Projects 1959 Chevy 3600 Project

I tried to get the wheel knuckle bushings in today and have had the worst time. To get these out took almost the same amount of force as the kingpins! Lots and lots of hammering and maybe a socket or two. Kinda figured that rust and old grease welded them into place.

All the bores had gnarly grooves in them. I leveled a bit them with a wheel cylinder honer. Didn't like the way they looked still but went ahead and tried to get the bushings in.

I watched the brother's videos and he was able to push it in with a thumb. It took me a rubber mallet to start it before thinking something was wrong. I still had to sand the living crap out of the outside of the bushing on a drill press to get in with a bit of force still. THEN! The kingpin wouldn't insert. I didn't notice the bushing would expand quite a bit when the kingpin was inserted. I ended up using the wheel hone on the brass too until it didn't expand very much. I didn't like doing it but that seemed to be the only way to get everything to line up.
I don't have a good caliper (only good till 0.01") and it showed that everything was withing what it was supposed to be. The kit was an AC Delco from Rock Auto.
This issue is for all bushings.

Anyone else have this problem?
This is not an oversized kit. I double-checked before ordering.

 

That doesn’t sound right, the bores are usually a little sloppy (as in loose). The way the bushings are supposed to be done is line bored so they line up perfectly.

Mine pushed in with thumb pressure. Also if the shim mating side of the bore is not perfect it may affect your shim spacing.

Speedway sells replacements for Chevy cars 49-54 but they would need to make a visit to a pro to get the angle corrected.

 

The emblems I have are 3800's, not 3600

 

I figured the bores would have to be larger to accommodate the bushing expanding from the kingpin. I doubt my honing did much to the knuckle bores (didn't notice it only had one stone of the 3) and didn't make too many passes. I just wanted to get the rough peaks out. How hard were yours to get out? I seriously........seriously beat the hell out of the knuckles to get these out.

Everything matched out of the box with the caliper guage too.

The shim mating surfaces are fine and flat.

Thank you for checking!

 

Finished up a little early today but that's not to say a lot wasn't done. I continued to address the bushings not fitting correctly. I found a free manual from 1955 online for more insight. It looks like the higher tonnage trucks needed to be pressed in with an arbor press. Then, ream the bushing to 0.923".




Since I was already on the path of destruction, I said screw it and continued my method. While I admit this is not my proudest work, for now, I am content with it. I would've rather turn them on a lathe (could've done at school but its COVID closed). I'll go back and address this issue at a later time before taking it onto the road.

Here you can see the expansion from just the pin.


The all the bushings were tossed onto the drill press and got a nice external sanding treatment. Afterward, I cleaned them with brake cleaner and threw them into an ice water bath to shrink them. The bores got lubed up while I waited. The bushing still required a bit of motivation but they all fit. Tight as hell too.


I followed up with honing the brass till the pins barely fit. I then hammered them through with grease.


Once everything in, it was only a matter of greasing up the bearings and shims with hammer time. I didn't need any extra shims to get the knuckles set up. They were 0.002" left side and 0.003" right side by the feeler gauge.


These things are tight as hell! It takes some pushing to get them to turn. Like I said before, I don't like it and I will get around to re-replacing these with either custom ones or reaming the knuckles and using the oversized kit. Being a budget build I don't wanna spend the extra money at this moment.

I also began tearing one set of brakes apart. The drum, springs, pads, bearing seal, and wheel cylinder will all be replaced. These are roller bearings and I looked them over but didn't find damage or pitting. Looks like they weren't used for very long on this side! I would rather upgrade to taper bearings but haven't heard of any for the 3/4 ton. Does anyone know why?


I finally finished straightening the tie rod while I was out today. Only took an hour and a slow and steady pace.

 

Mine weren’t bad considering what I had to go through to get the king pins out. I sprayed Gibbs and lightly tapped them out with a socket that was just a bit smaller than the bore.

 

From the manual, I think I actually had to use a press to get them in and out for this truck. That would make sense why yours were easier to get out if you had a 1/2 ton.
Albert

 

1/2ton and 3/4 ton are really close. Not exactly sure but I think once you get past 1 ton is when they are no longer floating.

The 1/2 ton ears on the spindle mounts are round where the 3/4 tons are squared. Axle, Brakes, King pin and associated hardware is the same.

