BillyBob Work-in-Progress Log

WHAT'S NEW is a chronological listing of updates to the BillyBob site.

TRUCK LINKS including vendor sites for old parts, custom parts, and tools as well as sites for classic car and truck organizations

STORE Operating in association with Amazon.com, books, recordings and tools can be purchased.

PLANNING for the restoration including project schedule and cost estimates.

TRAVELS WITH BILLYBOB With apologies to Steinbeck, this area of BillyBob's Garage will be used to log the trips BillyBob and I make together.

WORK-IN-PROGRESS is the restoration of parts of BillyBob that I can accomplish without a garage.

PRE-RESTORATION includes log entries of minor repairs and and adventures between time of purchase and the time when I started restoration, a piece at a time.

JR'S KORNER JR's Korner is the history of BillyBob before I got him authored by my brother, Wm. C. Kephart.

BILLYBOB MAINTENANCE Ever changing detailing, oil change, lube, etc. maintenance routines specifically developed for BillyBob, including required tools, materials and procedures.

PARTS SHOP The Parts Shop is a repository of How-To articles. Things that I have done over and over enough times to have developed a procedure. This gives me a checklist and saves brain cells.

STEALTH SHOP Urban residence design with large integrated shop and separate living quarters for a relative or renter.

You will need the Adobe Acrobat browser plugin to view these wiring diagrams which are in the PDF file format. This format allows zooming and panning. If you don't have this plugin, it can be downloaded and installed (free) from the Adobe site. The button below will take you there.

BILLYBOB WIRING DIAGRAM Here's the wiring diagram updated with BillyBob's current state 'cepting the third-party strap-on turn-signal director.

STRAP-ON TURN-SIGNAL DIRECTOR/BRAKE LIGHT CIRCUIT This turn signal and brake light circuit diagram shows the current state of the third-party turn-signal director wiring, which will remain in place until I figure out the problems with the OEM turn-signal director. It also shows the OEM headlight switch.

35. Aught-three Leftovers

When I started the windshield job way back last year, I had several other log entries in various stages of completion. Instead of finishing them one-by-one, I've decided to merge them all into this log entry to get things up-to-date. At the end, below, the BillyBob work-in-progress logs will be current. In the future, the work-in-progress logs will be in chronological order and I will no longer be separating them into different task categories. I hope to get rid of this feeling that I'm in a Star Trek "temporal anomaly".

March 24^th 2003  Found a driver side front fender on eBay and won the auction a couple of weeks ago. It arrived via bus today from New Jersey. It's in excellent shape with only a little bondo to remove. I now have both front fender spares to begin work on as soon as I finish the grille (an' learn how to do bodywork!)

April 12^th 2003  Some bodywork tools arrived from Eastwood last week. A Light Dinging Spoon, 7pc Body & Fender Set, and a Key to Metal Bumping Handbook by Frank T. Sargent which is a reprint of the 1953 third edition. This book is great! Uses the KISS principle and layman's terms. I can sink my teeth into it. Eastwood is the only place I've seen this book. The upper grille bar I've been sand blasting off and on for almost a year now has two areas of minor damage that could be fixed with filler alone but I want to use as little filler as possible so I decided to bump them out. About twenty minutes with the hammers, dollies and dinging spoon put the damaged areas much closer to the original contours. I got tons to learn but I'm happy with my first tenative foray into to art of bodywork.

April 13^th 2003  Finally finished sandblasting the upper grille bar today. Then gave the grille bar a treatment of Eastwood's Metal Wash and when that was dry, three light coats of Eastwood's Self-etching Primer.

April 20^th 2003  Easter Sunday. Sunshine and gentle breezes. There's a church about a block from here and they are broadcasting the music from their services on outside speakers. It's nice. Roughed up the primer surface on the grille bar and mixed up a small batch of Eastwood's Metal-2-Metal filler. Applied to filler to pitted areas on the grille bar and to the two places I bumped out with the body hammers. Waited thirty minutes and sanded with 36, 80 and 320 grit papers and wet sanded with a foam sanding block. Washed and dried and dry sanded again with 80 grit. Hung the grille bar up in the shadetree and cleaned with PRE Paint Prep. Applied two coats of Plasticote Spot Filler and Primer (red to contrast with the gray etching primer). Both primers are lacquer-based.

