Snowy Trucks

I had the Travelall out to run downtown to pick up some lunch before the County sprayed the roads down with salt. I have to admit, the electric fuel pump I installed has really spoiled me, because it only takes about 3 seconds to prime the carb and one pump of the pedal, and she fires right up. I do have to bleed the brake system again, and I suspect I’ll need to replace the last legacy line left (the one going down the driver’s side frame rail) to permanently fix some lingering sticky brake issues.

The Scout has always taken some more judicious stomping of the pedal and cranking to get fuel up to the bowl, but fires up and smooths out almost immediately. I let her idle for a good 15 minutes and used her toasty defroster to warm my fingers up before finishing the front walk. She’s back in the garage napping peacefully.

Meanwhile, I’m firming up the plans for a Scout recovery mission next weekend. Brian has volunteered his truck and trailer, Bennett is on board, and our friend David asked to come along as well. Provided the field isn’t a muddy swamp, it should be relatively straightforward to back the trailer in, swap some good wheels on for the bad ones, and winch it onto the trailer. With all of that in mind, I’ve got a recovery list started:

  • Ratchet straps
  • Two solid wheels (these are checked and ready to go)
  • Lug wrench
  • Hi-lift
  • Compressor and short hose with tire inflator
  • C-clamps for the top
  • 1/2 bolts for the top?
  • Snatch straps
  • Impact wrench/toolbox
  • PBblaster!
  • Come-along (I know we’ve got one; maybe Bennett has this?)

The only question mark is where the halfcab and rollbar will go. They’re not currently on the truck and the hardware is MIA, so we’ll have to ratchet them down to the truck in the worst case—I can always throw the doors in the back of my CR-V.

The dropoff plan is to back the trailer up the neighbors’ driveway and basically pull or push it down the hill across my backyard to sit between the garage and greenhouse. This way it’s out of eyesight from the street but close enough to the garage that I can throw an air hose or extension cord out the back window.

Posted on   |   by bill   |   Leave a Comment on Snowy Trucks  |  Posted in Friends, Future Plans

Badges, Version 3

When last I left the dealer badge project, I was looking for another option. Melted tin was too imperfect. Resin made very good examples but I couldn’t find a mixture strong enough to stand up to the heat I’d be expecting. So I was considering something drastic, like making a sand cast aluminum version: I’d have to buy the sand, make a buck, build a furnace and crucible, and pour a number of examples before I got something I liked. That was going to be a winter project.

Yesterday, Brian and I were catching up on the EV project and he mentioned he had a local guy 3D print him some parts while we’re waiting around for an adapter to materialize. I asked what his cost was and when he told me I got excited. It turns out the guy is very local and very reasonable, and has access to PVC thread, so I asked Brian to send over my dealer badge file. Within a day he’d printed a test run, which looked great.

I had him print a handful for me, and Brian picked them up last night. I couldn’t be more jazzed.

PVC should be much more resistant to UV and heat; the final pieces have a lot more ridges and imperfections to be sanded off than the versions I printed at the library, but I’ll be happy to sit in front of a football game and clean these up if it means they don’t melt off the back of the truck in August sunshine.

Posted on   |   by bill   |   2 Comments on Badges, Version 3  |  Posted in Design

Saturday Tinkering

The weather was reasonably warm (~40F˚) on Saturday, and I had some stuff to catch up on out in the garage, so I got my cold weather gear on and got to it.

  • The rear axle on the Travelall has been a mystery for a while, so I wanted to do some research on it. I jacked up the back of the truck, put it on stands, and pulled both of the rear wheels off. Measuring from mounting surface to mounting surface, the rear axle is 60.75″ wide, which equals a “narrow track” Dana 44. Then I scrubbed the ID tag on the axle enough to reveal what looks like the numbers 3.73–which is a surprise, because the LST says it should be a 4.10. A 3.73 axle is a little more highway-friendly, but I’d like something even lower. I think I’m going to have to jack it back up and measure out the revolutions to be sure of what I’ve got.
  • I finally got both of the latches for the rear lockbox installed and working. I’d ordered thicker and longer catches from SendCutSend, and after a little filing they fit on the locks perfectly. Now I want to find a simple way to build a tray inside each  for organizing tools and spare parts.
  • I blew the dust out of the gauges in the Travelall so that they’ll show up a little better at night. I did find that the right-side gauge light isn’t working, which might be the reason some of the other lights are acting funky. I have to consult the wiring diagram to see what circuit that lives on, and why it’s not working (everything tested perfectly before it was installed).
  • I moved the trucks around to see what kind of space I’ll have for the Scout 800, and it looks like I can tuck it in behind the Travelall and in front of the garage without blocking the doors.
  • Finally, I reorganized the available floor space in the garage, which was getting crowded.

