Mission: 800 Recovery

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Mission: Recover Dan’s 800 was successful. More successful than I had anticipated, actually. The Saturday-morning plan was for Brian to bring his fancy new aluminum trailer over from the Eastern Shore for its maiden recovery mission, which meant we needed to meet early so that he could get back home in the afternoon for an appointment. So Bennett and David and I met up before dawn in my driveway and we did a convoy of Hondas stuffed with recovery gear to Dan’s house, with a brief stop at Dunkin’ for fuel. The second-gen Honda CR-V is now the official chase car/recovery vehicle of the Old Line State Binders.

Brian pulled up shortly after we got there, and thankfully the field was dry and cold enough to be solid under the axles of the trailer. After walking the route, we found it clear and dry enough to drive on, so Bennett and I pulled as close as we could to the 800 and started unloading tools.

I gave the family cash and got a bill of sale for the truck, although there’s no VIN number I can find anywhere—on some trucks it was bolted to the firewall and on others it was bolted to the door. This truck has neither, so getting a title is going to be a challenge—but I have two good options there. Later on I’ll scrape the frame rail to find the true VIN and get a lineset ticket.

Brian is a pro at navigating through narrow corridors, and quickly had the trailer backed up to the truck. While he was doing that I started loosening lug nuts—and found out quickly that the driver’s side studs are reverse thread. I’d brought two spares for the front tires, and with an assist from Brian’s corded impact gun (run off the plug on the back of his Ford hybrid, very trick) and my Hi-Lift jack, we had the wheels swapped and the truck ready to roll very quickly. (Note to self: diagnose and repair the lowering linkage on the Hi-Lift). Running the line out from his winch, I hopped up into the Scout, put it in neutral, and we quickly had it up on the trailer. It went so smoothly, in fact, we had it strapped down and ready to move by 9AM. I threw the two bad tires in the back as well as an original skinny 7″ steel wheel and we strapped all of the loose parts down.

Then we went bushwhacking behind the garage and David and I walked the steel half-cab to the bed of Brian’s truck. With that in place, My task was done, but we wanted to stop back in the woods to see if we could get the visor off the junk Travelall for Bennett, as well as scope out the bed extensions on the other pickup. With a bunch of PBblaster, verious screwdrivers and a BFH we got the visor and the mounts off the truck, as well as some other doodads.

With that stuff secured, and a final survey of the remaining vehicles in the bushes, we checked the straps again and got on the road for home. Back at the house, my neighbor moved his second car out of the driveway so Brian could back the trailer up and straight into our yard. We dropped it in between the garage and the greenhouse with few problems, folded up all the straps, and cleared out.

With that done, I treated the guys to a hearty breakfast down the street, and we all marveled over how quickly the job went. Back at the house I handed off some tools and a vise to Brian, and a spare wheel and the manual shift column I’d collected to David, a nd everyone left for home around 1PM. I came inside and promptly fell asleep on the couch with a snoring dog, which was exactly what I needed.

On Sunday I took advantage of a free hour to pull the spark plugs and dump some Marvel Mystery Oil down to the pistons, as well as pull the carburetor to soak in cleaner. The plugs were fouled with carbon as was the carburetor, which means it was running too rich when it was parked. The whole truck is filthy, which is no surprise, so it’ll need a good pressure wash before I can really start tearing things apart. The plan is to move Peer Pressure up to Brian’s place, where he’s got a spare garage bay he can rent me in January with a plug for a trickle charger while the weather is salty. I’ll keep the 800 at the house where I can work on getting it moving, and leave the Travelall napping in the driveway.

I have a crap-ton of video to edit over the holiday break, including some drone footage I shot before I crashed it into a tree and broke one of the legs. So that repair job is also on the calendar. But stay tuned, it’ll be live soon!

Big thanks to Bennett, David, and Brian for all their help and another fun early-morning tetanus adventure!

Posted on   |   by bill   |   Leave a Comment on Mission: 800 Recovery  |  Posted in Friends, Purchasing, Trip Logs

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