Re: 1941 project fenix
 

Coming along nicely!

Re: 1941 project fenix
 

got the bed ready for wood, added the very front wood support and used my 6ft level to make sure it was all lined up.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4314/...5a8fc469_z.jpg52313029358__7DB9A46B-4581-47C9-94FC-B1D8D8F88C36 by Joe Doh, on Flickr

did the filler too
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4311/...245984d5_z.jpgIMG_6695 by Joe Doh, on Flickr
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4326/...5f2e766f_z.jpg52314288215__D517347D-75C7-4488-B028-B49B348403A9 by Joe Doh, on Flickr

seats are in. the passenger side seatback sits 1/4" higher than the drivers because these are 30 year old seats no matter how nice the new upholstery. I can live with it
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4319/...d3b06d50_b.jpgIMG_6689 by Joe Doh, on Flickr
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4296/...b1c3e410_b.jpgIMG_6691 by Joe Doh, on Flickr

my brother gave me a heat buster, I like it, works great.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4330/...fec7d601_z.jpgIMG_6690 by Joe Doh, on Flickr

I think after dinner maybe I will take the seats out and finish welding the risers in, then bolt down the trans cover and lay some sound deadener, and maybe start a carpet party.

Re: 1941 project fenix
 

good score on the fan. looking good you'll be done in no time.

Re: 1941 project fenix
 

thanks henry! next is the fenders I picked up in your neighborhood


when I saw a 41 for parts on the meadville pa craigslist, I called my brother who lives up there. I made a deal for the rear fenders and my brother shipped them to me in a giant box. I got this truck and it had a 47-55 bed and rear fenders so I was glad to find some rear fenders, even though one had a watermelon sized hole in it.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4330/...a8b1ae42_b.jpgIMG_3177 by Joe Doh, on Flickr

I picked up another passenger rear fender the next week but it is black, plus I hate borrowing from future projects (now haha, wasnt always that way). I found a bed that had a scrap of a drivers fender left on it and postulated that, properly trimmed, this scrap could fill the hole.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4319/...98aac355_b.jpgIMG_3772 by Joe Doh, on Flickr

time to test that theory. I was tired of bending over so I tackled the fender. I used my air nibbler to trim the rust on the fender only enough to get back to good metal.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4313/...ffb3ca25_b.jpgIMG_6698 by Joe Doh, on Flickr

then I roughed in the chunk. this might work!
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4313/...3a0c3f59_b.jpgIMG_6697 by Joe Doh, on Flickr

using an ancient and super secret method of marking the cut exactly (I held the chunk over the hole then used spray paint from the back side) I trimmed it and whadayaknow
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4299/...5e2ac2a0_b.jpgIMG_6699 by Joe Doh, on Flickr

tacking sheetmetal is not much fun especially stuff this thin, but I got a lot of the way before stopping for the night.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4318/...78d386a8_b.jpgIMG_6700 by Joe Doh, on Flickr

I need to rebuild the inner mounting lip too but the scrap fender had a good amount of that part too, so I might just get this done tomorrow! no plans for body work, this is just the kind of patch that would have been done in the life of the truck and so I will just grind the welds, protect the bare steel, and be done with it.

Re: 1941 project fenix
 

Nice work!

Re: 1941 project fenix
 

dang, yah that stuff is hard to find around here. can't believe he shipped those to you, musta cost a fortune with this conglomerate shipping these days. one of the rare times I say cut something up to fix another that was about the only usable thing left on that donor fender. What luck you had with those two fenders eh.

Re: 1941 project fenix
 

I wasnt sure it would work, the scrap drivers piece on the rusted passenger fender, but I had a feeling and I am super pumped it worked out!

Re: 1941 project fenix
 

Great work. You get every once it seems.

Re: 1941 project fenix
 

I love it when a plan comes together.

