Alright, I have a confession. I panicked this week and called in a pro to come look at my cab and give me an estimate to reassemble it. I lost confidence in my abilities and thought I better stop before I really screw it up. Scott from Ranger Customs and Collision came by and smacked the shit out of me, said everything looks fine and to stop being such a pussy!!! It made a world of difference to have someone who knows what they are looking at give me the green light because I was really worried about some of my work. Now dont get me wrong, I know you guys will step up if you see something that aint right, but pics sometimes arent the best judge of things and just couldnt get comfortable. So the next AM I cut the LF pillar loose, actually cut it off so I could clean up all the previous welds, and then welded it all back together in the right spot. Good to go as the door fits even better now... ANYWAY, moving along...he gave me a great idea I wouldnt have thought of. He said put it together with self tapping screws. That way you dont have a million clamps hanging all over the place and can essentially put it all together while making all the necessary adjustments easily. Then when I am ready I can just replace the screws with plug welds. So first things first, I put in the firewall. I just kinda eyeballed it using the various beads and stamps as a guide and It fit perfect!! Like a glove! So at first I was kind of concerned why there was a big ass gap, but in looking at some old pics of the cab I realized that the replacement just isnt the same shape as what was there as opposed to something being wrong. I will just have to fab up a piece to fill the hole.. Here is an old pic for reference... So here is an issue I see. The replacment cowl panel is either too wide, or the front of the cowl is sagged down because it isnt fitting. Keep in mind the top of this piece actually goes underneath the cowl. I dont know how I am going to get this piece in, but any ideas are appreciated.. Lastly I made up the pieces to patch up the lower corner of the windshield that always rusts out. It was quite a pain in the ass to bend up the metal but I got it done. The put some relief cuts in it so I could bend it slightly to match the contour. Just gotta weld it in now! So I will keep at it and update again in the next few days, thanks for looking!!
Oh yea, total fail on the soda blaster deal. I tried to go cheap and bought some Sodium Bicarb at the feed store. Only 17 dollars vs 40 for the good stuff. It was hard as a rock so I spent the better part of an hour using a piece of screen like a cheese grater and got it all nice and silky. Loaded into the blaster and proceed to dick around for another hour doing a 6x6" area of my door. Worked great when it worked, but I think the ag stuff is too fine and might have been a little damp too. Another hour trying to get the soda out of my blaster as it wouldnt even come out of the purge tube. Was ready to stab something when it was all over. I am going to try and find some soda locally one day and try again, but all in all wish I hadnt bothered with the expense of the conversion...
I bet your upper cowl sagged down closing up the door gaps and causing the replacement outer cowl fitment issues. Also, the inner kick panels are reproduced wrong. That is why you have that tapered gap where it meets the floor board. I had the same problem. I took the inner cowl panels to the work table and corrected the panels shape. I unfolded that 90 degree lip at the bottom, I cut a taper piece off that bottom from 5/8" by the door side to 0" at the firewall side, then I re-bent the 90 degree lip back on, re rolled the lower part to fit the curve where it meets the toe board. This probably makes no sense to people unless they have the actual inner panel in their hands to see what I am talking about.
Yeah I get what you are saying. I Will take a look at it in the AM. As far as the cowl sag, How do I correct that? I am half tempted to wedge something in between the dash and the face of the cowl above the firewall to get the clearance, then screw the firewall back in, but I am sure there is a better way to do it...
If your hinge pillar is set at the correct height, then you need to spread the door gap with a porta-power or bottle jack. Place the spreader just above the upper hinge pocket on the hinge pillar and just above the door latch on the latch pillar. It will move very easy since you don't have the inner cowl panels welded in yet.
