"Project ShortHaul" The Build Journey

[ShortHaul]

The goods...

Untitled by awesome_adawson, on Flickr

Untitled by awesome_adawson, on Flickr

Untitled by awesome_adawson, on Flickr

Untitled by awesome_adawson, on Flickr

Untitled by awesome_adawson, on Flickr

[jonmc56]

Thanks for the pics. I should have asked you to get a pic with the MC lid off. Are the 2 reservoirs the same size? Looks like they are from the lid. Disc/drum masters will usually have a larger reservoir for the disc circuit. Also, that sure looks to me more like a distribution block from a drum/drum system, rather than a disc/drum prop valve (or more correctly, a combination valve). I'd want some others with more expertise on here to confirm, but it looks like a drum/drum setup to me. I'm no expert in brakes, just another guy working on his own truck.

It probably is worth bleeding the master to see if you can get more normal pedal. Also, any chance you have fluid seeping from a loose connection or split hose somewhere?

Thanks for the compliment on my build thread. You are right, my thread needs to be updated. Not many changes in the truck, right now I'm working on painting a few spots on the underside of the cab with POR-15, something I wish had been done when it was being painted! (what a pain to paint under a 'finished' truck (as if they are ever finished).

Jon

[ShortHaul]

Originally Posted by jonmc56

Thanks for the pics. I should have asked you to get a pic with the MC lid off. Are the 2 reservoirs the same size? Looks like they are from the lid. Disc/drum masters will usually have a larger reservoir for the disc circuit. Also, that sure looks to me more like a distribution block from a drum/drum system, rather than a disc/drum prop valve (or more correctly, a combination valve). I'd want some others with more expertise on here to confirm, but it looks like a drum/drum setup to me. I'm no expert in brakes, just another guy working on his own truck.

It probably is worth bleeding the master to see if you can get more normal pedal. Also, any chance you have fluid seeping from a loose connection or split hose somewhere?

Thanks for the compliment on my build thread. You are right, my thread needs to be updated. Not many changes in the truck, right now I'm working on painting a few spots on the underside of the cab with POR-15, something I wish had been done when it was being painted! (what a pain to paint under a 'finished' truck (as if they are ever finished).

Jon

Jon,
Yes the reservoirs are equal in size. So... if thats the case, then I could purchase a new correct MC, with the appropriate combination valve (Distribution block for rear drums, proportioning valve for front discs) and plumb that in... SHOULD (haha) get things working a bit more properly?

No leaks or seeping fluid in the system, that i could find at least... Sure feels like thats the case when i step on the brakes, but i cant find any leaks anywhere in the brake system. I'll give the MC a good bleed, and see if that improves feel at all...

I'm hear ya on the expertise subject... there are some folks on here who know these trucks like the back of their hands! I'll continue hammering the search function before I go and post a new thread, but thanks for helping me in the right direction!

[ShortHaul]

Got the rims on!!! and tires

Wheel Vintiques Series 62
15x10 rear
15x8 front

R Goodyear Eagle GTII 295/50/15
F Cooper Cobra 255/60/15

Scored the Goodyears on Craigslist, but then realized they no longer make the GTII or any white letter tire in 15"... so had to go mis-matched with the coopers up front.

Untitled by awesome_adawson, on Flickr

without caps...
Untitled by awesome_adawson, on Flickr

Front
Untitled by awesome_adawson, on Flickr

My big helper modeling the rears...
Untitled by awesome_adawson, on Flickr

[Getter-Done]

Great Progress .
You are very Lucky to have the Whole Family in on your truck Project.
That truck is looking good.

[jonmc56]

Wheels & tires look great. Truck has come a long way already!

Jon

[ShortHaul]

Thanks guys! she's coming along!

[ShortHaul]

Updated pics...

Untitled by awesome_adawson, on Flickr

by awesome_adawson, on Flickr

Untitled by awesome_adawson, on Flickr

Untitled by awesome_adawson, on Flickr

Untitled by awesome_adawson, on Flickr

Untitled by awesome_adawson, on Flickr

[ShortHaul]

Finally got all the body filler and rust off the tailgate... Sad that there's not much left of the original paint though. Clearcoated it too.

Untitled by awesome_adawson, on Flickr

Untitled by awesome_adawson, on Flickr

[ShortHaul]

Also properly adjusted the rear brakes and totally fixed the squishy pedal feel! no more bleeding needed. Stoked. Now just need time to replace the weeping water pump...

