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 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.

53. Getting back on track

July 4^th 2007 Independence day  Nice day. Not too hot. First day back under the BillyBob shadetree since returning from the Macungie run roadtrip. 23 days and 4,783 miles with BillyBob. The first order of bizness, therefore, is an oil and filter change followed by monthly maintenance and quarterly maintenance. Also removed the jerry can mounts for storage up at the warehouse. Drank some beer and wrote up some of the roadtrip logs. Wingnut tried to show me how he took care of the computers while I was away (if green poop on green circuit boards can be considered taking care of things, that is). All-in-all, a good day.

July 14^th 2007  It's summer in the south. Already 80 degrees when I got on the road up to the Krash lab at daybreak. Last weekend was stormy and I had to finish up the Macungie run logs so I stayed inside the Krash Lab and got that done along with the help of several beers. Today, I'm cleaning BillyBob up a bit and recategorizing the spare parts and tools I took with me on that trip. A few items will remain with the truck while the other ammo boxes will be divided between the storage shed and the warehouse bay.

Transferred the five gallons of spare gas from the jerry can to BillyBob's tank. Used the five gallons of water in the other jerry can to clean up the resulting mess. I don't have a spout for the jerry can yet and there is spillage as a result. Funnels and intermediate containers and hand siphons are a poor substitute for a good spout.

July 21^st 2007  A nice day to work. It's still hot but not quite the broiler that last saturday was. Dragged out and organized the tools before jacking up BillyBob's rear end and pulling the passenger side rear wheel. The brake drum came off without problems and visual inspection revealed that the linings were still good.

My "beer of the month club" shipment arrived yesterday and one of the selections, Wild Goose Oatmeal Stout, has enuf of a kick to slow me down a bit. When the afternoon rains came, I sampled 'nother beer of the month selection, and that put BillyBob and me on the road of the damned down to Crabby jack's.

July 28^th 2007  Good weather this morning to work in. Back to the broken parking brake cable on the passenger side. I'm slippimg into some bad habits and as a result, mother nature is getting ahead of me in our struggle for BillyBob's soul.

The new cable and the old have some differences but, at first glance, I don't forsee any problems. Hunted up some new fasteners in my vast McMaster-Carr collection and updated my fastener inventory with 5/16"-18 x 3/4" cap screws, lock washers and hex nuts for the cable bracket to backing plate connection.

There are two facing brackets on the cable where it interfaces with the backing plate. I've seen a few lively discussions regarding whether these two plates should be on the outside of the backing plate or if the backing plate should be sandwiched between them. Having them both on the backside of the plate has worked for me in the past and I'm sticking with that method. The return spring (around the cable inside the drum) is not as stiff on the new cable as the old one was so it was easier connecting the lever on the shoe to the cable than I was expecting.

Reinstalled the shoes and brake drum and wheel. Then hooked up the other end of the brake cable with the old hardware and a new cable boot. The first time I encountered this cable boot years ago, it was a real frustration since I didn't know the installation trick. You've got a rubber nipple with a 1/16" hole that you have to force over a long, threaded 5/16" shaft. The trick is a drop of dishwashing soap in the hole of the rubber boot and a pair of external snap-ring pliers to spread the hole enuf to get it over the threaded shaft. Needle nose pliers will work too but the snap ring pliers are easier because the ends are smaller and open up when you squeeze the handle.

July 29^th 2007  Good weather again this morning under the shadetree. The boss is planning on bringing Frankie ('39 Caddy) to the office so we can mess around with the top mechanism so I'm keeping the work on BillyBob light. BillyBob's paint is looking pretty ratty again. The roof is chalky and the hood and fender tops have "freckles" where I applied Meguiar's Quik Detailer without removing raindrops and drying first. Wasn't shure how to go about fixing the situation so I didn't even clean the parrot poop off BillyBob before I took off on the Macungie run.

I got a Flitz ball and polish some time back and haven't gotten around to trying it out yet. Decided to experiment and try it on the roof. It worked pretty good in bringing back the "farm truck patina" so I continued with the hood and cowl. We'll give it a week and try the Quik Detailer again on the newly polished areas.

The rains started about one in the afternoon. The boss had not shown up yet and probably won't bring the Caddy out if it keeps raining . . . It kept raining. Clouds pass, sun shines but it keeps sprinkling lightly thru it all. Happens that way in this neck of the woods sometimes. I watched TV fer awhile and sat in BillyBob's cab and smoked a cigar and listened to latino music on the radio. Finally, I closed up shop and headed for the Krash Pad.

