Re: Two Steps back. My high school chevy 1950 3100
 

When this sucker came in I was given a new infusion of enthusiasm. All the trubles up to this point might be worth it after all.
Magnuson TVS2650
Attachment 2256892

This will also cause its own set of chalenges as this was sold only as the blower. No accessory drives or supporting systems such as external heat exchanger, pumps, reservoir, or hoses for cooling.

Re: Two Steps back. My high school chevy 1950 3100
 

Man, this tread makes this seem like it all came together so easily and happen so quickly. But that certainly isn't the case.

Bink your eyes and BAM! The motor trans and blower are in the chassis.
Attachment 2256893
Attachment 2256894
Attachment 2256895

And with the cab back on
Attachment 2256896
Attachment 2256897

Re: Two Steps back. My high school chevy 1950 3100
 

I opted to go with a Concept One accessory drive, as it provides a dedicated belt that drives the blower. There is TONS of contact from the belt path as well. Hopefully this will reduce the likelihood of any belt slip under high load.

It does take up a lot of forward real estate, so I will have to figure out something with the radiator and fan when the time comes.

I used the wrong belt path in the pics, but you get the idea.
Attachment 2257578
Attachment 2257579

This is the correct routing.
Attachment 2257580

Re: Two Steps back. My high school chevy 1950 3100
 

Even though this picture and the work of hanging the grill was done just to give me some gratuitous satisfaction and a preview, the front end came apart immediately after the picture was taken.

And the front end isn't hanging crookedly. That's those damned rolled firewall features that are all askew. UGH! That **** has got to go.

Attachment 2257581

Re: Two Steps back. My high school chevy 1950 3100
 

I was fretting about fuel for a while. I couldn't decide on which way to go for pumps and hangers. I decided I wanted to go with internal/submerged pumps as I wanted the setup to be as quiet as possible. I'm OK with exhaust notes and blower whine, but I am not down for clattering fuel pumps.

Holley dual pumps and hanger set up.
Twin 450 LPH pumps and and 8 AN output and return.
I would love to see 1000 hp to the wheels just once on the dyno, and this should supply it... I hope. I will not daily it like that. I just want to SEEEEE IT. ONCE...
Attachment 2257606

Measured cut and installed in a TankInc tank.
Attachment 2257607

I have some reservations about the fuel surge bowl in the bottom of the tank where the pump pickups will sit. I am not sure if the pump will suck it dry or not for this application.
There are only two little holes for continuous "filling" of the bowl when the fuel level is below the bowl's upper edge.
Attachment 2257628

Should I add some slits or something to it? I'm not sure if I can really get any kind of grinder in there. Perhaps a Dremel extension.

Re: Two Steps back. My high school chevy 1950 3100
 

I must give credit where credit is due. I took the YouTube content creator Idaho Fabricator's idea for column fitment up against the dash and his idea of the bracketing plate and reuse of the original column clamp. I even just ordered the column length he used.
He did a lot of great work and was very thorough with his explanations of what he did and how he did it. Unfortunately, he passed away last year. His channel is still up on YouTube. Check out his work.
https://www.youtube.com/@idahofabricator8710/featured

Mocking up the steering column with a piece for PVC pipe.
Attachment 2257670

My attempt at the bracket
Attachment 2257672


Test fit under the dash
Attachment 2257671


A shot of how nicely it tucks up into the dash.
Attachment 2257644

I hope once it is painted, the bracket will blend into the underside of the dash.

You bet I DID sit on a bucket in the cab and make motor noises! Vrooooom WHEEEEEEE

Re: Two Steps back. My high school chevy 1950 3100
 

Ok so now I am all caught up to this week.
That was almost 3 years of worked represented in this thread up until this point.

So now the cab came back off the frame and I started cutting out all the work I paid someone to do, poorly. Not that was able to do it any better my first go around. I hope I will do a bit better this time.

Last time it will look like this!
Attachment 2257645

Cut that **** out!
Attachment 2257646
Attachment 2257647

You might ask why I cut so much out and why I went up so close to the edge. Well, that was where they cut to, and they also spot welded in a second strip of metal (I assume for support while installing) leaving a bunch of holes for me to deal with. OR I can cut up even higher. eek

Re: Two Steps back. My high school chevy 1950 3100
 

Amazing how quickly you got that far. I know the feeling of "it seems to take so long".

That firewall hole looks ominously like a certain 54 I just looked at.

Keep up the work.

Re: Two Steps back. My high school chevy 1950 3100
 

I highly suggest cross bracing and some dimensional cross checks to make sure you restart with something close to "square", just to make sure stuff fits together at the end of it all.
some guys have used a stell wheel barrow tub for a firewall bump, if you wanna do a sculpted bump rather than a more square bump behind the engine. if going totally flat on the firewall I suggest 16ga for added strength with some ribs on the back side at kep spots, like where pedals hand (if doing hanging pedals and a firewall brake booster). a local fab shop could likely bend you up something to match your angles. shoot some weld through primer on the edges where the metal contact ponts will be so it won't be bare metal on bare metal where rust can form. then tack it up like you want, or simply use some cleco's to hold it in place until your welded can come and weld it all in. cleco's are the best little holding tool for guys who work alone. magnets can also be a big help to hold stuff while you jiggle parts around to fit correctly.

