left wheel bearing @ 280,000 after doing the right a while ago

 

Everything runs better with new paint. Rustoleum makes a semi-gloss tractor paint in black, surprisingly tough, single stage, 60+USD/gallon at my local hardware store. Use it for trailers and everything else. Good value.

 

Probably good for 10-15 horsepower too!

 

On the day of my last post my water pump stated pouring out antifreeze of my newer 97. Son Bill put door bushings in the old one. Oh, well

 

Put on a new grill. Ordered the Hughes plenum kit, accel tst kit, mushroom air filter, and msd coil. Also cleaned out all the tools and gear since I'm taking out my Ole lady tomorrow.

 

Lost a wheel cylinder at some point recently so I've got supplies to do the back brakes soon.

 

Took a couple of old cronies for a 114 mi ride through the woods in my "old" 97, it worked perfectly. The only problem is the doors don't shut well. Otherwise it's great, on my way to 300,000 mi. I should update my avatar because these old trucks look USED like comparing a 26 yr old starlet to a 77 year old hag w/ failed plastic surgery!!!

 

Rear brakes are done, but man what a headache it was getting there. Since the D80 axle was used by many manufacturers, there are a variety of wheel cylinders out there. I swear the parts guy went through 3 of 4 different styles before he found the correct ones. The real headache came from dealing with the drums. None of the places that were open when I had the time to deal with them had a brake lathe capable of turning them. I bit the bullet and bought new ones (ouch) but they were so out of spec that they needed to be turned in order to get the truck to brake smooth. I took them back to the store (who insisted I installed the shoes wrong because they never had a drum out of spec) for a refund. I got some 80 grit wet/dry paper, deglazed the braking surface of the old drums and did the same with the shoes, and put it all back together. Brakes are smooth and it stops a whole lot better than it has for a while.