Re: project 39
 

Man , sorry to here . I hope you heal better soon.

Re: project 39
 

have been back working limited amounts of time in the last few weeks on project 39. Been doing some welding on the doors and working on the parking brake mount which i will get some pics of to post. had sthings going on the weekend but monday was free so i thought i would turn on the a/c and the radio and go to town. wasnt really in the mood for body work so i thought i would tackle finishing the condensor/trans cooler mounts and the radiator fan shroud. i bent some tabs, drilled the radiator cross brace and did some welding on the mounts. i figured out the fan to radiator location and proceeded to make a fan shroud from some 18 gauge steel. it took some figuring but it turned out pretty good. i cut the hole but forgot to take a pic before going in the house last night. got a bit more welding and hammering to do but it looks good. i will test fit it before i go any farther. it is good to be back at it after being off all summer.

Re: project 39
 

Looks good, well done

Re: project 39
 

had a productive weekend in the shop. still fighting discomfort/stamina issues from the broken leg but working through it. on saturday i test fit the fan shroud and discovered that the lower pulley was very close to the shroud so i ended up putting a bend in the lower part of the shroud. the way the radiator mounts tips the bottom towards the engine so adding the bend fixed that. i also came up with a removable section around the lower hose, the reason for that is if i made it solid i dont think i could slide the radiator in with the shroud sitting in there. i also decided i should make an overflow catch can and figure out a mount position. i had some 3" exhaust tube so i made the tank from that. i know you can buy premade ones but i have had to do more work to mount those than just building my own. i also drilled and tapped the condensor mount only broke 1 tap in the process. i worked on fitting the grille/radiator baffle. got a bit more finish work to do on everything but i am getting closer.

Re: project 39
 

Nice job on the fan shroud. All these details take time to make it all fit right.

Re: project 39
 

decided to work on the left front fender this weekend. the fender was a bit swiss cheesed on the bottom where it meets the running board and rotted away at the very inside mount hole for the board. it also had the usual stress cracks and minor tears. i have the original left front fender for the truck but it is very ugly. somewhere in the past before me there was a hole torched into the fender so a piece of angle iron for a tow bar stuck through. i decided the original fender wasnt really good enough to save but at least i could use the bottom piece to fix the other fender. i worked on welding in the piece and general rust removal on the fender. first pics are of the ugly fender and the other pics are the not as ugly fender i am going to use.

Re: project 39
 

swapmeet was going on this last weekend so i thought i would go fri and sat but my body decided fri was enough. so i actually got some work done on sat and sun i welded a bit on the fender that i patched. i decided to get some of the panels stripped that still had paint on them. i hate sanding so whenever i am in the mood to sand i do it because i never know when i might be in the mood again. i hate forcing myself to do something but it all has to be done right? the hood tops were mostly stripped of paint but still needed the bottoms and edges done. the hood sides needed both sides stripped and the license plate surround needed the rust cleaned on the inside.i decided on this truck to remove the hood latch rods and brackets because it is a pain to sand around them. i hope it isnt going to be an issue putting them back together i plan on finding some smooth head bolts or just use some stainless buttonheads. depends on what i can find. i skim coated some mud on all the panels after stripping just so i felt like i accomplished some towards paint.

Re: project 39
 

It's coming along nicely

Re: project 39
 

didnt get as much done this weekend as i had hoped. my plan is to get everything done that relates to the cab it self. like getting the battery mount located and made, finishing the seat mounts and replacing the brace in the rear of the cab. so i can get the cab off the frame and on to the rotisserie. i have an appointment for the interior in January so i thought if i can get the cab and doors painted i would just send the cab out on a dolly or anther frame and work on the rest while it gone. i also have still been in the mood to sand so i did work on the hood a bit.

Re: project 39
 

I thought it was time to get the back of the cab squared away so when i put it on the rotisserie it isnt moving around. when i swapped the lower rear panel of the truck i didnt think it out as well as i should of. so i got the crusty rear cab brace cut out and started cleaning the overlap sections out. my plan is to put some por 15 in between the 2 panels screw them together tight and then reweld them together. then install the replacement brace that i have. i also need to fix the floor to brace pieces which i made new ends for but forgot to get a pic of. i also found some more rust holes that i didnt know were there so i cut some patches and started more welding.

Re: project 39
 

worked on the rear cab bracing. i rebuilt the floor to cab brace by making new ends for them. i painted all of the bracing and the cab rear panel on the inside with por15 to hopefully slow/kill the rust from returning. i got the battery box that is going under the left front fender tacked together. the last picture is the mount bracket for the parking brake actuator. i was going to use a the old tried and true hand brake lever but could not figure out a place to mount it that wasnt going to interfere with something around it. i decided a ESTOPP parking brake setup was probably going to be the best solution in this case. If you havent heard of them it is a self contained parking brake actuator that mounts pretty much anywhere on the frame and just has a button and a small module to mount inside the truck cab.

Re: project 39
 

been working on the truck when i can. i was planning on working on it hard fri, sat and sun after thanksgiving but of course i caught whatever flu bug was going around so i spend thanksgiving weekend in bed instead. i have been working on it the last few weeks since. i got the battery box welded together, the mount is tacked on to the frame under the left front fender. i made a cover to hide the battery and the box. i tackled the inside part of the cab next, i needed to make a rear panel and figure out seatbelt placement. the seat belts are going to be 3 point with retractors. after looking at how the seatbelts are mounted in my newer ram truck i figured i could do something similar with the belts in 39. so the retractors are going to mount in the door pillar and the belt will run up on the inside of the pillar to the bottom of the cab brace. then it will pop out for abot 10 inches to the upper seat belt mount. the pics show the new panel i made for the back of the cab and the lower seat belt mount. i will take some more as i get the panel finished.

