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Old 02-27-2016, 12:50 PM   #1421
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Year: 1946
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Roger that Jack. I just wanted to make sure I could extract this puppy relatively easy after installing. My shop did a great job of sizing the shaft...nice snug fit at ambient with no rattle but can be pulled off without resorting to a torch.

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Old 02-27-2016, 05:45 PM   #1422
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More done today --- Of course it has taken two days just to drill the eight 1/2" holes necessary to attach the C-channel I'm using to mount the new crossmember. What a frikkin chore! And if anyone has any doubts about how much torque a 20 year old (American made) 1/2" corded Milwaukee drill has...have them ask me. Nearly broke my wrist a half dozen times with big sucker.


Tadaaah! One down, one more to go. There are four 1/2" holes top & bottom that are fitted with grade 8 flange bolts (also, not so coincidentally known as...frame bolts in the trucking industry). While I would rather have hot bucked rivets doing the job...my hot bucker was at the cleaners this week so big bolts will have to do.


Oh yeah...and torquing down those bolts was fun too. Took a little creativity just to get the wrenches in there but this one is done. Hope to at least get a start on the other side tomorrow.

ONWARD!
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Old 02-28-2016, 07:44 PM   #1423
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Sunday Bloody Sunday --- Gack! What a monumental PITA! Have I mentioned I HATE working underneath this sucker. Another full day just to drill eight 1/2" holes but at least I did get the end plate for the new crossmember bolted up on one side before crashing. Once again, my "Old Milwaukee" drill beat me to pieces.


After drilling the passenger side, I went back and bolted up the plate on the driver side. Just getting the bolts in was enough of a chore, but torquing them down to 300 ft. lbs. was a whole nuther barrel of joy. In fact, none of my wrenches would fit into the space inside the channels so I wound up having to make a wrench for the job.


And here it is. Take a standard, large 3/4" combination, then cut off the open end and weld it up to fit these mongrel nuts & bolts.

Ah well, at least I got SOMETHING done today. So much for resting on the Sabbath. I'm off to soak in the shower.

ONWARD!
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Old 02-28-2016, 07:50 PM   #1424
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The General couldn't have done any better! Did you get the other side installed today?
I spent the day PM-ing Honeysuckle Rose for an outing next week. I checked the fluids, belts, steering jungle jim, drive shaft, brake lines, lamps, chassis wiring, air compressor and air tank and wipers (God forbid it should rain!). Since HR is meeting up with a bunch of the high dollar Big Boy buses, she insisted that I give her a polish job so she could hold her head up among the hoity toitys though I don't know why as she hs always been treated like a Queen. I wasn't feeling tired until I wrote this, but now I'm exhausted! Jack
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Old 02-28-2016, 07:59 PM   #1425
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Howdy Jack --- Nope...I flat ran out of gas. Just too tired and beat up. Will get on the other side manana.

And I have no doubt that HR is treated like royalty. And rightly so. Anybody can BUY their way into the hoi poloi...only the great can build their way in.

God Save HRH the Queen!
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Old 03-06-2016, 01:34 PM   #1426
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A MILESTONE! --- (or is that Mill Stone?) Either way, I finally completed installing the new frame crossmember that I fabbed a while back. This whole project was the result of not having enough room for the park brake that mounts onto the back of the Allison tranny. The trans has a "Park" pawl built in, but I would never rely on that alone anywhere that wasn't dead level. And since I am hoping to "head for the mountains" as soon as this rig is completed...an old school mechanical brake is the only thing I would trust. But...like so many of the tasks I have taken on while building this bus...I was not 100% sure if the brake would fit even after all this work. The measures were really close, but still somewhat in the realm of best guestimates.

Praise be...it fits!


Here is the crossmember with the original finally cut away (which made me very nervous). Not sure if you can tell from the pic, but the two tubes that make up the new crossmember straddle one of the floor supports and there is about 1/16th of an inch clearance between it and the braces on the crossmember. It is a very snug fit.

And...


Here is the new park brake test fitted and just barely clearing everything. What a relief! Still have to work out the lever and cable but compared to the work that went into getting this far...

ONWARD!

