Dug's 1959 Fleetside

[dug224]

Wrapped up all the bed side supports. I cut the factory '95 bed side outriggers, bolted ends in place and welded in extension pieces. Note the wooden dowel I used to position the bedside.




Got the headlights in place and burning bright. Decided to attempt to get a license plate before I paint it so I'm tackling a list of stuff that I think the authority having jurisdiction over my tag will want to see.

[dsraven]

looks great. gonna be driving real soon. hopefully no issues with the DMV.

[dug224]

Originally Posted by dsraven

looks great. gonna be driving real soon. hopefully no issues with the DMV.

This is Alabama. We aren't that particular down south, however, I do intend to swing by to see what their minimum requirement is to obtain a tag.

[dug224]

Awhile back, I rebuilt my tail light buckets with some inexpensive metal 1157 sockets that come with two mounting tabs. Went well and I was happy with the with them with the exception of the fact they were tall and that a normal 1157 bulb hits the lens. LED lenses would have solved that. Went to install the buckets and, on both buckets, the wires fell out. Very poorly constructed. Went to a local U-Pull-It and grabbed 6 late model 1157 plastic sockets (out of Japanese vehicles) and epoxied them into place. Much better solution and I even corrected the bulb height problem. If I could have found a pair that turn 90 degrees out of the back of the bucket (rather than straight), it would have given me more clearance for the tail light wires. Went ahead and did the front running lights as well.



As you can see from the photos, the late model 1157 sockets have a disconnect. Not so easy to remove. They are very tight and you have to nearly destroy it to get them open. Added my own easy to remove connectors.


Installed all the chrome and buttoned up the front end.


Drilled hole for spare tire winch (lower right quadrant, dark spot) and got the bed closure piece tacked into place. When I have time (in the future), I'll ultimately cut a rectangular section out of the panel and install a pocket with a sealed door to store the spare tire jack and tools.

[dsraven]

I know the lights are done now, but some front sig/marker lights have the 90 deg style plug. they use the newer, flat push in, style base though.
nice job of thinking outside the box (little funny there, haha, outside the box.....never mind)
the gas filler on the wheel tub was a good idea too. looks great and is accessible even with some stuff in the box.

[dsraven]

I had the same idea for the jack and wheel wrench under the rear of the box. gonna use some rubber on the floor of the box to keep rattles to a minimum. not sure if I will put the spare under the box or not. I have the cutout rear fender so probably use that. will you have clearance under your's with the tire installed?

[dug224]

Originally Posted by dsraven

I had the same idea for the jack and wheel wrench under the rear of the box. gonna use some rubber on the floor of the box to keep rattles to a minimum. not sure if I will put the spare under the box or not. I have the cutout rear fender so probably use that. will you have clearance under your's with the tire installed?

Plenty of space if I design it correctly.

[dug224]

Windshield washer now in place. Used a remote fill unit with cap and routed it up under the front right front near my horns. Drilled a hole in the tank top and ran the hose thru it.



In keeping with my minimalist approach, I got my budget Eling all in one gauge setup under way. Need a temp sending unit with a 290 to 24 ohm range and I'll be set. I cut out a new mounting plate that I will paint matte black. Waiting for my LED turn signals and bright light indicator lights to wrap up installation.



Bed closure panel complete except for seam sealer. For now, I decided to seam seal the bed floor rib ends rather than cut, hammer and weld them down.

[bowt1ed]

Originally Posted by dug224

This is Alabama. We aren't that particular down south, however, I do intend to swing by to see what their minimum requirement is to obtain a tag.

I used to live in Mobile and was stationed there during the one year the Navy base was open.

Funny story - I got a speeding ticket in my 57 and had to go "to class" to learn better, I suppose. Learned a bit about the laws in AL - it is a requirement to have operational windshield wipers, but not a requirement to have a windshield. Still makes me scratch my head. 😎

[rgunlock]

Very interesting build Doug. I've been watching your newer posts for some time now. Finally spent a few days reading your build from the beginning and back to current. Kept asking myself "didn't he already do this?". Looks like final stretch now - you'll be done with this phase before you know it if you don't have too many new bikes show up to be restored!

[dug224]

Originally Posted by bowt1ed

I used to live in Mobile and was stationed there during the one year the Navy base was open.

