Projects A Farm Truck Comes to the City—’29 Pickup Build

Here’s a look at the hinge issues I was talking about. Wish I’d taken better pictures as I went, but you know how it is when you’re focused on something.

For this close up, I’ll start with my “good side”—i.e. the driver’s door. Note the rot lower-right; that's the only rust-through anywhere.



This is my driver’s door middle hinge. I’m only showing this because it is something to savor: The one and only good hinge on the cab.


Here’s the top hinge. Not too bad. Somebody brazed a mirror bracket to it with no regard for damage to the adjacent door skin (you can see the stub of it in that first pick). I’m sure the bracket served, which is all that mattered back in the day. This is how it looks after I cut and ground the***** off. Adjacent door skin needs work, obviously.


Now the lower hinge. Somebody “fixed” this by welding 1/8” plate to the inner frame and outer skin. One plate was brazed and the other welded—done at different times?


I’m guessing the inner plate bound the door up, because looks like someone bent the lower hinge trying to fix it. But all this did was stress the upper hinges, causing cracks in the A-pillar mount areas. Anyway, I cut the plates off, revealing underlying damage to the door skin (earlier fix attempt?).

The lower inner door mounts was really loose due to extensive cracking, as you can see. I’m****uming this was the problem that the plates were intended to solve. I cleaned the metal, welded the cracks, and the mount points are solid now. Ugly, but you can’t see them.
View attachment 5020521

Re-mounted the door to have a look.

Good so far. It opens, closes, latches. I’ll repair the skin next, which could be tough; dolly access is problematic. Also need to improve my metal shrinking skills, as they pumped a lot of heat into the door skin with all that gas welding. Shrinking metal is not a talent for me. I have a couple shrinking discs but have never gotten the hang of them. And when I use a gas torch to heat and quench, the results are spotty. Literally.

But anyway, it’s progress.

Next up: Right door. The “bad” side.

 

was given a '28-'29 truck cab last thursday [rough] [very rough]
keep the pix coming they really help...

 

Well good news, I have been waiting for you to start a thread on this after seeing the news on the speedster thread. I will be following along. I like you work style and your writing style.

 

your welding already shrunk the metal, you need to stretch it.

 

I have long looked to your threads for tips on bringing these old vehicle back to life, and will be watching for this new one. Very pleased to know my pictures are helpful even to those with experience!

Thank you for these kind words, @loudbang. Ah, if only my build skills matched my writing ability.

Doh! Got that backwards. Only welded the inner door, haven't actually welded the panels yet, but when that time comes I'll do my best. Like I said, access is challenging.

 

On to the right door, where there’s a whole lot of weirdness going on. This door's open-and-close operation was a floppy mess, with only 2 attachment points. The pictures tell the story.

Top hinge, door and A-pillar:



Yes, that is the wrong side of the hinge, welded to the door. And on the A-pillar side, somebody cut the hinge out entirely. Sigh.

Middle hinge:


Well, at least they welded the correct side of the hinge to the door. I guess that’s something. Again, they torched the A-pillar for access to the hinge nuts. But this time they kindly left some metal in place so they could remount the hinge… three or four different times, judging by the holes.

Bottom hinge:


This is… creative. First, they welded the daylights out of it. Then, when that didn’t work, they cut the outer part of the hinge off, twisted it like a pretzel and bolted it to the door skin.

All in all, I really can't complain. These flaws are what put the truck in my budget. But I couldn’t keep looking at this mess. I drilled/cut/ground it all off so I could contemplate a fresh slate.



In the process of removal I destroyed 2 of the threaded mount holes in the middle section. Figured I’d weld, drill and tap. But closer inspection showed those mount holes are actually plugs that are pressed into the door. My neighbor had a better solution; we drilled out the plugs and he tig-welded fresh nuts into the hole.




That’s as far as I could get with the door for now. Had to shift my attention to an unexpected little setback. More to come…

 

An oil can would have been a great thing to have 75 years ago.

 

did a tread on hinge building / repair.... called ?

 

I'll say!

I'd like to read that thread. I searched like crazy, no luck. Let me know if you remember the name. But I did bookmark some useful threads while look for it.

 

Now that’s a great neighbor.

 

At last, I have some time to catch everyone up. While working inside my garage on the cab and doors, I continued dismantling the rest of the truck outside, as weather permitted. Goal was to get the frame to a sandblaster asap . But when I removed the box, I hit this little snag:




Looks like the back section of this frame was replaced, maybe due to an accident? It’s been gas welded and is only more-or-less square. And I don’t know what’s going on with the cutouts on top—they seem to serve no purpose other than weakening the thing. It’s a shame, because the frame is fairly clean otherwise and has good numbers, which will be key for re-titling. I’ve been through the that process a couple times—it’s time-consuming and involves multiple inspections, but is relatively straightforward (at least in this state).

This frame would still be a good candidate for a kickup, but that’s not my plan. And A-frames are common enough that it’s not worth messing with this—especially because the pandemic closed down my local commercial welding outfit. Bummer for me, but really*****s for the Alaska fishing fleet, which winters here.

I put the word out for a replacement frame—by which I mean I phoned @Hitchhiker. After some discussion of the challenge, he did me one better. On a nice frosty Friday he grabbed my trailer and came back with this:


It’s a ’29 special coupe that’s had the back cut off in a classic wartime pickup conversion. The seller was the grandson of the original purchaser, and it was his grandfather who cut it up and gave it a home-made wooden box (now rotten) with cool hand-forged brackets and hinges. Everything from the back of the doors forward is pretty sound and complete—garnish moldings, glass all around, most everything seems to work. But from the rear of the doors back…well, it suffered a bit.

But here’s the best part:

It has a numbers-matching****le and is registered as a pickup truck.

