Re: project 39
 

just a quick update on the dash. I cut the holes for the gauges and realized that the dash was curved just enough that the top of the gauge would not sit flat. I have a plan to make it look right. will post after I get it setup.

Re: project 39
 

i have been trying to get my hood to line up with the grille shell/upper bar. no matter what I did I could not get a satisfactory result. I could not tell if it was the hood that was messed up or the grille shell that I cut and welded on to make a 39. so on mem day I went out and grabbed a extra 40 front I had and tried that. the hood fit that shell much better. so I decided instead of messing around with trying to make my fabbed shell work I was going to either just use a 40 front or find a real 39 front. my gf bought me a new briefcase for my bd the other day so I was cleaning out my old bc and I came across a card with a guys phone # and 39-40 parts scrawled on it. I remembered talking to this guy a couple of different times at swap meets including the time he had his beautiful 39 chevy truck next to my car. so I called him on Tuesday after mem day about a 39 grille shell. he said he had one but he was going to use it on a 40 truck that he was building because he couldn't find a upper grille bar for the 40 front. I happily replied I had an extra upper and maybe we do some dealing. I ended up driving a 150 miles one way and lightening my wallet a bit but I got what I needed. so hopefully I can try this shell this weekend and everything is going to fit.

Re: project 39
 

worked on getting the front lined up with the hood. I will say it was kicking my butt. I can see why gm changed the front in 40 to make things easier and stronger. I spent the entire afternoon on Saturday messing with this and I think I am still going to have to cut and weld on the hood to get as nice as I want it. unless somebody out there sees something I didn't.

Re: project 39
 

i decided on saturday morning that it was time to get back on this and solve the front end issue before proceeding on any other part. i have adjusted, pushed, pulled and gotten a bunch of free advice on what to do. after study i decided that the upper trim piece was not far enough forward, so i slotted the screw holes on radiator support and slid the trim piece ahead which straightened out a lot of the misalignment on the hood, ornament and the trim. after getting that accomplished on saturday(took most of the day) i worked on test fitting of the grille which was a new frustration. i had never had the grille installed in this shell nor had i tried it after having the grille rechromed. when they chromed the grille they tacked welded the center rear bar to the grill bars. unfortunately it didnt line up with the upper bar. i had to bend the center of the bars down to get the trim to line up. nerve racking to say the least but it finally laid where i needed it. on sunday i worked on moving the chin from the other radiator support to this one and got it tacked together. i think it looks good and now i can do some cutting and welding on the hood to get my gaps nice. then i am going to send the hinge parts and the upper trim piece out for chrome.

Re: project 39
 

Looks OK to me.

Re: project 39
 

this weekend i worked on getting the hood gaps a lot closer than what they were or what i imagine they were from the factory. the front drivers side panel was pretty ugly. i worked on 3 corners of the hood the other corner looks pretty good so i am going to leave that one alone. my grandkid was out to help me. i cant believe the kid can fall asleep with the grinder going but he did. at least he had hearing protection on.

Re: project 39
 

worked on the bed cover this weekend. i had made a cover previously(page 2) but it really didnt fit the way i wanted it to. i had tried to bend the long sides myself which didnt work very well. instead of trying to make something bad nice i thought i would try one more time. i mean steel is almost free now a days right? i pulled my bender away from the wall which was a feat in it self(very heavy by your self). the new lid i had the long sides bent at the local steel place so i just had to bend the ends and make it fit the frame with good gaps--how hard can it be? i bent the front first, put it on the truck and started bending the curve in it. took 2 days of fighting with it but i got it bent. i pulled it back off sunday night bent the back end, sanded the frame, sanded the back side of the cover and epoxy primed both. hopefully next weekend i can get the cover on the frame and weld it together.

Re: project 39
 

Nice build!

Re: project 39
 

worked on the bed cover some more this weekend. screwed the tin back to the frame and started welding it in place and of course my gaps are still not what i hoped for so i did a bit of cutting and tack welding in the last foot of the cover. i assume either the box is off a bit or the cover or all of them. i will pull the whole assembly off this weekend and put the rod in the edge flange to keep my round edges when i hammer them for the final time.

