Its been awhile since the last update.. I havent gotten alot done that isnt
on the web site. The door patch panels are in and they look very nice. I am
more adept at welding intricate sheet metal than I had worried over. The
patch panels from Chevy Duty are the right gauge and everything worked out
well. If you do this, be sure to weld in a piece of angle iron all the way
across the lower door for added support. Makes life much easier. I finally
got my spare tire carrier (under bed) and will start painting that soon. The
engine is STILL at the engine shop getting the babbit re-poured. Its been
there since late March. I tell ya.. I have ALL the luck with slow,
unreliable and mostly inadequate service. But lets not get me started! In
the engine shops defense (sorta) they have a 70+ year old retired guy do the
babbit work since he is the only one who knows how. If it were me, I would
be learning that stuff so the art doesnt disappear with the older
generation! Besides, the guy works whenever he wants to and hasnt wanted to
for about 4 months!
I did get a call from them that he is working on it now tho. I should have
it back soon. It IS the next step in the resto. The engine gets assembled
and mounted on the chassis as the next step.
Meanwhile, the 49 3/4 ton decided to blow a water pump. I got a replacement
from Jim Carters (good stuff) and took the radiator in to have it checked.
The guy said it was garbage and to replace it so I used the good one from my
50 project and will buy a brand new one for it. It was an education
re-working the cooling system. I replaced the themostat, all the heater
hoses, the water pump, the fan belt, and both upper and lower radiator
hoses. I then focused on the Heater Control Valve.. you know.. the one
everyone just bypasses cause they leak into the cab and then serve no useful
purpose. I found that Chevy Duty carried the Heater Control Valve Seal. Its
just a little rubber grommet, but its what makes it new again. Rebuilding it
is a pain! You have to bend the tabs on the housing without breaking them
and then remove the tube housing again without breaking the tabs, then
replace the grommet. I was successful and after assembly of the entire
cooling system, everything worked out perfect. Anyone wanting to know more
about Heater Control Valve rebuilding, just let me know! There will be
pictures of the process on the web site in the next month or so.
Thats all there is for now! Thanks everyone for all the discussion on this
list! Its very helpful at times!
Deve Krehbiel
Hesston, Kansas
1950 3100 * 1949 3600
www.speedprint.com/Deves50/index.html
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