Rear end re-gear

Well, after having the third member from the rear end sitting around for about 5 years, tripping over it, moving it from here to there, it is officially no longer a trip hazard.  The pumpkin is in the truck!

After removing the original 5.16 gear ratio rear end, I cleaned up the housing, replaced the seal, and popped the new pumpkin in place.  Now this truck will motor along with a 4.10 gear ratio.  Slightly better than the previous, which would wind the rpm's on that little 216 up higher than I ever want to run it down the road and top out about 40 with a favorable tail wind and downhill grade.  I hope to achieve a reasonable highway speed of about 55 now.  This truck isn't a racecar, so 70 won't happen, but at least I won't get blown off the highway.

I was pleased with how everything came out.  All the components were in good order, so new seals and gaskets, a thorough cleaning, and reassembly.  On to the next step!

Next order of business is to focus on frame completion.  I still need to remove the shocks and work on rebuilding them.  And final component stripping and welding up a few holes in the bumper before I take it to get sandblasted.  That will come after corn seed is delivered and planted, so likely late March.  Blast, epoxy prime, and chassis black.  Then I will start to reassemble the entire frame and drop the drivetrain in.  Something else I won't have to trip over anymore. 

Then on to the last big restoration piece....bodywork on the cab.  Have to replace some sheet metal, patch some little holes, knock out some dents.  And oooh boy does it have the dents.  Years of farm work will do that to one.  Once the cab is straight, It will get stripped and a coat of epoxy.  I imagine that while I am set up to strip paint and do body work I will go ahead and work on the rest of the body parts like the hood, doors, fenders, etc. and get them in epoxy.  That should consume most of the summer. 

I would love to have it painted and ready to re-assemble by the fall, but that will be a game-time decision for sure.  Whatever I do it has to be capable of being vacated by Jan 1 when my seed comes in and takes over my shop.  But its a project that isn't on a time table.  So if it takes another 6 months, a year, or two, so be it. 

A lot of the components were redone as they were removed and boxed away.  Only thing is that many of those parts have been in a box since then (8ish years ago).  So who knows what they will look like.  I'm also going to be updating my gauge cluster with modern gauges.  Except the old faces will be put on the new gauges to give the appearance of original. 

If I had unlimited time and unlimited budget, like the TV shows, this thing should be done and on the road by next weekend.  But since that isn't the case, and it gets worked on and paid for out of my hip pocket and lunch money, well, it takes longer.  The last, and likely most expensive part will be the final piece when she is ready to roll, 6 new tires!  I've been quoted $1800 for the set.  So she may roll around on old rubber for a while.  Someone let me help you buy a big ranch and we can speed this dude along!