Re: 1941 project fenix
 

got the fender done, but not much else. I got the old headliner out and a new one picked up and I guess the dust of mouse guts past gave me some kind of sickness. I will wear a mask next time

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4329/...6f6a3d5b_b.jpg52322472188__3DE53FDC-BCE7-4DC8-BBE2-4B105C3973DC by Joe Doh, on Flickr
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4311/...ce51cda8_b.jpg52322473075__B3D736F1-CF19-47EC-AF4D-18BE1A4A439F by Joe Doh, on Flickr

Re: 1941 project fenix
 

Looks good! Yeah, mouse dust is bad juju.

Re: 1941 project fenix
 

Gets me every time. I now wear a gas mask. Fender looks good.

Re: 1941 project fenix
 

its sunday sunday sunday you pay for the whole seat but only need the edge

I used the caulking gun on the seat risers and got em burned in good now. squirt of paint means no more work needed. plugged the few remaining holes in the floor, got the removable piece screwed in again and covered it all with some sound deadening material (peel and seal)
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4415/...6b2bb264_b.jpgIMG_6718 by Joe Doh, on Flickr
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4393/...9f49096e_b.jpgIMG_6720 by Joe Doh, on Flickr

we have a giant dining room, when we bought this old craftsman split level the kitchen was small, the dining room was small, and the living room was a good size. we opened the wall to the dining room and now thats the kitchen, and its open to the new dining room. I found some tables for auction at my old alma mater, we were looking at a new trestle table but these two were 18ft together and perfect for the big family parties we love to have. turns out they are edward wormley in walnut and the classic trapezoidal shape. perfect for doing carpet layout (we place them side by side so we can use the room as a sitting area to look out on the park and lake)
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4336/...17be67af_b.jpgIMG_6721 by Joe Doh, on Flickr

ready to trim, tomorrow mornings work
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4360/...44401c0b_b.jpgIMG_6722 by Joe Doh, on Flickr

picked up the bed wood too, went with a treated board this time, no coloring for me. need a router to put the rabbit in the edge and I have the orginal strips. I measured twice but I still think there is too much gap and not enough board. we will see!
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4375/...eff0bd38_b.jpgIMG_6719 by Joe Doh, on Flickr

tomorrow I have some help coming to empty my trailer. there is a fair chance I may need it soon... muahahahaha....

Re: 1941 project fenix
 

Nice work, I see you're a Ryobi One+ user also.

Re: 1941 project fenix
 

Looks like you matted over the rusty floor. Did you pre-treat with anything or just laid the shiny stuff over top?

That table is uuuuuge!

Re: 1941 project fenix
 

I used a cup brush on the loose surface rust, so its more "orange metal" than rusty floor. where its is welded is ground to bare metal and the rest got a wipe of rust re-formulator. everything is stuck like glue. the front floor got more attention since that is where feet will be sliding around.

the cruddy stripes are actually not rot, they are the old asphalt strips that went under the original gas tank, they just plug up grinder discs and cup brushes. I debated chipping them up, but taking up asphalt strips to lay down asphalt strips seemed unproductive.

Re: 1941 project fenix
 

boy you really crank out the work, lookin good

Re: 1941 project fenix
 

thanks for looking, and for the compliment

today I had a helper so I tackled a project I have been putting off. backstory: I found a 41 on craigslist last may that had good rear fenders, and a price so enticing that I drove an hour in a hailstorm (not kidding!) to pay for it an hour after it listed. when I got there he had a whole farm of treasures so I bought and bought, the complete 41, 3 more cabs on half frames, 7 beds (no extra rear fenders though). when it came time to haul them home though my "deal" with the local tow company was flag retail both directions even though they coincided it with a pickup on the return. when I bellyached about it, the farmer sold me his steel deck car trailer for a pittance. I brought everything including the trailer home last november for less than the tow company wanted to charge.

but I never unloaded the trailer, mostly because there were two half trucks on it and I didnt have a forklift or anything suitable. today though, I came up with a plan. I have the next donor longbed S10 already so I got permission from my neighbor to drive on his lawn and chain the back half truck to the S10 through the fence. then I just drove the trailer forward till the half truck fell off.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4429/...a6c58c15_b.jpgIMG_6730 by Joe Doh, on Flickr

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4382/...7633af04_b.jpgIMG_6725 by Joe Doh, on Flickr

the back truck though is a 48-49 GMC and the frame does not go to the back of the cab, I would have ruined the cab dragging it off the same way, so we popped off the front clip, disconnected the pedals and cut the steering column on the "martin" line.

