Re: 46 pickemup in NJ "the Rebuild"
 

OK some updates! So here's a perfect example of having something get way more involved then I ever wanted it to be. Originally my truck came with your typical V8. I decided to make the change to an inline 6. Well that poses some challenges. First off the inline 6 is about 4-5 inches longe than the V8. when I first put the engine in its hole I had no room to get the radiator in.

So after staring at the problem for a bout 2 months I decided I only had 2 options. Either try and re-work the radiator mount and move it forward. Or cut a hole in the fire wall and slide the engine back a bit. Moving the radiator support around seemed at the time to present much more of a challenge because as most of you know a lot of the front body work mounts to the support. Because of this I decided to leave the mount alone and cut a hole in the firewall.
http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e3...pse880a6b7.jpg
http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e3...ps8e0d199e.jpg

At the time the fix seemed pretty simple......but now I had to figure out how to re- work the fire wall and not make it look like a hack job. Mind you now I do not have any of the high end tools the hot rod shops have ie....power hammer, english wheel, bead roller, etc etc. So I will have to just wing as best I can. the biggest problem is the stock fire wall has a rounded, stamped recess. So How the hell am I going to make something blend in with that?????????????

first I started off making a new floor. Just a simple piece of plate steel with a lip added to the bottom so it rests nicely in its hole.
http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e3...psd66f7ead.jpg
http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e3...ps23eb1048.jpg

Re: 46 pickemup in NJ "the Rebuild"
 

Next it was onto the toe board. This wasn't to much of a big deal as the old toe board looked like a piece of Swiss cheese anyway. All I had to do was add a 2 inch kick out to accommodate the engine set back. After a lot of cutting grinding and fitting this is what I came up with.
http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e3...psd24ed9dc.jpg
http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e3...ps511005eb.jpg
here it is all in place................
http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e3...psd097bcdb.jpg
Next it is onto the tranny tunnel

Re: 46 pickemup in NJ "the Rebuild"
 

Tranny tunnel Hmmmmmmmm. Templates templates and more templates. that's pretty much how I spent the last couple of hours.
Cut, fit, try it. fail.
http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e3...ps298ce520.jpg
Cut it again, try it again, getting closer.
http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e3...ps4c8e93ee.jpg
Cut it again, try it again,........
http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e3...ps09098435.jpg
So I guess the plan is fab up the tunnel with some sheet metal some how, weld some tabs to the floor and toe board for mounting points, and either fasten the tunnel with screws and nuts or Dzus buttons.
Seeing as how I don't have anyway to roll a niece tunnel into form. Would I be violating the Hot Rod gospel by copying this idea?:lol:
http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e3...ps3279d6bb.jpg

Re: 46 pickemup in NJ "the Rebuild"
 

Noy sure if it's too late or if it's an option for you but check the link below .

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1940-1941-19...9a04f2&vxp=mtr

Re: 46 pickemup in NJ "the Rebuild"
 

Thanx Yelr, I have seen them before and had considered it, but I don't think my welding skills are up to cutting out an entire fire wall and trying to weld/stitch a new one in place without warping it. I may just cut out the rounded section of my firewall and build some kind of a square box. At this point though I am still stumped as to how I am going to blend in my toe board with the stock fire wall. if I only had an English wheel and about 20 years experience in metal working I would be all set.:b69:

Re: 46 pickemup in NJ "the Rebuild"
 

Yeah, I had the same thoughts about it. I'm sure you will figure something out. LOVE the headers! I think that's an awsome option if you can't find anything to fit. I'm sure they were not easy on the wallet though. Keep up the great work :)

Re: 46 pickemup in NJ "the Rebuild"
 

lookin good paint.

Re: 46 pickemup in NJ "the Rebuild"
 

I formed my trans hump over a 33 gallon oil drum trash can. Just pushed the metal around it and it ended up being the perfect shape.

Re: 46 pickemup in NJ "the Rebuild"
 

So while I ponder what to do about the fire wall and trans tunnel. I figured I would button up the back end of the truck with the new fuel tank and shock mounts.

Whoever originally built the truck put the shocks in staggered (one in front of the rear the other behind) which is fine but they were laid down at almost a 30 degree angle. The guy I bought the truck off of said it rode so stiff he took the shocks out and just drove the truck on the leaf springs:crazy:. I don't have a pic of the old shocks but its no wonder the truck rode so stiff, there was now way the shocks could compress at 30 degrees.

