FGT Restoration

[rob love]

The frame is coming along, but I need to clear the yard before snowfall. We may have some wet flurried towards the end of this week, although permanent snow is still likely a month and a half away. But anything left on the ground will get plowed, so I put the axles back onto the frame (loosely) and placed the powertrain on pallets.



The frame was sandblasted and most of the required brackets have been moved across and bolted on. I also sandblasted and painted a couple rims and installed 4 tires that I had picked up last fall. They are a Chinese brand, but I think they look better than the US bar tread which I was saving for this project.



There is also a shot of one of the body mount brackets, showing where some worker was having a bad day. He was nowhere near on center. I will replace that bracket with one from the other frame.



I have new bushings for the front suspension and have ordered the necessary bushings and pins for the back suspension. I also found a couple of spare overload spring packs out in the lineup out back to replace the bent ones. I am also waiting for a pair of truck type waterpumps so I can install the engine and transfercase into the frame before winter.



I may not get my rolling chassis to the state I wanted it this fall, but at least it is mobile again.

[Alex van de Wetering]

Nice work Rob....and I like those Chinese tyres.

[rob love]

My biggest problem with those tires is going to be finding a 5th one for the spare. I bought them used with very low mileage from someone who was scrapping a trailer. The brand is Westlake and the tires are the 928 series. I called a local dealer who deals with Westlake, and when he checked the distributor there were none to be had. Guess I'll have to wait for another seac can load to make it to these shores.

The tires are a steal otherwise. Form the dealer they are just $300 a tire, which includes the flap. I believe they are a 15 ply rating, so could almost be considered a runflat with the light load on this truck. They just need a bead spacer.


Edited to add: I got a hold of the importer, who told me that KAL tire in my area should have access to some of the remaining inventory of this tire, but stocks were very low. Sure enough, a week after calling my 5th tire is here. Good news is it comes complete with inner tube and reinforced flap. Bad news is it was a little more expensive than I thought, at $550 with taxes and environmental fees all in. But a nice clean and brand new spare mounted on the roof will help set the tone for this truck.