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4415/...64a286c6_b.jpgIMG_6724 by Joe Doh, on Flickr

ALMOST got the cab picked off with my lifting frame but got attacked by wasps that were a little irritated at us beating on their home.
check out this rust, weird that the kicks are gone but the floor is almost perfect!
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4356/...096e99c4_b.jpgIMG_6723 by Joe Doh, on Flickr

I was going to work on the 41 some more but was pretty wiped with all the heavy work and of course all the running and screaming. that stuff really takes it out of you.

he is coming back tomorrow to help put nuts on bolts on the 41, so I should have a lot of progress to show by the evening.

Re: 1941 project fenix
 

"Martin" line, I see what you did there. haha

Re: 1941 project fenix
 

its just good natured ribbing haha.

johnny was late but we still got a lot done. I worked interior and bed and he worked nuts and bolts, the cab hasnt been mounted in the sense of having the bolts and nuts tightened. so he did the hood mount, the core support mounts, the 4 cab mounts, the six bed mounts, and changed the front wheels and added spacers.

carpet laid and almost complete.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4344/...4d30b2ed_b.jpgIMG_6745 by Joe Doh, on Flickr

I used an old stainless bed strip as a hold down for the sill, I figure add a chevy emblem and no one will know!
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4365/...86c4d20a_b.jpgIMG_6746 by Joe Doh, on Flickr
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4395/...b161a9cd_b.jpgIMG_6747 by Joe Doh, on Flickr

windshield ready to go back in, gasket installed. in fact I may do that after dinner.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4401/...b6cbe33a_b.jpgIMG_6748 by Joe Doh, on Flickr

hood shuts! but the 2 inch spacers are too much, when the truck is down it looks amazing but the wheels wont turn without rubbing
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4425/...bd97ac00_b.jpgIMG_6749 by Joe Doh, on Flickr

picked up some real cedar planks and still need one more, but I wanted to see how wide the center one needed to be before buying. I did get a router and a rabbiting bit, let me tell you, it is a thousand times easier to just rabbit it than it is to run it trough a saw a couple hundred times. set the depth with the boards I bought the other day and then started whacking them out
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4441/...56a02ca6_b.jpgIMG_6751 by Joe Doh, on Flickr
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4382/...8b3079fc_b.jpgIMG_6752 by Joe Doh, on Flickr
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4372/...5359be2c_b.jpgIMG_6753 by Joe Doh, on Flickr


more to come!

Re: 1941 project fenix
 

Coming along nice! The planks look good...and I chuckled over the running and screaming comment. :)

Re: 1941 project fenix
 

You're moving right along! Once you blow through this project you can come down to Aces High and "get a feel" for the space while helping on Francis!

Re: 1941 project fenix
 

luv the cedar. carpet looks killer

Re: 1941 project fenix
 

johnny still hasnt come back so no progress, but I DID go lay out the lines of the shop. looking at 36x42 clear span if I can get it in the budget. I want the truck and trailer to fit end to end. after I get this one done I have the next one but maybe I can make it northeasterly for a barley pop.

Re: 1941 project fenix
 

You won't regret any extra in either direction, and it's cheaper on the front side. The 36' width is awesome, you can easily park 3 cars wide. Lots of room to have one blown apart and still get in and out.

There is always cold beer at Aces High Speed Shop!

