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Projects A Farm Truck Comes to the City—’29 Pickup Build

Discussion in 'Traditional Hot Rods' started by ClarkH, Mar 20, 2021.

  1. Those wheels are technically my fault as well...

    I'm pretty good at spending your money, aren't I?(in this case technically trade stock)
     
    Stogy, 41 GMC K-18, Thor1 and 2 others like this.
  2. loudbang
    Joined: Jul 23, 2013
    Posts: 40,276

    loudbang
    Member


    Ah the authorities not believe you on the frame number but sometimes if you have access and the area is clean lay a strip of masking take over the number then hold a lead pencil horizontally make a rubbing of the numbers by rubbing the lead over the numbers lightly and the numbers should stand out as white (or color of the tape) and the rest is lead color. Then if the numbers show nicely carefully remove the tape and apply it to a piece of paper and store it away someplace you will remember.

    That is how they do numbers here on an old vehicle the needs to be inspected and they put the rubbing right in the reg booklet.

    Or even a good clear photo.
     
  3. ClarkH
    Joined: Jul 21, 2010
    Posts: 1,412

    ClarkH
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    ♫ "Back in the saddle again..."

    The farm truck and I took a break over summer. But now that the local weather has crapped out, it’s time to get this thread moving again.

    I’ll start with the passenger door. To refresh everyone’s memory, I had to remove the portion of the door jamb covering the hinges and fix some of the mount holes, leaving me with a bunch of this:

    pd-fixed-midle.JPG

    Pretty straightforward repairs. Started by tracing a template of the middle hinge area:
    template.JPG
    Cut and tacked insert
    insert.JPG

    Drilled holes for mounts
    holes.JPG

    Inserted hinge as a backer and used a steel dowel with rounded end to countersink

    countersink.JPG

    Repeated at the bottom hinge and ground the ugly MIG welds flush

    grind.JPG

    On to the A-pillar...
     
    Last edited: Nov 25, 2021
  4. ClarkH
    Joined: Jul 21, 2010
    Posts: 1,412

    ClarkH
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    The pass side A pillar was a cut-up mess. Especially the top hinge area, which started out looking like this:
    a-pillar-top copy.JPG

    I cleaned up the hole with a Dremel and made an insert. There was just enough left of the inboard mount hole to serve as a guide for the other holes:
    pillar-insert copy.JPG

    Welded another insert in front of the hinge and then cleaned everything up. Ended up with this:
    top-done.JPG

    Middle and bottom were easier. Middle before:
    a-pillar middle copy.JPG

    Middle after:
    IMG_3265.JPG
    pillar-middle copy.JPG

    Bottom before:
    a-pillar bottom copy.JPG

    Bottom after:
    pillar bottom copy.JPG

    What I’m not showing here is the repetitive test fitting of the door that went on throughout this process, to make sure I got everything in the right place. There's still some cleanup to do, obviously, but I went ahead and mounted the door so I could appreciate the progress.

    open.JPG
    closed.JPG

    Actually, if you look close you'll see those pictures were taken during a test fit while I was still working on the forward part of the pillar. Everything is pulled apart now so these pics are the best I can offer. The important thing is, I now have two functioning doors. That is something to be thankful for.

    Happy Thanksgiving, all!
     
    Last edited: Nov 25, 2021
    Dave Mc, Outback, Stogy and 21 others like this.
  5. -Brent-
    Joined: Nov 20, 2006
    Posts: 7,349

    -Brent-
    Member

    Nice tutorial! This is going to be a neat pickup.
     
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  6. ClarkH
    Joined: Jul 21, 2010
    Posts: 1,412

    ClarkH
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    Thanks @-Brent-. I often wonder if some close-ups of my work aren't a little cringe-worthy, so positive responses are encouraging. A thin skim coat at the end can hide many sins. As I said from the outset, any insights on my threads are more for Average Joes than Seasoned Pros.

    Closing the doors saga (at least for now), I also repaired some of the damage to the door skins that had resulted from aggressive welding during past hinge repairs.

    Uppers were easy, just a little insert to clean the edge adjacent hinge. To remind everyone, the right door started with the wrong side of the hinge welded to it (yikes!):
    pd-upper.JPG

    I cut that mess off and welded an insert:
    upper-prepped copy.JPG
    upper done copy.JPG

    The damage to the beltline area on the passenger door was trickier. I spent an inordinate amount of time trying and failing to make a perfect little patch. I wound up going the two-piece repair route, which ended up being so much easier.

    Started with this:
    pd-middle.JPG

    Proceeded like this:
    middle start copy.JPG
    IMG_3177.JPG
    middle-base-insert copy.JPG

    middle insert copy.JPG
    middle prepped copy.JPG
    middle-done copy.JPG

    That's all on doors for a while. On to other topics...
     
  7. Wanderlust
    Joined: Oct 27, 2019
    Posts: 788

    Wanderlust

    Looks good! Wonderful old truck
     
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  8. connielu
    Joined: Apr 21, 2019
    Posts: 180

    connielu
    Member
    1. A-D Truckers

  9. Jet96
    Joined: Dec 24, 2012
    Posts: 1,431

    Jet96
    Member
    from WY

    .Thanks for showing your repairs, that's a lot to fix. I'm thanking my lucky stars my doors didn't look like that!
     