August 4^th 2007  Another good weather day 'cept for the heat. Gonna have to work slow. Got BillyBob up in the air and removed the driver side rear wheel and brake drum. My original plan was to replace the '54 wheel cylinder that JR's mechanic installed years ago. It is in good shape, however, and I've reconsidered. The new plan is to remove components down to the wheel cylinder and mask it off for painting ops.

Springs and shoes were taken off and backing plate was cleaned with brake cleaner and paper towels followed by wire cup in the electric angle grinder. The wheel cylinder, parking brake cable and shoe pivot were masked off next for painting after checking under the wheel cylinder rubber seals for leakage. Good news there. No leakage. After masking, the backing plate got an application of PRE Paint Prep followed by a heavy coat of Eastwood's Rust Encapsulator. That was given a few hours to dry while I hunted up new springs, retainers and adjuster for the brake shoes in my inventory. I just hope they are here at the Krash Lab and not up at the warehouse.

I found everything I needed 'cept for the little wheel cylinder pushrods that engage the shoes. I had to clean up the old ones and reuse them this time. A few beers and a cigar and it was time to put things back together again. It is really hot today. I'm watching the Military Channel in the Krash Lab and going out during the commercials to work on BillyBob for a few minutes in the sun. Keeps the possibility of heat exhaustion or sunstroke down. Drinking lots of water now to keep dehydration in check (sun and beer).

August 5^th 2007  Good weather and not quite as hot as yesterday. It was time for monthly maintenance. All fluids are holding. I checked the steering box too and the STP is not seeping out. It only needed topping off. My guess regarding the leakage I had during the Macungie run is that the engine heat and vibrations from hours on the road caused it to leak more than day-to-day driving. Topped off the shift linkage box with chassis grease too. Then I continued polishing the paint with the Flitz ball and polish. Last week I got the roof and most of the hood done before the rains started. Today, I finished the hood and did the fenders and passenger side door. I also treated what I polished last week with Quik Detailer.

August 11^th 2007  Arrived at the Krash Lab before seven. It's already hot and there is a forty percent chance of rain today if you believe the forecast. The Flitz polish I've been working with the past two weeks has put a nice shine to the rattlecan Rustoleum paint but it doesn't bead up in the rain. I thought I'd try wax one more time. Got another Flitz ball for the job. Washed and dried the roof, hood and front fenders. Then applied Mequiar's NXT Generation spray wax with a rag. Buffed off with a rag then went over it with the Flitz ball. Not bad. I've finally got wax on the Rustoleum without the foggy appearance that was plaguing me before.

Put an application of Rain-X on the windshield after cleaning it. When I was in Melbourne during the Macungie run, My uncle Tom gave me a couple of noise supressors to put on the radio antenna wire. These are similar to the bulges you see at either end of a monitor cable on your computer. Will they work for an AM antenna wire? Who knows. Can't hurt to find out.

August 18^th 2007  Well, the noise supressors had no effect. Last sunday was a blistering broiler of a day so no work got done under the shade tree. Today is better. Some time back, I got a Motive Systems Power Bleeder for the Jeep clutch since the Mitivac is not suitable for bleeding that system. I also got all the accessory attachments so I could, hopefully, use it with BillyBob too. Everytime I get a new tool that I don't know how to use, I tiptoe around it fer awhile, getting up the gumption to tear into things and make the mistakes I always do in unfamiliar territory.

August 25^th 2007  Summertime blues again. Hot, muggy, forty percent chance of rain. Still haven't got the brakes bled. Jacked the front end up and adjusted the brakes. Then jacked the rear end up and adjusted the rear brakes. Got BillyBob back on the ground and then it started sprinkling off and on. The weather got worse after awhile instead of better so I packed it in for the day.

August 26^th 2007  The brake adjustment gave me engagement of the brakes with very little depression of the pedal. Brake pedal was already solid. One of the reasons I've been procrastinating, other than sheer laziness, is that the brakes are working better than they ever have and I'm a bit fearful of messin' up a good thing. It's past time to quit pussy-footin' around 'tho.

The ground was still dry when I got to the Krash Lab but the sky was rumbling in the distance. I got the pressure bleeder connected to BillyBob's master cylinder and pumped the pressure up to ten psi for a recommended leak test. The accessory attachment for "antiques" worked well. The pressure was down to eight psi after about five minutes had passed. There was no documentation to tell me if that was good or bad so I told myself it was good and plunged ahead. I released the pressure and poured about two quarts of DOT 3 brake fluid in the power bleeder. Pumped the pressure back up to ten psi. There are no recommendations for how high the pressure should be for older vehicles. I decided to start on the low side.

