Projects 41 Ford pickup finally got it home and pictures pictures

I couldn't be happier. But I did get a present whenI removed the remains of the rusted in two A pillar .Here is the surprise
2 holes!!!! I think the top one in the pic is the original.

 

! Well... my guess would be the hole that appears to be in the center of the flange. My neighbor has a 41 cab if you would like me to take some measurements and or pictures of it?

 

I need some pix of how close the rear edge of the front fender comes to the door opening. Here is a pic of where mine is mocked up using the original holes in the cab.
I'm trying to locate the bottom hole in the cowl.

 

I can get a picture and some measurements tomorrow Joel but for now here are some pictures from banditbilly's build.

No hard feelings if you want to delete these pics after you have a look.

 

Thanks Sam. That middle pic shows there is a definite space between the door opening and the back edge of the fender. I have to move the fender forward. I'm also fitting the running board to the truck frame and I can add the fender to that and see where it comes out.

 

Hopefully you can et some worthwhile measurements from these photos Joel. Looks like my neighbor John will be doing the same repairs you are doing. The drivers side is missing this part of the cowl.

Merry Christmas!

 

You neighbor has my sympathy on that project. Those pix will help a lot I think. Are those measurements to the dark circle and is that the same location as the bottom hole in the reinforcement piece on the inside of the cowl? Thanks for your effort in getting those pix. Merry Christmas !

 

I can take any pictures you want of my truck. Glad to help out another 40/41 PU fan.

 

Thanks BB. I remember from your build thread on your p/u that there was no mount hole in the cab between the bracket in the cowl and the bottom of the fender. I'm trying to find the proper location of the hole nearest the bottom of the cowl. There seems to be a lot of variation in what people find on these old trucks. A Fordbarn member claims the front fender bolted to the running board at the bottom and the cowl at the top with the special mount bracket. Is that how yours is?

 

I don't know if there is a brace behind this area. I think if you use these measurements you should be well within ford tolerances. I have heard that if you use a 47 body you have to use a special bracket. I don't think that will be needed on your 41. I have never built one of these pickups so I would defer to those that have.

 

Would this help then?

 

Upside down, sorry 'bout that. If it helps I can send it to you. I received it from another helpful HAMBer and would be glad to reprricipricate.

 

Correct view. Do you have any of those holes for alignment?

 

That will help to layout the hole. Thanks again for your help, Sam.

 

I don't have any reference for the bottom hole (closest to the running board) . Did you use that hole to attach your fenders? Thanks, BB for your time and effort.

 

Yep, but only the bottom one. The other two were not needed but I drilled them and zeroed them anyway, not knowing. This pattern is well made of heavy art board. it has the exact shape of the cowl. You tape it on, mark the holes and drill it. I can see why guys add a hole further up the fender though, right about where that mystery hole of yours is.

The fender only attaches to the cab with the "L" bracket and that lower cowl hole we are discussing. There is also the inner fender brace that looks like a splash shield. That piece is mandatory. I had considered adding an attachment point like yours to eliminate the gap between the fender and the cab. It is slight and hard to make out on a black truck, but if my truck was white...I would have already drilled out that hole and sucked my fenders in.

I can be a bit too picky though. It's a disease.

If you need the pattern just PM me and give me your address. No charge, no worries. It takes a village...I hate that expression.

 

I'll PM you my address. That and a couple of dimensions from @ The 39 guy will get me there. When you said you used that hole to attach, that was the icing on the cake. Thanks a bunch

 

Hi Joel. I went out and looked at mine and the gap between the rear of the fender and the edge of the door opening is about 5/8". The fender does appear to bolt into the lowermost bolt hole (only) and the next attachment up is at the bracket near the hood. This is how it is supposed to be. Neither of my fenders are attached at the lower bolt for some reason not known to me. I have a poor photo showing the gap between the fender and door. If you have the bolt hole in the fender you should be able to attach the fender to the running board and cowl and if the gap is 5/8" to the door you can position the lower hole to suit. Please excuse the spider.

 

That's a good pic ,Mart. We're on the same page. Thanks.

 

Some pix of the fender / running board mock up


I finally got the bolts in everywhere; the drivers side board rear support brace under the running board was off with respect to the frame holes about 3/8 in. All the rest lined up pretty well, so the problem had to be the rear support.
Thanks to Sam ,BB and Mart for your help and suggestions. I have a plan.

 

I made a template (cardboard and masking tape) based on the truck frame, running board, and front fender mock up . It uses the A pillar cab mount for reference location. The black circle is what I transferred. The shocking part is ; it's pretty close to the dimensions that Sam posted.
I think I can slide a re-enforcement on the inside with a cage nut and plug weld it from the outside. The holes on the lip of the fenders are way too big so I'm going to patch them and make new ones.

 

I finally got a cage nut plus reinforcement Into the lower cowl panel on the drivers side. The panel was already tacked in place and I was concerned that I might have to undo that work . Consequently, I had several plans tried before I lucked out. I will have some good pix of the pieces and install on the other side.


rough but solid.

 

BTW, a shout out to Third Gen for the best cage nuts I've found. They are heavy duty and plenty of "ear" to weld to. Well done.

 

Good to know

 

Here is a look at the pieces I made to locate the missing bolt hole for mounting the fender to the cab.

It's hard to see, but there is a "ring" on the cage nut that will locate the cage nut in the hole in the reinforcement . Very handy.

I'm waiting on my weld through copper spray to attach the nut/reinforcement to the inside of the patch panel.