May 4^th 2003  Yesterday, I discovered one of the front brake shoe linings worn down almost to the rivet head. I had nightmares about that rivet digging into the brake drum any day now. Good weather today so I retreived the front brake shoe replacements from the warehouse. I purchased these shoes from Chevy duty some time ago. It's a shame that only this one shoe is bad 'cause the other front wheel shoes still have plenty of meat on 'em. If ya replace one, you're only asking for trouble if you don't do all four on the same axle.

Because it was a sunny day and, 'cause all the other front brake parts are new and, 'cause I know my way around the brakes now and, 'cause I've got all the right tools, I had both wheels done and BillyBob back on the ground inside of two hours. That's record time for me. Took a ride around the block . . . Adequate, but not great. I'm gonna let them seat up a bit and re-adjust next week. At least there are no Jurassic Park screeches coming from the wheel wells.

July 29^th 2003  After JR read the Red Ducks episode where I was having trouble identifying BillyBob's voltage regulator, he sent me the following e-mail

Krash: If you haven't changed the voltage regulator since I had BillyBob then it's an aftermarket version of a '67-72' Chevrolet 1/2 ton, 6 cylinder regulator. It's the last version regulator GM used before putting current regulation function into the Alternator. I did have a Ford regulator in there for a short time but it didn't hold up. Regards, Bill Kephart Staff Engineer

I kinda figured that was the case but, since "assumption is the mother of all screw-ups", I wanted more info to go on before ordering a voltage regulator replacement/spare. Now I had it.

August 8^th 2003  Ordered a voltage regulator and mounting kit from American Classic Truck parts. Arrived earlier in the week and it looks correct. Also earlier in the week a co-worker, Luis, informed me BillyBob had no stop lights after following me into the Krash Lab parking lot . . . I've been checking the last couple of mornings and the stop lights either don't work or, work intermittantly. ~!@#$%^ Gonna have to work that out this weekend before BillyBob gets rear-ended. On the way up to the warehouse at lunch time to pick up BillyBob's old aftermarket turn signal director, the three-on-the-tree shift linkage locked up between gears. I had to crawl under the truck to fix it for the first time since April of 2000. Double~!@#$%^. These developments put me in an uneasy funk for the rest of the afternoon. Oh well, some days are good days and some days are character builders.

August 10^th 2003  Tried the easy thing first with the turn-signal/brake light problem. Switched to the Flasher that came with the turn-signal kit from Bowtie Bits. No Joy, but I really didn't expect this to work. Removed the handle from the factory turn-signal director and left it in place. Put the aftermarket strap-on unit back on for the time being and re-arranged the wiring connections. That works. Problem must be somewhere in the new unit.

August 16^th 2003  Been gathering more bodywork tools. This week the UPS man arrived with an Eastwood order consisting of an adjustable body file, copper welding aids and a face shield for buffing and other light duty tasks. Also got an assortment of painting rattlecan consumables - Radiator Black, SEM Trim Black, Chassis Black, PRE Paint Prep and Self-Etching Primer.

August 17^th 2003  Yesterday, while BillyBob's front wheels were off for maintenance and I had good access to both sides of the inner fender, I installed the new voltage regulator with the new mounting kit. I don't like these connectors much. They are rubber with a nut molded in the ends and they break down pretty easily but I managed to make them work. On the way home yesterday, the ammeter pegged on the charging side, dropping only to the middle at idle. That can't be good. On the way to the Krash Lab this morning, in addition to the ammeter being pegged, the alternator started humming. When I got here, I lifted the hood and checked - the alternator "felt" hotter than the water pump and the new regulator was pretty warm too. This makes me uneasy but it's a subjective judgement an' I don't trust myself.

Removed the new regulator and checked it against the old one. The four terminals are marked (F 2 3 4). Both regulators are marked this way so I believe I had the wires in the correct locations. The old regulator has what looks like a condenser on the side of it. The new one doesn't but does have a terminal for one underneath. I reinstalled the old regulator with the old connectors. Took a ride around the block . . . The ammeter is registering normally again and the alternator hum is reduced. The battery seems to be OK 'cept for dried up overflow indications. Its voltage registers at 12.90v.

