quite the truck, youngsspeed, I really like what you did. well, I cut the door off and am studying the door pillar situation. I know originally the pillars were wood. I've seen another HAMBers build thread that addresses this problem, but I wish he had more pics and details. I'm gonna have to take my time and study this.
Looks like a nice project. I wish I had a '63 Vette! Oh and I had to deal with the lack of wood in my '34 if you have any questions?
A piece of 16 gauge box tube works well to replace the wood in the hinge pillar. If you have the wood for a pattern that helps. Where the hinges attach it is good to drill the holes oversized and put a piece of tubing in each one to keep it from crushing when you tighten the hinge bolts. I like that the windshield is leaned back instead of stretching the roof. If you use a model A axle and spring your tires won't hit the split bones. Or if you want some drop use the 35-36 axle and add a 1/4" shim in the mouth of the bone to make up the different axle height.
I just looked at your pictures of the front end a bit closer and see that you have the adjustable spring perches turned around backwards to compensate for the 37-40 axle. The spring is most likely the right one to fit with the narrower early axle, 28-36. I would use a 35-36 axle and shims so that you can keep the same drop on the ends.
Cool truck! I remember seeing it years ago at Gary's shop when I was picking up a set of American Stamping rails from him. @Chuckles Garage and I had just finished a late '30's Chevy pickup build and Gary was showing me his. Great guy. Good start to your project. Good luck with those door tops...
thanks for the tips........I've been studying the pillar and dash set up all week. I'm getting close. I'll keep your ideas and blend them with mine. yea, I like Gary....really knows his hot rods, always willing and able to give you good, reliable, accurate advice. Well, while I was thinking about the door pillars and dash attachment , my buddy and I tore the 327 apart. The first thing we noticed was there was no harmonic balancer bolt. Not even threads. Turns out the crank has a tapered shaft and key way. My first time seeing this set up. We also noticed some of the cam lobes were worn flat.We also noticed the timing chain was real sloppy and the plastic sprocket had several cracks and irregular tooth wear. The pistons look good, the cylinders look great,the cam bearings look great, all in all I'm real happy with the motor. Were going to cam her up , replace the worn parts and make her a runner.
Be sure to use good break in oil with zinc in it or your cam will look the same in no time at all. Don't ask how I know. I like Joe Gibbs racing oil and Edelbrock break in oil. Good luck with your truck.
I use Joe Gibbs also........ZINC is a cams best friend..... Now what about this ethanol and non ethanol gas and the rubber in our carburetors.!
well, I got all the chop welded and the welds ground down. Now I'm ready to lead them up. Patched the cracks in the firewall and added a piece of metal to the drivers side windshield lower channel. I repaired the wood piece behind the top of the dash. It fits perfect on inner section of the cowl and it keeps the dash in the correct positions.I plan on drilling new pilot holes in the lower windshield channel and then use wood/sheet metal screws to secure the dash to the cowl, as originally done when built. Also, now I can visualize how I can secure the dash to the door pillar pieces.
interesting. the 37 i am restoring right now does not have any wood behind the dash. i took a 37 apart, for parts and it did not have any wood there either. yours must be an early 37 using left over 36 stuff.
More than likely it is a leftover 36 titled as a 37. I have had a bunch and have never seen a 37 with wood a pillars and dash rail... I will try to post pics of my 37...
Yeah replacing the wood with metal is for me the easiest since I hate splinters. I agree the 37 for the most part didn't have wood in them I had a 36 short cab and it was loaded with wood. You are doing a fine job on this one. good luck with it.
thanks man...... well, finally I had some brain sparks and took some action......took apart an old bed spring and used the top and bottom angle for the door posts. Sliced them up so they would bend and follow the shape of the inside of the cowl.I'll just tack the ends to hold the curve and weld it on the bench. I'll recess a piece of thicker steel to attach the door hinges.
nice. i have found tho that some of that angle iron used for beds has a weird temper. did it bend ok without cracking?
Im a little late, but this was how I did mine.. I took a section of box and just traced the curve of the body on to it. Cut it and welded the edge back on... Then I added some 1/4" strips to reinforce the edge of the skin and to provide a good spot for mounting the hinges here it is being test fit Correct me if I am wrong, but I believe the fact that your cab still had the wooden door columns makes it a 36 and not a 37? EDIT.. I should learn to read the whole thread before offering my $.02 I see this has all ready been discussed ... I have some shots of how I did the dash section as well if you are interested. Good luck, keep at it. I found one other shot of the door post that might show a bit better what is going on..
Heres what I did on the dash section... Similar to what you are doing on the door posts I took another section of box, cut part way through to allow it to curve.. I believe it was 1.5x3" it was just some random scrap I had laying around but it was very similar in overall size to the wood that came out. Then I cut the corner off of it Turned it around and put it back on I also did a recess in the center to allow for the windshield mechanism to go back on... When I had it cut open I added a piece of 1/4" plate inside the box in the middle to allow for there to be enough thickness to drill and tap which allowed me to mount the mechanism back on.. at a much later point.. you can see it mocked up here next to the wood section Good luck man, replacing the wood can seem like a daunting task but little by little you will get there.. Let me know if you would like any other pictures.. My cab was a wreck so I did lots to make it whole again
well finally I got one door hung and the other is all mocked up and ready to weld in the hinge support plates. It's not" fancy dancy" but it works . The body lines are correct ,the door opens and closes nicely. Perfect for me.
well,I got the passenger door hung, turned out pretty good. Needs a little tweaking. Christmas came early in my shop, engine goodies came today.
thanks Ghost.......... I spent the majority of the day working on the passenger door, adjusting, re-adjusting and adjusting, heating ,bending, prying,welding, cutting then re-welding, then adjusting it all over again. I'm sure you know the drill. Then, I got it real close, close enough to move on. Now I'll go back and re-adjust the drivers door and make that fit better. Then, I mock-up the dash and make side supports. All in all , a good productive day.
well, this is what I came up with to secure the dash. Remember the dash was originally secured to the door pillar wood post that's no longer there. I just cut up some stock iron that were from the locking arms out of an old chevy or bronco tailgate. I welded nuts on the back side to make life easier. I welded a section to the new door pillar and bolted the other section to the side of the dash supports. I didn't plate the whole section because I wanted to access the back nuts of the hinge. Not much for looks but the dash is real solid which makes a good foundation for mounting my steering column.
well, I'm still plugging along.....only 4 full months left till April...I plan on driving her in May.... doing engine prep, cleaning and painting ....also working on patch panels......
well,when I received the truck I got a box of loss parts that I figured were for the door mechanism. I spent sometime yesterday figuring out where they would go and how it supposed to work. I think I'm real close, I just don't know where one piece goes. The small thin piece in the 2nd and 3rd pics is a mystery piece to me.......
Chevys need not be hacked with Ford transverse front suspension. ...Parallel leaf springs also look pretty nice and actually quite nice looking
Good job on the "metallization" work. Not sure there is any absolute right way, just make steel tubing or channel or whatever will replace the wood.
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