The chassis of the fuel truck has been stripped all the way down. With the removal of the brake lines, left and right running board mounting brackets, battery box, the radiator and its frame, the truck is now about as far apart as it will be! With the sandblasting of the frame, the process of building all of the parts back into a truck has begun up in New Jersey!
Work is also ongoing on the transfer case for the truck. It was disassembled, cleaned and inspected and speedi-sleeves were installed on the flange yokes. New gaskets were fabricated and the transfer case was reassembled with new bearings and seals as well.
The engine work has included separation of the intake and exhaust manifolds, with a small crack having to be welded in the exhaust manifold. The heat riser valve, brake vacuum check valve and PCV valve were also removed, cleaned, checked for serviceability and then reconditioned and reassembled. In terms of the engine’s internal workings, the pistons were removed from the connecting rods, the hub was removed from the camshaft and these parts, along with the manifold assembly and engine block were delivered to the machine shop.
Interestingly, the dipstick tube fitting on the oil pan had cracked, no doubt from years of heavy use! So it had to be soldered back on. The starter linkage, oil pans, air filter, bellhousing, flywheel cover, and rear motor mounts were all painted recently as well!