Re: '50 chevy 3100
 

Nice practice. Takes me a sec but I play with the speed until I get that bacon sizzle sound.

I need more little projects...

Re: '50 chevy 3100
 

And speaking of another project. I need one middle running board bracket. So unless someone has one laying around that will probably be the next one.

Re: '50 chevy 3100
 

also play with the amount of space between the nozzle and the project, stick out, because that also factors in. wire size, amperage, stick out, metal thickness, gap between the parts. gap works pretty good if it is the same roughly as the wire size. on thin stuff just do very short burst, leave the wire in the puddle as it cools, when the glow stops in your puddle, through the welding lense, hit it again for a short burst, over and over till done. on thin stuff, again, short welds to keep the heat and possible warpage down, when done that short weld plannish with a hammer on dolly and allow to cool before going back. always start with clean metal, both sides, because the contaminants get drawn in from both sides and can cause a poor weld, porosity or lots of spatter. when starting a new weld ensure the wire is cut so it has a chisel tip instead of a small ball of old weld on the end of the wire, the weld will start quicker and won't have the old weld contaminants from the little ball. if not confident doing off-position welding then place the piece level if possible (yeah, like that happens right?)

Re: '50 chevy 3100
 

oh yeah, and tack the project around the edges (on both the front and the back sides if possible) before welding starts so warpage doesn't make the thing go "outta square".

Re: '50 chevy 3100
 

Found another middle running bracket! 15 bucks plus a little shipping from a guy I bought a couple things from before. I'll have it in a few days. Sure beats having to buy a whole set.

When should I use grade 8 and or grade 5 bolts?

I have been replacing all my mismatched bolts with grade 8 but I have a few grade 5's still.

Re: '50 chevy 3100
 

8 bolts are stronger bolts and you could use them virtually anywhere, depending on the application, but they are also more spendy. if bolting on a fender there is no reason to use a grade 8 bolt. there is a lot of bolts holding the fender on already so the shear number of bolts is mostly to keep the fender aligned properly and stop it from vibrating and/or flexing which would cause the fender to flex. for suspension items, sure, use a grade 8 over a grace 5. manufacturers use lesser grade bolts when they can to keep costs down. no reason why you wouldn't also. a stainless steel bolt is nice looking but is also soft so it will strip out before a gr 5 or 8 bolt. use these for decorative areas or stuff like a front fender under hood area where they are seen but there is also lots of them so the fender is not gonna fall off or shear a bolt off from stress. also, a big thing for bolts in general is to torque them properly. when a bolt is tightened it stretches, that is why they say to replace engine bolts for main bearings and cyl heads especially, the old bolts have already stretched and may break if re-used and stressed again.
here is a couple of links to bolt grades and a quick explanation on the stresses etc. some cap screws (bolts) have a shoulder similar to a built in flat washer under the head of the bolt and act sort of like a flat washer. on these the underside of the hex head doesn't dig into the surface it is butting up against as badly as some of the cheaper bolts without the raised part under the head. measure bolts from under the head to the end of the threaded part, so the shaft length, not including the head of the bolt where the wrench fits. there are bolt gauges available that have holes to tell the size and rulers on the side to measure the length etc. grade 8 bolts usually run tandem with hardened washers and nuts.

http://rtstools.com/are-grade-8-bolt...s-10-9-metric/

this link also has links for torques etc if you scroll down

https://www.fastenermart.com/underst...d-classes.html

Re: '50 chevy 3100
 

another one on nut matching.

https://www.greensladeandcompany.com...t%20grades.pdf

Re: '50 chevy 3100
 

Thanks, the torque info will be helpful. As far as sheet metal goes, I bought a nice little kit to bolt it all together.

It's nice not to have to search for a new socket for every other bolt lol

Re: '50 chevy 3100
 

I got a few more grade 8 bolts and swapped out the grade 5s on rear hangers. Got that new to me step bracket installed it. For some reason a PO added some welds to it. Not sure why, wasn't separating from frame and all four rivets were there.

Me and a buddy sanded cab corners some today. Needs a little more work to smooth up where they got welded on.

Lifted and hung rear axle to make sure my parking brake fables had enough slack and bolted bracket on. Also decided to drill a hole for cable to pass through frame instead of going under... lines up good and hope to get cable cut and a new end on soon.

Also got one old upper rear shock mount off, same as step bracket, had couple welds along with the fa Cory rivets to cut. Really wish a PO hadn't cut the tops off.

Lastly, got last three hold downs on fuel line.

Re: '50 chevy 3100
 

All good progress. Congrats.

Re: '50 chevy 3100
 

I'm not sure about anywhere else but teachers are paid on the last day of the month here and I have my wish list ready!

I have a bunch of small stuff planned and I should be able to reassemble all the sheet metal this month. And thanks to some advice I got here, I plan to run wires in June.

Haven't gotten much done in the last few days, been out of town and it has rained some but I do have rear upper shocks painted and installed.

What is the stock height on these trucks? I know i have some leafs out from a PO but I'm not sure how much of a difference there is.

Re: '50 chevy 3100
 

Bunch if goodies came in the mail. Got front shocks on and I plan to get steering shaft together if it doesn't rain tomorrow.

Re: '50 chevy 3100
 

Cool.

The only thing you left out of your signature line about Odessa is "nearest shade tree 200 miles east". I heard that when I was out there one time.

Re: '50 chevy 3100
 

Ha! I was complaining about that the other day. We went out of town and I said I wanted to see trees all around at home, not just what we plant in our yards.

What natural trees we have are short and more bush than anything.

Re: '50 chevy 3100
 

getting there matt!

