Still eating that elephant! Since last time, I've been putting the engine together. Last year, I finally learned how to rebuild an engine and since that short time, this is my third one! I did (2) 454's last year so doing the 350 was no problem.
As mentioned in the last update, I've taken the whole front suspension & steering apart and now have treated the parts to 2 coats of POR 15. Everything has been reinstalled with many new parts including; front drums, wheel cylinders, brake shoes, spring kits, brake hoses and wheel seals. My ball joint boots were all torn so I opted to just replace all 4 of the ball joints as I couldn't find just the boots since it's a 1 ton and parts like those are impossible to locate. Most of this truck is going to be brand new!
Soon I'll be done with the frame work and I can spray on a coat of Chassis coat and call that part of the job done. The frame has been the hardest part so far and the most work! After that's done, a little work on the cab floor will finish that up followed by a coat of red oxide primer there. I will then be able to put the cab back on the frame where it will live for at least the rest of my lifetime.
Once I'm to that point, the engine will go in and I will get it runnning so I can break in the cam. That should take me close to mid fall so will be time to wind things down a little. At this stage, the hard stuff will be done. Next year will be alot more fun!
Over the winter, I have a few projects set aside to do in my garage such as reupholster the seat, install the door skins and prep the fenders. Since I can bring those into my garage, I'll keep those for the cold weather.
Speaking of weather, it's been so hot around here (and most of the country!) I took some time off of the cab & frame and worked inside the garage out of the heat. I rebuilt the carburetor and the distributor. I also continued the never ending process of cleaning, blasting, primering and painted all the various bolts, fasteners and small odds/ends. Sometimes it feels like there's no end to that.
Lately I've gotten back to the cab, I finished up the last few welds on the rockers and I'm doing any body work on the lower areas that needs to be done. Much easier to do this now that the cab is tipped onto it's firewall.
While the cab is still tipped up, I will be painting the ceiling. The typical paint gun isn't designed to be sprayed while tilted back very far so this can be a challenge in the normal position of the cab. Much better to do that now and I'll get a sneak peak at the new shade of 514 red (orange in my opinion!) which should help in the motivation department.
