1941 project fenix

[joedoh]

I will be honest, I have been sick about 4 days, got the double ended leak that is going around, thought I missed it because the baby had it last week but nope.

this is traffic when a girl decides she doesnt want to ride in a car with her boyfriend ever again. I am exiting the highway and its a good thing because the scene was 11 miles from this.


I was out and about because the seat guy called and wanted me to look over his work. my wife couldnt believe I was getting out in my state but my delay shouldnt be theirs. turns out I was right to go, because I didnt like this


I told him even if he had to round off the pleats I didnt want stitching showing. he understood.

while I was there I checked out the truck in the corner, a 54 3100. I was surprised that the suspension was a crown vic setup front and rear. he did some nice interior work on it too.







he says the seats should be done this week! exciting. I however am still muddling and middling on the way to mount the column. I have an idea I want to try (the wife gets nervous when I say that) but I have to cut up the s10 cab first. maybe tomorrow if I have any energy, I havent eaten anything but 3 cans of soup in 4 days.

[Hewfil1]

Kansas has that crap too? Man it's even here in PA.

[lower50's]

Hope you feel better soon!! That double end'er went through up here too just after Christmas.

[Palf70Step]

Hope ya get to feeling better soon!

[Advanced Design]

Sick for three days, not eating much, and still have the gumption to go look at some truck stuff. Very cool. Nice looking interior base on that truck.
Feel better soon...

[rusty76]

Hope you feel better dude.

[Metalmaker]

Yep, going around here also. Hope you feel better soon! That interior reminds me of the truck my brother built for his daughter. Thought you might like the colors.

[joedoh]

metal that interior is gorgeous!



its the circle of projects, the next project hauls the current project scrap. this was a complete cab about an hour before this



clean body cart finally though. and I got the piece I wanted


hung a plumb bob at the column centerline, 11 inches from the centerline of the dash mount.


the bottom bracket for the column isnt going to work as is, so I trimmed it off.


thats it, I feel like I hauled bricks all afternoon and all I really did was cut up the old cab for scrap. I need to figure out the steering column mount, I want it to tie to both the dash and the firewall so that the dash can be removed.

[Old57]

Who are you using for interior?

[joedoh]

genesis on seneca is doing the seats, I am doing the rest.

[Old57]

Originally Posted by joedoh

genesis on seneca is doing the seats, I am doing the rest.

Thats cool, looks good

[joedoh]

seats were supposed to be done friday, no calls yet.

still a little wobbly but this thing is not going to put itself together. mounted up the pedal bracket with some self tapping screws so I can start laying out the column and associated parts.



the column is round but the shifter arm makes it more complicated than just a round hole, so I cut one side to allow me to bend it slightly to let the shift arm through for install


I have seen other guys use this s10 bracket and I always feel it is mounted too low and too far "out" of the dash. I slotted the mounts to give an extra inch, I can slot the column mounting bracket (the removable piece on the column itself) another inch where it bolts on if needed.


perf. although that brake booster hole, haha, jeeze I can be a real moron sometimes. I drilled the steering column hole and thought "I can just drill the booster hole while I am here". yeah, turns out it doesnt sit centered in the brackets like the later trucks. sheesh.

stickout is good, remember that I am moving the cab back another 1 3/4" for its final position, but it would work right here too.


I will be able to use a combination of the factory s10 column support and the factory 41 column support to stiffen up the mount reeeeally nicely.


fits well, I will pop the dash in to be sure but I dont think I need to move it "in" any further, the shifter may hit the dash any closer.

[docrock]

I did the same thing on my 54 gmc. I am thinking about smoothing out the firewall on the next truck to make the booster tighter. Great pics

[joedoh]

I want to pull the cab for finish welding on the mounts so I popped the mount in, made it a ton stiffer but I will still tie it to the dash. up and down is solid as a rock but side to side is still wiggly. I thought about triangulating off the ears of the s10 mount but I want some room under the dash for wiring, so making the dash a structural member isnt improbable.



final column location. I like it.

[lower50's]

That should be good and solid!!

[joedoh]

tore everything back apart for final assembly


trans crossmember out to finish weld


had to flip the cross shaft on the uppers to the standard camber side. dont try this with stock springs, but with drop springs, no danger.


picked up the de-arched leafs, went 3.5 to counter the larger tire I always run on the rear. Last time I de-arched 1" and used 3" blocks, this time I figure do it all with spring.


picked up the seats while I was on that side of town. Look ok, not at all like we talked about in the beginning. I was pretty upset when I picked them up, I have calmed down a bit.


edit: after dinner I got to decide between welding or assembly, I chose assembly. there is $350 in new parts in this photo!

[99 to Life]

nothing worse than feeling like your vision wasn't achieved, and you had to pay for it. Its amazing how much money can be in one photo! well keep up the good work.

[joedoh]

well its not over yet.

I didnt get any time to work on the truck till today, my adopted son (not really, he is 23 and I would adopt him if he would let me though) got an 1800 dollar quote on some front end work on his daily, we did it in the driveway for $270 in parts!

but I did get a little done today. got the rest of the front end put together and back on the ground.


for anyone interested, I recommend these MOOG end links very highly. the method of assembly is superior to the stock type and even the energy suspension type, the bottom nut has a long thread and you assemble it from the top to the bottom. you can almost tighten it up with one wrench!


