Master cylinder is in.

My parts came in the mail today.  The first thing I did when I got home was unpack the parts and get them right on the truck.  The master cylinder did not fail but I figured if i had to pull it off the truck to get the cap off I might as well rebuild it.  I already had it disassembled and honed.  So it only took me about and hour and a half to reassemble with new parts and get it back on the truck.  I was feeling pretty good so I thought I would start bleeding the brakes.  I found that the bleeder valves were still really tight.  Fearing I might break them I oiled them up and I will let them soak till tomorrow.  At least I will have something to look forward to while I am at work.  My birthday is next week and my family is asking me what kind of tools I need.  I think that a lot of people are happy I am putting some work into the truck.  And I am happy to be working on it.  It is so pleasurable to be able to stop when ever I want.  You know they say you can withstand 10 times more pain when you know you can stop at any time.  The best part about it is there is no stress.  Its actually a stress reliever. 

Well I finally made a little progress.  I was able to pull the master cylinder out.  Hopefully tomorrow at work I can use a vice to get the fill cap off. Tonight I am going to order a new cap and rebuild kit.  It is going to be really nice to be able to go to work and use some equipment. I think one of my favorite things to use will be the parts washer.  As soon as I gut this guy it will get cleaned up.  

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How do you know when a shock is bad?

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Sadly this is a counterproductive day. Trying to remove the fill cap on the mastercylinder I broke the cap. So if I can still get it off I can look for a replacement cap. If I can't I can look for a new mastercylinder. Sigh..

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Today was going to be a big work day for the truck. I've been waithig to bleed my breaks till today. I'm having trouble getting the cap off of the top of my master cylinder. To hadesent come off in a LONG time. So I'm letting it sit with some luiquid wrench. I gave my bleader valves a shot while I was at it. Well see what happens tonight.

More history

I learned today that my Grandpa bought the truck in or around 1975.   So when my mother was in 3rd grade.  This truck has been in my family for about 33 years.  I think that's pretty impressive considering the median age of a car truck/SUV in the united states is 7.1 years. 

"Stovebolt" defined ish...

Stovebolt

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The term Stovebolt refers to a variety of inline-6 cylinder engines used in General Motors vehicles from the 1930s to early 1960s.

Stovebolt is also used to refer specifically to the Advance-Design series trucks with the 216 and 235 engines. These trucks were produced from mid 1947 to early 1955. In old Chevrolet truck restoration circles, these are referred to as 1947 second series trucks to 1955 first series trucks. The reason being that in 1947 they had the previous body style still being made, and in 1955 they had the newer body style coming out.

The reason the General Motors inline-6 cylinder engines were referred to as a Stovebolt was due to the engine's 1/4"x20 slotted-head bolts inside the engine. These bolts looked like the slotted-head bolts that were used on metal constructed wood burning stoves, hence the slang term or nickname of Stovebolt for the General Motors Inline Six cylinder engine.

At least I can open the doors... most of the way

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This looks cool. There is a skylight in my one-car garage. You can see I have a visor sitting on the roof. Maybe soon I can mount it.

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Last night I got the rear end on jack-stands. I am learning quickly that I do not have as many standard sockets and wrenches a I thought I did. I was told the trick to keeping a project moving is to always stop when you are still having fun. In this small garage I think I will be spending as much time cleaning and organising as I do working.

Not a lot of room in this garage.

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In the beginning there was DUST.

For me, this project begins in a storage unit in Yuma Az.  September 12, 2008 my father and I picked up a car hauler at Uhaul in the wee hours of the morning.  A 1953 Chevrolet 1/2 ton pickup has sat in repose for a decade.  Now a new start for a truck that has been a part of my family for longer then I know of.  I know my grandfather owned this truck when my mother was in high-school.  Then about fourteen years ago my grandfather, who is my mothers father, sold the truck to my father.  And early on this September morning in 2008 my father gave it to me.  I am extremely privileged to be able to inherit this truck.  Some of my best childhood memories happened in or near it.  I remember when I was a kid driving into the desert with grandpa to look for rocks for his rock collection.  When we came to visit if we could wake up as early as Grandpa he would take us to coffee in the truck.  Now its my turn to enjoy and preserve.  Soon I hope to make new memories with my budding family.  The first of which will be memories of me in our one car garage reconditioning and maintaining the truck.  I wish I knew more of this old trucks history.  So for my friends and family, and everyone else who identifies with this old truck, I will do my best to document its history and progress here.