MR SHORTY Returns to Washington after 18 years...

Rec'd the TANKS gas tank and fit it up - going to fit like a glove in the '73 frame. The angle of the rear crossmember even matches the taper of the tank. Impressed with TANKS quality - that plastic (polyethelene) is really thick - 1/4" thick walls - surprised me - I expected half of that....

 

this truck is beyond badass!!!....congrats on getting her back home. must have been a great feeling!

 

This is awesome! Good luck on the resurrection!

 

Mr Shorty is Awesome!
in the middle of building a 48 dodge coe and thinking of going super short.
what is the wheelbase on Mr Shorty?

 

Thanks:

91" WB
12-1/2" driveline
Stands 7' 5" tall

It was the 1940 Chev COE in the Sept 1989 Street Rodder magazine that inspired my build. Often you can find an issue on eBay:

http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_odk...kw=street+rodder+1989+magazine+sept*&_sacat=0

 

Thanks, you have inspired big changes for my truck.

 

Thanks guys - Got the tank all in ... Put 8 gallons of Ethyl in her - and warmed her up for the first time out of the new tank - even backed her out of the garage.





Exhaust pipes re-routed to clear...







Up tight and out of sight...

 

Good progress!

 

Little by little,,,,

First trip around the block today on a cold morning - you can see her breath. <!--graemlin::burnout:-->

A little thump, thump, thumpity on the flat spotted tires that sat for a couple decades. Tires and wheels next!

 

Took out the old dry-rotted bed wood and found a nice southern California black widow specimen on one of the boards. Had seen a few small black spiders and sucked them and their tough webs up with the shop vac. But this was the first larger one actually sporting the hour-glass marking. He's been in a jar for a week now and is still alive.

So just in case there were any left, parked her out last night since the temps dropped to the '20's. They are pretty sluggish anyways in the cool Seattle area they have found themselves transported to.

Here's how the largest WalMart $20 car cover fits her:

 

LOL---"the COE craze is over"

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=219018&page=168

there MAY be a girlie pic thread here that has a perpetual life like the COE thread

 

Pics from the early '90's build....

COE-3 window cab.
Donor 1/2 ton 5-window cab & Son who is now a graduate student at Emory.
COE and 1/2 ton comparison.

 

5-Window conversion pics...

 

5-Window conversion complete and patch panel pics...

 

That's MR. Shorty to you. Great Marty Robbins song.

 

Frame pics using '73 heavy half rear frame and front crossmember...

 

Paint work - engine/tranny $50 donor car on the hook - first time out of the garage ever right after paint.... I had to cut the garage door 11" taller to get her out...

 

Liking this thumbnail business - just figured it out. Pics from shows in 1992, XXX Rootbeer Issaquah and Puyallup GoodGuys. Ran into the '41 Ford I built in the early '80's, nicest truck I ever built. "Should have kept it".

My 3 Sons and another donor truck, bought off a guy at work who could not get the rebuild running. Adjusted valves, got it going, used the new parts that came with it, headliner etc.

 

So is the Street Side Auto great ? or leaky pumps ?

 

Yes they had good prices on the Eldelbrock carb etc. I bought a Carter fuel pump at NAPA in the end, works great.

 

15 mins of fame back in the day.... This was before the COE craze really took off....

 

Bought a gallon of Ospho for about 25 clams at the local Ace hardware. Going to use it to treat the sheet metal after I remove as much rust as possible first (wire wheel, strip disc etc). Thread on Ospho here.

I did just use it on the rusty rear brake drums just for a test. Getting 5 spoke wheels so the drums will show. Quick once over with a wire wheel on a fast air-drill-motor to get in between the cooling fins.

Ospho treated them overnight - a little goes a long way, then sprayed 4 or 5 coats of mat black 500 degree engine paint spray bomb. For something I didn't care that much about, really looks good. We will see how it holds up on brake drums. I used the Dupli-kote brand I had on hand, but there are others that might be a better choice like Rust-Oleum.

This was your typical heavy rusted 30 year old brake drum:

 

Nice! Don't forget the end of the axle shaft if that's going to show also... Maybe you're running center caps and it doesn't matter...

FYI: Was watching Wheeler Dealers last night and they had some BMW alums redone.. They farmed it out to a guy that stripped them with acid, cleaned them off, powered coated then painted and sealed. The damn things looked brand new..

 

Thanks - Considering the Streeter polished wheels ....... Kinda like American Racing Torq Thrust but with no step lip.

 

My first truck..... Then 25 years later – had the chance to buy it back – went and looked at it…… But passed because I had just bought another one just like it…. Can you say “mid-life crisis”….. only keep the white one 3 years…. That's my 16 year old Son posing with it in the maroon shirt on the right - could of been his first truck too!

 

Rustic bed wood redux in free boards from incoming shipping crates at work. Good enough for now - if I ever repaint the truck will get an oak bed wood kit and new metal strips then....

 

Here's something I just discovered in the back pages of the latest Hot Rod mag - new Artillery wheels......

http://www.wheelvintiques.com/index.php/

 

Yes 53, those artillerys are cool. Really dig your truck. I'm looking for another cabover to play with, a friend has an early 70s eldo fwd that I could get cheap. I'm thinking rear engine, rwd with it and doing a bed like yours. I'm too tall (w long legs) to sit on top of a big block cad comfortably..
Anyway, glad to see your rig is back with you and it's doing good- fourspeed

 

Go for it!

Got the mags on - now to work on the stance - needs more rake!



Before as built with 15 inch wheels and 31's and 33's.

After with 18 inch wheels and 32's.... Looks like a HOT WHEELS toy now...

 

Graveyard at night pic: