What did you do with your truck today, Part 3

[evilokc]

question guys ( I used search function first). to remove the seat frame from the cab so I have to cut it? its FULL of rodent ****. I mean 4 inches deep. I sifted through it to try and find bolts but I didn't find any.

[MARTINSR]

Originally Posted by evilokc

question guys ( I used search function first). to remove the seat frame from the cab so I have to cut it? its FULL of rodent ****. I mean 4 inches deep. I sifted through it to try and find bolts but I didn't find any.

The screws on the top of the frame get removed and the rear seat cushion gets pulled up and off the frame. Then the bottom cushion comes right off I am pretty sure.

Brian

[Jesse Z]

Originally Posted by evilokc

question guys ( I used search function first). to remove the seat frame from the cab so I have to cut it? its FULL of rodent ****. I mean 4 inches deep. I sifted through it to try and find bolts but I didn't find any.

Are you referring to the seat base that's spot welded to the floor pan? If so, I used an air chisel under mine - it peeled right up.

[MARTINSR]

After my brother scared the crap out of me yesterday telling my the center windshield "post" was crooked I made a pattern to see what I had to do and found that it was crazy straight, probably straighter than Chevy did when it was new, geeez.

The problem was he was using the center cab brace on the back of the cab which wasn't straight!

Brian

[evilokc]

after sitting in front of the tv for an hour or so I got restless and went out to the garage. after two trips to orileys I got the correct size alternator belt. I still haven't made the spacer for the alternator. I wanted to fit everything. I got both the a/c and alternator belts on and have one small area that will need attention. my bottom water pump bolt is going to touch the belt. im going to have to replace it with something smaller. maybe a button head. I also noticed the compressor belt isn't running true. it needs to move 1/8 either direction. I don't know how I didn't notice it wasnt tracking straight. I will cut the spacers down 1/8 and slide it back into a perfect spot. then I can make the final spacer for the alternator and be done with this section of the a/c install.

[Jesse Z]

Originally Posted by evilokc

after sitting in front of the tv for an hour or so I got restless and went out to the garage. after two trips to orileys I got the correct size alternator belt. I still haven't made the spacer for the alternator. I wanted to fit everything. I got both the a/c and alternator belts on and have one small area that will need attention. my bottom water pump bolt is going to touch the belt. im going to have to replace it with something smaller. maybe a button head. I also noticed the compressor belt isn't running true. it needs to move 1/8 either direction. I don't know how I didn't notice it wasnt tracking straight. I will cut the spacers down 1/8 and slide it back into a perfect spot. then I can make the final spacer for the alternator and be done with this section of the a/c install.

I just stumbled across your blog; pretty cool!

[MARTINSR]

I got out there and sand blasted the inside and complex parts of the passenger door getting it ready for primer.

Brian

[MiraclePieCo]

Originally Posted by MARTINSR

I got out there and sand blasted the inside and complex parts of the passenger door getting it ready for primer.
Brian

Cool; wish I had a blaster. Gonna have to haul my running boards to town and leave them there to get the rust blasted off the bottoms. On the other hand, glad I don't have the mess of sand at my house to clean up.

I spent the day re-fitting my passenger side fender. It had a bulge in the mounting surface I hadn't noticed, so wouldn't seat right. I had to remove it, pound the bulge down and reinstall it.

About that time my fender braces arrived UPS. They fit perfectly and were already painted to match.

[MARTINSR]

Originally Posted by MiraclePieCo

Cool; wish I had a blaster. Gonna have to haul my running boards to town and leave them there to get the rust blasted off the bottoms. On the other hand, glad I don't have the mess of sand at my house to clean up.

I spent the day re-fitting my passenger side fender. It had a bulge in the mounting surface I hadn't noticed, so wouldn't seat right. I had to remove it, pound the bulge down and reinstall it.

About that time my fender braces arrived UPS. They fit perfectly and were already painted to match.