Re: '50 chevy 3100
 

Had to move the steering column up for clearance but I got the steering shaft together. It takes longer than you think to get it all set up, cut shaft, dimples drilled, locktight, and tighten everything up.


Also got new fuel pump on. I asked for one on a 1970 pickup at the parts store to get a one line pump. I think what took the longest was cleaning off the gasket. I moved the hard line a tad for a better bend. Rubber lines from pump and tank to hardline done too and connected pump to carb. Except for filler and gas cap... fuel system is done.


Next up... trim inner fender on driver side and get those put on. Install water pump and radiator... when rear tie plates get here next week, rear shocks go on.

Re: '50 chevy 3100
 

Good day on the truck.

Re: '50 chevy 3100
 

Yea, I feel things have been going smoother lately.. that is except for a tiny spring eye bolt problem I've recently found...

Re: '50 chevy 3100
 

Got tie plates in that are made with a shock mount on them. I plan to get those on in a few days.

Today I put a new water pump on and put radiator support in place too. Tomorrow I plan to get radiator and hoses on. I think ill get alternator and power steering pump on too while inner fenders are off. Be easier to get in there.

Re: '50 chevy 3100
 

Radiator on and lower hose trimmed. I want to get a thermostat housing that isn't angled off to the side for the top one, but hose is on to keep junk out.

Got passenger inner fender loosely on and got P/S pump on.

Can accessory bracket bolts be grade 5?

I think p/s pump is slightly off from crank pulley... any advice for alignment?

And which hose goes to which port on p/s pump to gearbox?

Re: '50 chevy 3100
 

Coming together nicely! What lower radiator hose did you use? Looks like it fits perfectly.

Re: '50 chevy 3100
 

Gates 21064. I cut it but the bend in it was perfect.

Re: '50 chevy 3100
 

The one you mentioned in another thread lol.

Re: '50 chevy 3100
 

Productive day today. Trimmed driver inner fender for the power steering lines and steering shaft. Got the front sheet metal on next. I'll need to do some adjustment.

Rear tie plates came and I got the rear shocks on too.

Re: '50 chevy 3100
 

Good job, and on Mother's Day.

Re: '50 chevy 3100
 

Yea worked out pretty good. We asll did a lot of our stuff yesterday because it's so busy today. Trying to go to supper now would be a nightmare.

Re: '50 chevy 3100
 

Got transmission lines hooked up. Borrowed flare tool from my neighbor again to put flares on the the 4 ends and then cut a couple pieces of hose to slip on. Looks good and clears everything.

I used most of the donor lines, cut them and used a couple pieces from a kit from summit to tie it all together.

Re: '50 chevy 3100
 

And I cut some hard wood I had laying around and cut up a tires sidewall for the mounting hardware for the bed a couple days ago.

My 5 minutes a day stuff is finally adding up.

Re: '50 chevy 3100
 

woop woop! nice progress!

Re: '50 chevy 3100
 

Ha ha, thanks - I was just going to double check it against my part numbers but you saved me the trouble!

Looks like you're getting a good fit on that front sheet metal.

Re: '50 chevy 3100
 

I replaced the right front hanger this morning. Still can't believe the bolt broke in half in there. For the price of the right drill bit to drill it out, I found a couple hangers off eBay for same price.

Next I decided I wanted the battery under the hood but not on the firewall. So that there is room for future a/c and heater. I copied joedoh and put it in the inner fender. I measured height of tire and added how far the springs can come up and added a couple inches. I made a cardboard "battery" that was slightly oversized than the old battery I had in the c10.

I then cut the box down to how I wanted the shelf to fit the new hole. I used that as a template to cut out some sheet metal out of the old c10 hood. I clamped it down on the bench and used a hammer to bend into shape. A little trimming and a few welding tacks and it's in. Needs some cleaning up but came out good.

Re: '50 chevy 3100
 

Good progress.

Re: '50 chevy 3100
 

Battery fits good. I plan to buy electrical stuff next month.

Re: '50 chevy 3100
 

nice job on the battery tray, that is a good place for it

Re: '50 chevy 3100
 

looks great man!

Re: '50 chevy 3100
 

Thanks guys, little stuff like this makes me feel like I'm learning a few things lol.

I'll need to repair right rear fender next.

Re: '50 chevy 3100
 

Gotten a few things done lately. I think I've gotten all my cab leaks fixed. As I mentioned in another thread, the cowl vent seal is really thick. It works but I think I might take the advice to change it out.

We have had a lot of rain so it got tested out quick. Realized I had a little trickle from wiper arm seal. So I replaced both of those next. Had some light showers and it looks good so far, I'll see after a heavy rain.

Cleaned up and painted my new battery tray. Seam sealed the edges but did drill two little holes for collected rain water that managed to get through.

Welding skilled have improved since first doing original patches, me and a buddy went over a spot in the floor that I didn't like, and everything else looks good.

Pulled out transmission crossmember. I had originally only had bolts run through it to keep it from moving and spinning. I decided it needed to be welded and I'm much happier with it. Even though it wouldn't be seen I wanted it to be done right.

In another thread I have been getting wiring harness ready. Buying a few things and getting a full list and plan out before I go nuts.

Also got a new alternator bracket in, next build I'll try not to misplace anything, and new thermostat housing to point hose towards radiator. Clamps are on the list but hoses are cut and fitted.



A lot of this stuff is taking me a while and in a few cases I take a step back to redo something, but I know when I'm done it'll be a solid truck. Maybe not the prettiest lol but body skills are improving.

Re: '50 chevy 3100
 

I didn't get a picture, but I put the driver side running board on too.

Re: '50 chevy 3100
 

Good progress.

Re: '50 chevy 3100
 

Is the running board to cab corner gap right?