What have you done to your square lately??

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ChuckN

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Ran out of time to get to the brake line nut today, but got the new header gasket in and it’s quiet again, and I supplemented with a little copper gasket maker. I don’t blame the gasket, I think the headers have a very thin flange and are probably cheapies. That’ll get remedied when I go to passenger car long tube headers for clearance, anyway.

While I was at it, I saw a couple tiny rust spots on the firewall where the seam is. So I hit it with a wire brush and then covered again with some Eastwood rust encapsulator and chassis black to match the old seam sealer. While I was at it, I repainted the air cleaner lid.

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mxer147

83 K20, 350 vortec, 465, 208, 14/10, 4.10, 33s
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Removed 6 of the 8 bed bolt nuts; four were easy with the impact gun, 2 not bad with a 1/2” ratchet. The last two will need to be drilled tomorrow since it got dark and cold. I tried welding angle iron but couldn’t penetrate the bolt for some reason. Maybe tomorrow after work I can get it done, gets dark way too early. Be nice to get the paint on the areas between the box and cab, then replace fuel lines. Progress!
 

pinballlarry1

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With inclement weather in the foreseeable future, I decided to put the Beast in hibernation for the next 100 or so days. All the parts and materials will just have to wait for sunshine and dry skies. The garage is already taken by one of the only things I like better than automotive work, Pinball:
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Very popular with the kids. Have 8 machines right now, had over 40 all together over the past 30 years with as many as 15 at once. Not as easy to find in Montana! These I can work on during the winter.
 

Old Guy Bill

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With inclement weather in the foreseeable future, I decided to put the Beast in hibernation for the next 100 or so days. All the parts and materials will just have to wait for sunshine and dry skies. The garage is already taken by one of the only things I like better than automotive work, Pinball:
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Very popular with the kids. Have 8 machines right now, had over 40 all together over the past 30 years with as many as 15 at once. Not as easy to find in Montana! These I can work on during the winter.
Sweet!
I‘ve had several machines over the years, they’re always a crowd pleaser for family functions. Currently only have one, but always on the look out.
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pinballlarry1

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Yes, whenever they pop up for sale on Craigslist, Facebook or the local newspaper, it is usually a race between 3 or 4 of the local pinball enthusiasts to get there first. Being retired does help! Your AP looks nice.
 

ChuckN

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I got out the nuts I bought for the brake lines, cut a window into both the 9/16 and 5/8 and confirmed it was indeed a fine thread 5/8. I cut it as clean as I could with a hacksaw, then cleaned up the threads with an old shock mount stud that uses the same thread pitch as cleanup for the threads. Then I spun it on and tightened it down. I left the stamped old nut on the driver side as a washer. The passenger side was more challenging of course.

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HotWheelsBurban

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Sweet!
I‘ve had several machines over the years, they’re always a crowd pleaser for family functions. Currently only have one, but always on the look out.
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Too bad y'all are halfway across the country, I have a vintage machine I'd like to get rid of.
 

bucket

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I got out the nuts I bought for the brake lines, cut a window into both the 9/16 and 5/8 and confirmed it was indeed a fine thread 5/8. I cut it as clean as I could with a hacksaw, then cleaned up the threads with an old shock mount stud that uses the same thread pitch as cleanup for the threads. Then I spun it on and tightened it down. I left the stamped old nut on the driver side as a washer. The passenger side was more challenging of course.

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That's a mighty fine idea!
 

mxer147

83 K20, 350 vortec, 465, 208, 14/10, 4.10, 33s
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After work, I Removed the two bolts I couldn’t get yesterday. The high speed grinder took care of what the drill couldn’t. The square holes are round which explains why they rotated when hit with the impact. I will need to purchase some square washers to weld to the bed. Can one buy those or will I need to employ a dremel and file on a round washer? I also removed the screws attaching the fuel filler necks. Tomorrow, I’ll remove the rear bumper and wheels so I can slide the bed back a few feet.
 

ChuckN

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After work, I Removed the two bolts I couldn’t get yesterday. The high speed grinder took care of what the drill couldn’t. The square holes are round which explains why they rotated when hit with the impact. I will need to purchase some square washers to weld to the bed. Can one buy those or will I need to employ a dremel and file on a round washer? I also removed the screws attaching the fuel filler necks. Tomorrow, I’ll remove the rear bumper and wheels so I can slide the bed back a few feet.
I might be wrong, but I’ve never seen a square hole washer. I’m assuming you’re working with a carriage bolt?

The square portion underneath the head of a carriage bolt has rounded corners- I imagine that if you got one with a close enough size that the corners of the square would just push through and bite into the washer as it is tightening down.

Apologies if I’m reading your situation wrong or out of context.
 

ChuckN

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Last night was pondering finally doing the radiator flush, since in warm weather will get a smidge above 210 with a 160 degree thermostat.

That thought was remedied by a little puddle of green and some dampness on the very bottom of the core support, and the hoses and spigot are all dry. I guess 42 years is a reasonable service life for a radiator.

So I let my fingers do the walking to the Cold Case website, and used the “vicegrip “ coupon on checkout for free shipping.

Speaking of Vice Grip, a feller is going to lay low today and rewatch some old episodes and try to recover from this cold, since I have three 12 hour shifts starting tomorrow.
 

bucket

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After work, I Removed the two bolts I couldn’t get yesterday. The high speed grinder took care of what the drill couldn’t. The square holes are round which explains why they rotated when hit with the impact. I will need to purchase some square washers to weld to the bed. Can one buy those or will I need to employ a dremel and file on a round washer? I also removed the screws attaching the fuel filler necks. Tomorrow, I’ll remove the rear bumper and wheels so I can slide the bed back a few feet.

I know I've seen washers for carriage bolts before, but right now the only ones I can think of are the offset ones for the stepside beds with a wood floor.
 

mxer147

83 K20, 350 vortec, 465, 208, 14/10, 4.10, 33s
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I see Home Depot offers torque washers which appears it will work depending upon the material.
 

TotalyHucked

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Last night was pondering finally doing the radiator flush, since in warm weather will get a smidge above 210 with a 160 degree thermostat.

That thought was remedied by a little puddle of green and some dampness on the very bottom of the core support, and the hoses and spigot are all dry. I guess 42 years is a reasonable service life for a radiator.

So I let my fingers do the walking to the Cold Case website, and used the “vicegrip “ coupon on checkout for free shipping.

Speaking of Vice Grip, a feller is going to lay low today and rewatch some old episodes and try to recover from this cold, since I have three 12 hour shifts starting tomorrow.
When you replace everything and fill it back up, get a bottle of Water Wetter and throw in there. We used that on all of our race cars and I run it in my truck, it works great, just that itself will help keep temps down.
 

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