Technical Yeah, Its got a Hemi/41 shop truck

I spent the weekend doing absolutely nothing...cept this...
These are the AC brackets that go to Mr. Powder Kote in the AM, now lighter

I also painted the radiator and condenser black with Eastwoods 2K satin black. Wear you respirator with this crap.

And I welded in some tubes in the cab to hold the wiring. The fuse box is under the seat riser so there is a few wires (16 at last count) that must pass between the dash and seat riser. Now they do so under the floor and out of sight. Double barreled shot gun, under the cab...

And up the interior firewall. One tube will handle the wiring going to the seat riser, the other handles the wires going to the dash.

Welded in tight. I used the air drill and a stepped bit to angle my way through the floor leaving a tight hole for the pipe to fit thorough.
Each pipe can hold as much as twelve 12 gauge wires so this ought to handle my harness. If I must the speaker cable can always go up and over the doors but I hope all the wiring can be handled in these tubes.

I'm no Tom Brady but everyday is the superbowl in the Bandit Garage. Seriously? there have been 55 Superbowls, Tom has been in 10 of them. WTF?

 

Dang, the whole evening spent scrolling though the whole thread to catch up again. A guy has to keep checking in just to keep up with the little detail items and stick them in the memory bank.

 

I built the column brace I was yakking on about a few post back...just to shore up the column and not depend solely on the dash for support. I ran off the hanging brake pedal bracket with a U channel I bought for another project.
I fabbed the dash mount from 1"x.250" stock and made the weld in-place after installing the column to assure a proper fit. You can see the offset on the mount plate,


The top of the bar is mounted to the hanging pedal bracket. I welded in posts from behind to make it tidy and prevent interference with the hanging pedal while allowing easy install and removal.

And drilled out the U channel so it can be added or removed for service.

It may not look like much but the column is tight! I will drop it off and the pedal drop at the powder coater Monday. Cross another one off the list. Plenty more to come.

 

Another issue with a 46 cab that had an under the seat fuel tank is that the set riser has no back and no center brace.
This is what a 40/41 seat riser looks like, courtesy of @40FORDPU

And this is mine

No back and the corners dip down 1/2" at the back (which came in handy). Cuz I built this. The top is a C Channel 1/2" thick X 1" wide, the bottom rail is 90 degree angle X 1". The uprights are C Channel as well.

The wire mesh...well the wire mesh is to allow air flow under the seat where the battery, fuse panel, bluetooth amp, tranny shift computer, etc. I am planning on adding a couple of small computer type fans to keep air flow across the electronics. I added the mesh between the channels and added the uprights trapping the mesh.
I also welded the mesh to the steel top, bottom and the uprights to prevent any vibration. The bottom corners are cut as there is a .75" elevation change on the floor at the ends.

I haven't yet welded in place but here it is clamped in for now. I am installing a Glide seat that blots to the riser, the rear panel on the riser is essential for that seat to fit securely. I have about 2 inches in the back between the new riser and the seat bolt hold downs from Julianos that I welded in. And still plenty of room for a bit of behind the seat storage.

My battery installs in the center so I will bolt the battery cage in and install a C Channel brace on each side of the Odyssey. That would have been done last night but my compressor decided to take a dump...again, so I called it a night. Appears to be the 5 HP motor, I took it in to get it fixed already, he is going to try to have it out to me by the morning so I don't have to help my wife around the house all weekend. I told him I would gladly pay extra for that!

 

Good idea on the mesh for circulation!

 

On my 41 Pickup I put a 1 1/2" stainless steel angle iron across the front bed panel and the rear of the cab and spot welded a few spots across the length and eliminated all the tin canning and bounce, I had oak floor boards with SS strips butted up to the front panel, I will post pictures after I locate them in this Damn computer, here is the bed but no details of front panel

 

Excellent idea! I am going to do the same on my bed.

 

Good news is I got my compressor repaired for a 100 bucks and I am back in the game.
I finished welding in the new seat riser rear panel and added the center supports I mentioned in the last post.
That is tidy and mighty. I cannot imagine a more sturdy seat riser. "Overkill" has been mentioned by some but I can live with that!

Also today we have wiring conduit from the under seat area to the toe board where I had already welded conduit.
These are household wiring "pull elbows" that I installed in the floor. I will add another going to the rear to handle brake lights, fuel pump, signals. etc.
I hope to have one tube pictured handle the power toward the under-seat area and the other to handle the power going forward under the dash. You can see I have temporarily secured the wood blocks in place so I can make sure I am inboard of the frame and above the crossmembers with my conduit. All of this will be covered in black rhino lining other than the pull elbow covers which I will paint black.

More to do tomorrow to get the cab ready for the rhino liner. But we are very close now.

 

I like that truck a lot. I don’t like the conduit, also a lot. And you (rightfully) shouldn’t give a rip about what I don’t like.

 

Don't worry, you wont see it. When you put your electronics under the seat you have to get a lot of wiring under there somehow. My plan is the above average onlooker will never know how it was done. Keep watching, this is just getting good.

 

I welded a nut to to the floor and built this little cover to handle the corner on my wire conduit. It is tidy!

I also added my overflow tube on the radiator (after running it across the polishing wheel and then I thought "I need to polish the gas and brake pedal. Oh the difference a couple hours of filing, sanding and polishing makes.

Next I need to decide whether or not to drill those arms and chrome the brake arm or just chrome it as is.

