Just About Ready For Landing! : Front Suspension Bolted In

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.

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Spring Into Action : Parts Are Flooding In

The Boxes of parts have been flooding in this week! Coil Springs, wheel cylinders, Brake Shoes, Spring Kits,star wheel adjusters  & Brake hoses are all here.

I sandblasted the backing plates & spindles and coated them with Eastwood’s Rust Capsulator. After a 24 hour drying period, I then sprayed them with Eastwood’s Chassis Black Gloss early this morning before work,  which gave them a mirror like finish.  It got to 90 degrees here today, so the heat was good for baking that paint on real nice by the time I got home.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I then began assembling everything by attaching the backing plates to the spindles. Followed by the wheel cylinders, Brake shoes, star wheel adjusters, brake adjuster spring, and finally the return springs.  I had an expensive set of brake  spring removal/installation tool. It actually was such a pain in the butt to use,  I went back to my trusty old $3.00 spring tool I bought 20 years ago when I worked on my old Datsun pickup. It was so easy, and fast. I think I’ll give my brother the expensive/complicated brake tool. One less contraption to have to store.

One problem I did come across is that the brake shoes I ordered were about 1/2 in too wide. I actually think they sent me rear shoes. The ’58 wagons have wider brake shoes for the back, and the drums are wider also. This is unfortunate, as I don’t have time to send them back and exchange them for new ones.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Oh well. Now I have a set of rear shoes.  I inspected the old shoes, and they looked fine. The pad surface was very thick, not cracked, and looks like they had been replaced before it was parked in the late 1980’s.  I will purchase new pads at another time, but for the meanwhile these will suffice for driving it in and out of the garage.

NOS Ball Joints & Lower Control Arm Shaft/Bushing Kits Found

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I ended up finding some NOS (New Old Stock) original suspension parts. They were new in the box, and despite some box wear, and some surface rust on some of the parts, they are in great shape. I got a heck of a good deal as well. $25 dollars per Box! The shaft kits were especially nice to find, as I needed to replace 2 of the 4 shafts on my car.

I am disassembling the upper control arms and shafts and will be sandblasting them for powder coating.  I am in  “Get ‘er done” mode and despite the weather being close to 100 degrees for the past 3 days, I am working feverishly to get the frame prepped for the paint that will be here Friday.

Here is the song I frequently hear playing in my head during this recent flourish of work on the Ranch Wagon these past 2 weeks!

Benny Hill would be proud.

Yard Art : Suspension Stripped & Frame Is Bare

I finished removing the passenger side suspension Saturday morning. The lower control arm shafts were really putting up a struggle, but with enough PB Blaster penetrating oil, and pounding with the small sledge hammer they reluctantly came out of their perches.  The passenger side control arm bushing failed, and the whole it was pressed into was completely rounded out. The arm is ruined and not reusable. That is fine, because I already powder coated the lower control arms from the parts car and planned on using them in the wagon.

I have ordered some products from the Eastwood Company to clean, and finish the frame. They are the Rust Conveter, Rust Encapsilator, and finally their Black Chassis Paint. I have used the Eastwood products in the past and have had great success with their products. They are durable, and easy to apply.  I usually wait for them to have a sale (Which they are having right now) and purchase.

 

I had to remove the steering column as a whole, because the steering shaft cannot be removed from the gear box. So out it came. It is a 3 speed column shift unit, and I am replacing it with the  automatic shift column from the parts car. I will reuse the steering wheel though, because it is in beautiful condition with no cracking.

I am scrubbing and cleaning the frame areas that I couldn’t get to before, which were under the upper control arms, and where the steering box were bolted onto the frame.  When the Eastwood products are delivered on Friday, I will be ready to get to work with them and get the frame conditioned and painted. I can’t wait!!