Hi all ; I need one of the square nuts that holds the steering support clamp to the dashboard in an AD truck , they're usually just sitting there up under the dash of stripped out trucks.... I could use one or a pair if anyone has an old cab they're stripping for a tilt column or whatever , the nut is about 1" square ans has coarse threads.... I'll pay for same of course , it's for _my_ '49 shop truck , I broke a bolt off friday when I was trying to replace the original steering column to dash grommet that suddenly crumbled and fell out in small bits as I was working the truck... -Nate
RE: Fixed It Well foo ; It was driving me crazy so I put a couple nuts on the end of the broken off bolt and locked that into a vise , heated the square nut to a dull red with the gas torch and unscrewed it , cooled it off and ran a tap through it to clean up the rusty threads , bead blasted the cast iron supports of 15 coats of old paint and shot them with gloss black , trimmed the repop rubber bushing to a snug fit and got a couple new grade 8 bolts , added some anti-sieze to the threads and assembled it all back up , no more steering wheels wobbling about as I cruise down the road , all's well that ends well I guess . -Nate
RE: Fixed It Nate - Good on you...sounds like a solid fix. Off-topic question: I've decided to get a bead blaster. Are you happy with your? Brand? Suggestions? Mike M '27 Chevy '41 John Deere B '49 GMC FC-150
RE: Bead Blaster Best bet : make your own ~ the cheapo ones suk and all you need is some plywood and tin for the back blast shieled part . If you buy the very biggest one from Harbor Freight , it'll be barely adequate but it'll work , the nozzel is junk and will die in short order as will the light and the foot valve , they sell a better foot valve but it comes set up wierd , only spits out a tiny bit of pressure for each time you step on it , take apart anf fix , works like a champ then Basically you'll wind up replacing the expendable cheap crap with good parts , hunt around for better suppliers of gloves , nozzles , vacuums and on and on . I use a _HUGE_ old industrial unit the City bought , often you can find good bead blasters almost free in industrial auctions , they're eveyrwhere , look in sunday's paper or farm auctions . -Nate
