Sunday, February 29, 2004  -  I got started last weekend stripping the '71 parts truck. I got most of the cab gutted before calling it a day. There really wasn't a lot on this truck that was salvageable, but it was part of a package deal, so I ended up with it. I was able to salvage a few things for my project, though, and a few things that I'll probably list on E-bay...but a majority of this truck was too far gone to be useable.

I was planning on spending the day in the field yesterday, pulling a disc brake setup from a '79 F-150 Supercab. However, the friend donating these to the cause wasn't going to be home until later in the day, so instead I spent the day in the shop finishing stripping down the '71. The 302 in this truck is seized up...and the guy I bought it from said it and the C4 transmission were both "weak", so I won't be saving these. I might if I had more storage room, but I don't, so it's scrap. I also cut the entire roof assembly off, since it was dent and rust-free, and I talked to someone recently who might be interested in it to replace a rusted cab roof.

Fig. 1 - Here's a comparison shot of the '71, but before cutting off the roof.

Fig. 2 - After removing the roof. I ripped the front clip off, removed the spring mount for my '67 frame, and threw the front clip back on and started a couple bolts, to keep it secure while hauling it off.

Fig. 3 - Here's where the '79 called home for many years before I came along.

Fig. 4 - A quick before shot. The truck is setting on jackstands, but the front end loader is also supporting the truck, just as a backup.

Fig. 5 - 30 minutes later... and voila'! One complete Twin I-beam suspension with disc brakes.

Fig. 6 - It turns out that the brake hose brackets are attached differently, though the brackets themselves are identical. The left side is held on with two bolts, while the right side bracket is attached with a bolt and a rivet!

Today I got started on getting the disc brake setup from the '79. It was parked up on the side of a hill with no wheels or tires. Since it would have been dangerous jacking it up on the hillside, my buddy Ray offered to tow it down to his shop where I'd be out of the snow and muck, and have access to the air compressor for running the air tools. I put some rolling stock on the back, and then he used his front-end loader to lift the front end to bring it down to his shop. After almost completely tearing up the side of the hill with the tractor tires (it was a sloppy mess!) we got it out.

It turns out Ray's air compressor quick-disconnects were different than my air tools, so I ended up completely dropping this front end with hand tools. (Well, he gave me his impact wrench, but there wasn't anyplace it would fit.) But since I'd already had some practice on my '67 a couple weekends ago, I knew what to do, and had the entire front end on the ground in about 30 minutes. It took another hour to get the related accessories, like the power booster, master cylinder, proportioning valve, brake lines and brackets, etc.

Why did I drop the entire assembly as opposed to just taking the disc brake components? Well, all I really need is the disc brake spindle and all hardware outboard of that. However, the spindle is held on via the kingpin, which is notoriously difficult to remove in the field. It's much faster and a lot less of a headache to remove the entire assembly, then disassemble in the shop. To remove as an assembly, remove in this order:

1) Remove two bolts holding the coil spring retaining strap at the top.
2) Loosen the upper shock absorber nut about 90%, but don't remove it completely.
3) Disconnect the tie rod from the steering box's Pitman arm and separate the drag link from the center link.
4) Disconnect the brake lines at the caliper.
5) Remove the large nuts holding the rear of the radius arms to the frame brackets.
6) Remove the I-beam pivot bolts and pry the I-beams out of the frame brackets.

At this point the suspension assembly should be hanging by the shock absorbers. Put a hydraulic jack under one side's brake assembly to relieve the tension, then lay on your back and give that side a couple hard kicks to slide the radius arm out of the frame bracket. Then remove the shock absorber nut and lower to the ground. Repeat for the other side.

The left-side brakeline bracket is held on with two bolts, while the right-side bracket is held on with a bolt and a RIVET! Since the brackets are identical, I'll just unbolt another bracket from a different truck so I won't have to mess with trying to remove a factory rivet.

Other pieces you need to be sure to grab include:

• Brake hose frame brackets (see Fig. 6)
• Master cylinder/brake booster
• Brake proportioning valve (also snip the end off the valve's wiring, to splice into your existing harness so your brake warning light works properly)
• Front steel brake lines (these might need replacing, but grab 'em anyway)

Most of the brake components will be replaced with new parts, including the rotors, bearings, hoses and pads. The caliper will also be rebuilt and painted.

Now that the front suspension is off and in the shop, I'll be tearing it down and separating the pieces. The I-beams, coil springs, spindles and radius arms will be cleaned up and sent with the frame to get powdercoated. Since the frame is 99% ready to go, I should be ready within the next week (depending on how things go) to get everything shipped off. While those pieces are being worked on, I'll get started getting all the replacement brake pieces and related parts ordered.

February was a good month...I was able to spend a lot of time in the shop, mainly due to my wife's work schedule which allowed her to be home on the weekends to watch our son while I was getting dirty. But this coming month doesn't look quite so good...it'll be my turn to stay home from time to time attempting to be domestic, but I still plan on sneaking off to the shop whenever I can. When I have to...er...I mean, GET to stay home, I'll continue working on some updated website pages and tutorials. Much is in the works, so check in periodically.