So the fix was simple enough. the TCI leaf kit came with the shock cross member and shocks, so I just threw in some boxing plates, and burned in the mount.
http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e3...ps941b366f.jpg

For the fuel tank, I guess theirs about 100 different ways to mount them. I choose to do everything bolt in. I just used some 1 1/4 square stock bolted to the frame for supports. Of course its never as simple as it seems..... Because the front most cross member sits on the kick up part of the frame over the rear, It wouldn't sit level with the rear cross member so I had to notch it on both sides. At least I am getting a lot of welding practice!
http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e3...ps5c84cf85.jpg I then bolted the tank to the supports. Instead of just directly bolting the tank to the supports I made up some squish plates to sit on top and sandwich everything together. Once I do the final assembly I'll use some kind of rubber inner tube like material in between the cross member, tank, and the plates to keep everything from chaffing. to remove the tank all I have to do is unbolt the rear most cross member from the frame and slide it back about an inch and the tank just drops down.
http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e3...ps863c4a56.jpg
http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e3...ps10276ce8.jpg
So that's where i am at as of now. The truck is real close to being mocked up.
Before I tear everything down for sand blasting theirs just a couple of things I want to do. I bought a set of 2" drop spindles from Justin, and some 2" lowering blocks from speedway. I want to throw them at the truck and see what it looks like lowered a bit more. The other thing is, I am still trying to find a trans cross member that I like. I am trying to find one with a 1" drop but it looks like the only ones made start at 2" and go from there. I currently have the tranny temporarily finagled in with a 6" drop but that interferes with the brake booster/master cylinder. I guess I may just have to make one.

Re: 46 pickemup in NJ "the Rebuild"
 

I almost forgot to ask the experts.....do you guys think I should put some strapping under the fuel tank to support the bottom when the tank is full of fuel?
I am thinking that a full tank of fuel may cause the tank to deform a bit and cause stress on the seems. Maybe I just over thinking it.

Re: 46 pickemup in NJ "the Rebuild"
 

I just found you build thread and love the project. I especially like the return to the inline 6. The Mustang tanks in their original use sat into the trunk from the top and all four sides were supported on the seams without straps underneath. As long as you are supporting the longer sides I would think you would be ok , but a couple pieces of angle supporting both sides wouldn't be tough to engineer.


Bob

Re: 46 pickemup in NJ "the Rebuild"
 

So the ole girl got her nose and back side lowered 2" thanx to a set of drop spindles from Justin out at Scott's Hot Rods and some lowering blocks from Speedway. I think she looks pretty good although here I go again opening up a can of worms. When I dropped the rear it puts the tires a little bit to close to the fenders for my comfort. So its either widen the fenders, raise the fenders, get a rear that's about 2" narrower, smaller width wheels, or keep the same width wheels but use a different back space.:confused:

http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e3...ps582f2dc5.jpg
http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e3...ps9a37c341.jpg
Heres a shot showing the new fuel tank. It doesn't look to bad but maybe a rear roll pan to hide it is in order.
http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e3...psfe85fc6a.jpg
I am so close to being able to tear this thing apart for sandblasting!

Re: 46 pickemup in NJ "the Rebuild"
 

lookin real good paint.

Re: 46 pickemup in NJ "the Rebuild"
 

looking good !!!

Justin

Re: 46 pickemup in NJ "the Rebuild"
 

I like the look of the front bumper maybe a matching one for the rear? I would weld the bolts to the backside and smooth the bumper too.

Re: 46 pickemup in NJ "the Rebuild"
 

I have a 46 1/2 ton chevy and I have a 69 chevy 292 that I want to install and would like to know if you made your moter mount brackets or did you buy them. Also would you still rework the fire wall or would you move the radiator forword if you had to do it again?

Re: 46 pickemup in NJ "the Rebuild"
 

As far as the motor mounts, .....the pieces you see bolted to the motor are from chassis engineering. the brackets on the frame I made myself and just used the standard rubber pucks you can buy for any motor. Actually I think the pucks came with the motor mounts from CE.

As far as the 292 situation, I don't know yet. I don't have all the fancy fabrication equipment that I really need so I am struggling right now with the fire wall. I think what I am going to do is have Scott's Hot Rods make me a box for the set back and just bolt it in place.

I guess if I had thought it out better I could have left the radiator bracket in its stock location and somehow welded different flanges on the radiator to move it more forward towards the front of the truck. If I remember correctly though I needed almost 2" more clearance for the fan not to hit the radiator. I definitely didn't want to be bothered with moving the whole radiator support around because then I would have re-hang the entire nose of the truck with all new, different brackets.

I don't think I'll have to many updates for awhile because the wife and I are in the process of having a patio installed off the back of our house. Plus having to throw $800 at my work truck yesterday didn't help. DAMN CHECK ENGINE LIGHTS!:( Probably won't get a chance to get back to the 46 for 2-3 weeks.

