1941 1/2 ton project Hannah

[joedoh]

yes its weird after the string of weird project names, Slopoke, Booger, Fenix, going simple with a nice pretty girls name, Hannah. its also the name of a horned angel, and this 41 cab has a pair of running lights on the roof that look like the cutest little horn stubs.
IMG_6451 by Joe Doh, on Flickr
IMG_6446 by Joe Doh, on Flickr
IMG_6444 by Joe Doh, on Flickr
IMG_6442 by Joe Doh, on Flickr


this is build number two from the stuff I bought last year when I cleaned out a farmer for all his goodies. little more cab rust than Fenix, but has its good points too, namely that you cant surprise me with anything after LITERALLY EVERYTHING BROKE on Fenix.

I bought an S10 donor in Feb, it was super cheap because it had a hole in the gas tank so range was limited to about 10 miles. It came from the insurance pool and the hole sure looked like a drillbit injury (a Martin?). I was able to tap and thread a nice flanged bolt in with some JB tank repair on it and fixed! It has one of the cleanest engines I have ever seen, no oil leaks or coolant leaks, all the underhood aluminum is still bright and shiny and the harness is in great shape. It is a 5spd 4.3, should move out great.
IMG_6990 by Joe Doh, on Flickr

had a weird little mobility chair crane setup in the bed with a winch
IMG_6991 by Joe Doh, on Flickr

I cleaned out the bed (I have a tendancy to fill donors up with trash and metal scrap while they sit waiting to be used) and decided to start disassembly. one thing led to another and I am almost ready to pull the cab after a couple hours. just need to pull the booster and clutch slave and steering column and harness from the cab, its actually loose on the frame.
52590048685__FD7AF6F5-CEFA-4487-9404-22C47E789D5B by Joe Doh, on Flickr
IMG_7004 by Joe Doh, on Flickr
IMG_7007 by Joe Doh, on Flickr

my buddy OGNic came by as I was getting the core support off so I put him to work cutting out the body mounts of my design from Fenix.
IMG_7017 by Joe Doh, on Flickr

He wants to come help whenever I am working so I hope I see a lot of him. he is one of my oldest friends and was lost to me for a few years to kids and working, life as it is.

anyway, I plan a real push on this one before Labor day. I have some parts to cut for another friend saturday but I was planning on working on this sunday, so I am already a couple days early.

[mongocanfly]

gracious....the ink hasn't even dried on fenix and here you are flying thru another build...can't wait to see how this turns out..

[OutlawDrifter]

No rest for the wicked?

[joedoh]

no rest yet!

I couldnt resist going out to the garage tonight, I had to pull fenix in because its going to rain so might as well pop out the rest of the mounts with the plasma
IMG_7027 by Joe Doh, on Flickr

and why not weld them together while I am there.
IMG_7028 by Joe Doh, on Flickr


and this is the big difference between the two projects. with fenix I was redesigning and re-cutting mounts for the first 4 months. these mounts I know where to put them on the frame and they are clearanced for everything already. just need some more camaro bushings. well and to pull the cab off the s10, but thats just waiting on getting my cherry picker from the back.

[joedoh]

well like everyone else I got a ton done this weekend, but not much in actual project work. I had that ever growing trailer full of project scrap and so I chopped out the center of the S10 donor bed for future use and chucked it on the trailer too. I pulled the GMC head and some other parts to sell, wired up the trailer lights and got the eyesore out of the neighborhood. I wish I had a picture of the 49 frame and engine in the maw of that crane, it was like a scene from brave little toaster. but instead I took a picture of the bed floor.
IMG_7042 by Joe Doh, on Flickr

got a pressure washer at 40% off as a labor day sale, best $250 I ever spent, all that time I spent grubbing around on that last truck. yeesh, never again.
IMG_7039 by Joe Doh, on Flickr
IMG_7038 by Joe Doh, on Flickr

I got 4 homer buckets at homer derpot to rescue my cherry picker from the GMC cab in the back yard, almost got it but the front wheels were stuck in the yard so I paused till my wife came home to help. this girl was shaking her web at me like a banshee. I think I can extract the picker and leaver her undisturbed. just a common garden spider, I saw her earlier this year when she was an adolescent and iridescent purple, I have been trying to find the picture and cant.
IMG_7041 by Joe Doh, on Flickr

the wasps (remember those guys from getting this cab loose? yeah they are still there) took an interest in my progress so I had to retreat again.

