Beverly Hillbillies, Part Deux

[raymond]

Well, Rome wasn't built in a day.



Cheers,
TJ

But under Nero, it was burnt in a day

[m3a1]

...and my M715 looks like it!

[m3a1]

Thanks for the input fellas.

I began the day, AGAIN looking for one of the bearing cups for the front driveshaft. (you just can't make this kind of stuff up). I had hung the drive shaft up by the yoke and got it in paint. Some time in the night, the wire slipped over to the side and the weight of the thing was riding against the bearing cup...which had been secured against loss by three turns of painters tape, which held until it didn't. Off came the bearing cup and then...
.
G
R
A
V
I
T
Y
.

THIS TIME, the bearing cup lost quite a few bearings. THIS TIME, I got them with the magnet in one swoop. AND THEN I spent the next twenty minutes cleaning everything up and putting it all back together which is time in my life I'll never get back.

Spent all afternoon wrapping up things for the next move which will be Sunday afternoon. I installed the front drive shaft and painted everything that wasn't painted the first time. Buttoned up the axles which will have to be completely re-UNbuttoned on the next iteration. Put anti-seize on the cones of the back hub drive flange in order to make the next removal a bit easier. Next time around, I'll have brake assemblies to install and a final inspection (and overhaul as necessary) of each hub. We already know the front hubs are going to need everything and I can't wait to have that wrapped up and checked off the list. They roll far better now than they did, but they're still in desperate need. Rear hubs should only rquire new grease seals and a repack....and of course addressing whatever 'mystery problem' I might uncover.

And finally, I cleaned up Xloflyr's most excellent shop to the Nth degree, including vacuuming the floor and mopping and getting down on all fours to wipe up the little dribbles...all of that while listening to an endless lineup of yodeling cowboys on some XM channel I would never voluntarily visit..

I'm proud to say, when the Command Car rolls back in on Monday it will be like my syphilitic M715 was never there.

Cheers,
TJ

[m3a1]

We all arrived at Xloflyr's shop and did the few little things left to do before making our sortie outta there, such as packing up all the pieces and parts and getting them into Longfellow. We had my kid, Gigantor, along (never fail to take advantage of free muscle) and the first mechanical job was to get some gear oil into those axles..and maybe even the transfer case whilst completely ignoring the slush box (because I was distracted).

I have an ancient gear oil pump-thingy that was meant for a steel pail but does just fine on a plastic 5 gallon bucket if you're careful enough to keep a close eye and two hands on the bucket. Naturally, I quickly realized that I would have to explain this to my fellows who were hauling the thing around like it was luggage and they were racing to catch a plane. The idea of the whole thing dumping out on the shop floor horrified me. But we got through it without too much bother, except for when it came to filling the front axle.

Getting into the swing of things, Gigantor leapt to action to fill the front diff and was only a moment ahead of me because, I was about to explain to him that we didn't know WHY the front diff was empty. I was also about to explain to him that, when facing a circumstance as unusual as that it would be wise to begin looking for leaks from the very first momen....

and then out it came....gear oil, straight out a hole in the bottom face of the diff cover and onto the floor.

Like the little Dutch boy at the dam, we stuck a finger in the hole while Xloflyr ran to get a pan. With that in place, we let it drain. Gigantor had only gotten one, maybe two strokes in on that pump so, it wasn't exactly a whole lot of gear oil. Once we cleaned up and kinda wiped up around the hole, we found that the hole had an amazingly regular edge, like someone had used a drill, but the moment they got through the cover, the drill bumped into the axle housing and went no further. Mystery hole. Had the thing rusted out? It was at the lowest point in the assembly. Had someone thought they could put a fastener in the hole to stop the leak? Who knows. So, Xloflyr fashioned a plug out of the dowel rod and we tapped it in, chiefly because we didn't want what gear oil remained to dribble all over the floor, driveway and deck of the trailer.

Speaking of the trailer, loading it was.....umm....difficult. For starters, the 715 is quite a bit wider than the M37 and we were loading the truck backward due to limitations of space and a sloped driveway and a truck that wasn't yet running. Let's just say the team wasn't working like a well-oiled machine.

