GPA 5510 Progress

[Steve Barber]

Here is an update on GPA 5510. This past weekend I borrowed a gantry crane and lowered the frame into my tub. This process went as smooth as silk and I would recommend it to others. Installing the engine/transmission assembly onto the frame makes access to the left front axle bump stop difficult to install but It save a lot more labor by doing as much as possible outside the frame so you don't have to climb in and out of the tub to get a wrench or some other bit. Hopefully, here are some shots of my progress. The first shots are at the Georgia MVPA show. My frame is sitting beside Tony C.s pristine GPA. This generated a lot of interest since you could see a completed GPA and what makes it tick.
http://www2.snapfish.com/slideshow/Albu ... =157436755
Hopefully the axles will go under the tub this coming weekend.

-Steve

[Donovan]

Steve,

I do not see any of the images you posted!

Donovan.

[Steve Barber]

Let me give it another try!

[acmack]

Lookin' forward to seeing those photos as well! David

[Mithril]

What's new about these pictures and GPA ?

[Steve Barber]

Apologies to the group. I lost my password and had difficulty getting back in. First of all GPA 5510 is 99.999% complete. Like a house, I don't know if they are ever 100% finished. About six months ago, my daughter Deborah told me that she wanted to leave her wedding in the GPA. That gave me a lot of motivation to finish my seven year (on and off) restoration effort. I made the April 24, 2010 deadline and everything went well at the wedding. Deborah married a Marine F-18 pilot so I chose to restore my GPA as a USMC vehicle. It was a military wedding so the GPA was a huge hit. I still have a few things to do before it is show ready, but nobody but a GPA expert would notice these issues. Two weekends ago, I swam the GPA for an hour and a half and it did great. I suspect that this was the first time that GPA 5510 has swam in a completed state in 40 years. I was very anal about seam sealing the tub and the GPA never took on enough water to operate the bilge pump! I also used two large plastic cable ties around the drag link boot instead of a clamp. I tightened these ties so that the drag link will still slide in the boot with minimal water leakage. I use wheel bearing grease on the drag link to prevent wear on the boot. I also used a smalll air horn compressor that has a two liter tank to pressurize the axles. I bought a very good regulator fom Eastwood automotive and pressurize my axles to 4 PSI before swimming. So far, the axles have remained free of water contamination.

I still have a few things to tweak. My light switch is wired incorrectly so I need to figure that out. I need to make the wooden panels below the battery trays. I also need to make metal battery covers that go on top of the batterys. I am planning on making a wooden cover for my compressor and mount it on one of the wooden pieces that goes below the port battery. I am going to stencil something like "canned meat" on the box so that it appears to something stored in the battery box area.

Again, apologies to the group for no pictures. I use a computer all day long so I am not very enthusiastic about learning how to post pictures. I have been spending all ofmy spare time on the GPA! Maybe now I can spend a little time to learn how to properly post pictures. I have documented many steps so these pictures will possibly help others in the future.
http://www2.snapfish.com/slideshow/Albu ... =157436755

[Mithril]

Great newsSteve. Congratulations to you for your restauration job (and to your daughter too ... for her wedding).

Be sure someone here can post pictures for you on this forum.

[fordgpa]

Steve, can you put them on photobucket ??

Then it is easy for me to post them for you


Peter.

BTW Leo Verhagen is also moderator for this forum and this year he is gone take over most of it.

[Cees]

I need to make the wooden panels below the battery trays.

I try to make the drawings in Auto cad (DWG) and put them on my site anybody can download them and go to a wood company with a CNC machine to make them but give me some time.

Cees

[GlennV]

Hi Cees,

if you need any help with the CAD drawings just send me the sketches and i'll make the drawings for you !

Best regards,
Glenn

[Cees]

Glenn,

PM send

Cees