project 39

[Dan in Pasadena]

I had a ‘46 in very complete mechanical condition with a 350/350 combo and Jag IFS and IRS. I had to sell it to finance something else but I admit I regret it. Having said that I REALLY love the look of ‘39 and ‘40 Chevys.

I’d not do the bed you’re doing but it looks like you’re doing very pro looking work. I admit my ‘46 - which; if I’m correct, is the same basic cab - had very little room so lengthening it is a good move if done right and yours looks really good.

What color are you thinking of for the final look?

[CSHADES]

started working on the chin and baffle. moved the chin up about an inch and cut up the baffle last night to test fit it. I think it is going to work out quite well. My hope is the mod is subtle enough that you cant tell I have changed it. I like moving the chin up like I did on my '40 for extra ground clearance.

[joedoh]

looks really good shades, I always thought the grille was about a bar too long on the 39-40.

I hear you on the 39 parts, I had a 39 rad support and it would have been worth 3x as much as a 40.

[CSHADES]

I have at least 3 extra 40 support but have never found a good usable 39 support. The top trim bar is the same, I have 3 nice usable 40 bars but still have yet to find a 39 bar that is nice and doesn't require repair before rechroming. I agree on to many bars on the grille I removed the lower one on my 40 before the I had the chin because it always looked like it was just hanging out in the breeze by itself. I think moving the chin up makes the front better looking.

[CSHADES]

Had some time over the holiday weekend to work on the truck. I thought it was time to finish up the bottom of the box under the tail lights and build a roll pan to finish the rear of the box. It was interesting to do both because of the differ angles and shapes. I tried a couple of different ideas on the bottom piece and ended up welding in longer pieces of tube to get my final shape. then had to figure out how to get the roll pan around the tail pie holes. Amazingly the roll pan I hit pretty close on the first try so no wasted material. it still has a ways to go to finish but it looks pretty good roughed, covers the gas tank and fills the space between the tail pie outlet holes. I also finished the front bumper brackets and sent the bumper off for chrome this week.

[Medo82]

Read the whole thread and was amazed at your sheetmetal skills. Very creative bed making goin on in this project. I have a 39 of my own as a future project so this is awsome to read and great pics to look over.. Looking good!

[CSHADES]

I am glad you enjoy the project. This has been my dream to build this truck since I was 11. I haven't had much time to work on it lately because of other projects including replacement of the ugly welding table.

[Medo82]

Now that's a welding table.. haven't worked on a table like that since I was a welder in a small fab shop.. I've been checking out a few of your posts regarding this project. I have not started on mine and probably won't for another year but it's good reading nonetheless. Look forward to picking your brain when the time gets closer..

[joedoh]

nice work on the table! good use of the space where it seems everything I need ends up (under the table)

[CSHADES]

Thanks for the comments. My friend bought the ugly table at a going out of business sale for $50 about 12 years ago. It didn't look like much but the top was 5x3 ft 1/2 inch plate. So after dealing with the crooked mess and the casters that didn't work I decided it was time to build what I have always wanted and reuse the top.

[CSHADES]

Got the bumper back from the platers yesterday. It looks AWESOME. I had them do both sides finished and they really out did themselves this time. The last pic is what I started with.

[CSHADES]

Have been working on the grille and grille fitment last few weekends, got that done so the grille is ready to go to the chrome. So I decided to get the front end squared away so I can send the hood hinge and top grille trim to the chromer. In doing that I needed to get the front fenders, inner fenders and hood sides installed and adjusted. After looking over my choices for inner fenders I decided instead of trying to repair rusty and bent panels I would try to fab some new ones up. I worked on my first attempt Saturday morning for about 4 hours and ended up throwing it out. My second attempt turned out much better in about 2 hours and the other side I got done in about 1 1/2 hrs. They aren't completely finished, I need to tweak, bend and hammer a bit more but I think the panels are close to what want.

[Kermitt47]

Nice job on the inner fenders. The truck is looking great.

[CSHADES]

been working on hood fitment while doing the inner fenders to make sure everything lines up before sending the hood hinge to chrome. fought the alignment on the right hood side. I could get the top of the hood lined up and then the side wont line up. I ended up cutting an 1/8" off the side hood hinge to get it to slide forward to line up. Also been working on finishing the tail pan parts of the box.

[CSHADES]

I decided after a lot of thought to purchase a sct contour tool from eastwood to start cleaning up the truck. I had tried to find someone in the area that had one but had no luck. I am in no way connected with eastwood just wanted to give you guys a heads up before purchasing a $200.00 tool plus the consumables. I decided to try it on the fender that I had repaired the big tear with poor welding. I started at 6:27 and finished at 6:45. It still needs some more work but I have to say for the short time I worked at it, it really cleaned up. The one thing to remember is to wear a dust mask and turn on the exhaust fan because when you are going at it the garage fills up with rust dust very quickly.

