What did you do with your truck today, Part 3

[MARTINSR]

The rear of the hood will need to be lengthened about a half an inch.

Brian

[Marty68]

Originally Posted by mobileortho

Removed another leaf from the rear (the three main ones remain). Can’t go any lower with this rim/tire combo.

Perfect. What size wheel tire?

[DransportGarage]

Originally Posted by MARTINSR

Ok...............................I got to working on the hood and have decided to go in a different direction. You can see from my first few photos I have marked the center of the hood up on the cowl, marked and cut a few relief vertical cuts. I then split the hood into pieces so I could work with one piece at a time. Then after working with these pieces a bit bending at the relief cut and wrestling with it, I have decided to go a whole different direction. As many people have suggested I am going to bring the top forward, and split the front out to line up that cut around the front. I will then tack it here and there, bolt the rear of the upper pieces together and then once it's tacked into place I will split the front center, cutting it along the body line where the center moulding goes as I plan on using it. I will bring the center strip together and filling the gap to the sides of the it. I will then add to the rear of the hood making it long enough. I didn't want to do all these welds out in the center of the hood but heck, I ran the seam through the middle of the roof gas welding it with zero warpage I can pull this off damn it!

Brian

This is way over my pay grade, but I think I would have preserved the back line at the cowl so I wouldn't have to deal with messing with the hinges and the crease for the center trim piece. That said, I'm not there, dealing with all of the other problems. When Foose did his Dad's '56 F-100 truck he "just" massaged the cut:

https://www.chipfoose.com/chips-56-f100/

[MARTINSR]

Originally Posted by DransportGarage

This is way over my pay grade, but I think I would have preserved the back line at the cowl so I wouldn't have to deal with messing with the hinges and the crease for the center trim piece. That said, I'm not there, dealing with all of the other problems. When Foose did his Dad's '56 F-100 truck he "just" massaged the cut:

https://www.chipfoose.com/chips-56-f100/

The hinges won't change, all that stays the same, yep welding those long welds on unsupported metal is an issue, but reshaping that front would take a LOT of relief cuts and covering that area with bondo or covering the rear with bondo, what the heck, it's a toss up.

Brian

[DransportGarage]

Originally Posted by MARTINSR

The hinges won't change, all that stays the same, yep welding those long welds on unsupported metal is an issue, but reshaping that front would take a LOT of relief cuts and covering that area with bondo or covering the rear with bondo, what the heck, it's a toss up.

Brian

Well, you're the one living the dream, not me, and you have much more experience! Go for it!

[MiraclePieCo]

Originally Posted by MARTINSR

The rear of the hood will need to be lengthened about a half an inch.

Brian

How about this for an option: build the cowl out to meet the hood instead. Way less warpage than that big floppy hood edge.

[MARTINSR]

Originally Posted by MiraclePieCo

How about this for an option: build the cowl out to meet the hood instead. Way less warpage that that big floppy hood edge.

Very good idea, I thought about that, may just do it.

Brian

[Marty68]

MartinSr. is that spi grey epoxy? i have used the black and the red..

[MARTINSR]

Originally Posted by Marty68

MartinSr. is that spi grey epoxy? i have used the black and the red..

Yep, so far so good. Used the black on chassis parts and under the cab.

Last night, most certainly 5 minutes was about it. I did get my wife's 1957 Murray Hot Rod put together so I can clean it up and sell it. She is not a biker and we have stored it for 25 years in the shed, think it's about time. I'm going to sell my '39 Columbia hot rod bike too, so we don't have to move them to Idaho and store them there right?

But I also got some planning and thinking on the hood done too, really thinking I am going to split the front and move the top forward, I am really thinking this now. It lines up pretty good, pretty amazing in fact.

The one thing that is surprising me is the bracket that goes across the back that the hood hinges mount to. I carefully shortened the right one the 2.5 inches that the cab is sectioned to, and the way the thing rotates as it moves on the hinges some how changes all that and I am about 3/8" to short! With the hood side sitting there in place the bracket at the proper height in the middle, it is at least 3/8" up off the bottom of the hood where it mounts!