Oh, and BTW...I still have to make a replacement for the original front engine mount/crossmember as well. It was chopped out by whoever installed the 350 Chevy motor this rig came with. Mo' fun to come.
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Old 03-06-2016, 02:39 PM   #1427
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WooHoo! Know the feeling regarding hand held big drill motors. While drilling the 3in toilet hole somehow my hand locked the trigger and when it bound up I let go but the danged thing kept going and attacked me
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Old 03-06-2016, 02:59 PM   #1428
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Very nicely tucked out of the way. This would have been a whole lot easier if you had just used a lot of zip ties! ;)
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Old 03-06-2016, 04:29 PM   #1429
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Glad you got the hard part done first. a front engine mount/crossmember is definitely easier to work on.
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Old 03-06-2016, 04:30 PM   #1430
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Drilling and bolting takes more time but you know what you have.
The only thing I have found from my old timers is that when grinding cast iron sparks have a forked tongue in the spark leaving the grinder (burns out quick) and hardened steel is straight and true off of the grinding wheel. Makes since since one is hardened and one is pot metal.
Bolting in any heat treated metal is the answer and I would also use spacers on the bolts in the voids to strengthen the void in plates added.
The only other thing I have been taught,told and heard again while looking into this is to braze the two together high temp. Cast and high temp steel using a nickel brazing ROD. I am sure the properties of the rod have changed between now and then (hopefully for the better)?
I do know that you have to pay attention to your heat when welding/brazing anything especially tempered steel
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Old 03-06-2016, 07:56 PM   #1431
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The only welding was done on the hot rolled steel plate that was bolted to the frame. None on the actual frame. And that was all done with a little 140 mig. Would have preferred to have pre-heated a bit but it was so danged tight under there I had to settle for multiple passes. Three, actually.

And the bolts are all 1/2", grade 8 flange bolts & nuts. Also known as "frame bolts" in the trucking industry.
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Old 03-07-2016, 02:21 PM   #1432
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Whoop! --- got the new park brake installed today! (But only after taking the whole thing to a friend/master mechanic for an explanation of how a couple of pieces went together)

Now I am sketching up a plan and starting a parts search for the cable system.

Would post pix but it looks pretty much the same as the "test fit" shots.

ONWARD!
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Old 03-10-2016, 11:04 AM   #1433
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Tango. Got a place for this? Sure wish I did. Jack
Mercury Napco Short School Bus | eBay
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Old 03-10-2016, 11:17 AM   #1434
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Holy Moly, what a sweetheart Jack!!! --- And talk about a perfect candidate for a 6 cylinder Cummins. The bidding appears to be pretty aggressive considering no engine or tranny, but I am hoping that it shows up here whoever gets it so we can follow along. A real dream vehicle in my book. If I weren't so far along...
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Old 03-10-2016, 02:37 PM   #1435
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OMG.. Mercury. Napco. Bluebird.. My favorite things all rolled up in one.
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Old 03-10-2016, 05:26 PM   #1436
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Mercury + 4wd? I'm betting it must be from Cananda originally.
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Old 03-11-2016, 09:11 AM   #1437
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I'm guessing it's a Canook too. Might be a bear to ever get highway speeds out of but then, not many early 4x's ever saw anything over 45. Still a real sweetheart.

Somebody here PLEASE snag that darlin' so we can all watch the build!
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Old 03-12-2016, 05:49 PM   #1438
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Made a little more progress today --- Lately I have been jumping all over the place doing a little here and a little there on a dozen different projects. Just got back on my spare tire carrier. It might even work!


Here is the carrier in the down position. It fits under the (yet to be built) rear deck and between the frame rails. The center ring is a leftover front wheel piece used to delete five if the ten bolts. It was perfect for getting the tire into the right position.



A test fit of the spare. Wheel slides up and bolts to the center ring for positioning.


Had to make a special wrench adapter to operate the chain hoist that raises and lowers this big, heavy sucker. It will be accessed through a small hatch on the deck.


Checked it out and it works fine. No grunting or groaning and goes up and down pretty quickly.


Going up...


...and, fully raised.

Now I can start assembling the actual deck!

ONWARD!
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Old 03-12-2016, 05:51 PM   #1439
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Lookin' good!
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Old 03-12-2016, 05:54 PM   #1440
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Year: 1989
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Chassis: Saf-T-Liner ER
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Rated Cap: 87
BRAVO!!!!! Great to see your idea works so well!

ONWARD!!!!!

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