Cool McCool's Garage

Notice anything different about the background?  No more hiding in a cramped, dirty garage being used for storage.  No more idle talk about when it gets done, or how much yet needs to be done.  It  is now a REAL truck.

Today, for the first time in maybe 3 decades, the Diamond T rolled out of the shop under its own power!  I put the front wheels on, lowered it down off the jack stands, fired it up, idled down the drive and drove it up to the house.  It goes forward and back, stops, and steers.  A HUGE step.

After this inaugural trip, I pulled it back into the garage, topped off the transmission, and put all the power steering fluid I had in the pump.  The rear end was dry, I pulled the cover and made a new gasket from an air cleaner box and filled the differential.   While I was doing that, I put the beautiful art-deco heater I got from my friend John back together.  I’d had the core repaired and pressure checked to 15 lbs, straightened and painted the rotating louvers, and stuck it back in the cab.  I have a shut-off valve to put in the line, so tomorrow I can install it permanently, fill the cooling system and all the vital fluids will be good to go.  At least good to check for leaks.  It did run out of gas pulling back into the garage tonight, but I’m still all smiles!

Here are a bunch of pics from this afternoon and evening.  It’s a good day here at Cool McCool’s Garage!