Sure - come on down! But it’s kind of a long drive. Then again, you are a lot closer than when I went to Minnesota and back in 60 hours to pick up that little RV! Lol!
Been busy with holiday stuff and my birthday so no progress the last 3 days but today I got a good afternoon in. No pictures but I crimped the ends of the ac hoses under the seat and the two that travel up to the front. I then covered the crimps with the silver AC tape. With that done I was able to reassemble all the under seat wiring as I had to separate things to do the ac hoses properly. Once all that was back to rights, I ran the wiring I need for some of the engine stuff I had coiled up in the cab through the floor. I need to sleeve these wires and I may have to add one or two more. I then cleaned up and vacuumed out the under seat area which was a mess. Making progress once again .....
Got a short afternoon in and sheathed the wires going to the front from under the cab. Not really picture worthy until they are all strapped and out of the way and away from the exhaustI also put a little “bling”in the cab. The two front beer dash switch boxes had a bare edge visible because the lower part of the dash is rolled into a round reveal going left to right. Using some chrome door edge guard I was able to cover it. No biggie but the wife liked it! And a pic of the wiring/ac cleanup from yesterday .....
Tom, what a great idea it was to put all of that stuff under the seat, wish I had seen that before putting the new wiring harness in my panel truck. I'm impressed by your work ethic too, Rich
Thank you, Rich, for your kind words. I have had 2 other 40-41 pickups and parted out almost 3 others, saving enough parts to build this one. From both trucks I have had not so fond memories of working on the electrical panel under the dash. I am only 5’2” tall and working under the dash was not fun - it’s just way too tight. I had always thought of the unused space under the seat but with no easy way for access until using the 3rd seat out of 92-97 Suburban using its original mounting. The seat folds then flips up enough to allow access. Revel wiring makes a wiring kit specifically for under seat or tank mount locations, basically just giving you more wire length. As for my work ethic, COVID has driven that a lot in this build. It keeps my sanity and my mind occupied so I hope posting the build helps others to get into the garage and wrenching on their projects like so many builds here on the HAMB have inspired me. I am just paying it forward ......
Have a Healthy, Hopeful, and Happy Holidays gents for you and your entire families. Let’s hope 2021 is better for all of us!
Back at it after all of the Holiday prep. I got my rear fender braces and had to modify them slightly .... After a little help from Bandit Billy, I got straightened out and I just needed to cut off the tab at the fender side of the bracket. Once that was done, I got my location set and used one of the present bolts holding the hitch plate on (I guess I had enough to choose from lol!) .... With the wheels back on, I might need a different wheel offset on the passenger side ... Perhaps a spacer will work - we will see .... Driver side looks good ..... I then painted some of the exposed bolts on the driver side hitch plate, made a first pass at adjusting the rear brakes, installed a rear end vent tube, put the truck at ride height but 6” off the floor (on wooden stands), installed rear axle bumpers, and filled the rear with fluid. A good garage day for me .....
Got some garage time in - made a first pass on my muffler brackets ...... .... more to do on this yet. I need to tie the two sides together and have driveshaft clearance ......
Got back on the muffler hangars today - I made two verticle pieces and welded them to the ends of the arms and connected them with a piece across the top. Here it is in primer .... Not much to see until it is in place but that and a shop cleanup was it for the day. It was cold but nice out today so I took a nice ride in the coupe this am. I need to do that more often ......
I finished up the muffler hanger today save for the hole location for the hanger ..... Working my way forward, I am looking at the tranny mount location and what kind of additional support I might need, park brake cable junction location, and revisiting my exhaust routing. Since I am thinking of running the exhaust within the confines of the frame rails, the exhaust pipes from the engine will need to be modified and covered in the good header wrap. Where the exhaust runs by the power brake booster I should install a shield between it and the exhaust, and since the booster drops below the frame rail, I need some kind of skid plate. The wife will be driving it and speed bumps are my concern. There’s always something to re-engineer as things change. I also will find out how dropping the cab down in the front due to the cab wood change will also affect tranny mounting and tranny cover clearance. We shall see how that all works out ..... building something doesn’t create problems, only opportunities. I guess I went to too many inspirational meetings in my corporate days! Lol! Another nice ride in the coupe this am - we are supposed to get rain the next 4 days so I wanted to get my seat time in ....