Re: Two Steps back. My high school chevy 1950 3100
 

it would possibly be a benefit to place the cab over the frame with the driveline in place where it will sit when done. then you have a good idea if you need a firewall set back or a floor bump to clear the trans, etc etc. unless you already know those figures.

Re: Two Steps back. My high school chevy 1950 3100
 

great progress. good to see you are going to fix it right. will you but weld the top part to the bottom part or do an overlap below the bend? something different?

Re: Two Steps back. My high school chevy 1950 3100
 

get after it! love the attention to detail and not just letting it go, if it doesn't make you happy then it's not worth it.

Re: Two Steps back. My high school chevy 1950 3100
 

Thank you. It's funny how this stuff goes. I keep saying "it will be done this Christmas" but I have been saying that for several years now.

Get on that project of yours. Maybe its an excuse to buy a new tool or two!

Re: Two Steps back. My high school chevy 1950 3100
 

I was contemplating doing some bracing as things are looking like I need to cut out more and more.
Any suggestions on how and WHERE to run the bracing so I have access to everything while still keeping things stable?
What materials do I use?
Do I run full beads when welding in bracing? Or are a tacks good enough?

I am getting to the point that I am uncomfortable removing any more panels due to stability. but I have access to everything right now so I'm also reluctant to start adding patch panels back in when I keep finding more work that needs to be done.

I am trying to avoid the ol "horse before the cart" while insuring my cab doesn't fall to pieces.

I have 16 gauge sheet that I will be using for the firewall. I wont be putting any contours in it. There will be no need for a recess in the firewall either.

I have thought about running some square tube behind the firewall, from kick panel to kick panel, around the midpoint down the firewall. Then drilled a few holes in the firewall and spot welding the firewall to that (for support and stability), using Clecos to sucking everything in tight while welding. but that would disrupt the smoothness of using one continuous piece of sheet. this could also, introducing more room for me to make mistakes while welding in a high visibility area (smack dead in the middle of the fire wall)
Any thoughts on doing something like that?

I got a few cans of weld through that I bought in anticipation of needing it but I gave up on the cab before ever using it. Now that I am trying again, I will be sure to put it to use.

What about a good, easily obtainable, epoxy primer that is in a rattle can so I can spray metal I have prepped and what to protect? right now, everything I clean up and bang out remains bare, and I can see it oxidizing quickly.

If you were asking if I will butt weld Or lap weld the firewall sheet to what's left of the upper cab area, I plan on BUTT WELDING it. I will Try to Cleco it to the lip that is there first so I can mark and slowly trim it down to proper size. Then I will try the ol "cut and butt" starting at the middle of the panel working my way out from the middle.
This is all theory of course. I have a feeling I am going to be ****ed by the thin metal that is left on the cab.
This will be my last chance to get it right. After this, there will be no metal left below the body line/roll of the upper cab to firewall transition.

If you were asking about the transition between the toe board and the firewall, well that's a good question.
Just like everything else, the toe board was a **** install. Gaps, 3 stacks of metal, piratically glues together. So I have cut that out too.
So what I was thinking of doing is hanging thing firewall first, then using some heavier gauge sheet metal (10-11 GA) and lay that in place of the toe board. Where ever the firewall meats the toe board, I would weld in at that transition. But I would have to ensure that the lower straight edge of the firewall is perfectly parallel to the floor plane of the cab to ensure a visually straight tow/firewall transition.
I don't know if I can manage that.

Re: Two Steps back. My high school chevy 1950 3100
 

Thank you very much. I just cant stand the idea of spending this much time on something and knowing/worrying about the nightmares that lurk under the body work.

I go back and forth on that thought though.

Sometimes I just want it done no mater how many corners are cut. Other times I enjoy the process and making it the best that my amateur self is capable of doing. And it's my alone time too.

So far, the "do it right. Do it slow" side has won out.
For now.

Re: Two Steps back. My high school chevy 1950 3100
 

hey! More hack work! Yeah buddy!

This is the driver's side vent cowl that was supposed to be welded up and made flush. It's more like a sinkhole. Half a finger's thickness in Bondo all the way down the panel. It is also clear there was some major damage from an impact on this panel.

I will be cutting out the bad work and welding in a new panel at some point.

Re: Two Steps back. My high school chevy 1950 3100
 

I started on replacing the driver's side inner kick panel.
It was cut out long ago to deal with some damage on that side's outer sheet metal as swell as the deformation that seems to have happened to the door jam pillar.

