1947 Panel Truck Frame swap with ’88 k2500

[olcarguy]

You are making progress, A lot better then I'm doing....

[Second Series]

Originally Posted by olcarguy

You are making progress, A lot better then I'm doing....

It takes all my spare time, I should have been replacing the leaky roof on my house!

[Second Series]

I decided to do the passenger side cargo area differently. I used a wire cup brush on it, and then ospho, cleaner degreaser, and then the two coats of grey. I then painted the strip at the front of the bed wood, and the rear threshold. Then it was time to install the wood. I started at the sides and placed bolts finger tight. I had to modify a few holes that were mis aligned, and drill some holes that were missing. I got all the bed wood and bolts in from above until the last plank. I went below and put on the nuts and washers for the last plank, then tightened everything up. It was nice to use painted bolts, the job was done once the wood was installed. Three planks have a T-nut at the front end, maybe for attaching something across the floor? I replaced one T-nut that was missing and installed bolts in the three places.

[Second Series]

I had to make some plow bolts for the strip that goes across the rear of the bed wood. I could not locate the ¼” size. These are called Countersunk carriage bolts aka 114 deg countersunk square neck bolts aka Flat square neck plow bolts. This is a ¼” bolt maybe ¼-20, and about 1 ¼” long. I got elevator bolts and ground them down to size and profile.

It got cold and rainy here, so I moved on from paining for a few days before I could complete bed assembly, but finally had a couple nice days to get it done. In the mean time, I mangled up the power steering lines to clear the inner fender.

This weekend was a good time to go to the pick it yard. There was only one Chevy truck, but it was a ’89. I got the A/C bracket. My ’90 k1500 has cast brackets, but the ’88 k2500 has pressed steel brackets. The ’89 also has the pressed steel brackets, so it will bolt right on. I also found another DRAC from an Astro van, I’ll use that for my speedometer drive project for a bench setup. I had previously purchased seats from an Astro, but they don’t clear the storage cover in the seat riser. I found a ’99 Honda CRV and the seats look good and fit. I crawled all over the seats when removing and they were dry, then put the driver seat on it’s side in the back of my truck. When I unloaded it there was a wet spot the smelled like a dead animal. I dumped some cat spray cleaner on it and have a fan blowing, so I hope I can freshen it up. I’ll modify the mounting brackets and get them bolted in. I like that they are narrow and leave some room to access the cargo area.
I also got the steering sector shaft from the ’89 chevy. I dismantled it to see how it goes together. I’m looking for a clean way to extend the steering shaft. I can get a ¾”dd shaft and machine it to replace the stock length with a longer one. I had thought about adding a length of shaft, but it looks easy enough to just put a longer one in there.

[olcarguy]

Keep up the good work....

[Second Series]

I’m having a hard time focusing on one task, so getting a bunch of little things done. I bent the seat brackets so the mounting hole is parallel to the floor, that lowered the seats a couple inches. I played around with seat placement looking at how they clear the floor access covers and spacing between the two seats. I decided the driver seat should be centered with the steering wheel, it could go out an inch to increase the gap to the other seat, but driving comfort is more important. With the seats positioned I finalized steering wheel location. I’m not satisfied with the resto shops extension on the steering shaft, so I decided to put in a longer D-shaft. I tore the steering shaft apart to see what could be done. I purchased a 2’ long 1” D-shaft, machined out a channel for a spring, cut to length, and drilled a hole. Now it’s painted black and almost ready for assembly. I’ll check the hole size before putting the pin in.
I partially assembled the front end with inner fenders and grill to fit the oil cooler radiator. I have determined how long the hoses need to be and will go to the hose shop this week. I also looked at the upper radiator hose, marked the stock radiator where it needed to be different and took it to the auto parts store. I looked through their rack and found four good candidates, the one I picked fits. Turns out it is for ’73 to ’83 chevy 4x4 lower hose P/N 7581.
I also started on the t-case shifter position. I bent the linkage in about 2” and built a cardboard bracket. I’ll crawl underneath and see how the bracket fits sometime when the ground isn’t too muddy.
With most of the fluid hoses lined up, the last one is the heater hoses. The supply comes from the rear top of the engine, originally a quick connect. I went to look, but something funny, had to get the shop light to see what was going on. O.K. the resto shop was a little too quick disconnecting it I guess because I found the hose had been disconnected and the fitting was snapped in half. I guess I won’t have the joy of breaking it myself. I had read up on this part being prone to break if you looked at it funny and was interested in replacing it with a nipple. Not surprised to find that it had broke, but surprised they neglected to mention it.

[olcarguy]

Finishing your truck the same way you eat an Elephant.....One bite at a time.....Keep eating at your problems and you will get it finished.....Keep up the good work.

[Second Series]

That heater hose coupler fragment came out with little effort and the right tool. Now I need to get a replacement fitting and hose, and coolant.
I asked about getting hoses made at the local Flaps, they said they only do hydraulic. I went to a hose business, they only do hydraulic, but recommended a rubber business down the road. I went there and they came up with a solution for the oil cooler lines using Air Brake hose. I put that in and it looks like I got the lengths right. Now I need to come up with a bracket for the oil radiator, and the power steering radiator.
I re-assembled the steering shaft with the custom dd shaft, and put it in place. I like it.

