Projects 1945 Ford Pickup build

Ok, I wasn't going to post a build thread, but I changed my mind. Lets get it out there now...this truck is ugly, its rusty and its ratty...get over it, I know what I got my self into.

I didn't get an picture of it being picked up, loaded or unloaded because the POS towing compant was 6hrs late and I was at work by the time it got home.
I didn't take any pictures of the dis***enbly but it went something like this: Seat came out, 1/4 water trapping felt came out, gas tank came out from under seat area, 12 6"x10" 16 gauge galvanized steel plates were removed/rivets drilled out to expose what was left of the floor pans. Took a break to vac*** up the rust flakes and years of dirt, order the repro floor panels (front foot area and under the tank area), cab corners and botton rear of cab, and both inner door bottoms. I could have made the patch panels, but I was looking for something fast with the minimum of fitting, so I went store bought.

After all that was done, I unbolted the hood, pulled the radiator and started messing with the old flattie. I had to run a hot lead for the old coil and poured a little 2-stroke mixed gas down the carb, but the old motor started popping after only a couple turns....with a good gas supply I will probably be a runner. I need to change the oil, plugs and wires before I try that though. This truck may still get my rebuilt 8BA, but I want to know the old engine will atleast run incase I sell it or store it.

So check out a few pictures I just took in the dark, the truck is actually pretty straight. The grill is hammered, the bumper is bent and I need to order all new gl***, rubber and seals for the cab. Its got a long way to go, but I have a plan and I intend to stick to it.













You can see the dash rust from the leaking window rubber in one of the pics, should be easyer to fix then it looks.

 

That will be fun! Hope the flattie is still good.

 

It's not so bad. I restored a 1945 Ford back in the 80's when you couldn't get store bought patch panels. I made everything or cut it out of other pickups. I have a few pictures of it, but they are paper copies, I'll scan them and show you what I started with.
Sold it when I moved to Alaska, big mistake.

 

Thanks, seeing how rusty the truck is made me a little worried that everything would be rusted tight. I haven't broken a bolt yet and everything is coming loose with simple hand tools. Should be able to make something out of it in a few months.

 

Pulled all the rotted original wire warness out of the truck, trimmed the floor pans back till I got to good metal, removed the doors so I can weld in some bracing when i start on the floor pans--need to replace the left rocker area near the front cab mount, it is to rotted to save.

I did find exactly what I was hoping not to find though....Frame rust at the clutch/brake pedal mount. It looks like some critters were living in the boxed area, and after years of them doing their business in there, it finally led to the botton of the frame rail, the bottom of the boxed area and the pedal mount area to rust through....the frame is solid however about 2in up the rail so I am hoping for a fairly painless fix. Anyone have any suggestions.

After playing with the engine a little more today, I got a good solid 20sec of run time before the 12v battery killed the 6v coil. I wasn't planning on keeping the original engine in the truck, but just wanted to know it was a runner before pulling as stated in earlyer posts.

So in my parts serch, I found a listing for the cab to ch***is wood blocks but didn't save the page, now im back from work and can't for the life of me find it again...anyone have any idea where to get a full cab to ch***is mount kit?

 

Also, while I was waiting for the battery to charge, I hit the right fender with the DA and some 60 grit, the "rust" look of the whole truck is mostly rust stained cheap white paint...it sands off easy and smooths right out. After I have the cab solid enough to move, I think it'll be taking a trip to the blaster for a good strip and clean up. Work on a couple pieces at a time, replace what is to bad to save, and save what I can...the Grill will be the most challenging to fix or find, not many left around and most I have tracked down now have been hammed as bad as mine.


Yes, Pics will be posted this weekend-- Working long and late hours doesn't leave me any good sun light and my garage isn't big enough to move around in to get a good shot of anything. It'll be in the driveway 1st thing on saturday.

 

holy **** dude! that was in arizona?

 

It was driven out here from Wisconsin in '95, then it sat in the mud and weeds will I picked it up....the 1/4 inch felt pad the guy was using for "carpet" and the leaking window rubber didn't help to keep the water out and away from the floor pan either.

If it was an original AZ truck...things would be a lot different.....like the almost rust free twin I saw at a swap meet a couple weeks back for $4500. The market seems to dry up when I go looking for a project, or the prices inflate till I can't afford anything real nice.

