That’s Rad!

At this point the truck is running pretty well, however I have been noticing some small leaks at the thermostat housing on top of the

head and there are also at least two or three small leaks within the radiator itself. On top of that, part of the lip on the radiator filler inlet has broken off, which does not allow the radiator cap to fasten properly. I have some work cut out for me. This effort pretty much takes up the month of July, all told.

I first start by sourcing parts, and thanks to the Old IHC forum (The finest IHC forum and excellent source of information, in my opinion, and not just because I have been one of the admins there since 2009!) I was able to obtain a part number for the thermostat (Stant 13368 / 180 degree). The thermostat housing gasket was available from Olson’s Gaskets (Very friendly, knowledgeable service).

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Breathing

I took a little time out to inspect the oil bath air cleaner on Cornelius. There is absolutely no oil. Plus, it isn’t even the right air cleaner for the truck. For that matter, neither is the carburetor, but it is working well so will be left alone for now. A closer inspection finds that the mesh, critical for oil bath air cleaners, is also missing.

So until I find a proper oil bath air cleaner for the truck, I decided to at least introduce some filtering capacity. Toward that end, I measured the inside and found an outer diameter of 6-1/2″ and an inside diameter of 5-1/4″. A search of the K&N website found a filter (E-3290) with an outside diameter of 6-1/4″ and an inside diameter of 5-1/4″ with a height of 1-1/2″. The fit is perfect.

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Stop It!

So the truck is now running, but the stopping part could use a little more attention. The brake pedal is precariously close to the floor before any strong pedal is felt. An inspection of the brake fluid in the master cylinder indicates that the fluid is both low and in need

of changing. I had to remove the flooring in the truck to get a decent look at the master, so I decide that a good place to start would be with replacing it.

As it turns out, the master cylinder in the later K-Series is the same as the one in the D-Series. Why is this important? Because Rock Auto carries the Raybestos MC1722 master cylinder for the K1 for a mere $114!

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Tanked

So the truck seems to be running pretty well, but needs gas. I start filling the tank, and almost immediately start smelling strong gasoline fumes. Yep, my next repair. I had anticipated this because the previous owner had replaced a very rusty original tank with a VW tank and made it work… for a while. I was fortunate enough to purchase an original tank when I bought Cornelius, but it needs work.

First step is to clean it good, and the inside looks great. Then I drop it off at a body shop near me to have some dents removed and to have it painted. It came back looking fabulous! I replaced the original rusty attachment bolts with some new stainless bolts, nuts and washers from Fastenal.

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Inspection

Although Cornelius was purchased on February 13, he didn’t arrive in Verona until late in the evening of March 17. We backed him out of the trailer and parked him in the garage for the night.

Excited to get started on our new arrival, I gave Cornelius a thorough going-over the next morning on March 18. Using the checklist included in the service manual, I inspected the truck from bumper to bumper. Although several items caught my eye, overall, the truck is in good condition with very little rust at all.

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