Rufus: The rear end finally gets installed. Really!

(07/02/2009) Once again, it's been forever since I did any work on Rufus.
Lots of reasons, but not enough room to explain them here.
Some help in the form of a friend from Texas, Robert Adams, has enabled some real progress to be made.

The torque tube is bolted up to the tailshaft of the transmission.

The brake crossshafts are rusty as hell, but they'll only be there until the switch to juice brakes.
I also need to get the speedometer cable bolted up.

Compare the old service (pedal) brake rod to a new one.
I guess a previous owner needed to make up a new rod and had a welder. I guess....

Robert is tightening up the shackle bolts.

Rufus sees the light of day for the first in over 3 years.

The windshield hinge got securely fastened to the cab's sheet metal. It was nice to take the clamps off...they'd been holding the hinge in place for WAY too long.

Then the windshield slid into place and is now the 1929 version of air conditioning.

I finally found an appropriate use for an M4ME CCC Quadrajet...well, that and a doorstop.

(07/09/2009) I had problems with the fuel line getting clogged with rust from the inside of the gas tank, so I drained the tank (again)...

...and then took Rufus out to sit in the sun for a while to evaporate the gas I didn't get out in the draining.

Once I got the tank drained, blown out with compressed air, vacuumed with a shop vac (repeat last 2 steps several times)
and added a little bit of tubing as a standpipe to prevent crud from plugging the outlet, I poured some filtered gas in it and fired it up.
Ran like a champ. Problem seems to be solved.

Then I was talking on the phone with a friend and he asked if the Moon Discs I'd had on the Ugly Truck would fit.
I didn't think so, but I tried 'em and they fit fine.
I'm not sure if I really like 'em, but I'll keep 'em on there for the time being.

A little longer test drive. The Wasatch mountains are in the background. There's snow on July 15th. Global warming, my ass.
Rufus ran fine. No drips, no runs, no errors...or something.
No smoke from the electricals, no puking because of trash in the fuel line...but a very loose steering box.
Gonna have to get that one fixed before I feel comfortable driving it in any kind of trafic. But the salt flats might be a little different. :)

Oh...did I mention the little overheating problem? It looks like there's a radiator and/or head gasket in Rufus' future.

Next page: Driveability work begins.

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