more progress this week...

I am working on the trans mount, I wanted to keep the angled sides like the ram had, I actually built plates and drilled them to .5" and replaced the bolts with 1/2". The top 2 nuts are welded over the holes and the lower nuts are accessible from the other side of the plate. I had to shorten the original trans mount, I am still in process on that, the attachment to the plate is not perfect yet, so I am not ready to set the welds in.

I am still trying to get the air suspension on order, trying to make sure everything will work on my truck with my components before I order it.

I ordered more parts for the door, I ordered the window crank switches and the bear claw... Unfortunately the Bear claw and the installation kit were for different units. And the switch does not work with the square shaft cranks I have. Because AutoLoc is in town and that is who made it I thought they could help on an exchange. It is all brand new stuff, but they can not do anything. WTF I have to ship this across the country and back instead of driving a few miles to their shop Talk about BAD Customer Service. I even knew a guy that worked there a while back, and the guy I talked with at AutoLoc used to work for a company I did, shot the **** for a while but still could not convince him to help. I know they corner the market in a lot of that stuff, but I am really beginning to not like their service!!!

At any rate, I am progressing.

 

Cant wait to see the final result.

 

Me either

This week has been discouraging becasue of the constant 1 step foreward 2 steps back. I do REALLY APPRECIATE the support, it helps keep me going.

 

 

Tiremann grab the popcorn;
Today I was able to get the trans mount figured out, I have some of the more permanent welds in place and a lot of little tacks holding the pieces together. I wanted to make sure that I had enough welded that it did not warp when I did the final welds and cleanup.

I then started on the seat mounts, it was a bit tricky because the seats used to mount on an unlevel floor, while the 1939 truck is all level. So I had to fashion some mounts that addressed the differing heights, and angles for the mounts. Also because these seats have an integral seatbelt I had to make them tough so the seat would not shear off in an accident (I HOPE I NEVER WRECK THIS TRUCK). So I used some .25” thick 3” wide bar that I had, I measured the front and rear heights that would be needed, then cut the vertical supports longer to allow for an angle. The angle will make sure that the seat can not move, the thickness will keep everything in place. I did the drivers side today and it came out great! It does not take up excess space so I have more room for storage, with such a small cab every inch counts!

Owh one fun thing is that the drivers side front spring was bent a long time ago, so the truck is not level side to side right now… And the engine was mounted level side to side so now it is off a bit this also made the seat a bit more fun, because I had to build the seat so it was not level, but will be level once the suspension will be finished.

Next is fabbing up the floor around the trans and engine… then I hope all is fabbed and tacked and ready to send off to media blasting. I just want to make sure all of the main metal is in place before I take the engine and trans out again.

---AutoMerged DoublePost---

Well it was a good day, but things went slow. I was able to get the last of the switches out of the cab, removed the windshield thing that makes it go out (yes that is the technical term for it), then got to work on the floor plates. I was able to bend the old panels over the trans and it turned out well, I still have another small panel for the flooring that I need to shape. I was pleased I have never tried to shape metal before but it is really not that hard. It looks like I may be able to get the last of the mocked up and ready to ship the truck off for media blasting and primer later this week.

Hopefully it will not take long, then once I get the truck back I can finish weld parts, box in the rest of the frame rails, fit other parts, fill holes before sending it off to the body man.

I am still trying to get the suspension on order… hopefully that stuff will come together soon. I will keep the frame to install the suspension, brakes etc while the body and upholstery is being done. At that time I will also be upgrading and cleaning the engine and trans.

 

I have progressed since the last update and was able to get most of the sheet metal to the blaster yesterday and will be taking the truck out today  The engine and trans mounts are mocked up, the floor is started, the glass is all removed, and ready.

If you have been following the AutoLoc drama, it continued yesterday… I was able to get the people I bought the parts from to allow me to process the exchange at the AutoLoc here… That was great, I think the company had to buy a new part for me so I was really happy with them, but Autoloc kept up the stupidity. I got there and the door was locked and the open sign was off in the middle of the day to their showroom. I was able to get someone’s attention and they let me in. I told them I was there to see the guy I was dealing with there (I called him and set an appointment). After waiting a long time he finally came out. Did not say much and had someone come out to take my parts, then another 15 min passed before the new parts came out… torn boxes and rusted parts. I did not care about the box but WTF I had brand new parts and they gave me crap they could not sell. I asked about it and he said wait a minute then never addressed it and sent me on my way. This could have been an opportunity to save face, but to anyone looking for parts STAY AWAY FROM AUTOLOC AKA THE HOFFMAN GROUP, if you go to their site main page your computer will crash. Just trying to look out for anyone out there thinking of buying their stuff, they are all about the money not customers!

 

Ok, yesterday was a long day...

It started with picking up the trailer for the truck, then off to the shop. We took the engine and trans out, removed any remaining wires, lines or anything we did not want blasted. Unfortunately the neighbor just sold the forklift so we had to roll the truck out of the shop out by hand.

It started to pour so we got a little real work done (I still have a company to run ya know), the rain settled and we loaded the truck on the tow dolly. Strapped the heck out of it, drove 50' and the first strap literally snapped. I was glad I added a massive chain for backup, it was what saved the truck from going over the dolly. The issue is that I took the corner too tight. What a way to start the drive. There was a large stone wedged between the passenger side dually’s, it did not budge last time I moved the truck so I hoped my luck would hold out... The other bummer is that the frame from that Topkick was still sitting on the 39 frame and without the forklift I was not able to move it at all and had to strap it on.

We started the trip with the low fuel light on, and there were no gas stations that I could get into for about 20 miles, so with everything to watch for it was a bit stressful to say the least.

So now that I was stressed out about the rock, the frame from falling off and the straps snapping we continued to drive, at 30MPH max we finally made it to the blasters about 4 hours later, just before they closed. The guy I had to talk with already went home. I noticed that the rock was gone… well I am glad I did not kill anyone and the strap holding the extra frame on was also torn! I had been pulling over and checking along the way, so I figure it happened just before I got there (I hope).

The good news is that the parts I dropped off the day before were already mostly blasted and looked good.

It sounds like I should have the truck back around Wednesday, then I can get to work putting everything back together, finalizing the welds, cleaning things up and installing the suspension.

I have been taking photos, I just need to find the time to post them…

 

The truck is almost out of the blaster, it was being primed the last few days

I tried to work on the wiring again and what a PITA!! I also am thinking I should get the truck running, make sure I did not already mess things up when I gave it a haircut. Then add the alarm and stuff, It would suck if it did not work and if I continue cutting I really will never be able to tell which wire I cut that I should not have.

I have the manual but the diagram is not that great so I am sory of flying blind with a multimeter and logic.

The Viper alarm I purchased did not come with the install diagram, apparently you have to be a licensed shop to get it I searched and found it online but Viper continued to tell me no. I used to install them and used to work at a shop... Owh well.

I think we have a deal on the air ride, not as much of a sponsorship as I was hoping for but still it will help.

I am trying to find another inexpensive source for 4-link brackets and items like the Heim Joints... when you look at 16 heim joints it gets expensive fast! Any assistance is apppreciated in finding a place or if you can cut them...

I am going with front and rear air ride and triangulated 4-link the links are going to need to be very stout and long, so the brackets should be at least .5" thick steel.

 

Hey i would like to see this truck, im only 150 miles away and am in beaverton alot. I got alot of mechanical skills to for only bein 17. Cool project!

 

Sweet, sounds good! I should have it back from the blaster thursday, then it will be at my shop in Hillsboro. I still have to go through the engine and trans, and I have not done that before...