Vintage Trucks

[Pullstart 62,837]

A bit of a torsion bar crank to fit these… but the rubber is in better shape.  
 

 

[Horse Newbie 7,069]

3 hours ago, Pullstart said:

A bit of a torsion bar crank to fit these… but the rubber is in better shape.  
 

 

So you crank down on the torsion bar a bit, snd it raised the front ?

[Pullstart 62,837]

2 minutes ago, Horse Newbie said:

So you crank down on the torsion bar a bit, snd it raised the front ?

Yep.  Turning the adjustment bolt in puts more tension on the bar.  In my teenage days, an S10 was good for about 2.5” lift by just cranking on them… so long as you son’s mind the rougher ride.  This is a temporary thing and we’ll soon have a new suspension under it.

[Horse Newbie 7,069]

4 hours ago, Pullstart said:

This is a temporary thing and we’ll soon have a new suspension under it.

My 1998 Chevy Z-71 Silverado 4x4( had to put all that in there) with 274,000 miles is needing some front suspension work...

A few months back I had a little wheel wobble.

Thought "Well that was weird "... Did it again last Saturday, and I heard something hit the fender well, so I pulled over and took a look underneath the old girl. Seen some rubber bushing like things missing.

I have an appointment for an estimate next Thursday.

[Pullstart 62,837]

54 minutes ago, Horse Newbie said:

My 1998 Chevy Z-71 Silverado 4x4( had to put all that in there) with 274,000 miles is needing some front suspension work...

A few months back I had a little wheel wobble.

Thought "Well that was weird "... Did it again last Saturday, and I heard something hit the fender well, so I pulled over and took a look underneath the old girl. Seen some rubber bushing like things missing.

I have an appointment for an estimate next Thursday.

Take a picture of it… I’d like to see that 

[Horse Newbie 7,069]

29 minutes ago, Pullstart said:

Take a picture of it… I’d like to see that 

I'll get one tomorrow...don't know the correct terminology for all the suspension parts, but there's a little rod about 8 inches long, vertical, with a rubber bushing on each end.

I think it goes from what might be a sway bar up to the a frame I believe. There is one on each side.

Already pretty sure I need both CV axles..every blue moon I may hear a little crack in them.

, but the boots are cracked, so I've heard if you're gonna do the boot, may as well do the whole axle.

[Pullstart 62,837]

That’s what it sounded like, but your second explanation helped solidify that.  Sway bar end links.  They’re practically a 3/8” bolt that feeds through the sway bar and lower control arm.  Easy peasy.  I couple washers, bushings and a spacer tube and a nut.  I’d say cut the old ones off with a sawzall or cut off wheel and replace them both at the same time.  If you dry fit them with no tools, you should be able to get them assembled just fine - then tighten them.  As for the CV shafts, they take (I think) a 36mm socket and a good breaker bar to get them loose from the hub and (also I think) a 15mm box end wrench or socket to unbolt them from the differential.  You should be able to do that without popping the spindles off the a-arms.  A dead blow hammer or a big hammer and a block of wood will drive the axle splines out of the hub once it’s apart.

 

I’m a firm believer in DIY as we all pretty much are.  Buying whatever tools you need for this job are likely cheaper than paying for it to be done, if you’re able to do it.  I know that some day, I won’t be able to turn wrenches like I do now, but if you can there is nothing to be concerned with as far as doing something wrong.  Neither of those items affect alignment, just handling and 4 wheel drive 

[Horse Newbie 7,069]

On 10/21/2021 at 8:53 PM, Pullstart said:

Take a picture of it… I’d like to see that 

@Pullstart   You asked for a pic of my broken front suspension part... In the first pic you can see the rod I was talking about...in  the second pic you can see the rod on the passenger side that has the rubber bushings still intake, all-be-it worn, with 274,000 miles on them. Also second pic you can see a crack in the CV boot, passenger side.

[Jeff-C175 7,199]

9 hours ago, Horse Newbie said:

broken front suspension part

 

Yup, stabilizer bar, sway bar, whatever you wanna call it.  That's the easiest front suspension repair to make.

 

But I see those cracked and dry rotted boots too...

 

I could always tell when those sway bar link bushings were worn,  every time I hit a bump they would 'jingle' like Santa's sleigh.

You could only hear it if you believed though........................................................................

 

[Horse Newbie 7,069]

@Jeff-C175   I will probably still take it to a shop and let them take a look. With 274, 924 miles on the truck, I'm sure there are probably other suspension parts worn...and like you said the boots...shocks have never been replaced...

Edited October 24, 2021 by Horse Newbie

[ebinmaine 67,432]

2 minutes ago, Horse Newbie said:

take it to a shop and let them take a look. With 274, 924 miles on the truck, I'm sure there are probably other suspension parts worn.

When I really want a good strong idea of needed repairs I tell the shop to TRY to fail the vehicle for a careful state inspection. 

 

[slim67 2,735]

I know it’s not exactly a truck but it’s unique and I think it belongs here. Just the right stance and even has the Z71 decals to top it off.

[ebinmaine 67,432]

18 minutes ago, slim67 said:

belongs here

I'll second that.

 

Something interesting about a four-wheel-drive van because they're so rare.

[slim67 2,735]

44 minutes ago, ebinmaine said:

I'll second that.

 

Something interesting about a four-wheel-drive van because they're so rare.

Yes they are and I should add that particular one is a 1 ton with a 454. It is a Quigley conversion and along with Pathfinder were the two I’ve always seen.

[ohiofarmer 3,265]

    My brother does some serious windshield time as a service team to gravel pits and bidding steel fabrication for other commercial work. He had three hundred and some thousand on a Ford Ranger with a V-6 in 2008. The sixes were not as durable as the four cylinder trucks, as they used industrial engines.   The Ranger was fading fast, but the cash For Clunkers program was just starting , and the six qualified him for it. He bought a Chevy Colorado, 4 cyl, manual transmission for under ten thousand due to the program, and just the other day, the oil pressure light came on as it died.Metal in the oil pan, so RIP on that engine.

