What did you do with your truck today, Part 3

[mick53]

When I bought my 53 3100 in SoCal it had no heater. When I moved to Indiana I bought one at a junkyard. I got the same feeling of satisfaction When I restored it. That was over 30 years ago and the OEM core is still fine.

[dsraven]

Careful with the pressure test, they ran a lower pressure than newer vehicles.

[fauXGT]

Originally Posted by dsraven

Careful with the pressure test, they ran a lower pressure than newer vehicles.

6-8 psi was what I'm going for on the test. I am putting in a 350, so hopefully it will handle up to 10-12 psi at max.

[Black_Sheep]

It rained all week and it's supposed to continue through the weekend. I just keep cleaning and hoping for dryer weather. At least all the road salt is being washed away..

[oldman3]

Originally Posted by Black_Sheep

It rained all week and it's supposed to continue through the weekend. I just keep cleaning and hoping for dryer weather. At least all the road salt is being washed away..

Beautiful...Jim

[_Ogre]

Originally Posted by Black_Sheep

At least all the road salt is being washed away..

we can only hope, 2 seasons here in MI,
it's sort of like the kids game of green light, red light
no salt, salt.

[fauXGT]

Still working on replacing the old/rusted running board mounts onto the old/rusted running boards.
At least the rusty parts will take longer to fall off.

[mick53]

It finally got nice here so I got back on the donor frame rails. I did the first one last fall and am doing a few things differently on the second one. I used the mag drill to round out the holes a little larger and get a uniform size. Now I only have 4 sizes. I don't have a cutter larger than 1" so a couple will have to be custom made. I'm hoping a better fit will mean less grinding. I TIG these so I don't get the hard MIG weld because there will be cutting, drilling and tapping and I don't want to drill on the harder MIG weld. If I end up half way on a weld it's a hassle. There are 149 holes in each frame rail to weld up. Thank you for your time.

[Russell Ashley]

Nice drill setup you have there. Car guys have to be crazy doing all that work on parts that don't even show. It's a sickness, an expensive sickness, LOL.

[crossfire84]

Originally Posted by Russell Ashley

Nice drill setup you have there. Car guys have to be crazy doing all that work on parts that don't even show. It's a sickness, an expensive sickness, LOL.

[vintovka]

Originally Posted by Russell Ashley

Nice drill setup you have there. Car guys have to be crazy doing all that work on parts that don't even show. It's a sickness, an expensive sickness, LOL.

Soon to be a rich mans game.

[mick53]

Originally Posted by vintovka

Soon to be a rich mans game.

I passed that sign post a while back. The secret is not to keep track of the cost.

[mick53]

I finished making the 149 little plugs for my donor frame rail. Now I just need to TIG them in. I realize that I could probably could have bought these cheap from someone. I could also take the truck to someone and tell them to call me when it's done. I think mine are better and cleaner. I like making stuff. I have a lot of mild steel rod and I didn't have to buy anything or wait on anybody. Thank you for your time.

[mick53]

I started TIGing up the holes in the 2nd donor frame rail.

[_Ogre]

Originally Posted by mick53

I started TIGing up the holes in the 2nd donor frame rail.

Mick: I admire your tenacity, but I just fluxcore welded holes shut
I used a 6 inch piece of ¾ copper pipe, hammered flat, for a backer and just welded the holes closed
Cutting a bigger hole, to tig weld in a plug, seems like a waste of time
After grinding, neither hole will show

[mick53]

Originally Posted by _Ogre

Mick: I admire your tenacity, but I just fluxcore welded holes shut
I used a 6 inch piece of ¾ copper pipe, hammered flat, for a backer and just welded the holes closed
Cutting a bigger hole, to tig weld in a plug, seems like a waste of time
After grinding, neither hole will show

I understand that. I have a nice MIG. I also use a copper backing plate. My plan is to use these rails to box my existing frame with the seam on the top and bottom. The whole thing may not work out anyway but it's a labor of love. If it does I think it will give me a "factory" look. There will be a lot of X bracing, cross members, motor mounts and mounting the Bicknel torque arm on my Frankland quick change. I also have to mount a secondary Ron Davis drag radiator hortiizonially under there and a remote A/C condenser and compressor and vacuum pump. There is a lot going on under there. There is a good chance I will be doing drilling and tapping on these. A MIG weld is a lot harder than a TIG weld with the same alloy. I have run into situations where a hole ends up halfway on a MIG weld and it's no fun. They don't take very long to do and I can keep the grinding to a minimum. I do not like grinding. It also gives me much needed experience playing with my welder and my technique. I don't want to practice on my roll cage and have the certifier laugh at me. I don't charge myself for my time but thank you for yours. I don't recommend people do what I do because I'm weird.

