Thread: Ahhhh... The little things

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I have a 1971 C10 that sees very little drive time. We bought it for my son Ryan when he graduated from high school to haul dirt bikes and such. He used it a lot until he went to college and then the reality of a vehicle that gets 13 MPG set in and he started driving a Ford Escort (30 MPG). The dirt bikes are long gone and the truck has lived at our house for years as Ryan is now 39 and has his own family and no extra parking space at his place (about 40 minutes drive from us).

A couple years ago, I bit the bullet and had the truck taken down to bare metal and repainted. Ryan picked the color (2018 Jaguar metallic blue – very pretty) and since that time it’s been in my driveway or garage. Joanie and I will occasionally take it to Home Depot to pick up lumber or to the nursery for plants but it didn’t see a thousand miles last year.

The last time I drove it, I heard a strange sound from the rear end – and the “Brake” light came on. It has drum brakes and sure enough, they needed some attention. I was proactive and bought shoes and a couple AC-Delco “complete rebuild/spring sets” from the local NAPA folks and on the rare sunny day here in Tigard, I dug in. I had forgotten how much “stuff” is behind the brake drum. Eight springs (color coded) and all the self-adjusting mechanism. Good news, the kit from AC-Delco was 90% what I needed – bad news, it did not include specifically: a strut spring (the oval shaped blue spring with an extra curly-cue) that keeps tension on the parking brake strut). A return visit to NAPA (at 4:40 Saturday afternoon) confirmed that these springs were not part of the kit nor does NAPA have a listing for them. Fortunately (and one of the reasons I like this particular NAPA) the guy behind the counter said, “Let’s take a picture of the broken one and search the web.” In 30 seconds he had found the little beggar - -at Amazon. Six bucks and delivered the following Tuesday. I bought two, which ended up being two sets so I have “extras” to put in my little plastic box labeled “Drum Brakes Springs” that contains lots of springs, pins and clips from fifty years of wrenching on various cars.

Today I put one side back together. I don’t remember those springs being so stiff the last time I did drum brakes - probably 20 years ago! I’m 73….. I’ll do the other side on Tuesday as we’re supposed to have a 70 degree day!

Ah the little things… like having the exact spring.

I've got a few years on ya Glenn, the springs won't get easier................sorry..............

Glenn,
As I read your post I anticipated an "It's time..." message, maybe offering the truck here first. It was almost a relief to read the saga of the one spring not being in the kit, then finding it via an old school NAPA Parts Guy!! Great story, and when it's time for a new home let us know first, OK?

Part Two:

Well I pulled the passenger side off today and found the problem. Yikes! The linings had seperated from the shoes and were in several pieces. Fortunately, the drum was fine and mic'ed within the max tolerence. Put in all the new stuff and should be good to go.

Don't know about you guys, but I'm blessed to be able to still do this and enjoy it. I have had my share of "Oh nuts..." experiences (where I dropped the little screw that holds the points in the distributer - on a gravel driveway in the rain at night....) but for the most part, I really like fixing stuff and especially car stuff. My 2022 Navigator has "no user servicable parts" and while I love the comfort and refinement of the newer cars, looking under the hood might as well be a module from a space ship.

I was talking to the guy that sold me my F150 in 2017 earlier today! It's "Truck Month", which doesn't really mean a whole lot..., but with the extended warranty expiring in May and the monthly cost to extend being $120 I've been considering shopping for a new one. Need? No, but like you I'm not going to be grabbing tools and diving under the hood any time soon! When I bought this one I stopped doing any real work on it, taking it to the dealer for routine oil changes, etc. I'll still wrench the Jeep and the hot rods, but not the space station.

Got things buttoned up and took the truck for a drive. Stops on a dime and gives eight cents change. Gave her a nice bubble bath and once again reminded of how much I like this vehicle.

It looks GREAT there, Glenn, but it would look good in my driveway, too!! Glad you got the brakes sorted! Old is never too old until YOU decide it's too old!!

Like both of you, I won't work on anything to new. So now that only means the rod gets my hands on it.

My 2017 F150 has the EcoBoost V6, twin turbo engine with the 10 speed auto tranny, which is the base for the Max Tow package. You can haul a larger payload with the V6 than the V8! I've got a great little independent shop that takes care of anything I need, BUT he won't touch the EcoBoost!! Says that there's just too much proprietary BS involved to make it worthwhile. "Take it to the Dealer!!"

I'll stick with my little 4.7 IMG_6997.jpg04 Dakota