Setup the driver side rear wheel for bleeding first (farthest away from the master). Motive Systems was scimpy in what they provided for this end of the operation so I cannabalized my Mitivac for tubing and collection reservoir. I use a small 3/8" six point box end wrench for the bleeder (Yeah, I've rounded a couple of these in the past). It doesn't have enuf leverage for the initial loosening, however, and I use a 3/8" six point deep socket for that before the tubing is attached.

The pressure bleeder worked great. Once the bleeder screw is loose enough for fluid flow, more is not better. If you turn it too much, air gets in around the threads if you're using a vacuum bleeder. Judging if the bleeder is open enough has been a problem with the Mitivac for me. It is a breeze with the pressure bleeder.

I was on my third wheel when it started sprinkling. It was raining harder by the time I got to the last wheel. I stopped to put my "creeper" under cover. This is a nice square of carpet that Tom Caperton gave me when I visited him on the Macungie run. I did the last wheel on the bare asphalt as the parking lot started getting swampy. I had to wait for the rain to stop before finishing up in the cab. Got the bubble chair out and had my cigar and coffee on the back door stoop while I waited. I won't be doing the Jeep clutch today. Smoke 'em if ya got 'em.

September 1^st 2007  It's my 58^th birthday. I gotta pick up the pace. During the week I finetuned the brake adjustment. I would check each wheel after the seven mile trip up to the Krash Lab each morning. The driver side rear wheel was running hot and the other three were just slightly warm. I'd pull the shoes back a couple of notches with the brake spoon and check the results on the following morning. Two days of this routine and I had everything uniform.

September 15^th 2007  Fell flat on my face. Didn't get anything done on the Labor Day weekend and then caught a stomach virus that put me down for the count the following weekend. Here we are in the middle of September. Overdue for monthly maintenance so that was done first this morning on both BillyBob and BettyLou.

September 22^nd 2007  Sixty percent chance of rain today, the forecasters say. I still haven't got my groove back from a lazy summer but I'm determined to make a go of it today. Last week I didn't get much done beyond monthly maintenance. I pulled the spare tire and carrier for detailing and did some parts organization and that was it.

A couple of weeks ago, I got a "848" replacement head for BillyBob on ebay. BillyBob's current head has a 7.5 compression ratio. They started producing the "848" (last three digits of the casting number) in 1956. It should have a compression ratio of 8.25. It arrived intact and doesn't look as if the UPS guy dropped it anywhere along the way. I need to take it up to the warehouse until I can get to cleaning it up and checking for cracks and other defects. It might be a boat anchor but at $125 plus $35 shipping, I considered it worth the risk. My methodist granddad would say this thing is "heavier than a dead baptist preacher". Our UPS guy is not happy with me.

Got to the Krash Lab early and pulled the tools out of the shed. Setup the air compressor and grime blaster, garden hose and one gal 20/80 purple degreaser/water mix. Degreased and rinsed BillyBob's rear axle and backing plates. Moved BillyBob to a dryer spot and jacked up the rear end and removed the rear wheels.

Wire-brushed the driver side backing plate and a bare spot on the axle (from dripping brake fluid) with a wire cup in the 'lectric angle grinder. Masked the brake lines and bleeders. Masked the u-bolts too and applied PRE Paint Prep. Hit the wire-brushed areas with a coat of Eastwood's Rust Encapsulator. Had a few bottles of Millstream Brewing Company's "Oktoberfest" Lager (beer of the month club) and watched Powerblock on TV while I waited for the paint to dry. Finished up by giving the driver side backing plate and axle a coat of Eastwood's Chassis Black. Removed the masking, put the wheels back on and got BillyBob back on the ground again. The sky was dark and rumbling all afternoon but it didn't rain on me and turned out to be a plus day.

September 29^th 2007  End of summer. Rained shortly after I got to the Krash Lab. To the west is the weird sight of a rainbow framing the moon. We've got two months left of hurricane season but city workers are stringing Christmas decorations in the park up the street!