Questions: Is my alternator damaged now? my battery? Is the new regulator bad out of the box? Do I need the condenser like device? Does the regulator need to be grounded (the mounting kit insulated it)? Have to start sorting this out. Geezz! Murphy is really raking me over the coals on electrical this month. Or maybe it's electrical anomalies month an' nobody told me. Afterall, the great northeast power grid cascade of 2003 wuz only a few days ago.

August 22^nd 2003  The fun continues. After doin' some reading, it looks like (so far) that the voltage regulator should have been grounded to the inner fender. I probably compounded the error by driving home and back with the overcharging condition (12 miles round trip). This isn't the first bonehead mistake of my life. Doing shooters with a retired Navy SEAL at a beach bar in the eighties comes to mind. Buying the tee-shirt off an exotic dancer's back for $200 (I ended up with a full wardrobe). Totaling my '77 Vette by running it off the road and into a tree on Christmas Eve. And that's just the short list. At least this time there is a chance I will profit from my error in judgement with newfound knowledge that can help me in the future. Ordered 'nother voltage regulator, this time from NAPA Online, and it arrived two days ago. Also ordered another re-built alternator from Jim Carter. It arrived this AM and seemed OK until I discovered the rotor would not turn and that there was a big crack in the case. Called Jim Carter, got a return authorization, and ordered another alternator.

August 24^th 2003  Brought BillyBob down from the warehouse for some monthly maintenance and to troubleshoot the charging system problem. Got the infared thermometer out as soon as I got here and checked the temp of the water pump (168), alternator (142) and regulator (136) - probably OK. Put the new regulator back on, this time without the rubberized connectors, took a test run around the block and it seems fine now that it's grounded. Next, I replaced the new regulator with the other new regulator from NAPA and took another ride around the block - It too works OK with a proper ground. Left the NAPA regulator in place and put the other two in the spares inventory.

September 13^th 2003  Waited for a couple of weeks but another alternator did not arrive from Jim Carter, leading me to believe the broken one I had received was the last one on the shelf. I found another source at RockAuto.com. It arrived a few days ago. This one was slightly damaged too (the fan was bent). The guys on the loading dock must play basketball with these things. I have to replace the single pulley with the double pulley from the old alternator on BillyBob anyway so I will use the old fan too. There is a "grd" terminal on these Delcotron alternators that was unused in BillyBob's configuration and maybe this is for an additional wire to go to the regulator to ground it when the insulating mounting connectors are used. I don't know.

Having changed alternators a couple of times now, It's getting easier and I didn't have nearly the trouble with the threaded rod bracket and pulley nuts that I had the first time I did this. Took about a hour and everything's hunky dory again. The noise has disappeared and the ammeter needle is gently floating in the middle of the dial where it belongs. The only noise from the engine is the comforting clack-clack of the valve train. I want to replace the wires between the alternator and the voltage regulator but I need to find a source for a new molded plastic alternator connector for the wires first.

September 20^th 2003  Hurricane Isabele has passed and done her damage. Went right over my cousin's family in Moorhead City, NC, then passed between my Mom in Johnstown and JR in Pittsburgh, PA. Everybody is OK. Weather here in the shadetree garage isn't too bad today so far. A few weeks ago, I noticed that the front brake flex hoses were blistering and the bubbles felt like they might have migrating brake fluid in them. I had these replaced in late '97 along with the rear flex hose that still appears to be good. I ordered new flex hoses and clips from Chevy Duty this time. Today's the day to install them.

I anticipated this to be a bigger job than it was. Started on the passenger side. Didn't know how the flex hose to brake line fitting at the frame worked so I removed the drum, springs, shoes and wheel cylinder so the hose wouldn't twist when un-screwed . . . By the time I got to the frame fitting, I saw this was unnecessary. I did the driver side wheel without removing the drum or brake guts. Had a heck of a time bleeding the system. Tried to bleed only the front wheels but couldn't get a solid pedal so, I bled all four wheels and still no joy. Put the front end on the ground to level the system out and also started to screw down the master cylinder fill-up cap everytime I added brake fluid. Finally got a solid pedal after bleeding all four wheels again.

