Wife's 48

[NorCalGal]

WOW! Congratulations Robert, I hope to get there on day.

[8man]

Thanks.

[8man]

Watched a couple of videos on putting on the door weather strip, Kassis' and Precision. Talked to a guy who has done it and added in his idea of using deep sockets to keep the tape off the rubber and holding them down with the tape. So got the driver's door done today. The other will be done over the weekend and should have them on the cab maybe Wednesday.

IMG_0913 by Robert Moorman, on Flickr

IMG_0914 by Robert Moorman, on Flickr

You can see the little left over piece on the door. The runs went really well. The corners were worrisome. Didn't use the clothespins, but I heard they might come in handy.

[OutlawDrifter]

Looks good!

[NorCalGal]

I can’t wait to see it all come together.

[8man]

Thank you both. I have to admit I'm starting to get more than a little pumped!

[joedoh]

just staggeringly beautiful, very very nice!

i install the door seals on the passenger seat for the next owner to install

[8man]

Funny guy! Thanks for the compliment on the color.

[rnrdthefox]

Wow. Nice and shiny. Envious. I can't wait until I get to this point.

[8man]

Thanks.

[Gregski]

Originally Posted by 8man

Watched a couple of videos on putting on the door weather strip, Kassis' and Precision. Talked to a guy who has done it and added in his idea of using deep sockets to keep the tape off the rubber and holding them down with the tape. So got the driver's door done today. The other will be done over the weekend and should have them on the cab maybe Wednesday.

IMG_0913 by Robert Moorman, on Flickr

IMG_0914 by Robert Moorman, on Flickr

You can see the little left over piece on the door. The runs went really well. The corners were worrisome. Didn't use the clothespins, but I heard they might come in handy.

deep sockets, man why didn't I think of that, and yes there were a few spots where blue tape was needed

fingers crossed you have more better luck Robert with shutting your doors with the weather strip on than I did, let us know how they fit

I didn't catch which thickness you opted for I foolishly went for the thicker stuff thinking I had bigger gaps to fill and maybe that's what my problem is now

[8man]

I showed pictures of the deep sockets to show another idea of how to hold it while the adhesive cured. It seems secure now.

I am getting antsy to get the doors on, but since it's a 48, I'm waiting on the back ordered door lock that needs to be in place with the catch mechanism thingy in place so the weather strip can go over it. Then I can put the doors on.l

[Gregski]

Originally Posted by 8man

I showed pictures of the deep sockets to show another idea of how to hold it while the adhesive cured. It seems secure now.

I am getting antsy to get the doors on, but since it's a 48, I'm waiting on the back ordered door lock that needs to be in place with the catch mechanism thingy in place so the weather strip can go over it. Then I can put the doors on.l

I see, this double build thread has me more confused than a blind goat on astra turf, I'm here for the '54 ha ha (but I love the '48)

[8man]

It wasn't supposed to be a double build thread! It just worked out that way. I thought the 48 was sold and I was going to concentrate on the 54, but life has different paths.

[Gregski]

Originally Posted by 8man

It wasn't supposed to be a double build thread! It just worked out that way. I thought the 48 was sold and I was going to concentrate on the 54, but life has different paths.

I see, "hon lemme build you a '48... and I'll just pick up this little '54 to tinker with for myself"

Con Level = Expert!

[8man]

Ha boy do you have it WRONG! At a car show, the 48 is in the garage and I've started on it. She sees a 54 and says "does ours have that smooth front windshield?" I say no and she says "I like that better." So I found a 54 cab to start with. It was so rough, after I had it soda blasted and primed, I couldn't cut all the rust out and have anything left. When I couldn't find the roof skin to rebuild the roof, I called it quits on that cab and found a truck. Now she's invested in both and I don't know which she is going to like better. They will be different.

Oh, you don't need the fenders or bed from a 54 do you? Because she wants it to have the earlier grill and bed, so I got that going too.