 Five Hundred Three thousand miles and some change.  He got it towed in , and surprisingly, it seems a good candidate for a crate engine. The drive train is original, and a manual transmission and the careful way he drives makes it stay young. The repair guy quoted him around ten grand for a new engine or nine grand for a rebuilt crate engine.

   You really cannot find much in the way of used trucks as the ones I saw were about as old as his and rusted through. He wants a beater truck anyway, so he is looking around for a few days while he decides, He has never had a traffic ticket , but a few years back, he was speeding in a town that had variable speed zones. The officer was wondering why he could not find traffic violations. Then he tore up the ticket he was writing because after 55 years of driving without incident, he did not want to spoil the record.

   It will be interesting to see what he decides, as he already has received 250 thousand dollars in mileage reimbursement on this truck, less expenses..... t

 

 On Edit, He went to a Toyota dealer and they had a 08 Tacoma coming in. He called me and said he was going back to see it. i told him to check the frame as I read stuff about rusty frames. They wanted 15K for a 100 K truck. The last year for a single cab Taco was 2018 Starting at 18K.  Anyway, the frame was bad, and the salesman who traded it in for a new one did not even have it checked on the lift??? There is nothing to look at at dealerships.  My brother is not a guy who thanks you for a favor, but he thanked me for warning him about the frame rot issue.

Edited November 7, 2021 by ohiofarmer

[slim67 2,735]

18 hours ago, slim67 said:

I know it’s not exactly a truck but it’s unique and I think it belongs here. Just the right stance and even has the Z71 decals to top it off.

Somebody wanted it as it only lasted about a day on marketplace. They were asking 10 thousand for it.

[ebinmaine 67,432]

24 minutes ago, slim67 said:

Somebody wanted it as it only lasted about a day on marketplace. They were asking 10 thousand for it.

I believe it. 

Big block engine is worth alot of that. 

Decent low or no rust trucks from 80s or 90s fetch 10K plus around here. 

 

[slim67 2,735]

1 hour ago, ebinmaine said:

I believe it. 

Big block engine is worth alot of that. 

Decent low or no rust trucks from 80s or 90s fetch 10K plus around here. 

 

Crazy isn’t it?

[cschannuth 3,816]

4 minutes ago, slim67 said:

Crazy isn’t it?

My son bought this rust free, high mileage 1990 with a 460 and a five speed in it for $7000 and I thought he was nuts. He has been offered double that. It is absolutely nuts. That was probably a $14,000 truck when it was new. 

[slim67 2,735]

4 minutes ago, cschannuth said:

My son bought this rust free, high mileage 1990 with a 460 and a five speed in it for $7000 and I thought he was nuts. He has been offered double that. It is absolutely nuts. That was probably a $14,000 truck when it was new. 

Nice practical truck just that way I like them. Regular cab and long bed.

[Bob Lister 142]

On 11/4/2021 at 11:48 AM, slim67 said:

Nice practical truck just that way I like them. Regular cab and long bed.

Real trucks only have two doors. The rest are suv;s with a bed

[Tractorhead 9,064]

Began the rework of the Van‘s Rear Fenders.

 

a horribly scenario i found...

 

Never trusted a black lined Car...

 

 

It hides mostly a unproffessional fixed or dead Bodywork.

 

 

So i begun to cut out the Areal, to see when i will find good material to fix it clean.

 

 

Few minutes later i be clear, this gonna be a heavier Bodywork than hoped, 

but not as bad as i feared. I can be saved, but it needs few squaremeters of Metal.

Oh Boy, i must be a complete idiot to start that Rework.

 

 

Sheetmetal repair was just sticked over the rotten old Metal.

time to rework that to save the Rest of the Body.

 

 

 

Cut out as far as needed.

 

 

 

Wrong corrosion prevention shows the Results...

 

 

 

Sadly the first repair was done with too much gunk instead of make it once clean.

 

 

But there is some good stuff aside so a fixing is not complete imposible, just a dang lot of Work.

 

 

Reconstruction has begun, 3 squaremeters metal was ordered

Doing it Step by step.

 

i have no Hurry, so i can make it Clean again.

[Handy Don 12,214]

1 hour ago, Tractorhead said:

Reconstruction has begun, 3 squaremeters metal was ordered

Doing it Step by step.

 

You must have a real sentimental attachment to that van to take this on! Best of luck to you.

 

Automakers have come a long way since the days of that van.

Much more attention is now being paid to designing the bodywork to not collect grit and moisture in rust-prone folds and using metal coatings that hold rust at bay for longer. Also, the plastic fender well linings have done a lot to quiet the ride and protect the bodywork.

[Bob Lister 142]

Some great guys showing rust repair on You Tube  Fitzee is one and Trevor is the other one. I have been doing this work since 1974 and these guys do it right.  If you need I can find links to them

[Tractorhead 9,064]

Yes please, if you have links, i be allway‘s thankfully for.

 

The last time i did it in this huge Sum was years ago, since i just done smalller fixes.

It becomes a challenge for me to remember all the technics how to.

Tips and Tricks are allway‘s Welcome.

 

i plan to tinning the rework after it is finished.

i also want to refresh my knowledge about Metal forming, but i also wil use preformed Bodyparts as far as available.

the Fenders and few Metalparts themself i found allready, but it will be a long Way to fix that gunk.

 

Get today a Call, sheetmetal delivery will scheduled to Dec.

good, that i‘m not in a hurry.

 

Looking for an english wheel and some other Stuff for the Parts, they be obsolete.