as far as body panel alignment. these old trucks were pretty crude from the factory in the fact that they were meant for work. find one that has never been apart and you will see what I mean. when I built my 57 we spent a couple adays just aligning fenders to get the hood to latch. excellent build young man have fun with it and be safe
Well, sorry for the no picture updates, but I've had a bad run of luck lately, and I assume this is just the kind of thing one has to deal with when doing custom stuff. The first thing is I went and got a window made for my door. (by the way, Allstar Glass in El Cajon is an excellent place for anyone in socal looking for custom flat glass) I wanted to test fit it before they tempered it, and it was a no go. It was just hanging up in the track, so I had them narrow it an 1/8". Now it is clearly not too wide, but the window motor seems like it just has no balls, and still won't close it all the way. Irritating... Next, I was getting things ready to run, and lastly filled up the radiator to find out it leaks. POS. So I cut the mounts off, pressure tested it, welded up probably ten microscopic holes, and those mounts are about to go on for the third time. Then, I can run that thing. Finally, I have a wiring issue with my parking/turn lights. When the lights are disconnected, the dash indicators work for turn signals, but when i connect the lights, nothing, likely a short, but Im at my wits end. So, when I regain my sanity I will come back with some good news and pictures. And if anyone has any insight into my problems, feel free to offer a suggestion.
For the front sheet metal, can you shift the nose piece towards the passenger side about 3/16" and kick the driver side back towards the firewall about a 1/4". I believe that will center the hood, and raise up the driver fender. They never fit real well, but they were not real far off either. Also, be sure your radiator support is mounted securely, don't expect the fenders alone to stabilize the rad support, those fenders tear really easy, over time. If you really have to force something into compliance, it will create a squeak, or rattle, and the vibration of going down the road will alter the parts involved, and usually not in a good way. It took me 3-4 cars and several years before I understood this concept. For the wiring, do you have a good ground for the parking/turn lights? A poor ground will let the lights work individually, but when you add a 2nd circuit, the lights will go out because the ground isn't good enough. Truck is looking great! The issues you are encountering is because you are basically building a new truck. Its par for the course, don't let it get to you. When you get to drive it, take a note pad and writing stick along, every trip out for the first 2 months will bring to light a small list of minor details that need attention. If you expect that, it won't bother you as much. This process really brings a new appreciation of how well brand new cars function. Gene
I really appreciate the advice Gene, I will try out all your tricks and get back with results. I is definitely a relief to be involved with people who understand the struggles of a ground up custom. It's kinda hard to explain to most people, restoration, custom, resto mod, nah, I like your input, it is a new truck. Troy
Wow, so I hit a huge milestone last night. Contrary to what I have thought all along, getting the engine running really is a big deal. I had always said, what is the good of a running engine if you can't steer or stop or close a door right? Well it was quite a morale boost. I had my mom monitor the gauges while I did everything under the hood. The carb has been sitting for a couple years since I rebuilt it, and the engine never has run. It fired up after about 1.5 seconds of cranking and purred so nice. I wasn't quite able to finish the cam break in, likely due to an air bubble on the thermostat causing it to heat up, but hopefully i will tonight. Then it is time for a video for everyone. There are some typical leaks to address, but man, that was a good night's sleep.
Congratulations! Every successful step along the way is a milestone! Its just some are bigger then others. As you get closer to the actual drive down the street, every step between now and then seems to get bigger, as you realize the effort it took to get to that point. Keep moving forward! you will be cruising soon! Gene
Here are some pictures showing its most up to date state. Too bad I am terrible at putting tools away, and all the other crap you see. But here is the engine compartment.
I have a feeling that progress will be swift for a while, at least with testing the mechanicals. Fabrication always takes time. Realistically, I can drive it as soon as I bleed and check the brakes thoroughly. I haven't checked for a bad ground yet on the lights, but I will soon enough.
I had some good progress lately. I sorted out all the leaks in the brake lines (for now). But when I went to roll it outside to do some more engine tuning and test the transmission, one of the temp tires blew. So now it is time for getting the real wheels and tires. This is how I feel about wheels. When I go to a car show, I always see these cars with flashy wheels, but since it is the first thing that pops out, a lot of hot rods look the same at first glance. So I want to go with a steel wheel. I thought about some smoothies, but I don't want chrome center caps. So then I thought about like an old style race wheel, and I found Aero race wheels. I had the photoshop forum do a rendering for me with future plum crazy paint. What do you think? I definitely want to have a little more sidewall filling up the fenders, but I think it is pretty close.