September 21^st 2003  Good weather so far today. I still had to pump the brakes on the way home yesterday so, today after changing the oil and cannister filter, I started into bleeding the brakes again in what was left of the cool of the morning. I wasn't getting much fluid out of any of the bleeder valves 'cept the driver side front with the mitivac vacuum pump alone. I started using my two-by-four block of wood helper to hold the brake pedal down and finally started getting some fluid that way. I think I got a solid pedal again and I've got my fingers crossed for the ride home this afternoon. Cut the blisters on the old flex hoses open with a utility knife before throwing them away and, as suspected, they were full of brake fluid.

September 27^th 2003  During monthly maintenance, I found out that the license plate light wasn't working, even after replacing the bad bulb. Got the test light out to find that, once again, I didn't have a good ground. Took the license plate assembly apart and sanded mating surfaces at connectors to bare metal. Problem remained because there is so much rustoleum buildup on the rear bed crossmember, I couldn't get a good contact. Went another route at this point and provided a ground wire between the bulb socket and the bed crossmember . . . Good! Let there be light.

No rest for the wicked, I guess. Had good solid brake pedal all week but that started to change yesterday. This morning while trying to get a good ground for the license plate light underneath the rear of BillyBob, I discovered the reason . . . the passenger side rear wheel brake cylinder had begun to leak. I will have to warehouse BillyBob and take care of this next weekend. I hope the weather is good like it is today. Curses! I'm gonna have to repaint the rim.

September 29^th 2003  Feel my Dad's spirit looking over my shoulder. Just finished the flawed rebuilding of the passenger side vent window (see Two-Forty A/C Log Entry). I know more work is needed and I'm goin' over easy/hard options. Dad sez "You can go the easy way but I don't want to hear any whinning about it later if it doesn't work!" "Hedgehog" and "OldCarKook" from the Stovebolt.com Forums both gave me ideas to to try. Hedgehog wrote about the vent window gap problem:

I also had a gap between the vent glass and vertical channel when it closed, except I set both the window in the frames at the same time. Only found the 1/4" gap after the fact. After doing some serious thinking, I came up with a simple and (if I may say so myself) rather elegant solution: You know that bladed strip of rubber that goes in a slot at the top of the door panel, which presses against the outside of the window and acts sorta like a squeegie when you roll the window down? If you cut it in half, it's precisely the length of the flat edge of the vent glass. Remove the riveted rubber seal from the vertical post and glue the blade in it's place. No gap, no leak, no wind noise; and I didn't have to pull the vent windows out of the frames and start over. So far, nobody has even noticed that it's not correct, although I have gotten kudos on the tight seal from passengers. Of course, if you're aiming for a perfect resto, you'll probably want to pull the glass and start again. I was more concerned with keeping the rain out of my face.

OldCarKook added his method for setting the hinge rivet:

Larry - those rivets are a pain to set I agree. I ended up just mashing mine over with the smooth part of the vise after driving a punch into it to get the mushroom started. I didn't spring for the tool. Speaking of springs, what's the story on that vent spring? No way to cut the new in half and do both windows with one...lol?

Gonna give both of these ideas some thought.

October 4^th 2003  Good weather today, so far, for this job. Got the tools out of the shed and put BillyBob's rear end up on jackstands. Took off the passenger side wheel and retracted the brake shoes with the brake adjuster spoon. The drum came off without having to resort to the drum puller. A good omen. Removed the springs, shoes, parking brake cable and wheel cylinder next.

Back when JR had BillyBob, he had an adventure that required a brake overhaul:

Krash: The rear wheel cylinders as well as the shoes and seals were replaced after my harrowing run away trip down a steep hill while pulling a backhoe. I was standing on the brake pedal with both feet, hands clenched to the steering wheel and ass off the seat and he wasn't stopping! Pretty much overheated everything in both rear wheels. This adventure will be another chapter if I ever get the writing bug again. Point is, my mechanic at the time was pretty resourceful; those rear brake cylinders could be from anything. Regards, Bill

I have both '54 and '55 replacement wheel cylinders but neither on them look like this connection. I'm hoping I can bend the existing brake line enuf to connect to the new wheel cylinder. I have the tools ready to make a new line segment, if necessary, but I don't really want to go that route if I don't have to.

