Re: What in Tarnation?
 

that first test drive is so much fun!!!

Re: What in Tarnation?
 

Really too old to do a test run with no seat or steering box. DID however drag it outside into the sunshine and got some pics.... My son shot a video we might download tomorrow. I can't quite get full disengagement of the clutch yet. Actually I can, just fine, but it happens after the pedaL contacts the floorboard, but there is no floorboard yet....Today I ordered a 7/8 clutch master cyl from Wilwood that should address that. It will be harder to depress, but I'm good for a few more PSI. Also, I still have a nice 46 tonner PU that came from the dry Eastern side of Wa state. It is complete but missing engine/trans. This drivetrain just may end up in that truck and the 6 cyl ford H engine could end up in my really nice red truck. Jury is still out. When the weather warms up I will degrease and paint the engine and ancillary components. My hope is for a really nice look when one opens the hood.

Re: What in Tarnation?
 

when this rig is done, why not use it for the daily business rig and dump the late model with the bad rear end? years ago i built a 47 diamond T with a 5.9 and a 10 speed twin stick mack tranny , 450 ford rear, chev 1 ton spindles on the T front axle, for the intended use of a roll back tow truck. i had the cab and chassis pretty much done, but before i built the deck the reality sunk in that i really dont do near as much interstate junk hunting as i did years ago, so i sold it. the point of this story is, i have always been mad at myself that i did not just shorten it up and put on a pickup box so i then would not have had to fight with dodge electrical problems just to have a cummins under the hood. give it some thought GB

Re: What in Tarnation?
 

Well I just don't think there is any comparison between my '92 F350 4x4
466 cu in dually diesel flatbed and the truck I am installing a 210 cu in six , 2 wd, pickup box. manual steering single master cyl drum brakes. The rig you were building was all built from very heavy duty components, and you might not have been 67 years old at that time. I have a 1/2 mile of twisty and very steep gravel road leading to my place and I haul all manner of heavily loaded trailers up here with relative ease with the mighty '92. That said, I have been having a ball with this new project. It just isn't up to the safety and performance of this later diesel.

Re: What in Tarnation?
 

I know, I know.... It was just supposed to be a stationary mockup to get things lined up and dialed in for transplant into my nice '47 tonner PU. Well it still is. Sort of. Just that yesterday my wife worked an extra shift and I was bored with my cabinet work. Add to this unseasonably cold so I had a raging fire in the shop stove. I had a totally seized steering box with shaft and wheel from a 1/2 ton. Green bible showed they were the same so I stuck the gear box end into the wood stove with the wheel 2' away from the open door. Sure enough she freed up and rolled pretty smooth after lubing it up. Then I dug up a rear driveshaft and bolted it in. After that a really junky exhaust system was worked up. With the factory cowl piece back on I hooked up a kill switch on the dash, just in case.....I mocked up an old seat from an FJ 40 landcruiser on some wood blocks. This will be bolted to the frame before I venture out. I have a rough oval track around my 10 acre piece with up and down hill grades. Won't need brakes for this. Stay tuned.

Re: What in Tarnation?
 

yeah, i have used a string on the coil wire for a kill switch for "questionable" first drives!

Re: What in Tarnation?
 

This is just a house type light switch wired into the circuit for the solenoid that shuts the fuel off when the key is switched off. As you know, diesels can be hard to turn off once started.

Re: What in Tarnation?
 

Well..... The stock market isn't the only thing that didn't go well today. I was having fun driving my turbo boosted contraption with no brakes around my hillside this morning. Well, my son showed up for work and I had to show him how this thing goes. He started taking a video.... Well ,I live on a mountainside and while getting turned around, I engaged 3rd gear instead of low and lurched downhill toward the drop off at about 25 mph. I crashed through my wife's chicken pen fence and swung around behind my boat, finally finding the kill switch and shutting down before certain disaster. Not before the fence pushed my shiney Chinese radiator into my flexo o lite fan, ruining both......My kid was taking a video and you can hear the crash through the fence and the shut down of the engine soon after. I fessed up to my wife when she got home from the clinic and promised her I won't drive this pos any more... It will be a nice set-up in my pickup as it has new brakes and new tires all around, along with all rebuilt parking brake system etc etc. The chev clutch in the cummins conversion was smoooth as silk and all systems worked as planned. Just shouldn't have driven that old frame. Living in Washington state, Corona central. , I told my son that if I get it (chronic heart patient) Just point me down that hill in high gear. Way quicker. The video is on 'garymtpickett' on youtube and called 'death trap' or similar. feel free if you know how to post a link. Yes I know I am irresponsible and nuts to do the stuff I do.