Re: 46 pickemup in NJ "the Rebuild"
 

We are ready when you are !!!

Justin

Re: 46 pickemup in NJ "the Rebuild"
 

Those are sure some nice headers.

Re: 46 pickemup in NJ "the Rebuild"
 

Ok guys, I figured I would do a meaningless post just to keep my thread from falling into the internet abyss. As I mentioned in my last post the truck would have to be put on the back burner for awhile. Here's some pics of what has been distracting me.
4 weeks ago my property went from looking like a golf course, to something that resembles a war zone. For the entire month of June, NJ had pounding rain storms just about everyday. Well that's all fine and dandy until our patio contractor showed up with his heavy equipment.

My backyard went from looking like this:
http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e3...psf3bef324.jpg
to this:
http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e3...psef57e2ea.jpg
of course my front yard didn't fair to well either:
http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e3...ps2ee1af26.jpg
Fortunately in the middle of all the chaos I got a package from Tom Lowe to help keep my sanity! A nice hunk of aluminium bling for the top of the motor.
http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e3...psc22f1ab7.jpg


Of course to save money my wife and I decided that I should be the one to do all the clean up and re-landscaping. Soooo for the past 2 weeks the Paintman has moved with a wheel barrel and shovel 20 yards of red dress stone, 15 yards of top soil, and done a whole lot of raking! But in the end it was all worth it!!!!!!!!!!!!
http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e3...pse34ee053.jpg
http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e3...ps5a61966d.jpg

Re: 46 pickemup in NJ "the Rebuild"
 

Wow. No one will ever accuse you of living in the hood. That's some place.
Posted via Mobile Device

Re: 46 pickemup in NJ "the Rebuild"
 

Ok guys, I'm back! sorry for the lack of updates but this has been the Summer from hell around the Paintman's place. As most of you know from my perevious posts, the wife and I had a patio installed off the back of our house which severely curtailed me from working on the 46.

To save money we didn't have our patio crew put our yard back together. that meant the paintman had to do a lot of grunt work during the summer months. Unfortunately, moving 15 ton of red dress stone, and 20 ton of top soil, with a nothing but a shovel and wheel, is a recipe for for being laid up for about 2 weeks with some serious back issues. And of course after recuperating from my back problems I had to throw in a visit to the emergency room for a bout of diverticulitis.:lol:

but it looks as if all those issues are behind me and the patio is completely done and I can get back to the 46.
http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e3...ps7b41bc38.jpg
Sausage and peppers anyone????:thumbs:
http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e3...psc46da3ca.jpg

Re: 46 pickemup in NJ "the Rebuild"
 

Ok so this is how the paintman gets his motor into the back of his wife's car when he's to cheap to buy or rent an engine hoist, and doesn't want to ask his next door neighbor if he can borrow his.
http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e3...ps6d196103.jpg

Two 2x12's and a big push and up it goes!!!!!
http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e3...ps45cef2f4.jpg

Re: 46 pickemup in NJ "the Rebuild"
 

Ok guys so here's a brain teaser...........What do you get when you add together....................

A motor and a bunch of parts in the back of the Wife's car +

A trip to Mystic Connecticut leaving first thing Friday morning +

And a room reserved for Friday and Saturday night at Mohegan Sun Casino in Uncasville Connecticut?

A free ata boy to the first one who answers correctly. Stay tuned!

Re: 46 pickemup in NJ "the Rebuild"
 

For me it would be grief except Mohegan Sun might cancel out some of that. I would be at the Seaport while she would be at the casino.

Re: 46 pickemup in NJ "the Rebuild"
 

Lucky

Re: 46 pickemup in NJ "the Rebuild"
 

And the answer is.......A Trip to Larry's Power to drop off the 292 for a total makeover. These are the same guys that did the infamous 292, spliced V8 hybrid head, for Leo Santucci's drag car.
http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e3...ps824c81c9.jpg
Here's a pic of the team that will give the ole girl a face lift. On the far left is the owner Gary who bought the business from his former boss. And standing next to him is the guy (Steve? I think) who did most of the work on the spliced head for Santucci. And of course the rest of the team on the right. Some how a big dopey looking guy got his ugly mug in the pic on the far right.
http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e3...pse095a54d.jpg

Re: 46 pickemup in NJ "the Rebuild"
 