We’ve had two bouts of winter weather so far: last Monday they pre-salted the roads and delayed school 2 hours for what amounted to a cold rainstorm. On Thursday we actually got about 1″ of snow, and the plows came through to salt everything. So the trucks will be off the roads until we get a good heavy rainstorm and things dry out, which is both a bummer but also means I can get started pulling springs out of the Travelall.

Posted on   |   by bill   |   Leave a Comment on Saturday Tinkering  |  Posted in Progress

A New Project?

A couple of months ago I went bushwhacking with Bennett at Dan’s place, helping him catalog all of the vehicles up in the woods so that the family could sell them. I wasn’t interested in anything up there, and I had no idea what condition anything was in.

As we talked to the family, and they talked with another friend who was in a position to buy the majority of the vehicles as a lot, he gave a market price for each truck, and that number got me interested in one of the Scout 800s still up there. It’s the tan truck that was run and parked right behind the house, and when we first looked at it, the entire back half was covered in vines. I’d peeked underneath and found that it was full of garbage but the rear bed waas mostly intact, as well as the front footwells. We peeked in the engine compartment and found everything was still there.

Thinking it over some more, and being heavily invested in Brian’s EV project, I considered buying both of the Scouts for “research”. Bennett told me the blue Scout was mostly Bondo but the tan Scout was solid, and had been in excellent shape when it was parked. So I drove back up on Saturday to look it over.

Let me be clear: it’s not pretty. Having sat out in the elements with no top for ten years, it’s filled with dirt and debris. The paint is faded, and two of the four tires are flat. The aforementioned vines had covered the rear bed and trapped moisture underneath, as well as the rear bench seat.

The sheet metal on the outside is in reasonably good shape, although the rockers and B-pillar on both sides are shot—which is no surprise. The front fenders, cowl, and hood are in decent shape, and the tailgate looks good. Inside, the passenger footwell has several holes at the corner, but the driver’s side is solid. Both sides will need to be replaced, but it’s flat metal and easy to fix. The rear floor is the worst part: after years under two inches of dirt, the rear section is crispy. The worst part is the section behind the bulkhead, where the rear seat disintegrated and trapped water up against the vertical section. There are several holes in the metal here.

The original seats were pulled out and replaced with plastic racing buckets, which are interesting, to say the least. The dash has been exposed to the elements, so it’s covered in surface rust, and the padding is long gone. But the transmission hump is in great shape, and all of the parts are there.

Under the hood the engine is complete. It’s a 4-cylinder 196 with a frozen Holley 1904 carb and oil bath air cleaner. I put a socket on the crank and was able to move it slightly; in hindsight I never checked to see if it was in gear.

Having looked it over, I walked back into the woods to find the doors and bring them back out to the truck. Brendan had done a lot of work to drag the trucks he wanted out near the road, so it was much easier to walk back there and get to the parking area. I hauled both of the doors back out to the truck and hefted them up into the bed. They’re both in reasonably good shape for having sat on the ground for years. The lower edges haven’t crumbled to dust, which was a relief.

Behind the garage is a pile of extra parts that I wanted to look through, and I found a semi-intact half cab roof with a window that looks like it went with this truck.

I told Dan’s family I’m going to buy this truck. The price is too low to pass it up, and Scouts are getting rarer on the ground in this area. it’s just good enough to be worth something, and the price is right. I’m not too worried about being able to free the engine up, as I’ll have plenty of time to soak the pistons and get things moving, and the experience I’ve got with the Travelall will help me troubleshoot any issues. I’ve got three spare Scout wheels under the porch, so I can swap out the flats to get it rolling.

A long time ago we told Finley I’d fix a Scout up for her, and I did mean it, but always wondered how I’d swing it, knowing they’re not getting any cheaper. This could be the way into that. The long-term plan is to make this into a runner, and then maybe we’ll see about making it another EV project.  I think it would be fun as hell to have a typical crusty Scout body on top of a slick EV chassis, but that’s in the future. For now, I’ve got to make the deal and drag it home after the Thanksgiving break.