EXACTLY, but I am not cleaning it up. I did a bunch on the lawn and just left it there, not I am out behind the garage and I'll leave it there too. But I can't tell you enough, I am only blasting the stuff I can't haul for others to blast, like the cab. Or I can't expect others to do the way I want, like the doors. The rest of it, I am bringing to have stripped I am thrilled about paying to have the hard parts powder coated. I have a friend with a powder coating business, he will do some stuff for me, he also gave me the names of a number around here who do large stuff like frames. I am THRILLED beyond belief to have gotten a call back from one yesterday that will do the frame for $500! The other bid I got was $900 and I was willing to do that, but for $500 I am dancing!

Brian

[mikebte]

After fighting with the AC for 2 hours, I gave up and installed a radiator hose. Now I feel accomplished.

[MARTINSR]

Good news for me today, first, my brother called and told me that the place that supplied the bushings for Marge that I screwed up on would sell just one even though they come in packs of two. So that $50 mistake is now $25, that's do-able.

Second, I though the inside of the drivers door was way worse. I got it out and started going over it and it's as nice at the other, it will clean up easy and I will get some epoxy primer on it this weekend.

But first I found of course, a few more things to weld. Geeez Anyway, if we don't hope for the worse we will miss stuff like this and cause us much bigger problems later. So I am glad I looked for the worse. It had a few mirror mount holes (VERY common with truck doors) that I remember seeing that were brazed up, figured I would leave it. Well, I cleaned them up and they were a mess. I had to use a burr cutter and open them up opening the hole much larger because of the damage done by the previous guy who brazed it.

Made the templates, made the patches and I am ready to weld them in tomorrow.

It's funny, my next thing I was planning was finishing up the inside of the cab and get it primed. Well, my daughters car is blocking the garage door up on jack stands for a brake job and I couldn't move the cab out, like that is going to leave me with nothing. LOLOL On a project like this, there is ALWAYS something, so I just grabbed a door and got to work.

Brian

[MARTINSR]

The other thing I did was to measure my 49-54 passenger car front crossmember to see if it or the frame will need any big mods to get it bolted to the truck frame. I have had it hanging over my head about getting the frame powder coated and getting the cab on it permanently once I get the cab in primer. Well, the whole setting up the front end and having to modify the frame would suck to have to do once it's powder coated so I would have to put that off. Thus, pulling the cab on and off the frame a few times while I set up the suspension and section the hood and some other things. From how I see it now, I can go ahead and powder coat the frame and just make it bolt in, it will require next to no mod on the crossmember and nothing outside of drilling holes in the frame. So this is REALLY good news.

Brian

[mikebte]

Originally Posted by MARTINSR

The other thing I did was to measure my 49-54 passenger car front crossmember to see if it or the frame will need any big mods to get it bolted to the truck frame. I have had it hanging over my head about getting the frame powder coated and getting the cab on it permanently once I get the cab in primer. Well, the whole setting up the front end and having to modify the frame would suck to have to do once it's powder coated so I would have to put that off. Thus, pulling the cab on and off the frame a few times while I set up the suspension and section the hood and some other things. From how I see it now, I can go ahead and powder coat the frame and just make it bolt in, it will require next to no mod on the crossmember and nothing outside of drilling holes in the frame. So this is REALLY good news.

Brian

Do you have a thread started on this Restoration? Sounds like a good follow if you do.

[dsraven]

without knowing what truck I would ask if your horn wire has been accounted for. possibly the green wire in the pic?

[MARTINSR]

I don't Mike, not on this forum, I have it on another. I have meant to do it here but never got it done. https://www.hotrodders.com/forum/194...ar-233753.html

Brian

[MARTINSR]

Last night as I went to bed I got to thinking about the first time I welded up holes in the original doors on my truck around 1976. I had borrowed one to chop the top. I found the holes in the doors that needed to be welded up and had no torch so bought the cheapest set up you could buy, a propane/oxygen thing like this.



