What did you do with your truck today, Part 3

[_Ogre]

Originally Posted by mick53

I started TIGing up the holes in the 2nd donor frame rail.

Mick: I admire your tenacity, but I just fluxcore welded holes shut
I used a 6 inch piece of ¾ copper pipe, hammered flat, for a backer and just welded the holes closed
Cutting a bigger hole, to tig weld in a plug, seems like a waste of time
After grinding, neither hole will show

[MARTINSR]

Originally Posted by mick53

I started TIGing up the holes in the 2nd donor frame rail.

I would think it is very possible to warp the rail doing that.


Brian

[G&R's57GMC]

So Twelve years ago I had NoLimit (back when they were in Southern California) install their Wide Ride IFS and Fat Bar rear suspension with a Currie 9" on my bare Chassis .

After I got it home I installed my New Wheels and Tires , but something just didn't seem right .
It looked like the distance between the tires wasn't great enough to clear the bed sides .

Well other projects kept me busy for the next five years then Life got real with my wife dying .
In 2016 I met my future wife and we were married the next year . Life was great again

Meanwhile the chassis was on the back burner . Over the years I collected parts and dithered on witch of my 3 TF trucks would get the new chassis , the original plan was for the '56 Chevy LongBed .

But How cool would it be to put it under my '56 GMC Suburban PU (Cameo)with just a little slice and dice of the fiberglass quarters it would be a long wheelbase .

Or perhaps put it under my '57 GMC NAPCO .

Well this debate went on for years until I finally decided to sell both '56's . Now that that is settled the '57 gets the chassis .
BUT my '66 Dart is in the shop now and I have to put it together and I've been dragging my feet on that project since 2018 .

Life jumped up and bit me in February and by late April the surgery is done and I'm recovering nicely .

OK enough about the past Today I went out and measured the width of the step side body (51") and the distance between the tires on the chassis (50") . Just as I suspected the Currie was to narrow . Well the fix is to add wheel adapters not spacers but adapters from Trans-Dapt , Speedway to the rescue a pair of 1.25" adapters gives me 2.5" to make the space 52.5" that's 3/4" per side . At least the tires will clear standing still . But a bit close for range of motion . I may have to add a 1/4" spacer to each side .

Gad that was a long way around to say I think I solved the problem today . Who knows when I'll get around to putting it together .

[G&R's57GMC]

Gee Mick all the welding of holes in a chassis seem counter to making holes to lighten the chassis like they did back in the day .

I say make them bigger lighten that chassis !

OK ... I'll go to my room now and be quiet and think about what I said .

[mr48chev]

Every time you think you can just about jump over the bar Mick runs out and raises the bar a couple of notches. Now I am not sure that sand blasting, high build priimer and lots of block sanding before the shiny black goes on is going to be enough.

I did start digging the blue cab that doesn't have a roof out from under the fallen down shed to see if I want to use the front half of it.





The snow knocked the roof down a couple of years ago and life got in the way of cleaning it up.
My buddy gave me the cab 30 yeas ago and I have wagged it around all over the place but it has been sitting there for close to 20 years.
I cut the dash out a few years ago because I am going to put the old dash that was in my 51 Mercury that I bought when I was 16 in it. I don't know if the other windshield post or top of the cowl got damaged but the cowl and floor are pretty well rust free in patina truck terms. The back is solid, and straight except one dent at the belt line over on the right side below the window. That panel is going to be up for grabs to anyone from the PNW who needs it when I get the floor cut in two.

[MARTINSR]

Poor cab, never did anything to anyone.

Brian

[dsraven]

c'mon Brian, you can fix that little mess in your sleep. it would make a cool rat rod style covertible. tidy up the corners, stick it on a chassis with a driveline and go for it. some huge rear tires with a tiny box in between, a couple of cut down doors with no worries of glass etc, open wheels out front, a straight axle, done.

[MARTINSR]

LOL

Brian

[mr48chev]

Originally Posted by MARTINSR

Poor cab, never did anything to anyone.

Brian

It was a pretty decent cab before my buddy decided to cut the roof off to use it on his truck to fix the roof because he didn't like the way he had done it the first time. I had it sitting on a trailer with the green 49 cab that another friend gave me for probably 10 years before it got put in the shed.

[mr48chev]

At one time I did think about making a topless short bed pickup with no running boards with it. Pretty much what my buddy did with his truck with a cut down 3/4 ton box but not having the tilt nose.

[mick53]

Originally Posted by _Ogre

Mick: I admire your tenacity, but I just fluxcore welded holes shut
I used a 6 inch piece of ¾ copper pipe, hammered flat, for a backer and just welded the holes closed
Cutting a bigger hole, to tig weld in a plug, seems like a waste of time
After grinding, neither hole will show

I understand that. I have a nice MIG. I also use a copper backing plate. My plan is to use these rails to box my existing frame with the seam on the top and bottom. The whole thing may not work out anyway but it's a labor of love. If it does I think it will give me a "factory" look. There will be a lot of X bracing, cross members, motor mounts and mounting the Bicknel torque arm on my Frankland quick change. I also have to mount a secondary Ron Davis drag radiator hortiizonially under there and a remote A/C condenser and compressor and vacuum pump. There is a lot going on under there. There is a good chance I will be doing drilling and tapping on these. A MIG weld is a lot harder than a TIG weld with the same alloy. I have run into situations where a hole ends up halfway on a MIG weld and it's no fun. They don't take very long to do and I can keep the grinding to a minimum. I do not like grinding. It also gives me much needed experience playing with my welder and my technique. I don't want to practice on my roll cage and have the certifier laugh at me. I don't charge myself for my time but thank you for yours. I don't recommend people do what I do because I'm weird.

