As mentioned in my introduction to the shop truck article. My brother Bruce had owned ” Old Green” since 1981. I knew her complete history and list of issues. If you get a truck or car from a stranger you probably will not get this big picture. As delivered I knew the following: tires are bad, no brakes at all, a fuel delivery issue. I begin at the front. My plan is to do the brakes, front shoes, hardware, wheel cylinders lines up.

First wheels off. I have classic split ring two piece wheels. Awesome old school cool. But wait I am currently 0 for 5 finding a tire shop to mount tires on them. I took the rings off by removing the valve core and using three tire irons to pry them off. Starting at the notch close to the split I used a leap frog technique to work around the ring. I was able to break the bead of one tire. I was not able to remove them myself due to age and side wall thickness. I took them over to OK tires Winchester Cali. No other shop was willing to touch them. Since I have little equipment and less experience mounting tires in general. I will pay a shop to do this job for me. I got the tires removed. I will clean, sand, then paint them. I will mention the shops that I work with. I am not paid or sponsored by any business I will pass on my finds to you. Why not mount them myself? Called “Widow Makers” back in the day for a habit of falling apart while driving and exploding while mounting. The down side? Well besides dying the highway, cost. Removing the tires, mounting. In addition to new flaps and tubes we are getting close to $200 per wheel before tires. Did I mention three more on the rear? I am hunting wheels now. I will let you know what happens.

A small detour on my plan. The front shocks are noticeably broken. Napa auto parts 1323 W Florida Ave Hemet Cali is the only store in my area to have them in stock. If you want stores to carry your parts you have to go in and buy them. With the aid of an angle grinder I was able to remove them. The mounts were cleaned primed and painted. I will paint the rest later but it will be hard to paint around the shocks. The shocks and mounts are gloss black. Look nice and new. Seeing them gives me inspiration to keep moving. I have a Dana 44 in the front removal of the brake drums was delayed again by a lack of tools. Retaining ring pliers and a socket to remove the hub. I am not sure if I need to pull the hub to access the brakes. The left side feels loose so a bearing inspection is proper.