Re: Loadmaster '47 COE
 

Fantastic news as I really want to get the stainless side window and windshield trim for my truck.
Started writing some more on my build thread tonight but brain is fried so will continue tomorrow. :hh:

Re: Loadmaster '47 COE
 

Hi all,
OK, so this April's plan is set. I've got 2 weeks home and 1 week of that is truck stuff only. Although most does not involve direct truck work it all needs to be done to support the truck.
Step 1: buy and install a 2 post lift (not the the ideal install in a 8 foot garage, but it can be done).
Step 2: remove bed and front clip from donor (put that lift to work right away). Step 3: build cart for cab of donor.
Step 4: remove cab, install on cart.
Step 5 and 6 are dependent on time but include:
Step 5. build cart for engine and trans at installed height and angle (living access for mounting cross members),
Step 6. set chassis at final ride height and start modifying rear of cab for engine placement. '47 cab is already on a cart at final ride height and angle.
All body parts are in great condition and will be for sale as they are removed.
Sound like enough to do in a week?
Rob :flagw:

Re: Loadmaster '47 COE
 

welcome back, good luck with your list. sounds busy and fun.

Re: Loadmaster '47 COE
 

:c2:Git er done, sounds like a lot to do in a short time, good luck, keep us in the loop, pics i mean.:lol:

Re: Loadmaster '47 COE
 

I hope you can get more done than I can on my vacations. :lol: Good luck!

Re: Loadmaster '47 COE
 

I'm back. The home trip was a success, I ended up getting 12 days of solid shop time in. I made a lot of progress, completed the list and then some. I will start uploading updates and pictures tonight after work. I can say this: A lift in the shop is worth every penny and the late model chassis is the best I have ever seen as far as fit and and location of major components and steering hook-up. All this will be shown in daily updates (12) starting tonight. It looks like a lot of you guys have made a lot of progress in the last 2 weeks and I have a lot of reading to catch up on (no internet at home).
Rob

Re: Loadmaster '47 COE
 

Lift day: I thought I would include some info on the lift as I installed it on the first day home and it has been of major help. I bought a Derek Weaver 2 post 9K lift. I installed this in my shop which only has 8' ceilings. This went very well with only 1 minor modification to the roof, I cut out a small section to allow the post to go closer to the wall (4/12 pitch). The beams are heavy but using the engine hoist made it manageable. I then tested the lift with some other toys and made some minor adjustments. Doing it myself it took about 12 hours. The hardest part was drilling the 12, 5 inch deep lag bolt holes with a 1/2" hammer drill. My palms where sore for 2 days. Of course with only 8' ceilings I am limited on how high I can lift stuff, but It should work out well for most of the COE build and I do intend on raising the roof another 6' in the future. The little teardrop is homemade and is used to haul track tires and gear behind the Cobra.
http://i562.photobucket.com/albums/s...%20COE/007.jpg
http://i562.photobucket.com/albums/s...%20COE/001.jpg
http://i562.photobucket.com/albums/s...%20COE/003.jpg
http://i562.photobucket.com/albums/s...0COE/016-1.jpg
http://i562.photobucket.com/albums/s...%20COE/020.jpg
Rob

Re: Loadmaster '47 COE
 

cant wait to see some updates. lift looks good, I'm sure most all of us wish we had one.

Re: Loadmaster '47 COE
 

Wish I had room for a lift.
Looks good.
Kim

Re: Loadmaster '47 COE
 

OK, so most of this is tear down of the donor but we do get to the '47 so standby. I started by removing the bed, I also had to build a rolling cart for it as it will stay in the shop until I sell it later.
http://i562.photobucket.com/albums/s...%20COE/031.jpg
http://i562.photobucket.com/albums/s...DSCI0713-1.jpg
http://i562.photobucket.com/albums/s...%20COE/040.jpg
Rob

Re: Loadmaster '47 COE
 

i feel your pain dealing with 8 ft ceilings, my 50x50 shop has the same though i do have an 18ft hay loft overhead.

but i have to ask... where's the hitch on the cobra for the teardrop? in the trunk from the look of the tongue?

