Columbus..the 1957 IH 4x4..

[mongocanfly]

for the front and rear corners I cut vertical up the bed sides but saved the bed rails by stopping the cut 3/4" from the top of the rail and then cutting horizontal...then I cut off the end of the bed rail with the messed up pockets...I drew a line with a sharpie to show where I made the cut....that kept the smooth rail top intact and eliminated the destroyed stake pockets on each corner as well...here's a pic showing the result..I've still got to trim the ends and im gonna cap the bed rail ends..you can see in the pic the end of the rail is 1/4" to long...I left that so I could trim to fit later...

[mongocanfly]

got both rear bed rails capped off...2 fronts to go...that should have the bed finished and ready to blast.....it looks like a big hole at the bottom of the cap buts its just a illusion..

[7dee2]

Very impressive work, guessing your Dad is going to be over the moon!

[mongocanfly]

thanks Brett. ..I'm hoping he'll be tickled...
can't wait to see how your camaro turns out..

[mongocanfly]

good ol rainy day today so I worked on tailgate hinges...when I took the gate off I found that I had one factory hinge and one homemade one...

[mongocanfly]

I knew I wanted to do something to eliminate all the rattles I could in this truck so I decided to just make a new set of hinges..i made new side pieces and machined some new shaft for the hinges..then I machined some uhmw [plastic] sleeves to go over the new shafts..that should give it a nice sqeak free feel...I also made them a little longer...when I get the side plate painted ill install the sleeve and weld the flat washer[retainer] on the shaft..heres a comparison pic and how its assembled..and then one with the shafts welded to the side plates ready for paint...

[Nut Case]

Mongo

Strong work!!!!!

You introduced me to uhmw, thanks.

Now I'm going show my lack of knowledge- What and how much of this stuff do you keep on hand? Can this be purchased with the specific OD & ID?

This build is fantastic and for you dad. Good on ya!!!

NC

[mongocanfly]

ive got a small selection of the uhmw...[its basically plastic]...ive got several sizes of round and some flat sheets...if I ever need any its just a click away at McMaster carr...order one day..get it the next...they've got a bunch to chose from..what i used is the antistatic uhmw rods ...mainly because its black...heres a link for anybody interested....
https://www.mcmaster.com/#uhmw-polyethylene/=1bgov2k

[mongocanfly]

with it raining every day now and forcasted rain for all next week its tuff to get anything done...I'm at the "waiting on sandblasting and epoxy primer stage" before I can get much done...mom likes dark red ..so...I stopped at tractor supply and grabbed a rattle can of rustoleum IH red and sprayed some on a rear fender just to get a idea of how that color would look...I'm gonna spray some on the door also but I'm pretty sure I want to go a couple shades darker...I tried to find some case/IH red which is darker but nobody local has any ....here's the result of IH red...this is with minimal prep...just a light sand with 180g chased with green scotchbrite and a rag wipe down..

[mongocanfly]

one other rainy day project I had on the list was shortening the running boards to match the shortened bed...pics of full length and then cut down and ready for welding and last pic is one all welded up....these will also be line-x to match paint color..

[mongocanfly]

so today after lunch I ran over to my buddies shop and quick sanded one of the doors and after a wipe down sprayed a couple a coats of the rattle can IH red on it and temporarily hung the door back on the truck so I could stand back and get a better idea of what it would look like....the color is starting to grow on me and I'm thinking this is what I'm going with....

[Advanced Design]

Nice work Greg. Good idea on the brackets.

[mongocanfly]

thanks Doug. ..

[botoepfer]

Mongo / Greg ! great thread ! and thanks for posting and giving me your advise on the hood,, I will follow this tread!

[mongocanfly]

thanks boto....my body work experience is very limited and there are way more qualified people than me to offer advice...but I was thinking if you cut out the hood bracing and and the hood flexed while you were rewelding it that it would be real easy to get it twisted outta wack

[mongocanfly]

well....I got a center tailgate support bracket made..I'm ashamed to even say how much time I spent on it and how many (prototypes) I made to make something that looks so simple...i didnt have anything to go by to even know how a original looks...each tiny little bend has a very small tolerance to keep it from rubbing and still be able to get it to go thru the slots and fit and the tailgate still open without binding..
lets just say I've got a bracket and we'll leave it at that. ...haha...

[Advanced Design]

Nice work on the hinges and the center support. Those little pieces can take a lot of time...

[mongocanfly]

thanks Doug. ..the hinges were fairly easy to whittle out but that center support was a booger bear...

[Advanced Design]

Nice work on the running boards, Greg. IH red looks good on the truck...good choice.

[mongocanfly]

Thanks Doug...the fender I painted on I didn't put a real heavy coat on and in my shop it didn't look very much like dark red...but the door I put multiple coats on and got good coverage...the door looks much darker than the fender...

[Advanced Design]

Neighbors farm covered in Case IH red...

[mongocanfly]

that's what im talking bout.....im still taking a paint sample of my IH red to the case/IH dealer to compare before my final decision...
when I get this truck on the road id like to make a road trip to the case/IH plant in Racine Wi and get a pic in front of their sign...do the plant tour and all...
would have to see if I can talk dad into it....that would be a long rd trip from here though for dad...about a 10hr drive one way...dad turns 84 this year and im not sure hed be up for a 20hr road trip

[Nut Case]

Mongo

I'm digging what you are doing to the truck for your dad.

I'm going to reveal my ignorance of available cutting disk/blades.

In post 97, you have a cutting disk on your angle grinder? I've never seen one like that. What is it, and how long do they last?

Thanks

NC

[mongocanfly]

thanks nut
that blade is a lenox metalmax diamond blade....a buddy of mine turned me on to those...I was going thru metabo style blades like crazy..mostly from my grinder hitting the floor and breaking them...abrasives are dust makers, get smaller with use etc etc....
the lenox blade dia stays the same with use...its much easier to cut a straight line because theres no blade flex unlike a abrasive that will walk off in who knows what direction...they work great on sheetmetal...not so much on thicker stuff...they are slower cutting than a abrasive...ive cut a lot of metal with mine and its paid for itself several times vs the cost of abrasives..i will still use the abrasive for thicker cuts though..I got mine at lowes....he got his at Fastenal...heres a link..they had quite a selection of sizes....I went with the 5" for $19.98
https://www.lowes.com/pd/LENOX-Metal...eel/1000181275

this is what it looks like when new

[mongocanfly]

pulled the heater out and disassembled it, sandblasted it, primed and painted...