So this kills two birds with one stone—frame and****le. No messing around with paperwork and State Patrol inspections! And as a bonus I’m getting a bunch of incidental parts I can use, including numbers-matching engine (core for the future—currently seized) and incredibly straight fenders, excellent gauges, etc. When swap meets come back, I’ll sell off the coupe body to recoup some of my cost; it’s very savable.

Shortly after the new “truck” arrived, Mother Nature blessed the occasion with another snowstorm. It’s becoming a theme.

 

Wow! Some really nice stuff to work with.

 

Nice, everything to make a 28-29 coupster back into a coupe should be easy to sell.


Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app

 

local, MA. ...
guy has a pair of '28-'29 coupe, special, or sport quarters... $400 PR.
decent but no gutters, need lower patches... pm me for a phone # if it helps ...

 

Another great find, looks like it was cut and kept the rear wheel wells.

Bob

 

Ia an A and a AA truck pretty much the same as far as the fenders go? I know the suspension is different. I have a double A I've always thought of doing something with.

 

as far as I know the front fenders are the same

 

@ClarkH

Tell your wife I'm sorry!

 

Good point. Easier for me if somebody buys it whole, but if I don't get a good offer, I'll part it.

Thanks for thinking of me, Smitty! I'd be all over that under different circumstances. But right now I need to keep my build-energy focused on the truck...and the speedster. I'll let the coupe's next owner deal with quarters.

That's also what I understand--front AA fenders the same, rears different. A few years ago I wound up with a battered odd-ball fender, no idea what it was. Took it to the swap meet and put a cheap price on it. Guy came up and exclaimed it was an AA and he would go tell his buddy, who needed one. By the time his buddy came back, the price had tripled. Clearly his buddy was not a poker player.

You tell her! But seriously, as you well know, my wife gets a kick out of this hobby of ours. Just this morning we were out at a building salavage yard, and she didn't bat an eye when I bought this 10'x2' mosters sign:


Of course, she realized it was destiny. They had a picture of the old service station it came from. Check out the name:

 

I certainly enjoy the sandwiches She makes for our yearly (pre-covid) car show outing!

And She has a great eye for color too!

Only place I take issue is She likes the truck Stock!!!

(All joking aside, Clark hit the jack pot with the wife. We should all be so lucky)

 

NICE!

 

I'm going to join in for the fun!!

 

found the thread on hinges... 1930 roadster-esque pick up ... by sloppy jalopies...
pm for more info...

 

Very cool project! Looking forward to following along. Also enjoying the narrative.

Every time I hear about the straight down rain, I am reminded of when I was in Portland one time on a business trip. I was standing outside talking to some construction company guys when some rain started. Me and the other guys from Oklahoma with me all migrated up next to the building thinking we would get out of the rain. Didn't do us a bit of good...

 

Seriously, my wife is good with the plan for the truck. “Keep it stock” is just her way of saying “Don’t turn it into one of those tubbed and billeted Easter eggs of my youth.” She particularly digs the old-timey look of the stock tires and wheels, but concedes they are not practical for how we intend to use it. I recently picked up a set of artillery wheels for it, and they have received her stamp of approval.

I think she was especially pleased that I got the wheels in trade, no cash. I know I was. They are Budd brand; if anybody has hubcaps for these, I want them. The caps look like this, 8.5-in OD, 7.75-in ID:

I might eventually put an ad in the Hamb Wanted ads, but I'm really not interested in the most-excellent Nigerian knock-offs, even if they do come with a cow and my choice of sister.

 

I have discovered that a great way to make friends, at least where I live, is to put a ratty old Model A in plain view in the driveway. I was making storage plans for the parts-coupe as soon as I got it, figuring I had limited time before there was neighborhood blowback. Turns out, no worries—my neighbors absolutely love it. For a while there, not a day went by without somebody stopping to talk about it; on sunny days, it was a steady stream. Walkers, people driving by—they’re drawn to it.

One guy stopped by in a fully restored ’30 coupe he’s had since high school; I showed him the speedster and now have an invitation to some upcoming club events. After I removed the headlight bar in advance of a snowstorm (I know a tempting snowball target when I see one), I got a frantic text from another neighbor: “Please tell me it was you who removed those cool headlights from your car!” The old gal across the street is particularly fond of it—her folks had one when she was a child, she has vivid memories of riding in the rumble seat.

Of course, in talking with folks I have to gauge how much detail they can take in. Most are completely baffled when I explain how the coupe will morph into a truck. And there was much dismay when the dismantling began; some needed reassurance that this was a necessary step, and the cute car in the driveway would come back eventually. Others completely get it—the headlight-texting neighbor offered the use of his chain hoist, which saved me the bother of lugging in a crane from my brother’s shop. We just rolled it into his driveway and lifted it onto a furniture dolly; whole process took about an hour.






Pretty much ready for the sandblaster. The frame is pitted, but square. I'll be running fenders, so pitted is OK.

 

Before you get it blasted do some investigative work with a wire brush, vinegar, sandpaper, whatever it takes, and locate and record the serial number (located on tops of the driver's side frame rail, just behind the steering gear IIRC) for future reference. You may not need it for completing****le work/licensing in the future, but if you DO need it, you won't have to lift the body to find it.

 

Thanks for the tip, @'28phonebooth. Already handled. Matches the engine and****le. A unicorn as far as I'm concerned: The first Model A anyone in my family (me, father and brother) have owned with matching frame/engine/title numbers. Doesn't add any value (it's not a late '60s muscle car), but it's cool.

 

I remember that build! Just went back and reviewed the hinge-making part--posts 77, 87, 88. Thanks for the pointer. By the way, just out of curiosity, did you end up selling it?

 

yup.. big guy, 6'1"... going flat 4 or 8...