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     Obstacle #2: The cab mounts...  Well, as you might have already guessed, this isn’t just a bolt on deal.  I first picked up a set of newer Chevy cab bushings.  Next, with a few measurements, some drawings, a few pieces of scrap steel, and a good bit of help from Richard and a guy my wife works with, the new body mounting brackets were born.  The cab is now bolted solid to the frame.

     Obstacle #3: The “new” doghouse...With 40’ for 1.5” square tube, I set out to build the front end.  With yet more help from the Rat, the overall shape was now set.  It still needs sheet metal and some hood modification work, but the basic shape is there.  

     Obstacle #4: Steering...  As one might guess, the steering shaft from the firewall to the frame box is not the same between the two trucks.  Again at the junkyard, Rich and I came across a Jeep Cherokee intermediate shaft that looked promising.  I separated the Jeep shaft and modified the original 78 shaft so that the two would work together.

     Obstacle #5: Wiring the engine...  I owe a great deal of thanks to a guy I work with for this one.  In one day, he figured out how to get the ignition system to work properly.  The alternator on the other hand, that threw me.  At first, I intended to use the original external regulator alternator.  After MANY days of simply sitting on the tire, staring blankly at the wires, Rich gave me some very good advice.  He told me to wire it up as a Ranger, instead of what I was attempting.  So, I got the wiring, bought a new alternator, and simply hooked it up...TOO EASY.

     This brings me to where I am currently.  I still have quite a few things that have to be done before it can be driven, but I am hopeful that it will be “done enough” for the March LBL trip.  I have to mount the battery, run the tail lights, mount the fuel tank, and finish straightening out the engine wiring.  Not to mention having to fab up new brackets for the transmission shifter cable and the throttle cable.  I think that most of the difficult parts are out of the way.  My future plans for it are to shorten the wheelbase from 133” to around the 110” mark.

     The last bit of news I have is that I finally have a garage.  Unfortunately, due to the ground conditions, I cannot get it ready for concrete and therefore cannot use it, but I will be very happy to have that.  One of the parts that makes working on the other truck so difficult is the fact that it is at my father-in-laws garage, a 1.5-hour roundtrip drive.

     As a final note, no one has yet asked me how I got my nick name.  I’m sure some of you haven’t heard that story yet, and I know that the Rat would just be tickled to know that you  read his addition to my name in last issues newsletter.  So, if you would like to hear a long, but funny story, get with me and I’ll be happy to share it with you.

 

Daniel “No shame in the name ‘Groundhawg‘” Weisman