Crusty Rusty Leaky Squeaky 67 Step

[mcbassin]

Very nice work on all the panels Vic. Looks like you are getting close to color.

[KMC3420]

I cant attest for the hood hinges, but for Tabco, their cab corners are the best ones I have found, and the cab corners are made in the USA. You basically have to call to place your order so I would check with them to make sure their hood hinges are made in the USA, because they do carry Taiwan made items as well. But you may already know this.

[Elliot949]

Hey Vic... I have a good set of OEM hood hinges you can have if you want to come get them and help me take them off of my truck and help me put me billet ones on...

[jlsanborn]

Nice work Vic! All that is scaring the crap outta me though. I blew mine apart, fixed all the dings and holes and just expect it all to fall right back together My old hinges are all painted up and ready to go!

[Low Elco]

Man, it's lookin' good! If you need help shiftin' and movin', don't hesitate to call. Happy to help.

[Vic1947]

Originally Posted by mcbassin

Very nice work on all the panels Vic. Looks like you are getting close to color.

Won't be long, Mike. The wife is trying to convince me to haul it "as is" to Precision and let them fix the last few whoop-de-do's. Early Christmas present.

Originally Posted by KMC3420

I cant attest for the hood hinges, but for Tabco, their cab corners are the best ones I have found, and the cab corners are made in the USA. You basically have to call to place your order so I would check with them to make sure their hood hinges are made in the USA, because they do carry Taiwan made items as well. But you may already know this.

No, I really didn't know that, so thanks very much for the heads up. I'll call to confirm. If they're Taiwanese, they may be no better than the ones I can get locally.

Originally Posted by Elliot949

Hey Vic... I have a good set of OEM hood hinges you can have if you want to come get them and help me take them off of my truck and help me put me billet ones on...

Are you positive they're solid, Dan? I thought mine looked good until I put them on. If you rock the hood up and down a little bit, you can see the slop in the rivets. If they're in good shape, though, I'd be happy to help swap them out. I might turn a little green from envy looking at your billet hinges, but that shouldn't affect my wrenching skills.

Originally Posted by jlsanborn

Nice work Vic! All that is scaring the crap outta me though. I blew mine apart, fixed all the dings and holes and just expect it all to fall right back together My old hinges are all painted up and ready to go!

Well, thankfully, mine only have a coat of epoxy primer at the moment. They looked so good, I just assumed they were solid. Not!

Originally Posted by Low Elco

Man, it's lookin' good! If you need help shiftin' and movin', don't hesitate to call. Happy to help.

I'll do that, Chip. Should be real soon.

[Low Elco]

Not for nuthin- you might try Lenexa Bob or Teeitup, just to see.

[Elliot949]

Are you positive they're solid, Dan? I thought mine looked good until I put them on. If you rock the hood up and down a little bit, you can see the slop in the rivets. If they're in good shape, though, I'd be happy to help swap them out. I might turn a little green from envy looking at your billet hinges, but that shouldn't affect my wrenching skills.

Vic... I just went to the Garage and double checked... Yep they are good solid Hinges... they just need cleaned up painted and installed... I have them on the truck right now but really don't need them... so you might as well get the use out of them... I will see if I can get some help to get them off... Jan normally would help me but she just had her foot operated on and isn't getting around to well... Let me see what I can do... I hate for you to drive 200 miles if you don't have to unless you just want too... LOL

[Vic1947]

Originally Posted by Elliot949

Let me see what I can do... I hate for you to drive 200 miles if you don't have to unless you just want too... LOL

Thx, Dan, sent you a PM to discuss.

[Vic1947]

Originally Posted by Low Elco

Not for nuthin- you might try Lenexa Bob or Teeitup, just to see.

Hey, Chip. My main concern is investing time in parts that may only be marginally better than what I have. A hinge pair has a total of 14 rivets, each representing a potential point of failure. Almost impossible to tell how they'll work until you install them. On the other hand, there are plenty of horror stories regarding the reproduction hinges, too. I may take Dan up on his offer since he seems sure the ones he has are good.