Ahh ok. Sounds easy enough. Thanks!! So I need to get the panel roughly in place, and starting opening the door jamb up while checking fit. Once it is in good I get the panel installed before removing the jack, correct? I assume it only affected this one side as I didnt remove the other outer cowl panel...
shadams, here is a copy from my 47-54 assembly manual on the cab dimensions, hope pic isn't to small (most of the time you can zoom in to make it larger). This might help you as to were everything should line up...Jim
Thanks Jim! It wasnt until you posted that picture that I remembered I bought the assembly manual a few weeks back. I pulled it out and looked around again, lots of numbers and seems to be laid out for someone familiar with those style diagrams, but really makes my head spin. I will have to sit down and figure that out soon though and put it to use. So I took 65standards advice and boy did it pay off. I couldnt find a port-a-power locally so I made one myself. Bought a bottle jack and found a ceiling fan down rod, found some scrap angle iron and welded it to the ends of the downrod at angles that would match the door jambs, cut them to length and welded them to the bottle jack. Presto, home made porta-power!!! Stuck it in the door jamb and went to work. I was amazed how far down that cowl had sagged, but I think I got it all back to normal!! I dont know what I would have done without your advice Tony! I owe you big time. Once again this place comes to the rescue. Thanks again and I am sure I'll be bugging you guys again...
Nice project! I am looking to do a 52 chevy truck as my next project. I love the 3100 series. Good luck as you continue your project.
Ho Lee Shit, can you cut 1/4 off that compressor and send it to me? That's enough air to raise the Titanic! How big are the motors (8-10 HP?) I've been re-arranging stuff in my shop (and procurign a few things too) and have found that even the 80 gallon unit I've got isn't quite big enough sometimes.
Great thread Shadams! I'm gonna be starting on my 51 soon and your thread has answered a lot of questions for me before I even start! Keep up the good work!
Is the '49 a stock pickup? I like the stock drive train as opposed to the mess you got yourself into. PM me with your price.
Sorry dude, sold the 49 a couple of days after I started the thread. Guess I should have said something. Havent worked on the truck in a month. Thought I would take some time off and get some housework done. I also have done quite a few things to my 85, at least I can drive that one. Anyway, Round-Up is this weekend and I hope to get back in the groove afterwards.
Got one cab corner almost done, just gotta do some finish welding and then weld the bottom. I had to cut reliefs in the cab corner to get it to match up to the curve of the pillar, but otherwise was pretty straight forward. Put the door on and dicked with the adjustment for what seemed like forever. Got the back end pretty nice but my lower hinge is worn out so the door sags. When I pull up on it slightly the lines line up perfectly. The front has a horrendous gap. When I put the cowl in I didnt put it in straight, but now that I have something to reference I can put my homemade portapower back in place, unscrew it and line it up better, then secure it back in before welding it up. I think. Second side in progress, actually finished it up, ust didnt take an after pic. Going to get busy again this weekend.
Yea, me too. My wife's B-day was a couple weeks ago and she has me planting the Amazon Jungle in the back yard. Been digging holes in rock for the last few week-ends. Finally got it all done. Hope to get back on it this weekend...
Nice work! I sure do enjoy a nice build thread, especially if it helps me understand some of the issues I need to tackle when I finally get around to workin on my truck! Keep up the good work! Did you ever figure out what to use for the pinholes after sandblasting? I have had good experience with All-Metal. It works well to fill in any small pinholes or imperfections after welding. You might look into that!
Thanks, now its time to see some more of that truck of yours... Thanks and I will take a look at that...
Fire wall is welded in! Firewall welded to floor.. Finally got the kickpanel formed to fit correctly, still gotta do the other side... Cowl in, still need to weld it a bit more and do some trimming, but it is in place. Cab corners done! Will probably try and grind the welds down a bit more.. RH cab corner. Did all this today, finally spent some quality time on it. So the plan at this point is to get the cab welding done, get it sandblasted/etch primed, then start on the body work. Have decided I am going to paint it after all.
Here is one side of the windshield that was rusted through after I fixed it. Still need to do the dr side. Roof has some pretty good dents in it... Filled a few holes in the dash, so its good to go. I would love to fill in the radio hole like 65standard did but am too scared to cut into the dash. Cowl finish welded and primed. Then i realized all the other pillars have spot welds, and this one is smooth. What do you guys do about a situation like that. I have seen some do fake spot welds. Just need to seam seal all this up and its done...
Hi Shadams,truck looks to be coming along nice,I think your fitment issues with the doors may be related to not having the cab securely bolted down,i would put the cab back on the frame and bolt it down tight and then do your finish welding,everything will change when it is tight,the cab now will move to much on the pallet,you can remove it after to do your final welding,if your scared of scratching the frame paint.Good Luck. Harvey b
Getting a lot done, and is taking good shape. I agree with 37 caddy, drop in on frame and check everything, just to be sure.....Jim
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