Re: 1941 project fenix
 

I am not much of a drinker, but I like a cold beer once in a while!

got my 1 inch spacers today and I want to reiterate how much trouble this truck can be. the factory s10 studs are about 1/16 longer than an inch so I have to grind them slightly, and the extended thread lug nuts I like to use on spacers is slightly longer than the depth of the spacer so I have to grind them slightly too. so add a week, and add TWO operations. I keep looking longingly at the next donor in the driveway because I have checked it over a lot already and its much cleaner.

but on the plus side the wheels look great in the right spot, should have turning ability now.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4384/...f740e754_b.jpgIMG_6774 by Joe Doh, on Flickr

here is the metric wingnut I went to three hardware stores to get. yes it needs a washer, I spun it on to make sure it was the right thread. on another note I just remembered that the next donor has the twin wingnuts and I could have just borrowed one from there. note to self: shoot myself.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4425/...b591704d_b.jpgIMG_6775 by Joe Doh, on Flickr

but on the encouraging side of things, while I was mucking around on the passenger side I noticed how nice the bed mockup looked.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4366/...27b9aa36_b.jpgIMG_6777 by Joe Doh, on Flickr

more tomorrow, should have the windshield in and the interior mostly buttoned up by tomorrow evening, then its little stuff!

Re: 1941 project fenix
 

Thank you for all the details pn what you do. Not many would mention the facys about the spacers. That bed does look GOOD!

Re: 1941 project fenix
 

thanks, it seems like this one is one step forward 31 steps back.

the week I was referring to losing was last week waiting for the new spacers, truck in the air so I dont really want to do windshield or interior work. got the first spacer on, took about 1/8 off each stud and then another 3/16 off each ET lug nut.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4438/...533e6738_b.jpgIMG_6778 by Joe Doh, on Flickr

went to install the second and this is what I found
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4439/...716886fc_b.jpgIMG_6779 by Joe Doh, on Flickr

someone had probably returned these after trying to mount them with the wrong lug nuts. I sent an email asking for a replacement, then thought better of it and just installed the m&^%#*&^%ing thing. everyone makes mistakes, the spacer probably just didnt get checked closely when it was returned.

after that I wired the headlights and the turn/park lights. yes I reused the harness but the wires were a little short to make it to the fender. I thought about installing it pointing forward but that would have needed the back of the lens carved out, so I just popped a 1" hole saw through the existing bulb and cut a slot to let the bulb holder fit.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4369/...eedde165_b.jpgIMG_6782 by Joe Doh, on Flickr
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4414/...c11be058_b.jpgIMG_6783 by Joe Doh, on Flickr

I wired the headlights next but with two sets of three wires poking out the inner fender I forgot which was which. I used my drill battery to test the bulb and waddyaknow, the 18v drill battery popped both the low AND the high beam like fuses. pop pop. oh well, I have another bulb.
more tomorrow, I will set it on the ground and probably get the interior buttoned up.

Re: 1941 project fenix
 

I've often wondered how many parts I've installed that have been returned. Sometimes it's easy to tell by a destroyed box, sometimes I think it get's repackaged as "new".

Were they the old 6v bulbs? If so I bet that was one bright, albeit quick, light show.

Re: 1941 project fenix
 

it was a 12v bulb, the truck had a 12v generator on it and some parts had been switched. just old I guess

Re: 1941 project fenix
 

got new lights today, decided not to be cheap on a couple 6024s and have them match right?

thirty two dollars. THIRTY TWO DOLLARS. sheesh.

got the turn bulbs too, called for a 2057 but I got a 2357 for the brighter turn signal, they didnt have any orange 2057 or 1056 either.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4382/...293aec53_b.jpgIMG_6787 by Joe Doh, on Flickr

I would have installed pictures but shortly after this I bumped the grille and the lens I had laid on the fender fell off and broke on the floor.

