Columbus..the 1957 IH 4x4..

[67ChevyRedneck]

That's pretty freakin cool!

Do you have a stock radio or are you going to just make it "look" like that and put modern guts inside there?

[mongocanfly]

thanks guys...
yep..i made the metal brake...I wanted something small but extra heavy duty....ive bent 1/8in by 16in wide in it and it handles it with no problem...in those pics I removed the top part so I could use the radius maker...

on the radio I bought a retro sound unit that has the remote knobs....that way I can mount them similar to the original radio...

[Advanced Design]

Building tools is always cool. Looks good!

[mongocanfly]

So back on the radio box I started out with some 22ga.....that didn't work out to well...a simple squeeze of the mig trigger and it'd blow a hole big as a pencil in the metal...even though my welder is supposed to weld 22ga and I was using a copper backer....so i dug around in the boneyard at work and found some 20ga....it's a little better but not by much...
So I bent out a whole new unit from the 20ga
Got it mostly welded up...
I needed to make some corners for it so I started out trying to dimple some sheet metal in my press...
I started out using a ball peen hammer with a socket for a die...the ball peen was a little to pointed so I stuck some round stock in the lathe and made a better radius punch...
After punching out a couple I think they'll work ok....

[mongocanfly]

After cutting the dimple out I hammered 3 sides flat and cut out the corner of the box...after some grinding and shaping it fits fairly good....got one welded up and got one to go...still have to do the dimple across the front and punch some lovours on the bottom side....then gonna have to do some filler work and smoothing but I think my fake homebrew radio box will be ok......then it'll be on to fitting the box to follow the roof contours....

[mongocanfly]

Yeah Doug,,,ive always liked building stuff...usually what ever I need I'd rather build it than buy it...just to see if I can......

[Advanced Design]

Creative solution...nice work!

[72 tigger]

Nice craftsmanship! You're talented

[mongocanfly]

thanks Doug and tigger....im not 100% satisfied with the radio box....I may try to make one more just for the heck of it and see if itll turn out any better
its been a slow procees ,with a lot of setbacks, but its starting to come together....maybe just maybe itll start seeing some paint next week

[JoeKan]

Mom go, you're doing a super job. I'm really enjoying reading your posts

[mongocanfly]

thanks Joe.....

[mongocanfly]

well my dimple punch didnt work out....it was pulling to much metal to make the dimple and really warping the surrounding metal...so i backed up and studied to pic of the factory radio some more and the dimple looks more flat than radiused...so i made a flate plate punch and die from some 1/8" plate....works great on my test pieces...so im gonna go with this on the enclosure box front....only shooting for close...not exact

[rgunlock]

Your flat dimple looks great! That's cool that you are making your own tools for this project.

[mongocanfly]

Thanks gunlock...
I went ahead and punched the flat dimple in my radio box and cutout the holes for the radio and the knobs...next ive got to fit it to the roof contour and figure out what length and height it needs to be...after I cut it down I'll do the louvors in the bottom panel and make the mounting bracket...

[mongocanfly]

Well the plan for today was to paint interior,firewall,hood underside, inside doors,and all jams....and of course it decided to rain today....so that will have to wait...
So back to the radio box....I wanted to do some louvers on the bottomside...so I made me a louver maker (sorta)...i tried it in the press but that didnt work out so well....so after a practice run on a scrap piece i decided to just make some slits with a cutoff disc and just tap them in with a hammer...turned out decent for my 1st ever homemade louvers....and a pic of the front panel.....I'll sandblast it and do a little filler work and primer....I think it'll be a decent replica of a original...

[mongocanfly]

thanks Jesse and Scott...

[Nut Case]

Mongo

Strong Work!

NC

[mongocanfly]

Thanks nutcase...

[mongocanfly]

Just what I needed...another setback....when I went to pickup the engine, the guy was hauling it about 10ft in the air on a 90k forklift....when I saw how he had it hooked i was shocked...all he had was a seatbelt tied to the exhaust manifolds...i mentioned he had a lot of faith in a seatbelt...he said thats all we use and i aint never lost one yet...well ok....
So i get it home and what the heck..he used the seatbelt I guess I can to..
(You can start filling in the blank here)...
Moving it with my tractor I make it all the way into the shop with it when.....you guessed it...the seatbelt broke...so here goes my motor....it only fell about a foot but that's all it took..
Broke the a.c. tensioner off and busted the oil pan...amazing how far 6qts of oil will spread before you can get the oil dry...luckily i found a new pan ...but im gonna hold off buying one till i make sure it will clear everything...
(wound up having to use C6 vett oil pan)

[Nut Case]

mongo, I feel your pain I once poured 10-15 gallons through a Cat D8K. Forgot to put the drain plug back in. Boy my dad was hopping mad.... looks like your looking for a master Alumin welder. 3hit happens and then ya live!


Nut Case

[mongocanfly]

Sneak peek of what's acoming....
Still cleaning for paint...

[mongocanfly]

Set the cab back on the frame today...finally going in the right direction...
Will be fabbing engine and trans mounts this week...

[mongocanfly]

Finally got all the new bumpstick parts to go in the engine...got a BTR stage 1 truck series cam and spring kit..didnt want a huge cam but wanted a little rumble..this is what BTR recommended...also got my crossover steering knuckle installed....still have to mount the steering box..

[mongocanfly]

While I've been working on other things...behind the scenes Dan Shady from vintage automotive has been working on my fender...he gave me the ok to share some pics so here is what hes done...his work looks outstanding....
1st pic is making a pattern to transfer
2nd pic is the patch panel clamped in place but not trimmed to fit
3rd pic shows the right fender clamped to the left to make sure the shape is consistent and the patch tacked in....
I think he's doing a great job...

[mongocanfly]

While I'm waiting on the motor mounts that I ordered over a week ago to get here, I decided to fab a new battery tray...the original one started to look like swiss cheese after the sandblaster got a hold of it..i tried to make it as close to original as i could...
1st pic is old tray
2nd pic is new tray with the old one
3rd pic is new tray welded in and ready for primer and paint