[Getter-Done]

Glad to hear you got the stopping(Brakes) Fixed.
The Tailgate looks Awesome.
I do not Want 2 Give you any Idea's that would cost You A lot of $ Money.(Yea Right)
But // Do you Know any one that Could Make a (Vinyl Wrap) for your hood to match your tailgate (Patina) ??
Your time working with that tailgate paid Off.
Because if you paint the Truck (all 1 color) later you got most of the body work done.
Do you plan to paint the truck later?

[ShortHaul]

Originally Posted by Getter-Done

Glad to hear you got the stopping(Brakes) Fixed.
The Tailgate looks Awesome.
I do not Want 2 Give you any Idea's that would cost You A lot of $ Money.(Yea Right)
But // Do you Know any one that Could Make a (Vinyl Wrap) for your hood to match your tailgate (Patina) ??
Your time working with that tailgate paid Off.
Because if you paint the Truck (all 1 color) later you got most of the body work done.
Do you plan to paint the truck later?

Interesting thought with the wrap... In fact quite a few people have been suggesting a wrap lately. Im hesitant though, you hardly ever see hot rods wrapped! Why is that? All the European sports car guys do it, the ricer tuner crowd loves them... but how come the hot rod crowd doesn't?

Not sure on the wrap... Long story is i'll eventually paint the truck, and probably shoot for a stock color, either blue or med blue green. but that will be down the road. Im thinking short term I'll try to get it sanded and bodyworked, then at least primered in one color. Might just leave the tailgate as is!

[ShortHaul]

So my latest project plan is to figure out the front suspension situation...

Upon purchase, I was informed that the truck had CPP 2" drop spindles, and "drop springs"

When installing the new wheels, having the truck up on jack stands and back down frequently, it became apparent that the springs were so short that they were becoming completely unweighted when jacking the front end up, and weren't settling fully into the spring pockets when it was dropped back down. I managed to pop them back into the pockets and it lowered the front end another 1.5" below what it had previously been.

While I like the lowered look, it also makes my headers super close to the ground, and now I'm dragging them on speed bumps and every other thing in the road... Plus I've developed a pretty noticeable clunk in the right front suspension... not sure what it is yet.

Thinking of my options for a properly lowered front end... maybe coilovers? maybe dropmember setup? Not looking to go Air, I have that on the Impala and I don't really want it on the truck...

[ShortHaul]

Oh, and I became a premium member today! Yay! I figured it was time to support the forum that has given so much valuable information and support to me along the way!

[Getter-Done]

Originally Posted by ShortHaul

Interesting thought with the wrap... In fact quite a few people have been suggesting a wrap lately. Im hesitant though, you hardly ever see hot rods wrapped! Why is that? All the European sports car guys do it, the ricer tuner crowd loves them... but how come the hot rod crowd doesn't?

Not sure on the wrap... Long story is i'll eventually paint the truck, and probably shoot for a stock color, either blue or med blue green. but that will be down the road. Im thinking short term I'll try to get it sanded and bodyworked, then at least primered in one color. Might just leave the tailgate as is!

I was (for the most part) just joking about the wrap.
But I figured it may be the thing to do in your stage of the build.
Glad to see you are Premium member now.
If you plan to paint it just follow the path you are on.

[jonmc56]

Seems odd to me that your coils are so short. I installed ECE 2.5" drop spindles and ECE 2" drop coils in front, and have never had the coils become unweighted. The front ride height of your truck looks similar to mine. I wonder if your spindles have a shorter drop, and they took more out of the coil? Have a pic of those front spindles?
Regarding wraps, I saw this cool truck at a show in Sherwood Oregon in June. Was amazed when the owner let me know that it is a full wrap. So cool. The wrap guy was also at the show (PDXWraps), I'm talking to him about doing some kind of accent, stripe or two-tone on my truck - it is a little too much 'all white' for my liking.

Anyway, I sure like the way your wheels/tires turned out!

[ShortHaul]

Originally Posted by Getter-Done

I was (for the most part) just joking about the wrap.
But I figured it may be the thing to do in your stage of the build.
Glad to see you are Premium member now.
If you plan to paint it just follow the path you are on.

No, its a good suggestion... i just have very little experience with wraps. Certainly worth looking into.

