'86 3+3

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Both bedsides are off.  I've decided for sure on doubled 2x10 walls forming a stepside with 2X10 skirts, that will come another time... I am working on a trade:  my '81 Yamaha Maxim project bike for the lumber I need, I don't see myself working on the bike any time soon so the lumber will be useful at this stage of the game.

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Thought I'd post some pics of my work space, I work at the base auto hobby club so my personal hours there are free.  5 hoists, 3 floor bays, tire changing machines, plasma cutter, welders, everything you could ask for except a paint booth... I'll cross that bridge when the time comes...

The grey van was a donor for my old dodge shorty van V8 conversion.

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I've gathered all the lines and fittings I need to install my twin tranny coolers (I was going to sell one to recover the cost of the other since I got them both at the Pick N Pull, but I think I've decided on a twin setup for good measure).  This is also a good time to install the new radiator, also a PNP find, looks to be brand new, brass tanks, not sure how many rows but it was in a dually with a large (at least 10-12 foot) service body, so it must be at least 2 row.  My tranny is leaking, havent looked to see where from, but with it being low on fluid it's also a good time to do this so there will potentially be less of a mess to deal with, coolant is an ugly colour so it needs to be flushed anyways.

[thirsty]

Nice shop!

[vervepipes]

Hmm, things never go as planned... The 2 tranny coolers are in, temporarily held in by zip ties, but the "brand new" used radiator is about 2" shorter, so the top mounts have zero contact with them.  Looks like I'll have to fab something up.  It really surprises me considering it came from a dually cab and chassis work truck... Oh well, if my temp guage worked I'd be able to tell if it cools as well...  My tools are such a mess right now because we have our house for sale, so everything's crammed into the back of my minivan, that makes it hard to keep track of what's where...

[paniolo]

Thats a cool shop area!  Nice to have some heavy equipment.

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Rad's in, the tranny coolers are too and the rad's solid enough to drive around until I either fab something or get the proper mounts.

The best part of the shop is that lifts are 4 bucks an hour, and floor bays are 2 bucks per hour to rent and most car parts stores in town give a discount for the base auto club members.

The most "wild" thing I've built in this shop was an '85 Toyota tercel 4wd wagon with a block from a 1.6 corolla and the head of the 1.5 tercel, larger tires and a push bar.  I miss that car...

[beastie_3]

I loved going to the auto shop on base when I was in.

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Think I've figured out the temp gauge not working.  The green single wire was hanging down so it was easy to see that it wasn't connected, however the temp sender itself is the wrong type, with more of a nipple connection.  I tried to work something out temporarily by wrapping some extra wire around the nipple and twisting it snugly with lockwire pliers, but still nothing on the gauge... Also found that my rad hose was leaking and one of my brand new spark plug wires had a hole burnt through it, so I tightened the coolant line and wrapped the wire in self vulcanizing electrical wrap, the kind used on aircraft wiring repair, shelf life expired so it can't be used on aircraft but still good for other uses.

Well, next pay I guess I'm buying the proper sender and while I'm at it, new coolant hoses since I'll have the coolant out. 

On the bright side of things, it looks like the previous owner installed a petcock on the block to drain coolant where a regular plug would normally be, so it should be easier to do a proper drain/flush.  Also noticed that the power steering hoses are new and the sealant on the diff is fresh looking, however it is still leaking a fair bit out the pinion seal.

By the way, still under $600 so far including purchase, air cleaner assembly, spark plugs and wires, oil and filter yet to be changed, two tranny coolers, tranny filter and oil, headers, radiator and coolant.  Maybe there's a few things I've forgotten in the list, it is late at night after all.

[vervepipes]

While changing the engine oil and filter today I decided to check the valve cover tie downs, all were loose so hopefully when I de-grease the engine it will stay tidy.  All of the carb bolts were loose too, one I could unscrew by hand and the others needed at least 1/4 turn before I felt the snug contact.  Oddly though the truck ran fine with the carb that loose.  I cut open the fuel filter too and it looked partially plugged with rusty deposits.  I plan on getting plastic tanks if I can find any to avoid that in the future, but for now hopefully the new filter solves the hesitation on hard accelleration.  One brake line from the master cylinder was loose too, it amazes me how much stuff was loose and still functional, although there were some signs of the brake leak.  I'd better go through this one with a fine toothed comb! lol

So I was driving out of the car wash with the new minivan and I spotted a wreck of a truck in the ally.  I took my chances and muddied up my newly cleaned grocery getter and although it is a rusty pile with no motor or hood or windows, it has a nice tube grille on it.  I knocked on the guy's door and asked, and he said he'd sell me the grille for 40 bucks.   I guess he just got the truck for the motor and has had the rest sitting in the ally way collecting grass and rust.  When I go back to collect my prize I'll check out the condition of the rest like the exhaust and tranny, maybe I'll offer him 100 for the entire truck, especially if the hood is in decent shape.

Kind of makes me want to scan the town one road at a time!

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So I may have to head to Edmonton tomorrow morning, good news is I found a incomplete set (5) of 19.5" dually wheels with good tires for a measly $120, so I'm going to pick those up and either run singles on the back for the time being, or wait to find another 2(a spare is always a good idea) to do the swap.  I like the idea of the 19.5's having a smaller sidewall with less flex since this will likely haul a 2 car gooseneck in the future.

[big bear]

good find man. 120 great deal long as there not thrashed.  make sure you get pics if you do indeed pick them up. id love to see em.

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So the toughness of this truck never ceases to amaze me.  I drained the tranny oil and changed the filter, and there must have been a complete needle bearing on the magnet, in various sized pieces.  Lots of gear teeth chunks too.  Looks like I'm gonna hunt for another TH400, maybe the truck I spotted a tube grille on it will have one, and hoping the guy will let it go cheap, maybe $100 for the whole truck if I haul it out of his yard.

I'll definately take pics of the rims, they don't look too old and have loads of tread left.  I think it's off an '02 Silverado HD, so the bolt pattern should still be 8 on 6.5.  Tires still look to have over 70% left.  Add says perhaps trade for tires to fit his F350, maybe I can pull my tires off and leave the truck on bare rims while I go to the city tomorrow... Or then again, I could probably get more than that selling them locally.  Like I said though, it's only 5 rims so I'll have to run single in the back until I can locate hopefully 3 more in the future, not like I'll be hauling any time soon with the condition of the gearbox...

[vervepipes]

Found a near-twin to my truck (mine originally had red rims when I bought it, rattle canned them black as soon as I could).  I like the look of the 19.5's, not something you see every day, I'd probably sand blast them and paint them either white or silver though, maybe even the tremclad blue I plan on painting my truck with...
 edit

the link went dead, I'm not heading to the city today anyways, so those rims will likely be sold by then at that price.  I'll have to keep a lookout locally.  On a side note, the wood bedside framework is up and the brackets are welded to the bed floor, just need 2x4's and 1x4's to complete the job.  The plywood I used as a template was free, courtesy of the scrap pile behind the base wood hobby club, so hopefully somebody tosses some 1x4 before payday so I can finnish the bedsides and new tailgate.  Pics to come when I find the camera, the joys of constantly cleaning because the house is for sale...

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Found the box with my camera, however the sunset made for poor quality photographs