Projects Kurt’s Puddle Jumper - 1930 Model A Extended-Cab Pickup Build

Congrats!, first drive is always an inspiration

 

After the thrash to get it moving, had to take 2 days cleaning up the garage, putting tools away, and some spring yard work.

Did get the light switch and turnsignal switch installed. Got the rear taillights wired and Tail, turn, brake, and emergency flashers working. Not much to show but here it is:



Next up Wire Headlights and front turnsignals.

 

Got headlight relay installed and wired. Left headlight hooked up and working.

 

Headlights finished. Front turnsignals installed, wired, and working.





Right turnsignal was a bear. Found bulb was bad.

 

Backed it out of the garage to take some pictures on a nice sunny day while taking a break from spring yard work. Decided to update my Avitar to be more current.



More current pictures.

 

Been a week since an update. Thanks for the likes. Spent a lot of last week on spring chores.

The big question to Chop or not? Looking at the last picture I posted, I think it is begging for a 2-3 inch Chop. The bionic woman does not want me to Chop it, but I always have wanted a 2-3 inch Chop. I'm only 5-8 and have about 4 inches to the top bows.

So what do you all think?

Spent 2 days cleaning up windshield parts and getting the windshield hinge free. Now if it will dry out for a few days I get get some paint on them.

 

Took awhile, but I finally got one side of the trim pieces painted. Still waiting to do other side, rain, wind, and today too cold to paint.



Got started on my plywood bomber Seats. Got driver seat cut out and mocked up.



Will have weaved webbing with 2 inches of foam on top.

 

Been working but fell behind in posting. First, finally got the dash rail, window trim and door trim finished painting. Was still windier outside then I would have liked.




Making progress on my home made plywood bomber seats. Drivers seat all cut out, holes predrilled, and slots cut for biscuits.


Glued, biscuited, clamped, and screwed together.


and all glued and sides traced and cutout for pass seat.


Next up was to install the slides on the bottom of the seat. The wood sticks will be replicated in steel. Got to order it as I don't have a local supplier in town.



Then installed the webbing in the seat and cut the 2 inch foam to fit.




The 2 inch foam on the back makes the seat feel too short so I'm going to get some 1 inch for the back.
Planning on covering it with grey fleece blanket material so tried a throw blanket I like the feel of. Picture makes it look blue, but it is gray. Now if I can convince the bionic woman to let me use that one I will be all set.


Tried it in the car and slides work great even without being bolted down.

 

I stumbled across your thread. Great job! I am a couple of years your junior and also still enjoy working on my car. As far as chopping yours it would look good, but may I suggest that before you do that you tape some cardboard across the top of door opening to simulate the chopped height. Now try getting in and out. If you keep hitting your head On the cardboard then don't chop, lol. I've discovered that the side rail on my convert is a lot harder than my head!

 

Thanks for the input Cutlas Fan. Chop is on indefinite hold. I'm mostly bald and have numerus scars from hitting my head, some just ducking my head in the door working on the floor. The Bionic Woman (my wife) does not want to chop it and I have got no supporters of chopping it on the HAMB so I guess I'm overruled.

No progress to report this week. Spent most of the week doing more spring chores. Did get all the wood pieces cut out for the passenger seat, but not put together yet.

 

Just because the HAMB is asleep at the switch doesn't mean you shouldn't chop it. You've always wanted one. Your height is an advantage for this. 5'8" is perfect. If a pic is worth a thousand words, a photochop is worth a thousand recommendations. Yes, chop it.

 

It does look nice chopped, but looks quite unique not chopped.

 

Thanks 34 5W Paul. Been meaning to photo shop chop it but never got around to it. Definitely the look I had always had in mind. A chop is still on indefinite hold. Have plenty to do to get it fully on the road.

Main reason I was thinking about it now is glass. Do not want to pay for glass before a chop and have to do it twice. I checked the original windshield is safety glass and side windows are just plate glass. I'm going to install the original windshield now to get it on the road and not install any side glass for now. Don't plan to drive it when I would need the windows closed. If I get everything else but final paint done, I will revisit the chop question.

 

Got the passenger seat all fitted, glued, biscuited, and screwed together. Realized I forgot to post any pictures about the biscuits. I have been using them in woodworking for many years. Some sample biscuits in the first shot next to the tool.


Biscuit cutter ready to cut groove.


Biscuits in slots.


Liberal application of glue to mating surfaces, slots, and biscuits and then screw together.

 

Great milestone today. "KURT" is insured. Hopefully I can now renew its license plate. I got it fully titled and licensed when I bought the untouched Model A but after a couple of years I could not renew the plate because it was not insured. Will find out tomorrow. Can't drive it till I get the seats done and installed and the windshield installed.

Yesterday completed woodwork on the passenger seat and got paint on the exposed wood on both seats. Cutout the webbing for the passenger seat but ran out. More due tomorrow.

 

Another milestone, "KURT" is licensed. After reading horror stories here on the HAMB, I was worried but it was not too bad. Had to fill out a form saying it was not driven on the road in TN for 5 years and pay $29. Now need to buy or build a lic plate holder.

 

Webbing and foam done on both seats. Hope to cover with fleece blanket tomorrow.

 

More progress. Seats are covered with fleece blanket material and in Kurt. Now I need to fasten them in place. I guess I still remember something about upholstery I learned from my Mother 62 years ago when she helped me redo the upholstery in my 51 Chevy.