I had to stop "paying it forward" (stealing parts from the next donor in line) so today I hit a bunch of hardware stores to get the shock speed nuts and various bolts and nuts. then I pulled the gas tank and rear axle



the gas tank looks like complete trash and I bet the pump is plugged or ruined from sucking that trash through. luckily though, craigslist to the rescue! $30, recent pump replacement, totalled truck. woot!


I did a bunch of wire brushing on the frame, and cut off the axle u bolts as the last thing tonight.

[99 to Life]

killin it. I'd be so far behind in life without CL. the founder should make as much as the FB doosh.

[joedoh]

got a lot done. rebuilt the front mounts 1 3/4" further back. thought about reusing the original mounts (which I had already rebuilt once a couple pages ago) and just cut new ones.


the dimensions I ended up with were
29 1/2" between front mounts center to center
36 1/2" between rear mounts center to center
rear mounts 3" off the frame
front mounts 2 3/4" off the frame
front mount 8 3/4" behind the oval hole on the top of the s10 frame, measured slightly diagonally from the edge of the hole to the center of the mount.
center of front mount to center of rear mount 46 1/2" measured slightly diagonally.

I also measured from the frame split to the center of the rear mounts, as a sanity check but I forgot that measurement. I did measure from the front shock stud to the center of the front mount and got 25 1/2" on both sides.. I think. now that I say it out loud... haha, I am doubting it.

I think the next one I do I may raise the body an inch, that extra inch is just making for all kinds of work. I dunno, let me see what it looks like on the wheels with the body on. maybe I will figure out a better way to carve up the frame. doing another 41 immediately after this.

also got the core support mount started. made the ears on the frame to hold the bushings and the core support mount that bolts to the bushings.


tomorrow during nap time I think I will get the frame painted and the axle put back in on the drop springs.

[HAULIN' IT]

One thing I will suggest before you paint the frame...I feel you should put a flat plate (even something like heavy sheetmetal) to box at least the top of the motor mounts. My concern is that they look like they could "rack" on an abrupt stop. That Left one is pretty long & looks like something that could bend. Just about anything to tie the Two uprights, the tube & the flat area at the frame together should make a BIG difference...simple square welded on four sides. My Two Cents, Lorne

[joedoh]

Originally Posted by HAULIN' IT

One thing I will suggest before you paint the frame...I feel you should put a flat plate (even something like heavy sheetmetal) to box at least the top of the motor mounts. My concern is that they look like they could "rack" on an abrupt stop. That Left one is pretty long & looks like something that could bend. Just about anything to tie the Two uprights, the tube & the flat area at the frame together should make a BIG difference...simple square welded on four sides. My Two Cents, Lorne

thanks! I am not done welding on the frame, I want to pop the cab back on and just do a sanity check on wheel position, I feel like the cab is further back than I have seen others mount theirs. but since there are no details from others on mounts or dimensions I am kind of winging it.

on the racking, I can see where you might be concerned but I think the third mounting point, the trans, will keep that kind of movement in check. I have seen guys make v8 mounts with, I am not kidding, ONE leg. torque is the main force on these mounts, even one leg has the support in the right direction to counter that force.

I still plan to reinforce them, so my confidence is more in your comment than in my own justification

[joedoh]

I am a little light on the pictures, I got the rest of the frame sanded down and while I was there I went ahead and cut off the bump stops. I was a little too aggressive with the angle of my grinder though because I had to lay a bead on both sides where I had cut too deep. came out all right.


I am so glad I am done with all the rusty fasteners on this frame. I learn on every project, the 65 I learned not to listen to big promises from builders (not the last guy though, he did everything he said he would), the 49 I learned that I was the only one responsible for the bottom line, the 47 I learned that rusty body donors were a pain in the ass, and this one I learned that rusty S10 donors are an even bigger pain in the ass. I am also tired of being covered in brown dust. luckily, its all reassembly from here in, nothing else needs to come apart. I got the rear shock mounts, u bolts, and trans crossmember all brushed and painted hanmmertone, and the rear frame is painted black with only the center section to finish. I have the new leafs on the rear end and but for the stubborn u bolts not squeezing in I would have it under the frame and the frame rolled out. I also got the fuel filter broken loose (two months of penetrant spray!) and replaced, it was completely plugged up.

thats a lot of words, and I promise to have more pictures tomorrow haha.

[joedoh]

axle installed, rolled out



rolled the cab back in to weld in the fender studs. originally the nuts were on the back side but they were stuck like glue, rusted after 75 years. I thought that it might be easier to line up if the studs poked out and you could hang the fender then add washers and nuts when you wanted.



started fixing my oops wrong hole.


welded up the tops of the motor mounts, still need the 7/16th 3" grade 8s


trans crossmember installed


more tomorrow, assembly should move quick, cab only comes off one more time after that. need to go to the scrapyard with the eyetalian superstar (the 95 longbed I just picked up) and dump the steel I have, the gas tank has a hole in it! gonna try a coarse thread bolt in the hole with some shmutz just to get by till I strip it for the next project.

[lower50's]

Good Job!! The springs look good keeping the flat helper you won't have to worry about bottoming out as much. If you move the cab back some more will you still have room for the rad?