[mick53]

Originally Posted by mr48chev

Every time you think you can just about jump over the bar Mick runs out and raises the bar a couple of notches. Now I am not sure that sand blasting, high build priimer and lots of block sanding before the shiny black goes on is going to be enough.

I did start digging the blue cab that doesn't have a roof out from under the fallen down shed to see if I want to use the front half of it.





The snow knocked the roof down a couple of years ago and life got in the way of cleaning it up.
My buddy gave me the cab 30 yeas ago and I have wagged it around all over the place but it has been sitting there for close to 20 years.
I cut the dash out a few years ago because I am going to put the old dash that was in my 51 Mercury that I bought when I was 16 in it. I don't know if the other windshield post or top of the cowl got damaged but the cowl and floor are pretty well rust free in patina truck terms. The back is solid, and straight except one dent at the belt line over on the right side below the window. That panel is going to be up for grabs to anyone from the PNW who needs it when I get the floor cut in two.

LOL. I have no idea what I'm doing. The drivers door striker looks to be in fine condition.

[mr48chev]

That goes with the back panel of the cab that is free to a member who needs it plus I'll have a bunch of other left overs. 53 cab with 53 3100 door post tag that won't be free but won't be very expensive either.

Hopefully it ends up pretty much like this cut and tape illustration.

[fauXGT]

I wanted to do this to my 5 window, being I'm 6'1"and have either extended cab trucks or SUV's, but my brother talked me out of doing. Was prepared to extend the frame, doors and everything. Lengthen the cab and frame and it will look like a chopped top.
Now I'm working on reducing the stock steering wheel down to a 15" so my slender belly(195lbs) wont rub.

[MiraclePieCo]

Originally Posted by nvrdone

spilled some oil on my primered hood. now I have to figure out how to clean up the mess.

Darn! That primer will absorb the oil. A thorough degreasing and re-prime will probably be required.

[nvrdone]

I'm in the process of moving. The truck is going into storage for about 6 months, so I guess a thouroughn clean up and re prime will have to wait.

[mick53]

Originally Posted by mr48chev

That goes with the back panel of the cab that is free to a member who needs it plus I'll have a bunch of other left overs. 53 cab with 53 3100 door post tag that won't be free but won't be very expensive either.

Hopefully it ends up pretty much like this cut and tape illustration.

That's sweet. My 292 with the blower and dry sump pulleys is about 8" longer than the 235. I considered the possibility of stretching the engine compartment between the hood and windshield but that's way out of my league. I guess I will see how far I can get the radiator forward and try not end up with a cab over. My primary radiator with the fan is 7". At least the 292 is skinny.

[mr48chev]

I feel the pain there. I had to shorten the water pump shaft to run the 250 with not near enough fan.

As much as I do not care for electric fans on old vehicles mine is getting an electric fan this time. I don't like pusher fans but may run one for clearance and appearance. I never had a cooling problem with the V6 Dodge Grand Caravan van I had and it had a pusher fan. Wife totaled that one or we would still be driving it. All wheel drive, V6 and room to haul stuff in the back.

[mr48chev]

I feel the pain there. I had to shorten the water pump shaft to run the 250 with not near enough fan.

As much as I do not care for electric fans on old vehicles mine is getting an electric fan this time.

I've never been much of a pusher fan person but my BMW has an auxillary pusher fan and my old Dodge mini ram van has a pusher fan.

[mick53]

Originally Posted by mr48chev

I feel the pain there. I had to shorten the water pump shaft to run the 250 with not near enough fan.

As much as I do not care for electric fans on old vehicles mine is getting an electric fan this time.

I've never been much of a pusher fan person but my BMW has an auxillary pusher fan and my old Dodge mini ram van has a pusher fan.

I agree pusher fans are less efficient. I have seen numbers of 30% to 40% but have never done the math. My primary radiator has two 1 1/4" wide cores and a 3300 CFM fan. My hortazontal mount Ron Davis drag radiator is 20" x 17" and 5.5" thick with a spall fan. I can't remember the size of fan. My Dakota gauges will control two fans with speed and temp cutoffs. They can also be set to run a certain amount of time after shutoff. My drag radiator has an electric pump on it and is mostly used to deal with heat sink after shutdown.

[idbeast]

It's been a while, but I'm back! My '56 is the car show image!!!

[DransportGarage]

Originally Posted by idbeast

It's been a while, but I'm back! My '56 is the car show image!!!

You must have a good marketing guy!

[fauXGT]

POR-15'd the undersides. Then zinc treat the opposite sides tomorrow to halt the rust.

[mick53]

I made a mount for my NOS distribution block on my 292. It was less money to buy the kit and make new lines than to buy the parts. Their line layout doesn't work for me because my blower hangs on the passenger side of the engine and has to have the lines closer to the blower. For some odd reason nobody makes this kit for a 292. I also don't like the idea of it just hanging off the lines. Now I get to make the lines.

[Oldtruckwelder]

Finished stripping the red oxide primer off one panel at a time and spraying SPI white epoxy primer.
JT from SC