1957 Chevy 3100, meet 1994 Dodge Ram 1500

[Rickysnickers]

As far as battery boxes go, this might go you some ideas, http://www.speedwaymotors.com/Drop-o...-Box,5047.html

[Purcell69]

Thanks Ricky. At first I had thought about a hinged set-up similar to the one Speedway sells, but then I thought the jack system might be a handier solution. After checking under the truck yesterday, there isn't really much room between the step and the frame, 7.375 inches. A Group 34 battery is in the neighborhood of 6.8 inches, so that doesn't leave much room for the box, let alone a drop-hinge type box. I thing I can build something that teeters or tips to the rear to slide out though.

-Joe

[Rickysnickers]

With the fab work you've done so far, I'm sure you will make something that will work!

[Purcell69]

Reality settled in and I came to the conclusion that if all is right with the truck, I shouldn't need to access the battery for 5-6 years other than making sure the terminal ends stay free of corrosion. There is good access to the terminal ends where the battery will be mounted, so there is no real issue there either.

Keeping all of this in mind, I built my battery box using some 2" X 1/8" flat stock I had on hand. I had an old Group 24 Deep Cycle battery that I used for a template, and when it was all done and bolted in place, I was able to slide the battery over the top of the frame rail from inside the frame and lower it into the battery box. In the future, if I need to drop the battery out, I can leave the top rear bolt in place, but loose, and the box will swing down at an angle for easy access.

All that is left to do is add the top strap to secure the battery from vertical movement, then sand blast and paint. With the battery sitting in the box, there is more than 5" of clearance between the top of the terminals and the cab floor, which will be coated with bedliner for sound deadening and would keep the terminals from grounding in the event of a really bad crash.













-Joe

[Kim57]

nice solution on the battery box.
Kim

[Purcell69]

Originally Posted by Kim57

nice solution on the battery box.
Kim

Thanks Kim.

After work last night, I welded on the stud for the top clamp, then sand blasted everything. With the blasting done, I gave it a good rinse and shot a coat of primer on it. Here is how everything looked this morning.







When I get home today, I'm going to sand and shoot it Chassis Black.

-Joe

[Kim57]

Looks good.
Kim

[Purcell69]

I managed to get two coats of chassis black on the finished box last night. Once it has cured, I can remount the box and fab up my hold down strap and second hold down stud, which will secure to the frame.



-Joe

[Kim57]

Came out real nice.
Kim

[Purcell69]

One step forward, two steps back. I reinstalled the box this afternoon and took a picture to illustrate just how much room there is between the top of the battery and the floor.



My plan was to hang the fuel tank now that I am more or less done with the battery, but that got changed in a hurry. I had the tank stored outside the carport on the north side of the house. It was under the eave of the roof and upright. The fuel pump module was installed and the filler neck and hoses were also connected. I felt certain it was protected from the weather, but found the tank contained 15+ gallons of water. The pump module was not good, as far as I knew and was going to be replaced, but I thought it would seal the hole in the top of the tank. Instead, it let the rain water in and began rusting apart inside the plastic tank. I drained and vacuumed the water out, but I can't install the tank now until I have a new pump module to seal the hole, as the bed doesn't have a floor in it to deflect the rain.

-Joe

[Kim57]

Plenty of room for the battery.
To bad about the tank.
Kim

[Purcell69]

The good news is the tank is plastic, so no rust issues in and of itself. I got to looking at the pump module last night and I think I can cut off the rusty portion and use the top of the module with the gasket, sealing ring and some RTV to seal it all up until I am ready to start the truck up. When that time comes, I will install a new module. That way, if there is any water seeping in, I won't destroy a new pump assembly.

I was going to play with it some more today, but its been pouring since 2:30 this morning and there has been as much as 9" of rain in the area.

-Joe

[Baldeagle SR]

nice battery box Joe. You can send some of that rain this way. Rich

[Purcell69]

Rich, I'd love to send some rain your way. All the heat you guys are getting is spilling over our way now and it has turned in to a muggy mess. I thought I was back in Mississippi yesterday. All the rain saturated ground is creating a steam bath with heat index values approaching 110*.

I got a bit more accomplished yesterday and I discovered my plan to fit the bed is flawed after I got the needed hardware to install the running boards. Once I got all the needed nuts and bolts, I was able to check the fit with the 1" spacers under the bed sills. These running boards "tweak" when not bolted in place, which made the fit appear to be good. Once everything was bolted in and the boards squared up, They are 1" higher then the body line on the cab, so the spacers will have to go. While I was looking at the bed in the midst of getting the boards mounted, I found I am missing one cross sill and there is at least one cross sill that is only one inch tall, vs. the remainder that are 2" and bolt to the frame. My plan is now to move the 1" tall cross sill to the slot over the gas tank hump, perhaps with a bit of modification for added clearance just to be safe. Even without modification, there is about 1/2" of gap with everything square and level. I didn't get any pics yesterday, but I took one with the running board "tweaked" and one with the board square for comparison.