[Gregski]

Originally Posted by 8man

Ha boy do you have it WRONG! At a car show, the 48 is in the garage and I've started on it. She sees a 54 and says "does ours have that smooth front windshield?" I say no and she says "I like that better." So I found a 54 cab to start with. It was so rough, after I had it soda blasted and primed, I couldn't cut all the rust out and have anything left. When I couldn't find the roof skin to rebuild the roof, I called it quits on that cab and found a truck. Now she's invested in both and I don't know which she is going to like better. They will be different.

Oh, you don't need the fenders or bed from a 54 do you? Because she wants it to have the earlier grill and bed, so I got that going too.

got it, the ladies prerogative to change their minds, what? she wants to de '54 the '54? the bullnose is it's best feature (in my opinion)

and I got a shed of extra '54 fenders what I want now is them single glass doors like you, ha ha

[8man]

Ok, and the 54 cab has 48 doors on it, with bear claw latches, waiting on me to get back to it.

[Gregski]

any luck with the doors? do they fit with the weather strip on 'em? (fingers crossed)

[8man]

Funny you should ask. I just got some pics.

First is the cab on the frame. It's beginning to look like a truck.
IMG_0917 by Robert Moorman, on Flickr

Then the door question. The weather strip on the door was dry, so time for a fit. Before the test fit, let's check the Altman latch. Went in like just like the last time. Then I got the new outside handles in this week, so I installed them prior to putting the door on the truck. NO BUENO! The new outside handle didn't fit right. Some Dremel tool on the door and more on the door handle and it fit. There will be some black touch up paint under the handle, but it will never be seen and with some paint hopefully not rust.

Earlier, I drilled some holes in the door and hinges for a pin so I could get the door set right for the door gaps. This was supposed to allow the door to go right back in the correct spot. So the door was installed on the truck and the gaps looked good, tried to close the door and it closes like it never did. Steele rubber was soft and the door opens and closes great.
IMG_0919 by Robert Moorman, on Flickr

Didn't have time to put the riders door on, but I'm very pleased with the drivers door fit, gaps and open/close mechanism.

[OutlawDrifter]

That's great news, glad it went together without TOO MUCH effort!

[8man]

Thanks. It really was a "wow" moment.

[Gregski]

awesome news, fingers crossed for the other side, and do you recall what thickness of weatherstripping you went with I opted for the thicker kind and maybe that's my problem

[8man]

Thanks Greg. I'll measure it and see what it is, but I got the kit for the 48.

[8man]

Well, Friday was to be the big day, I was going to do the start up. I have never started a freshly built motor and so the guys at the shop offered to help.

So we got it all set and fired it up, trigger to the battery and starter, oil gauge hooked up, hand held temp gauge, timing light and various tools. The plan was to run it to heat it up, turn it off and let it cool down then do that a couple more times.

IMG_0924 by Robert Moorman, on Flickr

Click on the video to hear the first run. It fired right up, but was a little ragged. They were checking oil pressure, good, temp, good, but the ragged didn't have them concerned, yet. Second run and they adjusted the carb and the timing a little. It took a while to heat it up as it was running pretty cool. But, after the second run they checked the temp on each of the header tubes. Houston, we have a problem!

Number 8 tube was a couple hundred degrees cooler than the other 7. WTF! I wasn't quite in full panic mode, but getting there.

So they pulled the spark plug. No visible signs of damage. Checked the wire and it was getting spark. Got a different spark plug out of the storage cabinet, put it in, and tried it again. ALL 8 cylinders were firing. I had a bad brand new plug. That's when I learned a new acronym - NEW - Never Ever Works. One of the mechanics is a real pessimist and that was what he says because he had been working on a early 60's Caddy and had been through 3 brand new window motors to get 1 that worked. He was also the guy who said check the spark plug.

We were running out of time as it was almost noon and they close at noon on Friday. I wanted to get it home so I could continue assembly, as I did get the passengers door on while waiting for it to cool down. So we fired it up again, the shop foreman got in and put it in gear to pull it out and put it on the trailer. NO JOY!

It didn't move, neither in drive nor reverse. So, Monday I'll go back over and with a little more time see if we can get it to move. If not, it'll be pull the tranny and get it checked out again.