When The Winch Handler and The Spotter FINALLY noticed that the rear axle of the truck was getting really darned close to the edge of the trailer they finally spoke up and informed the guy on the steering wheel (me) and let's just say they weren't being kind about it. Apparently they just assumed that I didn't know my right from my left (and apparently, I'm supposed to just MIRACLE the truck into position (but only at the last possible moment). So, when the thing was about to reach critical mass I was finally getting talked to. That's a fine how-do-ya-do. Nothing constructive, mind you but rather like I was officially some kind of moron.

I finally had enough of that so I called a halt, went forward and took even more abuse until I also called a halt to THAT TOO and pointed out the root of the trouble. The problem? On THEIR end, they failed to notice that the winch was actually pulling the rear of the truck sideways which was something I could not possibly compensate for on MY end, since ramps are only SO WIDE. Sheesh!

Good help is SO hard to find. The whole thing devolved into a shouting match which was poor form but only because Gigantor was present and I might have set a better example. I don't mind a minor dust-up...particularly when I'm right about something.

Well, we finally got underway and delivered the ol' 715 to the empty lot next door and then pulled it over to the empty lot behind my house. It looks out of place there, somehow. Like when one of my indoor cats finds itself on the back porch and suddenly realizes it's outdoors. We pushed it into a position where it would be accessible but also not in the way and while we were pushing it, there was a terrible rumbly/grumbly noise somewhere in the drive line so there is still more work to be done under there somewhere. Oddly, on smooth surfaces, the thing rolls dead silent.

Naturally, I'm hoping I can weld up the diff cover but there is certainly no shortage of Dana 60 diff covers out there.

Chrome?

Cheers,
TJ

[rickf]

You mention the Dana 60/70 as the axles in the 715 along with removable diff covers. So, These are different from the M37 with the drop out carriers. Which also means you probably have much more standard brake parts available for them, unlike the M37.

[m3a1]

Yup, the brakes are just super super basic. Even more so than a regular automobile since the parking brake is on the transfer case.

[rickf]

What size are they?

[m3a1]

12x2.5. In profile they look exactly like a smaller shoe for the Jeep Commando which is like 10".

Wagner-Lockheed. Part number for the spine is FE-18723

[rickf]

Sounds like standard 3/4 ton stuff from most of the major manufacturers. That should make it a bit cheaper other than the fact that brake shoes are getting expensive since nobody uses drum brakes anymore.

[m3a1]

I don't think so. The brake place is as good as it is expensive. They pulled out the old manuals and even one that supposedly had military stuff. That 12" measurement comes from measuring from the longest part of the shoe's spine, tip to toe...which, at 12", means you'll have a drum that is right around 13" wide ID.

Anyway, in profile, the spine of the shoe looks very common (in fact, exactly the same as smaller units) until you look more closely. At the top, the spine of the shoe has been shimmed so that it is much thicker than everything below. Those shim plates are welded in place. Not rocket science. This additional width means the top of the spine can match a fairly thick equalizing wedge that is placed over the anchor pin. The wedge (when healthy and lubricated) can rotate slightly on the pin in order to allow both shoes to 'find their way home' as the brake shoes relax...and we all know that sometimes does not occur at precisely the same time. Over that is a retaining plate, followed by the springs which, per normal, hold everything where it belongs.

So, it's different. Not a deal breaker though. These are in good condition and can be relined.

[rickf]

In 55 years of doing brakes I never heard of brakes called 12" being 13" They were always the sized by the drum inner diameter. I have 13X3 brakes on my Dodge dually and that is exactly what they are, 13" diameter drum and 3" wide. My M37 if I remember correctly is 14" diameter and 1.5" wide. Measured as just that but the operation is heel and toe adjustments.

[m3a1]

Well, I don't know what to tell ya, Rick. The guy who taught me that has been making his living in the brake business for 40 years. As was explained to me, the shoe doesn't begin at the 12 o'clock position when it's in the drum but rather, occupies the internal space of the drum, beginning at about 6:15 and goes to 11:15-ish. It's the arc of the shoe that must match the drum size. We weren't searching by application though, which may account for the difference in method. We were searching by the physical attributes of the shoe. In short, we were trying to identify a particular shoe (which, by the way, has yet to be identified). And why do I get myself into these situations? Well, stuff like this will make you smarter, real quick.

