COE 1941 Ford COE build

LOL!!! I have just one question for you Mr. Melon...... In 27 parts.

 

New heat shield for sleeper floor.

Also, have my dirty hands on my buddy's huck gun! Let the hucking begin. It's purported to be a 1940s model that was likely used on WW2 aircraft. How cool is that??

 

I need to do this to my sleeper.

 

Eli, help me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Off the truck one last time for the huck gun. (with any luck)

 

OK- I looked up what a huck gun is--- Now, what is it that needs riviting?

 

I cut 22" of width out of the sleeper, the huck rivets will permanently reattach the two halfs. They are just bolted together in that pic.

 

Putting the Willys (and the wife) to work...

 

Ok, Eli can rest his weary fingers... I decided to s**** the Studebaker stepside bed idea... While it was an 8 foot bed which would fit lengthwise pretty well. My hope was that it might shorten the project a little, but it needed 1) Bed widened 2) Fenders tubbed 3) Rot fixed. Maybe if it was only 1 or 2 of those items, but all 3 just made it not worth it to me and I'll continue on towards the wrecker bed. BTW: Those 1939 Chevy rear fenders are available in fibergl***!

 

..... and it's huck bolted together!!!!!!!! After nearly 8 months, the two halves of the sleeper are one again and 22" skinnier than when a Peterbilt wore it. What an incredible tool. The Sikaflex sealant I used gets EVERYWHERE like antiseize does...

A few more items left on the sleeper before cutting and framing the back of the Ford cab, fixing the cab corners then putting the sleeper back on. I wonder if I could get it to the body guy by the new year... I plan to farm out the final body work and paint. I'd love to do it myself but a pro's hands will certainly make it look better than I can and I can't paint at home anyway.. Maybe he'd let me spectate or do some grunt work. That would be cool.

 

Looks great Skier . I hate sanding , and sanding around all those rivets is a ***** . And a good painter will make it much nicer. Cutting and buffing is hard on the rivets . If I was still working with a little extra income I would farm out all my paint and body work . Looks MARVELOUS! Blue

 

coming together slowly. Installed all the small bits that will accept the weather stripping for the new gl*** panels that will show off the LS1 inside the sleeper. The panels also open for access to engine and trans dipsticks. Grainger purchased WS fits 3 sides just fine since it's fairly thin alum stock. 4th side which is 1/8 or 3/18 floor panel, not so much.. I'll have to find some bubble ws with a larger opening.

 

Weatherstripping all installed. Hinged gl*** panels installed! I had toiled over access to the engine and trans dipsticks without tilting the cab and I gotta say I think I nailed it on this one. They'll have one latch, they tilt towards you standing at the sleeper door with plenty of room to get at the engine. Pics soon...

I still need to make a plan for the oil fill cap. With the cab tilted, it's fine, but w/o not so much.

Next up, finish gooping the sleeper framing to keep the engine compartment segregated from p***engers. Then................. drum roll please.... Cutting out the back of the cab!

 

Buford: What an attention *****!

https://nh.craigslist.org/cto/d/1940-chevy-sedan-hot-street/6381611262.html

 

Took a couple pics, although not much to see without the engine behind them. I'll try to get some better ones...

 

Fibergl***ing in the sleeper roof slice.. The two halves where not perfectly lined up so I did this and gl*** matted between the bolts for the first p***.

 

continue to put FG resin in the crack. (that sounds perverted) Almost level with the original surface. Much slower process than I thought.

I've pulled the seats and cut some steel to brace the cab. I'll weld that in place this weekend with any luck then cut the back of the cab which will become our rear seat access to the sleeper area. It seems a little wrong to cut off what was the most solid sheet metal on the truck.

With the back cut out, I'll replace two panels that face the floor just inside the rear cab corners. They are about 9"x6" floor panels way down low behind each seat. Access will be much better w/o the back of the cab in place. I also have a little work on the rear cab corners to do. I have panels from Northern Cl***ic but will likely just use small pieces of them. The rot is minimal here.

 

No going back now!!

 

Framing the "hole". Its coming along pretty well. I'm using 1 1/4" angle stock. I think it will reinforce the hole just fine. The bolts will go thru the Sleeper, Ford cab and the angle stock. I'm debating some gussets on the corners.

 

Gee, should the seat fit like this??

 

Yep , that’s right . Who needs a moon roof ?
Happy NEW YEAR Skier .
Blue

 

Looks right to me!

 

Well, I test sat the wife in the new "moon roof" seat and while she seems happy with the additional 3-4" of legroom and 6" of seatback lean, I'm less than excited. I had hoped the cab cutout would be high enough to allow her to sit comfortably and safely with the seat anywhere she wanted. The seat goes back a total of 8-ish inches, but her head is only an inch or two below the cutout framing beyond 3-4". Just a pothole could be painful and dangerous...... She can recline fully if she likes and that would probably be OK, but her typical riding position is limited by the roof cutout for the last 4-ish inches of seat travel.

I don't think I can go any higher with the cutout without a major redesign. The curve of the cab roof dictates how high I can go and still bolt to the flat sleeper face. I might be able to lower the seats, but I suspect the way the 2005 Mercury Montego seats are riveted to the tracks that manual tracks were not available in 2005. I could get rid of the 1941 engine cover that is my HVAC cover and use a smaller HVAC unit although I like the idea of dual zone from the Corvette that I have now. She's hot and I'm cold. Any suggestions for a smaller unit?

 

Skier, I had to lower my seat 3” to have the headroom I needed in the cutout in my 42 . It’s all give and take . Lucky I had a flat floor . I know you’ll figure it out .
Skiing today ?
Blue

 

No skiing at -4 today, but we did ski December 26th....... In Florida....

 

My last post was Jan 1st? Shameful!!
Made some progress on the cab corners...

 

I am having potential transmission issues with my Durango. It's staying local for now and did not make the trip to Florida towing the boat this year. I have this crazy idea that I might get Buford's body work far enough along to have paint this year and all the other stuff done enough that he might tow to Florida in 2019.... We'll see!

 

Oh and if you thought that part of the plan was wacky.... I tell my wife that Buford might be in Paint Prison this summer and that it will be very odd to not have him to go to car shows. I say "maybe we should buy something for the summer to take to shows". I fully expected to hear "What?? Are you out of your mind?!?!?". Instead, I heard "That's a good idea".... What a woman!!!!!!

The big issue, in my mind, is knowing enough about a hot rod or cl***ic to know I can sell it in the fall or next spring and not lose my shirt.

 

Wow, I haven't seen an update in ages! Its good to see you're still at it Rick and yeah that Rhudabaga bed and fenders didn't really work imhop. The progress on your sleeper looks pretty cool too. I'm wondering if you can patent that "lift" you set up for the sleeper.
Hope you can get it painted this summer and I agree with your wife ( a keeper hotrod girl like mine methinks), you need something cool to cruise in in the meantime. As far as "losing your shirt", I never made a profit off of anything I built money-wise, but the grin factors have been priceless.
Eli

 

Rhudabaga! Yeah, you saved me from what could have been a huge mistake.. thanks! I would not expect to buy something and make money on it a year later... I would hope I might be able to resell it for something in the neighborhood of what I paid. It would not be a project, it would need to be a driver... Now that I think about it, maybe I have the wrong idea here... I should be thinking about another toy car that I would keep.... hmmmmm......