56 shop truck build

[Mac the Yankee]

Dubie,

Are you going to add any material to the area above your C notches? I'd hate to see your frame fold up on you !

[Kim57]

Looking good.
I agree with Mac the area above your notch looks a little thin.
Kim

[dubie]

Yeah I have a couple pieces to weld on. I just need to fit the bed on before i do it. I'm trying to avoid raising my bed floor so the pieces I have to weld on may need a couple trimmings to make them fit

[Mac the Yankee]

I would support your frame at the corners before test-fitting the bed to avoid any flex in the frame.

[sqrlnts]

Sub, scribed! Wow, never knew you were such an awesome painter. I would like to talk paint with you before I tackle my brush job, sounds like we are after similar results.

The truck is coming along nicely, keep it up!

[Kabwe]

Really nice paint work man. awesome.

[dubie]

I've been at the airbrush thing on and off for 8 years now. It's an enjoyable hobby that keeps my hands and brain busy. I never post any of my work on the HAMB because it's not that kind of art. I think I've had 3 pieces that have made it into their Friday Art Show postings.
As for the frame, I have the truck on all 4 wheels now and it seems good. I also stood on the back of the frame when it was supported by jack stands in front of the C notch and it was real sturdy. I'll do a it more work to it to thicken the span

[nuke1]

Your artwork is amazing!!! Man we need to work out some kind of deal in the future. You ever come to stoon?
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[_Ogre]

i replied to your frame question in another thread to and then saw this.
if you were on a 4 link you'd be fine, but since you're on springs, half the weight on back is carried by your rear shackles.
you have a little more c-notch than i do which is a good thing, i recommend at least an inch more from experience.
i reinforce to a half inch of the bedwood, but i'd recommend going an inch above that at a minimum with your setup.





i set my bedwood at stock height but it wood () be easy to raise it one inch by raising the angle on the bed sides
my bed angle was shot, i used 1.25x1.25x1/8 angle to hang my bed

[_Ogre]

after comparing the 2 pics of your frame and mine, i see you have your axle under the springs
unless your spring are lowering springs, you will still be at stock height and your c-notch may be a bit of overkill.
flipping the axle lowers a tf truck 7 inches, if your springs lower the truck 4 or 5 inches you'd be fine without a c-notch.

[dubie]

they're reverse eye 6" drop mono leafs in the rear, that's why I wet a bit bigger on the c notch. I'm thinking of using some 2" square tubing, cut it to the profile of the frame rail, taper the edges and weld it on top of the frame.

[dubie]

James, I'm in Saskatoon usually 3 or 4 times per year. I was actually just there a few weeks ago. You can always shoot me a message about what kind of paint work you're looking for.

[dubie]

Some bed mock up pics from this morning. My 275 60 R15's are a bit wide to fit in the rear fenders so a mini tub is in order.

Can anyone tell me what kind of spacer is used between the frame and the bed mounts rails? This truck didn't come with any mounts of any kind. It seems this should come up by 3/4"

[dubie]

I think I'll put the 235's that are on the front on the rear and buy some 205,s for the front and save the fabrication work
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[dmack91]

You could put the 235's on the back and check clearances. You may be able to clear 255/60/15's. Are your rim offsets the same - that would change the fit also.

[dubie]

i have a pair of 255 60's in the shop. I'll have them mounted and check for clearance before going to the skinnier tire up front

[dubie]

No real progress to speak of this week but I had the doors open yesterday to air some paint fumes out and snapped a couple shots. This week, it's ALL truck in my spare time. I'll be buttoning up all the little details of the chassis like installing all the grease nipples, cotter pins and torqueing everything that needs it. I also have to finish up the brake lines, so with any luck by mid to late week we can drop the engine and tranny in this beast

[Kabwe]

It looks like you are getting her back together nicely. Good job.

[dubie]

the body is mostly mocked up so I could take a closer look at how everything will fit. Good thing too because after seeing a couple spots where I had straight grease nipples installed would make it impossible to get at, so I'll be changing them out to 90's. It also helped with tire fitment and steering clearances. I'll be removing everything but the cab tomorrow night and start going over everything from front to back before I mount the cab on it's new mounts

[dubie]

a bit of weekend progress. I finished up tying in the brake lines and installed the, cut a recess in the firewall for some added distributor clearance, and with the help of my buddy Rick ( who pretty much did all of it while I worked on the firewall, thanks again bud) The tork is in, tranny has been serviced, painted and he installed the new flex plate. I also got some satin black POR 15 in so I can start coating the under side of the bed frame

[Kim57]

Cool.
Kim

[dubie]

I would have liked to get more done but all these little jobs ended up taking more time that I anticipated. It seems to be a general them on this truck. If I think it's going to take 2 hours, in reality, it takes 4. I guess that just means I'll have to start spending more time in the shop and less time painting for a little while.
This week I hope to drop that engine and tranny in, flip the box over and get the POR15 applied to the rusty under side and get the can permanently mounted

[sqrlnts]

Originally Posted by dubie

I would have liked to get more done but all these little jobs ended up taking more time that I anticipated. It seems to be a general them on this truck. If I think it's going to take 2 hours, in reality, it takes 4.

I will second that theory. Keep up the progress, you'll be done in no time!

[dubie]

Bolted up the engine and tranny tonight

[dubie]

With my wife working night shift the past couple nights, I spent the majority of my time in the shop working on the truck. After seeing how ****ty the inner fenders looked in the above pictures, I had to get them stripped and painted, so I got that done.
I also welded in a couple patched on the floor. The previous owner cut a section out of the tranny hump spot so I cut a piece of sheet metal and welded it in.
Then I turned my attention to the wiring. I gutted out all the old wiring and man am I glad I did. I found over 12 splices from previous owners, trying to chase anything would have been a complete night mare. I have a new Rebel wiring harness that should be here Monday.
While I was under he dash I removed the heater box and fax so they can get checked out and painted to match the interior.