Identification of F15 2WD?

[Ganmain Tony]

Fitted up the Cab frame to create a bit more shed space...Thanks John for all the help.

Have revisited the axle after a very productive conversation with Bruce Peelgrain.

Realised I should have been checking the play in the axle with the colletts tight on the replacement king pins.... did this and discovered what play was left was in the bottom bush in the stub axle and it was insignificant.

Realised if the king pin is stationary in the axle and it is... it cant rub and wont wear (in that area). The wear on the old one was where the stub axle swivels on the king pin.

Make sense?? Thanks Bruce, it made sense to me anyway.

[Ganmain Tony]

Another spare couple of days, another chance to further investigate the engines current condition..

Above pictures do not mean we thought a ritual slow roast might be the way to go.. but what does side valve V8 marinated in 50 year old oil taste like?

Sump and oil pump removed and cleaned again.

Shot of valley shows typical build up of carbon. Fair amount of degreaser used, then pressure washed then sprayed with CRC.

[Ganmain Tony]

Engine temporarily reassembled to check compression again and to see what oil circulation is like with oil pump.
This engine appears to be a genuine Ford rebuild. Bores have been sleeved and a rough check shows the bores are back to standard (3 & 3/16").

Chucked some fresh oil in and hooked her up to a battery. Oil pressure is very good. Cleaned up nicely but it is astonishing how much crap stays in amoungst colletts, springs, guides, etc.

Unfortunately compression, was not good. Some had zero so I'm wondering what the truck was running like before the cocky put her away. Clearances were zero on some as well.

So we decided to start pulling the valves out for a reface and will probably go with adjustable lifters.

[Keith Webb]

Zero compression would most likely be valves being a bit sticky - Tony Wheeler must be the current champion of that sort of thing.

I see you have an extremely capable and experienced man on the job already.

Originally Posted by Ganmain Tony

Unfortunately compression, was not good. Some had zero so I'm wondering what the truck was running like before the cocky put her away. Clearances were zero on some as well.

So we decided to start pulling the valves out for a reface and will probably go with adjustable lifters.

[Ganmain Tony]

Originally Posted by Keith Webb

I see you have an extremely capable and experienced man on the job already.

And as you can imagine. We tried quite a number of tricks. None of which made a difference.

Wear on valve faces enough to convince us it needs a bit more work to make it a reliable runner.

[Ganmain Tony]

Getting some invaluable tutorials on panel beating and welding from a very capable neighbour (Who wishes to remain anonymous). Also, very generously he is letting me have access to his resources.

Two things you'll notice from the photo's - theres no way of knowing if I actually did the welding... although from the mountain of weld I had to grind off you probably would know I did it.

The second thing is.... this is not in Colin Jones league... but it is progress and a heck of a lot of fun.

So we filled a few holes and knocked out some dents.

[Ganmain Tony]

Very satisfying to see parts cleaned up looking like new again.

Roof is off an Australian Cab and is in pretty good nick but does need a bit of attention. The other bits were a basic sandblast and paint.