[Vic1947]

A lot has happened since my last post, not all of it good unfortunately. We took off a few days before Christmas to make a run to Houston and see family and friends which was great. Traded some computer work and wiring repair on a GPS for some CNC work which I'll be sharing at a later date. But at the moment, I've hit a serious roadblock on CRLS.

Scott came over and helped me set the bed on the frame and it was so bad I could barely look at it. A while back, when B-I-L Rick was here, while attempting to fit the tailgate, you may recall we discovered the corner to corner measurements on top of the bed were off by about 1-3/8". The port-a-power was unable to move the dimensions very much, but it was enough to get a decent fit on the tailgate. Fast forward to the present. With the cab and the bed lined up with the frame, the gap between the back of the cab and the front panel on the bed was about 1/2" on the passenger side and 1-1/4" on the driver side. No amount of slip sliding the bed and cab around could even up the gap.

Turns out the corner to corner issue was more serious than I originally thought. The main problem is with the repro bedside which had issues from the start. I had to relocate the area where the wheelhouse bolted up because the captive nuts were offset by about 5/8". At that time I failed to recognize the real problem was related to the entire inner bedside panel. Fixing the current problem would require removing a section of the inner panel and shifting it forward as much as possible.

Before continuing this tale of despair, I have to add some context. Prior to learning of the problems above, Kathy and I signed up for the Hot Rod Power Tour from June 6-13. Popped for VIP passes and made reservations at all the stops. So now, I have the added pressure of a deadline.

Knowing this, I decided to purchase another bedside to save some time. No luck ...all I did was lose even more time as, two bedsides later, I had nothing that would improve my situation even marginally. So I surveyed the situation and decided to fix what I had. Three days into the repair, I'm at an impasse. The bed is now perfectly square, top and floor X measurements are exact to within 1/16" and I still have a tapered gap between the bed and cab. Much less than what I started with, but ugly nonetheless.

I'm thinking what I may do is load all the parts into the bed and cab and roll everything into the upstairs garage and swap places with my '57 Ford. Finish the Ford enough to do the Power Tour and pick back up on the truck next year. if I choose to go this route, I'll do a build thread on the Alternative forum and post progress reports there. Right now CRLS and I are having a major falling out.

[Elliot949]

Let me guess your bedsides have been "Counterparts"...

I am sure you have done this Vic but I will throw it out anyway... are you sure your mounting points on both the frame and bed are square......

[sduckworth13]

Vic, I'd give LMC a shot. I'm sure that their bedside might be the solution to the problem...I hope. Either way I'm always here to help if you need a hand.

[Vic1947]

Originally Posted by Elliot949

Let me guess your bedsides have been "Counterparts"...

I am sure you have done this Vic but I will throw it out anyway... are you sure your mounting points on both the frame and bed...

Hey, Dan. The box my bedside was packed in had "Restoration Parts" on it, but didn't say Counterparts. I was tempted to go to LMC and check out theirs, but didn't. Was unable to get the parts guys on the phone to ask who makes the ones they sell, so rather than take the time to go there in person, I grabbed up the cutting disc and waded in.

Early on, I took the frame to a shop in Independence that has a good reputation. Paid them to straighten out a minor tweak and them measured it all when we got it home. Looked fine, however, there are more points I can and should check. Scott and I pulled the clip yesterday, just need to pull the cab and bed off again to gain access.

Originally Posted by sduckworth13

Vic, I'd give LMC a shot. I'm sure that their bedside might be the solution to the problem...I hope. Either way I'm always here to help if you need a hand.

At this point, Scott, the bed is about as square as they get. I'm doubtful that a different bedside would fix the problem. Right now, my suspicions are centered on either the frame or the reproduction floor I grafted into the cab. If I get the cab and clip straight, the bed is way off if I shift it to correct the gap. If I line the bed up perfectly with the frame and then shift the cab and clip to align with the bed, it's so far off the core support bolts won't go in. It's makin' me crazy!

