Wife's 48

[8man]

Today was a slow day, and I think I cheated on the radiator bracket mount, but I think it'll work.

I used two pieces of frame I cut from the tail of the frame for the 90's to make the angles. Then I fit them between the inner fenders and the bracket on the frame. Then I tacked them to the bracket and removed the fenders so I could drill into the frame and tap for a bolt to hold the radiator bracket to the frame. I have two cab cushions to go between the 90's and the frame. I even cut out for the steering adjustment screw.
IMG_0197 by Robert Moorman, on Flickr
Now to pull it off tomorrow and actually weld it up properly.

[8man]

I got the radiator bracket welded up today. It's ready for clean up and prime.

Then I got back on the bed sills. I wanted to take the bed sides apart and that required another method of attaching the bed cross sills to the bed sides. So I built a cradle bracket, drilled through for a bolt and welded the cradle to the bed side.
IMG_0200 by Robert Moorman, on Flickr
The big hole on the inside is to mount the sill to the frame. The smaller hole near the bed side is to bolt the sill down into the cradle.

Here is what it looks like all bolted up.
IMG_0201 by Robert Moorman, on Flickr
I have the bed within 1/4" of square and sitting side to side within 1/4" of centered when I bolted it down.

I did check to make sure I can get the bed wood over the sill, and it fits nice and tight.

I also welded up the center frame member that I cut down and I welded a little piece of channel on the back member to stiffen it up a little after I cut it down.

The frame never had a gas tank, so I got one and test fit it. No go, the front gas tank bracket is missing from the frame. Who knew! If you don't disassemble them yourself you miss a LOT of stuff. Just found one on Ebay, so I'll get it and then I can look at how to do the filler.

[Matt_50]

It's coming along. I like your approach on the bed sills. It here are the little things I file away if I ever do a s10/3100 swap.

[joedoh]

great work on the bed!

[8man]

I got this transmission crossmember with the truck.
IMG_0202 by Robert Moorman, on Flickr
Problem is, it is too short to span the S10 frame.

So I have these two "cab mounts" that came with the 54, they are 3/8" x 4" square tube, and I'm not using them as cab mounts. So I checked, and they are a good size to make spacers to go between the frame rails. With 2" on each side, the "store bought" crossmember will work.
IMG_0203 by Robert Moorman, on Flickr

If I bolt them I can drop the crossmember really easy, just unbolt from the frame and it drops down. If I weld them it would be a little harder to pull the crossmember to pull the tranny, but it would be a lot easier to just weld them in. Any thoughts on weld vs bolt?

Also, if you look at the crossmember, you will see it has a tube that slips inside the mounting tube at each end. Since I've never used one of these, I'm guessing it should be welded. Any thoughts on that.

Lastly, here is a shot of the end of the T350 (that came with the 54, and was "allegedly" rebuilt). It only sticks out past the seal about 1/2".
IMG_0206 by Robert Moorman, on Flickr
Does this look right?

[mongocanfly]

Tail spline stick out is normal looking...whats not normal looking is the rust that's on the splines of a newly built trans.
Yes... the center section of the crossmember need welded to those outer brackets..

[Matt_50]

The tube part needs welded because of rotation and side to side movement. I personally like having the crossmember bolted in cause to remove the trans would require moving the engine.

It took me forever to finally getting around to bolting my crossmember in. Needed some washers to get the driveline angle just right.

[8man]

Thanks Matt, that's what I thought.

Mongo, when I picked it up it had been setting outside for some time. That appears to be surface and would come off with a little WD40 and a brush, it's that thin. This is the tranny that was behind the 283 that had some rust in #1 cylinder because they had put a plastic shopping bag over the carb and it had ripped to shreds in the wind and had water get in. I got both with the 54 that I'm rebuilding next, so they were sort of free. I can try them, work on them or use them for cores. The good news bad news is that I have time before I need them. Lot's to learn and do.

[8man]

Test fit the grill yesterday.
IMG_0209 by Robert Moorman, on Flickr
At first it would not go inside the fenders at the bottom. I looked inside and the frame was hitting the back supports of the grill. So back off, notched the frame rails, and now the grill fits. The hood latch needs to be tightened to bring the hood down to fit, but the front does fit together now.

On to the running boards.

[NorCalGal]

It does feel good when you see it come together

[mongocanfly]

That fit good...

[8man]

Thanks Mongo and yes Jan, it does feel good seeing it start to take shape.

Joedoh provided some pointers, so I'm going to remeasure everything using his advice and make sure it's as close as I can get it before I call it good. The running boards will have to wait a little bit.

[mongocanfly]

Is it just me, or does it have a little drivers side lean in it.

[8man]

Yes, it does. I thought it was the frame, as it hasn't been rebuilt. Almost 40 years can do that, but I could see it and Joe gave me some ideas on how to check it.

So, I just went out to the truck and took some measurements. The sway bar is as close to level with the concrete floor as I can measure. I did it several times just to check.

