No Brockway ever enjoyed a paint job this good in the factory!!!! Looks great Tom, can't wait to see it!!

Emery

Extra points for that! Although I did have to put a Chinese air shutoff cable on the 359 this weekend; It was sad...

I love the jig you made to bend the tank strap u-bolts everything looks awesome, you should take orders for the u-bolts I know I could use a few! Paul

Paul is right Tom, If you want to make a few, I need four. They don't have to be stainless either,
I'll take mild steel if it's easier.

Add me to the list, I could use four.
Mike

Tom, It's awesome how you end each post with; "That's it for now..." Like it's no big deal. I just made some funky J/U bolts because I wanted stainless but that's it for now.

Perhaps your kids should setup a creeper rental stand next to your truck at the show because people are going to want to get under this thing to see all this amazing detail. And it might help offset all those happy meal costs for the hired help.

Regardless, thanks for the updates.

On Tuesday I finally got that call that my passenger side fuel tank was done. So yesterday at lunch I went and picked it up… When I brought it home last night we went over it quick with Mothers and this is what we wound up with…









I think there was some misunderstanding regarding the U bolts I made for the fuel tank straps. I want to have the ‘straps’ made out of stainless, not the U bolts. (The green strap in the next pic…)



The material I ordered from McMaster Carr for the U bolts was ‘galvanized low-carbon steel rod’. I am going to look into it further and see if there is a material that will thread better. If I can find something better, my Dad and I will go into full production…

On a side note, I got the idea for making the U bolts from watching and old episode of American Chopper… Paul Sr. was making a sissy bar for an old school bike they were building and they made a jig on their welding table. I still like watching the show just for fabrication ideas even though Jennifer calls it my ‘garage soap opera!”

That’s it for now….

Tank looks great Tom! Which Mother's product did you use??
Ditto on American Choppers ( I like Jr's new wife though)

Emery

A Big Big WOW!!! Knowing you those tanks will look like that for years to come.

Do you know what grade steel it was? 1018 is usually best for machining

Ted...

Here is the description McMaster Carr has...

"Yield Strength: 30,000-44,000 psi - Cold drawn (unless noted) Meet ASTM A108. Material is 1006-1018 carbon steel except for 7/8" and 1" dia. rods, which are 1035 carbon steel. A 0.0002" thick zinc coating makes steel more corrosion resistant. Diameter tolerance is ±0.003". Straightness tolerance is not rated. Length tolerance is ±1/8".

Tom - do you think the galvanized coating was the cause of the problems when threading? Mild steel rod from the hardware store usually threads pretty easy.

Yea the zinc has to be it, even though it's such a thin coat. 1018 is a known for being a very easily machinable steel because it has a mild carbon content. Lower carbon steels are tougher to cut because they are so soft, while higher carbon content steels (like the 1035) are harder to cut because the carbon strengthens the material. I'm going to guess it's the galvanized coating?

This past week we worked on installing the front axle. So I pulled the car dolly’s out again and set the axle on it so we could move it…



We then rolled it into place…



I had removed the original pins in the axle that line up the 2 1/4" blocks, so I had to make a new set. I found a decent 3/4" grade 8 bolt and had my Dad cut the head off of it…



Then we turned two new pins to replace the original ones. I made them slightly taller that the originals…



Then with the help of the ATV jack we lifted the axle in place and installed the U bolts…



On Saturday morning we started working on installing the backing plates. I couldn’t remember which side was which (side I didn’t take it apart) but I remembered a pic on bigdogz post where he installed S cam brakes on his dump so I used it for reference…



After both backing plates were on, we cleaned and installed the S cams and grease the housing they sit it. Then we installed the Stemco grit guard wheel seals in each hub (I found the wheel seals on eBay for $30 a pair shipped)



After installing the wheel seals I quickly realized that the hardware to install the hub was in rough shape. It looks like someone used a chisel at some point to remove the nut since they didn’t have the right socket. So I went outside and checked the hardware on the original 361 axle and fortunately it was the same size and in better shape but just a little weathered…



So I sandblasted the hardware quick and the wire brushed it before we installed it…



Then we installed the hubs and the new brakes… I picked the new shoes up at Fleet Pride… The shoes were $20 a piece new and the core charge was $25 each! I only took one shoe to match up the new ones but needless to say I returned the remaining 3 the next day to get my $75 additional credit! I also installed new Stemco polished hub cabs (another eBay score…)



