1941 project fenix

[joedoh]

yes I know how to spell Phoenix.


the 49 is done, well, done-ish. projects keep my hands busy and my liver clean. This is my 1941 1/2 ton short bed build.

I decided to start a new project thread in a new section of the forum, my old project threads got pretty cluttered as a kind of constant stream of consciousness, detailing not only the project in the thread but also everything else I happened to work on around that time.

for those that dont know me, my name is Russ not joe. I am a contract engineer, more engineer than contract lately but thats ok, I quit my demanding directors job to spend more time with my kids, especially my 3 year old "beeps" (short for beeperfish, its a made up story I tell my kids). in the time when she is napping (not much) or when mom is home to entertain, I bang around on old metal. Being an engineer I love making things work and am always more excited about making dissimilar things function together than I ever am about "having" them.

here is my 65, used to be a 62. powered by a 2.2l EFI 4 cylinder. kept up with traffic and was just heaven to cruise around all day, no vapor lock, no wasted MPG. sold it to another enginerd


here is the 47 GMC from last year, 4.3 auto S10 donor. learned lots. a great guy in MO bought it


here is the 49. lots of improvements over the 47, very nice and quiet truck. currently for sale.


enough! lets get to work.

I took apart the 41 I bought last super bowl weekend. I rolled it in the garage on my 8k lb capacity body cart because sometimes overkill is just right. my intention was to build this one for myself but we will see. I hope to have it running before New Years. 5AL, 41 3/4 ton.


here is the donor, 91 4.3 auto S10. I used the bed floor on the 49.


I had it stored in the back yard till now, last time I moved it I accidentally ran it out of gas which plugged up the sock or the filter or both. when I pulled it out with a chain to change the flat it developed, I left the key on. so dead battery/weak fuel flow, I decided to jump it and pour a little gas in the TBI to prime it. of course it backfired, and it may be easier to list the things that werent on fire after that. my sweater smothered the engine, then the ground, then the engine again. the only loss was the air fllter. my hubris always has a method of humbling me.

the truck came with the wrong bed, it had a 53 long bed. In may I found a stash of 41-46 trucks and bought everything, 4 cabs, two front ends, 4 beds.


only one set of rear fenders though, and they are 37-38 fenders. my brother was browsing cl in pa and found a set for me though


and I found a spare pass rear at a guys horde


so thats today, 11-18. this will be simpler than my other builds, and should be faster because its a running driving donor and the simple electronics compared to the last three trucks which all had complicated bussed electrical. wish me luck!

[joedoh]

I had an hour or so after dinner so I stripped the firewall and cursed at the bumper. thankfully my battery sawzall was handy. never understood these bumper mounts, and they have to be cut off anyway, so choppy choppy


clip off


anyone need a clip? cheap to get rid of it


more tomorrow, the cab is loose just have to take out the steering column and strip the harness and computer. the shifter was connected with a wire tie, like a bread bag tie. I think the drivers lower arm needs replaced too.

[Cjcolbyjack]

I was wondering when you were going to start the 41. That didn't take long. You are going to have a truck from every body style before long. Beautiful trucks all of them!

[Advanced Design]

Love your builds and resourcefulness (parts smarts) so I am tagging along. Oh, those fires are scary...can escalate quick. Glad you weren't hurt.

Just curious, what is the price on the 49?

[northern 49]

Glad to see you have this build going. I will be along for the ride.
And I assume you are talking about having it running this coming new year's. Wow. I wish I could pull that off.

[joedoh]

I hope I can, I think the running driving and simple electronics are on my side. on the 49 I had to adapt every part of the complicated truck, swap lieterally every fitting line and bolt between frames, shorten exhaust, bleed and burp and buy new all the brake and fuel lines, replace broken bits, and take a truck I had never heard run and fix everything that was broken like the column. this one, I am not going to crack any of the lines and there is no complicated interfaces like a BCM or a special bracket to mount the pedals.

did some work to the 49 today, have a couple interested parties. I hope they see it the way I see it. but I did finish stripping the donor. got all the parts I need and only one more harness to pull through the firewall. the cab mounts are loose, just need the cherry picker. dont think the neighbors appreciated the 10:30 work so I called it a night.




not bad for a total of 3 hours work.


OH I remembered, I listed the front clip on cl, the title said "1991 S10 front clip and tailgate only no other parts" and the first sentence of the ad says "I dont have anything else from this truck, no other parts. no wiring, no engine, no trans." I got three calls on it today. one for a trans. one for the engine harness. one for the glovebox. I am not kidding. CRAIGSLIST man, endlessly entertaining.

