Howdy everyone, quick little update here. Progress on Marvin has been slow but steady, and all of Marvin's parts are now 100% at the paint and body shop. As progress continues towards paint, now there are a lot of small "detail" items on the to-do list. I'd love to see color go on as soon as possible, but I think we've decided to send Marvin out for pre-wiring first, to make sure that all the holes/brackets/mounts necessary for wiring and hoses are already figured out before paint, rather than having to drill through the paint later. Its tough to be patient, but I've made it this far, so I know I can wait a little longer!
Just a brief set of pictures here, from my most recent visit to the shop right before Christmas. Most of the recent work has been focused on the cab, which is really turning out to have more little detail items to address than I'd ever really considered. Cab is sitting pretty on its own:
Here's a zoomed in version of the first picture. Might be hard to see, but the body shop has welded up all the seams, all over the cab, so that they are uniform and smooth. For example, the big seam that runs across the top of the firewall stamping. Small detail, but it will really make for a clean and nice look once the paint is on.
A lot of work was done on the doors recently. The doors themselves were in great shape after their stay at the metal shop, but recently the door hinges were rebuilt, and the doors were hung to swing straight and true. We tested a stock replacement weatherstrip from Steele, but it was really thick and stiff, and it made closing the doors quite difficult. For now, we are using a more generic style of weatherstipping around the entire door that seems like it will still provide a great seal while being easier on door closing. Still not sure if I'll run the stock windlacing inside the cab. Its a bit chunky looking, but it does serve a purpose. There will be some additional touch-up on the doorframe gaps, but overall looking pretty good already.
Another big change is the install of the one-piece window conversion kits from Classic Truck Glass. This is to keep the original 1953 doors with the push-button door handles, but go back to a one-piece window and get rid of the vent window. I think this will be a cleaner look for the finished truck. This kit is brand new, and the only all-inclusive aftermarket kit for this that I'm aware of. The guys at the shop regarded it well - it was easy to install and seems to fit great. Appears to be well engineered. It came with everything needed to make the conversion - no scavenging window track out of pre-51 doors!
Here you can see the inside of the window install plus the Altman Easy Latch system that was installed to give the doors a more modern latching system. This was done for safety, reliability, and ease of use compared to repop stock latches. This kit is as good as they say - it is well engineered, easy to install, and works very well once it is in. We decided to weld in the new latch plate, but the kit is designed for bolt-in install as well. You might be able to tell at this point that I'm going with manual windows and manual locks/latches. I want to retain some of the original features that will hopefully keep Marvin feeling like an old truck, and having to roll down the windows is something I want my grandkids to know someday that we used to have to do!
Closeup here of that great Altman latch system, and you can also see the window regulator, as well as the temporary weatherstrip being used for now.
Here's the new striker and plate for the Altman latch system. You can also see evidence of the cleanup welding and grinding that was done on the seams running around the doorframes.
New one piece window in operation. The action is very smooth. I really had a hard time decided whether or not to keep the vent windows. On one hand, they are very distinctive, and definitely a cool feature of the old truck. On the other hand, they can be noisy, make mirror placement difficult, and not as clean looking as the one-piece windows. When I saw they had an all-in-one conversion kit available, I decided to give it a shot. I think they look great!
Outside picture of the window in operation.
Here's a closeup of the window glass and track. One thing I like about this kit is tha tit converts to one-piece windows, but doesn't use the frame around the glass like the stock 47-50 trucks did. When fully rolled up, this glass still forms a nice seal.
Not much new to report inside the cab, but I like this shot showing all the dash mods that have been made up to this point. I think the result will be really sharp, but still not have a really obvious modified appearance.
Last pic, showing the driver's door - same things going on over here. Rebuilt hinges, latch kit, window kit, weatherstrip, and door gaps. Window kit not fully installed on this side yet.
That's all for this update. Hope to have lots more to report in January! Also hope everyone is having a great Holiday season. Looking forward to 2015!