Re: Wampus Cat
 

Thanks for all the pics of your hood, fenders, and doors. They look great. I've been body working the same parts right now so they'll come in handy.

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You are doing so incredibly well.

I am about to start on my doors.

My drivers side is not too good, all the same as yours.

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pdxhall and Grizz1963 - Thanks for the words of encouragement!


My son and one-year-old grandson are visiting for the holidays. Twenty years ago, I taught my son to drive in a '56 Chevy three-on-the-tree six cylinder that we fixed up when he was a teenager. My son thinks I should teach the grandson to drive this '66 C10 three-on-the-tree six cylinder when he is ready to learn to drive. But if I make it to 15 years from now when the grandson is old enough to drive, I'll be 82 so I guess I better start thinking about adding power steering and power brakes at some point :-)

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The 56 was always my favorite.

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After much thought, I decided to move the gas tank out of the cab to the rear of the truck, and make the necessary changes to the cab sheet metal prior to spraying some primer on the cab.

I looked at a lot of the gas tank related threads in this forum and ultimately decided on a Tanks, Inc TNK-51-CGX Fuel Tank, 18 Gallon, Steel, Chevy, (Mfr. #: 51-CGX) from Summit for about $170 and a TNK-TAN-GME Fuel Tank Sending Unit, 0-30 ohms, (Mfr. #: TAN-GME) for about $40. The tank comes with mounting straps, a short filler hose elbow, and a short length of vent hose. You also need to buy an npt-to-hose fitting for the fuel line, plus I bought some metal tubing and clamps for running the fuel line forward.

As part of creating and installing a receiver hitch, I had previously modified the "leaning Z" shaped brace that is riveted as part of the frame a few inches from the rear ends of the frame rails. I turned this in to a "C" channel by bending the top flange to 90 degrees, and cutting off the bottom flange, flipping it around, and re-welding it to make the bottom of the "C". This channel is then bolted to the back of the frame to box it in. The rear of the tank support straps are bolted to this piece.

To allow the gas tank to fit in from the below the frame (and make it possible to drop it out in the future without removing the bed), I trimmed the bottom flange of the side rails about 5/8” on each side and also trimmed the bottom flange of the angled cross member (where the panhard bar mounts) on the passenger side to clear the gas tank outlet fitting.

I fashioned the upper supports from 1” x .062 wall square tubing; I made these supports removable rather than welded in place so that I can also remove the tank from the top if the bed is off.

I fabricated brackets from steel angle for mounting the front of the lower straps that support the tank to the angled cross member.

The pads that were between the existing cab tank and straps were in pretty good shape, so I trimmed these and re-used them for isolating the new tank in its supports.

With this support arrangement, the tank hangs down below the bottom of the frame rails about 3.5 inches.

I cut some reliefs on the upper flange of the driver side rear frame rail to allow clearance for the tank fill line and the vent line, and then fabricated a brace to add some strength back in to this area while also protecting the lines. My intent is to eventually create a fuel filler feature inside the rear corner of the bed, so I'll need to extend the fuel filler line and vent line to that area.

The photos below show the mounts tacked in place and the tank mounted for a test fit. I'll drop the tank out, finish welding everything, brush on some frame paint, and then bolt it back up.

When I get ready to install the bed at some point in the future, I'll need to trim the rear bed brace to fit around the tank and upper supports. The bed floor on the truck is steel tread plate rather than wood.
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Re: Wampus Cat
 

The ability to service things from the top or bottom.... Good thinking.

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Installed a new rubber cab mount kit from Classic Pars of America today. (part number 35-141 Cab Mount Kit-C10-20-Rubber 63-66)

Parts appeared well made and all hardware and spacers were included along with a clear instruction diagram.

Getting the old rusted-in-place parts out took a bit of work but the new parts went in easily.

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Re: Wampus Cat
 

Damn fine job so far! i learn so much watching you guys do body work.

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The A-Pillar Drip Rail looked rusty, so I drilled out the welds with a spot weld tool and removed the Drip Rail pieces. It was pretty nasty underneath.

I was going to just buy reproduction Drip Rails to install, but they were out of stock when I went to order them. So, we made some new pieces using a bench top metal brake to form the initial bend, and then using a vice to clamp the piece to a flat bar while using a hammer and a piece of plate to slowly work in the "back" bend.