It made enough heat to braze was about it, so I brazed those holes up and finished it off and it stayed that way for years and years. I forget what the torch was called but "Oxi" was in the name like "Oxiweld" or something like that. I was about 18, and soon after, within less than a year I bought my Craftsmen torch I use today still.

Brian

[MARTINSR]

Got the patches in the drivers door welded up, WHOOO HOOO!

Brian

[MiraclePieCo]

Originally Posted by MARTINSR

I found the holes in the doors that needed to be welded up and had no torch so bought the cheapest set up you could buy, a propane/oxygen thing like this.

I still use a torch like that - mostly for shrinking metal and heating rusted bolts for removal.

[MiraclePieCo]

Reassembled the rear barn door latching mechanism which the PO had inexplicably disassembled and thrown in boxes. I suspect these doors came from a different truck, as they are quite beat up inside compared to the pristine inner body. I'll try to make them pretty someday, but for now the goal is just to get this truck on the road.

[Jesse Z]

Originally Posted by MiraclePieCo

Reassembled the rear barn door latching mechanism which the PO had inexplicably disassembled and thrown in boxes.

Disassembling old cars is easy to do and costs almost nothing. Not to mention you can do it one-handed while imbibing copious amounts of beer. And if you're sloshed enough you can convince yourself that by tearing a car into 10,000 pieces you really are restoring it. Meantime, throwing parts into random boxes completely unorganized is a fun way to mess with the next owner.

[GreasyLikeaBurger]

Finally pulled the trigger on a Chevy Performance serpentine belt/pulley kit. Spent an hour in the garage bolting it in.


IMG_3731 by Andrew Bushnell, on Flickr

[MARTINSR]

Sooooo, I have a 49-54 Chevy front suspension for my truck (same as 53-62 Corvette) and just yesterday I started thinking about it and how to install it on the truck frame. I went out to the shed last night and made some measurements on the crossmember and then on the frame. I looked up on the net some photos so I could get an idea of how high it mounts and what not. Then on the way home today I pass a friggin 54 Chevy in a parking lot that I have never seen. I pulled over and took a bunch of measurements off it recording this info. It was just what I needed, what are the odds this could happen?

Brian

[mr48chev]

The Rod & Custom Dream truck had and still has a complete 54 Chevy car frame under it.

Back in the 70's I knew of a couple of trucks that had that suspension under them and had had for years. I had a 59 Corvette front suspension pass through my hands in the mid 70's but my buddy ended up with it in a trad. I should have put that under the truck when I got hit and the axle got bent and the spring got broken.

I didn't hit a lick on the truck today but did build new barn doors for the garage and installed them. Got a hefty hasp on them too. That will help secure the parts for the truck.

[gigamanx]

Originally Posted by GreasyLikeaBurger

Finally pulled the trigger on a Chevy Performance serpentine belt/pulley kit. Spent an hour in the garage bolting it in.


IMG_3731 by Andrew Bushnell, on Flickr

Super clean, I like it! Might want to put some painters tape on that intake manifold inlet.

[mikebte]

Originally Posted by GreasyLikeaBurger

Finally pulled the trigger on a Chevy Performance serpentine belt/pulley kit. Spent an hour in the garage bolting it in.

Freaking sweet, thats a nice looking set up.

Originally Posted by MARTINSR

Sooooo, I have a 49-54 Chevy front suspension for my truck (same as 53-62 Corvette) and just yesterday I started thinking about it and how to install it on the truck frame. I went out to the shed last night and made some measurements on the crossmember and then on the frame. I looked up on the net some photos so I could get an idea of how high it mounts and what not. Then on the way home today I pass a friggin 54 Chevy in a parking lot that I have never seen. I pulled over and took a bunch of measurements off it recording this info. It was just what I needed, what are the odds this could happen?
Brian

May have wanted to pick up a lotto ticket on the way, seems like luck was on your side.