[joedoh]

ready for another scrap run. I dont have the next donor on deck so I will use my flatbed truck.

got all the firewall stuff disconnected, and the steering column mount spotwelds drilled. mark my words, you will see a pedal mount/column mount design from me on this one, for 41-46 and for 47-53 too.
IMG_7059 by Joe Doh, on Flickr
IMG_7060 by Joe Doh, on Flickr

my cherry picker is still stranded, but I was able to use balance and a little muscle to get the cab off by myself.
52667692057__772580FB-5C7D-4FF9-A3B9-459CC0E3B63F by Joe Doh, on Flickr

all the important stuff I need to keep!
IMG_7071 by Joe Doh, on Flickr

and almost ready for a scrap run monday.
IMG_7072 by Joe Doh, on Flickr

I am getting jaded on keeping stuff around, normally I would drag all the doors and extra parts to the back yard and wait while guys beat me up for the next 6 months on prices, but I am just throwing it all away instead. I figure 10 bucks in scrap now is better than 50 bucks in parts over 6 months, right?

pressure washing the rest of the frame and engine tomorrow and ready to push inside!

[joedoh]

everything gone, still splitting time. pressure washed the drivetrain and rrrrrrrrollled it in the shop.
IMG_7132 by Joe Doh, on Flickr
IMG_7131 by Joe Doh, on Flickr
IMG_7134 by Joe Doh, on Flickr

almost ready to plop the body on. my cherry picker is still being held hostage by the wasps, so I borrowed a big a -frame from my neighbor, I just need to attach wheels to it for him. I already had the chain hoists so winner winner chicken dinner. it wil lbe nice to have my body cart empty for the first time in a long time.

[gokellurself]

That power washer seems like a great idea, I've absolutely had it with stripping parts

[mcnally351]

Cool project

[Nut Case]

Joe

What do you use as a guide when you do straight lines with the plasma cutter?

Fun new project, going to be following.


NC

[joedoh]

thanks nut case, you can see my straight edge in the picture, that piece of box tube.

[joedoh]

so I borrowed my neighbors a frame but I saw a couple problems right off the bat.

attaching the chain falls to the pipe with standard chain would have them too low, I needed as high a free lift as I could get to get over the frame. I bought some short lifting straps and wrapped them around so the chain fall would be right at the upper bar. to get even more lift potential, I took two 4x4s and bolted them together, then put the eyebolts in the lower 4x4, giving myself another 3 1/2 inches of lift.

I leveled the frame and used the dimensions I got from fenix, and tacked the mounts in.

let me tell you, I am never using a cherry picker again. using a cherry picker you are acutely aware of the weight you are holding up, it FEELS heavy, even jacking it up. and you have to move all that swinging weight because you cant roll a frame over the cherry picker legs. rolling it sucks.

I did this on a rainy day, and didnt get a drop on me. I lifted the cab, rolled the body cart out, rolled the frame under, and dropped it down. it took longer to cut the steering column shorter on the 41 because it looked close to the trans than it did to lift, align, lower, and push back in.

IMG_7333 by Joe Doh, on Flickr
IMG_7336 by Joe Doh, on Flickr
IMG_7337 by Joe Doh, on Flickr



guys who want to leave the v6 in the stock position should look at this photo. I need at least a 10 inch rearward move. It also looks like this truck (it looks to be a 42, not a 41, the handles are wartime bakelite) has slightly different mount dimensions, so I may need to move them around a little.

[Advanced Design]

Tagging along ...should be fun.

[joedoh]

thank you doug!

gentlemen avert your gaze as hannah takes a bath. dirty girl hasnt had a bath in probably 50 years.



IMG_7348 by Joe Doh, on Flickr
IMG_7350 by Joe Doh, on Flickr

I want to be sure I can work on it without breathing squirrel or rat poop.this power washer is the best thing I have bought in a long time, if you are on the fence about one, I cant even tell you how many times I have used it in a month.

there is a bit more rust repair needed than fenix or even the other one I have in the back. but since I have started, I will finish. most of the patches will be nice and flat.

IMG_7352 by Joe Doh, on Flickr

I didnt show a step. the windshile hinges were STUCK, immobile. same with the regulator. I damaged fenix's regulator beating on it to turn it out a little to get the bolts out, so I didnt want to do that here. luckily, there was a gap of about 1/8, almost twice the space my 3/32 spinny wheel needed. I got the regulator side loose and then was able to pry for a little space at the top and got the hinge bolts.
IMG_7353 by Joe Doh, on Flickr

this one... doesnt look to bad. call me insane but I think if I soak it a while and take it apart I can retape the glass in it and rebuild the rest. the brand new one on fenix was a nice time saver and a high quality piece but waste not, want not. the original frame on fenix was just north of junk and way south of a good time.

[Dieselwrencher]

Very cool build! I'm going to have to go check out your other build. I'm really thinking about building a pre 48 truck if I can find a decent one. For what I want to do I may need a heavier frame than an S10 though. Or would one of these hold a half a ton of engine? I'm guessing no.

[joedoh]

lower50s has an AD on an s10 frame with a 7.3 ford diesel and automatic.