I took some measurements of some features from the passenger side door opening compared to the driver side opening. they seem to be in good order. Or at the very least, they are equally screwed up!

Cut out the part of the old panel. I ordered a new inner panel from Classic Industries. The part seems in good order. It will work for what I am doing. I am in Cali and so are they, so I have been receiving things 2 days from ordering. Shipping always seems exorbitant though.
Trimmed and rough fit up
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I have had a lot of luck using an air chisel to separate a lot of the spot welded panels. you have to be very mindful of where you are using this thing as it will eat base metal just as quickly as a spot weld. I don't know what the this tip used to be but I just ground it down to the shape I thought it should be for this application. TIP: keep it sharp
Attachment 2258147

I will keep trimming to fit and eventually begin spot welding and butt welding it into place. I will share that as I move along with it.

Re: Two Steps back. My high school chevy 1950 3100
 

Well the toe board was a complete disaster too. 3 layers of metal at the overlapping areas, rust, and long gaping cracks. All hidden with rivers of seam sealer. So, in accordance with the apparent theme of this thread, I cut that **** out.

At this point. I don't want to remove anything else without adding back in one of the removed components. The cab is sturdy right now, but I fear if I remove anything else, it will begin to flop around.
And there is plenty left to chop out.

This guys went out of his way to use body filler on the FLOOR of hid holes and issues that were supposed to be corrected.

For **** sakes man!

Re: Two Steps back. My high school chevy 1950 3100
 

when i did a firewall in a task force truck I used 16 ga sheet and had a fab shop do the bend. I started by hanging the doors with a good set of hinges, fit the door to the opening, then installed the latch plate and adjusted that so the door fit well. then, with the doors closed I went inside and tacked a length of 3/4 black pipe across the lower part of the opening, about 4" off the floor from the front to the rear of the opening. then a cross brace from the rear of that pipe up to the top corner of the door. then I ran an X of pipe from the lower corner on one side to the upper corner on the other side behind the firewall area to keep the front of the cab from becoming a parallelgram. do this after a few dimension checks to ensure it isn't already out of shape. then I took the doors off. the horizontal pipe above the floor allows a long 2x4 to be slid under the black pipe and through to the other side so the cab can be hung on a set of sawhorses by the 2x4's. I also braced the back of that cab but that was becuase I removed the whole floor, firewall and rear wall. I made tacks that can be ground off with a zip disc but will be strong enough to not come off while working.
I have used self tapping sheet metal screws before with success as well. a hole is a hole so even a cleco needs a spot weld when done.
when you hang the doors first there is a good chance they will fit properly when you go to install them again. lots of times I drill a small hole through both parts when they are adjusted right, mark the hinges whare they go etc, then when they go together for the last time they usually fit well.
weld through primer is a copper or zinc product that conducts the current. regular epoxy or other products may not. a tip, when you use a mig always cut the wire before you start so there is a chisel tip on the wire that strikes a spark right away and doesn't leave a bunch of contaminants in the weld from the oxidized ball that is usually left on the mig wire from the last weld.

Re: Two Steps back. My high school chevy 1950 3100
 

as you know, the original cabs, and aftermarket cabs, are all spot welded together, not fully welded at the seams.you could do the same thing instead of welding the whole seam and possibly distorting the flat panels. drill through the old spot welds and clean the metal up well, do any flattening needed etc to get a nice flat surface for the new panel to sit on. place the new sheet tightly against that, cleco or screw it down tight after the weld through primier. then do the spot welds one at a time and ensure they cool off well. good clean metal, shielding gas and a auto darkening helmet with the correct shade really help. do a weld. stop and cool it, do another weld, stop and cool etc. feel the panel with a bare hand and if you wouldn't put your tongue on it because it is too hot, then let it cool off before you do another weld.

Re: Two Steps back. My high school chevy 1950 3100
 

will you run a firewall booster and pedals?

Re: Two Steps back. My high school chevy 1950 3100
 

if not, you could fab a few braces with a wide flange where it mounts to the firewall and use panel adhesive to keep them stuck together. its what holds new cars together, haha. that would brace the firewall if no pedals etc. I wouldn't do that if you are hanging stuff off the firewall

Re: Two Steps back. My high school chevy 1950 3100
 

Man, that "body guy" did a number on that truck. You are moving it along, and now you will know it's done right.

Learning how to do something is part of the fun in doing this stuff. So, enjoy that part of it and it'll go better. Oh, and it's just steel, you are doing right cutting out the offending part and replacing it properly!

Re: Two Steps back. My high school chevy 1950 3100
 

Following along. For what it's worth, I waited 14 months to get my forum approval to post. I was all done with my project before I could even ask for pointers. Luckily there is ample info if you search enough of the build threads.

Looks great so far.

Re: Two Steps back. My high school chevy 1950 3100
 

It took me nearly a year to get approval to join the forum! I was already pretty far into my build as well.