Well, I should be getting my engine block and rotating assembly back from the machine shop this week. I stopped by last week to inspect the work and give a progress payment. The block was in the process of being honed when I was there. The new rods in my ESP rotating assembly were slightly out of round so they machined those as well. They also located new Pioneer flywheel and harmonic balancer so the assembly could be balanced.
Over the past few weeks, I've been working on the transmission. I pulled apart the parts transmission (broke two gear pullers in the process), installed the new bushings, gears and bearings into the good case (which I blasted and painted previously). I disassembled the top cover over the weekend and blasted that clean. Now I need to paint those, the PTO covers and reassemble all of those. I must say, I was impressed by the ingenuity of the design used to prevent multiple gears from being engaged at once. I also dropped the T-case out of the truck and power washed it while the weather was warmer.
So how many other people in the Philadelphia area are currently restoring, or have restored these trucks? I'd like to make some friends with people who would be willing to impart some of their wisdom on me