Hey Tom, Is that Firestone FR380 a current in line item? Can’t find any availability. Good looking sidewall! Thanks, Bill
Bought these tires years ago when I first started to build the truck - rears are almost 11 years old, fronts about 12, around the time that Firestone had issues with blowouts and such. Don’t know any particulars or n that. Anyway, they will go away for rollers and I will get new ones after painting the rims satin black. I told my wife that I would get her all new tires and she said, “all women love a new pair of shoes” - I made her day! I don’t know if they are still being made - I would google Firestone and see if they are in their present lineup .....
I installed a brake light lever off the brake pedal. Originally I thought the preset proportioning valve which has a angle wire coming out of it would work but that is for an idiot light. So I had a lever action one and in it went .... I also ordered the two door dongles for the spike ends. I also sheathed the 7-prong trailer plug wire and brought it up through a hole of in the front cowl foot. The last thing was the back hood hinges got installed..... No big deal but every little piece I do now is less for later. Next up is to install the battery on it it’s stand and see about routing of the electrical cables from underneath, wire up the trailer brake controller. Then it’s get some juice to the truck and test some of the lights and such. Progress is slow right now but steady ......
After an afternoon of playing with wires, I am finally satisfied with the completed wiring of all the tow plug wiring and the brake module ..... The battery is close to where it will be. I installed the stands to hold the modified battery box and the belt is just in case I bump into it too hard and might knock it over. The only thing left to do is to run the wire to the no -power side of the brake switch. I ran out of the wire covering I need and it is on order. As per the instructions, I used a 40 amp breaker for the hot lead to the trailer plug, and a 20 amp for the brake module (had a choice of a 20 or 30 - we’ll see how the 20 does). While I wait for parts I will start sorting out the under dash wiring .......
I haven’t had too much time in the garage lately but I am making the best of it. I am using the stock 40-41 pickup brake handle but running the Lokar cable from the brake handle which will join with the two rear Lokar cables. Sorry, I know it’s not a HAMB friendly but I have used this system before and I know the wife can handle it. I have now run the cable from the handle through the floor and once the motor and trans are in I can determine where things will hook up. Joel here on the board has a pickup build thread and one of his latest posts I liked how he was reinforcing the lower lip of the center “X”. I posted that I would probably use in on my build. Since my center “X” has been modified to house a 700R4, the curve is gone making my life a bit easier. But I also wanted to take his idea a step further and also attach to the side of those same rails by using some angle iron to add to the strength factor. Now I know all of you guys have heard how the early hot rod builders used whatever steel folks would discard, which included bed rails. When my son moved into his first house there was a set of nice, heavy duty bed rails laying at the edge of the woods next to his house. I knew they would come in handy one day and yesterday was the day ...., I cut lengths for both sides and decided to bolt them to the frame rails rather than weld them. One reason is that I may have the modify them and I also didn’t want to weld stuff underneath with hoses, wires, brake, and gas lines in close proximity. Drilling everything underneath wasn’t fun but it’s done ... Please disregard the long bolts - they are just for mockup and I will be using shorter grade 8 bolts. The only holes left to drill are the ones for the tranny mount and possibly the mount for the park brake juncture mount. I then jumped to my cab wiring determining all possible fuse lines I would still need: one for the gear selection display and another for the electric radiator fan hookup. I am also going to start wiring up the dash switches and some led interior lights. Not wanting to miss anything, I am taking my time (real meaning - I don’t want to screw up!) and double check everything ..... It’s getting there but I am getting close for the motor to come back - I have a list of things to still fabricate and/or design .......
