I started prepping and assembling the front end at around 9:30 am, and 2 Napa Auto Parts, 1 AutoZone, 5 Diet Cokes, 2 Metal splinters, 1/4 tank of gas, 2 Arby Roast Beefs, 38 miles and 7 hours later, I am almost done!
I really ran into a problem with hardware. I didn’t have any new castle nuts for the upper ball joints to bolt to the spindle. The lower ball joints had hardware. Also, I needed castle nuts for the tie rod ends because I didn’t want to reuse the old ones. I also needed cotter pins. A quick trip to the local auto parts store should end that need, right?
WRONG.
The first local NAPA Auto parts store got me this reply: “I don’t carry Castle nuts, but I do have cotter pins.”
Okay. So I bought cotter pins.
A 14 mile drive into the next city with an AutoZone store brought me Castle nuts, but in metric only. GRRRRRR.
So I traveled across town to a NAPA Auto parts that did have Standard Castle nuts. Of course, by then it was Lunchtime so a quick detour into the Arby’s drive thru and I was on the road home.
All I have left to do tomorrow is finish painting the brake drums, and get the wheels on and it’ll be landing time. Wheels on the ground and goal achieved. My shoulders ache from holding the spindles up, and working the jack to compress the spring from under the lower control arm. My wife already has the Icy Hot on the nightstand ready for a long back rub rehabilitation of this sore Ranch Wagon owner. But it was worth it.
Progress from August 4th to September 14.
Ranchwagon's Blog 
HA! I thought I was the only one who drove around all day looking for a dollars worth of hardware! If you were me, as soon as you’d have gotten home, you’d have seen some castle nuts and cotter pin’s laying on the bench, or in the bolt bin, that you’d bought for some other project and forgotten about…
Brian
You know Brian, you are just about right. I did find cotter pins in a plastic container in a drawer in my shop this morning while looking for a needle tip to inflate a soccer ball for one of my nephews today. Oh man, you got to love it.
Have you been able to find rear shocks? I cant find oem or upgrades for my 58 RW