[Advanced Design]

People don't stop to read or think. It is easier to call. Good progress! Working until 10:30 made that a 14 hour day?

[joedoh]

Originally Posted by Advanced Design

Working until 10:30 made that a 14 hour day?

hardly, I was up at 6 with the 3 year old, I worked on the 49 during her nap, I didnt start working on the 41 till 8:30!

[joedoh]

beep nap time, she was tired today, tuesday is her "school", a 2 hr gym session. I needed to return the title for my car trailer so he could work it out at the tag office, long story, anyway I used the 2 hr gym time to drive an hour south to drop off the title in person so it wouldnt get last, combating murphys law as it was. well, murphy got me anyway, he wasnt home, so I left it in his door and high tailed it back to get the girl just in time. pulling in the driveway, he finally called back. he was at hobby lobby. in wichita. about 3 miles from my house.

she laid down and I popped the cab off


this was a nice surprise


and on



and in for thanksgiving


needed some room to walk around so choppy choppy



the rear mounts were holding it crooked, now its crooked the other direction because I havent trimmed the outsides of the frame for the cowl.



needs to come back about 6 inches, motor needs to come back about 9. this will likely be the last work till after thanksgiving

[lower50's]

Sweet Russ I'm in!! You got lots done in a short time, when I read you wanted it driving by the new year I was like whatever. But I think you can do it. I hear you about Craigslist, up here we have Kijiji same type of thing I just don't get some people.

[99 to Life]

in on this one. only thing that seems to go faster than a kids nap is them growing up!

[joedoh]

man you know it! I always say kids are great because YOU grow up right before THEIR eyes, I got to spend 6 years of college with my older girls so I know how important that "home" imprint is.

Not a lot of progress, spent a week (weak?) doing some 49 stuff for a guy who didnt end up buying. I did get the garage cleaned and started plasma-ing some mounts.

[99 to Life]

man I can't wait for the day I don't have to leave home for work like I do. My almost 4yr old will always ask me "are you going anywhere" its blatantly obvious it effects her. anyway those templates are on my loooong list of things to get. keep at it and heck doesn't hurt to have a shop truck to lure in more biz. If it doesn't work out, sell the 41' and keep your AD.

[Cjcolbyjack]

I've learned so much from your builds and I am already using the knowledge. I can't thank you enough for sharing!!!

[Palf70Step]

I am in for this one too. Looking good so far. As mentioned above, I am learning a whole bunch from your builds.

[Cuttin up]

Im in on this one too. I've followed the last two and gained a ton of new ideas from them. Thanks for sharing with us.

[rusty76]

I'm ready for a new truck.

[joedoh]

well its christmas and the truck looks the same. I had a bunch of little stuff to do for the 49, and we had two funerals in two weeks, one was the matriarch of my wifes family, and 4 family parties. I think we are done for a bit though, so I will be working on the truck starting Saturday.

[rusty76]

Sorry for the loss. Ready to see some magic.

[Palf70Step]

Sorry to hear about the losses. It's always bad, but especially this time of year.

[Hart_Rod]

in

[joedoh]

picked up a few goodies today at bowtie bits. It was an easy decision, I was updating the books on bought/sold and there are two 41 donors and the s10 donor for this project. I used the cab and front of one 41 truck, a bought shortbed, and the doors and rear fenders of the second 41 truck, the drivetrain and frame and harnesses of the S10, and have sold almost everything else, still have some stragglers. I still have a complete third 41 in the back yard, and another cab down south to pick up once I have a minute.
So spending a little bit on the fine details that I love doing is okay by me and the budget.



I had spotted the lower grille at bowtie bits a couple weeks ago and vowed to go get it. I had all that turmoil around christmas and so today was the first chance I had. luckily I went today because he was listing it on ebay, but was happy to sell it in town. I asked if he had an upper, he sure did, couple dings but nicer than the one on my truck, so I bought that too. Best of all was the brand new windshield frame/glass/rubber. Its pricey at first glance but they are always rusted and the screws break off, and assembling them with glass is a &^*(&. I figured I would only save about $200 refurbing mine, and only $100 buying a new bare steel frame. and this comes with a new center bar too, mine are dinged up.

look at the fineness of the backside of this brand new windshield. If you have ever messed with a 39-46 windshield you can relate.



so now I have the old windshield to sell, and the grilles with the ratty chrome to sell too.

More coming! I may work a bit while the baby is napping.

[Advanced Design]

Those are some nice finds for the truck...really nice windshield frame and glass too. Money well spent.

[Palf70Step]

Very nice finds. Must be nice to be in a dry client. Down here they sure wouldn't look that way.

[docrock]

I'm in. Flipped thru your other builds and dam, they are some nice rides.