Wife's 48

[8man]

Jim, I would have liked to save that cab, but the truth is every panel has rust throughs. The roof skin not only had a rust through, it looked like the truck had a tree fall on it and they fixed it with bondo. So after a lot of back and forth, I gave up on it.

If anyone needs a piece of skin, let me know and I'll see if there is enough left to make a patch.

[8man]

Well, I got to work on the 48 today.

IMG_2081 by Robert Moorman, on Flickr

1st time the doors have been on it in at least 6 years. They need some adjustment, but I got them on by myself. It looks like they need to go up some, but they are pretty straight and other than the top gap they look pretty good.

Then I started on the dash for the 54. First I cut the ashtray supports off the back.

IMG_2078 by Robert Moorman, on Flickr

Then I took the front metal off of the ashtray and fit it to the dash to check it.

IMG_2079 by Robert Moorman, on Flickr

I am going to weld it into the dash and then cut out a hole for an AC vent on both sides of the old speaker location.

And finally I got the hinges blasted clean and drilled the holes in the new plates so I can plug weld them on.

IMG_2080 by Robert Moorman, on Flickr

Sorry about the holes Jan, but I have to weld them on.

Nothing is going to happen for a while due to life, but at least I feel good today.

[NorCalGal]

Dang you Robert, LOL. Naw, you gotta do what you gotta do.

[joedoh]

looking good, life is what happens in between truck work, so enjoy it!

[8man]

My buddy came over today and we got a good 6 hours in on his truck.

I have to say it goes REALLY slow when it's the first time you do something, at least for me. 6 hours and we got the steering column mounted where he liked it, the brake pedal mounted where he wanted and the Vintage Air mock up unit mounted and the bracket fabbed for the front VA bracket (not in the following pictures).

Here is the placement for the Vintage Air unit.
IMG_2086 by Robert Moorman, on Flickr
That was as high as we could get it on the firewall and still be on flat firewall steel. If it's too high or low, please let me know. We know the glove box will be cut down, but other than that we had no reason to think it wouldn't work.

Then the steering column was installed.
IMG_2085 by Robert Moorman, on Flickr

And a shot of the brake pedal assembly from the top.
IMG_2083 by Robert Moorman, on Flickr

We bolted the booster on to see how it fit, and it doesn't bolt all the way up against the firewall. He cut the hole small 2 1/2" so the large tube around the brake shaft fits up against the hole and doesn't slide through the hole.
IMG_2082 by Robert Moorman, on Flickr

I really thought it should have been made larger so the master cylinder sleeve would go through the firewall. As it is there is about 1/2" of threads showing on the master cylinder. Is that right?

This one shows the location of the steering wheel (NOT the actual steering wheel, just the only one I had in the junk pile to put on the column to see how it sits).
IMG_2087 by Robert Moorman, on Flickr

He took the fenders home to start blasting and priming, so I did get some stuff out of the shop. Now to get that frame and cab to his house and start on my truck! Not this month though...

[joedoh]

nice work, its fun working when things go your way, makes it hard to stop.

you may find the firewall is a little flexy when you get a pedal on there. there is a factory firewall to dash brace I dont see in yours. if you do have more flex than you want you might throw the brace in and triangulate to it.

[8man]

Thanks Joe. I hadn't even thought about that. It does flex. I did put in a plate like suggested in Skymangs S10, but forgot about the braces.

[lower50's]

Dash brace is the way to go nice and solid.

[8man]

Thank you. That would surely help.

I'd sure like to see a different angle on that brace. I bought both of mine in as many pieces as they come and so I didn't see the brace, along with a LOT of other stuff I'm figuring out as I go.

[joedoh]

here is an article on installing a hanging pedal and the pictures have good angles of the brace.

https://www.hotrod.com/articles/1947...chevy-pickups/

if thats not enough I can take some pictures of mine

[8man]

Thanks Joe! That helped a lot.

I do have ONE (1) of the flat braces that goes from the dash to the firewall. That's enough to do one of the trucks. Now to find that brace for the other truck...

[8man]

Got some time in the shop today with my buddy. Since he is taking the 48, he did some of the work, and I got some pics of him actually working. We got the bed torn down and drilled out the side angles, getting it ready for blasting and prime.
IMG_2097 by Robert Moorman, on Flickr
We drilled out the spot welds, and then used a seam buster to get them off. They had rusted on. The sides were straightened and the new angles were test fit to the sides.

The rear cross brace was welded to the bed sides. That complicated taking it all apart.

Question: Is it recommended to weld the sides to the rear cross brace? Or just use the bolts?

My plan is to prime the angles and bed sides and then plug weld the angles to the side. I will clean off the primer where the plug welds will be and then touch up the primer.

Then we finally took the time to tack the body mounts in place. I am using the frame to store the cab I'm cutting up for pieces that I need on my wife's 54.
IMG_2098 by Robert Moorman, on Flickr

Since this is my first truck build, we measured and re-measured several times before we tacked them in place. When we set the mounts on the frame, one looked taller than it's opposite, so we got a 4' level, and sure enough, the mounts are the same, the frame isn't level. We have not rebuilt the front end and then we measured the tires, and the difference was in the junk tires. It'll level out with the correct tires.