I also learned that the part number on the spine of the brake is different than the part number on the support for the shoe and thus, cannot be relied upon as an identifier.

In short, there's a lot more to this business of identifying brakes than we consumers think we know.

And now, back to The Greasy Clown Show!

Yesterday, I began cleaning up the diff cover for the Dana 60. So, out came the wire wheel and I cleaned up the flange and the interior and all around the hole which, as it turned out, was created, not by a .22 bullet, nor was this sabotage. Nope. As I cleaned around the hole it quickly became apparent that this was by running the truck up against something....a bit like the Titanic...if the Titanic had been steered by some drunken deer hunter. There was a big dent above the hole with scratch marks that indicated this was all one event. Grease and mud had kept it hidden until I gave it a slight tidy-up. So, I got out the MAPP gas torch, heated the affected areas and hammered everything back to where it belonged including the little torn bits at the hole's edge.

Then, I was off to Nice Lady's place to repair a leaking drain in her slop sink which turned out to be caused by the darned thing basically rusting away....just like Nice Lady is. Poor gal. Now macular degeneration is setting in. Sheesh. Well, I found that the parts I had purchased were wrong and instead of having to drive twenty miles for OTHER parts and then, twenty miles back, I went out to the ol' rummage sales barn and in the gloom, found exactly what we needed to do the deed. While I was there, I decided to do a little shopping and maybe put some money in Nice Lady's pocket.

I found a Circa 1952 jerry can which, by appearances, might have been on my Kaiser at some point, as it was (and continues to be) equally as awful as the truck. So, I snagged that. I also grabbed up a bunch of US Army 'Field Kits' (still NIB) which is what the Army called boxes of Cotters ('cotter pins' to you and I). I picked the best ones; enough to fill an 50 cal ammo can and they're ALL the same size. I'll put those away and I'll probably never see them again but at least they'll be safe from harm for another 50 years or so.

Why? BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT I DO.

On the way back, I stopped by Home D'Pot and returned the plumbing supplies and picked up a block of toilet paper the size of a small block V8, which is a product I would not normally would not buy from HD for fear that it might be a bit like John Wayne toilet paper. It probably IS John Wayne toilet paper but maybe I'll give it a try. It has to be better than the Three Sea Shells. The root of this TP trouble is, last week some moronic talking head newscaster made mention that, with the dockworker's strike we should all go out and buy toilet paper rather than face a shortage...which of course created an immediate shortage when all the nodders ran right out and bought it all up. Yup, every idiot did just that. Locally, our shelves are empty. That newscaster (and the people who hired him) should be fired, prosecuted, rehired, re-fired, prosecuted AGAIN, pilloried, flogged, caned, set ablaze and then buried in a 55 gallon drum topped off with Mexican restaurant waste oil.... just to drive home the point....which is -

Don't give an idiot air time.

By the way, toilet paper is made in some darned place called, AMERICA....so, a dockworkers strike wouldn't have the least impact on supplies of TP....that is, unless you give an idiot a microphone and the means of reaching out to millions of people. Considering the potential for doing harm, shouldn't these people be licensed and be forced to carry malpractice insurance? I'll reach out to my representative and see what can be done. If California can ban food coloring and plastic bags and straws, the idea ought to be a shoe-in. Speaking of non-plastic straws....guess what they're wrapped in for sanitary purposes. Yup.

PLASTIC.

Okay, let me catch my breath....

ANYHOO, the moment I left HD, Frank The Wizard called and would I swing by to assist him in lifting a heavy object?

Sure, Frank! What are we working on today? (Frank has so many weird projects going at the moment I cannot begin to describe them all.)

Well, TJ, we're going to turn your M715's drums.

