Bounce and Stop

Next, it was time for suspension and brake work. I replaced the master cylinder, pads, shoes , wheel cylinders, rear brake springs ,and soft brake lines. Front rotors were re-cut. While I was in there, I replaced the front wheel bearings. The drums were still within specification (barely), so they were scuffed and re-used. I also flushed about 3 qts of DOT 3 through the brake system. I used a pressure bleeder and completely removed the bleeders so all the badness could run out.  Everything was pretty straight forward, except that the front calipers were a style that I had never seen before. Set me back on my heels for a half a second, but I got it figured out. Finally, I installed new shocks on all four corners. When I did the rears I discovered two different brands of shock. These people had at some point replaced a single shock. Who fuckin' does that?

 

 

 

 

 

 

Seals and paint

The first thing that would need to be done, was engine oil seals. The engine was hemorrhaging oil from the front timing cover, and it seemed that part of the gasket was in fact missing. Rather than do them piece meal I bought valve cover, pushrod cover, timing cover, and oil pan gaskets. I also purchased a front crank seal, and speedy sleeve, as well as water pump and both radiator hoses. Doing the work was pretty straight forward, the main time consuming task was cleaning. Basically the entire engine and transmission were covered in greasy filth despite multiple trips to the car wash with degreaser in hand. Bolt heads needed to be dug out with a pick before sockets could turn them. Removing the oil pan was a particularly wretched task. On multiple occasions, the grease that had filled my socket had to be removed so that it could continue being used. The tools that I was using were so greasy that it was hard to maintain my grip on them. In order to get the pan out, the engine had to be raised to allow the pan to clear the oil pump pickup tube. It was awesome.
Once I had all the covers off, I gave them a thorough cleaning. I removed about a 1/2" of sludge from the bottom of the oil pan. As long as I was at it, I figured I may as well sand and paint them.





Ain't no party like Econoline party

In March of 2016, I purchased a 1981 Ford Econoline van for the sum of $700. It was a complete mess, but, I figured $700 was an OK price for a running driving van. Some other factors that influenced my decision were, it was a short van, it was equipped with an inline 6 300, and a 4 speed MANUAL tranny, plus, I like old crap. A deal was brokered.

This is how it sat, when I bought it.

Four on the floor, a big selling point. The shift knob pictured would soon be replaced with a chrome skull. Seemed obligatory.

Last but not least, the 300.
Initially the plan was to simply have the van, maintaining it in a useable condition so that it could be used to transport things not well suited for hauling in a my 1990 VW Cabriolet. This worked for a while. The van mostly sat. I did a tune up. Plugs, wires, cap, rotor, fuel filter, and air filter. I changed the oil. I drove the van to work once a week to "exercise the gaskets", and make sure it still worked. It actually performed pretty well, for what it was, and the life it had had. It was pretty clear that maintenance had been scarce previous to my involvement. Eventually though it would require a bit more attention, which of course is where the plan fell apart.