Took down all the Christmas stuff so it was a short day. But all the needed circuits are all in and all is straight in my head. I even ran a spare line just in case something else needed to be added. Nothing really picture worthy but things are starting to really come together .... I have made a punch list and I am working off of it ....
Bed frame angle iron.... now that is traditional.. You know if you finish the truck before the weather breaks in the spring, you’re going to be stuck watching TV. Sent from my iPhone using H.A.M.B.
Yep - bed frame is traditional! Never fear - I will always have things to do in the garage: flatties to build, a MC to swap out in my coupe, and whatever flattie gets built first will be installed in the roadster along with a few upgrades .... I watch TV at night to relax but I am happiest when I am in the midst of a project in the garage.
Been getting a couple hours here, an hour there on the project. I have wired up the steering column. It’s a Speedway GM style column with the gm style column plug. When I got into it yesterday, the plug was just duplicating wires that all ready existed in the harness so I got rid of the column plug and went with just the harness wiring, using covered connectors for all junctions. I then jumped on the Classic Instruments new 40 Ford style gauge panel wiring. I have the signal and high beam lights, temp, fuel, oil pressure, and gas gauges connected. Now I am working on the gauge panel functionality connections for the electronic speedo, ground, and 2 other things related to calibrating everything. It’s involved but I am working through it. I also worked on mc access from the top. Not wanting to take away floor strength with a rectangular door in the floor, I decided to go with two rubber plugs for access and keep floor strength. I bought plugs for trailer tail/side marker lights .... These provide a 2+ inch hole each and seal up pretty good. They have a deep well in them though but I have an idea of how to deal with that. For the wire hole I inserted a threaded steel pipe plug. My only problem with the whole thing was a properly sized hole saw - I really needed a 2 1/8th inch (actually just a tad bigger than that) hole but the best I had was a two inch. It took a little to enlarge them out to accommodate the plugs but I got it done. Sorry for the lousy pics .... So, they are in. I will continue to work on the wiring for the brake light switch as I now have all the parts I ordered. Then it will be the ac outlet holes. That should be fun .....
Still working on the truck but I just have not posted - been busy! Been doing a lot of wiring. The engine and front lighting harness plus other items were just bunched into two bundles. Now I have separated them, splitting the headlight wiring and such side to side and much of the engine wiring the same way. Things are still loose until the carpet is on the firewall (I like to use the stock holes for the inside support but not the buttons. I use ss bolts so I can hang wiring) ..... I also tied up everything underneath and completed the brake light switch wiring. I then wired up the column, start switch, light switch, and cut the holes for the ac outlets. I had a hole saw that was pretty close and ended up using a round barrel sander to fit the outlets in as there was really little room for error .... ... and then hooked up the ac duct .... It takes more time to wire than anything else - especially when the wire sheathing is involved but I like the looks of it. I have a pinstriper coming over soon to label the switch’s and some other stuff. It all should look pretty cool when done .....
Nothing picture worthy but I got some stuff done. Removed, cleaned, primed, and painted the bed rail pieces for the lip support and reinstalled them with grade 8 bolts, installed the glove box - and this was a job let me tell you - and I installed the glove box door. First, the glovebox - it could only go on one way and I had to partially collapse the defroster hose for the glovebox to pass, get all the wiring out of the way, used 3 hands to get it done (that’s using your head), and then fish for the holes to bolt it in. One hole gave me fits and would not take the screws provided - I dug around in my junk drawer and found a slightly larger one that ended up doing the trick. The glove box door was a simple dimple but the spring! I tried everything to no avail. I finally spread it a bit more and with it hooked into the door, I used a short piece of 1x2 short end placed on top of the spring, and with the door almost closed hit the end of the piece of 1x2 with a hammer and it finally popped on. I also tried using the small stock bumper buttons on the dash but could not get the darn things through the hole in the dash. I finally just cut two triangular pieces of rubber for the upper corners and glued them on for the bumpers. All afternoon do fo a few simple things- geeesh! Now I have to find my glove box handle ......