1/2 ton:

3/4 ton:

I “upgraded” to the 3/4 ton because they were the better of the two sets I had to work with.

 

By the 1955 manual page, it reads only 1/2 floating types. But that is 1955 and much could've changed by 1959.

I do know that the 1/2 pin is a bit smaller bt the different kits available online. From these two kits on rock auto it's about 60 thousandths.
The 1/2: https://www.rockauto.com/en/catalog...+235cid+l6,1489147,steering,king+pin+set,7340
The 3/4: https://www.rockauto.com/en/catalog...+235cid+l6,1489153,steering,king+pin+set,7340
Albert

 

Hmm very interesting, I learned something new. I guess the 3/4 ton I got my axle from could have been swapped in at some point.

 

I often forget that these trucks are over 60 years old now. I wish they could tell me about their previous owners' antics!

Albert

 

Probably better off that they can not, there is a thread about that somewhere on here.

 

I believe if old equipment, cars, and trucks could talk, most of the time they would hide in the corner of the shop and cry from the abuse and neglect.


Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app

 

First time I see this thread. Great work kids. Someone taught you well.
Keep the updates coming!

 

On second thought... Let's just pamper them

Thank you! All the credit goes to pops

Albert

 

There was a lot of getting done this weekend. I took both of the drum assemblies apart.


I found the drums and shoes at NAPA for a great price but Las Vegas is Autozone dominated. Still got the Napa price The only thing I'm having trouble finding is the spring kit.

I'm very surprised by how clean the bearings and races are. There is some pitting on the smaller outer race in the blue box. It looks much better here than in real life. Not too sure what I'm going to do about it yet.


I had to soak the spindles in purple power overnight to soften the grease stuck in the inner spindle and trapped within the drip trap. One is still soaking and I don't have the tools to separate the spindles let alone reassemble them.

Then I ran everything through the bead blaster. Yes, I coved the piss out of the spindle before sending her in! Then gave everything a nice coating of paint. Because


I finished by throwing the draglink into the diesel to loosen the ball ends. There's no play in it but it's tight to move. I think it's still good but full of dirt and dry grease.

I think I'll have everything ready for reassembly within the next few weeks.
Albert

 

Took just a few hours today to work on the front axel and begin terrorizing the rear end. The backplates are mounted and the wheel cylinders are on! I had plans to reassemble the entire front end this weekend but I got emails from the sellers of the tire rods, brake springs, and the pads saying they were all going to be delayed.

So, I decided to see how beat up the backend was. I fliped the axel onto the springs so I could get to the bolts easier. Thank god I flipped the springs.
Had to use a cheater bar and steel pipe to pop the u-bolts out. I had to walk around the axel. I'll replace the u-bolts but for the time being, I think a thorough thorough power washing, checking the pumpkin and gears, and finishing with some chassis saver would be best. Then the rear brakes.

Albert

 

I'm back! The semester ended and I've finished recovering from the solo party I threw.
The semester made it extraordinarily difficult to find any time to work on the truck. Towards the end I was only able to bead blast the other front hub, u-bolt clamps, and inspection plate.


My front brake shoes came from O'Reilly a week late but it beat Autozone 'missing' shipments. The drums are from Autozone.
I began this break (haha, funny pun) by painting the remaining hub and u-bolt clamps. The u-bolt and the shock mounts got the Krylon special.


While the paint dried I got to installing the brakes. The brake spring kit is actually for the rear end of the 3100. The only disparity was the adjuster spring. I ended up reusing the old one. In the picture below you can see, there isn't a lot of tension acting on the spring. It mostly holds the adjustment star in place and keeps the shoe against the adjustment star.


I cleaned both spindles then lathered them with the extra-most-bestest hub grease. Damn things nearly took all my newest tub. I still have some pitting in the passenger external bearing cup but they're 80 bucks for a set and I'd rather spend more to get roller bearings. If anyone has any information let me know!
My manual tells me to tighten the hub nut to 36 ft-lbs while rotating. Next, loosen the nut to the next available castle nut opening. It feels great here!



The most tearful moment of the morning, a fully functioning front end! I did paint the drums with some high heat silver to prevent rusting while the cabin is being built. I also greased the kingpins. They turn super fluidly without any problems. I plan to change the bushings again but that won't be until the truck is back on the road.