Re: project 39
 

worked on the bed cover again this weekend. bent some 3/16 rod inside of the bent edge to make a bead on the edge that stayed round. still not completely happy with my gaps around the edges to the box. not sure if i am going to try and do something about it or leave it as is.

Re: project 39
 

cool bed

Re: project 39
 

so right after my last post i ended up in the hospital with covid. home now, have an appt with doc this week for ok to go back to work. after a month of mindless tv (how much counting cars can you stand)i am more than ready to get some things done. i have a 40 truck at the storage building i am thinking about sticking together to sell for some cash for this truck. i may have more things getting done in my head than physically able we will see. thanks for your comments and keep building those old trucks

Re: project 39
 

Glad to hear you are feeling better. Got to keep these projects moving forward.

Re: project 39
 

We are heading into summer, with longer hours in the daylight. Any updates? BTW Covid sucks. Glad you got better

Re: project 39
 

got tied up in some other projects that have been ongoing in the shop at home. trying to get caught up with work at the downtown shop hasnt left me with a lot of time to work on the 39. my plan is to finish the gf 97 chevy truck redo that is almost done and her kids 47 chevy truck that has been sitting in my shop for the last 10 years. i plan on having both of these done before winter. then the 39 is going to get worked on heavy through the winter, my friend that i repainted the jeep for is going to help so between the 2 of us i should get a long ways. after the brush with death this winter (according to the pulmonary doctor i saw in may) i want and need this truck to be done. I am going to back to the 50s next weekend so hopefully i can get the radiator ordered, wiper setup and whatever else is on my list purchased. i did get the 3rd brake light mount painted so i could see if i liked the color i picked out for the truck. i will get the 3rd brake light assembled some time soon and posts some pics. i think it will look awesome with the color and new chrome on it.

Re: project 39
 

so saturday was pouring rain so i got some time in the shop. i decided to finish cutting the hood to get my gaps better than they are/were. i want to get the hood done so i can take the top trim, hood hinge and rear hood mount to the chrome guy at the jefferson swap meet at the end of september. saves me a 1 1/2 one way trip. i got a good part of it done this weekend so hopefully next weekend i can pop the hood off and do some hammering on it on the bench.

Re: project 39
 

Coming along and looking good. I'm betting you'll be bringing those parts with you to the swap meet. Can't rush things but a reasonable deadline helps move a step along.

Re: project 39
 

i still didnt like the way the passenger side of the hood lined up with the top trim piece so i cut it back apart on labor day. i used a parts hood that i had and cut the inside corner out of it to weld in so i only had one line of weld. i will take some pics of it tonite and post them. i went to order a new hood hinge holder for the cowl this morning and while i was looking for that i came across a new chrome hood hinge, so i ordered the hinge and the holder in stainless. i will look at the hinge chrome and see if i need to have mine chromed or if the aftermarket chrome piece is good enough.

Re: project 39
 

so i cut and welded on the hood until i got the gaps i wanted. i ended up cutting the inside corner out of a junk hood that i had and welding it in. i stripped most of the paint off the top of the hood so i wasnt trying to hang on to the hood and sanding it on the bench.

Re: project 39
 

so i received the "chrome" hood hinge friday last week. number 1 it is not chrome but a low grade of stainless i assume, it is magnetic but has that stainless grain look. it really doesnt fit anything correctly. 2 the holes do not line up which it did say in the description, 3 the ends do not fit into the hood ornament or the rear holder. i started cutting and bending it to fit and then decided i had enough of it for now. i am going to use the original gm hinge and have it chromed. i will just this one on the 40 that i am going to put together to sell. 39-40 original hinges are hard to come by being the are usually broken on the ends. the one that is on the truck now is a combo of the 40 hinge and a cut down 46 hinge. it fits and works so i will use it.

Re: project 39
 

Nice work!

