Marvin (1953 3100)

[crestronwizard]

Thanks!

[torchlight]

A quick addition to yesterday's update. The UPS man came today and brought something fun. The completed steering wheel is back from CON2R with all the painted parts assembled. To be honest, I was a little unsure when i first got the unpainted parts from CON2R. The loose pieces of ABS plastic didn't feel very... substantial. But now that they've been painted and fully assembled onto the metal frame, I have no concerns. The steering wheel is hefty, solid, and sturdy. Its a quality part. And with the paint, I think it looks stunning. Way back, I had originally wanted to find a way to modify the stock wheel to fit the Ididit column, but I just didn't find the options I was looking for. The difference between the hub diameter of the stock wheel and modern column is significant. This steering wheel still keeps the simple "t-spoke" styling of the stock wheel and I don't think will look out of place in the cab. Its surprisingly difficult to take a picture of something with shiny paint in a well lit room!

[oldman3]

WOW, nice piece...Jim

[Root2812]

Originally Posted by torchlight

You know, the interference with the speaker brackets was not too bad - I probably only lost the last inch of recline with them installed. Maybe more though once the seat frame has upholstery on it. I think the main issue was that my seat frame is about as wide as can possibly fit in the cab, so it was making contact with the brackets. A slightly narrower seat frame would clear and recline all the way no problem. While there's been talk that Marvin could be ready before the Back to the 50s show the weekend of June 20, I've also got a baby girl due June 15 so spending the weekend at the show this year may be a tall order! Any chance you'll have your truck in the Gopher State show in April? That's always a fun show to visit at the end of a long winter.

Congratulations on the baby. I just had a little girl too. She is almost 7 months and slowed my progress down on my truck but she is worth it. Is this your first kid? I hope to go to the gopher state show but there is no way my truck will be there. I am currently building the motor. so far all I have done is the suspension. Its a slow process.

[MIKESAD50]

TorchLight,
Your truck is going to be very nice. Liking the build.
I like the mounting of the electrical under the seat and I'm changing plans to do similar thing with a Glide engineering seat.

[torchlight]

Hi everyone-

Quick little update here. Marvin is back at the body shop and probably more assembled than he's ever been since the day he got taken apart. He'll still have to come all apart again for paint, of course, but this is for final fit check on all sheetmetal, panel gaps, etc. Stopped by the shop today for a walkaround and identified a few more things to address before paint, but it is getting real close.


Looking like a truck again!



I think the headlight bezels are looking great. Having these a little deeper than the stock stainless rings allows the headlight to sit down inside the ring a little better. Using the stock rings, sometimes the headlights could look 'bugged out' a little bit, as they'd protrude completely past the outer edge of the ring. These will be chromed, and a little bit of filler will be used to build up the fender to meet the lip off the new bezels. But the bezels will still remain a separate, detachable piece, rather than becoming 'one' with the fender.



Tail end, looking sharp, with running boards on. Rear bumper has been stripped and ready to go back out for re-chrome, once we get the license plate mounting solved. Rear axle/wheels need to move back just a little bit - too far forward right now.



The boards are just laying in there loose, but they look great all mocked up! The hold-down strips use hidden fasteners, and they will be painted body color rather than being left polished.



The oval in the center of the valve covers used to say "Billet Specialties." I think they look better this way!



Hope to have more to share soon!

[99 to Life]

luv the valve covers

[torchlight]

Made a stop by the shop this morning to drop off a couple things. A few quick pictures here:


Marvin was only back together again for a fleeting moment. Coming back apart! Had to take the whole front end off to get the headers off. All the exhaust is now fully welded up and out at the platers for jet hot ceramic coating.



Side mirrors mounted. Not stock, but I really like the look of these "fatties" mirrors from Hagan Street Rods. The glass mirror surface has a convex shape, giving you a much wider field of view than a flat surface. This is important because Marvin is a 3-window cab, which means the mother of all blind spots !



Custom fuel tank mounted up and in place. Might have to change the way the fuel lines come in, because they are going to be about impossible to connect when the bed is on. The tank looks great - I love the way it is shaped to fit snug right up into the stock rear crossmember. Just over 18 gallons, and you can't see it at all from the rear of the truck - back bumper covers it completely. This will get painted black after the mockup of the filler neck gets completed.



More pics next week!

[Advanced Design]

Really nice! Who made the tank?

[torchlight]

Originally Posted by Advanced Design

Really nice! Who made the tank?

The guys at the metal shop who have had Marvin since the beginning made the tank, and they did an amazing job! It's gonna work great with the side filler through the drivers side rear fender.

[eric1967]

Did you make the headlight rings? They look great.

[torchlight]

Originally Posted by eric1967

Did you make the headlight rings? They look great.

Started with some merc headlight trim rings:

(http://www.butchscoolstuff.com/52-me...gs-85-pr-6900/)

Cut em down a little bit, smoothed the back edge, and added some mounting tabs. Now they just need some chrome!