I made a beeline for Casa de Frank el Mago and we were soon replacing a head on an ancient (and SPANISH!) horizontal boring machine in order to do the deed. After turning the rear drums, we hung it up and I took Frank out for lunch. We were tired AND hungry and the only rush to get the brake drums done and out of the way is to be able to restore the machine to a more useful configuration which is, again, a two-man job to remove the thing we had just installed. So I'm going back this morning and we can wrap things up.

By the way, I mentioned having to reline my brakes to Frank who said, "DON'T buy any rivets." I raised an eyebrow. "I have all the brake lining rivets you'll ever need," said Frank. "WHY," I asked. "Because I was standing there when they dumped them." Now, buying rivets for brake linings is the easiest part of finding brake relining parts but hey, $20-$25 bucks is $20-$25 bucks.

Knowing a guy like Frank The Wizard is really pretty darned convenient. He's like a human Swiss Army Knife.

With lunch over, I was off to O'Reillys to snag a gasket for the Dana 60 diff cover. O'Reilly's needs to improve their search engine which, by appearances, seems only capable of working by a search beginning with the application. Search by 1967 M715 Kaiser Jeep. Go ahead! I DARE ya! M715 and Kaiser doesn't appear in their system. ANYWHERE. In the end, I used the power of my phone and the internet and got Auto Zone's part number for the young fella behind the counter (a guy who might actually needed to shave for maybe one of two years now) and with that, he was able to inform me they had one gasket in stock, for $7.95. Then, our young mechanical genius told me I would need two gaskets.

I'm just shaking my head. No doubt this kid is going to have a booming career in newscasting. Someone is going to hire this dude to sit behind a microphone and give us the news....and probably ruin some unsuspecting man's life, by marrying his daughter.

I'm sure of it.

So, with my pretty new gasket, I finally made it back to my place and cleaned up around the hole in my diff cover one final time and, with a couple of squirts from the MillerMatic 200, the hole disappeared. No mo ho'. I ground everything flush on the mating surface of the flange and left a small blob of weld on the front, if only to serve as a warning to others. Around these parts, the wisest among us do not tolerate holes in important parts of our trucks, or newscasters who are idiots.

Cheers,
TJ

[m3a1]

UPDATES!

Work progresses at a glacial place. Xloflyr cuts deeply into his Command Car (because if you give a mouse a cookie...) and Dodgeman comes through in a most amazing way!

With the 715 sitting almost right outside the back door, it's hard not to notice it. So, Billyboi and I took a scythe to the turrble interior and dealt with all the little things that contributed to that feeling of, "What did I get myself into?" Things need attention...like the 'Cozy Vent Window' which does little to contribute to the cozy feeling of the cab and is most assuredly NOT a vent because it's fixed in place so that some young soldier can't break it. The trouble? Well, in its present state, it's just a little disconcerting. When one closes the door and it slaps the cab's door frame, rebounds and then finally settles back into place, it just feels wrong. So, off came the window crank handle, off came the door catch release thingy, off came the door cards and I know what your'e thinking. Nope, there are NO arm rests in a M715. Calm down! Don't try to jump ahead. I'm gonna get you there.

Found the all-important Cozy Vent mounting screw missing.... and the missing screw, which was in the bottom of the door...because the screw hole was stripped out. I grabbed an eye bolt and nutted the thing back together (one nut on either side) and made it better. Why an eye bolt? Well, because there is a port hole of sorts in the door which, even when the door is assembled, allows for access to to the screw and, as was obvious to all concerned, when you loosen the screw, it falls into the door....every darned time...

...as if life wasn't hard enough already.

An eye bolt provides a convenient grabbing handle and because it is visible when everything is put back together (provided you look for it) it adds to the rather sketchy vibe of the truck when, in fact, it is WAY mo bettah than the 'correct' screw.

We vacuumed out the doors and removed 8 lbs of Cedar tree droppings from each door. I got some new (and correct) fasteners for the door levers and junked the mix-n-match stuff that had attached itself to the truck over the years. Mo bettah again. The Universe hates this sort of imbalance so after all the door surgery, the right door began to droop and protested when I tried to close it. A loose bolt. Okay. Put THAT on the To Do List. I just hauled up on the door and closed it at day's end.