Re: Loadmaster '47 COE
 

Yes, there is a hitch. I built a 2X2 cross brace which bolts between the quick jacks (see the 3 holes in each), to that there is small plate which mounts a normal 1 7/8" ball. I've towed over 2 thousand miles with that set-up and it works great. The only concern I have is what will I do when something big breaks (like the engine). If that happens then it maybe rollback time. Now on the other hand it looks like bed of the COE will end up around 11 foot. Lets see here...from nose to rear tires on the Cobra is 10 1/2 foot.....you see where this going.;)
Rob

Re: Loadmaster '47 COE
 

OK, so with the bed off it was time to address the cab, after doing some measuring it looked like with the radiator support out of the way the cab could be lifted and the chassis rolled away. The cab removal and stripping the wiring harness from the engine/trans took 2 days.
http://i562.photobucket.com/albums/s...E/DSCI0682.jpg All kinds of connections to figure out.
http://i562.photobucket.com/albums/s...E/DSCI0685.jpg
http://i562.photobucket.com/albums/s...E/DSCI0687.jpg
http://i562.photobucket.com/albums/s...E/DSCI0690.jpg
It all cleared with 1/2 inch above the cab and 1/4 inch above the bumper cap on the way out.
http://i562.photobucket.com/albums/s...E/DSCI0707.jpg
Now I have a solid donor chassis to work with, a good running drive train and a solid body. How hard could this be?
Rob

Re: Loadmaster '47 COE
 

Looks like you have a very nice foundation to start from.

Re: Loadmaster '47 COE
 

man that lift came in handy. again your donor is better than my daily!!! Keep the pics coming.

Re: Loadmaster '47 COE
 

Subscribed. Looks like this will turn out cool...

Re: Loadmaster '47 COE
 

Nice progress! One of my buddys said he used his cherry picker to put up his hoist and I thought it was sketch. :lol: Have any better pic of how you hooked it to the hoist? Your donor truck does look super clean too.

Re: Loadmaster '47 COE
 

Actually i do Deisel, I will upload some later tonight when I get home.
Rob

Re: Loadmaster '47 COE
 

Alright Diesel, this may clear it up a little. It was a little tricky to get the column off the lift once it was upright but overall it worked good.
http://i562.photobucket.com/albums/s...%20COE/014.jpg
http://i562.photobucket.com/albums/s...%20COE/015.jpg
Rob

Re: Loadmaster '47 COE
 

Now with the chassis free it was time to pull the engine and trans. Once again the lift works great for this also.
http://i562.photobucket.com/albums/s...E/DSCI0717.jpg
http://i562.photobucket.com/albums/s...E/DSCI0719.jpg
Once I had it free I went ahead and swapped the oil pad for the F-body pan. I did this for ground clearance as it will be mid-mounted. I also flipped the valve covers and intake, also needed for mid-engine clearance. Engine is good and clean inside.
http://i562.photobucket.com/albums/s...E/DSCI0721.jpg
http://i562.photobucket.com/albums/s...E/DSCI0724.jpg
http://i562.photobucket.com/albums/s...E/DSCI0725.jpg
The PS will also be relocated to the lower passenger side (current AC location) to make the front of the engine as low profile as possible. The plan is to stick that part under the seat.
http://i562.photobucket.com/albums/s...E/DSCI0733.jpg
I then started on the engine cart, the idea is to set the engine at proper ride height and angle so I can roll it to the back of the cab and start the cab mods.
That is a condensed version of my first of two weeks of work, I'll start tomorrow on next week and finally I will bring the COE back into the game.

Rob

Re: Loadmaster '47 COE
 

Very nice work and thanks for the pics of the hoist hook up on the post. It just makes me think the hoist would be trying to tip over while picking it up that far out in front of the hoist. That's my kind of luck. :lol:

Re: Loadmaster '47 COE
 

OK, with the engine cart complete it was time bring the cab into play. On my last trip I built a cab cart, with this cart I have the final ride height and angle set. I rolled the cab and engine in line to see how things lined up.
http://i562.photobucket.com/albums/s...%20COE/004.jpg
http://i562.photobucket.com/albums/s...%20COE/005.jpg
As expected some trimming is required.
http://i562.photobucket.com/albums/s...0COE/007-1.jpg
http://i562.photobucket.com/albums/s...%20COE/008.jpg
With the rear of the cab trimmed things are looking good without to much interference into the rear area.
http://i562.photobucket.com/albums/s...0COE/009-1.jpg

Re: Loadmaster '47 COE
 

With a hole in the cab it was time to set the cab on the chassis.
http://i562.photobucket.com/albums/s...%20COE/013.jpg
http://i562.photobucket.com/albums/s...0COE/015-1.jpg
After setting the center using plum lines I set the front to rear by where the tire looked in the fender, I chose a little forward of center.
http://i562.photobucket.com/albums/s...0COE/012-1.jpg
This also gave me the first look at how the steering would work out.
http://i562.photobucket.com/albums/s...0COE/031-1.jpg
http://i562.photobucket.com/albums/s...%20COE/036.jpg
Yeah I know the welds look like crap at this point, I will redo them later.
You can also see I have removed the springs and installed tubes to set the ride height.
http://i562.photobucket.com/albums/s...E/DSCI0750.jpg
http://i562.photobucket.com/albums/s...E/DSCI0752.jpg
Rob

Re: Loadmaster '47 COE
 

Good work setting the cab on the frame. Not trying to nit pick, but did you clean or grind any of the grime away before you tried welding your bracing to the frame?