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I decided to attach the new Drip Rails with some of the panel bonding adhesive that I had left over from attaching the outer roof rather than spot/plug welding. (Evercoat FIB-816 Maxim Large Panel Bonding Adhesive (see entry #43 above).

I think this product creates a very strong bond while also completely sealing and filling the area between the drip rail and the A-pillar to prevent future water incursion and rust.

I cut some scrap wood in to a 3/4" wide by 1/2" thick piece to use as a backing piece for clamping while bonding. I used duct tape (with flames of course) to cover the wood backing piece so that it would not stick to any bonding adhesive that oozed out during clamping. I also used the duct tape to mask areas where I did not want excess adhesive to stick.

Clamped it in place for a 24 hour cure, then removed the clamps and trimmed away any excess adhesive with an Exacto knife.

Now just need work on the passenger side.

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Every time I look at your work and build thread, I have to pick up my jaw.

Absolutely love your build and attention to detail.

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Grizz1963, thanks for the kind words. I enjoy following your build thread also.

I've had a number of British motorcycles and cars over the years, and learned a lot keeping them on the road.
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Finishing up the gas tank install from entry #85 above, I cleaned the back half of the frame and brushed on a coat of Chassis Saver Antique Satin Black. This paint has some pretty good reviews online, and I was impressed after painting a test section and then hitting it with a cup wire brush after curing; seems pretty durable.

I finished up and painted the rest of the brackets and then bolted in the tank and installed the fuel level sender. Also ran a fuel line along the inside of the frame rail back to the tank.

In the cab, I welded in a cover for the fuel filler on the side of the cab and for the fuel tank outlet in the floor. I decided to leave in the two fuel tank "cradles" since they appear to be a good stiffener piece for the cab rear wall, however, I did cut off the front lip of the "cradles" and may smooth out the area a bit more prior to primer.
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Very nice fabrication!

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I wasn't very happy with the look of the fuel tank lower brackets after I initially trimmed off the front lip. I thought about filling the front of these in with some fabricated plates, but ultimately decided to do a little more trimming with a side grinder and cutoff wheel. I also added some plug welding in place of the bolts that previously secured the front of the bracket.

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I decided to put the bed back on the truck and figure out mods required to accommodate the rear fuel tank and fuel filler.

I needed to trim the rear bed brace to clear the fuel tank and the upper tank supports. The bed on my truck is steel tread plate which is skip welded to the braces, so I don't think that the notches to the brace will have much affect on bed floor stiffness.

Re: Wampus Cat
 

I started a mock-up for the fuel filler in the rear corner of the bed.

I found an old piece of tread plate in a junk pile, so it has some nice patina to match the existing bed. This tread plate is tough to bend, so I used a side grinder and cut off wheel to cut the plate to size, cut a relief line of the back side of the bend, and then used the torch to heat the area while bending it using a vise and a hammer.

The pictures show the first pass at the mock-up, but I think I will shorten it a quarter inch or so to match the top plate height with the body line on the inner bed wall. The fuel filler it self is a 316 SST marine piece; White Water Stainless Deck Fill, Gas w/Vent 1-1/2" Hose #6005S-SCV.

When I sent a picture of the mock-up to my brother, he commented: "Should easily sustain the sliding cargo test." :-)
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I like it. Function & form.

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Finished the fuel filler in the rear corner of the bed. Still need to route the line to the tank. The vent can just be 5/8" flex hose, but I think the 1 1/2" fuel line will be some combination of flex hose and maybe a mandrel bent 90 degree tube.

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That looks really good. The diamond plate ties in well with the bed floor

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I enjoyed reading up on your build. You seem to be matter of fact and take most things in stride. I respect that and like the straightforwardness of your build.

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Another thing I will be addressing,the siting of my filler as it is about 200mm from the corner.

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Rubber Floor Mat Retainer Studs

When I repaired the rusted floor on my '66, several of the Rubber Floor Mat Retainer Studs were rusted too badly to re-use on the patch panels. The floors appear to have six (6) of these studs, but three (3) of mine were badly corroded and were removed when installing the patch panels. It looks like the originals may have been swaged in place.

