project 39

[Lokin4AReason]

nice metal work and keep those foto(s) coming ....

[CSHADES]

Being I am getting older, fatter and don't bend as well any more I decided I needed the fuse panel to be much easier to access than what I have done in the past. I tried a few different ideas I had for a hinged fuse panel, after a few tries I decided the simple way probably was the best way. As all of us with these trucks know there is little room under dash, I had to clear the a/c vent hose on the drivers side. I think this will work. I used 1/2" square tube and a hinge.

[CSHADES]

I worked on the side panels between the box and running board. The stock panel didn't do any thing for me, so I thought I would make one in the style of the 48 -up truck. I made a cardboard pattern, cut out steel and after a little bending, shrinking and hammering I have 2 side panels ready.

[joedoh]

looking reeeeeaaaallly good shades, I like the aprons!

[CSHADES]

I thought I would update this since its been a while. I will post some pics when I find my camera. I haven't got much done in the last few months because of grand kids, more doctor visits from my eye injury last fall, car shows, el camino project and the usual work/home life. I did spend a bunch of money on it this summer including but not limited to classic instrument gauges, glide seat and fresh chrome parts. I did cut the holes in the dash for the new gauges but of course it can never be that simple--- will post soon

[CSHADES]

just a quick update on the dash. I cut the holes for the gauges and realized that the dash was curved just enough that the top of the gauge would not sit flat. I have a plan to make it look right. will post after I get it setup.

[CSHADES]

i have been trying to get my hood to line up with the grille shell/upper bar. no matter what I did I could not get a satisfactory result. I could not tell if it was the hood that was messed up or the grille shell that I cut and welded on to make a 39. so on mem day I went out and grabbed a extra 40 front I had and tried that. the hood fit that shell much better. so I decided instead of messing around with trying to make my fabbed shell work I was going to either just use a 40 front or find a real 39 front. my gf bought me a new briefcase for my bd the other day so I was cleaning out my old bc and I came across a card with a guys phone # and 39-40 parts scrawled on it. I remembered talking to this guy a couple of different times at swap meets including the time he had his beautiful 39 chevy truck next to my car. so I called him on Tuesday after mem day about a 39 grille shell. he said he had one but he was going to use it on a 40 truck that he was building because he couldn't find a upper grille bar for the 40 front. I happily replied I had an extra upper and maybe we do some dealing. I ended up driving a 150 miles one way and lightening my wallet a bit but I got what I needed. so hopefully I can try this shell this weekend and everything is going to fit.

[CSHADES]

worked on getting the front lined up with the hood. I will say it was kicking my butt. I can see why gm changed the front in 40 to make things easier and stronger. I spent the entire afternoon on Saturday messing with this and I think I am still going to have to cut and weld on the hood to get as nice as I want it. unless somebody out there sees something I didn't.

[CSHADES]

i decided on saturday morning that it was time to get back on this and solve the front end issue before proceeding on any other part. i have adjusted, pushed, pulled and gotten a bunch of free advice on what to do. after study i decided that the upper trim piece was not far enough forward, so i slotted the screw holes on radiator support and slid the trim piece ahead which straightened out a lot of the misalignment on the hood, ornament and the trim. after getting that accomplished on saturday(took most of the day) i worked on test fitting of the grille which was a new frustration. i had never had the grille installed in this shell nor had i tried it after having the grille rechromed. when they chromed the grille they tacked welded the center rear bar to the grill bars. unfortunately it didnt line up with the upper bar. i had to bend the center of the bars down to get the trim to line up. nerve racking to say the least but it finally laid where i needed it. on sunday i worked on moving the chin from the other radiator support to this one and got it tacked together. i think it looks good and now i can do some cutting and welding on the hood to get my gaps nice. then i am going to send the hinge parts and the upper trim piece out for chrome.

[3757chevy]

Looks OK to me.

[CSHADES]

this weekend i worked on getting the hood gaps a lot closer than what they were or what i imagine they were from the factory. the front drivers side panel was pretty ugly. i worked on 3 corners of the hood the other corner looks pretty good so i am going to leave that one alone. my grandkid was out to help me. i cant believe the kid can fall asleep with the grinder going but he did. at least he had hearing protection on.

