Wheelman

At the beginning of last year, my brother-in-law volunteered to go check out the yard in New York for me, when the guy still had a Travelette parked by his fence. On his way out, he grabbed me a spare steering wheel, which was apparently just laying on a pile of leaves. I picked it up when I was there in the summer (I believe I still owe him $10 for it) and hung it up in the basement.

Not the wheel in question, but in the same shape

I saw a post on one of the FB groups about a method for fixing the cracks these 60-year-old wheels typically collect, and saved the information for future reference. Sometime in November I bought the epoxy they recommended for the first step, and it’s been sitting on the workbench ever since. It snowed again yesterday and the temperature dropped to 20˚, which makes it hard to work outside on anything I really want to accomplish, so yesterday I decided I’d mix the epoxy up and see what kind of results I could get.

After the epoxy was applied

It was hard to work with at first, especially when it’s 10˚ colder in the basement, but once it warmed up in my hands and I added a little warm water, I was able to get it pliable. When I was satisfied it was mixed, I worked it into all of the major cracks and rebuilt a chipped area around the mount for the horn button. Using water, I smoothed out all the sections I’d added epoxy to and let it sit overnight. I was happy to find it had absolutely no smell at all;  other epoxies I’ve used have had a terrible chemical stink, but this had none. It was marketed as black in color but mixed out to a dark gray, and I found that it dried almost the exact color of the existing steering wheel.

The final result. Not too shabby!

This afternoon I got my box of sanding supplies out and started working on all of the sections. I added more of the material than I needed, and in hindsight I probably could have laid it even thinner. Starting at about 1:30 I finished fine-sanding it at 3:30, going from 120 grit to 600 and then 000 steel wool. I think it needs one more run with fine-grit paper and then it’ll be ready for primer. Apparently the stuff I need is expensive (go figure) because it’s got to be able to hold up to baking summer heat, so I’ll probably wait and repair the other wheel first to spray them both out at the same time.

Pricing out the products above, it’s going to be about $75 for all three cans. But I figure the price will be worth it for a wheel that doesn’t cut my hands when I hold it. The big issue will be finding the right color to match the wheel.

Posted on   |   by bill   |   Leave a Comment on Wheelman  |  Posted in Repairs

More Light

This may sound like a simple thing, but simple things are giving me joy in a dark time right now: I’ve got working brake lights. After spending the time and money to source a new wiring harness, pull out the dashboard, swap in the wiring, and replace everything, I was much closer to a street-legal truck:

  • All four running lights work.
  • The headlights work.
  • The turn signals work, after some grounding issues.
  • The dash lights all work.
  • The heater works.
  • The license plate light works.
  • The truck starts from the key.

But that wasn’t everything, and there was one major roadblock:

  • The brake lights didn’t work.
  • The high-beams cut off the running lights; this isn’t a dealbreaker.
  • There is wiring for a dome light, but it’s constant power right now—there’s no way to turn it off.
Brake test

Doing a little research, I realized I’d swapped the old brake light switch from the original brake master onto the new one, and most likely it was broken or clogged. I found a new one on Amazon (after some dedicated research) and swapped it in this afternoon. In two  minutes, I had working brake lights.

So next up, I’m going to sort out the dome light situation, and wire three in parallel—two over the seats, and one for the rear cargo area. And as I mentioned before, I’ve got a plan for an additional fuse panel with switched power for more accessories.

Posted on   |   by bill   |   Leave a Comment on More Light  |  Posted in Electrical, Travelall

Snow and Welding

Here’s a video recap of the last two weeks. It’s been kind of slow because of the weather, but I’ve tried to keep busy with some mostly) indoor projects. I’m very pleased with the cupholder project, and I can’t wait to get back out and finish welding on the valance panel.

Posted on   |   by bill   |   Leave a Comment on Snow and Welding  |  Posted in Travelall, Welding

EJ Classics

Here’s something I thought I’d never see. EJ Classics, who are affiliated with Dynacorn (makers of new sheet metal for many different muscle car platforms)  is producing new body parts specifically for the Scout II. The stuff I find most tempting right now are the doglegs that go at the base of the A and B pillars. It used to be you’d need to find a roached tub and cut the originals out to replace them, and a couple of years ago the Light Line dealers were hand-making them. Now I can get a set of A-pillar doglegs for $90, which is definitely in my price range.