Re: project 39
 

i have been putting off ordering a radiator for the 39 because it needs to be custom because of the nailheads lower hose location. or so i thought. after thinking about it i decided there was no real reason i couldnt use a premade one for sbc 39-40 truck. i would just have to do some fab work on getting the lower hose from one side to the other. so saturday morning after the new radiator came i proceeded to install it. the first problem i had was it sat way to high in the saddle. i pulled it back out and drilled some new mounting holes up about 2 inches which dropped the rad right where i wanted it to be. i ran into town and bent some exhaust tube for upper and lower hoses. the upper worked out great but the lower would not cooperate the direction i needed it to go on the radiator end. i needed 2 90 degree bends close together. i played around a bit with it and came up with the idea of some mandrel bent ss tubing that i can cut and weld in the direction i want. so i ordered them and should have them by this weekend. i did have to trim the lower baffle to make the radiator fit, so i will have some finish work to do on it. i ordered the a/c condensor so i can fit that. i also decided i would get a mandrel bent top hose instead of using the one i bent so it looks cleaner. yes i am going to paint the radiator black when i am finished with the mock up.

Re: project 39
 

Nicely done.

Re: project 39
 

got the tubing and a/c condenser ups late yesterday. hopefully get them mounted this weekend and work on rear cover. i need to finish rear cover and weatherstripping before december so i can drop off rear hinges to the chrome guy when he is done with the hood hinge and upper grille trim. i have been looking for a new windsheild frame but it appears with the supply chain issue that is not going to be possible unless somebody here has an idea where i can get one. i do have one of those repop aluminum ones that was made a while back. i need to chop it to fit my cab.

Re: project 39
 

I've been reading through this thread, and admiring all the great work you are doing. 30 years ago, I did some stuff, but not nearly as nice. Going to be a cool rig when you are done. If that SS is magnetic, it is 400 series and it will rust because of the lower chromium content. 300 series SS is non-magnetic. I'd also like to plug a site I am a member of-

https://www.allmetalshaping.com/index.php

If there is anything anyone would want to know about forming metal, they should check it out. There is some absolutely amazing stuff done there. Your work would be a welcome addition! My handle over there is DarkLightning. All I've posted so far was a copper shape I made many years ago.

Re: project 39
 

worked on the lower hose tube. cut and welded. cobbled up a way to pressure test and sanded welds. just have to clean up and paint.fits good behind rack. just have to make some mounting brackets. the upper hose was easy, the one end was already correct length so i just had to trim one end.

Re: project 39
 

worked on the lower hose tube mounts this weekend. i will have to pull them off finish weld and paint them.i bought some really nice clamps to mount it but i figured until i am ready to make it permanent i would just use hose clamps. i worked on the condenser mounts in front of the radiator. i needed to mount the condenser backwards because i wouldn't have enough room for running the ac lines through the side of the radiator support. i will make some proper brackets from the condenser to the mount on the truck but i had to see where everything is going to fit first. i ordered some vintage air u bend lines and some pre made bottom exit lines. i will see what works the best. i still need to make a mount for the trans cooler in front of all of this. this little stuff takes longer than the big stuff. it is like piling 10lbs in a 5lb bag.

Re: project 39
 

worked on fitting the condenser more this last sunday. i didnt like the way it was sitting and the look of the holey brackets that were supplied with the condenser.i bent some new brackets from 18 gauge sheetmetal. i also bought some premade lines for the condenser that exit on the bottom which hopefully gets me where i need to be. i will work on mounting the trans cooler and making up the a/c hoses this weekend.

Re: project 39
 

got the condenser and trans cooler brackets made and fitted. ran the condenser lines and hoses to a bulkhead on the radiator support. i had made the trans lines previously but after the radiator install i wasnt happy with them. i also had to rethink the trans cooler lines. the trans cooler was a left over new part from a caravan. of course the trans lines are 5/16 at the trans and the cooler had 3/8 lines. there also wasnt enough line on the cooler just to make new flared ends so i had to make new 3/8 lines for the cooler. the cooler uses a push connect style with an o-ring. i seem to always fight with making push connect ends but after a couple of tries i finally got a pair that looked good. came up with a adapter to hook the 5/16 and 3/8 lines together with no hoses. now i just need to finish up the mounts drill and tap. then finish running a/c hoses and have those crimped. i also ordered the cruise control for it this morning so i get that fitted around the a/c components. like i said before 10lbs of stuff in a 5lb bag.

