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'62 Falcon Econoline


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Tim wanted to be able to disconnect all the wiring at the battery box in case it ever needs to come out and found this cool 8 wire connector. It's actually very reminiscent of many Datsun connectors, so I think we may buy a bunch for future projects...

 

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Also, after much cussing and discussing he replaced the spinner knob and shifter knob with their purple-tinted counterparts...

 

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So I was thinking about how to mount a purple knob (mind out of the gutter, people!) on the parking brake handle.  IF (and it is a big "if" due to the proximity of the house of dogs) we can get the Hurst handle off the parking brake, I'm thinking we get a coupling nut of the same thread as the brake rod, zook the square shaft from the doorknob into one end and thread the two together.  Oh, we'd also, probably, zook a horizontal "T" bar sort of thing to the nut which would provide both pull and twist.

 

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Update: I just went to the shop and had a look.  There is no easy way to unscrew the Hurst handle from the parking brake, so I need to find somewhere else to put my purple knob.

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Those of you who are "painters," and thus sensitive to ham-fisted spray-paint users, may have felt a disturbance in the Force about an hour ago.  That was me painting a part I'd just built.  See, yesterday we found one of those cruciform lug wrench thingies at the shop.  John was about to throw it away when I suggested we zook a spline-drive lug nut tool into it for the van.  We didn't want to sacrifice the ability to use power tools at the shop though, so we didn't want to use the one which came with the lug nuts.  I looked on line and saw that the tools are available a-la-carte.  I found and bought one, then zooked it to said cruciform wrench and thought, "This thing ought to be bright orange so I can find it easier."  It is now fluorescent orange... as are my shoes and quite a bit of the welding/fabrication room.  Fluorescent orange is the oversprayingest damned stuff I have ever seen!  John's probably going to be pissed when he sees the place, but I think it was mainly my stuff what got powdered.  Oops.

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I stopped by the shop today to drop off some stuff I bought for the van. 

 

First: the subwoofer.  It fits under the driver seat as I had planned, but it needs some standoffs or feet to clear the seat bracket.  I just hope they turn out to be solid enough to not soak up the bass.  We'll see.  I was worried about the RCA splitters I planned to use encroaching into the passenger footwell too far, but I think they are going to be ok after all.  I might make a "simple" plastic cover to hide everything... and by "simple," I of course mean super complicated, multiple bend in multiple planes, total pain in the ass.  

 

And second: the spare wheel.  I bought another wheel from, I thought, the same vendor as before but what arrived is not the same.  If the only difference is the lack of red and blue stripes, I'll be pretty happy.  Unfortunately, it looks like it is a lot narrower than the others and the little triangles appear a tad larger.  Now, both of those could be optical illusions due to there not being a tire mounted, but... well, we'll see.

 

Then I had a look at parking brake knob.  John asked me one of those "Well, duh!" questions when I told him about the Hurst handle not threading off.  He asked if I ever tried it with the parking brake pulled up.  "Psh!  C'mon!  Do you think I wouldn't have thought of that?"  "Well, did you?"  "Of course... not."  I tried it today and it did thread right off.  Shut up.  I took the jam nut we were using and zooked it to a bit if pipe to make a two-finger T-handle.  Opposite that nut, I zooked in the threaded shaft which came with the purple knob.  I hit it all with orange overspray paint and... ok, I didn't actually paint it.  I left that job for John next Saturday.  I whipped out the Jitterbug Phone and tried to take a picture, but the sun was such that the knob was totally washed out.  Y'all are just going to have to wait for next week.

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While we're on the subject of my purple knob(s), I ordered two more in the form of drawer pulls.  These, I figured, could go on the headlight and windshield wiper switches.  As soon as I clicked the "Confirm Order" button, I regretted it.  The seller is China.  I don't have any... I don't have a BIG problem buying from China, except waiting for China Post to get stuff across the ocean to me.  Well, to make a short story long, they arrived today and I swung by the shop to try them out.  THEY FIT!  Threaded right on and look pretty awesome... ok, they look pretty girlie to be honest, but they tie the room together with the other purple knobs.  I like them.

 

Oh, the spare tire came today too.  I'll get it mounted Saturday and then compare the new wheel to the others.  Stay tuned... or don't.  I'm not the boss of you.

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Before I rant, I want to thank John once again for all his help on this project.

 

Now, to the rant!  We have been getting a bucking futtload of rain around here in the last few weeks.  This has made it abundantly clear to me that the last, and most incorrect, thing one can say about a 1962 Ford Econoline is, "Those things sure are water tight!"  Today, while futilely trying to install a rubber seal around the steering and shifter shafts, I came to the decision that nothing absorbent shall be installed on the floor of this vehicle.  This means the carpet is right out and the camper bed/sofa is going to be made of steel instead of wood... if I even go through with that plan.  We'll see.

 

What I'm going to do is fall back and just concentrate on getting the damned thing back on the road.  I just went through my Google docs, "Van to do list" and pared it down from seven pages to three (and a lot of what's left is unnecessarily detailed breakdowns of the stereo amp and subwoofer installation and wiring, which is mostly completed, as well as ACTUALLY completed items like the zorst and purple knob installations).  So, next weekend I will need to have my ass kicked if I haven't at least installed the rear brakes and shocks.  

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I almost bought a 1968 Dodge A-108, 318, three-on-the-tree van to replace "Project Mission Creep."  To make a short story long, the credit onion told me, "N'fuckinway!" when I asked for a personal loan to buy it.  Oh well, t'is probably for the best.  I've calmed down and am not nearly as pissed-off at this project.

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So, next weekend I will need to have my ass kicked if I haven't at least installed the rear brakes and shocks.  

 

Put a hold on that ass-kicking... brakes and shocks are installed.  Many thanks to John for doing a vast majority of the work while I trekked all over North Texas looking to trade the front shoes we had for the rear shoes we needed.

 

Hmm, I wonder of we could have used those front drums on the rear and had a ghetto brake upgrade...

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New shocks and new rear brake hose...

 

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New shoes and new wheel cylinders installed...

 

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Drums and wheel wells scrubbed up as best I could and painted black. Wasn't going for "show car" as much as "I want everything visible when it is finished and on the ground to be black"...

 

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Looking at the flatness of that rear spring, I REALLY wish we'd taken a leaf out of the fronts when we had them off the van.

 

 

It's never too late...

 

I want to say, "Lettuce gopher it!" but I also want to say... "Lettuce gopher it!"  Do I really remember the job being THAT big of an ass-whip, or was it just really hot that weekend?

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Do I really remember the job being THAT big of an ass-whip, or was it just really hot that weekend?

 

Both.  :rofl:

 

The whip is in jacking up the oddly shaped axle to attach it to the springs. Everything else is pretty simple. 

 

And you may not even need to remove the springs from the truck if you're simply removing a leaf (as opposed to having them flattened). 

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And you may not even need to remove the springs from the truck if you're simply removing a leaf (as opposed to having them flattened). 

 

Hmm, we may need to look into doing that.

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Also, I found these really cool drip-rail roof-rack standoff things on them intergoogles the other day.  I thought, "Man, those would be really cool on the van and the Baja 1200!"  I tried to buy a couple sets but they were not in stock... anywhere!  Every site who listed them was sold out and didn't know when they would be getting more.  I told John that I thought they were "vaporware" and resigned myself to building my own rack leg standoff thingies.  Then the other day I was informed by The Zon (Amazon) that they had a seller with them in stock.  I snapped up two sets.  They arrived today.  I figure I'll make a general purpose rack on top of the van and a tire-rack/light bar for the 1200.

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