I do like the cop car wheels, trouble is finding them in the correct bolt pattern(s) because I have 5x4.75 on the rear and 5x4.5 on the front. The good thing about the other wheels is I can get whatever offset, boltpattern, etc. And the color should be darker than the rendering for sure, and the interior will be black, so minor differences. I'll look around for some of those police wheels.
Here is a big update for you all. Both doors are mounted and latching. All interior wiring is complete, even the stereo. I drove the truck fore and aft the other day to test the trans I rebuilt when I was 19, seems good. Can't turn yet because I have to address steering clearance issues on the driver's inner fender. I am trying to come up with the cleanest solution for that. Final wheels and tires are mounted, same as the above rendering. I fell in love with the 12 inch wide rears, so now I have to make them fit. Carb had a nasty vacuum leak by the throttle shaft, so I tore it apart and threw it in the mill. I had to bore out both ends of the primary shaft bore and press in some brass bushings I made. Now it runs a lot better but I think there is still a huge vacuum leak around the step up piston (for those familiar with TQs). I can still hear an intermittent whistle. The bed is under assembly currently. I can't figure out if the mounts (or spacers) under the bed crossmembers are supposed to be staggered front to back. Because it sure looks like the bed is leaning forward in relation to the cab. DOES ANYONE HAVE A REFERENCE FOR THESE BED MOUNTS? Or if you have a truck that looks right, are the spacers different heights front to rear? My current plan is just to stagger the heights so it looks right to the eye. I'll throw some pics on here when I roll it outside next.
Congrats on the huge progress!! I will check the bed spacers on my 56 this afternoon keep on working I am currently building a 37 Plymouth sedan check out the build thread below. Hobo Jim
OK I apologize for the delay in getting you this information I used a 2x4 for the rear spacer on top of the cross member so that is 1 1/2 inches on the back cross member. on the front cross member I used a 1 x 6 so that is 3/4 inch spacer so in reality there is a 3/4 inch slant to my bed from the back to the front. I am sure you can accomplish this with the correct spacers I just didn't have any at the time I hope this helps if you need any further info please feel free to ask.
That is so interesting to me. When I had equal spacers all around, the bed was very tilted forward. It looks like i will need a tall spacer in front and a short one out back. The only thing I can think of is that the previous owner messed up the rear frame section height when he did the notch. Your truck definitely looks correct though.
Hey Jim, one more question for you. Does your gap between the rear of the cab and front of the bed get wider at the bottom, or is it pretty even all the way down? The way mine is going, the gap will be probably 1/2" wider at the bottom at least (when viewed from the side).
I just checked the cab to bed gap I am at 1 1/4 inch on the top and 1 3/4 inch on the bottom I never noticed that before. good catch. Here is a pic of mine from the side keep in mind most of the rake is from the tire size. I am using stock suspension in the front and a Dakota rear end.
Recent progress has been made mounting the bed sides. I had to make custom spacers for the crossmembers that taper to the rear. 1" up front and 0 on the rear. I machined a new step up piston for the thermoquad but I can still hear a vacuum leak near idle. Are there any common culprits for whistle noises on thermoquads? Any gurus out there? Next steps are to clearance the bed sides, mount the inner fenders, and mount the outer fenders. It should look like a real truck at that point!
Your making good process. After years of fighting with Thermoquads, I finally gave up and went with a Carter AVS. I don't think it pulled as hard as the Thermo did, but it was a lot easier to deal with, and I didn't have to screw with the carb every 6 months. Then, in 2011, my last carbed truck got wrecked. I've been efi since. I don't miss those carbs even one little bit! The Thermoquad I had with the whistle at an idle was probably the best performing one I ever had, but I had to replace it when my wife wouldn't ride in the truck with the whistle anymore. I do remember having to coat the bottom of the plastic bodies at the reservoir caps with epoxy to solve a stumble issue, no gas leak that I remember, but it must have been able to pull air though there somehow. I thought it was pretty strange, but it worked, or I changed something when I put it back together.....LOL Gene
Interesting solution there, I know I checked to see if mine leaked at the wells, but maybe I should go ahead and epoxy them anyway.
Thanks, I am definitely happy with the ride height as well. The rear fenders will tie it all together!
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