danbury last week to be overhauled, so they should be back in a few weeks. The pace to finish is finally picking up!!

Looks great! Do you have a trailer you're going to pull with it or just bobtail?

For some reason the shorter video I have won't load. It's a walk around of it idling and just ticking away. So happy it just purrs. It was a lot of time lost, but now I can say I've touched every part of this truck.

Let’s try this one. IMG_8934.mov

I'll try again later.

It’s ALIVE!!!! It fired off so gently and idles smoothly. Accelerates really well and has that Cummins bark! Now I can move it, since it hasn’t budged since October!! I have short video, but it’s too big. I’ll make another shorter one shortly.

Not sure. I was setting my sights on Brooklyn, but now I think I’ll be ready for Lancaster, MA in August. The only problem is that now is the same weekend as my employer’s DreamRide weekend for the Special Olympics. That’s also a long way to go with no weight on the back, as the ride sucks without any.

The squawk list is a lot shorter, now. Lots of little stuff knocked out. The driveshaft came out nice. The UPS driver who frequents my house was busting my chops about it, saying the truck looks great except for the driveshaft! I got the throttle and clutch switches for the Jake mounted and adjusted. I’ll probably rough in the wiring for them and finish some more stuff under the dash.

Ran into some technical issues and had to send out some parts for recalibration. It’ll cost me another week and I’ll miss Brooklyn with the B73 and probably take the B42 instead. I’m using the extra time to finish a whole slew of open items, like getting the floor, pedals and carpet finished up. Later this week I’m planning on painting the driveshaft, among other things. Things will be a lot more finished when it’s running. The new interior looks awesome. I’m liking my new pedal arrangement.

I’ve had good luck with this paint from Eastwoood. Good durability and lasts a long time.

Yeah, it’s not too far off. This color is Cat Yellow. The fluorescent lighting changes the color a lot. When I shot it the first time I thought I was way off on the color. Once it was out in natural light it looked real close. People always ask, shouldn’t it be beige or gold?. Not in this vintage. I think they’re both close enough. I’m not trying to win some concours, I want to drive it and have fun.

He also sells just the pedal for $15.

Chuck Roser carries them for $53. kingofsalvage.com

That’s what I use, 2/0, on my starter installations. Never had any issues. I’ve run two pairs of 6V’s in series to a 12V starter and two 12V’s to a 12V starter. Both work well, but I prefer the pairs of two 6V’s for the cranking reserve. I stay away from series/parallel switches completely.

I didn't repaint everything. I wasn't able to get any of the "Heavy Equipment Yellow", which was very close to the factory engine color. So, I ended up using Cat Yellow on the main assembly. Some of the accessories are that more pale yellow. After some use it'll all blend anyway.

Not yet. Still lots to hook up. I did finish the oil system today and fill the crankcase with over 8+ gallons of oil. Later, I cranked the engine on the starter, no fuel, and was able to build 40 PSI on the gauge. Fixed a clutch linkage issue, somehow installed a bell crank backwards giving a very stiff pedal. Much easier now! Had to dodge rain showers all afternoon and finally called it quits about 4:30 due to that. Stuck the hood on to give the engine some cover.

Actually, I’m trying for the Brooklyn show on 6/25. I want to get some miles on it before venturing out. Plus, I need to get the body on to add some weight over the rear axle. It really rides rough, even with the tires aired down.

Man, I got a LOT put back together today. It was faster mostly because I wasn’t fabricating every little piece and kept it pretty well organized as it came apart.

Back where it belongs!!! I was getting everything ready this morning and I lined up the engine while I was waiting for help to arrive. Then I thought, let me give this a try and with a little effort it dropped right in! It must’ve been all my previous practice that helped!!

Yup, same here. I usually put together a weekend work party with family and friends. But I need to get this done and don’t want to wait. Plus work this time of year can be unpredictable. I already lost this coming Sunday.

Got a lot reassembled today. My friend is sending me a 5,000# lift on Wednesday and on Thursday he’s loaning me a couple of his mechanics to help me set the engine back in. I only need their help for about 20 mins if it goes right and I’ve got everything ready to go. I’m leaving the intake, exhaust and water manifolds off to make it a little easier. Until then I’ve got a lot to do to get ready. I’m keeping my fingers crossed work stays quiet this week as it looks like the weekend is already disappearing.

Actually, that was my goal. My chapter has a show this coming weekend and I was hoping that would be it’s first outing, I think Brooklyn is doable.

Yeah, there might be some anger management issues with you jokesters lurking about in the shop! I'll be wracked enough trying to get the oil pressure up and then firing this off. Those first few minutes and then road tests will be hard enough without someone screwing around. I will admit to having fun with people in a shop setting, though. All in good fun.

It’s painted. All I kept thinking about while painting was “I hope I did everything right, because I’m not doing this again, dammit!!”.