 

Getting closer to going for a spin. Got the passenger seat mounted and the Bionic Woman (my wife) tried it out and said OK.

 

Thank you Maicobreako, Cutlas Fan, brEad, HotRod33 and Randall for the likes. I think I learned the secret to getting likes. Don't post pictures of tech stuff, post pictures of pretty women.

Got the driver seat brackets fabricated and installed and seat bolted in. Have to take it and passenger seat back out and paint the brackets, but that can wait till I get to test drive it some.







Next up get the windshield installed and lic plate mounted.

 

Got the original windshield installed, temp lic plate mount installed, and machine keys installed in the lower front shock mounts. That finished the to do list for the next test drive. Drove it to the nearest gas station and filled it up.
Used existing holes in tailgate to temp mount plate. Will mount it with a light under the tailgate.


After getting gas, came back and picked up the Bionic Woman and took her for a test drive. Sorry no pictures.

 

just went through the whole thread. very cool

 

Test drive last Tuesday did not go very good. I had driven a couple of miles getting gas just fine, but as soon as I started taking the wife for a ride the engine started popping and banging and backfiring so limped back home. It was spitting antifreeze out the catch bottle even though the temp gauge was just over 200.

I know I have not installed a fan yet and it was about 85 but that didn't explain the popping and banging. After thinking about all night, the next morning it started and ran fine and had sucked the antifreeze back up from the catch bottle. Only took a couple of oz to top it off. My diagnose was the ignition module or coil getting too hot when it overheated so I ordered both.

Installed then this AM and it starts and idles fine. I let it warm up till it showed on the temp gauge and shut it off. A while later I find a puddle of antifreeze under the engine. I think it came from around the thermostat housing. I'm going to get a gasket and remove the thermostat. Never going to have a heater anyway.

Only other thing I have done is to get the bulkhead at the front of the bed semi cleaned up and bolted in place as well as bolting in the plywood floor. That should eliminate a bunch of bangs and thuds I was hearing as both were just laying back there.

 

Very little to show this week. I need to get a fan installed but went way over my Model A budget last month so have to wait a month or so. Also need to get some decent rear tires as the rollers on it are cracked.

Had to finish bolting down the bed floor but had to remove it to locate some holes. Decided to cleanup and varnish the plywood and paint the bulkhead. Looks much better.

 

Not much to report this week. Removed the thermostat and took it for its longest test run to date and temp hardly registered on the gauge. Kept moving so air was going thru the radiator. Don't have the speedometer hooked up yet, so don't know how fast I got up to, but was keeping up with a car in front of me were the speed limit is 55.

It ran great. A lot of rattles to sort out. I definitely need to get better tires on it and have them balanced. When I mounted these on the rims 5 years ago they were just to make it roll so I didn't have them balanced.

 

Well I'm still alive. Have been offline for about 7 weeks. Annual summer trip to MN to see daughters and grandsons. Added a great granddaughter last month but did not get to see her in person.

Got back to work on Kurt yesterday. Bought myself a birthday present (was today, 79). Got the pusher fan and Wiring.



Got it mounted today. Next up install the relay, wiring, and thermo control.

So what did I do on vacation? Spent 5 weeks at my youngest daughters cabin in Northern MN. First built gates to keep the dogs on the deck.


Then tore out the vinyl tile around the tub and installed ceramic tile.






Then they decided they wanted a garage. In 3 weeks my son in law, daughter, and I got it ready for the roof. Got out of there since I'm to old to work on roofs.

 

First, Thank You brEad, WalkerMD, Randall, 49ratfink, osage orange, Papas32, set me on fire, The 39 guy, and StogyE for the LIKES. I don't think I have had that many likes for any previous post. I can't believe the likes for were for just the pusher fan mounted. I seriously thought about if I should post the summer vacation stuff as I think it may violate the site rules on off topic subjects. Again thanks.

Not much progress to report. Weather has been terrible, hot, rainy and humid. I can only work comfortably for a couple of hours in the morning and I have been trying to catchup on 6 weeks of missed yardwork.

Rained this morning so could not work in the yard and I got the pusher fan and relay wired. Didn't take any pictures since I need to get the wire braid on the wiring to make it look pretty.

 

Something I forgot to mention. Last Sat spent a couple of hours installing the temp sensor for the fan. Should have been easy but had to drain the Antifreeze first. Managed to capture about 2/3 of it but the rest covered the garage floor. Thank God for oil dri.

 

Wire braid installed, but not pretty. Going to make a cover to hide the headlight and fan relays and wiring. Ran the engine to test the fan. Came on about 195 and off about 180.

 

2 weeks and I have not got to touch "Kurt". Was planning on yesterday morning but the Bionic Woman steered me in a different direction. Aluminum cladding on the garage door frames was coming loose at the bottom. Excavation found they had not used treated lumber touching the concrete when the garage was built 16 years ago. Nails don't hold in rotten wood.



Oh the joys of home ownership. The past 2 weeks I have been working on the planting/flower bed in front of the house. 3 bushes and a small tree all died this pas year and I had to dig them out and cleanup the landscape rock in a 5 x 24 foot bed. It has been so hot and humid I can only work 2-3 hours in the morning. Finally cleaned up and new holes dug and waiting on the Bionic Woman to pick the replacement bushes. But now instead of working on Kurt I have to tackle the rot above. Bumbed!