[FetchMeAPepsi]

<whispers> Pssst! Hey!




You guys wanna work on a "junky ol' truck"?







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Yeah, me too

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Follow me! (sneaks off into the garage)

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This is how I've felt almost all summer while I did honeydos:



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This is how I feel when I get to work on Cecilia




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See? His face is about to explode from happiness! Or constipation. The look is interchangeable.

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Today me and the Powder Puff took a break from fence building to blow off some steam. We popped on the compressor, pulled out the old sand blaster again and grabbed a bag of Black Beauty blaster media. I bought it before I knew what I was doing. It was $40.00 for every 10 lb. bag and that's too dang expensive for something that can just blow away in the wind.

The sand blaster



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The blasting dust, which I just found on Ebay for $1.00 a pound. Another lesson learned

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Then we pulled out one of Cecilia's old steel rims. I know, I know. She needs me to peek at her engine and a bunch of other stuff, but we needed something we could handle quickly that wouldn't break the bank.

We started with an orangey rusty somebody-done-tried-to-paint-it mess with deep paint runs in places and a lot of puddling in the corners. I had a pic of that but I lose'ded it.

I blasted the wheel - whoosh! And it all went in my eyes and nose. We boogied over and put some eye protection on and tried again. Much better.
I had the Powder Puff stand out in the yard and blasted while I held my breath, then stopped to breathe, lather, rinse, repeat.

Here's most of the wheel done. The orange looking bits are the original rust and yuck.



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Then we got the blower out and blew the dust and crap off of it.



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A spare board under it to protect the concrete...



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Then we taped all around the edges - on this old tire it really doesn't matter. I need new ones anyway. This one got cut up so I could put feet on my compressor to protect it from vibration on the concrete floor

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We taped up the valve stem too so it didn't turn out some oddball color and refuse to take air

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Then ya gotta hit it with Ospho rust converter for all those little spots you missed.



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24 hours later, get some paint on her. I chose Valspar Outdoor for metals in white. After a few months it should calm down to a less stark color and look close to original if my patio furniture ages the same way.



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Here's a shot of the first coat. We'll give her four coats total.



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And that was it for today. Tomorrow we'll do the same thing on the back of this wheel and maybe get another one done. Then we'll carry them around to tire shops looking for tall skinny tires to put on them, and a spare wheel to add to the collection. Cecilia came with no spare, but four of the bullet hole wheels you see her wearing all the time. Not good enough for my girl!




OH! And one more VERY IMPORTANT thing. I was taking the kids around the block in Cecilia the other day and like some of you guys know I've been having trouble getting her from 1st to 2nd and 3rd gears. I read a writeup that sounded so smart and made sense that said the fork wears down and you need to take the whole steering column apart, weld more metal into the shifting link...fork? Shuttle? The little thing that flops on the steering column between R/1st and 2nd/3rd linkages. Anyway, take that off, weld it more, then put it back together. I thought for sure that was in my future.

For now I've just been getting out of the truck, rocking it a little, and pulling it by hand into first gear when it gets stuck.

DUMB.

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Back to my story, I was taking The Boy and the Powder Puff for a spin around the neighborhood, just touchin' on Cecilia so I keep my interest high, and she locked up again. So I hopped out, grabbed the linkage for 1st gear, and started the delicate dance of moving it back to first without pinching my fingers.

As I look back up to get in the truck, an old bearded guy that looks like a skinny version of Godwin from Duck Dynasty hollered from his house about 40 feet away - "Hey, is that one of them ol' GMCs with that Big Block V6 in it?"



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I said with a huge grin, "You bet! The original 305!" He ambled over and took a look and spun a yarn about how he didn't see much of these anymore and they sure could pull. We talked a bit, which it to say he talked because I REALLY stink at social stuff (never know what to say) and he eventually asked me what stopped me there. I told him and pointed out my fork/shuttle thing needing welding. He said, "That don't need weldin, that's yer NEUTRAL ADJUSTMENT. You jes' loosen 'er up and move this like this, and...go give that a try." I did and it was perfect!

Turns out the guy had a shop that worked on old trucks and cars from back in the 50s and 60s and he saw this kinda thing all the time. Now I'm gonna pass that info on to you guys

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Here's the spot under the hood on the steering column that gets caught between gears. You can yank and snatch on the shifter all you want, you ain't gonna get it back in place.



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Now run inside and shift it into neutral. Set the brake unless you've got fast legs, you'll be chasing your truck in a minute!

Run back outside and look at how the R/1st and 2nd/3rd linkages are lined up. If they aren't lined up so you can flick that little shuttle/fork thing back and forth really easily, you need to loosen the nut on the shaft that is lowest (because of gravity, is why) and move it upward. On mine it was this one.



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Move it up and tighten the nut back down. Then check it again. If it moves freely then you're all set! I haven't had a problem since and I didn't even have to drag the welder out!

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One more thing, I haven't been online in about a month or more so all you guys with PMs to me gimme a couple of days to catch up. I always answer every PM. If I don't , I'm dead!

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