Then I measured from the sway bar to the angle iron I put in the bottom radiator bracket, and it is level to the sway bar and to the floor. Next was the top of the radiator bracket from both points, and level again.

Then I measured the drivers side bottom of the grill to the floor vs the riders side, and there is 1/2" difference with the drivers side being 1/2" lower.

So now I am trying to figure out what to do with that. I can shim under the drivers side of the angle iron lower radiator bracket to make up the 1/2", but that will throw the radiator out of level. I don't think that is a real problem when I get to driving, but is it the right way to do it?

Also, yesterday when I test fit the running boards, it looks like I need to raise the front of the cab about 1/2" on the riders side and maybe 3/4" on the drivers side for the running boards to line up correctly under the cab. They line up well with the bed, but the front of the cab needs to come up.

Next time I work on the truck, I'll make sure the cab is square and level and then check the running boards again before I start on the front end/hood fit again.

For me, it's always something!

[joedoh]

sometimes you can get all the mounts perfect and the cab is out of whack. i fussed with that last 41 trying to figure out why the cab looked crooked even though the floor was level with the frame and everything was lining up correctly. turns out the A pillar was 1/2" shorter on the drivers side! ridiculous.

for making spacers, I have a plasma cutter, so I will usually just cut some 1/8th plate into washers and weld them together how ever high they need to be.

[8man]

Ok, I may not know much about this stuff, but I can be taught! Thank you all.

Spent all day on the truck. The first 2 hours was measuring and leveling. Yes, the front of the cab was between 3/4" and 7/8" low, depending on which side I measured. I checked side to side on the cab, and square to the frame, and I swear it is right that way.

So I made up some 3/4" spacers out of some C channel and some 1/8" plate, jacked up the front of the cab, put the spacers in, and sat the cab back down and it is almost level with the bed.

Then I put the running boards on to test fit them, and I can get them level with both the bed rail and the cab floor. When I say level, it is off about 0.1 degree between the three on each side, but it looks a lot better.

IMG_0211 by Robert Moorman, on Flickr

I started on the running board mounts while I'm working on this stuff. I figured it was time to get them made up and test fit. After that I'll do the spacers for the front clip. I had to raise it to match the cab.

On that note, the Riders rear fender and the riders front fender have been worked on by the PO. When I test fit the running board, the rear fender didn't line up well to the back of the running board. I could tighten the bolts down and bend the fender to match the shape of the RB. Also, the front of the RB hits the rear of the front fender, as it appears to be bent a little.

Questions; I don't think the rear is a big problem as the shape is good once the bolts are tightened, but I don't think the front of the RB should hit the front fender, so is this all correct? Also, should the front inside of the RB line up with the inside of the fender, and line up with the bottom of the fender bottom roll?

[mongocanfly]

Yeah, there should be a gap between running board and front fender..
Hows the bed to cab gap?

[8man]

Bed to cab gap is about 1". The dust shields between the RBs and the bed side have about 3/8" gap to the cab and to the bed side.

[joedoh]

it wont be anything to worry about, get the running boards tightened to the rear fenders then stick a shim between the front fender and the running board before attaching them.


usually mine have a large gap between the front fender and the running board, I use a large c clamp to pull them closer and then mount them solid.

its the rear fender to blame here, if its humped out the gap will be small or nonexistent, if its dented in the gap will be large. you have some wiggle room.

keep going, looks beautiful!

[NorCalGal]

That looks good!
Drives me nuts when I see a truck on eBay that someone wants $ 30,000 for and it isn’t level.

[8man]

Thank you all.

I have gaps between the RBs and the front fenders on both sides. A little hammer and dolly work and they fit nicely.

Joe, that drivers side is about as close as I can get it. The grill is still a little crooked, I've changed the shims to adjust and it is close, but I don't think it is ever going to be level.

IMG_0212 by Robert Moorman, on Flickr

If you have any other thoughts, I'm listening.

[joedoh]

that looks astoundingly better man! bet the hood shuts better now too

[8man]

Thank you. I spent a LOT of time measuring and re-measuring that stuff. I think it is close enough to go forward, so RB brackets are coming next.

I've still got an issue with the way the hood fits at the corner against the fender up front where the transition from "front" to "side" occurs. I'm taking the Cherokee to a show tomorrow, it's first show, but when I get back to the truck I'll get a better picture of what I'm talking about and maybe there will be some ideas.

[8man]

Built the running board support brackets similar to Norcal Gal and Hussey.
IMG_0229 by Robert Moorman, on Flickr
Only made one small change. I had some 1.5" square tube that was 3/8" thick, so since I had it, I used it on the brackets. It added a little weight to the running boards.

Look, no jacks!
IMG_0228 by Robert Moorman, on Flickr

I bolted them to the frame in two spots, like others before, and I will say they are stout!

Next I have to get some rear bumper brackets and start looking for how to mount the two bumpers.

[NorCalGal]

Wow, it’s really shaping up nicely. Can’t wait for more