Re: project 39
 

finished up the rear panel with seat belt holes and speaker holes. the tape on the speakers was to protect the speaker covers while i was tacking it together. made a trans tunnel and screwed it down, i will cut the floor from the bottom then weld the tunnel in. i hope everything is done that i needed done because i pulled the cab and mounted on the rotisserie. time to get serious on some metal finish work and body work. hope everybody had a good new year, now its time to get some work done.

Re: project 39
 

Nice work on the rear wall and speaker enclosure.

Re: project 39
 

started the weekend making a pattern for the headliner. the pattern helped but i still had a lot of figuring to do. having the cab upside down really helped with building the headliner, gravity can be your friend. i have a bunch more bending and welding but at least the basics are there. i also ended up with this free brand new steck panel tree. a guy called me on saturday morning wanting to know if i needed one and of course i said yes, the box was damaged so they were going to throw it in the dumpster if i didnt take it. i had thought about buying or building one so it was a winner for me. i think it will work good with some modification.

Re: project 39
 

Free tools! Always nice and they were going to toss it??? Looks fine to me

Re: project 39
 

it was brand new in the box. box was torn open on the end and other problems. everything was in the box, the way they packed it everything stayed in place.

Re: project 39
 

This is looking really good!! Stay on it

Re: project 39
 

Man, the things people are willing to throw away!!

Re: project 39
 

nothing real exciting going on with the 39 at this time . been working on the finish welding inside, final paint removal on the rear of the cab and of course trying to get the rusty top back to clean metal. all i can say is i really want to go back in time and kick my self in the a$$ when i was 18 for stripping the paint off the top. i am using a combination of different paper, grinding wheels and of course wire wheels trying to get back where it started.

Re: project 39
 

Don't we all wish we could go back and have a do over?? LOL

Re: project 39
 

long time no see guys. i have been working on project 39 but nothing real exciting. a lot of sanding and grinding trying to clean the rust off the roof. i also decided i had better get the rain gutters pieced together so after i get the epoxy primer and body work done on the roof i could weld the gutters on. i think it will look good when installed.

Re: project 39
 

after getting the rain gutters put together i went and primed the cab and some other parts epoxy primed. i then started the filler work. i started using a different filler than what i have used in the past. it is the 3m platinum plus filler.
it is the creamy smoothest filler i have ever used it lays down smooth and the lines from the spreader disappear by the time it hardens. it also seems to sand easier than the other fillers i have used

Re: project 39
 

as i am doing the body work on the rest of the cab i kept looking at the cab corner on the left side. it was damaged along the way and i have no idea on how to get it straight. the bent part is in a difficult part to hammer on, i looked at some of the parts and parts cabs that i have and no of them were good enough to consider taking the time to cut and weld into this cab. while standing in the shower the other night it dawned on me that i had seen some where that they were repoping the corners so when i got to work the next morning i looked it up. sure enough they do make them and they come in pairs. i ordered them and had them on friday last week. so this weekend i got busy installing them. they actually dont fit to bad. the front edge where it goes into the door jamb sucks but i knew that was going to be the case from the experiences i have had in the past. so i cut the panel about 1/2 inch from the edge and welded it in that way. i did both sides over the weekend but i just put the pics on for the drivers side. the other side was the same pretty much with a couple of small differences.

Re: project 39
 

Nice update.

Re: project 39
 

Very nice.

Re: project 39
 

I bought a hagen fuel door kit for this truck a few years ago. as much as i like the things that stick out from the body usually the fuel filler is not one of them. the tank that is under it has the fill neck stub on the front left corner so the filler neck is going to come out on the left rear fender. the hagen door kit i bought was the curved version but i bent a piece of tin to match what they had for a curve and it really isnt close enough to the curve of the fender for my taste. so i decided to take it a step farther and cut the new kit apart and just use what i needed. so this is the start of that. the door opening was 3 5/8 inches so i had to buy a hole cutter in that size. i marked the inside of the fender with the complete box then used the outer tin that i removed from the box to mark where the door goes. found the center of the hole and drilled it. i used the hole cutter on the outside of the fender. the hole cutter was a bit to aggressive to cut the regular way so i ran the cutter in reverse and slowly cut open the hole. stay tuned for part 2

Re: project 39
 

decided to work on adding the door locks to the doors instead of in the handle.i am still not sure how i am going to hook up the drivers side but at least i can get the lock in the door and let the hook up simmer in my head.i made new metal pieces for mounting the door locks instead of cutting it out of another door. the reason was there were never any locks in the door on the drivers side so i decided to make new pieces that will match side to side. even if they dont look factory they at least look the same on both sides. i also have been working on welding the door in center and repairing the rust. the problem seems to be i keep finding more rust as i go and the welding is taking over the door. the more i weld the worse it looks. i do believe it is time for a change in plans as far as the doors go. stay tuned for the door update

Re: project 39
 

update on doors, as i said the last time i was here i have decided to do something different with the door because of the welding situation. so i decided i couldnt really make it look much worse if i made my own door skin. so i cut the old one off and proceeded to make my own. i started with a panel and bent 90s on 2 sides, used the shrinker to add some curve into it. then i rolled it around on the english wheel that i had never really used before. stay tuned to see if it works out.

Re: project 39
 

Still doing some nice work!