Posted on   |   by bill   |   Leave a Comment on A New Project?  |  Posted in Future Plans

Recovery

Bennett sent the Old Line Mafia a bunch of pictures last night that he got from Brendan, showing the the trucks at Dan’s being pulled out of the woods. It looks like Brendan went in there with a bushhog and a dozer and cleared out a ton of the brush and trees. He’s now got all the trucks staged to where he can haul them out one at a time.

He also pulled the blue Scout 800 up to the front where Brian and I can haul it out. If Dan’s family can find the title, we are hoping to grab that and the tan 800 for scientific research and R&D on the EV project.

Posted on   |   by bill   |   Leave a Comment on Recovery  |  Posted in Friends, Future Plans

Back and Forward

When we last left off, I was rebuilding the original Carter glass fuel pump that came on Darth Haul. I did that two weekends ago but had to wait on re-installing it around work and the weather. At lunchtime last week I ran outside and put it in, filled the carb bowl with gas and started the engine, keeping an eye on the fuel pump. After three tries it wasn’t pulling any fuel.

I brought the spare from the green truck inside, tore it down, and cleaned that one up. I replaced two of the rubber valves and put it back together, and the valves worked when I tested them. On Saturday I swapped that unit in and repeated the process, but it wasn’t pulling fuel either. I brought the original back to the bench, preloaded the main valve properly, and swapped it back in the truck, but it still wasn’t pulling fuel. Frustrated, I gave up, ordered an adjustable pressure regulator on Prime, and turned to other things.

One of those included a dump run, so I loaded up the Scout and took her out for a test spin—the first long drive after replacing the rotors. This went flawlessly; the brakes feel great. They’re even and smooth, and the truck doesn’t jerk to the left anymore. And most importantly, they’re not cooking the wheel hubs like they were before. I’m going to jack up each side and tighten the bolts one more time, but I think that task is complete.

The regulator showed up Sunday morning so I pulled the hose off the mechanical pump and put the electric pump back on, followed by the regulator and a transparent filter. The engine turned right over and the idle settled down after I opened the choke up all the way. I did three test drives: one around the block, one around the neighborhood, and one to Ellicott City to get my hair cut. The truck ran perfectly, and most importantly the front brakes stayed cool and free, which means my second bleed of the system seems to have worked.

I’m not happy about having the electric system cobbled back in, but I’m tired of futzing with the mechanical system right now, so I’m going to stick with this until the spring and sort out the issues then.

Next up, I’ve got some small things to tackle and then some big ones:

  • It sounds stupid, but I’d like to have dome lights in the truck. The lead for the light exists and it does have power, but I’m unclear as to how the circuit is switched on and off. If it’s anything like the Scout, the light switch on the dash controls the dome circuit (there are no door switches) but it shouldn’t currently be live like it is. I’ve got four original IH dome lights ready to be wired in series—two for over the seats and two for over the cargo area; I just need to read up on the wiring diagram for these. Oh—and this will require…
  • Installing the headliner bows. I’ve got these etch primed and ready for paint, but don’t have a headliner solution in hand.
  • It would be nice to have a speaker wired into the dash for the radio; there’s a spot for a single 4″x10″, but I have to buy something to put in.
  • I ordered some stuff from SendCutSend last week: two pairs of lock latches for the seat box that are slightly longer than the ones that came with the locks, as well as a new improved version of the cupholder mount. The latches should be long enough to actually lock, and I can then store tools and parts in the truck securely. The cupholder is modified to have wider openings for the cups so that I can add rubber sound deadening around the openings, and narrower at the flat section so that it doesn’t collect so much dust. I also added holes for the mounting bolts. This will get welded up and prepped for install this week.
  • The rear floor is completely unbolted from the truck because I want to pull the rear springs out and have them rebuilt. Doing this with the floor out will make life much easier, but I’m going to wait until the roads get salty and I’m not driving her as much.
  • I also want to cut out the crappy floor repair on the driver’s side and replace it with new sheet metal. It’s going to take one flat sheet of 24″ x 32″ steel, with a slight bend at the front side and a gentle lip on the A-pillar. I’m going to have to pull the front bench up and drill out a couple of the spot welds on the vertical bench support to get underneath—the rot goes under the corner support I built this spring, so that’s going to take some careful surgery.

