Project: Papa’s Dodge, stage one.

[Lonesome7.3]

The next issue is these ball joints. Against my betterjudgment I went ahead and bought the joints that were available at the partsstore. Right off the bat you can see the differences. The nut size and taper ofthe threads is an issue. Plus, even though they have the same part number, theyare different from one another right out of the box. I found some washers thatwould fit the threads so the smaller nut would not slip into the opening on thebase of the knuckle. After I filed out the burrs inside with an ignition file,the washers fit perfectly.

 

[Lonesome7.3]

Here are some better photographs of the mystery parts. I triedto get a shot of the offset they have. That tells me they do indeed have aspecific purpose.

 

[Lonesome7.3]

Well some progress is better than no progress. I startedtoday by destroying one of the new ball joints. I did not know the tool I gotfrom the parts store was not suitable for installing truck ball joints. It getsthem out (in pieces) but will not get them in. As a result, one side of thetruck is not done. I used a bottle jack and the weight of the truck to pressthe joint in. I tapped it with a hammer to relieve tension and it slid rightin. I also left it in the freezer for about and our prior to the install.



He washer I de-burred for the new ball joint worked great. Iused a hand file to smooth out and flattened the area on the knuckle the washerwould sit. I do not know if the imperfections in the casting would have made adifference or not. The only real pain during the knuckle install was gettingthe new ball joint boot on the upper ball joint. The other issue was I had topull the rotor off the spindle to get the ball joint in place. I was able toremove the assembly as a whole, but I could not install it as a whole.



Before I installed the new caliper and old brake pads Icleaned them thoroughly. There is absolutely no wear on the brake pads. But toplay is safe I ran a flat fine ignition file over them to insure they were flatand to remove imperfections. The biggest issue was the threads for the brakeline bolt were messed up in the new caliper. I chased them and they worked fineafterwards.



By the way, did I install the brake line correctly? I do notremember which way the bend faced.

 

[Lonesome7.3]

While I was at it I pulled the rest of the brake parts fromthe donor truck. I have been putting that off because of all the grease underit. I was black when I was done. Themaster cylinder appears to be bad. I have not decided if I am going to rebuild itor buy a new one. I will check the cost difference. I got all the brake linesand proportioning valve from the donor. The grease has kept those parts wellpreserved. As you can see the master form the donor is bigger than the one fromthe 72. Because the donor had disks and drums I think it will work fine in the72.

 

[Lonesome7.3]

I had a helper in the garage with me today.

 

[Lonesome7.3]

All I did today was clean up the donor brake lines and pullthe old lines and proportioning valve from the 72. Oh, and I got the new balljoint installed along with the knuckle. The valve on top is the later model andinstalls inside the frame. The one from the 72 is on the bottom and installs outsidethe frame. Drilling holes is easy enough but the rear brake line is an issue.On the donor the rear line runs inside the frame. On the 72 it runs on top thenbends and runs on the outside. Because the 72 has dual tanks relocating theline will not be that simple. Not sure just how I will handle that issue justyet.



I tore the donor master cylinder down and tried to source a rebuildkit. Then I found out with my discount I can get a new one with a warranty forwell under 20 bucks. Guess which route I chose.

 

[Lonesome7.3]

I was hoping the donor power booster was not only good, butwould also fit the 72. I got lucky on both. The only issue is the old mastercylinder on the donor leaked. I cleaned it up and wire wheeled the rust off soI could paint it. I did not do it for aesthetics; I want to see a new leak developbefore it gets bad. Although, it did turn out nice. I have the new mastercylinder but I will not deal with that until I get the donor power booster in. Theold power unit is gone, it just sucks air. Plus, the donor master cylinder willnot bolt to it.



I am going to try and re-seal the old master cylinder withseals I already have on hand. Then I will bolt it to a simple flat plate. Theretainer clip is rusted in place. So I have it sitting on end soaking in rustpenetrant. I need the donor truck to move under its own power when all this isdone. So I will need it to stop as well; even though I plan to just hook up therear brakes at this point. All the old parts I am removing from the 72 is goingon the donor for this reason.



The only other issue I see with the donor power booster isthe end of the push rod that connects to the brake pedal. That will require asimple mod but I will wait for the paint to dry before I get into that.

 

[OldCracker29]

 

[Lonesome7.3]

Moore to come soon.

 

[Lonesome7.3]

Got the rod mod done. The rod end from the 72 power unit isthicker than the donor. It bolts in place where the donor’s has a pin and clip.There is a very small difference in length. That is simple to correct though. Icut each end off then welded the 72 rod end to the donor rod. I used a magnet toget them lined up while I tacked them in place. It was time to wake up themiller. It had been at rest for too long. The final product could have turnedout better. I was worried about getting the rod too hot and messing up theinternals of the booster. So I had to do it in short runs. As a result itturned out less than perfect. I think it will do the job.