Soooooo, thank goodness I didn't do the other side yet and I only tack welded this side together so I can go back that 3/8" or so. The funny thing is I had to work my butt off shaving this and that to get that 3/8"! 3/8" up will be much less work, so that's good.

Tacking and trial fitting saved my butt on this one!

Brian

[dsraven]

you just can't leave well enough alone can you? haha.
gonna be tracking you on this one. looks like it's gonna be a geometry project.

[Black_Sheep]

I had a professional auto appraiser check out my GTX and '58 to prepare for an insurance review. The inspection process was very thorough and he asked some really good questions, it will take a couple days to research comparable vehicle pricing and put the report together. When he asked what value I would put on the truck, I didn't have an answer other than high enough to avoid being totaled.

[MiraclePieCo]

Originally Posted by Black_Sheep

I had a professional auto appraiser check out my GTX and '58 to prepare for an insurance review. The inspection process was very thorough and he asked some really good questions, it will take a couple days to research comparable vehicle pricing and put the report together. When he asked what value I would put on the truck, I didn't have an answer other than high enough to avoid being totaled.

Thanks for the reminder: now that my truck is running and driving it's time to increase my agreed value coverage!

[MARTINSR]

I was devastated that I had nothing to post here last night, what did I do on my truck, not a damn thing. But alas, I forget that yesterday I called LMC and ordered my bed cross sills and mounting bolts and blocks. So YES I did do something on my truck, WHOOO HOOOOO!

My cross sills by the way had to be gotten for a 47-49 because I am running the tank on the frame under the bed that they used in those years before it got moved behind the seat in the cab.

Brian

[Black_Sheep]

Originally Posted by MiraclePieCo

Thanks for the reminder: now that my truck is running and driving it's time to increase my agreed value coverage!

That’s where I’m coming from. My GTX was last appraised in ‘06 so I wanted to be sure coverage aligns with current market value. It came back $20K higher than the ‘06 number.

The truck came in at $50K which is probably a fair number, although I wouldn’t sell it for that due to sentimental reasons. Now I can upgrade the agreed value coverage with the confidence that I won’t take a financial hit if something bad happens.

[mobileortho]

Originally Posted by Marty68

Perfect. What size wheel tire?

285 50 18 on 10" rim's.

[Dyslexic Dog]

Got my cab in 100 grit. Starting to fit the doors back on.

I am trying to order the side beds for my short box but they keep trying to add $300 in shipping. Anyone have a better alternative for shipping to Michigan?

[MiraclePieCo]

Prepping my running boards for bed liner. I loosened the running board-to-fender bolts to make a slight gap for painting, then masked and sanded. Yes, it would been easier to have done them before I installed them, but my goal back then was to get the truck on the road first, then finish the details.

[MARTINSR]

Brian

[abig84]

Put the front clip back together today. Props to you guys who do it with freshly painted sheetmetal i would have scratched every panel. The cow pusher didnt really help much either

[DransportGarage]

Originally Posted by MARTINSR

Brian

You don't need no stinkin' hot water to work on your truck!

[MARTINSR]

Originally Posted by abig84

Put the front clip back together today. Props to you guys who do it with freshly painted sheetmetal i would have scratched every panel. The cow pusher didnt really help much either

I am an auto body professional, I can cut the floor and quarters and rear body out of a 2015 Mercedes and replace it all using manufacturers guidelines to a tee, I can install fenders on late model cars with my friggin eyes closed making a perfect fit at every seam to hood and door. That being said, these frigging trucks are a LIVING HELL to assemble and align!

Brian

[MARTINSR]

Originally Posted by DransportGarage

You don't need no stinkin' hot water to work on your truck!

I could even live without the water heater, but the WATER, I need that!

Brian

[DransportGarage]

Originally Posted by MARTINSR

I could even live without the water heater, but the WATER, I need that!

Brian

So true! Sorry you had to go on a plumbing adventure!

[MARTINSR]

Sorry no photos, got some bondo work done on the rear fenders before I left for home today.

Brian

[DransportGarage]

Installed the sound deadener onto the underside of the roof.

Also continued the preliminary bodywork on the bed sides. They were so mangled I had to pull the tops back to 90 degrees with a come-along and weld them to the stake pockets.