IMG_2099 by Robert Moorman, on Flickr

Ok, another question. As I understand it, we should NOW rebuild the front end. Once the front end has been rebuilt, we can test fit the cab on the mounts that have been tacked in place. Once the cab is sitting on the frame, we then get the motor and tranny put in place to make sure everything is working together. Once it is in, we put the front back on and then can start on the radiator bracket and the front bumper mounting system. At that point we dissemble the whole thing and start cleaning and priming, or did I miss another step?

I know, I'm using Skymangs work as a bible, just measuring twice...

[MARTINSR]

I am so torn on whether to replace the bed sides or strip and blast and re-do all the work I did 38 years ago, or just fake it and lean them up and prime over the work I did 38 years ago. A complete new bed is about a grand, that is a lot of my life for a grand.

Brian

[8man]

I am repairing the bedsides for the 48, but I got a complete new bed from Mar-K for the 54, although the bed is for the earlier model, Laura didn't want the good 54 bed I already have.

Daughter and family came in for the weekend, but I got a little time in the shop before they arrived Friday.

IMG_2103 by Robert Moorman, on Flickr
I got the 48 sitting on the cab mounts I made. The clearance from the cab to the frame is the same on both sides.

I have a question: with the S10 body mounts on Skymangs version 2 cab mounts for the 48, what is the distance from the front cab floor pan to the frame and from the rear floor pan to the frame?

I backed off to look at it and the drivers side front tire is smaller than the riders side, so the cab was listing. So I jacked the frame up to the same distance from the floor as the riders side and it looks pretty good.

IMG_2104 by Robert Moorman, on Flickr

I had drilled some holes in the cab for the Juliano's 3 point seat belts. Wouldn't you know, two of the holes come down exactly on top of the side of a body mount. The next time I get some shop time I'll see if I can move the seat belt mounting hole or if I have to modify the cab mount. I'm hoping for the first one.

I swear, one of these days I'm going to start work on the 54, just as soon as I can get the 48 out of the shop. I think I'm going to have to retire from my real job to make it happen, but I think I'll be a lot happier in the shop.

[joedoh]

I like to get the cab on and the motor in to do the front suspension, having the weight on the frame makes it easier to compress the springs, and without a front clip its super easy to replace everything (except the brake line under the engine, if you need to replace that do it with the engine out).

as long as the flat of the floor is parallel to the flat of the top of the frame, you shouldnt need to measure a bunch. the frame is largely flat on top right in the middle, around where the factory splice is and aft, forward it dips a bit.

you should be able to tuck the motor way back with the tall mounts, and get a nice big radiator too.

looking good!

[8man]

Thanks Joe, that helps.

[8man]

Well, after some discussion, a lot of thought, I finally pulled the trigger and got the ZR2 rear axle for Laura's truck.
IMG_2105 by Robert Moorman, on Flickr

It has 3.73 gears, a locker, and a 8.5" ring gear. I've seen pictures under the trucks and it does set the wheels/tires out in the wheel well.

I don't know if I'll use the stabilizer bar, but they cut the frame out so I can trim it to fit my frame if I do. Man that thing is huge!

[dsraven]

if you have leaf springs and aren't road racing you shouldn't need the panhard bar. if you have really tight tire to fender clearance and worry about tires rubbing when the axles moves sideways slightly around corners then I guess it would make sense. ensure to install with the bar parallel to the ground at ride height for the least amount of sideways deflection as the suspension moves up and down and the bar moves through an arc. this basically changes the total length of the bar mounting points.

[OutlawDrifter]

That is the first drum brake ZR2 I have seen.

[8man]

Outlaw, I was a little surprised by the brakes too. It was still in the 98 ZR truck, and the guy checked the VIN for me to make sure. I almost didn't buy it because it wasn't disc brake. But since this will be a cruiser, not a race truck or a daily driver, I figured the disc/drum combo has worked great for years, and besides, I wanted that little extra that axle brings with it.

[joedoh]

disc brakes on the rear are a marketing item. they have almost no practical advantage on a daily driver. they look nice on wheels with big windows though.

looks like a nice unit! I agree you probably wont need the panhard

[lower50's]

Wouldn't we all be happier to be in our shops full time? That axle should work great.

[8man]

Thanks guys, and Lower50's, you are so right!

[8man]

The 48 is sitting on the frame, waiting on bushings for the cab so my buddy and I can go to the next step. So I started working on the 54 cab. Since there isn't enough room in the shop for the 48 sitting on it's frame, the 54 cab and the S10 to be dissembled for the 54, I started working on the 54 cab. I thought I'd get the cab as ready as possible for the frame while my buddy gets his priorities worked out.

When I bought the 54 I knew there was some bondo on the drivers side in front of the door.
IMG_2110 by Robert Moorman, on Flickr
It is at least 3/8" thick in places. I took a wire wheel to it to see what I had and got fed up. I'm replacing it.

Then I cut the first patch.
IMG_2111 by Robert Moorman, on Flickr
Yes, that's a 3rd windshield wiper hole. The PO built some wiper contraption that used that hole. The riders side was just bondo'd up.

Funny story, I took the time to clean the shop before I started on the 54 cab. Now, after the wire wheel on the bondo, it's not too clean any more! That pink dust is everywhere.

[joedoh]

ugh. props to the guys who like filler and sanding dust. not for me, ever. two strokes and bodywork, I dont want to work on either haha.


good job keeping busy though!