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  10. 31Apickup
    Joined: Nov 8, 2005
    Posts: 3,367

    31Apickup
    Member

  11. 41 GMC K-18
    Joined: Jun 27, 2019
    Posts: 3,565

    41 GMC K-18
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    "All things are possible through speed and diligence and perseverance "
    "Everything old is new again"
    "Perfection cannot be rushed"
    I am looking forward to seeing further progress on this worthy project!

    Has there been any new progress on the vintage " Traffic actuated switch panel box "?
     
    Stogy, ClarkH, loudbang and 1 other person like this.
  12. Duke of Haphazard
    Joined: Jun 13, 2023
    Posts: 34

    Duke of Haphazard
    Member
    from PNW

    This is cool! Did something happen? It seems there've been no new posts for quite awhile. Hoping all is well with the project.
     
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  13. ClarkH
    Joined: Jul 21, 2010
    Posts: 1,412

    ClarkH
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    Well, this thread has been in hibernation for a while. But the recent prodding from @Duke of Haphazard and @Stogy is timely, because it’s ready to wake up. And I mean that both figuratively and literally.

    By way of an explanation for my silence: Engine issues with my speedster have been consuming most of my build-attention. Over the past two years, two older babbet bangers failed me, and now I’m committed to a serious rebuild. But that’s for another thread.

    As for the farm truck, my original plan was a hopped-up banger. But with all my banger-enthusiasm locked up in the speedster, I was lured by the evil Siren-song of a flathead V8. Specifically, a rebuilt 8RT that’s been sitting under a bench in my brother’s shop for the better part of a decade. This is an engine my brother acquired to go into a now long-gone A coupe. He’s totally fixated on Hudsons these days; eager to clear some space, asked me if I wanted it.

    Well YES, I exclaimed, while earnestly shaking my head NO. Why the conflict? Because as cool as that flathead is, I knew in that instant I was transforming what was intended to be a simple project into something very complicated.

    A key complication is that my little 2-car garage is completely overwhelmed. Between the speedster and several dismantled bangers and the truck cab, not to mention work benches, tools, equipment, spare parts and such, I have virtually no room to work.

    God love him, @Hitchhiker alleviated the problem somewhat by offering me a corner of his shop where I could set up the truck’s chassis. I guess you help a guy move countless tons of car parts up and down the I-5 corridor a couple-three, four times, he figures he owes you a favor or two.

    So here’s the engine, sitting on a stand at Seattle Speed shop awaiting her close-up.

    8RT-on-stand.JPG

    We popped the heads off for a quick inspection and the rumored rebuild appears to be true.

    8RT-head-off.JPG

    Doing this was not a big deal because I won’t be using the 8RT heads, and the whole thing needs to come apart anyway because I don't have much faith in the effectiveness of 10-year-old assembly lube.

    So now the thread has been reawakened. Plenty more to come. Fitting this engine into a ’29 engine bay without going all Lizzy Borden involves much creative reconfiguration. More to come.
     
    Last edited: Sep 3, 2023
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  14. 31Apickup
    Joined: Nov 8, 2005
    Posts: 3,367

    31Apickup
    Member

    Good to see this moving forward again.
     
  15. 41 GMC K-18
    Joined: Jun 27, 2019
    Posts: 3,565

    41 GMC K-18
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    So cool that Matt @Hitchhiker, has made a little space for this noble project to come to life !
    Looking forward to future updates on this cool project !

    DSC_5667 (2).JPG
     
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  16. The37Kid
    Joined: Apr 30, 2004
    Posts: 30,629

    The37Kid
    Member

    Nice to see you starting with a nice clean rebuilt motor!
     
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  17. winduptoy
    Joined: Feb 19, 2013
    Posts: 3,331

    winduptoy
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

  18. Stogy
    Joined: Feb 10, 2007
    Posts: 26,345

    Stogy
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    John boy would be pumped...getcha back to the farm quicker...:D

    @ClarkH this seems a plausible period correct choice to me...a trip to the wreckers back in the day could easily have provided a low mileage engine from a wreck for such a project...I've complete confidence you will present a well rounded runabout. Timeliness is never a problem with me as I understand the way life has a way of being an incredibly diverse affair...

    Then there's Hitchhiker along with your bro, the missus and us Hoodlums how could you go wrong...;)

    I always enjoy chiming in here...thanks for your detailed journey back to the Yesteryear...
     
    Last edited: Sep 4, 2023
  19. I believe the word you were looking for to describe me was ENABLER....Perhaps DEALER :eek::rolleyes:;)
     
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  20. 41 GMC K-18
    Joined: Jun 27, 2019
    Posts: 3,565

    41 GMC K-18
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    I actually had to look up that term "Scope Creep"
    So glad it wasn't in reference to the loose fitting of a telescopic sight on a firearm!
    At 70 years old, it's still possible to learn something new, by participating on the HAMB, daily!
     
    Thor1, ClarkH, Toms Dogs and 3 others like this.

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