[eric1967]

Originally Posted by torchlight

Started with some merc headlight trim rings:

(http://www.butchscoolstuff.com/52-me...gs-85-pr-6900/)

Cut em down a little bit, smoothed the back edge, and added some mounting tabs. Now they just need some chrome!

Thanks for the link. I may have to steal this idea from you. Very cool build.

[BC Toy chest]

Killer build, nice truck and Marvin for your ryde is a kool name.

[yawdie1]

nice build. offers great ideas.

[Marte_Mcfly]

Maybe I missed it , but one of my favorite parts is that you kept the foot starter! How'd that happen? I want to do the same thing in my truck when I update my transmission and I had ideas but you have it figured out!

[torchlight]

Hello everyone, just a few pictures to share today. Progress has been a bit slower as of late. Maybe not fair to say slower, but rather that a lot of things being worked on don't really show up that well in pictures. There's been a ton of sheet metal massaging going on to get things to fit just right. As you all know, the sheet metal didn't even fit that great right from the factory! Just the hood to finish up now, and hoping to see some paint prep on the cab soon. In the meantime, here are a few pictures:


Here you can see the work completed on the passenger side for the fit of the running board, running board ;skirt,' and bedside. Wanted this to all go together a little more clean than it was right from the factory, but nothing too radical. I think it turned out as a very nice look.



Here's a close-up view of the same. Still looks a bit gnarly, but once it is finished and painted, it should be pretty smooth! The bottom edge of the bedside stake pocket is extended down to match the curve of the running board skirt, and the bedside itself has been extended to close up the gap between the bed and the cab.



Here's a driver's side view at a different angle. You can also see there's a filler piece welded to the top of the box front panel to fill in the gap between the box and the cab a bit better.



Close up view of the top filler piece. This cleans up this area quite a bit, I think, without looking too wild.



Rear bumper still needs chrome, but have license plate mounting all fabbed up, including the license plate guard off of a 49 chevy car. I think its a really cool piece! Also, as might be evident from the plate, I'll be moving to Iowa soon! So I'd better have a proper plate. Iowa lets you run a vintage plate as long as it is from the same year as your vehicle and you keep a set of "real" plates in the cab to show to law enforcement officers upon request.



Finally, the rebuilt gauges are just about done. I stopped by the other day to pick them up but they juuuuuuust weren't quite done yet. The turn signal LEDs still need to be installed and the gauges need final calibration. I will pick them up for good in a few more days. But I couldn't help taking pictures because these things are absolutely gorgeous. These are the original gauges that have been completely redone by a talented shop here in town. The gauge face color is the same as my wheels (pic below), and the center sections and lettering are done in the same red color that Marvin will be painted. Speedometer was converted to electronic, and the fuel/water/oil gauges were updated to work with the more modern sending units. The battery ammeter was removed and a 70-degree sweep tachometer was put in its place. Simple, but will at least give a rough idea of where the RPMs are. The gauges are beautifully backlit with LEDs. On the gauge on the left in this picture, you can see the four small round holes for LED indicators - turn signals, headlights on, and high-beam indicator. I am so impatient to see these installed in the dash!



'Matching' wheels.



And another shot of the gauges, this time with the steering wheel in the picture. I couldn't resist.



Might be a little while until my next picture update, but should have a lot more progress to report at that time. Can't wait!

[torchlight]

Originally Posted by Marte_Mcfly

Maybe I missed it , but one of my favorite parts is that you kept the foot starter! How'd that happen? I want to do the same thing in my truck when I update my transmission and I had ideas but you have it figured out!

I agree - keeping the foot starter button was important to me because it is such a cool, fun feature of the original trucks. This was done by utilizing a floor-mount 12-volt starter switch that (I believe) is commonly found on older types of tractor equipment. It still goes through the floor slightly, so all the wiring is in the engine compartment side of the firewall, but it is essentially just a momentary electric switch, rather than a mechanical linkage approach like the original. Can't wait to try it once the engine is ready to run!

[oldman3]

Everything looking super, nice job...Jim

[Advanced Design]

Really nice detail work Torchlight. Those details will really set Marvin apart from the crowd.

[BlueJeep]

Like they've said, looking fantastic!

Where in Iowa are you moving to?

[torchlight]

Originally Posted by BlueJeep

Like they've said, looking fantastic!

Where in Iowa are you moving to?

Pella - going to embrace my 1/8 dutch heritage (haha)!

[BlueJeep]

Originally Posted by torchlight

Pella - going to embrace my 1/8 dutch heritage (haha)!

Nice area (though I'm sure you already know if you've committed to a move). I do my part to keep their local economy strong here.

[FarmerSid]

Dutch eh? I'm 1/2. I have relatives that live in Iowa that I've met 2 or 3 times. No idea where they are located though.

[99 to Life]

very nice work. diggin the speedo conversion. I'm doing the same thing. Just did one for the tach. what electric speedo did you use as a donor?