Next came a couple of hours of degreasing, scraping and wire brushing the backing plate for painting both sides. Originally, I had played with the idea of taking off the backing plate for painting like I did for the front wheels but abandoned it because I didn't want to pull the axle to get it off. Now, I'm not sure if I could get it off anyway. It appears to be riveted to the axle tube, not bolted. Applied Eastwood's PRE Paint Prep and a coat of Eastwood's Red Rust Encapsulator after masking off items I didn't want paint on. After waiting a hour, Eastwood's rattlecan Chassis Black was applied to the rear side of the backing plate. Then the masking tape and paper were removed. Started cleaning small parts which will be reused with simple green and water. The brake shoes will be reused until I do the other rear wheel so they were cleaned with brake cleaner.

October 5^th 2003  A storm with my name on it ("Larry") is causing problems in Mexico but we've got clear skys here. I thought that this would be more than a one day job so, on Friday, when I bought BillyBob down from the warehouse, I kept Renegade at the Krash Lab for transportation. Put the small parts that had been soaking overnite in the tumbler for a cleaning session. Not gonna do any plating or further painting today, just get the wheel back together and the brakes working. Installed the '55 left side wheel cylinder with new capscrews and star washers after checking to see that it hadn't frozen up sitting on the shelf by checking piston movement. Had trouble getting the capscrews started and had to chase the threads with a tap. On closer inspection, It looks as if the old setup that JR's mechanic used was a '54 wheel cylinder with a angle block fitting to reduce the brake line size down to 3/16" (I think). I later found out that this is called a "banjo" fitting.

Next, I set about re-forming the brake line to fit the new cylinder. Had to loosen the fitting at the "tee" over the axle where the flex hose connects. I had trouble with both this connector and the wheel cylinder fitting yesterday. The craftsman tubing wrench alone would not budge them. I used the Mapp torch both times to loosen them enuf for the tubing wrench to work without mangling them. I used a tubing bender I had gotten from Eastwood some time back to reconfigure the brake line. I got it to work without having the make a new brake line. Another good omen. Following the advice of friends on the old trucks mailing lists and stovebolt.com forum, I tightened the fittings without sealants. I'm not a mechanic, I just play one on the Internet, but some of these guys are, and good advice is always welcome. Cleaned the parking brake cable flange with lacquer thinner. Removed and dried the small parts from the tumbler session. Bolted the parking brake flange to the backing plate, then the anchor pin assembly.

On the front wheels you have to deal with wheel bearings. On the back wheels it's parking brake hardware. The rear shoe has a lever bolted on the back of it which has a connection for the parking brake cable at the bottom. In addition, there is a flat bar and spring between the front shoe and parking brake lever that is located just below the wheel cylinder. The purpose of this, I believe, is to expand both shoes when the parking brake is engaged. I put all this stuff together and installed the shoes with new springs and adjuster. The adjuster was lubed with a little chassis grease before installation.

Put the drum and wheel on next. Expanded the shoes up against the drum with the adjuster spoon, then backed the adjuster off a few turns to just free the wheel. put the parking brake on to test operation. Looks good. Put BillyBob back on the ground for the ever popular bleeding process. Went at it with my two-by-Four helper and Mitivac vacuum pump technique. Started with the new wheel cylinder first . . . OOPS! Little trickle coming out of the flex hose tee fitting I disturbed to straighten the brake line. Tightened that a little bit more and cleaned the drip up. A little more bleeding and it feels like a solid pedal. Time for a test run around the block. Alright. That works for me . . . for the time being. While looking under BillyBob to see if that leak at the flex hose tee had come back, I saw a potential problem. BillyBob has no bed now so the rear end is light. If the suspension ever bottoms out, however, that relocated brake line will be pinched between the axle and the axle bunper. Looks like I'll be finding out how to make brake line segments afterall.