Still working on house projects so garage time was short. I used a pair of led license plate lights (which I did not use if you remember that particular posting) as interior lights. I had a pair of stainless rt angle brackets I mounted under the lip of the dash so they are pointing down and towards the middle of the cab. They will be manually operated by one of the accessory panel switches. The passenger rear fender support piece set the rear lip of the fender out further than the driver side by about an inch. I trimmed it down and reinstalled it and the fender lip softened/relaxed and the passenger then seemed more centered ..... Looking a bit more carefully at the fender I also noticed the outer edge of the flat surface where the running board bolts to the fender angles forward .... I never really noticed this before - anyway, when the runnig board is installed I will loosen the fender bolts and I hopefully be able to tweak its mounting enough to have centered the wheel in the wheel well opening. I also think the rear brace will need another hole drilled on the fender lip side to accommodate the shift. We shall see .... I also brought the cab carpet into the house where I have rolled it out so it will flatten out once it warms up. I am hoping to install the carpet on the firewall within the next day or so. I will use the bound edge as the lower edge of the firewall carpet, allowing the floor carpet to tuck under it to give it a finished look. I will try the make it all one piece but I think it may turn out to be a left and right side with everything installed as it is presently. We shall see ......
Took a good long ride in the coupe today - made a few stops, saw the grands for a bit, met up with my good friend phartman at TRJs and shot the baloney with them for a bit and Pete and I discussed changes/upgrades for his 40 Ford 2-door sedan. It was about an hour ride home and I got pumped to jump on the project as soon as I got home. Using self stick AC insulation from Lowe’s I insulated the floor and aluminum taped all the seams. Just the tranny cover is left to do. Here is a pic of the floor .... I will cover the ribs with a second layer of insulation. My carpet was nice and warmed up so I cut the firewall portion as one piece and the floor portion as one piece .... I left the bound edge on the bottom lip of the firewall piece and the seat surround end of the floor piece. Figured it would make for a nicer look. I will finish the floor insulation tomorrow and then lay the floor carpet, followed by the firewall. I might have to cut the firewall piece in two as the only part that will attach the sides together will be a thin strip under the heater. We’ll see how things turn out when I get to that point .....
Got working on finishing the floor insulation a started on the carpet. I will let the pictures tell the tale .... I am glad I had the bound edges where I did - makes it look more finished. The only thing left is the driver side of the firewall and insulation and covering the tranny cover. I may have to modify it due to the body having been brought down when I corrected the cab wood install. I am trying not to cut the firewall piece but I may have to. There’s just a lot of wires and such around and it would certainly be easier to match up the firewall holes. Tomorrow will tell how that will work out .....
Installing rolled edging is very simple. First you need a BIG stapler with staples long enough to go through the carpet and cloth edging. Put the cloth edging onto the carpet with the edge of the edging right at the edge of the carpet. Staple the edging in place then simply roll the cloth over to the backside of the carpet and glue in place.
Finished the driver firewall ..... Although I said I wasn’t, I used buttons to hold the firewall carpet onto the firewall to attach it. It was just easier when I had finally fished the holes from the engine side to just pop them in ..... Next up, the kick panels. I have a template but it will need some tweaking.
Got to work on the kick panels today and having a template really helped things to move right along .... I had a scrap piece of plywood so I was able to cut another panel as the template was from the driver side with cutout for the park brake handle. After that, I went to Lowe’s and bought some nice plywood to make the kick panels out of .... I had all ready purchased done 1/4” pliable dense cell foam and glue it to the panels ... Using gorilla glue and masking tape, I cut pieces of vinyl and stretched it over the panels working the material from the center out, making it as taunt as I could. The result wasn’t too bad .... The wife likes it a lot so I am happy. I did mention that I could put some carpet along the bottom of the kick panel but she didn’t care for that. Next up is getting the items ready to make the windlace and cut and install the headliner. Both will be the same material as the kick panels. I usually get a soft rope for the windlace and loop over and sew the vinyl together.
The Jalopy Journal
