I’ve been all over the place chasing different projects around based on shifting priorities and cashflow opportunities, and I’m realizing I’m not making a lot of directed progress in any single direction. So here’s a modified list of tasks in order of importance:
Get the truck running. This seems pretty obvious, and I’ve been trying to keep this going. I had Erick over this week, and we’ve diagnosed the issue to the distributor. I have a new one ordered from IHPA on the way, and Erick is going to help me stab it and get things running.
$350 for a new distributor, plus Erick’s time
Paint the roof and other parts. I’ve got 3/4 of the roof sanded and filled with Bondo; I have to get the remainder filled, sanded down, and primed for paint as quickly as possible. I don’t want to leave Bondo or primer out for long, as they both collect moisture, so the second big push will be to get it covered with a fresh coat of IH Red. I’ll probably shoot it twice in the driveway and wet sand it between coats for a good solid finish.
$150 for the paint
$100 for an HLPV gun
Fix the brakes. After getting it started, I need to get it to stop. The master reservoir is bone dry and rusty, so we need to replace the whole thing. I’ve got replacement shoes, two cylinders, and a mounting kit ordered from Amazon for the rear axle, which I’m going to attack myself. When the truck is mobile, that will make repairs much easier.
$100 Fixing the rear brake system
$250 for master cylinder, hoses
Fix the cowl rust before replacing the windshield. I woke up in the middle of night thinking about this list, and for some reason this was the first thought in my mind. This could be a slippery slope: this is the literal definition of “scope creep”. But if I’m pulling the windshield out already, I’m worried about the cowl rusting any more than it already is, and I have a welder on hand looking for some work (Erick), I’m thinking I should tackle this now. There’s a guy on Binder Planet who has a C-series pickup with the same cowl rust my truck does. He used a spot weld bit to remove the whole cowl, cut the rust out of the otherwise unreachable areas where it’s worst, and welded new steel in. With some seam sealer applied and the whole thing painted, he welded the cowl back in place for good. if I did this I wouldn’t worry about leaving her parked outside anymore.
$500 for a welder
$100+ for the steel, plus Erick’s time
Rewire the fuse panel. I’ve found an inexpensive tone generator for sale at Harbor Freight, which will help me chase down what wires go where; it’s a matter of hooking up a lead at the cut wire and following it out with the wand to see where it goes. This should make hunting down unlabeled wires much easier, along with the circuit diagram. The good thing here is that I can do this myself, whenever I’ve got free time.
$20 for a tone generator
New tires on the back. There’s a smaller tire on the driver’s rear that just looks stupid, but both of them are still holding air. I just want four tires of the same size and date on the thing at the same time.
$400 for tires and mounting
Fix the doors and windows. I have inner weatherstripping for the four front doors on order (I got a deal on them with the windshield rubber) but the seals and felt for the windows are just as important. IH did a very good job sealing up the glass and I don’t want any water getting down into the guts of the doors and starting to rust. All of them will get sprayed with some kind of chassis sealer just to be sure but clean felts will help keep things solid and quiet on the road.
$400 for new tracks and felt