While i'm in kansas studying old cars and how to properly restore them i landed myself a job at our library. For those who do not know, Mcpherson Library has 1 of the 3 largest automotive libraries in the nation. There is information at this library that is not found anywhere else in the world. While working there have been times in which i had some down time and i was able to research into my truck since there isn't much information at all about this truck online. Turns out i found a good amount of information already and if you are interested i will list it below. In addition to this i am trying to find a way to get my truck here to kansas the most cost effective way. There is a storage yard accross the street from the school that most Automotive restoration students will rent out and store their projects while they work on them but i've found their prices to be a little more steep thatn i prefer. The new option has come in moving out of the dorms to a house with a few guys i know and they have a garage no one uses. I'm thinking thats what i'll end up doing either next semester or next year. So while i can't work on my truck currently here is the information i have found. I have yet to add a horn to my truck and was currious to the placement of what was original and it turns out the commercial '36 had two horns on either front fender and the 1 1/2 ton '36 only had one. This is consistant in all photos i found I also was curious to find what kind of bed was typical to these trucks and i was able to find two different kinds. One being from a model 51 hydraulic dump bed (this truck was $795) and one with a wood and metal (this popular Stake style was less at $670) I was also currious as to a part that was apart of this truck but i was unaware as to its usage. When doing this project my father gathered all the parts he had for the truck and gave them to me and slowly i incorporated these parts back to the truck but this one piece i was so confused on. It had the weight and size of a bumper but was obviously not a bumper... yesterday i found out it was the spare tire mount! (right figure) Below are some other misc pictures and ads i found (Engine info on the 1936 V8) (Interior picture of truck) Ad for 1936 (metal bed) info on commercial vs larger truck more engine information assembly photos diagram for emergency brake i have on my spare transmission I need to reconstruct new wheel hubs and this was good information. Its not the same hub but good to know the construction.
So I’m home for the holidays, first semester of College down and learned a lot! It was a great learning experience and definitely worth it. That being said, I’m still glad to be back in Ohio to work on my project. Today I milled a spacer for the generator to align the belt. Have a smaller fan on order as well. Originally I was going to use a 18 inch fan but there were many clearance issues so I’m thinking a 15 inch will fix that. Here are some photos of the generator work today. Everything looks to be lined up well. I’m happy with it. Moving on to the next step..
Bought a lot of Electrical equipment the other day to prepare for a full wiring job on this vehicle. I made a wiring diagram I’ll attach below in case anyone is curious. It’s very basic but should have it running. Also, my generator has 3 wire placements and I’m a little unsure but I’m thinking it’s an externally grounded unit. Take a look at the diagram and let me know what you think.
Hello Christopher. The rusty terminal on the end is the Arm terminal. The upper one on the side is the field terminal. The lower one on the side is a ground terminal and should have a wire from there to the voltage regulator box. The generator is internally grounded. You need a voltage regulator for a ford that is 12V. Typical 57-62 year range will get you the right item. Standard Motor Products VR21 is the one normally offered. Mart.
As a follow up to my last post here’s how the wiring is going for the generator and the regulator. I need to make a bracket for the ignition coils still but it’s also wired
Just a few more photos. I’ll try to finish up the ammeter gauge and get it actually fixed into the dash. At this point all I need is some thick wire for the starter and battery. I also need to wire the oil gauge and fuel pump gauge. If only I knew where those were…. Yikes. I should have them still, where is the question for now haha..
Made the bracket for my ignition coil today and got that all wrapped up. I think it turned out pretty good.
Christopher. That looks tidy but I have some bad news. an oil filled coil should be positioned so it's standing up so the internals are not exposed... they need to stay covered in oil. Henry even made a stand-off Brkt for these on the 49-53 engines that kept them upright and away from any excessive block heat. here’s a homemade one. https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/8ba-coil-bracket.974560/ Henry’s
Got my new gauges in the mail today. My old ones were BUTCHERED. I’m guessing with the old set something went out and they modified it for just the one. Here are some photos. I’d like to wire these up before I leave for spring semester
What amp fuse do you think I should run for my lights? I’m running the following -2 halogen front headlights with high beam and low beam -2 tail lights (brake and running) -License plate light -5 instrument panel lights (2 for original, 3 for additional gauges) Omitted -got rid of cab light it should be very similar to the original wiring, just not sure what amp fuse to run This fuse holder goes up to 30 amp applications but I have no clue if I need a 20 amp fuse, 30, or even lower. Just not educated enough on this stuff yet.
As an update I got most things wired in with exception to accessories and some things that have not been set up yet. Things not set up yet are -brake light switch -tail lights -dash lights -horn BUT, the headlights are working and I love them. The halogen kit is bright and wonderful. Enjoy the pictures.