^^^ "Tweaked" ^^^



^^^ A little dark since I took this on my way out the door this morning, but here it is squared up. ^^^

Getting that extra inch back will have things lined up within reason. Since I don't have a garage to park the truck in, I'm thinking of using tread plate for the bed floor instead of wood. No sense doing nice wood work only to encourage rot and rust. If I knew the shop would be completed soon, I'd opt for wood. The beauty is I can do a wood floor later on, when I have dry parking.

Again, no pics from yesterday, but I managed to get the driveshaft cut to the proper length. I took 1 7/8" out of the tube length at the rear axle yoke and the fit at the transmission slip yoke is dead on. There is room for suspension travel and the slip yoke is positioned where it was originally from the factory, perfect since I'm not adding any additional lift. All that is left to due it take the unit to the drive line shop to have it trued, welded and re-balanced.

Small steps forward...

-Joe

[Baldeagle SR]

Defenetly moving forward. Looks good Rich

[Kim57]

Looking good.
Kim

[Purcell69]

Originally Posted by Baldeagle SR

Defenetly moving forward. Looks good Rich

Originally Posted by Kim57

Looking good.
Kim

Thank you both! It feels good to be getting back to work on this. My floor patch panel arrived yesterday, so once I get the bed sorted, it will be time to finish the cab floor.

-Joe

[Purcell69]

Rich, I just saw the news regarding the fires in your area. Stay safe my friend.

-Joe

[Purcell69]

This afternoon I moved the short cross sill to the spot over the top of the tank that was creating issues. Just for the sake of certainty, I trimmed back the side that could potentially make contact, which will leave more than enough room when it comes time to put wood in the bed, some time down the road. I still have some clean up to do on the edges I cut, but it should all go together nicely, even with the metal floor. With the spacers removed, the bottom of the running boards more closely matches the cab now. This is the first time the running boards have been on this truck in more than 20 years.











-Joe

[Kim57]

Getting closer all the time.
Kim

[Baldeagle SR]

Joe so far we are allright . The fire is about 8 miles away but the wind keeps blowing in our direction. The firefighters are doing a great job. Rich

[Purcell69]

Stay safe my friend. We're praying for you guys.

-Joe

[Baldeagle SR]

Thanks Joe

[dug224]

Still enjoying this build. Amazing how much time can pass. Be safe. dug

[Purcell69]

Thank you dug! It really does fly by.

Just a bit of puttering about for Father's Day. I pretty well knocked out all of the old ply wood that I used for a bed floor years ago. It had been 1" cabinet grade birch that was stained and sealed with spar varnish, but being here in Oklahoma and not having access to covered parking, it survived about five years before the moisture we get here began to take its toll. From there it began to flake apart and rot.

With the remaining lumber bits more or less out of the way, I have a better view of the cross sills and what will need to be done where to accommodate the tread plate, once I get it.





The bed strips got bent a few years ago when the Dodge frame part of the project got started. The bed was sitting on a saw horse when it got bumped. It slipped back off the front panel and caught the strips, which weren't bolted in at the front. It's not a huge issue since they won't be used with the tread plate, and would most likely be replaced with brushed stainless with the wood floor.

Kim gave me a much needed piece for Father's Day...the passenger side floor panel. (Get your minds out of the gutter. :lol3)



Even though this was an Arizona truck, nearly 60 years of exposure in some form or another lead to some minor rust through. You can't see all of it due to my parts and tool storage in the cab right now, but you get the idea. The biggest of the holes is smaller than nickel sized.



I need to work some extra shifts the next few weeks, so it will be a while before I get to cut out the rot and fit in the new floor piece.

I have also started plotting on the fuel filler now that the gas tank is in place. The placement works well for a filler door mounted in the left rear fender. I have an old Ford F-150 bed with filler doors that I'm thinking of cannibalizing, but they may be a bit too big to fit within the fender body lines. From the looks of it, I have just under 7" horizontal flat surface and just under 6" vertical flat surface. The area for the Ford door is about 7" by 6.5". Tanks Inc. sells custom fit filler doors and boxes that can be fit into the front area of the left rear fender for $115, so that may be how I will need to go.







The door will go below the body line, and between the wheel arch and the curve where the front of the fender begins to wrap back toward the bed.

-Joe