Actually, I probably screwed up again and put the wrong wheel cylinder on . . . I sometimes get "right" and "left" parts wrong because of my architectural background. The "Left" elevation of a building is the one on the left when you are looking at the front elevation whereas the left side of a car is is taken from the perspective of the person sitting inside the car. Anyway, I put the left rear wheel cylinder on the right rear wheel, I think. The only difference it makes, I believe, is that the brake line fitting seat faces forward instead of rearward and that's why the brake line is in harm's way of the axle bumper. ~!@#$%^ Ratzen-fratzen!

November 12^th 2003  Murphy has been tag teaming me first with electrical problems, then with brake problems, then back to electrical again. Last nite on the way home to the Krash Pad, I noticed the ammeter discharging big time at idle and it struggled to get to the middle of the gauge when the engine was up to speed. This morning on the way back to the Krash Lab (lights off), it was acting more like a tach than a ammeter - charging good on acceleration and dropping back to slight discharge at idle. Put the headlights on and almost peg on discharge again. ~!@#$%^ If it was a new vehicle with electronics, maybe I could blame solar flares. Time to dig into the troubleshooting charts again, I guess.

November 15^th 2003  Been checking battery voltage every day. It's been staying between 12.6 and 12.8 volts. Today I checked under load which dropped it down to 10.4 volts. Electrolyte has dropped some too but it's about a quarter inch above the plates so I think the battery is OK for the time being. I've been lookin' over my shoulder waiting for the battery to fail due to the overcharging condition caused by the ungrounded regulator back in August. When I got here this morning, I pulled the battery disconnect without turning off the engine and it kept running so the alternator is at least putting out that much juice.

Switched out the NAPA regulator (installed in August) for the oldest regulator I have. That put the ammeter into a slight charging indication with lights on and engine at idle. We'll see how that works overnite. I also noticed in the 1969 Motors Manual that I'm using for the Delcrotron alternator/regulator information and procedures, a diagram showing a ground wire from the Delcrotron grd terminal to a mounting screw on the regulator for ground. I made a ground wire and installed it on BillyBob.

November 23^rd 2003  I'm sitting in the Wendy's drive-thru yesterday after a good day under the shadetree when I smell something burning. Using an old truck as a daily driver tends to put you on the alert to minute changes in your environment. Different smells, sounds and vibrations must be investigated in short order. half the time it turns out to be someone else's out-of-tune vehicle. This time it was BillyBob . . . The lighter knob was melting off! I caught it too late to save the knob. I had been working under the dash and maybe I pushed the lighter part way in - just enuf to make it heat up but not enuf to make it pop out when I re-connected the battery. Gonna have to order 'nother one now.

The charging system has been working fine all week, so today I switched out my old voltage regulator and replaced it with the one I got from American Classics again. I will leave that one in and save the old reliable one for backup unless the charging system begins to act up again. Took a test ride around the block - Ammeter stayed in the middle of the gauge.

I had BillyBob's front end up in the air today for chassis lube maintenance so, I went over the remainder of the exhaust pipe forward of the muffler with a 3M Scuff Pad. Masked, PRE Paint prepped and painted the exhaust pipe with Eastwood's Exhaust Paint (#10020Z).

November 26^th 2003  The old 6.50x16 LT Delta Hiway bias ply tires and inner tubes on BillyBob were on him long before I got the truck from JR. The sidewalls have been cracked all that time but the hard rubber tread has been holding up well against South Florida's aggressive coral rock aggregate asphalt paving. On the other hand, hard rubber does not make for good stopping power. I've been thinking about replacements for some time and it looks like the decision will be made for me if I don't get off my duff. Noticed that one of the valve stems is ruptured where it enters the wheel and I don't think it will be long before it fails.

February 29^th 2004  Well, it failed last week. The valve stem ruptured when I moved the truck during the windshield repair job and it is now a slow leak that is fast enuf that you can hear it when you fill the tire with air. Hauled the Harbor Freight Manual Tire Changer down from the warehouse along with the inner tube I got from Coker the last time I had a tire problem. Got a tire valve tool from a FLAPS and ordered Tire Mounting Lubricant from NAPA online.