Its all good though, I need to brush up on my metal working again, I've been out of that business since '01 when I closed shop and joinded the military.

What part of WA are you in? I grew up in Spokane on the east side of the state.

 

Anyone????....Still looking for a link to the cad to ch***is mounts. I know someone has an Idea.

 

Ok, let this post die.....work will continue, postings won't......Any moderators want to close this thing down for me?

 

Trip! My truck had the same exhaust pipes running up along the side of the cab.

 

Its not the 1st time i've seen this set up, actually seen a couple more here on the HAMB....mine are "Military spec" along with the single tail light, was part of a "High water fording" military package for the '43-'45 trucks.....or so I have been told, still need to see proof in writing"

 

Keep posting!!! Did you find the cab blocks yet? I need some too for my 47.

 

no luck, i know I found some a few weeks ago...but for the life of me i can't track them down now. Probably end up modifying a set of rubber mounts for a car.

 

Are the old wood mounts still there? I had mine copied with new wood.

I haven't forgot about the pics, I went to the local store, had them copied on to a CD, and I get home and wouldn't you know it, the computer does not have a CD drive.
So now I'll have to take them to work, put them on tha laptop, and then try to transfer them to a storage device. PITA

 

OK, so I know alot more about cars than computers. It took my better half to show me the computer actually did have a CD drive(hidden ****on). So here are the pics.
The first one is what it looked like when I brought it home, hard to see, but it's the pile of parts in the back yard.

 

i made my own wood blocks for my 38 chevy pu.only i made them wider the full width of the frame rail to spread the load also will put a rubber strip on the frame to smooth things out.the 38 has four bolts either side no timber blocks in the front bolts.your floor looks so rusty you can make it up as you go and use rubber strip 1/4 in to smooth it out.i also used wider reinforcing plates to spread the load on the floor which had cracked around the mounting

also sat the cab nose down on a dolly and bolted on to make floor repair easier

 

Try C&G early Ford parts out of Escondido CA. www.cgfordparts.com. They list '40 - '41 body blocks, but when I had my '42 a couple of years ago said they had a line on replacements for it. Mine turned out to be okay, so I didn't go further. They also have a great selection of patch panels and stuff.

 

I'll have to give them a call this week....see if they came up with anything. On a side note...everything they sell for patch panels actually comes from http://www.northerncl***ictrucks.com/index.htm The prices at northern clssic are about $25 less then C&G.

 

Piece o cake, a little steel here and there and your done!

 

True, I have all but the floor pan under the seat ready to weld in this weekend...may or may not take some in-progress pics. Just going to have to wait and see how I feel.

 

Did a little work to the truck today. Got the toe board, rear cab corner, rocker panel, cab mount and lower cowl panel replaced of the left side, time to rehang the door and adjust gaps, then get started on the right side.








As you can see, still have a couple more gaps to fill to. My big MIG is a little over kill for this kind of work, but the warpage was kept to a minimum. I still need to grind down the welds on the inside and make everything pretty, there will be no seams once i get it cleaned up.

 

That is looking great. Keep at it.

 

X2

Makes me want to go buy my old '46 that I sold to my neighbor!

 

Nice job on the cab. I am restoring a 47 Ford pick-up and will be starting on the floor pans soon, so please post pic's when you can...

 

Might try http://macsautoparts.com/default.asp They sell some 42-47 truck parts.
By the way, Looking good.

 

I've already picked up all the new floor pans, but it looks like mac's has everything else I'll need once I get the cab off the ch***is and start on the brakes, axles and all the pieces to make this thing a safe rig.

 

I got the right tow board tacked in and got the right lower cowl panel rough fit.....then got side tracked by the great weather, took advantage of the sun to pull the bike out and go crusing around town for a few hows.

Made some progress....more to come soon

 

great job patching up that floor, it always makes me proud to see a cl***ic restored. Good luck further propagating the species!

 

Weathers been way to nice here to work in the garage....so my harley has had all my attention. Since it was raining and cold today, I got the right lower cowl panel, the cab mount and the rest of the right tow board welded in. Pictures to come later when I find my stupid memory card for the camera.