Tennessee bound!

[Ohiotinkerer]

Wish me luck guys - headed out on my first big trip in the '68 this morning - a week in TN to get some work done on my property and some downtime from a little over 2 years of 10 hours a day 6 days a week at work! Little nervous even thought I haven't had any problems but I'm also pulling my 6X8 trailer loaded down which I haven't done before - toolbox is loaded up and plenty of spare parts but I'm keeping my fingers crossed i don't need any of it!..............

[cstoyer]

Ohiotinkerer

I hope the trip goes well for you and you get some downtime to enjoy what you work for. Post up some pictures of the drive if you get a chance as its a beautiful area.

cstoyer

[jp2005]

Be safe out there!

[Ohiotinkerer]

Made it with unbelievably zero mechanical problems! It didn't even use or lose ANY oil which made me really happy but I do have 3 problems that are gonna have to be addressed i still have a cab leak - both sides of the carpet are wet down the firewall to the doorsills since it had to rain the entire trip - it's got a BAD case of the wanders even though the entire front end has been rebuilt except the steering box which makes me wonder if it's bad - and it's DEFINETLY getting a front sway bar....I found this out on a couple on ramps that were sharp turns....not fun...... .......other than that I haven't had that much fun in years! Will see about some pics of i can get them to post - gonna be close to the Tennessee River - one of my favorite places!......

[crazyhorse]

Mr Ohiotinkerer,, I hope you have a good trip & enjoy some well deserved happy time.
Sounds like you got the truck in overall good condition.
Please be safe on the roads.

[basketcase0302]

Grew up fishing / rafting / swimming / boating on that river, (in Nooga') it is soothing for the heart!
Glad you made it, (I had no doubt when I first saw this post) and it's a good way to get the "bugs" out of the truck, (long trips).
On the cab leaks...best done with two people. One outside spraying the windshield / cowl / wiper pivot area's while your playing the ergonomically nightmare game of inspector under the dash LOL. Man...if I tried that nowadays after three back surgeries someone would have to call 911 on me!
On the front end some things to check are the play/slop in the sector gear, (the screw/nut adjustment on the top of the steering box). You can tighten the screw one half a turn inward then drive the truck to see if it takes any play out of the steering, (but reverse the adjustment if it does not as it will put excessive wear on the gears if you have too much "lash" on the two worm gears. I'd also look real...hard at the radius arm bushings if they have never been replaced as this is where most our trucks get the nickname Ford trucks have always had of being a "wandering Ford".
Front sway bar...are the front coils original? If so the original coils are also probably in need of replacement, (change both the radius arm and front coils at the same time to save some work and time.

You do know the Tennessee River has it's own "Nessee" (like the Loch Ness monster) don't you?! They hang out around Chattanooga a lot-this pic was taken during mating season, (bout this time of the year). Make sure you keep a close eye on the little ones if their swimming in the river!

[FLASH 1]

Just think if you stay another week of the 13th you will start seeing bunch of Ford Trucks strolling in for the 2nd F-100 Grand Reunion that starts on the 16th till the 18th and be up off Teaser Lane

[Ohiotinkerer]

Grew up fishing / rafting / swimming / boating on that river, (in Nooga') it is soothing for the heart!
Glad you made it, (I had no doubt when I first saw this post) and it's a good way to get the "bugs" out of the truck, (long trips).
On the cab leaks...best done with two people. One outside spraying the windshield / cowl / wiper pivot area's while your playing the ergonomically nightmare game of inspector under the dash LOL. Man...if I tried that nowadays after three back surgeries someone would have to call 911 on me!
On the front end some things to check are the play/slop in the sector gear, (the screw/nut adjustment on the top of the steering box). You can tighten the screw one half a turn inward then drive the truck to see if it takes any play out of the steering, (but reverse the adjustment if it does not as it will put excessive wear on the gears if you have too much "lash" on the two worm gears. I'd also look real...hard at the radius arm bushings if they have never been replaced as this is where most our trucks get the nickname Ford trucks have always had of being a "wandering Ford".
Front sway bar...are the front coils original? If so the original coils are also probably in need of replacement, (change both the radius arm and front coils at the same time to save some work and time.

You do know the Tennessee River has it's own "Nessee" (like the Loch Ness monster) don't you?! They hang out around Chattanooga a lot-this pic was taken during mating season, (bout this time of the year). Make sure you keep a close eye on the little ones if their swimming in the river!

