The last several days have been spent getting the hood completed. One item I found out is that the main support arm running from the hood latching mechanism to one of the bolts holding the hood ornament is a different length for trucks vs the 40 Standard .... If you remember I posted that the support rod was about 3/4” away/short. I started searching around in my pile of miscellaneous 40 pickup and found the correct one pictured above. So the latching mechanism is in, hood ornament and pull handle, all of the rubber bumpers/****ons, and I chased all the holes for the hood brackets and got all the bolts ready to go. Just the one spring, one clevis, and the center hood spear is missing. I left off the hood spear as I knew I would be storing the hood upside down. I pulled out the front fenders and put the hood up until I am ready. I started on the p***enger front fender which is the better of the two .... Most of the work on this one will be sanding down the epoxy metal primer that looks like it was put on with a brush. There are several dings but not too bad and the visible fender edge where the inner fender panel bolts to is kinda rough in spots. But all in all, a decent fender. So, one more nice weather day tomorrow and then I will be back on the hitch as it’s supposed to rain the next couple days ...
Ooops - did not get a measurement for you today hotrodA. Will do tomorrow ...... Worked on the fender some more today - getting filler into the needed areas and then I will set up for spraying this fender with primer sealer ....
Bill - the 40 pickup version is 11 11/16“ long vs the 40 standard at 11 1/4”. These measurements are from the flat surface on the one end to the tip of the other end.
Got the p***enger fender almost there - just need two small spots with filler. This is that way she started out today ... Right got now I have self etching primer on the bare metal spots and tomorrow I will do the last two places. Next week looks good to get some primer sealer on it. I also rigged up the bumper so I could place the p***enger tail light bracket but the two holes in the bed were drilled in bad places. I can work with it for this side but I will drill it differently on the driver side ... l will get some me pics tomorrow on this ....
Did your fenders have cracks in the bottoms? I see the bondo in the bottom in the familiar places. If so, how did you go about your repairs? Inquiring 40 truck owners need to know.
I bought all the fenders from the same guy who had done most all of the body work when he found better fenders. The crack repairs look to be mig welded with support pieces behind so it’s not just sheet metal there welded together. Just like the rear fenders, these had some major work done to them and, for the most part, I am just finishing up what they started. Since I am not looking/desiring perfection, they are steel fenders (can’t say all steel due to the bondo) and that’s what wanted but knew nothing out there that I could afford would not need or have had major work done on them. I have tried to hammer and dolly most all of the imperfections out to minimize the bondo however. I enjoy it but I am no pro - I get it close is all.... By the way, I collected parts for this truck over May be a 15 year period. If I remember right I upgraded front fenders as I went along and this is the 4th set, the bed was the third one I upgraded to, the frame is the third one, and the rear fenders the 3rd pair. The cab is still the original one I started with and the hood is now the second one (and I still have the first one). I started off with 2 1/2 trucks plus another cab that I bought out in Winchester, VA - they were all pretty badly rusted with not one decent frame in the bunch. One truck looked more like a big boomerang as the frame was broken right at the bed-cab point. All my projects seem to be a journey but I am sure that is true with most of us .....
Short day today - appointments today in the morning and the lights went out around 3pm! Oh well, but at least I was a able to mount the tail lights ...... The bumper is just about where it will be with the license plate right above the hitch. That was all she wrote for today .....
Finished up the p***enger fender and got started on the driver side ..... It does need a lot more work than the p***enger side. I cleaned up several welds at the weak points and I need to treat the rust on the underside. But, I will work on it little by little. While waiting for things to dry, I welded up the plate for the rear crossmember for the hitch .... But I also have a problem - the frame is a 35-36 and I am using a 40 gas tank. I can not remove the tank from underneath as the ends of the frame point inward and blocks removal and I know the procedure. I am considering getting a 36 tank but I do not know if it will work with the 40 pickup bed and a parallel leaf suspension. I will pose my dilemma on the Fordbarn and see what they all think .... Anyone have any ideas?
I figured out my gas tank issue and it turns out it was an easy fix. The 1/4” plate for the hitch was up above the frame rail right where the neck of the tank comes out, not allowing the tank to move as far left to clear the opposite frame rail .... After cutting it down, the tank just makes it. Thanks HamtownAl for discussing it with me. After that I removed the rear most portion of the hitch and cut the sleeves I needed to add to the bar from the free hitch I got .... After clamping things together I tack welded them up and reinstalled the hitch .... At this point I cut the lateral support piece and dropped it in place ..... I will tack it in tomorrow when I will start the last piece of the hitch puzzle, the center support from the rear crossmember to the back of the hitch. I did make one change - I made the hitch plates which bolt to my 1/4” arms sit on the outside of the arms vs the inside. It’s then easier to remove the back portion of the hitch separately easily due to the angle of the arms.