Meanwhile, there’s a good chance the stash of trucks up at Dan’s house includes a 16″ wheel with a 4.5×5 bolt pattern, which I would love to swap for the mismatched wheels on the driver’s front of the truck. There’s nothing wrong with the wheel itself other than it won’t accept a fancy IH dome hubcap like the other three, and I would like to be matchy-matchy before I paint them all white. We’re still waiting on the family to find titles for the two 800’s up there so that Brian and I can buy them and haul them off.

Build Season on YouTube has a great two-part series on reviving a D-series pickup, which is great to see:

Posted on   |   by bill   |   Leave a Comment on Back and Forward  |  Posted in Brakes, Purchasing, To-Do List, Travelall

On Time

I bribed Bennett with a T-shirt. Well, a T-shirt and an R-series doorhandle. Actually, a T-shirt, doorhandle, and donuts.

Realizing I’m way over my head trying to sort out the timing issue on Darth Haul, I figured it was time to bring in the big guns. Bennett has years of experience with all manner of different vehicles, and I figured that knowledge was what I needed to figure out what the hell is happening. I got all of my tools prepared, pulled the Scout forward and was finishing up installing a replacement hydraulic line to the clutch when Bennett walked down the driveway. I already had the engine monitor and my timing light hooked up, and over our first donut I explained all of the symptoms and what I’d done to date. We puzzled over things for a bit, and he wisely suggested starting with the basics: verifying the #8 cylinder was at TDC, then making sure the rotor was pointed in the right direction. We used my compression tester to bump the engine, and then went to the old-school method where I laid underneath and turned the crank bolt by hand until we hit the compression stroke.

When we found that, we looked at the timing mark on the flywheel and found that where it should have been pointing at 0, it was actually somewhere past 25˚ advanced, which was….very wrong. We verified we were at TDC again, made sure to mark where the rotor was pointing, verified the plug wires were all in the right order, and scratched our heads a bit. Then we tried cranking the truck over to see where the timing was. It was, of course, very bad, and running choppier than it had been before, blowing clouds of white smoke.

Shutting it down, we considered pulling the distributor and moving it back a tooth, figuring maybe the balancer had slipped or the distributor had been stabbed erroneously, but Bennett scratched his head a little more and started looking at the carburetor. We verified all the connections were correct, put a hose on the EGR valve (which was plugged off, as was the port on the back of the carburetor) and started the truck again. This made it happier, and while it was still choppy, it ran a little better. Bennett messed with the distributor while I read out the RPM, but we couldn’t get it to smooth out or calm down.

We then started fooling with the metering jets on the carb, and Bennett was puzzled at the fact that they were only open a half a turn while the engine was obviously running very rich. He then asked me if I knew how much pressure the electric pump was putting out, which I didn’t. He thought about that for a minute and suggested that maybe the electric pump was overfilling the bowl, which was why the engine was running rough. He’d had this very problem in a Mustang years ago, and knew that the Holley 2300 doesn’t like anything above 4 lbs. of pressure. So we rigged up a vacuum feed to the carb with a squeeze bottle full of gas and used that to fill the bowl. That seemed to make a difference, and then we carefully started dialing in the proper metering and the idle circuit. In a couple of minutes, we had the RPM down to about 800 and the engine running smoothly. He put the timing light on it and found that it was only 15° advanced, which was a huge improvement over where it had been before. Letting it idle off the gravity feed, I was amazed at how much better it sounded and smoother it ran.

Grinning, we both stood back and let it run for a bit until it ran out of gas. He had work to do at home, so he took off at about 2 o’clock, and I got Finn to help me bleed the brake system one more time. Then I went to the basement, set up my tools on the workbench, and started rebuilding the Carter fuel pump. This is the original pump off the truck, and should allow for the proper fuel pressure going to the carb. I followed the directions in a YouTube video posted by the company who made the kit, and found it very easy—almost meditative. With the football game on over my workbench and a cold beer next to the toolbox, it was a nice way to spend a Sunday afternoon. The whole pump is now ready to go, minus a fuel filter, which is at the local Napa to pick up. Hopefully tomorrow afternoon it’ll dry out and I can stick it in place during my lunch break.

Posted on   |   by bill   |   2 Comments on On Time  |  Posted in Carburetor, Friends, Travelall