[MARTINSR]

Originally Posted by mick53

I started TIGing up the holes in the 2nd donor frame rail.

I would think it is very possible to warp the rail doing that.


Brian

[nvrdone]

spilled some oil on my primered hood. now I have to figure out how to clean up the mess.

[MiraclePieCo]

Originally Posted by nvrdone

spilled some oil on my primered hood. now I have to figure out how to clean up the mess.

Darn! That primer will absorb the oil. A thorough degreasing and re-prime will probably be required.

[G&R's57GMC]

So Twelve years ago I had NoLimit (back when they were in Southern California) install their Wide Ride IFS and Fat Bar rear suspension with a Currie 9" on my bare Chassis .

After I got it home I installed my New Wheels and Tires , but something just didn't seem right .
It looked like the distance between the tires wasn't great enough to clear the bed sides .

Well other projects kept me busy for the next five years then Life got real with my wife dying .
In 2016 I met my future wife and we were married the next year . Life was great again

Meanwhile the chassis was on the back burner . Over the years I collected parts and dithered on witch of my 3 TF trucks would get the new chassis , the original plan was for the '56 Chevy LongBed .

But How cool would it be to put it under my '56 GMC Suburban PU (Cameo)with just a little slice and dice of the fiberglass quarters it would be a long wheelbase .

Or perhaps put it under my '57 GMC NAPCO .

Well this debate went on for years until I finally decided to sell both '56's . Now that that is settled the '57 gets the chassis .
BUT my '66 Dart is in the shop now and I have to put it together and I've been dragging my feet on that project since 2018 .

Life jumped up and bit me in February and by late April the surgery is done and I'm recovering nicely .

OK enough about the past Today I went out and measured the width of the step side body (51") and the distance between the tires on the chassis (50") . Just as I suspected the Currie was to narrow . Well the fix is to add wheel adapters not spacers but adapters from Trans-Dapt , Speedway to the rescue a pair of 1.25" adapters gives me 2.5" to make the space 52.5" that's 3/4" per side . At least the tires will clear standing still . But a bit close for range of motion . I may have to add a 1/4" spacer to each side .

Gad that was a long way around to say I think I solved the problem today . Who knows when I'll get around to putting it together .

[G&R's57GMC]

Gee Mick all the welding of holes in a chassis seem counter to making holes to lighten the chassis like they did back in the day .

I say make them bigger lighten that chassis !

OK ... I'll go to my room now and be quiet and think about what I said .

[mr48chev]

Every time you think you can just about jump over the bar Mick runs out and raises the bar a couple of notches. Now I am not sure that sand blasting, high build priimer and lots of block sanding before the shiny black goes on is going to be enough.

I did start digging the blue cab that doesn't have a roof out from under the fallen down shed to see if I want to use the front half of it.





The snow knocked the roof down a couple of years ago and life got in the way of cleaning it up.
My buddy gave me the cab 30 yeas ago and I have wagged it around all over the place but it has been sitting there for close to 20 years.
I cut the dash out a few years ago because I am going to put the old dash that was in my 51 Mercury that I bought when I was 16 in it. I don't know if the other windshield post or top of the cowl got damaged but the cowl and floor are pretty well rust free in patina truck terms. The back is solid, and straight except one dent at the belt line over on the right side below the window. That panel is going to be up for grabs to anyone from the PNW who needs it when I get the floor cut in two.

[mick53]

Originally Posted by mr48chev

Every time you think you can just about jump over the bar Mick runs out and raises the bar a couple of notches. Now I am not sure that sand blasting, high build priimer and lots of block sanding before the shiny black goes on is going to be enough.

I did start digging the blue cab that doesn't have a roof out from under the fallen down shed to see if I want to use the front half of it.





The snow knocked the roof down a couple of years ago and life got in the way of cleaning it up.
My buddy gave me the cab 30 yeas ago and I have wagged it around all over the place but it has been sitting there for close to 20 years.
I cut the dash out a few years ago because I am going to put the old dash that was in my 51 Mercury that I bought when I was 16 in it. I don't know if the other windshield post or top of the cowl got damaged but the cowl and floor are pretty well rust free in patina truck terms. The back is solid, and straight except one dent at the belt line over on the right side below the window. That panel is going to be up for grabs to anyone from the PNW who needs it when I get the floor cut in two.

LOL. I have no idea what I'm doing. The drivers door striker looks to be in fine condition.

[MARTINSR]

Poor cab, never did anything to anyone.

Brian

[mr48chev]

Originally Posted by MARTINSR

Poor cab, never did anything to anyone.

Brian

It was a pretty decent cab before my buddy decided to cut the roof off to use it on his truck to fix the roof because he didn't like the way he had done it the first time. I had it sitting on a trailer with the green 49 cab that another friend gave me for probably 10 years before it got put in the shed.