The Lil' Red Truck

The Lil' Red Truck has a long history in our family - quite possibly more history than I do, though a little clarification from Dad might help me there.

While its not the doll it was when I was a toddler, (and I do remember it back then - have the "thumb" to prove it - sorry Mom) it ain't a rust bucket either.  I gave up on it years ago.  Family and work, and all the other things that keep us busy have kept me from doing much.  My father in law found out about it and pitched in a little jump start to see if we can get the Lil' Red Truck to the parade in a few weeks.

No promises yet, but lots of progress.  Years of sitting are hard on machines that are meant to operate regularly.  Rubber dries out - hoses, belts and seals fail.  Gas left in the fuel system turns into a nasty, putrid stuff that burns more like deisel - worse yet, condensation builds inside the tank and rust accumulates. 

The gas tank had to be drained - the fuel had turned into a green, nasty substance that didn't smell much like gas any more.  I set it aside for fire starting - with mixed results at actually burning at all.  The tank is being cleaned and treated now to neutralize the rust and then to coat the tank.

As I work on this, I am constantly grattified to find that the old ways were simple and reliable. Bolts, not plastic retainers and clips that break fasten nearly everything - and have lots of access to get a wrench in there - usually.


The radiator checked out great - which was a huge relief.  I cannot find the coolant leak yet though - somewhere there is likely some dried-out old seal that has decided to let go - I hope not, but cannot find much so far.

Electrical on these old trucks was all cloth insulated.  Years have apparenlty taken the flex out of the wires and I am a little nervous to work around them, for fear of breaking a wire.  Worse yet, anywhere that there is a splice, it consists of a couple of twists and a bit of tape.  I used to try that with my headphones when the wires shorted out - with pretty poor results.  Some wires are just going to get replaced regardless, I haven't decided whether I want to tackle the whole harness yet.

Here is the gas tank - attached to the running board still.  Dad and K helped me get the last part of this project out from under the truck - definitely nice to have extra hands!