So yesterday and today I spent finishing up the hitch. It’s taken longer than I thought to describe gun and get it mocked up but it’s now ready to be dis***embled and get tig welded. My last piece of the puzzle has been the center support. I started with my 1x2” heavy wall welded to a 1 1/4” square of heavy wall to drop it low enough to clear the gas tank .... Usng a piece of wood I figured out where and at what angle to bring the 1x2” heavy wall to the back of the hitch .... I cut a piece of 1/4” plate to have a welding surface for the center arms and you can see the bolts holding it to the back of the hitch. I then duplicated the one side to the other and put blocks in between right after the rear crossmember, up at the angle junction of where the heavy wall kicks up to the hitch and at the mount plate on the back of the hitch .... Then I tacked in some 1x2 heavy wall for lateral support only to realize I could not do that and be able too remove the frame rail pieces. I cut the welds and removed it and I will use 1/4” plate for both ends using the bolts that tie the hitch to the frame rail pieces. With that all in I was able to cut up some old bumper brackets to mount the rear bumper and welded them to the hitch. I had to m***age them a little to work right but not much .... I then drilled two holes in the bumper to mount the license plate and checked out a location for the rv plug. Tomorrow I will get it over to my buddies place to get tig welded .... With just a few bolts and tack welds holding it all together, I can stand on the hitch and bounce up and down on it and nothing seems like it’s separated or not connected right - the whole truck moves so that is good. The bumper will get cleaned up and painted black and mounted with proper bumper bolts. Hey Jason - I hope this helps you with your hitch install. The proof will be how it pulls the rv but I am confident that I can pull 3k lbs safely and that was/is my goal.
The ball will actually need to flip around. I was hoping to be able to use a license plate surround backup camera that synchs with your phone via blue tooth. This way I hopefully will not back up into anything .....
Delivered the hitch setup yesterday and spent whatever time left cleaning the shop. Should have it all back by Friday. I played with the rear wiring, getting it run around the tank without interference when I might have to remove it, sheathing it, etc. I have some stuff to pick up today so it’s a short day today .....
Been steadily working on the project and today I was able to shoot primer sealer on the fenders and headlights doors .... This was done while interlacing honey do projects while waiting for things to dry. I also rec’d my welded up hitch components .... I primed the p***enger side rail piece and started bolting it to the frame when time ran out. I also installed the rear sway bar in preparation of installing the hitch for good. I need to do this now because I am out or room and tripping over the hitch hurts - a lot! But I am making progress and that’s a good thing ....
More progress today while working on house projects. I cleaned up all the hitch pieces, got them in primer/self etching primer, and put some paint on .... Hope the finish the painting the hitch tomorrow and continue the install. But, I have a few things to do tomorrow so I will be “ham and eggin it” again. That’s doing the the project, doing what I need to do, then back to the project, etc, etc. I am hoping to get the hitch installed before Thanksgiving but it will be close. Making progress slow but sure ....
Right around 200 lbs I think +/- 50 lbs as you have the battery and propane tank on the a-frame of the trailer but there’s virtually no weight to the trailer. It’s all in getting the trailer level when towing it with the 40 Pickup and trailer fully loaded. But I really think the hitch I have made will be more than able to handle the rv and all the “stuff” I might need to carry in the truck. Kept plugging away at painting the hitch today. It’s finished and I cleaned up, primed, and painted the backside of the bumper. The front is all ready in primer and I hope to paint it black tomorrow. The p***enger side 1/4” plate for the frame rail is all bolted it. Right now I am making plates to weld the lateral support bar to. These plates will be bolted together with the hitch and side plates off the frame rails making it all tied together into one unit. Should make it nice and strong. I don’t think I will make my deadline of having it all bolted together by Thanksgiving, however. I got the word today that the new truck I ordered is in and I will pick it up tomorrow. That will probably eat up a lot of the day ..... I am having fun making progress though - after the hitch and bumper, then it’s trailer wiring, the bed floor, and rear fender install that will complete the back side of the truck save for the exhaust. Hopefully the motor will be ready soon .....
I couldn't figure out what you were trying to fabricate until I saw this view. Now the whole hitch think makes sense to me. That should be plenty stout enough for your anticipated towing weight. Very creative Tom!
Thank you - I cannot take all the credit as my buddy JohnnyC from LI helped clear up the design and got me straight. There is one piece still missing which is the lateral support. I will have pics up as soon as I have something picture worthy .... Thank you, again .....
It should have said “there is one piece still missing” - I corrected it above but it must have been after you quoted me. Sorry bout that! My phone has a mind of its own sometimes and puts in the weirdest things ......
Thanks for the clarification Tom. I have that same problem with my phone. I have learned to double check my posts before sending. You see interesting sentences when you do.
That is quite the hitch set up! My new OT tow rig has a 12,000 pound capacity but your ***embly makes mine look whimpy in comparison. I aways say "over built is a good start"
Thank you! Only a few.hours today but the driver side plate is bolted on and the lateral support piece is tacked to it ...... This pic shows the new lateral support design that allows me to remove the entire hitch if need be. I used more of the 1/4” plate to create a welding surface for the 1x2” heavy wall and bolted it in using the existing bolt structure. This is the piece I was referring to that I had not yet made (39 Guy). I think you can now see where I was coming from. The rear most crossbar on the 35-40 frames is pretty light and perhaps it could buckle in some way by a crazy maneuver. The 1x2” heavy wall should help keep that from happening. I have yet to weld it all together but that’s next. I did forget that I need some mount locations for my backup lights. I need to figure that out .... Right now I have all the grade 8 bolts in place checking the setup. Once I am satisfied I will remove the lateral bar setup and finish it up. Then put it back in place for good along with the center support ..... A short but good day ......
Happy Thanksgiving, boys - I am going to relax for a couple of days and spend time, safely, with my family. Enjoy it one and all .....
The Jalopy Journal
