Projects I'm all in...My '38 Chevy PU Build Thread

Haha! They've done more than get in my way, they flat ran me over. And there's more coming

 

Good to see you back on this. Oh how I know how life slows things down.

 

hey eric just like to see another 38 back on the road,uve a fine garage now so go for it
slan go foil , cristoir

 

Big day! Finally finished the third member. It busted my balls from start to finish including the bolt breaking on the locking tab. But it's finally done. Moving on.




Do you really care what I used to post this message?

 

Look...actual progress. Some crap I've done over the past two weeks. Haven't gotten much else done thanks to my new job.








Oh...and it snowed. Always fun.



Do you really care what I used to post this message?

 

Your yard looks like it could be in New England! Nice to see some progress. Just keep picking away at it. You'll get there.
Tom

 

Got some more done over the past couple months. Slow as usual, but at least it's moving forward.
Finished the brakes on the rear and buttoned it all up. One thing that's ready to roll down the road.




Then, I braced the cab up and took the floor out for repair:




And why not rebuild some carbs while we're at it too:

And that's where I'm at this month. Hopefully I'll have some more progress soon.

 

Got some time in the garage today. Finished the section of floor where the cab mounts in the rear. The old section was cracked all over and missing a large section of metal. Now, it looks like this:




Not great, but not bad for a hack like me.

Then, I started thinking. Or, not thinking, and did this:



Plan is to build a small structure of 1" square tubing for support and seat brackets, cover it with some 20 gauge I have around and make it more presentable. Only problem is, I used all my 1" square tubing to brace the cab. Guess I have to dig up some money to buy more.

 

mine was cracked as well.welded it ground the welds and plated it underneath.replaced the wooden blocks with thinner /wider ones to compensate for the thickness of the plate. and a rubber strip

 

Yeah, I'm going to add an 1/8" plate under the floor pan where the cab mount is, like what was there originally.

 

Time for my semi-annual update. When I moved, I got a new job in the same old career I had. Realized my career was making me miserable, so I quit my job and started my own business. So now, time has become even more hard to come by, but I am finding it here and there to make small bits of progress.
Cleaned underneath the floor board and sprayed it with Boom Mat. It was a cheap alternative to other sound and heat deadners. I'll report on its effectiveness when I drive the truck in 20 years.
In order to put the floor back in, I need to patch the area where the floor is spot welded to the cab. I got the patch cut, but still needs to be trimmed, welded, and worked.

 

keep on posting the progress

 

A dream is a reality that merely needs time and perseverance. Keep up the good work!

 

I haven't quit yet. Started doing some engine work. Figured I'd start from the top and work my way down (because I do everything backwards). I rebuilt the two Holley 1850's that will sit on top of the Edelbrock TR1X, and because it seems totally logical at this stage of a build that is taking forever, I started to gasket match and clean the ports of the manifold. Oh, and a cab in much better shape then mine popped up locally. Should save me loads of work. Already have that almost stripped to bare metal.

 

I like your build thread (somehow I missed it before), now following along.
You've done a lot to get to this point, more to go..my experience is this is the exciting part of Hot Rodding, once it's done I tend to lose interest, and look forward to another project.
Nice job!

 

hi eric whats the dash like in this one

 

Didn’t come with a dash. Bubba55 sent me one without the gauge panel thats in nice shape otherwise. My original is complete, but a lot like Swiss cheese. The truck was under a blue tarp (worse thing for these) for years with pine needles and dirt trapped in it, so all the window areas have big holes and rot. Very happy with the new cab though.


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watching now and great job so far Eric

 

Original cab


New cab


Dashes



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any doors with the new cab eric?

 

Subscribing for the next semi-annual update. Some great info here. Currently planning a similar build for a '38 I just picked up.

 

Nope, no doors with it. I did pick up a passenger door off eBay for cheap though.


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Thanks monte. I got a couple nice things for the truck for my birthday (and hopefully for Christmas). Maybe I can find some time to work on it soon.


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good stuff the dash looks good too

 

Wow...not a post on this thread in over a year. Somebody's slacking (it's me). The other thing I noticed looking over the thread this morning...I suffer from severe project ADD. I've started a lot of different things that still have not been completed. So I decided to add on to that theme by starting something new. I finally got my garage cleaned up (projects from my business have completely taken over my space and left sawdust everywhere) and got to work further destroying my piece of history.

Started by removing the original cab and placing the new one I picked up:

IMG_4183 by pila38 posted Feb 4, 2020 at 7:47 AM

IMG_4184 by pila38 posted Feb 4, 2020 at 7:48 AM

Then, I started by removing the right side lower cab mount leg and foot because they were pretty rotten:

IMG_4185 by pila38 posted Feb 4, 2020 at 7:47 AM

IMG_4186 by pila38 posted Feb 4, 2020 at 7:47 AM

It was really the front of this mounting foot that was rotted, so I decided to only replace that part. Bent up some 1/8" angle in the shape of the original, cut some 1/8" plate to fit in the middle, then welded it up:

IMG_4193 by pila38 posted Feb 4, 2020 at 7:47 AM

IMG_4195 by pila38 posted Feb 4, 2020 at 7:47 AM

IMG_4194 by pila38 posted Feb 4, 2020 at 7:47 AM

IMG_4200 by pila38 posted Feb 4, 2020 at 7:47 AM

IMG_4197 by pila38 posted Feb 4, 2020 at 7:47 AM

IMG_4199 by pila38 posted Feb 4, 2020 at 7:47 AM

I pirated some of the pieces off of the other cab that were in better shape and will use them to finish this up. I think I have photos of me fixing them up, but have no time to post them now. Maybe tonight? Maybe next year?

 

Two posts in one day! Thats more than the last two years combined! Anyway, I found the pics of the parts I pirated off the other cab. I fixed up the right one a bit, the left one is in decent shape. I also needed the part that connects the cab leg to the cab foot, as both of the ones on the newer cab were shot.

I did cut out the crap and weld the new one in. There are no pictures of that. I guess at this rate we should all be happy there are any pictures at all.

 

here s another welcome back post eric ,welcome back !

 

welcome back bud.some rust converter would go a long way on the cab legs.

 

Hi. I’m not dead. Yes…I still work on this heap. Hated the floor situation so I started all over. Using the existing floor and the extra I had around, I made one good solid original floor pan and cut up the seat riser to accomodate the Kirkey seats I’ll be putting in. The challenge you ask? Stuffing an 8 pt roll bar and a ramrod shifter into a ‘30s truck cab leaves very little space for someone to actually drive. Doesn’t matter though…at the rate I’m moving they can just use this as my casket, no need for it to actually work. Welp, that’s it for this decade…talk soon. Here’s some pics to look at while you wait for my next update.

 

Looks like you changed beer. Not Pabst. Great job so far. I'm starting mine soon.
Yours and mine will be very close to the same truck. I'm doing a big block though.
I do plan on going racing. My rear suspension will be like yours and I'm adding a roll cage etc.
Keep updating. Mine will take a couple of years to finish.