[dsraven]

What I have done in the past is use the end of the existing line and the use hydraulic hose with a compression style fitting to clamp over the metal line. Oil cooler lines, p/s lines etc. For the heater hose look on the dorman site for something that may work or simply install a barbed fitting and regular heater hose with clamps like the old days. The engine end is regular pipe threads.

[dsraven]

If you want a hard line for the heater hose just use a flared fitting with pipe threads on the other end, like a bug brake line. Hydraulic shops should be able to fix you up with some steel braided chromed look hose that is teflon or whatever on the inside, like a braided flex line. If they say nope, check another shop or online.

[Second Series]

I haven’t put in much time now that it is cold and wet. I purchased the hose fitting for the heater hose, 7’ of heater hose, and a valve. I installed the fitting and started routing the hose. That required putting in the old fresh air heater. The original valve started leaking years ago and I had replaced it with a valve with a thumb screw, that was always hard to operate. I got a new valve for cable operation that I will figure out how to use. I’m not sure if it will be with the original control knob and some custom linkage, or something else. I never did like how I had to reach over to the passenger side to operate it, so I might locate it closer to the driver side. Once I get the fluids topped up, it’s on to wiring so I can fire it up. I have been poring over the wiring diagrams for the ’88. I removed the harness from under dash from the donor cab and started ohming out connectors. I’ll modify it some. The ’88 harness has a bulkhead connector on the driver side that goes to a convenience center, a fuse panel, the gage cluster, and some connectors in the dash, it also goes over to the passenger side to connect to wires from another bulkhead passthrough, wiring for the ECM. I’d like to eliminate the bulkhead connector, and reduce the size of the bulkhead passthrough.
It wasn’t raining and I had some time, so I opened up the bulkhead passthrough. It had a chunk of glue inside. I was able to shatter it with pliers. I stuffed the end through the heater valve hole. It’s a tight fit with the split loom tubing protecting the wires from the sheet metal, I might add a grommet.
The bulkhead connector on the driver side is a nasty mess. I will eliminate it. Still going over the schematics. I had colorized one set of wiring diagrams awhile ago, but they had the wrong connectors. I found the correct wiring diagram and have just finished adding color to the wires. Now I’ll use that to go through the harness to determine what gets cut, and how to connect the DRAC, and how to use the original gauges.

[olcarguy]

You are doing well my friend keep at it you will get it on the road soon.

Roy

[Second Series]

The weather was nicer for a couple weeks and I put some time in on this project. I noticed that the cowl vent handle conflicted with the Brake pedal bracket. I spent 4 hours and moved the brake pedal bracket over an inch. The starter foot button was near the edge of the hole, so I moved that over a half inch. It’s action is tight with the bolts tightened, so I’ll work out the bind later. With that done I started to look at the gas pedal. The original pedal bracket had been removed. I thought about getting a replacement original bracket. I have a pedal linkage for converting from 6 to v8, but that’s for ’55 to ’59. I’d have to figure out where to position that on the outside firewall. My truck will use a cable in sheath linkage. The cable sheath mounts to a bracket on the engine on one end, the other end mounted to a hole in the firewall. I would need a bracket hanging off the outside firewall to make it work with the original pedal. The ’88 GMC pedal is an odd fit, I decided to use it. I measured the distance from firewall to pedal arm at the cable on my ’90 k1500. ~4” at rest to ~6” full throttle. I then held the donor pedal in place in the ’47 and imagined a bracket. I rough cut a cardboard bracket and carved it to fit. I wanted a better contour, I thought if I had some clay I cound make an exact template, but I got it close enough. I taped the cardboard template in place and checked the movement of the pedal. I proceeded to fab up a bracket with hand tools. I used the hf sheet metal brake for the first time. Metal is .080 so it was pushing the limits.

[Second Series]

I welded the gas pedal bracket in place and cut a square hole for the cable. It’s nice to feel the pedal working and in place. I’m doing a bunch of smaller tasks simultaneously. I replaced a captive nut on the passenger cowl vent, drilled holes to mount the power bus and relays, made a list of fasteners needed, fastened the steering column to firewall bracket, checked and topped off the synchromesh transmission fluid.

[Dan Bowles]

Nice work on the pedal fab. I've got to do the same thing in my '54 Suburban soon. I'll follow your lead!

[Second Series]

Thanks Dan, I’ll be looking for an update on your build thread! I have been searching for gas pedal solutions for awhile without finding many examples. Adding a flat bracket seemed like the cleanest solution.
I’m not completely satisfied with the position of the gas pedal, it seems a bit high. I’ll see if that changes when I install padding and a mat on the floor. I had some time and decided to work on the oil cooler bracket. I had purchased some random metal from the hardware store so I held some angle in place and visualized and started cutting and welding. I finally made a weld that I can be proud of, the rest is just blobs and grinding. The power steering radiator will hang off the oil radiator. That should be simply Two pieces of flat stock with holes drilled. After that is fabbed, I’ll paint the brackets.