Passengers A pillar
Passenger’s A pillar

Three of my four doglegs are in rough shape so this has been on my radar for years, and now that I’m feeling more confident in my welding and fabricating skills, this might be a project I can tackle this year. I’ve already got patches for the bottom of the inner cab wall, which need to be replaced on both sides.

Posted on   |   by bill   |   Leave a Comment on EJ Classics  |  Posted in Future Plans, Purchasing

Welding Practice

Here’s what I got back from SendCutSend last week, in the form of three laser-cut and brake-bent sections of 16 ga. steel:

And here are the pieces assembled and welded:

I had to trim the top section of the parallelogram just a hair to get it to line up with the underside of the main cupholder, but other than that, the whole thing went together as smooth as butter. Welding things up took about an hour after I’d squared it all, and I wire-brushed everything down in preparation for paint. I ran out of time before I could take it outside and test-fit everything, but I’m stoked with the progress so far.

Posted on   |   by bill   |   2 Comments on Welding Practice  |  Posted in Travelall, Welding

Cold Weather Projects

Cold-weather welding

I braved 20˚ weather to sit in the back of Darth and weld in the valance above the barn doors on Sunday morning. The idea was to get out ahead of the weather before it dumped a predicted 6″ of snow on us, which it’s currently doing. It was a bit tricky, as I think the metal was cold enough that it didn’t promote clean penetration in the smaller plug welds I drilled, but I got the majority of it on and ground down for paint. I’ll have to do a little filler work to clean up a couple of places when it’s warmer as well.

On the brake/electrical front, it turns out the brake master from the green truck has an entirely different switch system (my guess is that the switch was on the pedal assembly but I haven’t checked that) so I had nothing to swap in and test. I did finally track down the part I need, Standard Motor SLS30, and ordered it via Amazon. So after we’re dug out and the project I’m managing at work is done, I can test it out.

I’ve been doing a lot of research into wiring in an additional fuse panel for accessories, and I think I’ve got a good idea of what I need and how it works. It’s actually pretty simple; I need a new panel wired up to a 30amp relay, which is then connected directly to the battery and a ground. The fourth wire goes to the accessory circuit on the existing panel, which acts simply as a switch. Turn the key on, and power goes to the new panel. All of the load goes through the new wire into the new panel, ensuring I don’t burn the truck down by overloading the old wiring harness. My truck was spec’d for a larger alternator but I have no idea if the used wiring harness I have was made to handle that increase in power. I’m going to over-engineer it so that I’ve got room to expand with things like A/C, a backup/rearview camera and electric steering, but for now just having some accessory plugs will be great.

Down on the workbench, I carefully drilled the lockset out of the barn door handle from Darth and laid the parts out. The used barrel I’ve got will not stay in the handle with the key in the lock, so I think I’m going to have to bite the bullet and order a second lockset keyed to the existing door locks. I was really hoping I could get the used barrel to work but it’s just not happening. The handles attach to the door with two threaded rods which were rusted solid to the retaining nuts, so I soaked them for two weeks in PBblaster. I put two new nuts on the rods, torqued them tight to each other, and used them for leverage to spin the rusted nuts off. The rods were  soaked clean in Evaporust and are now mounted back on the handles.

While I was diving back into locksmithing, I pulled out my spare Scout II T-handle assembly and looked it over. There’s a method for popping the lock out with a thin rod that compresses a brass retaining clip on the barrel, but no amount of PBblaster or lithium grease would free that clip up. So I drilled the face of the lock and pulled the top 2/3 of the barrel out. It was in such bad shape that the bottom 1/3 took some digging to pull out, but once it separated the handle was easy to clean up. If my lift gate latch closed all the way shut I’d look into buying a new barrel for this, but it doesn’t so there’s really no point.

