Give a Mouse a Cookie (Waterpump Rebuild, Radiator Recore, Ignition Coil, Generator, Pushrod Cover)

Its been awhile since I last updated this blog, probably because I haven't done much on the truck.  Have you ever hear the saying, "give a mouse a cookie"?  Its a kids book about what happens when you give this mouse a cookie, and he decides that he needs more and more and more.  Well a simple water pump repair turned into multiple projects.

About two weeks ago a friend asked me if I could bring over my truck as a prop/seating for an outdoor movie they were having.  I said sure, mostly because it had been quite some time since I had driven it was good to get things lubricated and warmed up.  Everything was fine until I arrived at his driveway and noticed that Mavrick was peeing without any shame.  Engine temp was at the top end of the limit and clearly I had a coolant leak!

It was difficult to see where the leak was coming from, but my hoses are new and the leak was coming from someplace near the engine on the passenger side, but was hidden from the oil canister.  Based on my best guess it looked like someplace near the side of the water pump.

I hate bent fins on a a radiator!  not sure why but it has always bothered me.  Perhaps its the clean organized pattern of the fins jarringly altered by a bent fin that causes me to fret. So I drained the fluid to find that my petcock was clogged.  So I removed the lower hose and drained the system.  Removed the radiator and water pump.  

Turns out that a water pump for a 270 engine is a bit of a challenge to find. After several hours online I was at my wits end.  Sometimes when I am overwhelmed on a project I like to look at other peoples videos on YouTube and see them being successful and thereby giving me hope.  This is where I found a guy named Jeff who has a channel called Elderly Iron out of Selma Oregon.  Turns out he has a whole series on a 58 GMC. As I live in the same region as him I contacted him about the water pump rebuild and he gave me a company one town over called The Flying Dutchman.  Problem solved.  Wade will fix it up in a few weeks and I will be back in business.  If only it was that simple.

Made in the USA

That radiator is an old Harrison PN:3140882.  I like the look of it and the history of being part of this truck.  This is were it gets complex.  There are new aluminum radiators all bright and shiny, that works great or even better than before, but it feels to new for the truck.  When you open the hood you can see the history and wear everywhere.  The Harrison blends in to the whole package while at the same time behaving as an entry point into history as you lean over it to see the rest of the story in all its oil and dirt stained glory.  Harrison is no longer in business.

So I can either have it re-cored or buy a reproduction radiator that looks similar, but NOT a Harrison.  Just look at that font used on the Harrison name.  It screams 1950's.  Observe the fine wire mesh installed by Luther (Grandpa) at some point after he bought it in '59.  More importantly there is a small tag that says "Nevada County Rad." A repair at some point or maybe a replacement.  Either way that's a mark in history that's why I will re-core this radiator.  I just have to figure out how to save that tag. UPDATE 06/10: I took out the radiator and had it tested.  They were unable to find any issues so I reinstalled and called it good, for now.

My rule of operation has been that when I "fix" or "touch" something in the truck I will try to clean it up a bit, meaning remove any grease, oil or rust.  I will also repaint parts if I can to look nice.  Here is where the mouse got greedy.

Starter PN: 1107634

The thermostat could use some cleaning and an inspection since the cooling system is dismantled, so off it comes.  Fan blade is off from the water pump so it to will be cleaned and painted. Might as well take out the radiator support since I'm there. Well look at that generator its a mess.  Should be easy to remove and clean, and give it some maintenance of the brushes and commutator.  

Generator

I should have stopped right there, but before I removed the generator I disconnected the battery and of course why not clean the battery tray and hold down. Now I looking at the other side of this great engine and noticed that the push-rod valve cover was leaking.  Gasket ordered and many bolts removed and cleaned.  Did you know that in order to remove the pushrod cover you need to remove the oil canister and ignition coil as well?  And now I am removing the starter, by the way actually does have a problem!  When I stomp the starter I will often get a spin of the starter motor but does not engage the engine.  I promise this is the last thing to pull off the truck. Except maybe I will replace the shocks back and front, which depends on how much time I have available.