Trying to make Junky perhaps just a little bit Funky...

[DD1]

The tires is a quick story. When I got the truck it had 205/70/15 on the back and 215/75/15 in the front. The rear tires are thinner than the back and when I was backing up on my ramp it made it difficult to line up the front and back tires.

When I was at the Junkyard getting parts for my wife's van, I checked to see what kind of tires they had. I wanted to get a set that matched the front or was a bit wider than the front. They didn't have the size I wanted (can't remember what that was right now), but I settled on a pair of 215/70/15's (I think). I had a local shop mount them on some rims I bought off CL a few years ago. Yesterday I mounted them on the rear. Eventually I will probably swap the front and rear tires.

The dirty one in the front is the "new" tire. I didn't take a pic yet of it on the hub.


We went to the Fall show in Carlisle and I decided to pick up a new radiator from a vendor, Auto City Classics since they had some for these trucks on site and on sale. A couple weeks after I got home I decided to order the Electric Fan and Shroud when I got a gift card for Bosses Day from my team at work. This is where it got interesting.

I called them and told them I got the radiator at the Swap Meet and wanted to buy the Fan Shroud with the fan. There was some miscommunication because when the package arrived I got the shroud with no fan. I also wanted the one they normally sell with the radiator which has dual fans, but I got a shroud with a single fan.

I will say that when I called back they were very helpful. They offered to let me exchange the shroud for a dual fan shroud which I decided wasn't worth the hassle. I ordered the 16" fan to go with the shroud I received for $24 and they shipped it for free since they made a mistake. Mistakes happen, how you handle it is what matters, and they stepped up and did the right thing.

Finally, as is often the problem with aftermarket radiators, especially those that say "Direct Fit," the radiator sits too high with the stock mounts. I order some mounts from Speedway that I plan to use as lower mounts, and hopefully I can use the stock mounts on the top.

After I carefully and nervously drilled holes and riveted the fan shroud to the radiator:


Sits just a little too high. Glad it just clears my battery tray which I extended. I was concerned about getting a radiator that would fit in the space.



Ordered this "Aluminum Radiator Mounting Bracket With Pads Kit" from Speedway, and yeah, I could probably make them myself. But for $19 (well $30 with shipping) I'd rather not waste the time trying.

[mattfranklin]

I'm getting back into my truck again. How's your progress going?

[DD1]

Originally Posted by mattfranklin

I'm getting back into my truck again. How's your progress going?

Hey Matt, how it's going? Glad to hear you are getting back to your truck. It's been slow going for me as I've been distracted by working on my wife's work van, the heat, and the cold.

I took the cab off again and started doing bondo. I hate doing bondo, wish I could find someone to do it on the side for me. I started on the back of the cab to get practice in an area no one will see. These pics are by no means the finished results.

[mattfranklin]

I totally understand distractions and avoiding Bondo. You're still ahead of me. You're doing great work.

A year ago I got a CNC plasma table and had been playing with that a lot. But this year I noticed the local police had put a chalk mark on my truck tire, so I thought since the police thought the truck hadn't moved enough, I had better move things ahead. :-)