It's a slow moving day. It rained three times by noon, then Donny, the "global warming" lawn man, showed up to put a damper in my activities. I don't argue with him anymore. Obviously, you can't employ logic with a guy who uses a gas-powered leaf blower all day long and blames global warming on the president. I broke out the beer of the month club selection early. Blackhawk Stout, brewed and bottled by the Mendocino Brewing Co. of Ukiah, Ca. I nebber heard of Ukiah before and now I see two references in one month. This beer and Rob English's Cannonball Run roadtrip between Boston and San Francisco. It was one of the meet up places for Rob and the OldGMCtrucks members who live in California.

I spent all day, discounting disruptions, on a little task. The brake lines on the rear axle were rusted. The other brake lines are OK. How did this happen? Eventually figured that when I wiped them down with lacquer thinner in the past to remove overspray, I also removed the protective coating on them that I wasn't aware of. Hard lessons are the best learned. I won't do that again.

First, I sanded the brake line to get most of the rust off. Then, with the help of the beer, I thought a lot regarding a solution. The easy way out was to do nothing further. The next solution up the ladder was to spray the line with Eastwood's Diamond Clear Metal Finish. I wasn't too happy with the results of Diamond Clear in my past uses of it, however. After a few beers, I focused on the harder choice. Masked off the axle and backing plates and treated the brake lines with PRE Paint Prep. Gave the lines a coat of Eastwood's Self-etching primer, then a coat of Eastwood's Detail Gray. Can't get good coverage so, I don't expect much of this solution but, it will look nice fer a week or so.

October 6^th 2007  Breezy and overcast today but not as bad yet as last weekend. Maybe I can get a few things done before the rain drives me inside. Am a bit overdue on quarterly maintenance so that was performed first on BillyBob.

Set about changing the tire on BillyBob's spare next. This is the last of the bald and cracked tires that were on BillyBob when I got him Back in '95. I took it easy and it went without too much difficulty. Muscled the old tire and inner tube off then cleaned the wheel up with a wire cup in the electric angle grinder. Put the new 6.50x16 tire on with a used, but fairly new, inner tube from my last tire changing episode before the Macungie run. Inflated the new tire to 45 psi and waited a couple of hours to see if the pressure held. It did.

A hard rain hit the Krash Lab about 3:45 pm. Came up on me too fast to get the tools in the shed ~!@#$%^ Only lasted ten minutes but turned the shadetree garage into a swamp. I packed it in for the day and did computer work inside.

October 7^th 2007  Stopped up at the warehouse on the way to the Krash Lab to pick up my wheel paint masking rings and to let off some parts. A few weeks back, I ordered a pinion seal from RockAuto.com. After I cleaned and touched up the paint on the rear axle a couple of weeks ago. I kept an eye on it for leakage. It really doesn't leak unless overfilled or parked on a slope and then not much. I chickened out of trying the seal repair this go round and put the pinion seal in the traveling parts ammo box with the other spare chassis parts.

When I got set up at the Krash Lab, I pulled out the spare tire carrier, washed it, PRE Paint Prepped it and gave it a freshen up coat of rattlecan chassis black. After it cured for a few hours, I had another improvement in mind. Back when I did my first wheel restoration with real automotive paint and pinstripes, I immediately messed it up with deep gouges trying to mount it in the spare wheel carrier. One of BillyBob's fans, Pete from Liberty Modular Homes, suggested using "Plasti Dip". I was aware of Plasti Dip but didn't know the name of the stuff until I got Pete's e-mail. Thanks Pete, if you're still reading the BillyBob logs.

I started putting coats of black Plasti Dip on the "spade" edge of the tire carrier at half-hour intervals with a 1" throw away brush until I got a good buildup of the stuff. Very messy if you can't actually dip and have to use the brush application method.

Got out the spare tire/wheel and the wheel masking rings. PRE Paint Prepped the wheel on both sides and gave the bare spots a coat of rattlecan Rust Encapsulator. After that cured a couple of hours, both sides of the spare wheel got a coat of Rustoleum Dark Hunter Green. The wheel carrier hardware got a cleaning session followed by a polishing session in the tumbler.

October 13^th 2007  During the past week I added a spare tire detailing routine to BillyBob's maintenance procedures. This morning, first thing, I put the tire carrier and spare back on BillyBob. Hope that thing doesn't have to come out of there until the next detailing. That's it! Finally done with the chassis phase of this detailing cycle. On to the cab interior next. I've also got to turn my attention to Renegade and BettyLou for a bit. I still haven't got the Jeep back on the road and last week, I blew one of BettyLou's brake lines so, BillyBob is currently my only running vehicle.

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Issued Saturday October 13, 2007

Updated Friday March 30, 2018

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