Columbus..the 1957 IH 4x4..

[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...

[regan wilson]

Its really coming along. The old IH valve covers on the 5.3 will be neat.

[mongocanfly]

Thanks Regan!

[Clyde65]

I’m loving this build!!

[mongocanfly]

Thanks Clyde!

[Advanced Design]

Those rocker covers are a nice touch....very cool!

Good feeling to get the cab back on...hopefully for good?

[mongocanfly]

Thanks Doug!,,,but sadly no...the cab will have to come back off 100 more times...but only to finish the fab work on the crossmember...i just wanted it in place so i could triple check my measurements....

[mongocanfly]

Well I finally got around to test fitting the engine...nice to have LOTS of clearance....everywhere except the corner of my busted oil pan...so, i was gonna have to change it anyway...or modify it...I may can weld in a notch on the busted corner and see what I got...if it won't work one of the camaro pans should be just fine....I've got 3in or so clearance between the diff and oil pan where the engines hanging now...another couple inches would be even better...can also raise engine a little more if necessary...

[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...

[Advanced Design]

Lotta room there with engine and the fender looks good. Dan Shady is a fine gentleman we have known for years. If same gentleman, he has an incredibly clean shop coupled with great skill.

[mongocanfly]

Small world isn't it Doug...he was recommended by board members from all over...I've known of his shop for yrs but have never met him until recently...a great guy he is...the fender fix was a little more than I wanted to bite off...I may could have done it and it be ok but I think it'll be way better with Dan doing it ...it's got a lot of complex parts to it...

[72 tigger]

Looks like Dan did a great job on your fender- keep up the good work!

[mongocanfly]

Thanks tigger,...Dan is the man...

[Advanced Design]

We met Dan through Metalmeet and have been to his shop a few times. He did the wood in the door on my 35 Chevy and is an incredible craftsman. If you see him again, please pass on my and Cindy’s greetings from Oblong.

[mongocanfly]

Will do Doug...I'll be at his shop in the next day or so...

[mongocanfly]

Got my fender back from Dan...he had it all tack welded and he left the finsh welding for me to do...so i worked on finishing the fender...got it solid welded,ground,and dollied...still have a couple spots to shrink and itll be ready for filler...

[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

[Willowrun]

Nice work on the tray. How did you do it?

[mongocanfly]

Thanks willow....
I started with a piece of 16ga....that's what the old tray was also..
I started by bending the long sides in my metal brake (yellow arrows)
Then I took a piece of 2x8 and radiused the edges and corners...I sandwiched the tray between 2 boards and hammered the ends around the radiused wood (red marks)to form both ends....I had to split the corners with a metabo to allow the corners to form...once I had the ends done I welded the corners up(green arrows)....to form the tabs I just hammered the middle of the end tab back down and cut the slots with the metabo.....I couldn't pull off the original drain in the bottom so I drilled 2 3/4" holes in the bottom and hammer formed a depression (blue circle) in the bottom with some 3/4 round rod...

[mongocanfly]

Here's some more pics of the process....you kinda get the idea...the board used to form the ends...the rod and square stock used to form the drain trough...what the drain looks like from the bottom....the hold down end tabs

[jjzepplin]

Fabulous!

[mongocanfly]

thanks zep!!!

[rgunlock]

Looks like you've been putting some of MP&C's metal bumping tutorials into practice. The battery tray turned out real nice - as well as the radio box.