[66farmer]

I have been following your progress on your truck. It's going to be outstanding when completed. I have a question. How did you go about stretching the cab.
I have a 46 and plan on stretching it. I'm 6'5" and don't fit in it. Do you think your 6" is enough.

Thanks for your time
Keith

[CSHADES]

well Keith it isn't a job for the faint hearted. Are you planning on just extending the cab or are going to chop it also? The 6 inches make all the difference inside the cab for space, It helps if you have an extra cab and doors to cut up for pieces. I bolted down the front of the cab on the frame, mark some spots on both sides of the door openings for measurements, add some braces under the roof to hold its shape, I cut the roof in the high point of the crown, slide the rear of the cab back the amount you want measuring the from the marks you made on the door openings and add some braces in the door openings to hold everything in place. Make sure everything is where you want it and measures square, I bolted the rear of the cab down after drilling holes in the frame and using the hard rubber mounts. I used a parts cab to get the roof and door opening pieces I needed to fill the gap, I cut pieces bigger than I needed laid them over the gap and started cutting and welding them in. Go real slow and hammer up on the welds from the inside to keep everything straight. It takes time and patience to get it right. I still have to work on the welds and some more hammering to do after I get it on the rotisserie so I can work on it easily.

[CSHADES]

I started working on the inside of the box after removing the lid I built for clearance. I made some inside panels with access holes for the electrical panels. I also started to build the channels for the weather-stripping for sealing the lid to the box. I am going to build the channels the same as they do for a trunk lid on a car.

[66farmer]

Thanks for your reply
I do have another cab and doors. Do plan on chopping the top too. If you had it to do again would you stretch or chop it more.
Thanks

[CSHADES]

I chopped it 2 1/2" in the front and 2 inches in the rear, I thought it would help line up the door opening better- it didn't. The 2 inches works out perfect in the front because of the structure in the a pillars, after you cut the outside tin and remove the a pillar screws you actually can pull the a pillar apart. Then you can shorten it up the 2 inches and slide it back together. You will have to slice the roof front to back to change the angle of the edge to get it all to line up again with the 6 inch addition.

[CSHADES]

Looking at steering wheel possibilities. I want something that is old school instead of lecarra wheels like everything else I own. So I have the steering wheel out of the buick that I pulled the nailhead out of. I also have a square steering wheel out of a early 60s Chrysler that I bought at swap meet a few years ago. The problem with these old steering wheels is that they are deeper than newer aftermarket wheels. So I shortened the column 2 inches to make up for that. I am leaning towards the buick wheel but the GF really wants the Chrysler wheel. I started filling the cracks in the Chrysler wheel this week.

[CSHADES]

After looking at the pics above of the dash I decided to change the look of the bottom of the dash. A modern radio and heater control are going to look out of place on this truck. I decided to hide them but have easy access to them by hinged door, so I toyed with using some of the extra glove box doors, trim panels and etc that I have laying around but then I tought I might as well build a door that really looks like it belongs there. So I started this last week end by installing the heat/ac unit under the dash to make sure the radio clears. This was like stuffing 10lbs of c**p in a 5lb bag. So after getting the unit mounted and playing with radio placement and cowl vent handle interference I think I may be close. I have pieces for outside the door to finish it that I didn't have a chance to weld in yet.

[CSHADES]

worked on the dash some more this weekend. added the pieces on each side of the lower door, made some tubes for the a/c vents to mount to and finished welding everything up. I cleaned it up in the blast cabinet last night, wiped it down and I will epoxy prime it tonight. I am at the point of having to order the gauges to finish it but right now I am feeling too cheap to do that.

[CSHADES]

After 3 weeks off from eye surgery from a head injury I finally got back to working on project 39. Got the dash filled and primed, cleaned the rear axle and primed, filled and primed the steering wheel and worked on the dual snorkel air cleaner. I also decided I didn't have enough to do in my spare time so I bought me another project.

[CSHADES]

After moving the radio and heater controls down where I wanted them I had to figure out what I was going to do with the cowl vent control. I tried to make an offset handle but it didn't work real well. I looked at some of the 41-46 truck vent parts I have but didn't like the way it fit with the dash, I also looked at my 41 coupe which I thought I might be able to make work. I thought I had some of those parts from the same car I took the dash out of but could not find them. Found what I needed on ebay for a reasonable buy it now price. After a week of messing around cutting, bending, welding and making a new vent bracket I finally got everything to work reasonably well. just have to finish weld everything and do some finish pieces to make it look good.