Re: Loadmaster '47 COE
 

Yes I did, that is the worst of the bunch. I will be pulling the cab back off a few times to redo the welds, add some gussets and do a general clean up the chassis. Nit pick away, I'm always open to advice, I looked for a build manual for this truck but couldn't fine one.
Rob

Re: Loadmaster '47 COE
 

Build manual, :lol:, that's funny.

Re: Loadmaster '47 COE
 

I think we are in the middle of one NOW !

Re: Loadmaster '47 COE
 

With the cab now in place it was time set the engine/trans in the final location. I took the original motor mount stands, cut them up, mounted them back to the engine and tacked 2"X2" stands under them, after having stands in place I mounted the stands to a 2"X2" cross member.
http://i562.photobucket.com/albums/s...%20COE/019.jpg
http://i562.photobucket.com/albums/s...0COE/001-1.jpg
http://i562.photobucket.com/albums/s...0COE/002-1.jpg
http://i562.photobucket.com/albums/s...0COE/003-3.jpg
http://i562.photobucket.com/albums/s...0COE/006-1.jpg
After having a cross member complete I built 2 mount plates for the outside of the frame. With the engine in it's final location and at proper angle I welding the cross member inside these plates. I did end up setting the engine/trans 1 inch to the passenger side, on the original '03 it was also offset and by doing this I will be able to center the trans mount in the raise of the old carrier support cross member. I was also able to raise the engine another inch under the cabl giving me a total of 8 inches of clearance from pan to pavement.
http://i562.photobucket.com/albums/s...0COE/007-3.jpg
http://i562.photobucket.com/albums/s...0COE/009-2.jpg
This of course created one more issue: clearance for the water neck. Remove, cut, weld.
http://i562.photobucket.com/albums/s...%20COE/021.jpg
http://i562.photobucket.com/albums/s...%20COE/018.jpg
Rob

Re: Loadmaster '47 COE
 

Progress looks good.

Re: Loadmaster '47 COE
 

Well that's about as far as I got on the last home trip. Later this year I will be done with the China deal and be able to get back on the build. I did bring the wiring harness back with me so I have a little work on.
http://i562.photobucket.com/albums/s...%20COE/038.jpg
http://i562.photobucket.com/albums/s...0COE/040-1.jpg
http://i562.photobucket.com/albums/s...%20COE/042.jpg

Re: Loadmaster '47 COE
 

Also of interesting note I did a little sanding on the hood while I was home to reveal " BAR-J'S RANCH" I am not sure what Bar-Js was, I do know it would have been in Southern Colorado and it would have been on the original darker blue paint. Any guess as to what this truck would have been used for?
http://i562.photobucket.com/albums/s...0COE/027-1.jpg
Rob

Re: Loadmaster '47 COE
 

nice progress, can't wait to do a COE someday (maybe when I get a lift). When will you be back in the states?

Re: Loadmaster '47 COE
 

Coming together nice, the cab is just so cool looking, tall, old skool but stubby front, can't wait to see it roadworthy.

Re: Loadmaster '47 COE
 

Really like this build....the build process of course and especially like the long distance planning followed by enthuastic progress once you return home.

A google search of Bar J ranch came up with a Bar J chuckwagon that originated at a Bar J ranch in Jackson Wyoming. http://www.barjchuckwagon.com/

Subscribed!

Re: Loadmaster '47 COE
 

Great build! As far as the Bar J use, my guess would be to haul hay or other feed. A flat bed on the back would have been handy for a stack of hay bales.

Keep up the good work.

-Joe

Re: Loadmaster '47 COE
 

Hey 99, looks like I'll be done here around September to Decemberof this year. For me, next week would be fine. Once I get back I can get on a regular working pace for the truck. It shoud be on the road sometime in mid 2015. Thanks for the comments guys, I am happy with the way it is progressing.
Rob

Re: Loadmaster '47 COE
 

So now I'm nee deep in tearing the wiring harness apart and got to thinking: where am I going to mount all the electronics? There are my options 1. Inside the cab behind the seat, passenger side. 2. Build or buy an enclosure and mount them inside it on the right side on the chassis. 3. ???
What I'm looking at is this; ECM 4" X 10" X 8", TAC Module 6" X 5" X 1", 1 or 2 other modules as needed, a custom fuse panel (10 to 12 circuit, size unknown) 3 to 5 relays and a lot of wires (100 plus).
Ideas??
Rob

Re: Loadmaster '47 COE
 

I like option #1, everything will be nice, dry and cleanly tucked of the way.

Re: Loadmaster '47 COE
 

I too like inside the cab though we mounted the PCM and relays under the hood on one of my projects to avoid having a large pass through in the body. Easy enough to build around though.

Re: Loadmaster '47 COE
 

I think behind the seat would be a good location too.