I am working on a 1979 Cushman Truckster Police Vehicle (Meter Maid). I was looking for a project that I could do with some help from my Dad and use the skills I am getting from power and transportation class in school. This class shows students how to rebuild, and diagnose small engines. I was looking for a riding lawn mower and almost bought one to convert to a race mower, but stumbled across the Cushman Truckster for sale. It wasn’t running very well and the brakes didn’t work. A deal was struck and I had a project I could work on.
My Dad helped me get it home and I started to acquire parts. Finding parts for a 1979 Cushman Truckster was a lot more difficult than going to a parts store and have them look it up. eBay and a couple online parts places got me what I needed to get started. The engine is an OMC 18hp air cooled. When it did finally get started it would run for fifteen minutes shut off and not start again until everything was cool again. The engine front plate was removed to discover a large plastic garbage bag wrapped around the flywheel and starter motor gear. Getting that free and cleaning everything inside the cover, solved the slow starts but didn’t help the length of running and restarts after it got warm. Cross referencing the spark plugs and wires and finding new coils solved that. The engine now turns over and runs great.
The brakes where completely rebuilt with new mater cylinder, brake lines, shoes and springs. My first couple of tries at bending brake lines didn’t go so well but I eventually got the hang of it and was able to bend a couple nice bends to get them to follow the proper path. My Dad helped me bench bleed the master cylinder and get it mounted. The brake drums were in great shape and just needed some cleaning. It now stops straight and safe.
My next projects are to fix some rust areas and paint the original colors of blue and white. Until that projects starts I can drive it and have fun. Once I get it completed I plan to enjoy it and take it to motorcycle and car shows around the area.