I don't have access to a lathe to make these, so I looked for something similar in size and shape that could be welded on the repaired floor from the back side.

The approximate dimensions of the remaining "good" retainer studs are shown in the sketch below.

I did a little research on nail sizes and found that a 60D nail is about the right size. However, they do come with different head sizes/shapes. The best one that I found was at the orange big box store, called a 60D PoleBarn Nail (the one on the right in the pictures).

Following suggestions from this forum, I ordered a floor mat from the Truck Shop in Ca (http://www.truckandcarshop.com). The mat has the holes pre-punched for these retainer studs, so I laid the mat in place, aligned it with the three remaining studs, and then transfer punched the locations for the other three. Then I drilled holes in the floor, trimmed the nails to length, and plug welded them from the underside of the floor.
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Re: Wampus Cat
 

And then after the Rubber Floor Mat Retainer Studs were installed, the mat lays in there nicely.
I think one could use the mat without the studs, but they will keep it from sliding around.

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I've been watching a lot of videos on body work and paint since I am getting to that part of the truck project.

Along with hammer and dolly technique, I got interested in slapper spoons and slapper files for dent repair. Since I don't know how well these will actually work, I decided to make my own rather than buy expensive tools that I may decide I don't like.

For the slapper spoon, I started with a $4 pry bar and for the slapper file I started with a $5 flat double cut bastard file that I found in a clearance bin at a hardware store.

I made a jig from scrap wood and a couple bolts, heated the metal to allow bending, and epoxied on some white oak handles from a branch that fell off of one of my trees during the ice storm that we had a few months ago. I shaped the parts with a grinder and belt sander, then added some polyurethane finish to the wood just for looks.

I plan to try these out soon. I have lots of dents to practice on. :-)

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Very good, thanks for sharing.

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I had been thinking for a while now that I would like to find a late 60's Saginaw 3 speed manual with R10 Borg Warner overdrive so that I could keep the three speed column shifter, but also have better gearing for cruising. I finally found one about 100 miles away. The owner said he had bought it 20 or so years ago with intentions to use it, but it has just been sitting on a shelf.

The transmission itself looks pretty clean inside, so for now I'm just cleaning it up and replacing gaskets/seals/tailshaft-bushing. However, the governor cap was loose and there appears to be a lot of gunk inside, and the solenoid that actuates the overdrive was not operational.
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I cleaned up the internals of the governor, lubricated the moving parts (pivot points on the centrifugal weights and on the "trip switch"), filed the electrical contacts, and installed a replacement shaft seal. The old seal was marked C/R 07412 M1; I found 330385 listed as an interchange and purchased that.

The cap on this governor was originally held in place with some swaged pins but those had broken and allowed the cap to be loose and allowed assorted gunk to get in to the mechanism. I drilled out those pins and tapped the body for 4-40 screws to secure the cap.

The pictures also show the rubber cover that I purchased.

The last picture shows a range of actuation rpm's. I can spin the governor with my drill and it appears to be opening and closing the contacts, but I have no way of measuring the actual rpm. Once I install the transmission in the truck, I'll have to play with the screw adjustment for the switch actuation to approximate the 28mph that is recommended.

Re: Wampus Cat
 

I disassembled the solenoid, cleaned it up internally, filed the points, and lubricated the moving parts.

After some investigation and poking around, I was finally also able to remove the shaft seal for replacement. This is rather difficult because there is no access behind the seal to drive it out because the coil assembly is in the way. I fashioned a small chisel from the hardened shaft of a small screwdriver and gently tapped away at the metal housing of the seal until I could deform it sufficiently to pull it out. This seal is apparently the same shaft seal as is used to seal the shaft in the transmission tail-housing so I ordered a second one of those and installed it.

The solenoid bench tests ok now, but it will be awhile before I can test the transmission in the truck.
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Cleaned up the OD transmission, replaced the gaskets/seals/tailshaft-bushing, added a coat of paint.

Ready to go in the truck when I get to that point. This OD transmission is the same length as the current three-speed and I think the input shaft and tail shaft are the same so it should be a bolt-in; plus wiring and OD control cable.
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I've been getting by with using my roll-around portable engine hoist for lifting heavier items but that becomes a bit difficult reach when lifting something large like the truck bed.

