Like any project of this magnitude, getting to the base of the foundation is square one in a correct restoration. Here’s the rolling chassis with the engine, trans, and transfer case out of it. Oh, were not finished yet….
Here’s the power plant ready for a going over. As you can see here the Cerlist Diesel was backed by the T-90 transmission and this unit also had a Warn Overdrive installed on it, a common feature in the M-Series trucks. One more feature that I see that is unusual to the FC-170SRW line is the drum parking brake on the transfer case. Most FC-170 single rear wheel trucks had rear axle parking brakes while the DRW models tended to carry the T-Case drum emergency brake.
Here’s a little history uncovered, the original factory paint stamp on the differential housing.
Here we are down to the basis of the restoration. The bare frame is now ready to be sent off to the powder coaters. The turnaround time is about a week.
All the springs will be massaged over and brought back up to factory specs while the frame is out of the shop. We’ll soon see this project taking wings once all the pieces come back together. Stay tuned…..