But, there was other stuff to do. Pluck all the little odds and ends that, like barnacles, had become attached to the dash over time. Little clips for hanging microphones, a broken license plate light being used to illuminate the gauges, a sweet bracket for a big CB radio which was gone to who-knows-where, an old school metal potato chip clip screwed in above the steering column (for love letters to the driver?) Just removing a lot of annoying stuff that no longer had any use. Self tapping screws in the floor for fire extinguishers that no longer existed; all of that stupid, junky stuff, gone-gone-gone.

Leading up to this, I had been soaking the fasteners that held the trans cover in place. Boy oh boy. THAT paid off! They all came off without complaint, including the fasteners for the starter button mount and the surround for the trans brake lever and differential levers. All came out as pretty as you please. That has gotta be some kind of record.

Chiefly, I wanted to get a look at the linkages and the base of the brake lever. What I found was that the wrist bolt (fine thread) on the brake lever was loose and the result was, you could kind of stir the brake lever which also meant that the pawl really didn't engage the ratchet very well. In fact, the wrist bolt's nut went missing and some goober grabbed a brass nut in coarse thread and jammed it on. But, wrong nut or not, I'm grateful that the bolt is, in fact, still in there. I snatched that nut off, went to my bin of recycled fine thread stuff and got the right one and put it all back together. The brake lever works like a charm, now. WAY mo bettah!

This is representative of the underlying theme of this rig. It may look terrible, but it has very good bones...which means, if you're willing to spend the time, you're gonna get really good results with a project like this. Nobody will appreciate it and unfortunately, none of it makes the truck much more valuable because nowadays, most people who go out and get themselves a M715 are resto-modding them all to hell and gone which means throwing nearly everything but the sheet metal away. Thus, bringing one of these trucks back to stock condition doesn't add any resale value at all.

Phooey.

We took the battery box out. To say that it's in objectionable condition is an understatement. Awful, but, it's still solid enough for further use after a serious clean-up. Remember the scene from Ben Hur where he returns and finds Miriam afflicted with leprosy? Yeah, it reminds me of THAT. Still, the mounting bolts all came out, though through their protracted exposure to acid, one bolt went from 1/2" to a 12mm and another reduced itself further to 11mm. But, they also came out without protest which is pretty darned good, all things considered.

Spent another small fortune in hardware at our local ACE hardware store but, every fastener that's going back in is gonna be right as rain.

On another front, Xloflyr is out in his driveway, busily grinding off gallons of body filler from his Command Car. So, there will be plenty of metal work to do. Luckily, these old war machines are made from pretty stout stuff so welding in new metal isn't quite the headache you might expect. I went over to inspect his work and found a fender off the truck (in order to expose the cab corner for sanding) and a helluva lot of bondo dust on the ground. Oh yeah, sure. He'll git 'er done but he has a long, long way to go.

Personally, I hate doing body work with a passion. Mostly, I hate all the sanding-sanding-SANDING. Dad ruined me for all that sort of thing when I was a kid. He unapologetically used me as slave labor to help him prepare plaster walls (and ceilings)....which, back in the day, was all done by hand. I'm sure he considered it some sort of bonding ritual. And nothing says, "I love you" like handing your kid a brand new stack of sandpaper, pointing to a ceiling (that had formerly been WALLPAPERED) and putting that kid on a step ladder that was perpetually one rung too high or one rung too low for comfort. Whatever doesn't kill you makes you stronger. So, my dad was ALWAYS trying to kill me...to make me stronger. That's the inevitable logic of parenting the Sixties. Parents did things back then that, nowadays, would get them arrested.

Anyhoo, in what is perhaps the best news of the day, Dodgeman came through once again. He was cleaning out his barn and what did he find? Well, he found a wheel and a safety ring for a M715 and yup, he gifted it to me. Not that he had any use for it. Still, that's pretty unbelievable and I'm very grateful to have some sort of spare for the truck...if I can ever afford the rubber. Wheels for the 715 are scarce to the 7th power.

THANK YOU, Dodgeman!

Cheers,
TJ

[Hambone]

I may have some 715 stuff.

[m3a1]

Let me know!