I decided to try one of the cable hoists that are sold by various sources and is rated at 1300 lb. This one is from eBay, made in China but shipped from California in a couple days. The hoist comes with brackets to hang it from square tubing. I wanted to mount this to the peak of the workshop roof frame, so I welded up a bracket to hang it from the central beam joint bolts.

For some reason, all of these hoists are supplied with a short control cable, so I spliced in an extension.

So far, it works great. I've used it to take the bed on and off my truck a couple of times (and my bed has a 3/16 thick tread-plate floor so its pretty heavy).
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What did that one set you back? I was looking @ various ~120v electric hoists a while back but like you mentioned it's expensive as heck (commercial stuff) or 'made in china' cheap w/no real in between.

I have my pallet rack set-up as a budget gantry hoist frame. I wanted a portable set it up that would work indoor, outdoor, & allow using my trailer winch via 12v power if required. I planned to get an electric hoist until I ran into the issue stated above (price vs. quality). The racking is capable/rated @ 3k pounds total but max I would use it for is bed/cab/drivetrain lifting so I used 700# rated caster wheels for it & looked for something in the 2k pound range.

Thus far I've used a manual chain hoist but Harbor Freight had a ~$300/2k lb rated 120v hoist made by Pittsburg Automotive that was my possible choice. I was just skeptical on quality....

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Scoti,
This 1300 lb hoist set me back $107.07 with free shipping in late 2020 on eBay.
Before buying, I read a lot of the reviews on this PA600 on eBay, Amazon, and elsewhere, and they weren't too bad.
The paint and plating finishes are not very good, but I've been using it off and on for several months now and it continues to work fine.

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Good to know. The reviews seemed to be hit & miss on the units I looked at but there's much interpretation from one mind/opinion vs another's when you can't ask specific questions.

Thanks. I'm diggin' that 3spd/OD set-up. Never really even knew about them.

Re: Wampus Cat
 

The transmission looks great! Makes me wish I had painted mine before I swapped it in. Live and learn :lol:

Re: Wampus Cat
 

Great looking work here, thanks for the writeup!

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Shop Improvements

I think I finally have all of the paint stripping, rust repair, and metal massaging done on the cab so it just needs a final light sanding and apply epoxy primer. However, its been too hot and humid for painting, so I've been working on some shop improvements.

I finished the bottom 4 feet of all of the walls with "R" panel corrugated metal, and the next 4 feet with tongue-and-groove 3/4" sheathing plywood with insulation behind all of the panels. I also added plywood on top of the 8 foot beam level to make 16" shelves all around. The underside of the metal roof is spray foam insulated, so I just need to finish the top 2 feet or so of wall to have finished, insulated walls all the way around.
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Shop Improvements (continued)

I bought a Harbor Freight abrasive blast cabinet late last year on sale. I read a lot of articles and watched a lot of videos regarding improvements so I did the following:
1. Added polyurethane sealant to all joints while assembling the cabinet.
2. Reworked the screen floor to sit lower in the cabinet.
3. Added a dust baffle to the air inlet.
4. Replaced the supplied LED bar light with two flood lights. Added switches on the side of the cabinet for the lights and for switched receptacles for powering the shop vac.
5. Purchased a cyclone dust separator and grafted it to a 5 gallon bucket.
6. Built a plywood platform on casters to hold the cabinet and the cyclone dust collector. This also raises the cabinet for ergonomics since I'm 6'2". Casters will allow me to move it around the shop or to the outside covered work area.
7. Replaced the supplied material pick up tube with a vortex material feed valve so the gun will siphon media from the bottom of the cabinet.
8. Added an air pressure regulator for the abrasive gun.
9. Added an air line in to the cabinet for a blow gun for cleaning media off of parts.
10. Added permanently mounted screws and knurled thumb nuts to the top for ease of removing and replacing the window glass. And while I was at it, added a stiffener brace to the inside of the cabinet top.

A lot of the sources recommend adding a foot valve for controlling the air to the abrasive gun and upgrading the gun but I haven't done that yet. So far I've used it to clean up a few truck brackets and it is working pretty good.
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Wow, nice work on the blast cabinet. :)

Re: Wampus Cat
 

Damn, Great write up on the cabinet, gonna use this! I have that same cabinet ....