'73 IHC 1310 truck "Restoration" project

[Yukon Stihl]

I picked it up as I thought it was kinda rare,
And I was coming home empty.
Then over the next few weeks I found a couple more.

 

[Bill G]

Ya think it is rare.......hell yes it is rare....at least it is here.

 

[Firewood Hoarder]

Well, the 16" rim situation turned out to be a big miscommunication. The fellow with the 16" rims also had 16.5" rims, and thought I was interested in a straight trade

I pulled the trigger on some 9.50×16.5 Firestone Transforce rubber for the front, and 8.75×16.5 Firestone Transforce for the rear. By the time the new rubber needs replacement I will have had many years to locate some 16" rims.




Interesting fact; the lug nuts on the driver's side are all left hand thread. I was looking at the threads and my machinist brain screamed "that looks wrong!?!" Gave all of the studs a touch of PB blaster and let them marinate while I did some chores. Kinda nice that they are stamped with an L, and the passenger side is all marked R.



My boys were excited to finally help with something, so I had them raise the truck with me, place it on stands, and remove the front wheels. Let each boy do a side, to try and minimize fighting. They don't know how good they have it, being able to use power tools. My dad would have had me using a ratchet and a pipe.



With that, the drums are exposed and ready to get knocked apart, another day.

 

[Firewood Hoarder]

I decided the bench seat is coming out for a thorough cleaning of the cab, and had several eager volunteers again. With the seat removed, I will be able to install the new cover much easier. I ordered one of those saddle blanket style covers that everybody's truck seemed to have when I was a kid, for the nostalgia more than anything else. Drivers door panel is off; I adjusted the door hinges and haven't put it back together yet. Figure I will lubricate the window mechanism first and I am out of grease.



Mouse turds? Check
Tire iron that doesn't fit the lugs? Check
Petrified gloves? Check
Old Style can? Check

Archeology can be fun.



I'm going to wait to drop the headliner, for a calmer, cooler day when my sweaty self won't get that mouse nest stuck to me. Probably won't invite the boys to help on that, unless they really want to.

 

[Firewood Hoarder]

Today's project was to fix the bench seat the wrong way in the most right way possible. The seat got vacuumed, scrubbed with cleaner and sanitizer, and then molested with most of a roll of heavy duty cloth tape. Yes, it's yellow. Yes, it's obnoxious. But, its what I had on hand.





The seat cover is a generic saddle blanket style one can find on Ebay for less than $50. It will hide my sins and be more pleasant to sit on than what was there.



The cover has not been fully installed and cinched tight yet in the picture. I'm hoping to get this back in the cab this weekend, so I can bleed some brakes and go for a drive around the yard.

 

[Woodtroll]

I’ve always liked those saddle blanket covers, inexpensive for a work truck and reminds me of my first pickup.

 

[They call me Mr. Kibbs]

Well, the 16" rim situation turned out to be a big miscommunication. The fellow with the 16" rims also had 16.5" rims, and thought I was interested in a straight trade

I pulled the trigger on some 9.50×16.5 Firestone Transforce rubber for the front, and 8.75×16.5 Firestone Transforce for the rear. By the time the new rubber needs replacement I will have had many years to locate some 16" rims.


View attachment 464713

Interesting fact; the lug nuts on the driver's side are all left hand thread. I was looking at the threads and my machinist brain screamed "that looks wrong!?!" Gave all of the studs a touch of PB blaster and let them marinate while I did some chores. Kinda nice that they are stamped with an L, and the passenger side is all marked R.

View attachment 464714

My boys were excited to finally help with something, so I had them raise the truck with me, place it on stands, and remove the front wheels. Let each boy do a side, to try and minimize fighting. They don't know how good they have it, being able to use power tools. My dad would have had me using a ratchet and a pipe.

View attachment 464717

With that, the drums are exposed and ready to get knocked apart, another day.

You really jogged an old memory on this one. I had a '70 Int'l Scout half-cab back in the late 80's that I used for wood and hunting, and it had left handed threads on the driver's lugs as well. Unfortunately I do not have machinist's eyes and had nothing but the tire iron. Worked on those damn things for about an hour before I really looked at the threads!

 

[Firewood Hoarder]

I’ve always liked those saddle blanket covers, inexpensive for a work truck and reminds me of my first pickup.

I'm happy with the result so far. I have to do something with the backrest upper corners to tidy them up a bit, but overall this is a big improvement.

 

[They call me Mr. Kibbs]

View attachment 466028

I'm happy with the result so far. I have to do something with the backrest upper corners to tidy them up a bit, but overall this is a big improvement.

I assume you mean to take up the pucker at the corners?
One idea, kind of half-arsed, but I did it with a similar seat cover in an 89 K1500 with bench seat and it worked OK. Take a marble or round rock and tuck it into the fabric at the corner from the outside, then take a looped piece of paracord around the object and the fabric on the underside of the fabric, and tie other end of cordage to something at the mid point of the bottom of the backrest. I used three half hitches at the lower knot so I could re-tighten cordage as needed.
Probably a lot more professional ways, but I aren't no pro!

 

[Firewood Hoarder]

You really jogged an old memory on this one. I had a '70 Int'l Scout half-cab back in the late 80's that I used for wood and hunting, and it had left handed threads on the driver's lugs as well. Unfortunately I do not have machinist's eyes and had nothing but the tire iron. Worked on those damn things for about an hour before I really looked at the threads!

It happens! I've had an eye for threads from the beginning, as my first experience with left hand threads was twisting the end of a briggs and stratton crank off, not knowing the flywheel nut was left handed.

When I had just started my apprenticeship, I was working in the toolroom after school with the 2nd shift journeymen tool makers. One of them, Red, was a prankster. I learned that when he handed me a left hand tap and a left hand drill for a project I was assigned to.

I had to drill and tap several 3/8-16 holes in some 1-2-3 blocks us apprentices were manufacturing, and asked Red for a drill and tap. He smiled and said "I have those tools in my toolbox for you, please let me finish what I'm doing and I will bring them to you"... He showed up at the mill I was using a few minutes later with a left hand twist drill and a left hand tap. I put the drill in the machine and promptly realized it wasn't going to cut, as it spun the wrong way. I reversed the spindle and proceeded to drill all the tapped holes to size with the left hamd drill. I then thought about using the left hand tap on all the blocks out of spite...

As I was contemplating my next move, knowing full well that I was being played, Alan, the toolroom leadman walked by. He looked at the tap and asked why I had a left hand tap. I told him that is what I was given, by Red. I asked if I could get a right hand tap, as I didn't want to make useless tooling. Alan gave me a tap, but asked me to tap two block complete, left hand thread, and stamp them with Red's initials. I asked why and he explained that Red wanted a set of blocks when we were finished producing them. Alan was a bit of a prankster, too.

Once the all blocks had been heat treated and ground to size, I was tasked with delivering them to everyone that had ordered a set. I made sure to give that set to Red. About a week later, he comes over to me asking why he can't get a bolt to thread into the holes. I handed him back his left handed tap and drill, and suggested he go to the tool crib for some left handed hardware. His immediate reaction was anger, followed by laughter when he realized he got burned by his own prank. We got to be friends after that

 

[Firewood Hoarder]

I made a mistake this morning... Not wrenching on the truck today!