[Elliot949]

Cool Vic... I just wanted to run it by you... Don't bail on this you have too much time and engineering invested...

I do have to say I would love to see that 57 done... LOL

[snipescastle2]

Vic,
seen this on craigslist, just thought I'd let you know...
Ben

http://springfield.craigslist.org/pts/4778122342.html

[snipescastle2]

Vic,
I have an alternate Idea, if you are open to it....my right bedside is pretty straight, and since I'm not on a "deadline" I would be willing to trade with you so you can "proceed" with your build, after all, you have helped me out, time to return the favor!

Ben

[Vic1947]

Originally Posted by snipescastle2

Vic,
I have an alternate Idea, if you are open to it....my right bedside is pretty straight, and since I'm not on a "deadline" I would be willing to trade with you so you can "proceed" with your build, after all, you have helped me out, time to return the favor!

Ben

Thanks for the offer, Ben. Pretty sure I've finally fixed the bedside I have, so replacing it with another is not likely to change things. My current theories involve either the frame or the reproduction floor. I need to remove the cab and bed to expose the frame mounts and do some measuring. Or better yet, haul it back to the frame shop and have them put it on the rack and assess the situation. At least they might be able to identify the source of the problem.

[texasld]

Maybe it's just the holes in the repro floor you put in the cab. I know on my floor extensions the holes were about a 1/2 to 3/4 off. could you pull the bolts and shift the cab to get it all sitting correctly and then check your bolt holes? I know then you are looking at another bag of worms, but it's a start. You have this one in the bag, I know you!

[snipescastle2]

Vic,
The offer still stands, if you need me to measure my original steel floor for the carriage bolt spacing, I can do that too, but it'll be after 6:00 tonight...
Ben

[jlsanborn]

Oh man, not the update I have been looking forward to! Let's get that cab plucked and see what's up. Once you know what needs fiddlin' with you'll execute and be right back on track.

[Vic1947]

Originally Posted by texasld

Maybe it's just the holes in the repro floor you put in the cab. I know on my floor extensions the holes were about a 1/2 to 3/4 off. could you pull the bolts and shift the cab to get it all sitting correctly and then check your bolt holes? I know then you are looking at another bag of worms, but it's a start. You have this one in the bag, I know you!

Originally Posted by snipescastle2

Vic,
The offer still stands, if you need me to measure my original steel floor for the carriage bolt spacing, I can do that too, but it'll be after 6:00 tonight...
Ben

Originally Posted by jlsanborn

Oh man, not the update I have been looking forward to! Let's get that cab plucked and see what's up. Once you know what needs fiddlin' with you'll execute and be right back on track.

Thanks for all the suggestions, offers of assistance and encouragement, guys.

That said, I've discussed the situation with the wife and the most practical course of action is to mothball CRLS and get to banging on the '57 Ford. It is much farther along and I'm more confident I can get it on the road for the Power Tour. Once I get the build thread started for it, I'll post the link for anyone who may want to follow along. When we return from PT in June, I'll pick back up on CRLS and get to the bottom of the mystery. Later!

[Elliot949]

I hate the fact you need to pull off of this awesome truck... But I am also interested in the 57... make sure I get the link to it... but man I think we can figure this out ... looks like you are only off about 3/16"... it has to be in the Cross sills...

[jlsanborn]

It's another grand attribute you have and live by Vic. If you're gonna do it, do it the way you think it oughtta be done. Little ding in the schedule but it'll be ( . )( . ) when it's done!

[Elliot949]

Originally Posted by Vic1947

Thanks for all the suggestions, offers of assistance and encouragement, guys.

That said, I've discussed the situation with the wife and the most practical course of action is to mothball CRLS and get to banging on the '57 Ford. It is much farther along and I'm more confident I can get it on the road for the Power Tour. Once I get the build thread started for it, I'll post the link for anyone who may want to follow along. When we return from PT in June, I'll pick back up on CRLS and get to the bottom of the mystery. Later!

Hey Vic... Can you get me a couple of shots straight down the L&R sides of the truck?... It needs to be perfectly straight down the sides...