Re: What in Tarnation?
 

son of a gun...i hate when that happens! if it wernt for bad luck, a fella wunt have no luck at all. too bad that besides the "hair raising" experience it had to cost a new fan and radiator, gol dang it! on a positive note, all systems worked smoothly, except the driver, you missed the new boat, and the coop will be an easy fix, just irritated the chickens and the wife. i will look, but i assume the video to be of extremely poor quality because the kid must have been either laughing his ass off, or wobbling around worrying about what to do with all dads junk if he drives off the cliff to his demise. so sorry about the mishap, but keep us posted on the coop and the wife at least. i still say, dump the new truck, and make a driver out of this one. hills only need more gears. real men like lots of levers, i say a ten speed tranny and a 3 speed brownie, over,under, and direct should haul any load and keep the kids and neighbors from wanting to borrow it. best wishes, keep us up to date

Re: What in Tarnation?
 

The video.

https://youtu.be/6unhaM7Seww

Re: What in Tarnation?
 

And brakes. Yeah, brakes are a good idea.

Re: What in Tarnation?
 

thanks for the link mart, yeah, brakes come in handy at times too!

Re: What in Tarnation?
 

Glad to hear you survived the incident. It looked like you had the foresight to install a seat belt and use it. From the sound of the impact you would have set off the air bag if you had one.

You're a big man for sharing that with us.

Re: What in Tarnation?
 

Thanks Zeke.... At first I tried to get my son to swear not to tell anyone. But the smoke settled and the water drained from the radiator and I picked up after the mess and dragged the hulk back into the shop with the skidsteer, I decided to tell a buddy, then my wife etc. I still wasn't going to tell you guys, but then I thought of that letter in Vintage Truck a few years back. A guy was working on his starter on a 3/4 ton 4x4 chev, manual trans older truck. Truck was facing uphill in front of his closed garage door at his cul de sac. He was on his back under the front axle doing something when his wrench made contact with the starter and activated it. The truck was in granny low and he'd accidently left the key on. He did not fit under the third members so as the truck dragged him through the garage door and out the the back wall, he was in very critical condition, near death. He wrote the letter to the magazine upon return home from 6 months in the hospital. He is why I installed the kill switch as I always remember that story. At 21.5 compression ratio, my jalopy stopped pretty quickly once I hit the switch. But please, have good brakes too.......

Re: What in Tarnation?
 

Today I pulled the whole engine/trans assembly from the frame, along with the clutch master and slave and the weird u joints and the remote oil filter, and the ford H six cyl throttle linkage, and all the other stuff that makes this small cummins look like a flathead v8'. The afternoon sun was shining deep into the shop and for almost three hours I was listening to old country music and never thought a lick about the corona virus. Of course when I came into the house I hear that Joe Diffie *(Pickup Man) just passed from the virus.......

Re: What in Tarnation?
 

no virus in my shop either. when they close the hardware store i'll be pissed

Re: What in Tarnation?
 

I still need a couple of fine thread 3/8 nylocks for the crossmember....

Re: What in Tarnation?
 

I know my builds aren't ready for an early V8 meet or Pebble Beach for sure, but I wanted you guys to know that all my stuff isn't total hillbilly slacker stuff. I have been having a blast in quarantine welding and painting band fine tuning this little 210 cu in six cyl diesel into my tonner. The PO had sandblasted the frame and I did the brakes and suspension and kingpins two years ago. Once we pulled the front clip off it was easy to paint the frame and the firewall and yes, the engine. I have all the ancillary componets built and on the shelf to button this up. Unfortunately tomorrow is Monday and I have to get back to work in the woodshop, while I still can. As always, stay tuned!

Re: What in Tarnation?
 

looks pretty good for a hillbilly, and thats a fact coming from another hillbilly. what trans are you running, i forgot, looks like the gm bell housing. one of my 5.9's i had rebuilt and the cummins factory cream colored paint would not come off with two dunks in the builders caustic tank, so we left it on. keep up the reports, skip

Re: What in Tarnation?
 

Slightly O/T, but cool.:cool: