14 year old seeking advice!

[o2batsea]

Bulkhead looks like it will be the worst of it. Let me jump you a hundred miles ahead and have you order the repair parts from Pegasus Parts in the UK. Do not bother with any other course of action because it will either cost you time or money that will be better spent on other areas. Pegasus has done all the hard work, and their parts are exact fit replacement.
The frame. Surface rust is only part of it. What you don't see is an equal or greater amount of rust working away on the inside of the box section. If you plan on keeping the truck for a while you have three options.
Option one, do nothing. If it's rusting, then attempts at surface remediation are futile because it's going to die anyway despite your making it pretty. Get as much use as you can before the inevitable.
Option 2; strip it, patch it, galvanize it. Not just a sandblast, but a chemical strip that will get inside the fame.
Option 3: new galvanized frame.
Locked wheels are probably just drums that are rusted. New drums, shoes and wheel cylinders and you're back rolling. You'll want to refurb the master cylinder too of course.

[Tim Smith]

That looks great! Can't wait to see it moving under it's own power.

When you start oiling down the hardware, which I think will pretty much be everything, go ahead and oil down the springs, door hinges, locks and any other moving parts. You might be amazed to find that things just start to work again.

Start a spreadsheet and add to it time you have put in (figure $10/hr labor rates), parts needed (and then later bought) and by the end of it, you will know how much you've put into the truck. If the frame is usable, then I'd say go with it for now or repair as needed. Get the engine running and then replace all the brake system and probably steering tie rods and you could have a cheap runner.

[GeniusAndHisAssistant]

Can anyone coach Ebben on what needs to be done to free up the wheels? All four are locked and will not spin - even after we towed it over rough terrain loading and unloading from the trailer yesterday they remain stuck. We have learned the hard way to ask questions first and not bung things up worse than they are. Is there anything that he will destroy if he puts big heat to the area and tries to loosen them up with force?

"The Assistant" (E's dad)

ps - after looking over the frame today I think Ebben will likely be certified to the level of 2CORAATOS when his ride hits the road. Never heard of that rating? It stands for 2-Cases-Of-Rod-And-A-Ton-of-Scrap! Ha!

Rove-On!

[cgalpin]

Haha, I was wondering who was who

Ok, I'm no expert, but based on having mucked with the drum brakes recently I would recommend starting with one of the rears - just less moving parts. I'd have plenty of PB Blaster or some other penetrating fluid handy, crack the lug nuts and jack up the rear (under the diff should do fine). If you look at the backing plate from under the truck, lying in front of the rear wheel you will see a 17mm adjustment nut (called a snail cam). Spray some lubricant around it, trying to get it to go behind the nut (you might want to do this to all 4 up front). On the other side of the nut (inside the drum housing) is a snail shaped disc with ridges and if you turn towards the front of the truck it tightens the brake shoes to the drum, and if you turn toward the back of the truck it releases pressure. You'll want to try turn it rearward. If you can get it to release pressure, this might be all that is needed to relax the pressure. Try spin the wheel (forward should be easier than backward).

If not, then at this point you'll want to remove the lub nuts and wheel. There will be three screws on the face of the drum which you will need to remove with a large flat head screw driver (perhaps an impact one). More penatrant here might be useful. Once those are off, I'd take a rubber mallet to the drum and try tap around it in various spots. Perhaps try turn it again (put a wheel on or carefully use a pry bar against the lugs. Otherwise take a block of wood and place it against the back edge of the drum and strike the wood with a big hammer (I am sure E knows the term BFH by now). Do this at alternating points around the drum to try evenly put pressure all the way around the drum. If the snail cam is backed off, the drum should break free from the shoes at some point. Once off, you can investigate further, see how the hub turns without the drum etc.

As others have said, get a manual or take a look at the ones online so you can see what the drum internals look like before going in.

Oh, once freed up, it's likely you can just put the drum back on and adjust the snail cam and it will work until you get parts to redo it all. Depending on the condition of the drums you might be able to get them turned. The only parts that really should need replacing are the wheel cylinders and shoes (and then possibly the drums).

Good luck!

[o2batsea]

Count on the brakes being completely jacked up. What usually happens with old vehicles is that they sit in the snow, ice, damp grass, mud whatever for a long time and the bare steel of the brake parts turns to flaky rust. I mean really, what else would you want to be in top condition besides the brakes? Buy all new. Don't pinch pennies in this area by trying to resurrect 40-odd year old stuff, like Charles does.
As he alluded, the retaining screws on the drums will be the worst part of the demolition. I wouldn't worry about trying to save them, they are strictly to aid in the manufacturing process by holding the drums in place until the next guy down the line could put the wheels on. Drill 'em out and vice grip the shanks after the drum's off. Yer gonna trash the drums so don't be too ginger with them either.
You can just put the wheels back on the hubs without drums if you need to roll it. If the thing can go into gear that should keep it from rolling down the hill into the creek. Does the transmission brake work?

