I'm so glad to read you'll be squaring up the doors. This truck will look pretty cool... will there be a hot rod in your future? Do you have one already?
the 8 ft bed is a must. the fenders look good too. you might be able to get away with the bed being a little narrower than the cab if the resulting wider fenders wouldn't look wonky. but i dunno. it's gonna be cool regardless.
Nice Ford COE build, it's clean and right. And there's some funky exhaust routing! BTDT, see attached pic of turning the exhaust away from the Diamond-T cab.
Yeah, I think the doors look "right" when square- seen both factory crew cabs as well as modern rods with suicide slanted doors. Hot rod: Eventually. Once I get this done (already 2.5 years long project) then there's a Triumph Spitfire that needs a drivetrain swap completed and two Messerschmitt KR-175's that need building. After that I'd like to come back to the Diamond-T sheet metal collection I've got and build a roadster. Long nose, 2 seats in the rear, boattail with plenty of swoopy fenders. The 37 Talbot Lago T150 is an inspiration.
Would like to make it look right even if it isn't a "standard" size anymore. A bit wider isn't a bad thing either, more usable space. If a shell/top is needed I'll scratch one similar to my friend's vintage unit:
i used front fenders from a 509. cut along the peak line, cut 7" from the less curved area in the center, added 6" to the inside, hammered out a new opening with a rounded lip and welded that in, and shrinked/stretcher for the mounting flanges.
John, Thanks for the in-process pictures, very helpful. As my tires are ø41.5" I won't need to add the inner lip- that's a ton of work and your results look fantastic! And now I understand why your fenders look right with the "smaller" rims. What did you do for the inner 90° flange? And how do the fenders attach to the bed?
More CAD work, got the bed framing laid out. Exterior is sheeted with .070 steel over a 1"x2" steel framed bed. Bed will be wood with stainless T channel between the boards. 10° angle on the tailgate, thinking now that angle should run all the way down the skirt as it looks a bit odd with the flat in the rear. Wasn't planning on a rear bumper.
Damn! I love those Diamond T's. I have a Diamond T race truck that I am seriously considering a rebuild for the street.
. 10° angle on the tailgate, thinking now that angle should run all the way down the skirt as it looks a bit odd with the flat in the rear. Wasn't planning on a rear bumper.[/QUOTE] Just my 2 cents, but that might be TOO flat and angular looking. The proprotions of your truck are much bigger than mine, but I think the rolled pan breaks up the rear, softens up the rear, and matches the roll at the top of the cab and hood tops. It's gotta have some curves somewhere. Or, I could be totally wrong!
Brian, That is a nice roll at the bottom there. Looks to be about 4" radius or so? Would finish my bed nicely, thanks for the idea. The main purpose of this vehicle is for towing, so the receiver is gonna come out down there. It'd be cool to have a little door panel that covers the hitch when not in use... Another issue to sort are running boards. For sure between the fenders, I might do something as a step in back of the rear one. Use the stock radius (pictured) to blend back into the bed side.
Those trucks are some of the prettiest ever made. I'll be watching this one with great interest. Nice work!
if you look at the top center of the last 4 pictures i posted, you can see the mounting lip tacked in. i used an 8ft long by 3" wide 18ga strip and bent it 90° down the center. trace the curve of your fender on something like plywood and use a shrinker/stretcher until it matches the curve. i did the same in the front where it bolts to the running board.
My truck had short running boards as it was a flatbed. These ended at the edge of the cab. My intital plan was to shape the ends like yours, then makea separate r'board for the box. However, I saw a 40's era Dodge which has factory two piece boards like that, and it looks sorta chopped up. Apologies to Dodge owners reading this thread... My solution was to brake a piece of 18ga with the same profile as the original r'board, and weld this to the original board. The back of the board I fitted to the rear Auburn fenders, the result I think is pretty cool. I plan on using black self adhesive body side molding to mimic the original rubber step strips, which are reproduced buy sorta pricey. Here's some photos.
One thing about those Diamond-T's, they have an awesome presence. Your's is going to be a great example. Frank
I love those Diamond T's. I used to have a '48. I don't remember what model but it was 1 1/2 ton with flatbed. That is one vehicle I wish I'd never got rid of. Good work gentlemen. I'll be following this thread with interest.
No offense taken, your boards are awesome..you know that 2 boards allow the body to flex and sway without inducing cracks like you get with a single board, it just looks shitty. If you use some rubber isolaters at the mounting points there shouldn't be any stress cracks.
Oh man.... You know I like this build. In hindsight... I'm probably just the 'lil bro' of your truck. ~Lil Brother~ 1947 Ford 1.5 Ton running a Cummins 4 cylinder 4BT on 19.5" Commercial truck tires. Awesome work.. awesome truck. ~M
Thanks. The Diamond T frame is VERY heavy wall, deep C channel with a deep X member. It looks like it'll be much less flexible than a ladder type frame, so I'm hoping my boards won't crack and tear, since they're mounted to the front fenders, cab, and bed. We'll see.
Good point on stress cracks- the original cab has plenty. Planning to make the running boards a single floating section, with fender welt between it and the fenders, rubber washers on the outriggers to the frame. Might not be enough flex though. I've been using neoprene backed washers for mounting lots of the sheetmetal parts, thinking that it will allow a bit of give in the assembly. The frame on this truck is the "H" (heavy) model, which means 1/4" thick plate steel welded and riveted to the standard C channel. On the cab, I ordered some die springs to use to flexi-mount it to the frame...
Here is a 3D pic to throw out there... 3" roll pan on the bottom might not be enough radius. 10° sweep to the bottom of the roll looks right.
I've put together a set of drawings for the bed framing. Mostly 1x2 channel, with some 1x1 thrown in. Will sheet over the sides after it's together, still trying to figure out the bead roll path. Should be pretty simple fabrication, with the exception of a few rounded corners. Was thinking to do 1x6 or 1x8 wood slats for the bed floor above the framing.
Maybe I can help you out from another build on here thats similar.... Take a look at his bed.... you might get some ideas from it. What CAD program you using? (Solidworks 2009 here) Otherwise I'm just going the simple route.... Heres my 1947 Ford bed.... for now.
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