Posted on   |   by bill   |   Leave a Comment on Cold Weather Projects  |  Posted in Electrical, Travelall

2025 To-Do List

Last year I made a ton of progress on the truck; more than I realized when I reviewed the list. But a man needs goals, and I’ve found that lists help me keep them organized. Here’s the plan for 2025:

Figure out the clutch situation. I know that the transmission works; starting the truck in gear will move it forwards and backwards. But the clutch pedal has no effect on the clutch itself. I have to figure out if it’s just a matter of adjusting the linkage, or if I need to have it gone through by a transmission shop.

Swap in fancy seat belts. I’ve got a set of IH-branded seatbelts from the green truck that I’ve cleaned up and would like to put in. The floor bracket one one was rusty so I soaked it in Evaporust, but I might weld in some doubler steel to reinforce that.

Replace the rear floor. I’m just about at the point where I can put a new piece of marine plywood down to replace the old floor. All of the frame and suspension underneath is needle-scaled and painted. I do still need to sort out the parking brake, which will be easier with the floor out. I’ve got a recommendation for new rubber to put down once the floor is in permanently, and I’ve got a set of four recessed cargo hooks picked out. The final issue will be mounting seatbelts through the floor supports.

  • I still have to sand, prime, and paint the underside on both sides to rust-proof everything.

Clean off and paint the headliner bows: The ones I’ve got are good but covered in surface rust. I have to get them cleaned up and prepped for gray paint.

Find and install some headliner: the original stuff are sheets of perforated pressboard not unlike the roof of a VW of the era. I’d really like to mimic that look in this truck if I can. This stuff looks promising; it’s a perforated vinyl shell with a foam backing. I’d have to figure out where it hits on the roof and how I’d cover the seams.

Steering wheel repair: My brother-in-law scored me a very old and very tired wheel from a yard up in New York State. I’ve seen other folks online effect repairs with two-part epoxy and fancy OEM-grade paint; I’m going to take a whirl at this when the snow is flying and see how well I can make it work.

Electric Steering conversion: This mostly hinges on whether I can source another manual non-column shift steering column, and the aforementioned auxiliary fuse panel install. I could probably scab in the column shift unit I have now, but I’m keeping my eye out for a proper starting point. Brian is going to be doing a conversion on Bennett’s Mustang, so I’m going to offer my help to learn how he’s doing it.

Air Conditioning: The truck is a greenhouse on wheels. Air conditioning is going to be a requirement pretty quickly after it’s roadworthy. Vintage Air makes some compact units that will work well; I’d like to pair that with a period-correct under-dash blower unit, but I have to keep my eye out for one.

Fix the brake lights. I have two wires correctly connected to the master cylinder headed back in to the wiring harness, but they don’t do anything when the brake is pressed. The switch on the master cylinder may be bad; jumping the wires lights up the brake lights just fine. I’ll have to use the old one to test it. Done, 1.17

Weld up the driver’s side of the transmission tunnel. I don’t know why I didn’t tackle this when I did the other side, but it’s now bugging me. Done 1.24. This went much faster than I thought it would, which is nice.

Wire in auxiliary circuits. The truck now has a complete 1963-era fuse panel and wiring. I’d like to add a secondary fuse panel with switched power from the accessory circuit to add things like a backup camera/rearview mirror, air conditioning, charging ports, a radio, and other modern conveniences. I found a video that breaks it down to the basics, and suddenly things are a lot clearer to me. I also found a guide for adding a shunt wire from the alternator to the battery to reduce the amperage going through the bulkhead to the ammeter and back again. Done, 2.10. This went easier than I thought it would.

Posted on   |   by bill   |   Leave a Comment on 2025 To-Do List  |  Posted in To-Do List, Travelall

Send Cut Sent

I pulled the trigger on a SendCutSend order yesterday, after adjusting the template, cutting it out in full scale on some chipboard, and testing my measurements. For some reason I’d gotten one measurement wrong, and I had to adjust the length of the mounting plate, but after adjusting that the whole thing went together perfectly. I’m having this cut out of 16 gauge steel so it should be plenty strong to hold up to any kind of accidents. It should be here in a couple of weeks, and then I can weld the pieces up.