Alternately, you might consider putting pre ABS Discovery 1 or Range Rover axles under it. These come with discs front and rear, are fully compatible with the Series drive shafts, have a taller gear for better highway driving, and are easy to get parts for. For about what you'll spend on new Series brake parts you'll get both front and rear from your friendly Used parts guy and probably have change left over. They're much better axles hub to hub and the series wheels will bolt right up. Other than being a tad wider than the series axles you'd never be able to tell outwardly. Cutting off the coil spring perches and fitting leaf spring perches is a simple, tried and true and well documented Rover conversion. My $.02.
Oh and you might also consider Parabolic springs with military shackles. Gets the thing up in the air a bit more.

[rwollschlager]

As he alluded, the retaining screws on the drums will be the worst part of the demolition. I wouldn't worry about trying to save them, they are strictly to aid in the manufacturing process by holding the drums in place until the next guy down the line could put the wheels on.

False, they center the drum. Not a crucial component but they do serve their purpose. http://siteground237.com/~gunsandr/s...ke-Drum-Screws

Alternately, you might consider putting pre ABS Discovery 1 or Range Rover axles under it. These come with discs front and rear, are fully compatible with the Series drive shafts, have a taller gear for better highway driving, and are easy to get parts for. For about what you'll spend on new Series brake parts you'll get both front and rear from your friendly Used parts guy and probably have change left over. They're much better axles hub to hub and the series wheels will bolt right up. Other than being a tad wider than the series axles you'd never be able to tell outwardly. Cutting off the coil spring perches and fitting leaf spring perches is a simple, tried and true and well documented Rover conversion. My $.02.
Oh and you might also consider Parabolic springs with military shackles. Gets the thing up in the air a bit more.

Much easier said than done. The stock series axles are simple to work with. The taller ratios in the pre ABS Discovery 1 or Range Rover axles will make it harder for your truck to climb those hills of vermont unless you have the power to turn them. Also the rear axle may bolt up trouble free with minor welding, but replacing the front axle will introduce a slew of problems with the steering geometry, and unless done properly, it will introduce the undesirable handling sensation known as bump-steer.These axles may be in the picture for you later on down the road if you're planning some serious modifications and have the knowledge and skills to carry them out, but for now they would introduce unnecessary complications and hassles.

If you do go for the parabolic springs with military shackles, it will alter the angle of your pinion, which is easily corrected with shims like these: http://www.bluetorchfab.com/Product/...-4-Degree.aspx It is a common and easy modification.

A car needs to do three things, start, stop, and not catch on fire. Focus on achieving those first and then worry about modifications later. You'll find that these are incredibly capable machines bone stock, get it going first then figure out what you personally think needs improving next.

-Rob

[o2batsea]

See? What'd we tell ya. Right or wrong you'll get lots of opinions.
Rob loves his drum screws, I don't. He loves his drum brakes, I don't. The gearing issues are easily overcome by using the Series diffs in the RRC axles. It's all out there on the web; pictures and step by step instructions about making the coil axles work on the Series.
The taller springs and shackles, yup the caster shims will be a good idea. I have some around here somewhere from my old leaf sprung days....Hey I even have a set of parabolics and mil shackles I'll let you have for shipping.
Another old school trick is to put the brakes from a 109 on the 88. The 109 drums are bigger and give you better stoppy. I have a set for ya if you want to go that way. Nothing wrong with drum brakes. I could always lock 'em up up with a good sharp jab on the pedal, however a screeching slide in a Series truck is not for the faint of heart. Especially the red headed kind.

[jopa]

Simple way to free up rusted/stuck brakes on drums with MINIMAL dissassembly. On the rear leave the tires/rims on- Remove the axle shaft and flange, remove the hub nut fasteners and loosen up the hub nut...then wiggle the tire/rim..it will all come free...fronts are similar- just may have to strip down a FHW if they are fitted. Ive done that trick in the field several times on hulks that have been sitting for many many a year.
I may have some parts to donate to your cause- shoot me an email off the board- John

[GeniusAndHisAssistant]

Simple way to free up rusted/stuck brakes on drums with MINIMAL dissassembly. On the rear leave the tires/rims on- Remove the axle shaft and flange, remove the hub nut fasteners and loosen up the hub nut...then wiggle the tire/rim..it will all come free...fronts are similar- just may have to strip down a FHW if they are fitted. Ive done that trick in the field several times on hulks that have been sitting for many many a year.
I may have some parts to donate to your cause- shoot me an email off the board- John

you have a private message... i couldnt find your email

[cgalpin]

Ebben, any more pictures or an update?

False, they center the drum. Not a crucial component but they do serve their purpose. http://siteground237.com/~gunsandr/s...ke-Drum-Screws

Rob it's interesting you say this. I recently put new drums on the front of my truck and they only came with one hole. I now have a noticeable pulse in the pedal as well as the fronts are making a noise that sounds like the drum is not centered under light braking. I'll try refitting them with the single hole at 12 oclock and also swap the rears (just turned) to the front and see if it resolves the noise issue.