Funny story - I got a speeding ticket in my 57 and had to go "to class" to learn better, I suppose. Learned a bit about the laws in AL - it is a requirement to have operational windshield wipers, but not a requirement to have a windshield. Still makes me scratch my head. 😎

That Navy base was short lived for sure. That's funny. I went by the DMV yesterday. All I need to register it is paperwork from Calif, bill of sale, I.D. and insurance. I asked what parts could be missing and they still let me register it. She shrugged and said they only look at the VIN. I'll have it tagged soon.

[dug224]

Originally Posted by rgunlock

Very interesting build Doug. I've been watching your newer posts for some time now. Finally spent a few days reading your build from the beginning and back to current. Kept asking myself "didn't he already do this?". Looks like final stretch now - you'll be done with this phase before you know it if you don't have too many new bikes show up to be restored!

Thanks! There has been a lot of "learning as I go" which is very entertaining for me personally. Pretty challenging starting and stopping. I too would think..."haven't I done this already"! No more other projects for a bit. Getting bids on a new house I'll be building down in Orange Beach, AL. It could start any minute so I have to stay focused. BTW, subscribed to your thread a few years ago. All my trucks in High School and College were square bodies.

[rgunlock]

Originally Posted by dug224

Thanks! There has been a lot of "learning as I go" which is very entertaining for me personally. Pretty challenging starting and stopping. I too would think..."haven't I done this already"! No more other projects for a bit. Getting bids on a new house I'll be building down in Orange Beach, AL. It could start any minute so I have to stay focused. BTW, subscribed to your thread a few years ago. All my trucks in High School and College were square bodies.

Ha! If you followed much of my thread you got a real good dose of me "learning as I go". That and redoing a lot of mistakes. Hopefully, my '59 project will go smoother as a result, but between you and me I doubt it. I've been staring at my '59 in the driveway outside my shop for years now and ready to start on it, but want to finish out at least part of the interior of my shop first to make working in it more pleasant. I've changed my mind at least 4 times on what direction I want to go with the '59. Your detailed build has given me a real good idea of what I'd be getting into if I went the TB donor route - thanks! Congrats on being this close to pulling the trigger on your new home!

[dug224]

The All-In-One (Eling) gauge is installed. So far, the GPS speedo and voltmeter are up and running. I added three 4-Pin connectors and labeled them so as to not get them crossed up in the future. I lost track of the PCM supplied wire for the tach so it will be a future problem I'll have to solve. The 1/8"NPT oil pressure sending unit with the proper ohm range (10-184 ohms) requires a metric adapter for the LS block which I have acquired. Took me a awhile but I finally found a metric (M10x1.0) water temp sensor sending unit with the proper ohm range (290 to 22 ohms) and sourced a M12X1.5 adapter for the LS block. Not getting a signal from the new fuel pump/sending unit. Found that I bent a pin on the plug. Straightened it but still no signal for the fuel level. I'll sort that when the bed comes off for paint.

[dug224]

Doors are hung. Hours of adjustment lie ahead in addition to welding and sheet metal repair. The body lines are close. Some body lines are so rounded that the will have to be resurrected with body work.

[dsraven]

have you seen this? maybe give you some pointers on gaps and adjustments.
I have found that getting to door to fit the cab opening first, then adjusting the front fender to the door and shimming the cab/rad support to get that good/better is what worked best for me. yeah, I know, I'm not done 1/2 as far as you. I have spent some time on door fitment though. several doors and they all fit the same door opening differently. don't be discouraged if your doors don't fit awesome, they didn't fit well when the truck was new. lol.

https://www.hotrod.com/articles/1304...it-sheetmetal/

https://www.hotrod.com/articles/1107...ct-purple-pig/

https://www.hotrod.com/articles/pane...-panel-curl-in

[dug224]

Originally Posted by dsraven

have you seen this? maybe give you some pointers on gaps and adjustments.
I have found that getting to door to fit the cab opening first, then adjusting the front fender to the door and shimming the cab/rad support to get that good/better is what worked best for me. yeah, I know, I'm not done 1/2 as far as you. I have spent some time on door fitment though. several doors and they all fit the same door opening differently. don't be discouraged if your doors don't fit awesome, they didn't fit well when the truck was new. lol.

https://www.hotrod.com/articles/1304...it-sheetmetal/

https://www.hotrod.com/articles/1107...ct-purple-pig/

https://www.hotrod.com/articles/pane...-panel-curl-in

Great stuff. I'll study for sure. Before we get started, I believe we will take the time to move the cab back about 1/8" to 3/16". Based on where the trailing edge of the fenders landed, I don't believe we landed the cab in the exact spot it was in when we disassembled. I also remind myself that it is 60 years old, at least one of the doors has been replaced, it's been in several accidents and, like you said, was not great from the factory.

