Projects Learning As I Go... The 34 Canuck Truck

About two years ago, I got the itch to begin to undertake a dream that I've harboured since childhood... building my own car. While my first love has been muscle cars, I own a 1969 Pontiac Firebird, I knew the complexity and size of a '60s - '70s car was way beyond my skill set... or lack there of. So I set my sights on something earlier.
My reasoning was this: "If Henry Ford could figure it out in the dirty thirties, then I, armed with the internet, telephone, and a wealth of experienced hot rodders, should be able to as well."
Misguided though this rational may be, I dove headlong into finding the right project. After months of searching the net, hunting for exactly what I wanted, I landed upon a '34 Pickup at the Syracuse Nationals this past summer.

August 17th 2010, I made the 15 hour roundtrip run with Chris from 'On the Move Transport' located out of Mississauga. A long but rewarding day as I now had my project home and tucked away in my garage. Due to previous commitments, the truck sat, untouched until I turned my first wrench on December 30th. What follows will be my attempt to document the rebuild of my truck, as I envision her. And of course, I'll be learning as I go...

 

The only way to learn is to do it. It looks like a good starter project.

 

She was running and driving when I got her home, so my first order of business was to snap some pics before any disassembly took place:

 

Ought to look good cruising the local Tim Horton's, eh?

 

Once I got her up on jacks, a quick look underneath told me I was in for a little more then my 'lying in the grass at Syracuse' inspection had shown. The double frame rail set up wasn't a homebuilt way to stiffen up the chassis, rather the new outer frame rails were stiffening up the rusty original ones...
I had been kicking around the idea of starting off with a new boxed frame, and this sealed the deal. No point in building a house without a strong foundation I suppose...
My favourite discovery however, was the use of zip-ties to connect the brake return spring to the frame. Made me glad she was jacks and I wasn't on the road.

 

Ha ha, that she will eh! Now I just have to get her torn apart and rebuilt first... and maybe add a cup holder or two.

 

August 17th 2011, I made the 15 hour roundtrip run with Chris from 'On the Move Transport' located out of Mississauga. A long but rewarding day as I now had my project home and tucked away in my garage. Due to previous commitments, the truck sat, untouched until I turned my first wrench on December 30th. What follows will be my attempt to document the rebuild of my truck, as I envision her. And of course, I'll be learning as I go...[/QUOTE]

You travelled in to the future? August of 2011?

 

You travelled in to the future? August of 2011?[/QUOTE]

1.21 Gigawatts at 88 miles per hour!

 

I`m looking forward to following the resto!

 

Things have been a bit stalled this past month. Busy with work and other activities, and cash is a bit tight at the moment...

As of now, the incorrect/cheap wood that was in the bed has been removed, and the bed has been unsecured from the chassis. As soon as some warmer weather shows up, she'll get rolled out of the garage and the bed will be lifted off. (Any strong hands interested? ) Right now the bed is inhibiting removal of the gas tank, though the tank has been drained and gas lines removed.
The exhaust, which was bent and twisted through and around the frame and rear axle has been cut out, with the exception of a section on the right side by the engine... poor welds are stopping the bolt from being removed. I'll toss up a picture of what I think is the remnants of an exhaust seal from 1934...
I haven't gotten my hands on a hoist as of yet, so the engine remains between the rails, though I've been stripping off the accessories in the meantime. I'm thinking I may try to hunt down a set of 'Made in Canada' heads for when the engine gets rebuilt, and the single high rise will be passed over in favour of a dual intake manifold.
The project for next week is to finish pulling out the electrical and to make sense of the cut/dead/lose wires...
Right now I'm in the process of costing out a perimeter frame so that I can spend the summer building a rolling chassis. Have to decide between triangulated 4-bar or parallel leaf springs. I'm also debating between a Ford 8" rear, or something along the lines of a Winters open Bell Banjo rear, which really appeals to me at the moment. I also need to source out the T5 (yes, I know, hate me! but I'm planning to log some miles when I'm said and done and you can't argue with the improved gas milage) that will be replacing the current tranny... Hopefully this spring, progress will pick back up.

 

Nice project. I've got a 32 Cab here: http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=484438

Nice to see projects north of the border.

They are nice trucks.

