It's been a while since my last update, but I've had a major breakthrough!
my truck made it through it’s bi-yearly roadworthy test. (MOT in the UK, no idea what it’s called in the US. ! I had it registered as “off the road” back in 2011, so I didn’t have to go for the obligatory MOT checks.
3 weeks ago I just wanted to know where I stood so I drove over to a certified garage who did the test.
it failed the test as I expected, but on far less critical points then I thought might cause a problem.
- Brakes had sufficient power, but the pedal went all the way to the floor.
- left headlight gave of a weird image
- Oil leakage on the right exhaust, which wasn't there before, but apparently started on my drive over.
- missing high beam indicator in the dash
Well the brakes where my main concern, seeing how I have been messing about with them. So we did another round of bleeding them, I then re-adjusted the rear shoes and getting them even tighter into the drums.
The problem is that my new aftermarket drums do NOT have a hole on the face side so the drums have to come off to adjust the shoes. But perhaps I can drill a hole in the backing plate?
Anyway this did improve the travel of the brake pedal somewhat, but it was still too deep in my opinion.
As a last resort..which perhaps should have been my first..I adjusted the brake pedal. The pedal couldn’t go any higher, so by making the pushrod longer I put some “pre-tension” on the Master brake cylinder?
I had no idea if this was going to do the trick or would just get my brakes to drag.
Well seeing I made the MOT, you can guess the answer…my bakes are finally, working properly! I had about 2,5KN (Kilo Newton) of stopping power at every wheel..so I’m a happy camper. I haven’t tried to get it in a 4 wheel lock, but I’m sure I’ll manage.
Then I turned my attention to the oil leakage which I hadn’t encountered before, mind you, this 2,5 Mile was the longest drive I had since I started this project…
It turned out to be the return oil line for the trans. It had been rubbing against a sharp edge and I didn’t spot it before, so I guess the drive over to the garage was its waterloo. I put in new lines, re-routed them and now it’s all hunky-dory.
For the High beam indicator we really went ‘out of the box’..or perhaps it had to do with having consumed large amounts of beer at that particular hour.
We fit a lamp in some 1” tubing and tie-ripped it to the top of the dash…MOT approved!
I then went for a 50mi testdrive and nothing came off, nothing caught fire, but if was @#$$@!# cold!! Oh yes, my heater still need to be fixed among a 1000 other things, but at least I am now legal to drive it for the coming 2 years!
A while ago my old wiper motor just stopped without reason, so after checking the fead and ground I chose to change the motor. I picked up a refurbished one and to my surprise it didn’t work.
So I pulled it apart and found this:
I then made a hybrid out of the old and ‘new’ one and got it working. All I need now is a washer tank and pump, but I’ll order the universal kit from LMC
Another thing that was missing was a battery holding bracket and I got creative an build my own from some old shift rods.
One question I have is about this ridiculous big antenna hole? Its on my cowl on the right side and measures 34mm (1.3 Inch)
Is that a normal spot for the antenna?
And last but not least, after being declared road legal again we had to celebrate!
This thread will stay alive, because my list of to-do’s is a mile long and I will keep you updated on the progress.
Stuff i need to do:
Restore the bed, finish the inside of the cab (trim, heater, carpet, seat belts etc), probable a suspension renewal incl swaybar…and god knows what else
So stay tuned people!