COE Salvaging a 38 Ford COE

Incredible build. Love the look of it.

 

Using galvanized in certain areas only.




Regular 19ga. in areas like this lower hinge area.






The lower apron is all rusted. I will fabricate these.



Making a paper template.


Steel piece cut out and wheeled a little shape into it before I tip over the edges.

 

Nice work on the repairs. been following this and you are doing a great job.

I used 46-47 big conventional cab truck front fenders, cut and modified to become the rear fenders on my COE. Even with the large radius, i have to lift the frame up to give enough clearance to remove the wheel and tire.

 

Like with many safety issues, (welding galvanized steel can poison you) don't get panicked about it. Long before you get to any real danger, you will notice an odd taste in your mouth. when that happens it is time to stop and take a break until the taste is gone, then go back and get some ventilation in your shop!
The good part of all this is the fact that the human body will rid itself of zinc quite readily, unlike the heavy metals like mercury, lead, and chromium.

BTW Tony, I got tired just reading about this "save"!

 

Lookin good Man!!

 

Getting the right side apron made.







And the super duty hitch made, plated, brush finished, and mounted. Looks like it was made just for this truck.
I'm going to leave it in the bright finish to match the stainless on the truck.

 

Impressive, as always Tony. Really enjoying this build.

 

I made new battery straps with a mounting tray.



I'm replacing all of the rusted and broken weld in cage nuts with new ones. I removed the inner fenders to do this.



Then I welded in a new inner fender from Northern Cl***ics.




And I finished repairing the lower jamb. Good as new.



Getting the cab corner fitted.


Welded up and metal finished.



The plywood floor completes this corner.



Now on to the lower left rear corner for restoration.

 

I spent the last 20 minutes looking over the thread,,beautiful work. HRP

 

thanks HRP...

Working on restoring the left rear corner.

Cutting out the bad.



Forming the new wheel arch.




Shaping the new inner rocker



And the rear floor.




When you start rebuilding a cab this far, you really get to see how it was designed and how each piece ties into the next piece.



The left lower hinge area.

New inner fender. Upper half is from Norther Cl***ic, the lower half I fabricated.



The access hole in floor panel for the master cylinder.

Welds cleaned up on the lower hinge.




My custom stainless steel oval grill from Ron Holland. The horizontal bars are curved instead of coming to a point.


View of inner fender and rear cab corner repairs.



Making the '49 Ford dash a bolt-in unit. Shaping and tacking the filler pieces in.


Tweaked the column and pedals. Now I have enough room to rest my left foot and use both pedals with one foot.


Shaped a new rear panel where it was Swiss cheese before. Still need to finish welding and metal finish it before I add the lower piece.

 

Beautiful work !!

 

Have been following your build and I am amazed at your skill.

 

You are killing it, sir.

Well done indeed.

Great save, love these old cab overs.

 

True artist at work here, your skills are amazing. This truck is lucky to be rebuilt and have a new lease on life. Great job!

 

Nice work! I always look forward to your progress posts.

 

Great work Tony and love the grill . When you coming to Texas I'm almost to the point of doing body work ? LOL

 

Working on the lower right front cab corner.

The front cab corners and lower valance panel are very nice repop parts.


I needed to tweak the lower valance a little to get a nice tight fit to the cab corner.



Since the lower corners rusted away, this allowed the grill opening to widen more than a 1/2". I needed to pull the sides in and tack a brace in until I get the front corners restored.


Cut out the notch for a bumper bracket, shaped and tacked in a new piece for a smoother look.



I still need to trim it some more to fuse it to the rest of the cab.



The grill surround needs a ton of work to fit properly. I'm still not sure if I'm going to use it or just use it as a buck. I really want a steel shell. A metal shaper with plastic parts just doesn't seem right.

 

After I got the bumper cutout welded up and metal finished, I fitted up the front cab corner and welded it in. I also had to make a new hood catch. I still need to metal finish the weld.





Next I will fabricate the pieces needed to reshape and restore the rest of the wheel arch.




Testing the fender fitment.


I don't like the way Ford fit the fenders with the arch. Looks like a mistake, but all of these COEs are like this.



I will make a new section and reshape the arch to fit the fender.



Cutting out all of the Swiss cheese.


Formed a new piece.



Tacked it in.





Welded up and started to metal finish it.



Cut out the area so I can reshape the arch and rust in one new piece.



Testing the new piece. The arch looks much better now. I still need to add more contour so it fits up perfectly to the old metal.




Stay tuned while I welded it up and metal finish it to complete this corner...

 

I truly wish I could metal finish ANYTHING. You make this look so damn easy, but I know its not. Thanks again for this thread, it's inspirational!

 

Man......that is nice. Great work there. That is gonna' be one hell of a truck.

 

Hell of a MetalSmith you are indeed Sir…..

 

With work like that, I shouldn't even own tools... great set of skills

 

thanks everyone for the good words. I finished restoring the right side cowl.

Got the patch panel shaped and trimmed to fit.



And tacked in.



Welded and metal finished to complete this front corner.









Now on to the left front corner and cowl...

 

Very nice work
wish I still had my old 56 Ford C600

 

Looks awesome. Getting me inspired to start working on my 39.

Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!

 

any thing going on

 

Wow, beautiful work.
Your improvements make this a work of art!
I'm picturing molded trim work at the top of the grill surround coming down a little around it mimicking the side 'trim'.
Sorry, just a thought.

 

Wow, just wondering with all you metal skills why are you going to use plywood floors? you are one hell of a metal man.

 

xpletiv

I'm going to make some stainless trim around the grill opening and a ribbed center bar, topped off with a winged emblem like the 1940 Ford Coe has.



rusty rocket

I never thought about making the floor inserts in anything other than wood. Maybe I just thought it would be cooler and quieter with the wood?

Fitting up the left front cab corner...



Filled in the bumper cutout again and welded up the corner.






Next I will cut out the rest of the cowl along the wheel arch and replace this...