Customs WOW an Update (#2) My '37 Chev truck build

[K13]

Well it has been a while since I have done much note worthy on my truck. Here is where I left off: http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/s...d.php?t=307305

So after having our first son and relandscaping my backyard this summer I finally got some time to get back on it and decided to tackle the bed floor. This may not be the "right" way to do it but it is how I did it.

The first thing I had to take care of was the fact that I needed to raise the bed floor to clear the rearend when the bags are deflated(insert derogatory comment about using bags here). I decide to use some 2 " squre tube crossmembers to accomplish this.

The cross members have already been drilled and taped in this picture but the following will describe how I got there.

I decided to use Cherry for the bed wood as a local specialty lumber yard had some rough cut stuff on for cheap and I like cheap.

I planed, jointed and cut the board to size and cut rabbits on the edges for the bed strips which left me with this:





I am using undrilled stainless bed strips so I made up a jig to drill the holes to make it easier and more accurate. I drilled all the holes with the first stop in place then removed it and move to the second and then the third.





I then spaced all the boards with the strips and marked the holes on the crossmembers which were then drilled and tapped.

[K13]

So once that was done I installed the strips and bolted them down which looked like this:



Now you can see that due to the fact I had to raise the bed I needed to fill the gap between the roll pan and the bed. I decided to use another piece of Cherry. In order to keep it in place I decide to use dowels to attach it so I need to come up with another jig to make sure everything lined up. I came up with this:



Attached to the end of the boards for the bed.



I made the jig in pieces so I could modify it to be used on the filler strip as well.





And installed:







I forgot to take picture but I held the filler piece on with those bolt and nut combinations where the nut sits in a hole in the boards of the bed and the bolt comes through the filler piece and in like the dowel. Like the stuff IKEA puts all their furniture together with.

Next Straps for the fuel tank.

[K13]

So I ordered some straps from Eric at hot rod leather to use on my fuel tank. Beautiful craftmanship, great prices and a super good dude to deal with. If you need straps for any thing call Eric he is the best!!!

Anyways I decided to add some screw in inserts in the bottom of the bed to bolt the straps in place so I drilled a couple of holes and screwed in the inserts.







Then tested to see if it worked.



And the stap installed.







And an overall look.



I haven't put any finish on the wood yet but that is how I did my bed floor on my truck.

[LowKat]

beautiful pretty well sums it up

[K13]

Thanks I appreciate it.

[Bugsy]

HOLY SMOKES!!!! That looks great! VERY nice work!!!

[chaddilac]

Niiiiice!!!

[charleyw]

Nice, I was wondering how your project was going.

[K13]

Thanks guys

Originally Posted by charleyw

Nice, I was wondering how your project was going.

HAHA I was wondering how it was going for most of the summer as well. Much to my dismay nothing more had been done to it when I got back to it.

[cactus1]

Beeeautiful!

[K13]

Originally Posted by cactus1

Beeeautiful!

Thanks man. I wish mine was as far along as yours it.

[bjinx]

Just a thought, but if there is any stress put on those inserts they will come out. I would recommend useing what is called a "T" NUT for the strap brackets. They are also threaded but mount from the bottom side of the board and would be a more positive anchor. You can get them at Home Depot, Lowes, or any hardware store. Just my $.02 from 25 yrs. in custom woodwork. Nice work.

[Graham M]

Good to see some Alberta craftsmanship! Looks great! I'll have to bookmark this for '38 chevy build!

Can't wait to see how the rest of it goes

[K13]

Originally Posted by bjinx

Just a thought, but if there is any stress put on those inserts they will come out. I would recommend useing what is called a "T" NUT for the strap brackets. They are also threaded but mount from the bottom side of the board and would be a more positive anchor. You can get them at Home Depot, Lowes, or any hardware store. Just my $.02 from 25 yrs. in custom woodwork. Nice work.

Thanks for the input. I actually picked up some T nuts when I got the threaded inserts and went for the threadeds ones so there was no chance of them falling out if I remove the bolts. The straps are purely decorative and have absolutely no stress on them at all. The tank is actually bolted to the craddle it is sitting on with tabs on the bottom.

[38Chevy454]

Looks real nice, much better than the piece of plywood I had in the back of my 37 Chevy pickup.

[K13]

Thanks

[volksjunky]

Wow! just stumbled upon your build ,love everything you have done.
Cant wait to get to my 41' chevy truck again, some day...

[K13]

I had a question about what I was using for tailgate latches so I thought I would post the answer here.

My Dad made these latches for me. They are hidden inside the upper rail of the tailgate and have a sliding release pin the sticks through inside the truck bed on the tailgate. You can see it on the left of the picture.



The design is pretty simple it is a cup shaped cylinder with a hole drill in the bottom of it to allow the inner T shaped shaft to pass through. The cylinder part is lined with an oillite bushing. There is a spring inside th cylinder and the shaft is passed through that and out the bottom of the cyliner. A stop is then pinned on the shaft on the outside of the cylinder to keep it in place. The end of the shaft is threaded at 90 degrees from the shaft for the rod that psses through the tailgate to pull on to release the latch. There is then a piece of strap welded to the other end and drill for mounting bolts.





Hope that rambling all makes sense.

[K13]

I was originally going to run my truck without bumpers but I was asking Rikster about the headlight placement before I molded them in and he suggested I might try a Briz bumper out front (or an actual Desoto like I could afford or find that). Anyways a while back the HAMB's very own Cleatus posted a picture of his old Briz bumoers laying beside his garage so I PM'ed him to see if he would sell them to me. Well he did one better than that and gave me them. Thanks Cleatus!!!

So I got the bumpers and started playing around with how I was going to mount them and decided for all the trouble of trying to make brackets I would just order some from Chev's of the 40's. As per usual they were great to deal with and I had the brackets in less than a week so I got down to seeing if I could get this to work.

As I expected they were not a direct bolt on. Not a surprise considering it was not a stock bumper. I also wanted to pull it into the body a little bit.




So a quick cut and remounted at a new angle.



A bit better fit.



Welded up. I did clean them up but forgot to take a picture.



And mounted without clamps.



So I still have some extrta holes to fill on the front. But you get the idea.

I am also working on the back one as well I widened it and added a licence plate insert. I didn't take any really good pictures while I was doing it but here is a partial picture to give you an idea. I am contemplating running the exhaust through it as well which is why the tips I made are leaning up against it.



That will probably be about as far as I get for a while now as we hit the deep freeze this week -30 Celcius (-22 F) and to work on mounting the back bumper I have to open the garage door so that won't be happening any time soon.

[cleatus]

Real nice work on the bed.
Glad the bumpers are working out.
I like where you're going with this build.