I like the pinstriping on the firewall.

 

Looks good, keep us up to date!

 

I spent a few hours today removing all the wiring from the truck... Miles of electrical tape and a few hundred zip ties keeping everything wrapped up and tucked away. Outta sight, outta mind, until you want to take it apart. There were a lot of wires that were unused and just tucked away, a few wires that weren't even connected to anything, and some wires that were lengthened with wire of a different color. (Ie. green leaving the fuse box, tan by the time it reached its destination) I think when it comes time to rewire everything back up, I'll just scrap the whole layout and bite the bullet for a new wiring harness. Save me a few hours of frustration and cobbling things together.
After that I got to work on getting prepped to pull the engine. A few bolts on the exhaust logs are proving troublesome, so I'll have to keep working away at them, and I still need to separate the torque tube from the tranny. (Suggestions are much appreciated! I'll have to do a search and some further reading on here) Projects for my next day off I guess.

 

Having some time off due to strep throat is a great way to get stuff done in the garage... I don't have to talk to anyone and I forget about being sick. No huge leaps and bounds today, but a few little things got done. Pulled the gauge cluster, took up the footwell section, finished draining fluids and tried to sort out separating the torque tube from the tranny. I got the bell halves and all the nuts and bolts on the torque tube side free. As far as I can tell, all that's left is to either pull the rear end back, or to pull the engine forward, and I should be separated... That'll have to wait until I gather up an engine stand, a few more days off and a picker to pull the engine and trans. Next week, with any luck. I pulled the top of the trans and everything looks pretty clean inside. Spun the gears and didn't see any damage, so I'm happy about that. Also got the trans ID'd (big thanks to everyone here on the hamb; there were plenty of pages to help). Dug through all the road grime to find the bolts to drop the pedal assembly out and rounded out the evening by giving the shop a thorough tidy.
Not looking forward to going back to work tomorrow...

Happy wrenching everyone!

 

Pictures wouldn't load...

 

I'm so frustrated right now!!!!! I've taken a new job in the city, which has tied up my last few weekends with getting settled and studying up and my next few weekends are tied up with chores and trips, and I JUST looked at event coverage of Rolling Bones headed to Houston, and all I want to do is get back in the garage and work on the truck. Everything is on hold and it's frustrating as hell. I just wanna drive!!! I love this hobby, but somedays, when the temperature is just right and the air smells fresh, I just want to be on the road.

Rant over.

 

Hang in there! I've been working on my p.o.s. for the last 4 or five years!
That looks like a nice project and I'm glad to see you address the questionable stuff. Good luck!

 

In the past couple of weeks, I've found time to sneak off into the garage for a few hours one Friday night and another Sunday night. Made some slow progress on a few things, but I'm somewhat stalled until I get the engine pulled... Just haven't had the time to do it yet.
On the Friday evening, I put the rear wheels back on, took the truck off the jacks, rolled it out onto the driveway and pulled the bed. Have it sitting on a trolley so I can move it around/out of the garage until I get around to fixing it's issues. Then the truck went back into the garage and back up on jacks. As I said, not too much got done that weekend.
Last weekend, I had a few hours to work, so I got the shop tidied up, moved some stuff around to make some more space and finished removing the floor of the cab. Drilled out the original welds and have the floor sitting aside for now. It's in pretty decent shape, so it may go back in.
Now I'm stalled until I can pull the engine and tranny. I can't take the cab off till the engine is gone, and I can't/won't pull the front or rear running gear until the engine and cab are off the frame. One the engine gets pulled, the plan is to rebuild the banjo and convert it to open drive. Hoping to find a (semi) local old timer or hot rod hero who wants to walk me through the process and/or help me rebuild it. Fingers crossed as the hunt continues. Also beating the bush to find a 50's Olds engine that's retrievable and affordable. I have one or two leads, but I'm still looking. Welcome spring!

 

Oh, a few quick questions for anyone that's following along...

When I pulled the bed, I found a number stamped on the frame rail right next to the rear spring cross member. As far as I can tell, it's 'II5I270*' Now remember that this frame rail is the outer set over the originals, so I don't know if the outer frame rails are repros, or genuine Henry... Any help would be great!