[CSHADES]

worked on the bed cover this weekend. i had made a cover previously(page 2) but it really didnt fit the way i wanted it to. i had tried to bend the long sides myself which didnt work very well. instead of trying to make something bad nice i thought i would try one more time. i mean steel is almost free now a days right? i pulled my bender away from the wall which was a feat in it self(very heavy by your self). the new lid i had the long sides bent at the local steel place so i just had to bend the ends and make it fit the frame with good gaps--how hard can it be? i bent the front first, put it on the truck and started bending the curve in it. took 2 days of fighting with it but i got it bent. i pulled it back off sunday night bent the back end, sanded the frame, sanded the back side of the cover and epoxy primed both. hopefully next weekend i can get the cover on the frame and weld it together.

[61_FL_Apache]

Nice build!

[CSHADES]

worked on the bed cover some more this weekend. screwed the tin back to the frame and started welding it in place and of course my gaps are still not what i hoped for so i did a bit of cutting and tack welding in the last foot of the cover. i assume either the box is off a bit or the cover or all of them. i will pull the whole assembly off this weekend and put the rod in the edge flange to keep my round edges when i hammer them for the final time.

[CSHADES]

worked on the bed cover again this weekend. bent some 3/16 rod inside of the bent edge to make a bead on the edge that stayed round. still not completely happy with my gaps around the edges to the box. not sure if i am going to try and do something about it or leave it as is.

[docrock]

cool bed

[CSHADES]

so right after my last post i ended up in the hospital with covid. home now, have an appt with doc this week for ok to go back to work. after a month of mindless tv (how much counting cars can you stand)i am more than ready to get some things done. i have a 40 truck at the storage building i am thinking about sticking together to sell for some cash for this truck. i may have more things getting done in my head than physically able we will see. thanks for your comments and keep building those old trucks

[Kermitt47]

Glad to hear you are feeling better. Got to keep these projects moving forward.

[docrock]

We are heading into summer, with longer hours in the daylight. Any updates? BTW Covid sucks. Glad you got better

[CSHADES]

got tied up in some other projects that have been ongoing in the shop at home. trying to get caught up with work at the downtown shop hasnt left me with a lot of time to work on the 39. my plan is to finish the gf 97 chevy truck redo that is almost done and her kids 47 chevy truck that has been sitting in my shop for the last 10 years. i plan on having both of these done before winter. then the 39 is going to get worked on heavy through the winter, my friend that i repainted the jeep for is going to help so between the 2 of us i should get a long ways. after the brush with death this winter (according to the pulmonary doctor i saw in may) i want and need this truck to be done. I am going to back to the 50s next weekend so hopefully i can get the radiator ordered, wiper setup and whatever else is on my list purchased. i did get the 3rd brake light mount painted so i could see if i liked the color i picked out for the truck. i will get the 3rd brake light assembled some time soon and posts some pics. i think it will look awesome with the color and new chrome on it.

[CSHADES]

so saturday was pouring rain so i got some time in the shop. i decided to finish cutting the hood to get my gaps better than they are/were. i want to get the hood done so i can take the top trim, hood hinge and rear hood mount to the chrome guy at the jefferson swap meet at the end of september. saves me a 1 1/2 one way trip. i got a good part of it done this weekend so hopefully next weekend i can pop the hood off and do some hammering on it on the bench.

[special-K]

Coming along and looking good. I'm betting you'll be bringing those parts with you to the swap meet. Can't rush things but a reasonable deadline helps move a step along.

[CSHADES]

i still didnt like the way the passenger side of the hood lined up with the top trim piece so i cut it back apart on labor day. i used a parts hood that i had and cut the inside corner out of it to weld in so i only had one line of weld. i will take some pics of it tonite and post them. i went to order a new hood hinge holder for the cowl this morning and while i was looking for that i came across a new chrome hood hinge, so i ordered the hinge and the holder in stainless. i will look at the hinge chrome and see if i need to have mine chromed or if the aftermarket chrome piece is good enough.

[CSHADES]

so i cut and welded on the hood until i got the gaps i wanted. i ended up cutting the inside corner out of a junk hood that i had and welding it in. i stripped most of the paint off the top of the hood so i wasnt trying to hang on to the hood and sanding it on the bench.

[CSHADES]

so i received the "chrome" hood hinge friday last week. number 1 it is not chrome but a low grade of stainless i assume, it is magnetic but has that stainless grain look. it really doesnt fit anything correctly. 2 the holes do not line up which it did say in the description, 3 the ends do not fit into the hood ornament or the rear holder. i started cutting and bending it to fit and then decided i had enough of it for now. i am going to use the original gm hinge and have it chromed. i will just this one on the 40 that i am going to put together to sell. 39-40 original hinges are hard to come by being the are usually broken on the ends. the one that is on the truck now is a combo of the 40 hinge and a cut down 46 hinge. it fits and works so i will use it.