If I was to order ten of these, I could get the costs way down per piece. If I could get ten people interested in buying them, I could possibly make a little money on the deal. I think the biggest issue would be finding a way to attach the unit without drilling into the seat bar. I’ll have to have a think about that one.

Meanwhile, I’ve been putting a list of projects together for 2025, and it’s almost done. One of the things on the list was pretty easy to check, so I looked it over at lunchtime: My brake pedal doesn’t light the brake lights when it’s pressed. It’s a very simple system. There’s a switch at the end of the master cylinder, and when the pedal pressurizes the cylinder, it closes the switch, activating the brake lights. Pulling the wire connector off the cylinder, I used a wire to jump it and verified the brake lights work. So there’s got to be an issue with the master cylinder itself. If I recall correctly, I swapped the old switch onto the new unit, so it might just be a matter of ordering a new switch unit.

Posted on   |   by bill   |   Leave a Comment on Send Cut Sent  |  Posted in Inspiration, Travelall

Introducing Darth Haul

Over dinner the other night, my girls asked me if the red truck had a name yet, which it did not. Historically, our group of local IH guys has an understanding that you don’t get to name your own truck—it’s named by the group. You can veto some of the suggestions to avoid stuff you can’t live with, but usually the names are good and they stick. Thus, Bennett’s ugly brown Scout became Mr. Hanky, Brian’s 4-cyl. white Scout became Slowflake, and my Scout became Peer Pressure. (Thankfully, I avoided a lot of the more obvious names like Barney and People Eater).

The girls started throwing some suggestions around, and Finn came up with one that got better and better as we thought about it: Darth Haul. Jen commented that it would be better if the top was painted black and not white; Finn suggested we should paint stripes on it to match the character—which I quickly vetoed. But the name stuck. I floated it past the boys and they all approved. I had some time to kill while I was rendering some video Tuesday evening and whacked this together:

It was pretty easy to find the base Star Wars font and modify it the way I needed. I tried using the Galactic Empire logo at first, but the scale and size didn’t work with the typeface. Somehow the Rebel Alliance logo (who I identify with anyway) worked better, and I liked flipping it to subvert the idea.

Now, to have some stickers made.

Posted on   |   by bill   |   Leave a Comment on Introducing Darth Haul  |  Posted in Travelall

2024 In Review

In January, I was looking at pictures of pretty new upholstery for the Travelall and making plans to clean up the seatframes for new foam. It’s December and I’ve just now got the seats finished and installed in the truck; in the months between I got a lot of projects done. Here’s a recap:

Early in January I finally got around to making some T-shirt designs for Travelalls and Scouts, set up a Threadless storefront, and did some initial posting on social media. The response was pretty good; I need to make a new push this coming year, as well as update some merchandise.

I got serious about building out a YouTube channel for the red truck, and started posting videos about every two weeks. The channel points back to the Threadless site, and I get a couple of orders a month. Also, I made a dedicated Instagram feed for the red truck.

From January into February, in between cold snaps, I finished sanding and painting the passenger fender I rebuilt the fuel hose port on; that project went much better with the experience I’d gained doing previous bodywork projects. The fender is now hanging in the garage waiting for some other parts to be shot with IH red, and will then get clearcoat.

March was a big month: I took possession of an unwanted, untitled green Travelall in Pennsylvania with a ton of help from Bennett, and we dropped it in the driveway in front of the red truck. This project sort of took over the next two months as I worked to tear it down and part it out before the neighbors complained and had me hauled it hauled away. I had the entire truck stripped down, the parts organized, and the carcass ready for towing by April 30. And I made a crisp $100 on it!

Also in March, I ordered and got a used, tested and labeled wiring harness from the Scout Connection, which wound up being for a later model year. I returned it for a proper 1962-62 harness which was tested and labeled, and later on in the year I pulled the dashboard from the red truck, cleaned it up, and swapped the new harness in place. Putting it back in was easy, as I’d already taken two of them apart, and when I tested it out about 80% of the electrical system came back online.