I replaced everything in the front end with new last fall which leads me to believe it's the steering box - I did adjust it once already on good advice from here - and it still wanders far more than it should for everything but the box being new so I'm thinking that maybe this fall when i put it up for winter i may pull it and get it rebuilt and see if that gets me anywhere. I was just out looking at possibilities for where the water is coming in - when I got it I resealed the cowl, drip rail, and all the firewall seams so I don't think it's coming from there - the firewall pad is dry and the carpet isn't wet all the way up - about halfway down the kick panels is where it starts. I also noticed that the windshield leaked in about 4 places down the inside so tomorrow in gonna recheck the drip rail - I'm also gonna replace the rubber around the windshield later and see if that helps. I hate water leaks........ ......I would rather deal with bad wires - easier to trace! At least the sun came out today and turned into one of the nicest days I've seen for a while - North central Ohio is about one of the most miserable places this time of year weather wise - been mostly cool and rainy with 1 occasional sunny day here and there - that's a big reason why in retiring to TN! Going to my property to work tomorrow and if I can get them to post I'll put some photos up!

[Ohiotinkerer]

Just think if you stay another week of the 13th you will start seeing bunch of Ford Trucks strolling in for the 2nd F-100 Grand Reunion that starts on the 16th till the 18th and be up off Teaser Lane

Hopefully next year - if I could stay for it I would but can't make it work this time......

[basketcase0302]

Leaking half-way up the kick panels leads me to believe you'll find the area(s) behind the fresh air vent(s) clogged with leaves and debris.
Try pulling out both fresh air vents and clean using a shop-vac / air pressure / water hose.
Beautiful place to retire if you can tolerate the cold and the inner city "gang related" crime.
I saw -14 degrees there in chattanooga last year while I laid helpless in the hospital.
My decision to put heated west coast mirrors and an engine heater on BC #16 was a good one.

[Ohiotinkerer]

Leaking half-way up the kick panels leads me to believe you'll find the area(s) behind the fresh air vent(s) clogged with leaves and debris.
Try pulling out both fresh air vents and clean using a shop-vac / air pressure / water hose.
Beautiful place to retire if you can tolerate the cold and the inner city "gang related" crime.
I saw -14 degrees there in chattanooga last year while I laid helpless in the hospital.
My decision to put heated west coast mirrors and an engine heater on BC #16 was a good one.

I cleaned and sealed all of that when I got it so there's gotta be something I missed - but it's never been in that heavy a downpour either - 40 mph and wipers on high on I40 between Nashville and Memphis - so I've got some more searching to do......damnit.......

I'm not near any big cities - bought 6 1/4 acres on a lane and a half country road outside Collinwood TN in Wayne County.....I grew up on a farm and have had to live in the city most of my life and I sure ain't gonna spend my retirement in town! And no matter what happens in the winter it's still 1000% better than North Central Ohio - I'm only an hour from Lake Erie and it is a deep freeze for months not to mention feet of snow that hangs around forever - I'm not the type that likes snow or being cooped up in the house because it's too cold to go outside! I would have really had it made it I would have bought that new house in Port Charlotte Florida when I joined the army in 1983......$62,000 for a 3 bedroom and could have paid it off in the 7 years i was in but I'll settle for my little piece of TH heaven!

[Ohiotinkerer]

Well unfortunately heading home in the morning........almost had to cut my trip short because some 16 year old girl was speeding down an alley, didn't stop coming out onto a main street and hit my wife spinning her into a pole totaling our 2 year old Kia and fortunately only causing minor injuries to my wife.......the first new car she's ever had in her life and she's 53. The girl that hit her didn't even show any remorse or concern for my wife - more worried about daddy's car and getting on her damn phone and then her and her DAD arguing with the officer to why she was getting cited for the accident. Only reason I didn't come home early was she told me to stay because she's ok other than bruises and sore even though I wanted to leave. Now I get to deal with Progressive insurance and their "let's get this settled right now" tactics which I promptly shut down. Was gonna post pics of some things down here but my tablet with all of them on it decided to crash so I'll have to wait until I get to the house and see if I can get it back on. And this falls under the "right place wrong time " category - today I got offered an all original straight savable 1967 F250 for the price of " if you want it haul it away"! It's been setting for quite a while and would need floors and can mounts but other than that it was pretty solid. I did snag a few things off of it like the 67 only rearview mirror and some other small stuff and hopefully my family down here can get some other stuff off of it. Fortunately i got pictures from my phone to load so I could share the find!

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[Ohiotinkerer]

More photos.....

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And behind it was a 1951 Ford 2 door coupe that was sold new in Lexington TN and has spent its whole life there - he's the 4th owner and it's complete and straight and very restorable - the doors even open and close like brand new even though it's been setting outside. I don't have any photos of it because the owner didn't want anyone to photograph it but it was one hell of a surprise to see!

[Ohiotinkerer]

Here's a photo that I can post off my phone......

"Rolling down a backwoods Tennessee highway - one arm on the wheel"............

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And a shot off the bridge of the Tennessee River in Savanah TN..........

[timachone]

Thanks for the nice photos

I am sorry for the accident of your wife and the loss of the car. Luckily she wasn't injured badly, that's the main important thing of it all! Sheet metal you can replace, life not! Hope all will go well with insurance and the health of your wife!

What a find in the woods! Looks like a decent truck and a fairly good deal! Would you pull it in total and save it?

Best wishes to you and your wife,