After the hubs and brakes were done we installed the new slack adjusters and brake chambers and greased everything. The last thing I needed was new air hoses so I made a trip to our local Napa store to pick up a pair. By the end of the day on Sunday this is what we wound up with…



We still need to install the steering box and I decided it would make life a lot easier if I removed the radiator. So while I’m at it, I figured I would make a new radiator shroud and fix the lower radiator neck (something similar to what Glen made for his truck). So I went out back and brought the shutters in for reference…



I have a pretty good idea on how I’m going to make this so I’ll have to pick up some sheet metal this week. Here are a few extra pics that may be of help to some of you…

My original tie rods ends were tight and in good shape but the boots were shot. I found these new boots from Energy Suspension for $9.00 a pair…



I also found new bump stops from Energy Suspension for $18 a pair. The part number is 9.101. (They are also available in black as well as the tie rod boots.)



Like I mentioned earlier, the holes are off center on the original stops, but these new ones a slightly smaller in diameter and bolt right in place…



That’s it for now!

You all must be getting quite excited as you move ever closer to completion. You must think back to that Feb day in 2004 when you dragged it out of that warehouse and how you probably didn't have an inkling of far you would take this project. Ironically, I noticed that in the first pictures, it wasn't a particularly snowy Feb that year like it was this year.

Hey Tom, you want to be careful following my lead those breaks could be on backwards! Your father could be making a delivery to my place in a few weeks?

Hey Dave... I sure hope your brakes aren't on backwards!!! (I double checked with 155W since that had S cam brakes...)

So here is a 'Holiday' Update for everyone!

This past week we decided to work on fabricating a radiator shroud. Since I planned on taking the radiator off to help install the steering box, I figured this would be a good time to work on the shroud and the lower water neck.

The first thing we needed to do was find the center of the radiator. My guess is that the shutters/shroud that came with the truck was from another truck, probably with a Cummins. It's very similar to the one in our 761. So I couldn't use the original one for a pattern. So I cut a piece of cardboard to fit behind the radiator...



So to help find the exact center, I found a short piece of 5/16 gas line and slipped it over the grease fitting in the middle of the fan. Then I marked the center on my cardboard pattern...



After I was happy with the pattern, we removed the radiator...



Since I was off yesterday for Good Friday, the first thing we did was sling the Sheppard steering box... I covered it a bunch of towels so we wouldn't scratch anything installing it...



After it was close, my Dad guided it in place...



I used some long threaded rod to help guide it into place. Actually the threaded rods came from the brake chamber. When it was close, I screwed the rods into place and then pushed the box into place. All of the bolts went in fairly easy except for one. But after some time we had it bolted in place...



While I was working on the fittings for the steering box, my Dad polished up some 5/16x18 button heads I bought for the Stemco hub caps...



Then he finished installing both caps...



Then we started working on building the shroud. Last week I picked up a piece of 18 gauge sheet metal. So I sheered a piece 30 1/2" x 29 1/2" and bent 3" lips on both sides...



Then we bent filler pieces for the top and bottom...



Then we moved onto the pieces that would for the 'round' part that would surround the fan. The diameter of the opening needed to be 29", so the circumference of a circle is Pi x diameter so we needed almost 92" long. Since my brake is only 4' long, I cut two pieces 46" long by 4 1/2" wide. Then we folded over a 1/2" lip along with a 3/4" flange.

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To help 'roll' the pieces, I used the 3" cutoff wheel and cut slots 1" apart the entire length of the pieces...



That wrapped up Friday... More to follow...

On Saturday morning we started back on the shroud. We needed to cut a clean 29" circle, so we made a jig for the orbital saw out of a piece of 16 gauge sheet metal...



After all was said and done we had a pretty clean hole...



Then we took the 'round' pieces and between each slot we cut the night before we drilled 3/16" holes (for plug welding...)



After all the holes were drilled, we welded the two pieces together...



Using a car tire, we gradually created a circle...



Then we did a quick trial fit... Not too bad...



After we were happy with the fit, I started tack welding the rolled piece into place...



Since the motor is not directly centered on the shroud, the 'hole' if offset to the driver side. So I needed to make a smaller filler piece. So I made this piece with the shrinker/stretcher tool...



After a ton of more plug welding as well as welding the filler piece in, we trial fit the new shroud on the radiator...



When all was said and done, I took it outside and went over it quick with the cup wire brush. And at the end of the day, this is what we wound up with!





That's it for now!

you are the man tom. nice work.

richie

Awesome job Tom, I like the jigsaw trick! thanks Paul