Ok, so another major piece of the puzzle arrived today in a Big Brown truck. As I mentioned earlier, I don't have a lot of the major fabrication tools for this kind of job, and that was causing me to have troubles closing in the firewall. To do it properly and not look like a total hack job would have meant either buying, borrowing, or renting a sheet metal break.
Fortunately for me Justin and the guys out at Scott's Hot rods were nice enough to put a box together for me exactly the way i wanted it. There's no way I could have put something like this together even if I had the right equipment. The damn thing is first class quality.
So the first thing I had to do was cut the opening in the firewall to accept the box portion. The plan is once I have that where it needs to be I will then trace around the flange portion so I know where the final cuts needs to be. Then it's just a matter of connecting it to the floor boards and stitching it to the firewall.
http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e3...ps0041dfbc.jpg

Anybody know what this thing is mounted on the firewall? For the life of me I can't figure out what the hell its for. On the inside of the cab it has a small steel tube coming out of it. I am trying to decide if I should grind it off or just notch the flange and work around it.
http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e3...ps0b4dbd36.jpg

Re: 46 pickemup in NJ "the Rebuild"
 

That part you're wondering about is where the water that gets past the cowl vent would drain. I diverts the water back to the outside of the cab. If you don't plan on having that vent functional you could probably get rid of it.

Re: 46 pickemup in NJ "the Rebuild"
 

lookin good paintman. also worked all summer on my property.but did have a chance to enjoy some car shows and family time.lookin forward to more pics.chizzler

Re: 46 pickemup in NJ "the Rebuild"
 

Sooo as I was sayin.......It's pretty self explanatory as to what the paintman has been up to. Most of you guys have been here, done that, got the t'shirt.
But just to refresh your memory , cut, weld, grind, burn through, cut, weld, grind, burn through. etc. etc.:lol:
http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e3...psa7263596.jpg
http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e3...ps2d0b4c50.jpg
http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e3...ps1757ce14.jpg
http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e3...ps2eba4f6a.jpg

Re: 46 pickemup in NJ "the Rebuild"
 

On some of the smaller holes, instead of trying to make small plugs, I just shoved a sheet rock screw into the hole as a backer and burner her shut.
http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e3...ps811669d6.jpg

Once I got my holes filled in, I fit and stitched the recess box in. I originally had planned on cutting the opening for the box to fit flush into the firewall and then weld the flange all the way around. But upon further review i realized to do it that way would have meant cutting into the ribs that were stamped into the firewall at the factory for re-reinforcement. That just seemed like it would cause more trouble then it was worth so I mounted the flange to the back side of the firewall. I now have it stitched and ground down on the front side, and plan on stitching on the backside as well. Hope that made sense. Maybe the pics will help.
http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e3...ps198b69f9.jpg
I was able fold over some the extra material on the recess box and create a flange to add more support for the floor boards.
http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e3...ps0091d791.jpg
So at the end of a few long days this what the firewall looks like. I still have alot of clean up to do yet but i'm gettin there. Did I do it right????????? I don't have a clue. But I know a painter that's good working with spackle:lol:
http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e3...ps1f3f573b.jpg

Re: 46 pickemup in NJ "the Rebuild"
 

looking good

Justin

Re: 46 pickemup in NJ "the Rebuild"
 

Looking good ,I think mounting it from the inside was a good idea. looks better without fooling with the ribs. In the future to fill a small hole just hold or clamp a piece of brass or aluminum behind the hole and weld it up. A chunk of aluminum will absorb the heat and will not stick to the weld.

Re: 46 pickemup in NJ "the Rebuild"
 

Ok, so the last few days have been all about brakeology 101. When I bought the truck it had some kind of 1/2 a@% brake pedal assembly bolted up under the dash, with the master cylinder mounted to the firewall. Well that was fine when the truck had the small block in it. Unfortunately when I decided to switch over to the inline motor, I soon realized the brake booster, master cylinder, and carburetor, wanted to occupy the same space in the engine compartment. Soooo that meant moving the brake booster to under the cab. Of course I have already covered what troubles moving the brake booster to under the cab would cause with my exhaust :lol:

So any ways here is a pic of the butched up pedal assembly that I took out from under the dash. I only wish I had kept the brake pedal to show how boogered up it was, but unfortunately I have already taken it to the local scrapper. You can kind of see the shaft the pedal swung on and the brake light switch.
http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e3...ps76cbce4d.jpg