The firewall got cleaned up and covered in heat matting, an upgrade I found very useful in the Scout, and during that process I finished cleaning up and painting the cowl vents I’d fabricated in 2023. I also pulled the heater box out and disassembled the whole unit. The rear of the box had a fair bit of rust damage, so I welded new sections on to the sides and back, reassembled with new hardware, and got it ready for paint.

August was a big month. First and foremost, Brian and I drove the Scout 1200 miles round trip to Harvester Homecoming at the IH plant in Fort Wayne, Indiana. We had a great time, met a bunch of new people, and were lucky to have good traveling weather, although our first evening at the event ended in a downpour that had us running for the exits. The Scout ran great, but I noticed she was leaking a lot of oil out the underside at speed.

When I was back, I took a week off from work and spent a couple of days prepping the roof for primer and paint. I’d left it sitting since last summer so it needed some attention before fall. I re-worked the sections that needed help, finish sanded the whole thing, and shot it with pro-grade primer from an HVLP gun. When that was cured I sprayed it with two coats of two-stage PPG white, and I think it turned out really good.

I worked on cleaning up each of the doors, installed weatherstripping, welded over the mounting holes from old mirrors, and rebuilt both of the West Coast mirrors I’d bought last year. They got mounted permanently on the truck.

Finding vendors willing to work on old iron is hard. I wanted to use the same guy who installed the passenger side glass to replace the dry, cracked gasket on the driver’s side, so I spent the money on new rubber and his expertise to have it put it in.

In September I had some gray single-stage paint matched from the old door cards and sprayed out four replacements as well as the heater box, then sprayed it all with a matte clear coat. I really like the results. When they were cured, the heater box went back in over the heat matting and was hooked up to the engine.

I donned a Tyvek suit and scraped all of the fiberglass off the roof, treated it with Rust Converter, and installed some lightweight heat/sound matting.

With those things done, and looking at another month of reasonably decent weather, I got a wild hair up my ass and dropped the fuel tank to survey the underside of the floorpan. The fuel tank is in fantastic shape, and got wire-wheeled, cleaned out, and repainted. The passenger floor, which featured the worst rust remaining in the truck, was trimmed away until I found clean metal. I welded a new sheet in place, and cut sections of the lower firewall out until I had good metal there.

I came into possession of a second steering column, this one from a manual steering/column shift truck, and an electrical steering unit from a Nissan Versa. This is the starting point for an electric steering conversion sometime next year.

Before Thanksgiving, I dropped the Scout off at a transmission shop nearby who had been recommended by another truck guy I met at our local Cars & Coffee. She’s been there waiting for a spot in his bay since then. He got her up on the lift two weeks before Christmas and recommended a new seal kit for both the transmission and the transfer case. While he had those two off the truck, he sent me pictures of the flywheel and clutch, and recommended we swap those out while we were at it. As of December 26 he’s got all the parts he needs to finish up the job.

With the weather getting colder, I got materials in the door for the seats and spent a couple of weeks redoing the upholstery on all four sections. This involved tearing down the rear upright from the green truck and using that frame, but all of the other frames I’d prepared worked out perfectly. When that was done, I bolted the lockbox in the back of the truck and installed the seats.

In between all of that, there are a million other smaller projects that got done. The frame under the passenger side was needle-scaled and painted. The adhesive from the old carpeting has all been removed. The door locks up front have been replaced. The front bumper  from the green truck was installed. The license plate light got mounted on the rear door. The outside lights all got dedicated grounds run to the body. I’ve got turn signals and headlights, but the high-beams still don’t work and they cancel out the running lights.

Looking back on it (and looking at it in the driveway) I can see a lot of progress this year. The first year, a lot of the labor was hidden but this year I can see big cosmetic improvements happening. The push for this coming spring will to be getting it on the road. I know the transmission is good, because she’ll move when she’s in gear and I bump the starter; for some reason the clutch pedal isn’t working. More on that later.

Posted on   |   by bill   |   Leave a Comment on 2024 In Review  |  Posted in Inspiration, Progress, Travelall