[olcarguy]

The thing about welding is that the more mistakes you make the better welder you become. I can see the improvement...

[Second Series]

I get a little work in and go to the hardware store to buy a handful of fasteners, work some more and go get a few more bolts, etc..
I got the power steering radiator mounted. There were a couple places where the inner fenders conflict with something. I started to hammer and found it easy to manipulate the sheet metal. I made a bowl to clear the power steering lines on one side, and smog pump valve on the other side. I had purchased a firewall pad/panel, maybe not the best idea here. I’m trying to make it work. I need to install the panel before wiring, but after everything that bolts to the firewall is in place. I made a cardboard template, and marked the location of the brake and clutch pedal brackets. Cut, and test fit, and then cut the plastic panel. The holes for the heater motor and lines were not cut, just marked. I started to cut those out with a utility knife, that is hard so I’ll have to get back at that later. Thinking about wiring, I received the starter button and solenoid. They offered a free catalog, so I got that too. It is full of neat stuff, but I don’t think I’ll order anything else. I just like looking through parts catalogs.

[6DoF]

starter pedal still? i like it!

[olcarguy]

I am going to borrow that idea of the floor starter button. Were you able to incorporate the old pedal to activate the button?

[Second Series]

6Dof, Thanks!

Originally Posted by olcarguy

I am going to borrow that idea of the floor starter button. Were you able to incorporate the old pedal to activate the button?

When the rain lets up and I have time I'll make a bracket for the starter button located near the foot button linkage. It's just the curved bar that the foot pedal is connected to, originally bolted to the bell housing, now bolted to the firewall. So there really is no linkage there other than the curved bar.
One of the first things I figured out on this project is how it will be wired up. Starting at post 19 and on, with a wiring diagram on post 27. Now the final piece to this puzzle will be the button bracket. The way the bar is mounted to the firewall puts some resistance on the action. I should try to fix that, maybe with an extra washer on one or two bolts.
I'll locate the switch so there will be about a half inch gap before the foot pedal actuates it. That way it will feel close to original. The original setup had about that much movement to engage with the flywheel, and then push down more to activate the switch.

[olcarguy]

Awesome thank you

[Second Series]

It’s been cold and wet out, but I have been doing several small tasks simultaneously. It wasn’t raining one day so I made a bracket for the starter button, and am working on the bracket for the transfercase shifter. Started to paint the cooler brackets. I put in a stronger spring for the starter pedal, now it feels right and functions well. The next day I had time it started to rain so I decided to work on the wiring. I’m eliminating the bulkhead connector. I’ve gone over the wiring diagrams and have a few print outs. I started to cut wires from the connector, one by one. Each wire gets a label covered in clear heatshrink tubing. I wanted to see what it will look like, so I stuffed the wire loom through the original wire hole with new grommet. There are about 4 wires for the windshield wiper that wont be used that are just hanging out in the picture. There were a few unused pins on the connector, so it was taking up more space than needed. I still need to run the wires for the front lights/horn, and the wires for the rear lights/fuel tank. Those might go through another existing hole, it was a tight squeeze to get the wires in the split loom tubing through the grommet. I could get more wires through without the tubing. I’ll pull it out when I connect to the inside wires. My plan is to use crimp connectors, staggered at various positions. I’ll cut the wires at different lengths so all the connectors won’t be next to each other. When I started driving this truck 30 years ago I thought I could solder the wiring to make it better. I soldered a connector for the brake light switch. The brake light switch was sometimes not turning off. One day at work my co-worker told me my rear lights were on at lunch time. I ran out and frantically tried to stop the drain on the battery. I tried to pull the connector off the switch. The current from the brake lights being on for hours had heated and melted the solder. The wire pulled out of the connector. Lesson learned. Since then I have worked on airplane wiring and learned about crimping vs. soldering. My day job is a solder tech, I’ll be crimping the wires on the truck.

[dsraven]

Sometimes I will insert a short length of hose into the grommet ant run just the wires through that rather than try to get the split loom to fit. That leaves somewhere for the split loom to be taped to as well. It also allows for the wires to be sealed so water doesn't come through into the cab if you happen to wash the engine or something.

[heartattack]

Originally Posted by Second Series

I get a little work in and go to the hardware store to buy a handful of fasteners, work some more and go get a few more bolts, etc..
I got the power steering radiator mounted. There were a couple places where the inner fenders conflict with something. I started to hammer and found it easy to manipulate the sheet metal. I made a bowl to clear the power steering lines on one side, and smog pump valve on the other side. I had purchased a firewall pad/panel, maybe not the best idea here. I’m trying to make it work. I need to install the panel before wiring, but after everything that bolts to the firewall is in place. I made a cardboard template, and marked the location of the brake and clutch pedal brackets. Cut, and test fit, and then cut the plastic panel. The holes for the heater motor and lines were not cut, just marked. I started to cut those out with a utility knife, that is hard so I’ll have to get back at that later. Thinking about wiring, I received the starter button and solenoid. They offered a free catalog, so I got that too. It is full of neat stuff, but I don’t think I’ll order anything else. I just like looking through parts catalogs.

Where did you purchase your firewall pad?