Originally Posted by jonmc56

Seems odd to me that your coils are so short. I installed ECE 2.5" drop spindles and ECE 2" drop coils in front, and have never had the coils become unweighted. The front ride height of your truck looks similar to mine. I wonder if your spindles have a shorter drop, and they took more out of the coil? Have a pic of those front spindles?
Regarding wraps, I saw this cool truck at a show in Sherwood Oregon in June. Was amazed when the owner let me know that it is a full wrap. So cool. The wrap guy was also at the show (PDXWraps), I'm talking to him about doing some kind of accent, stripe or two-tone on my truck - it is a little too much 'all white' for my liking.

Anyway, I sure like the way your wheels/tires turned out!

RE: coils and spindles: I will crawl under there hopefully today and see what's going on. I will shoot a pic of the spindles. I was told by the PO that it was a "full rebuilt front end" with "all CPP parts and 5 lug disc swap". So far I have found the PO's claims to be rather suspect, and I am really not certain what parts are in there...

Re: wrap: That truck looks awesome! I have never seen a patina wrap before! Thanks for the link, I may hit PDXwraps up and get some details...

Thanks for the compliment on the wheels/tires, i agree it totally improves the look of the truck!

[SKT]

.

I enjoy following your tastefull projects w/ this truck - it’s really coming together nice!

.

[ShortHaul]

Originally Posted by SKT

.

I enjoy following your tastefull projects w/ this truck - it’s really coming together nice!

.

Thank you!! I consider this more of an "everyman's build" compared to some of the awesome full frame off show builds on here. I am a novice in all arenas of car building, but I sure do enjoy learning along the way!


Managed to swap the water pump over the past few days...

Out with the old. It had been weeping pretty steadily out of the weep hole. Let's be honest, it was a straight stream of coolant shooting from the weep hole! The seals were shot.
Untitled by awesome_adawson, on Flickr

And in with the new... It doesn't match the pretty orange, but oh well. A couple of challenges, the alternator bracket mount was offset by about an inch, so i needed new hardware. swapped in a new belt and lower rad hose while i was at it. Other than that it went in smooth. Fired it up and so far so good no leaks!.
Untitled by awesome_adawson, on Flickr

[ShortHaul]

Also managed to diagnose the front end clunk i was hearing...

turns out the bump stop on the driver's side was missing, while the passenger's side was still in place. When the passenger's side fully compressed, the Upper A Arm contacted the stock size bump stop and allowed the super short coil spring to become unweighted and wobble around in its spring pocket. The Driver's side has no bump stop, therefore i wasn't experiencing the same issue on that side.

I realize its kind of sketchy to not have bump stops, so i'm looking at picking up a shorter set, or modifying the stockers so they don't unweight the spring.

I'm also considering swapping the springs for longer ones, but I have grown awfully fond of the slammed front end look i have going on right now...

[ShortHaul]

drove Otis in to work this morning, and he’s got a brand new sound he’s fairly proud of... a nasty howl when I let off the throttle at freeway speed... sounds like it’s coming from the trans, and only when fully off throttle... LOUD whine/howl. Any thoughts?

[Getter-Done]

My first check would be u-joints then rear end if no slack in the u-joints.

[ShortHaul]

Originally Posted by Getter-Done

My first check would be u-joints then rear end if no slack in the u-joints.

Thanks for the tip, please pardon my ignorance, but what should I be looking for in the U joints? A little bit of play in either direction?

Thought I heard a weird driveshaft rattle too, so that may be right on...

[Getter-Done]

Originally Posted by ShortHaul

Thanks for the tip, please pardon my ignorance, but what should I be looking for in the U joints? A little bit of play in either direction?

Thought I heard a weird driveshaft rattle too, so that may be right on...

Make sure to block the wheels so it won’t roll. Then put it in neutral and check for excessive movement in u-joints then if that is ok check for slack in the rear-end.
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[ShortHaul]

So I checked for play... and there was PLENTY! Not the U-joints, but in the pinion. Thing was LOOSE, a good 1/8' of movement in all directions.

So I dropped the driveshaft and sure enough the pinion nut was loose as could be. I was able turn it by hand no problem.

I did a little research on torque specs for the pinion nut, looks like its a bit more complicated than that. I'm going to snug it up and hope it gets me home.

I'm going to bring it by my local rear end shop and see what they say, might be in the market for something a little more stout, and with POSI