[dug224]

As I assess what parts I have and don't have, I decided to take a minute to install the emblems.

[dug224]

Backup light and tag lights complete. I used a pair of motorcycle LED tag bolts mounted with small angle brackets to existing holes in the bumper. For the backup light, I used a short LED light bar. No shortage of light when backing up with this bar.

[dug224]

Installed the oil pressure sending unit. Location for the LS based engines is top back of the engine block behind the tall intake plenum. Note that LS engines are metric so I had to buy an adapter to fit the sending unit that has 1/8" NPT threads. Another option is to remove the plastic from the old sending unit, drill and tap and reuse. Ground the leading edge of a 27mm deep dish socket into a taper to make it a pseudo thin wall socket to extract the metric sending unit. To install the new aluminum "Metric" M16x1.5 adapter, I had to use a 1" socket. I did not have a metric socket that fit it comfortably and the 1" fit like a glove. Used a thin wall 18mm open end wrench from my bike tools to atually install the sending unit. Worked perfectly. Lesson learned: Install sending unit before installing cab.

[dug224]

Also had an opportunity to put the new truck to work. Jim had a tree he needed to drop so the '59 got to do rope tightening duty.

[dsraven]

back to the old workhorse days for the truck, eh? fun. good to see it moving around outside under it's own power with lights and stuff in place.
on the oil pressure sensor, would you have been able to tap into the oil gallery on the left rear of the engine, oil pan level? there is a small fitting there that is used for oil pressure sensors or turbo oil supply line by a lot of guys. it's held on with 2 bolts so easily removed and drilled/tapped for your thread size. it is an oil filter adapter for the C5 corvette. some come threaded but most LS engines just have a blank that you could remove and drill/tap to the thread size you need. might interfere with the frame or something though in your case. it is located right above the factory oil filter.
check post 6 here for a pic. there are lots of adapters on the net but a stock block off plate could be easily modified. hope it helps somebody.

https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/ltx-...echanical.html

[dug224]

Originally Posted by dsraven

back to the old workhorse days for the truck, eh? fun. good to see it moving around outside under it's own power with lights and stuff in place.
on the oil pressure sensor, would you have been able to tap into the oil gallery on the left rear of the engine, oil pan level? there is a small fitting there that is used for oil pressure sensors or turbo oil supply line by a lot of guys. it's held on with 2 bolts so easily removed and drilled/tapped for your thread size. it is an oil filter adapter for the C5 corvette. some come threaded but most LS engines just have a blank that you could remove and drill/tap to the thread size you need. might interfere with the frame or something though in your case. it is located right above the factory oil filter.
check post 6 here for a pic. there are lots of adapters on the net but a stock block off plate could be easily modified. hope it helps somebody.

https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/ltx-...echanical.html

Did not know about that location. The location I chose is working good with the exception of a giant oil leak under the truck when we pulled the bed....see next thread....

[dug224]

Minor setback. I had to pull the bed. Took about an hour to pull. The Ford bed tie downs backed with a 4"x4" plate worked well on the bed lift.



Seems I connected the fuel lines without the $0.50 plastic clips. Started smelling fuel. Lines had worked their way off. Just before the bed pull, I tried to grind off the end of my index finger. Somehow it got between the bench grinder and the tool rest. They stitched what was left and sent me home to grow the rest of the skin back. Still can't figure out how it happened. Also, needed to sort out the lack of fuel level sending unit signal and get the front of the bed welded and painted. Turns out we were reading the wrong two wires. Gauge reading perfectly now.



While we were fooling with all this stuff, I noted a rather large puddle of oil under the truck. Didn't quite get the sending unit tight in the adapter. All put back together so I decided to weld a bit. Had 20 plus holes drilled in the top bed rail. Also, ran it up to the gas station to fill up. On the way home, we noticed front brakes were dragging a bit so I pulled the calipers. Seems they got a little gummed up sitting outside under a tarp for a couple of years. All freed up now so I ran it up to 50 mph which feels like 100 mph without a windshield. Tracks straight, no rattles or vibrations. Windshield is scheduled for late next week. He will also install the best of the two back windows I have in stock.

[mongocanfly]

wow!!!...that's a lot of fab work you had going on..looks really good