47-55.1 Project "Bickle" 1948 1/2 ton 4.3 4l60e

[joedoh]

thanks all, the weather was cool but the sun was relentless and I was able to get them patched in. they are only welded where they touch the inner fender, they are screwed to the core support and not welded to the fender fender. this is so it can all still be taken apart like factory.



this is another part I will be delighted to just pop out and have ready in a couple minutes. I will add the radiator mounting holes (it sits in rubber mounts and gets clamped from the top) but I need to get it lined up first. the condenser core gets sandwiched between the core support and the rad, so the rad is offset to the drivers side for the lines. here is a test fit to make sure it lines up.




today I will put the front clip back on, line everything up, and get the cab and front clip bolted down for real. I have a couple last things to cut on the table so while the truck is rolled out I will do that too, like a final brake pedal bracket, seems that lowering the seat exposed how the pedal could move towards the firewall just an inch. I dont want to touch the designs after they are 1000% right, so this current pedal bracket will go on the wall and 6.3 should be the last version. I also need to cut the reinforcing plates for the bottom of the cab, this is a 48 center mount so there is only a single layer of sheetmetal above the rear cab mount.

[OutlawDrifter]

Russ, that is a super clean execution. I like it!

[Palf70Step]

Nice work!

[olcarguy]

Great job…..That is the best way to fix a problem that most of us have with these trucks....Will be filing this for future reference...Thanks for sharing.....

Roy

[joedoh]

I had the front end on but took it back off to hook up the powersteering lines. I also want to hook up the steering while its apart and that means finishing the pedal/column mount, like FINISH finish, guys who work on their trucks more than once in a blue moon know that there are many MOODS of finished. this kind of finished means it can come back apart for detail work but it has to be 100% installed and working so the steering shaft is the right length.

I changed the brake pedal mounting hole, the pedal was just a scootch higher than I wanted, it wasnt uncomfortable but I want it better. I cut the new one and started folding, I learned that tacking the bends after bending helps keep them in shape.



welded and HOT, some time in front of the carpet dryer helped.



while that was cooling off I heated up outside, tacking up the two attempts at installing an antenna (both failed) and closing the holes in the dash from that poor fan.





my neighbor finished up that kayak trailer I helped build parts for, he is proud and so am I, what a great guy he is.




I fixed the kids gokart for the oldest daughters visit next week, its been broken 10 years. I tried to buy a 212 predator from cardboard freight but none in stock (rona) so I bought a recoil starter and a carb rebuild kit and it runs like new with the old briggs flatty. hopefully something more important to show tomorrow.

[joedoh]

cant put the column in without painting the dash. regular followers will remember that I always seem to paint dashes TWICE, once where it solvent cracks or runs like a doctors signature, and then again after sanding it all off. determined to change that I took extra steps to ensure a nice finish the FIRST time. I washed it with degreaser first, scrubbing in case there was oil ir penetrant left from dismantling. I wiped it with acetone after that, then used a new wire brush cup in my grinder. another wipe with acetone, waited an hour and sprayed.




came out nice, just a little fluff in the finish from the wind today. I may or may not wet sand and buff after the paint really cures, it isnt that noticeable. the color is an exact match to that chevelle wheel too.



I dont really care for pewters, but it is a great color. its a little thin, maybe thats a metallic thing but I am pleased that there are no sanding scratches in the finish. the repair of the fan holes is invisible, no filler needed.

I painted the pedal bracket and hardware, I painted the dash mount half pewter (champaaaagne miiiiiist) because you will see that part and didnt want it flat black.




theeeeres the run I always get, thankfully on the pedal bracket and not the dash this time.

more in next

[joedoh]

bolted up the pedal bracket in a couple minutes. I really love this design, I made it so you had to leave the booster bolts just a little loose to assemble, then when you have the dash side tight you cinch down the booster and everything pulls tight. it is so strong, even when you shake on the master cylinder the whole truck moves. it picks up the lower dash reinforcement, and the dash to firewall brace.



pedal placement is PERFECT now. PERFECT. I am a serial complainer about my dumbassness and I will never mention this pedal placement in my rants. Version 6.3, woop, right?



column needs to come out of the dash slightly, and I think I need button head bolts to let it come up slightly, but I am really pleased with column placement too. (it looks close to the seat but its not, it is a trick of the camera)



painted the speaker and the glovebox door too while I had the pyooter paint out. PEEE YOO TER. I remembered to get the bolts out of the glovebox this time too haha.




I am going back out after dinner to make the lower column bracket and cut the hole for the steering shaft. after I hook up the brake lines, I will be ready to bolt the cab down and reinstall the front. wiring only takes about a day, so here is hoping it runs by the weekend, then its glass and lights.

[8man]

The brake assembly looks great. So when does production start for the masses?

[joedoh]

I think I will make a couple kits for myself first, if I can get the time down to under a month that would be real kit proofing.

[OutlawDrifter]

Now now....its not pee you ter. It's Champagne Mist...the champagne..of....paints?

My 3/4T Suburban is pewter...totally different color.



Nice work, that definitely looks like a trick piece.



Side note: I'd love to collect the commission due the guy/gal that sold GM all that pewter paint in the late 90s early 2000s!

[joedoh]

Originally Posted by OutlawDrifter

Now now....its not pee you ter. It's Champagne Mist...the champagne..of....paints?

My 3/4T Suburban is pewter...totally different color.



Nice work, that definitely looks like a trick piece.