So with that gone I mounted your typical TCI frame mount booster and pedal assembly. I'm sure most all of you have seen this 1000 times. Only thing I did different was to not use the plate that bolted to the frame that came with the unit. Instead I opted to weld a piece of plate to the frame and bolt the pedal assembly in that way.
http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e3...psd6b72f9a.jpg
From the front.
http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e3...psa4004e8a.jpg
So of course as most of you know having the brake cylinder under the cab poses the problem of how do you fill the master cylinder. Well, I didn't want to cut a trap door in the floor and have to peel back the carpet all the time so a quick call out to Justin at Scott's Hot Rods solved the problem. All you need is one of his trick remote fill canisters and a lid tapped for fittings on your master cylinder.
http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e3...ps5b74ab44.jpg
http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e3...ps3211f766.jpg
http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e3...psbc2a3f51.jpg
This trick little unit is drilled and tapped for fittings on the back and bottom so mounting possibilities are just about endless. Decisions decisions...., I kind of like the look of it mounted to the firewall with no signs of any hoses.
http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e3...psc53af1b2.jpg
http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e3...ps1cd3f35b.jpg
But hidden under the seat is pretty cool too....Hmmmmm what do you guys think?
http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e3...ps3f3224fe.jpg


With that done it was on to some kind of E-brake. I have been pondering where I wanted to put my handle for quite awhile and finally decided to do under dash. Reason being, the 46 cab is pretty narrow and I didn't want to clutter up the floor anymore then I already have by putting it next to the shifter. So again, most all you guys have seen this before, but I used a Lokar set up.
Installation was pretty straight forward. In fact I was able to use it just as it came out of the box. No cutting of the bracket at all. The only thing I had to do was make a small spacer out of some plate steel to make up about a 1/8 in length I needed.

The bracket comes 15" long and can be cut down in 1" increments to fit what ever distance you have between your dash and firewall.
Here's a pic showing the spacer plate I made to take up some slack.
http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e3...psc81eb561.jpg
Here's a couple of different shots showing how its mounted. If you look close you can see the spacer plate between the bracket and firewall. Once I do the final assembly on the truck I will move the handle and ratchet mechanism more forward towards the firewall to get it tucked further up under the dash.
http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e3...ps593a0d41.jpg
http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e3...ps76297633.jpg

So that is where i'm at as of now. Tonight it's take the girls out trick or treating and over the weekend start patching up the gas filler hole and the holes in the cab floor to keep the Queen Mary from sinking!
http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e3...psf64dc93b.jpg

Re: 46 pickemup in NJ "the Rebuild"
 

progress is looking good.

Re: 46 pickemup in NJ "the Rebuild"
 

Ok some good news............I just got word from the engine shop that all is well with my block, head and crank! For those that have not read my whole build thread. I was able to find a 292 on the cheap that supposedly had the bottom end completely rebuilt. Not being a person very trusting of others, I told the engine shop to do a complete tear down of the motor and check the other shops work. Well, after a thorough cleaning, shot peening and magnaflux, it turns out everything is perfectly fine.

The only thing is the motor just had a standard rebuild. So that will be addressed with a complete blueprint of the block and balancing of the bottom end. Next up for Larry's Power is doing all the head work including installation of the lumps, bigger valves, springs, push rods, port matching, and a mild polishing of the ports, roller rockers.
http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e3...ps65f17ae0.jpg
http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e3...ps3f7b5842.jpg
http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e3...psf075387a.jpg

As far as work on the truck itself......I have been putting off one big problem that has been staring at me since I lowered the truck a bit with the drop spindles and 2" lowering blocks. That's the fact that now my fenders are a bit to close to the rear tires. Typical story of change one thing and then realize you now have 3-4 other things to change. Well I had a few different solutions.
1. Find a smaller rear end
2. Larger wheel offset
3. Widen the fenders
4. Ding Ding Ding.........Raise the fenders!
So that's what I am in the process of doing. That is after I finish blowing the mountains of leaves I have off my property :lol:.

Re: 46 pickemup in NJ "the Rebuild"
 

Really like how this truck is coming along, enjoyed reading this build.

Re: 46 pickemup in NJ "the Rebuild"
 

OK so after blowing enough leaves to fill 100 dump trucks, I finally got some extra time to get my fenders remounted. I didn't need to move them a lot, only about 1 1/2", but i think that should be enough.
Here's how she sits now, Probably the last time she will see the outside for awhile.
http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e3...pscd794245.jpg

Here's a pic showing how much I raised the holes.
http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e3...psf74cf51a.jpg
So I think that is it as far as the mock up goes. Next up its off to Home Repot for some wood and wheels to build a dolly for the cab. So I guess the next pics you will see is a bare frame headed off to the sand blasters.

Re: 46 pickemup in NJ "the Rebuild"
 

I like the way the truck sits as I am a little to old school for the dropped to the ground look. I am a little concerned about the distance between your axle and the frame. Have you jumped up and down the in the back to see if it's gonna hit? Love the truck and really like the 6 in a row.