1949-50 3100

[xpickup]

Dwscr, I know what you mean. It starts out with just a few thing to do and then it turn into everything else. I do love doing it though. You guys are doing a great job. I can not wait to see it finished. You will have to let us know what magazine or calendar it will be in when finished.


Shannon
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[solidaxel]

WOW, and I thought cutting one in half was a P I T A !!!

[dwcsr]

After this I certainly won't be afraid of making a 4 door cab or an extended cab.

[msaintg]

wow, that is just amazing what you guys are doing! I can't believe you can fab a cab from 90% replacement panels and still be cost effective. So many people would just get a different cab and replace just a few panels. Impressive.

[dwcsr]

If they didn't want crazy money for 5 window cabs that didn't need most of what we did to it I would have tried to get one. But most are out of state and would cost $400 or so to get here plus the price and we still would have to blast it ($600 for just the cab) to see what we have and then need to fix the problems. This way we know there is no rust anywhere and we don't have to do much bodywork because all the outside panels are all new and smooth.

What we did not replace was the upper firewall, the rear floor, the door frames and rockers, the upper windshield cross brace and the dash.

FYI for those that may replace a roof. The Dynacorn roof panel was noticeably heavier than what we took off. I didn't gage it, but weight wise its heavier. The bad thing is that if you needed only the upper part of the rear window you need to by the roof.

[dwcsr]

Not a lot done today just the left inner corner and the lower rear door pillar and planning the side vent door swap. Tomorrow we do the other inner corner , trim up some areas and get the doors on so we can hang some sheet metal on the back side of the cab.

[dwcsr]

We have the side vent almost done and surprisingly in the right place. I just have to finish welding it and sand it. I laid the old panel over the backside if the new one and scribed the center hole and a guide. Jacob cut the old one out and shaped it up. Once it was trimmed I placed the old part over the scribed center markings scribed around it and we cut it out and trimmed to to size. Tacked it in 15 or so places and started welding.

[Kabwe]

That is one magnificent job you guys are doing on that truck.

[dwcsr]

Thanks Kabwe, We welded the cowls in place today and not much else. Monday we will spot along the dash lip. Maybe Monday or Tuesday we will have the back on it.

[dwcsr]

More progress today. We fit up the lower back panel and finished all the little things under the dash and around the cowls. One major item was missing and I didn't notice it til today. The upper rear window got dropped off the order somehow by the vendor and so we wait for it to be shipped to us. The rear cab panel fits very well, I don't think we will need to do anything to it other than move it into place once the doors are back on and then tack it in place. I'll know more once we have the upper panel bolted to the lower so it all fits with the roof and drip rails. This is the time to make the door gaps look good.

[Denee007]

Really taking the shape of a truck now!!
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[dwcsr]

Originally Posted by Denee007

Really taking the shape of a truck now!!
Posted via Mobile Device

It does look better that when it came back from blasting. We are working on the doors while waiting on the upper panel. The doors are going to be a little harder than originally thought. But doors are generally a PIA to get right

[dwcsr]

After 3 days of trying to get the doors to fit, shifting panels back and forth, adjusting hinges up down in out and still no fit up. Nothing looked right, bad gaps and when the gaps looked good the door hoop was too tight in one spot and too wide in another. Then we decided to make a template of the new roof arch over the door from the front belt line to the rear belt line. It showed the new roof and back panel was very close to original on each side but the old door tops were very different side to side. One was out at the top and one was in at the top, one had the top hoop pushed backwards about 3/8 of an inch and the other looked as if it was flattened in the arch. This was very odd, I know they had differences door to door back then but but they were just too different. We figured these doors were jacked into place to fit the openings when the cab shifted from all the rot they didn't fix on the last restoration. So I pulled a set of used 1950 doors out of stock and put them on and they looked like they came off the truck. Very nice gaps and fit nicely. We were starting to thing we had the cab all out of whack from all the work we did but it turns out the old body job still is haunting us. So tomorrow, Sunday, I drop off the doors and some other parts to the blaster, nice that he works weekends, and i get them back Monday or Tuesday. Wednesday we get them fitted and finish the sheet metal work on the cab.

[dwcsr]

I picked up the doors this morning and we put them on along with the rear window and lower panel. It again looks like a cab. We just have to shift panels around so all the lines look as good as we can get them. Here are some fuzzy pictures from my phone but they do show the progress. Once we get the outer sheet metal positioned and welded we can put in the inner window panel.

[BlueJeep]

Looking very good!

How much will you be into replacement panels when the cab is done (not including labor)? I think this is testament that almost any cab can be saved, very glad you're posting for all of us to see - thanks!

[FarmerSid]

Hey Dave. It's amazing how you are bringing that cab back. Wondering if I can pick your head a bit. I have a 51 that needs floor, kick panel, lower hinge pocket and cab corner repairs. I'm wondering how I should start going about this. The box is off, cab still bolted to frame, seat and gas tank removed and the doors are still on. What do you think is the first or smartest thing to start first? I'm worried about the cab getting out of square during repairs. I could brace the inside but that would make things hard to work around them. Should I maybe put new cab mount bushings or mounting pads in first? Hope you have some idea's.

Thanks!

[dwcsr]

Originally Posted by FarmerSid

Hey Dave. It's amazing how you are bringing that cab back. Wondering if I can pick your head a bit. I have a 51 that needs floor, kick panel, lower hinge pocket and cab corner repairs. I'm wondering how I should start going about this. The box is off, cab still bolted to frame, seat and gas tank removed and the doors are still on. What do you think is the first or smartest thing to start first? I'm worried about the cab getting out of square during repairs. I could brace the inside but that would make things hard to work around them. Should I maybe put new cab mount bushings or mounting pads in first? Hope you have some idea's.

Thanks!

Post some pictures of the areas in question in your thread and I'll look at them. First I would remove the front mount spacers and rubber if its still there so it down on the frame and use the front bolts as alignment pins. I would then tack weld the old cab mount to the frame horn in several spot. Do it so you can get at them after the floor is in. Then make some spacers of equal length and place them under the rear cab mount to the frame so its the same height on each side. Leave the rear mounts in place. This way nothing shifts and the floor is locked down to the frame.

You did a real nice job on that fender so I think you can do the sheet metal on your 51.

[CAL 58 GMC]

Nice work!

[dwcsr]

Originally Posted by CAL 58 GMC

Nice work!

Thanks,

[dwcsr]

Getting near the end of the cab work, doing the final weld up. Seams are looking good and tomorrow we fit the inner panel, finish up some odds and ends clean up some welds and send it off to the painter early next week.

[Kabwe]

Beautiful work, thats all I have the say.

[dwcsr]

Originally Posted by Kabwe

Beautiful work, thats all I have the say.

Thanks, Much appreciated.

[dwcsr]

No pictures today, We have been working on the inner rear window insert. What a PIA this has been. We have managed to get it in postions but it is slow going to make it look right. Hopefully I'll have some pics tomorrow. We did decide to fill the rear seam so that will get done tomorrow as well.

[dwcsr]

A little more progress. Working on the upper door gaps. For some reason the front part of the door has a huge gap that needs to be closed up. I used welding rod as fill stock. tacked it and then welded up and ground down to fit the gap with the new drip edge in place. I don't want to make them too tight because when the door hinges wear a little they make shift and start rubbing. This is the beginning of the task with the rods tacked in place

[Denee007]

Looks fantastic!~