Did a few more jobs on the truck in the last couple of weeks.
I drove it to work a while back, and on the way there, it drove absolutely fine. On the way back however, the transmission started slipping horribly in 1st and 2nd, and made a horrible sound in reverse. I assumed it needed rebuilding (not the end of the world as it's a very simple transmission to work on), but the guy I took it to just changed the fluid and some seals and it seems fine now. I wouldn't be surprised if it will need rebuilding at some point though, the sound it made in reverse was one of the worst sounds I've ever heard come from a car in my life.
As I mentioned in my last update, the thicker tyres were causing it to rub when I put a lot of weight in the back, so I took it to a friend's suspension shop to get the back lifted slightly. He added stronger leaves (is that what you call them?) to the rear leaf springs, which gave it a slight lift, but nothing too ridiculous. Luckily, it doesn't look hugely out of proportion to the front of the truck like some of the ones I see do.
I decided to test the newly serviced transmission and new suspension by putting quite a lot of weight in the back of it. All this old wood is going to be used for the garden on the upper part of our land, and it's heavy to say the least.
The truck hauled it just under 100 miles with absolutely no problems, including over some very rutted dirt roads. I think my back suffered a lot more than the F150 did!
We also changed the steering wheel and shifter, my old wheel was held together with electrical tape, and the old shifter was incredibly loose, and had a sharp nail sticking out of it, which wouldn't have been much fun in the event of a crash. These are a big improvement.
I'd still like to get the original shift indicator for it, but that's a job for another day. Yesterday, I drove past one of the many government impound lots we have here and there were at least 10 of these trucks, all with complete chrome trim, and I'm sure I could have found at least one shift indicator there too. Sadly they don't let you take parts from them, even though they've been sitting there for 20+ years and will never be claimed. There's all sorts of classics - Beetles, VW Vans, 50s / 60s Chevy and Ford trucks, and even a couple of buses from the late 40s / early 50s. It's a shame they they're all left to rot.
Update - wise, that's about it really. We changed the engine oil and filters, and tightened a belt that was squealing on startup - perhaps it's a placebo, but it seems to run better now. Still very much enjoying my time with it.