Also, is there any easy way to get the pitman arm off the steering box shaft? (see pic) I don't have any type of puller right now, so I'm plumb out of ideas.

Thanks!

 

had a few hours free on Friday afternoon, so I pulled the heads off the flatty. Things look decent inside, but if I decide to hold on to it, it's going to get rebuilt.
On Saturday, after a lazy morning and a good brunch with the family, I decided that it was time for the flathead to come out of the truck...
Got everything set up and connected the chains to the intake bolts. At that point, I decided to enlist the help of my kid sister. She's my car show/swap buddy and I've been trying to get her involved in the build when I can. Its good for her to learn, and she already likes old cars, so its a win/win. This was her first real experience doing anything other than passing tools and loosening bolts though, and I think she enjoyed it.
Anyways, now the flathead is out, but the tear down is on hold for now. I'm across the pond for the next month, so I won't be making any progress until late June. Still looking for a '50s Olds now that I have the room...

But that will have to wait.
Thanks for following along, and stay tuned!

 

Olds...that sounds good to me. Some guys get lucky to find a rebuilt one coming out of a restored car that is going to get a modern engine. Good luck, nice truck.

 

looking good dude. i like the sounds of the olds. ive just been away from mine for 2 weeks ,it gets you pretty motivated,keep up the good work

 

I forgot to say that I am impressed that some younger folk are doing what was done back in the 50's....putting an Olds into an existing flathead powered rod. Nice to see that again. ...not to say that I don't like the flatheads, because I like those too.

 

Hold on a minute - that frame may not be the disaster you are thinking. The X-member on a 33/34 frame extends all the way to the front and rear of the frame, doubling up the rails.
You may have some rust issues to attend to, but it is (probably) not a cobbled up frame.
This has the makings of a cool truck - you could f*ck it up thinking what you have is crap, and it might be that it is easily repairable.
Gotta hit the sack now, but will be glad to answer any questions you may have.

Mart.

 

Yep, my thoughts exactly, Mart.

Speedy, look at your pics of the trans and x-member, no double rails, that's just a stock 33-34 frame.

 

I have my fingers crossed for something along those lines. Or even a complete original that is getting pulled and needs to be freshened up, but being in Canada, it seems a lot of the good stuff is snapped up pretty quick. I'm still looking though, not in a huge rush.

and thanks. I love the flatty, but right now I have a bit of a hunger for some speed and power. The vision in my head for this truck is a mid '50s build (as I understand what would have been done in the 50s.) I'll have a couple of more modern updates for safety and convenience, but the general theme is mid 50s. The reason I'm looking for an Olds is that, though I greatly respect the SBC for its reliability and influence in the hot rod world, and I know a lot of cars got hopped up with Chevy power in the 50s, I've seen too many of them recently. I figured since I'm not building a coupe or a roadster, I might as well have something a tad different for power as well.
As for the flathead, I think I'm going to hold on to it for the roadster build that's in my dreams.

Thanks for the knowledge Mart, I didn't know that! The way things looked, I definitely thought that the frame rails had been reenforced with a second pair. I know there is a bit of a twist to the frame, but having this knowledge now, I'll have to examine and reassess the frame once the cab comes off. Hopefully its more salvageable than I thought.

This is why I'm thankful for the HAMB. Guys like you are Mart have the knowledge, and eye for things that I don't know, understand, or overlook. Thanks!

 

Well, you said you would be learning as you go.

Plenty of good people here on the hamb that'll "learn" ya.

Mart.

 

It's easy to say that, but then again, you're the one with the Diamond Deuce in his garage!

I pass through your town most Mondays and Fridays, and once the Canuck Truck gets on the road, I'd hate to have to pull up at a stop light next to you, with only a flatty under the hood.

But in all seriousness, thanks for the comments, I've gotta lot of respect for you and some of the other guys here on the HAMB.

 

Well, I'm back from Europe - 2 weeks in France, 2 weeks in Portugal - and I've barely stepped into the garage... I want to, but I just haven't had any time. I plan on pulling off the cab and separating the running gear from the frame, so that'll be the next steps, but its going to have to wait. July weekends are busy for me.

Although, I have been tracking down some parts. I won't say just what yet, as I want to wait until I pick everything up and have pictures, but I'm pretty excited.