Projects back yard find 40 chevy truck

no problem mike. It does sound like a lot, this was a long bed . now the bed is about 6" shorter than a stock short bed . but will still have a stock look. I think only people that know will even notice. I had to raise the bed floor a few inches. and will make some small tubs inside the bed.I want to use as big a tire as I can get under the fender.

 

I cringe every time I see an old field truck being drug home here on the HAMB. too many people would take a truck like that and try and build it like it is a T bucket.

looks like you are building it into an old truck. cool.

 

Thanks ratfink. T bucket ,that's funny never thought about them like that but your right.

 

You've been busy, what did you end up with for a wheelbase ?

 

the wheelbase is 105".moved front axle center line forward 1 1/2"and rear axle back 1". to center wheel in opening better.

 

I changed my mind about the front axle and will use a M II setup. I decided on this after researching costs. found that lowering the stock axle replacing all the bushings and adding disc brakes it was going to cost as much or more than M II. so I bought some plans from Rodplans.com. and the cutout cross member pieces from Texas speed and welded up my own saved a lot of $.

 

next was to finish boxing the frame.had to cut out some of the front cross member to clear the steering rack ,will also need to make some c notches later.

 

Making good progress. I had a 37 Chevy pickup, stock MustII crossmember grafted in and it drove great. It was my daily driver, went all over with it. I just had stock rear leafs with blocks, used a 57 Chevy car rearend. The 37-40 Chevy trucks have great lines.

 

Nice job HR...can't wait for more pics and details.

 

Killer!

 

thanks guys. more pics later of installing the front cross member.

 

I had never done this before so like I said before I bought a set of plans. and did a lot of research on the ol interweb .I wont go into a lot of detail that has already been done, by HAMB member Elpolacko who has a great thread on the subject that was helpful too.

 

needed to make some c notches to clear the steering rack.

 

Keep the fenders, lose the running boards

 

getting the engine and trany positioned to build some mounts. I still have the headers that we used on this engine when it was in our old ot drag car that actually fit.I'll use them for now .I have some other ideas for exhaust that I will explore later after the body is all on.

 

they look cool some times without running boards .but if you drive em

it doesnt take long before the rear fenders are beat to **** with rock chips.

 

I wanted to build some structure into the frame with drive shaft loops .this will just about finish the frame.still have some work to do on the front end when I get some control arms.and will have the misc. small tabs for brake lines etc.I may go ahead and paint it,then grind and repaint small spots I may need to weld.so I can get the cab bolted on and work out some clutch and brake pedals. and steering.

 

Enjoying this build. Very nice work!

 

thanks .hey checked out your 41 very nice.

 

hell yeah, its doing much better with you than sitting out in the yard. keep it going!!

 

the guy I got this truck from still has a 41 that he'll never do anything with and wants to much money for it.maybe I'll be able to talk him out of that one when I finish this one.

 

I dug this old fuel cell out .to see if it would fit.it will. I also have an old beer keg I am thinking about using. either is better than a gas tank under your ***. cant believe anyone ever thought that was a good idea.

 

Lokks like your going to have some fun with that project Good Luck]

 

fun is why we do it right. now on to some more fun .stripping old paint and starting to patch some rust holes. and filling all the holes in the fire wall.

 

stripped the outside of the cab went fairly easy. inside the cab is actually worse in some places. I decided to sand blast the inside. so I wrapped some plastic around cab to contain the sand and dust. got out my respirator and some goggles, a hooded sweatshirt sinched up to keep sand out of ears and down my shirt. worked well. still need to do the floor and under side and inside the doors.

 

more cuttin and patchin.

 

They all rot at the bottom of the cowl. You are lucky the back of the cab at the beltline is good i've had alot of those that are rotten. I own a few of these trucks including the 1939 i bought when i was 11. The one in my avatar is a 40. I am working on the 39 now. The one thing you will need to spend some time on is seating and seating position. The cabs on these things are very small. I lenghten the cab on the 39 to gain 6" in the cab.

 

Keep it up, good progress!

Agree with cshades, short cab needs all the help for legroom you can get. In my old 37, I used the stock seat, but removed a couple inches of coils on the top of the seat back. Also added a couple inches to lift the front of the seat bottom. These allowed me to have a much more comfortable seating position. Also carry the weight on your thighs vs the point of your ****.

 

thanks for the heads up on the seats I have thought about this and have a few seat options.I may use a thin racing type seat. I have a set of poly seats from an old racecar. I can gain a little space with the steering column. and I have kind of short legs too. thanks for looking.

 

I may seal off that area that allows water to get behind this panel.If I had another cab I would do the same thing. before I decided to do what I am doing and cutting the frame, I kicked around doing like an extended cab. with a shortened bed.