Re: project 39
 

Nice job with the “packaging”. You have to make the most of the limited space under the hood on these early trucks.

Re: project 39
 

i still have to trim the baffle and stuff it in

Re: project 39
 

got home early on friday so i decided i should work on the 39 while i had time.
i finished up the trans lines from the trans to the cooler. on saturday i decided i should figure out where the cruise unit and the a/c accumulator were going to go. like i have talked about before there is such a limited space to put things you really have to plan it out. on the 40 i put the cruise on the passenger side lower firewall but i didnt really like it there and i need to put the accumulator in the same place. i ended up mounting the cruise unit on the left inner fender so it is hidden in plain sight.

Re: project 39
 

after working on the a/c and cruise i decided it was time to break down and do the box cover and the back edge of the box. i have been fighting with the gap and fitment on this part since i started doing the cover project. i decided on sunday that it was time to just go at it and do it. so i cut the last 3 inches of cover off and cut the top of the box edge so i could work both of them to get the gap i wanted. i bent new pieces for both panels, tacked the cover piece in place and then started installing the top of the box. i screwed it together and added the chevrolet script to it. so i will start cutting and welding on it. i will figure out the corners after i get this part tacked in.

Re: project 39
 

well today i just happened to go on ebay at lunch. i always look for a new windshield frame kit when i get on there. today one popped up and i bought it so that part is now secured. hopefully i dont wreck it when i chop it. i will say i had to pay about double of what they were 2 years ago but whatever you have to grab them when they are available right? if i decide to use the aluminum one instead i still have a customer that needs one so i wont be out anything.

Re: project 39
 

worked on the back of the box this weekend. cut everything cut and welded. made the corner pices which was a real fun project. i think it came out pretty good. a lot of welding and grinding. pulled the box off so i can get the weather strip channels made and installed. i am a bit claustrophobic so crawling in to the box with the cover on is not really a fun thing for me. once the channels are in i am going to mount the box on the rotisserie do all of the welding, grinding and finishing. i want to get it in primer before i pull it back off.

Re: project 39
 

worked on building the weatherstrip channels and temp mounting them with screws. the shrinker/stretcher worked pretty good but it is hard on the hands. i need to buy the stand to use foot power to run it. got the channels on the front and side in then crawled in through the front to figure out what needed for a channel in the rear. i will have to tweak them a bit more and i also am going to put in some adjustable hood bumper/stops to control how hard the strips are getting smashed.

Re: project 39
 

worked on some of the small things saturday that i needed to get done on the bed before i removed the cover and put it on the rotisserie. got them done and mounted on the spinner so it is easier to finish the welds and other misc things.
Sunday i decided before doing anything else i was going to get the shop at least back to a small disaster from the major one that it has become. i did spend some time measuring and eyeballing the windshield area for chopping of the frame. i spent a little time on the mount for the switch panel that will go in the glove box.

Re: project 39
 

worked on the heater and a/c hoses monday. got everything made up to have crimped except i was short 2 fittings which i grabbed this morning. i went on tuesday afternoon and picked up the top grille trim and the hood hinge from the chrome shop. took the bed cover hinges and dropped them off. it was quite the trip, i only go over there about once a year and it is in the boondocks where the gps always sends me in the wrong direction and it did this time. i finally got there at 3:32 and they close at 3:30. luckily 1 guy hadnt left yet. it is about a 2 hour ride over there so i would not be happy with having to turn around and go back again today. i think all i have left to chrome is the windshield frame but i havcent chopped it yet so that will happen hopefully in the next few weekends.

Re: project 39
 

made up the final hose for the a/c last night when i got home. of course i forgot to bring home the paint pen to mark all of the fitting/hose directions so i will do that and get them off to be crimped.

Re: project 39
 

Looking good :)