got the passenger side hood latch freed up with some heat and grease
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4418/...16729889_b.jpgIMG_6789 by Joe Doh, on Flickr


eagle eyed readers would have noticed the upper radiator hose went waaaay up over the fan, making it the highest point on the cooling system. I contemplated a bleed valve till I realized it would be almost impossible to top the system off, a-durr. so I did a little looking abd found this guy, a radiator cap/fill point with clamps. I bought it and a 20psi cap for the actual rad and filled er up.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4380/...1f79342e_b.jpgIMG_6786 by Joe Doh, on Flickr

I did more, like the seats are bolted in and I started on a filler piece for behind the seat to cover the ugly parts you can still see. I got one rear inner fender trimmed and sealed, the bed cross rails are now completely burned in and done. got the drivers side left to do. oh and I remembered to grease the front end which was still bone dry haha. keep watching this space!

Re: 1941 project fenix
 

Nice work!! Are you gluing the carpet down? If so what are you using? Also are you going to seal the bed wood?

Re: 1941 project fenix
 

I am gluing the carpet in the back where it goes over the brace, but the rest is held really well by the sill pieces.

I dont plan to seal the wood, its cedar and will turn silver in a couple months, sooner if I throw vinegar on it haha

Re: 1941 project fenix
 

I'm reading through this laughing about the $32 comment...I feel your pain. I also understand about setting something somewhere "safe" , only to have it fall and be destroyed.

Re: 1941 project fenix
 

umm...I totally did that with my radiator. Put it aside and it fell over onto the steering pump. Who would have thought all those fins were so fragile? Didn't break it, but now it looks like crap.

Re: 1941 project fenix
 

I am pretty upset about the lens, speaking honestly. it made it from 1941, all the way till last year with driving and sitting in a field, cow kicks and forklifts and rollbacks and dragging it around the yard to ALMOST being installed and *crash*. pretty irresponsible of me, I gotta say.

Re: 1941 project fenix
 

You could get a fin comb and straighten them out. Or a pair of needle nose pliers. I've straighten my fare share of fins. Lol

Re: 1941 project fenix
 

we are getting to the late summer rains, I dont know if anyone remembers in my last build but when I had my 4x4 silverado in the back yard for a while last time it sank to the axles and was a real chore to get out. well johnny never came back from his original offer of help and we were about to get drenched so I had to get the truck out of the yard. we had stopped working because of the wasp nest, so I carefully drilled the cab bolts (they were rusted in place, no loosening) and got the cab up in the air but the soft dirt wouldnt let it roll. I thought about having my neighbor help pull but instead I just hooked a chain to the next s10 donor and yanked, it was touch and go but it worked! I got the trailer into the front yard just as it started raining (you can see it on the ground). it was a real gullywasher for a while, man was that good timing
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4379/...bb9c2d4d_b.jpg52460585116__4A2B7141-0FBC-48C2-A74B-D3484934F8CB by Joe Doh, on Flickr
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4332/...917f6797_b.jpgIMG_6792 by Joe Doh, on Flickr

I wish I had more pictures of the process because it was pretty memorable.

Re: 1941 project fenix
 

done with carpet and seats
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4374/...5796de18_b.jpgIMG_6796 by Joe Doh, on Flickr

got the little filler pieces put in the tubs, tacked then glued. got the running boards bolted to the fender, they line up perfectly with the cab, the bed, and the frame. all that measuring wasnt a lost cause!
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4362/...6630b6f8_b.jpgIMG_6797 by Joe Doh, on Flickr
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4405/...e854f6dd_b.jpgIMG_6799 by Joe Doh, on Flickr


here is the difference between a 41 1/2 ton and a longbed s10 wheelbase. I plan to just slice the running board right there and add the material required.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4338/...6dd6bcec_b.jpgIMG_6802 by Joe Doh, on Flickr

Re: 1941 project fenix
 

The seats and the carpet turned out great! I have a 60s era replacement rubber mat to throw down that was laying on the floor, folded up when I dug it out. Carpet still looks better!