Got the air compressor out and filled BillyBob's flat tire again so I could push him back a few feet from the bumper block for the floor jack placement. Put BillyBob's front end up on jackstands and filled the new Coker inner tube with air to make shure it wuz OK. That done, I took the front wheel off the truck. Deflated the tire again and removed the valve core. washed the tire/wheel with a Simple Green and water solution.

Used a 1" throw-away paint brush to spread tire lubricant around the bead area on the front side and used the bead breaking shoe on the tire changer to pry the bead from the rim. Repeated on the back side. When the bead separated on the back side, I realized I didn't have it broken on the front side after all. Turned it over and completed the front side bead breaking. Then, using the instructions that came with the tire changer, I got the tire off the rim with a minimum of cussin'. These instructions are for tubless tires and I managed to wreck the already bad tube some more with the tire bar.

The Chevrolet Truck Shop Manual has instructions for mounting the half ton tires but none for demounting. The Operator's Manual flat out states "The drop center wheels used on 1/2 ton models have been so universally used on cars and light trucks for so many years that it can be assumed that all motorists are familar with the procedure for changing tires." Maybe in 1955 but in 2004, this manly art has been lost to many of us. More's the pity.

Started wire-brushing the inside of the rim with wire wheel on air-powered angle grinder . . . Then it started raining on me! I had to stop and cover up BillyBob and drag some tools undercover. No rain was forecast for today, just 15-25 mph winds which are bad enuf. I was starting to run out of time for the day too.

When the wheel was clean, the new inner tube was deflated and placed inside the old tire after blowing out the casing with compressed air. The new inner tube was inflated just enuf for it to begin to take shape then, tire lubricant was spread on both sides of both beads and on the exposed side of the inner tube. It took me about twenty minutes from that point to curse the tire back onto the rim (backside bead first, fish valve stem thru hole, then the front bead). Next, the tire was inflated just enuf to seat the beads. Everything looked good. The tire was completely deflated again (valve core removed) and the beads remained seated. The tire was re-inflated at this point to 26 psi and re-mounted on BillyBob.

It looks like I was successful with my first tire and tube changing wrestling match an' I'm happy with myself despite the ball-busting comment from the operator's manual. Static balancing is next.

March 20^th 2004  Breezy, but otherwise good weather today. Took some time out from windshield bodywork for quarterly maintenance. While I had BillyBob up in the air to lube the zerk fittings, I took the driver side wheel off again to static balance it. Got a static wheel balancer from Eastwood but Harbor Freight and other vendors carry this tool too. They all charge about the same for it. This gadget needs to be on a level floor to work so I set it up inside the Krash Lab. I found wheel weights at J.C. Whitney, first time I've purchased anything from them in thirty-odd years. Back then, I'd ordered a '59 Ferd 3-speed transmission from them. It arrived completely painted Ferd blue including metal mating surfaces and splines. When I opened it up, I found rusty gears covered with graphite. I was not a happy camper! This wheel/tire didn't have any weights on it before I changed the inner tube and it didn't need much now - one ounce would do it. I put a half-ounce weight on the front side of the rim and another across from it on the back side. Done!

March 27^th 2004  Had to remove the instrument clusters to keep them out of harm's way during the dashboard metalwork and welding operations. First thing I did was reverse the ammeter connections that I got wrong during the re-wiring job two years ago (the ammeter has been reading "D" during charging and "C" during discharging. Also crimped a ring type connector on one of the ignition switch wires to replace the original fork type. I'm out of ring type connectors or I would'uv replaced them all . . . This little improvement will cut down on my cussin' everytime I have to mess with this ignition switch from here on out. The speedometer cluster was completely removed. The main cluster and the switches were placed in a 2 gal zip-lock bag and secured with duct tape. Now I have room to further protect things with a welding blanket during metalwork and masking paper during painting operations.

December 21^st 2004  That's it. We're pretty much up-to-date to the beginning of December. Since I got BillyBob back on the road, I've mostly been doing maintenance on items that have started to degrade in the year he's been sitting out back of the Krash Lab for the windshield job. Been starting to move ahead on some new stuff too and that will be covered in the next log entry. The two big jobs I hope to accomplish in the new year is wheels and tires, and a new bed floor. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all.

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Issued Tuesday December 21, 2004

Updated Thursday March 1, 2018

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