[paintman]

You guys are lucky finding these S10's. Ive been looking around here in Jersey for my new Dodge project, and they seem to be as rare as hens teeth. At least the 117" wheelbase ones. Even the Dodge Dakotas are hard to find for a decent price. They either want a fortune for them, or I guess they have all gone to the crusher.

[joedoh]

Originally Posted by paintman

You guys are lucky finding these S10's. Ive been looking around here in Jersey for my new Dodge project, and they seem to be as rare as hens teeth. At least the 117" wheelbase ones. Even the Dodge Dakotas are hard to find for a decent price. They either want a fortune for them, or I guess they have all gone to the crusher.

buy a reg cab short bed s10 and there is a super simple way to move the axle back. you take the leafs off, measure 11 inches from the end of the frame and cut it square. flip the pieces you cut off side to side and upside down and weld them back on. then drill out the rivets in the leaf perches and move the perches back 8 inches measured ALONG THE FLOOR, not measuring on the diagonal frame. weld them back on. viola you have a 116" wheelbase s10.

there were pictures in a how to on here but the pictures are gone. side benefit is that it drops the rear suspension about an inch for free

[gigamanx]

Originally Posted by paintman

You guys are lucky finding these S10's. Ive been looking around here in Jersey for my new Dodge project, and they seem to be as rare as hens teeth. At least the 117" wheelbase ones. Even the Dodge Dakotas are hard to find for a decent price. They either want a fortune for them, or I guess they have all gone to the crusher.

Possibly expand your search to Maryland, PA, and Delaware? I didn't have too much trouble in PA finding a decent 117" wheelbase long bed.

$200 bucks

https://harrisburg.craigslist.org/pt...346876985.html

$50 for a frame?

https://easternshore.craigslist.org/...341890521.html

JoeDoh, that floor looks awful. Cool to see you bringing it back to life!

[rusty76]

Glad I caught this one. I need to make sure I add this one to the low buck build threads.

[joedoh]

thanks rusty


hoo eee this thing has a big problem. I took the gas tank out and there is a 30 inch swath of the floor missing all the way to a couple inches up the back wall. this should be fun. I picked up some 24x24 patches to fix the rear wall and rear floor but under the gas tank I will need to replace probaly all the way to the sills.

[Dieselwrencher]

That sounds like my kind of luck. Haha

[joedoh]

I tacked in a panel to hold things together and cut out the part under the tank. it kind of blends in, I just pushed it out the back, its the GIANT RUSTY THING. this is going to be a real challenge, but I can do it. going to pick up the metal today, dont just look too closely at the panel yet its just temp to keep the truck from sagging. it will all get rebuilt.

IMG_7355 by Joe Doh, on Flickr

decided that if I was going to give someone advice I should try it myself first, so after suggesting this crossmember to a couple guys I decided to order one myself and give it a shot.

Messages Image(817050647) by Joe Doh, on Flickr

pretty good deal for 75 bucks with the mounts included. needed to spend $25 more to get free shipping, so I ordered the matching trans crossmember with a 2" drop.
Messages Image(4025115421) by Joe Doh, on Flickr

I will let you know how it goes but I THINK I can install the motor crossmember before unbolting it from its current location, which will be dynamite.

[gigamanx]

Looking at the pictures, she seems like one of the worse off cabs I've seen in your builds. Not even sure the dash can survive without at least a light sanding. Bringing it back to life will feel that little more sweet Good luck!

[joedoh]

the 49 was rusted worse, someone had shot up the truck and the bullet holes let water in where it doesnt normally come in, one lodged in the windshield frame and rusted out a 12" section. that truck I see in my nightmares.

aside from the gas tank area and rear cab floor though, this one isnt so bad. it needs stuff like new hinge pins and a glovebox door, but I have all that. new dash too if I need it.

with these trucks 41-46, you take what you get. 41 was a new body style, then in December the US joined the war. they ran whatever they had left in early 42, then didnt start again till late 45. in 46 they were gearing up for the AD stuff, and in 47 it was a new body. so there really was only 2 years of production, and since farmers were used to replacing their trucks more often than every 5 years, the 41s were used up and beat up and really most of them died and went to scrap drives the ones that were left werent suitable for trade in. there were shortages in 46 and a lot of farmers were waiting to buy the 47, so REALLY small numbers. I can buy a whole 47-49 1/2 ton for what a pair of decent rear 41-46 fenders cost, especially the passenger rear fender, because with the tiny window and mirrors thats the one that got backed into posts.

anyway, long story short. you take what you get. thats why that guy on your post used the 1 1/2 ton front end and a ford bed, because finding 41-46 1/2 ton front and rear fenders and a bed would cost 50% of what he is asking.

edit: I am 100% sure this truck is actually a 42. it has the rubber rear window seal and plastic coated steel interior handles, hallmarks of the 42. but the VIN plate comes back as a 41, so that is what the title will be.

I picked up a cardborad freight sheetmetal brake today, gomma start fixing floor tomorrow.