 

take it from an old electrician you want to use explosion proof fittings on those elbows. one because of fumes and for waterproofing but that is my 2cents

 

I love the smell of Rhino-liner in the morning.

That's Mr Rhino-liner modeling the fender for me. And here's the close up

They look mahvelous

Now comes the finish work on the tops....I really, really hate this part.

 

How much weight does it add to a fender? Noticeable, not really noticeable?

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By jove I think he's onto something!

 

I am sure it did but it must be negligible. They do feel slightly firmer and when i set them down on the floor last night rather then sound like a bunch of cans tied to the bumper of a newlywed they sort of went "thunk". I think that is a good thing.

Don't let that get around.

 

I am close to finished welding in my cab. One of the final projects was to add a dome light. I bought this piece from Chevs of the 40's locally. I picked it because i wanted a rectangular light being that close to the rectangle rear window.
I fashioned up some brackets and made them deep enough for the light body to extend through.

Welded some nuts on the back and cut the one side open for the switch to go through.

Cleaned off a spot and measured a couple of times and welded it in place

You can see the overall shape nearly mimics the window opening. It also has a glass lens and it's shiny which is a plus.

I am adding two underdash courtesy lights as well and door jamb switches. I may wire this light to come on with the door switches and use the switch to override and leave it off (for making out).

 

Snow day, fun day. Less work more garage time. I worked on a couple of projects today and checked them off the list.
First was the radiator chin pan. I raised the radiator 3" to center the Hemi's fan in the core so I was left with a gaping expanse in the pan below the radiator. So I added a 22 gauge panel and some trim to reinforce it and a bunch of rivets. Why not?

The bottom trim is actually three separate pieces welded together then riveted in place as that edge is not straight.
The entire pan will be powder coated black Monday. The hose in the lower left corner is the overflow tank discharge tube. I drilled a hole in the pan so it exits neatly and doesn't bobble about.
Riveting right? I know, a bit drab but it had to be done to divert all the air through the core. Check it off the list

 

Project two was another that I needed done for the powder coater. In an earlier post I made a bracket to reinforce the steering column drop which mounts to the drop brake pedal bracket. Today I engineered a stop light switch for the same.
I bought a simple contact switch that is open until the spring loaded lever moves slightly. This looks simple but it took me hours tonight to build. I started by slicing this C channel down the middle and adding .250" then welding it back up from only the back as I cant get inside the channel to grind easily. Then I welded it to the pedal bracket. You can see I also welded a stud to it from behind as well. This is the cradle that keeps the bracket from pivoting and only requires one adjustment nut.

The switch sits atop another section of C channel that I slotted for adjustment. I measured the distance carefully that I needed but this provides fine tuning of the moment the brake lights are triggered.

The switch itself was already tapped with 1/4x20's so I just had to drill and weld a mounting plate on top of the 7.5" C channel. It is overbuilt I suppose but I had fun and it beats inline pressure switches.
My measurements had the pivot at 7" from the firewall so I propped the pedal up as close as possible and the switch reads open at this point. As soon as the pedal travels downward, the switch is closed and the lights come on

Oh, and to counteract the heft all of the steel brackets I just added - I drilled out some weight saving holes in both the stop and the go pedal.

The bracket is ready for powder coat and the brake pedal for the chrome tank. I hear more snow in the forecast for tomorrow. Whatever shall I do? Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow.

 

Yeh WHATEVER!
Now we're getting YOUR freezing rain.
So much for us being "South of the border"!
Remember when we blamed it on the Canadians.
By the way, nice work!

 

I like to use those same switches also and have on many projects. I have to admit I have never thought of making a mount bracket quite like that one. I'm exhausted after visualizing in my mind you doing all that work. I'm also surprised you didn't drill holes in the switch bracket to match the 2 pedal arms. That much work and it don't deserve a Chrome Bath?

 

It was either spend all day in the shop or in the house with my Mrs and her girlfriend who is visiting for a while. It wasn't a difficult choice buddy! I'm not sure if splitting that bracket in two was the result of a stroke of brilliance or just a stroke.

 

Yeah, but they did give us Canadian Whiskey so I think it is a draw.

 

Day two of being snowbound, and I didn't accomplish as much as I hoped. But I did install this micro switch that will toggle the ground lead on a e-brake light on the dash.

Close up of the switch, the handle closes the switch when released, pretty straightforward. Nothing worse than having the wife driving about with the brakes engaged. A red light on the dash should prevent that...or not.

I also finished drilling the gas pedal and polishing it. It is boxed up now awaiting reassembly. As am I.

 

Here is one you 40/41/whatever truck owners can assist with, what are these two holes for? And can I weld them up without being sorry I did so later? They only appear on the left side of the dash.

 

E Brake bolts there .

 

Can’t help with the holes but weld em up and you will find out what they are for! Lol.

Oh and try 40 Creek whiskey, made in Ontario. Mmmmmm......


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What 58ducknut said: stock e-brake bracket. You probably already filled the matching two holes on the firewall.

 

Windshield garnish covers those holes . You might not even need to weld them !

 

I put the e brake on the floor next to the shifter so it looks like they get closed up! Thanks!

Isn't that the truth?! And thanks for the whiskey tip, I look for it.

I did! Funny thought wafted through my fevered mind this weekend, I spend countless hours welding up holes that someone else put there and then spend hours drilling more in all the pedals. Bu according to my count I have filled more than I have drilled.

I didn't even think of that. I had those chromed and they are wrapped up in another garage, I'll pull the left one out and see. Good tip. If not, welding keeps you warm.