I did make a small but dumbass error... I forgot to put the oil slinger onto the passenger side. I found it tonight in the parts washer. Not a hard fix but could make stopping hard.


The powerwasher tore the old grease and surface rust from the rear springs and the tie rod. Then, they got a nice coat of undercoating. I didn't use Chasis Saver because the rear end is going to be replaced in the future with a corp rear end (3.55). The tie rod is also most likely going to be replaced with a beefier unit after meeting the road.


In the coming days, I'm going to put the front end under a tarp outside then clean up the rear end. I only plan to replace the pinion oil seal and clean out the old oil from within. Maybe clean the breather while I'm at it. Parts are rare to come by for these rear ends so I'll only inspect the system. I couldn't replace anything if I tried. The rear brakes will be installed shortly after.

 

I was finally able to get out of housework for the last two days to begin terrorizing the differential. The front end is now outside after I installed the oil slinger that was missing.


The differential had the axel shafts removed then pops and I slowly raised it onto wooden blocks then jack stands. The pinion seal was the first to be repaired. We took a 2 ft long monkey wrench between the pinion yoke and ground and used a 5ft cheater bar to break the pinion nut. I tried to measure the drag torque of the pinion but it was under 1 ft. Instead, I marked the nut and pinion. The yoke and plate took a nice bath in diesel before purple power finished cleaning them off. The yoke had a sleeve put on it. The felt seal needed some loving to get soft. Made a new gasket for the pinion faceplate and boom! The front of the differential is complete! I did press in the oil seal too far and compressed the hell out of the felt but I've corrected that.



I oiled the piss out of the internals with 10w-30 oil to help penetrate the crude oil in the differential. I'm letting it soak tonight but a light brush to finish tomorrow. There is some light pitting on the ring. I'm well aware there's nothing I can do about it since the part is obsolete. I'm content with it solely because I will be replacing the entire rear differential with a much newer one in the near future. I also removed the brakes. Tomorrow I'll clean the rear wheel bearings paint the brake internal area.


Happy New Year!

Albert

 

I spent last night finishing the rear end. The wheel seal was all that needed to be replaced but since they were out I decided to clean the bearings. There wasn't much to clean though! The axel shafts had a ton of crude oil and luckily nothing transferred to the wheel bearings. I only placed some 10w-30 down each bearing while rotating. Then moved to 90w to get them soaked in their proper oil weight. Some light grease on the seal when I reinstalled and the rear is complete! Since I'm not going to use it for long, it will be getting a nice coat of Krylon. I also won't kill myself to remove all the oil chips that are adhered to the external surface.

Unfortunately, I still haven't received my rear shoe springs. I won't be wasting my time by reinstalling the old springs so I think I'm stuck again.... sike. I painted the rear hubs silver to prevent external surface rust then threw them onto the differential. A couple of nuts later, I got me a rolling chassis!


The front ubolts weren't rusty so I reused them. I painted them a while ago as shown in a previous post. They were torqued to 90ft-lb. The rear ubolts were rusted to hell so they're new. They were also tightened to 90ft-lbs.


Each shackle was tightened freehanded with new grade 8 nuts and spring washers.


I did end up stripping the pivot bolt on the front passenger side but that's a simple replacement.


Next thing is to finish the brakes. I have the hoses and hard-line here with a new master cylinder. After the brakes get installed, that'll be next. I also got pop's shed cleared out a bit. Soon I'll power wash the frame to get rid of the Chasis Saver that faded and the hard watermarks. When it's in the shed I'll go through the frame one last time for touch-ups on the frame and the front end.
The cab is next!

Albert

 

Alright! Got a bit of extra work done today. The rear brake springs finally arrived so I got the rear brakes installed. I almost forgot to install the wheel cylinders again but I swear they're in! Also, I decided repaint the rear end. The mixture of flat and gloss before was such an eye sore. I layered a thick coat of black urethane reduced with acetone. It wasn't really necessary but since I put so much effort into the rear end already, I might as well make it look presentable.
I also recognized some spots behind the old transmission crossmember that had some caked oil i painted over I scrapped it off and redid it with chasis saver.
I haven't decided what is next. I will either work on the cab or begin running the brake line and hose. I think I'll play with the hoses but need to set up the master brake cylinder first

Albert

Sent from my SM-G960U using The H.A.M.B. mobile app