As a rule, halogens draw a lot of amps and often may be more than the light switch can accommodate requiring a relay to protect the switch and the wiring. Might consider that just to be safe. If my memory serves me right (often does not) most aftermarket light switches I have seen come with a 30 amp circuit breaker attached. Others will chime in here Chris I am sure.
Thank you, that’s good to note. Like I said, I don’t know much about the specifics of amps and what everything pulls so anything helps! I appreciate your input
@vtwhead I just looked back at the beginning of my thread and realized you’ve been here since I started this. Thanks for keeping up with it and the comments along the way, it means a lot. To anyone else who also continues to follow, I appreciate it! It may not be the fastest restoration or the most interesting vehicle but I’m finding this work to be enjoyable. Not to mention how much I’m learning.
16 gauge wire will have no problems with 30 amps, so you just need to worry about not frying the fixtures. I suspect the instrument panel to be the weakest link in your chain. You could do some digging and see what the manufacturer amp recommendations are for your fixtures, or you could start with super low fuse and work your way up (with all your lights on). a tab of solder is your friend good looking project and I want your seat in my truck
Chris, look this over. makes a lot of sense and is bullet proof for the best lighting VClassics Interactive - Archive
I went home this past week for spring break to see the family and did some work on the truck i thought i'd add. It wasn't much as i didn't have that much free time but i have added a gas tank and taillights. In addition to the work i did on the truck i spent 2 days with my father visiting museums. We visited the Cord and Duesenberg Museum in Auburn Indiana, the early ford V8 museum in the same area, and the Packard Museum in Dayton Ohio. I recommend each museum if you get the chance to. First on this i made some simple brackets to mount the tail lights and then wired it up. This was an easy process but it was good to see one more thing done. I think these will be temporary as i will add a bed probably move these lights or get new ones altogether. The last thing i did was to make up some brackets to hold the gas tank out of angle iron and some flat iron. The gas tank is just a standard tank of aluminum. The old tank was slightly smaller and while this one isn't a exact replacement i think it will serve as a great tank to use for years to come.
Got something else in the works. Thanks to my father for organizing the shipment of the front window actuator we were able to get the piece rebuilt with new wing gears and special pins. It cost a little more than i wanted but these are hard to find anymore. No one that i know of sells them new and if you can find an old original you still run the risk of damage and future dependability. This is the last piece needed to complete the front window construction.
Started to do some research this past week on truck beds for this truck. It seems i'm going to have to make mine completely custom because finding and original truck bed frame seems impossible. I have had some nice gentlemen on facebook help me out with what they've done. I really like the green truck's bed construction. That guy made his all custom so i'm trying to get his build plans so i can recreate it. He also added rear fenders and extended the running boards which i really like. Let me know if you like the all wood construction too.
The first thing i did was install the new front window regulator. She works incredibly smooth and was a simple installation. Here’s some pictures of it installed, pretty simple concept
Next thing accomplished was installing the windshield wiper motor and linkage. I’ve explored this before but if you can remember I had to change the location of the motor because it was in the way of the seat. Now it’s in a place not as hidden. I haven’t wired it up yet but all is fastened and ready to go. I had to get creative and use some plastic tubing for a section because it would have been 10 times harder if I used the aluminum pipe that’s the kit came with. Tomorrow I’ll try to install the windshield wipers and maybe wire it up.
Today i started to make the inner door panels as well as the panels by the floorboard. I had to made the drivers side panel special to cover the motor. Not the prettiest thing to have but I think I covered it the best way possible. I’ll just have to glue the fabric to the panels tomorrow to finish these. There will be a little sewing required but overall pretty simple. Personally I’m just ready to have all that wiring tucked away neatlybehind these panels. You can see all I did was make metal panels for the floorboard pieces since those panels might get kicked. On the doors I used a mixture of the hardboard and some foam board. I needed a little more thickness with the kind of clips I have, other than that there’s no great reason for the foam bars. Maybe it’ll help with lessening vibration noise but other than that, not much.
Got all the panels made today. It was a little of every thing to get it done: cutting, gluing, sewing, and bolting. I’ll let the photos speak for my work but I think I came out pretty good. Only mistake I made was that I accidentally made two passenger side door panels. It was extra work to peal the foam panel off the hardboard, cut a new piece and redo it. But overall I’d say everything went smooth. Haven’t hooked anything up to the fuse box yet, I’ll have to think about how I incorporate it and what wires will be off of it but it’s there and ready. Most importantly, all the wires are now hidden behind it.
The Jalopy Journal