Side note: I'd love to collect the commission due the guy/gal that sold GM all that pewter paint in the late 90s early 2000s!

my daughter calls it "old man gold"

[mongocanfly]

I hear ya on repainting dashes Russ...I think I've painted mine like 4 or 6 times....

[youngrodder]

The dash looks great....

Marc

[joedoh]

thanks marc, it came out just ok. I am thinking of wet sanding it a bit and spraying another coat, or maybe some clear. needs to sit a bit more, dont want the solvent problems I always seem to have with rattle cans.


mongo, I dont know why it takes multiple sprays, but it does!


working half time, did a bunch. fixed the rust in the windshield channel, laid some kitty hair on the replacement cowl, put the shifter cable piece in the floor, more and more and more without pics. got the oil pressure sender and the dizzy back in, installed the dash side HVAC unit. its amazing to me how neatly that fits, it ducks under the cowl vent mechanism and then beside it too, like it was made for it? even the heater hoses fit.



got the front clip installed 100%, rad has 3/4 inch to the rad core, and the trans lines will line up too. perfect!



I didnt forget the drivers side bracket for 1/2 tons, this was a 2 ton cab and didnt have it.



we finished the rental for mom and were planning to start the shop refurb. here is a shot of the finished place with the garage door installed and new deck and paint. thats mom with her new basset.



but like I said earlier we got a call about the place across the street for sale, so that is what we did instead. haha. you can see moms place across the street.



we finished the paperwork now we just need to wait for closing, she wants to move out maybe the first or second week of july.

my daughter flies in tomorrow afternoon, should be a fun 10 days!

[OutlawDrifter]

Busy, busy!

[youngrodder]

Boy you are busy. I used some matte clear spray bomb on my suburban body parts and I really liked the sheen. I picked it up at Home Dept. I can snap a pic of the can if you want. Enjoy family time.

Marc

[joedoh]

marc and marc (hmm thats a coinkydink) , thanks I like being busy.


got the lower column mount cut and installed, worked perfectly.... after some work. see if you cut the center to clear the 2" diameter column tube, you would have to lift it perfectly into position. so I had to go back and cut it again to clear the 3" diameterplastic on the bottom of the column so it could be installed like a normal column. after that it was a piece of pudding pie.




bad picture but the column is centered on the gauges.



I had to clearance the lower bracket slightly to clear the brake pedal, that wont be a problem on the next truck, will just move it slightly more. I also needed an extra bracket on that right side that was really cantilevered, adding the bracket made it perfect.

installed the gas pedal on a stand I cut out in a few minutes. needs a couple tweaks but its there. cable even lines up with a factory firewall hole.






I did more after this picture, like moving the shaft pass through down an inch . I cant ever seem to get it right the first time. tomrrow I can get the shaft installed and maybe the wiring done, stretch goal will be rad and condenser installed and running boards too. triple daughter party sunday with family, one grad college, one in town from phx, and the youngest bday.

[OutlawDrifter]

Moving right along, sounds like a great party this weekend! Enjoy!

[oldman3]

Russ, nice work, enjoy the family...Jim

[joedoh]

thanks jim, marc, I took a full two days off with the fam and the big barbecue is tomorrow.

I did get the steering shaft on and the column mounted today when everyone took a gnap (its a bigger nap, a guh-nap) after the bowling party.

moved the power steering low pressure return line and a heat riser on the exhaust, otherwise a straight shot.




I had to rotate the splined joint 90 degrees from center on the flat, the upper joint was built 90 degrees different than the last one I used.

BUT I was able to get BOTH the long rubber seal AND the interior column firewall seal to line up, thats always a heat/air leak on these 98 columns.





gas pedal in and almost ready, need to add a hole in the firewall that is in the right spot for the cable.

bbq tomorrow, maybe something gets done in the moooornin.

[Father&son56project]

Joedoh, I’m looking at your column pics because I am at exactly the same point in my Fargolet build. Just so I understand what you did, I assume you used an aftermarket 1” DD x ¾ DD u-joint at the bottom of the column (inside the cab and enclosed by that rubber seal), attached to a ¾ DD shaft that passes through the firewall & seal, and then a ¾ DD x 30 spline u-joint at the steering box. Do I have this right?

Stephan

[joedoh]

yes exactly right. sometimes i use a collapsible shaft which is the same setup except a 1DD x 1 DD at the column because the upper shaft is 1" and the lower part is 3/4.

[doowoppwer]

what's the DD mean?

thanks,
roger

[joedoh]

Originally Posted by doowoppwer

what's the DD mean?

thanks,
roger

double d, its a way of describing the shape of the shaft. round is round. D shaft is round with one flat side (looks like a D!) double D or DD has two flat sides.

chevy steering columns have used DD since the 60s, usually the bottom of the column is a 1" DD. before that they were round. most late model (70s and up) columns have a collapsible section inside them. guys who use column saver bearing kits should use a collapsible shaft, because in an accident the non collapsible shaft in the early column turns the steering wheel into a nice chest collapser.

[doowoppwer]

Originally Posted by joedoh

double d, its a way of describing the shape of the shaft. round is round. D shaft is round with one flat side (looks like a D!) double D or DD has two flat sides.

chevy steering columns have used DD since the 60s, usually the bottom of the column is a 1" DD. before that they were round. most late model (70s and up) columns have a collapsible section inside them. guys who use column saver bearing kits should use a collapsible shaft, because in an accident the non collapsible shaft in the early column turns the steering wheel into a nice chest collapser.

thanks. I was pretty sure it wasn't a bra size