Projects 1950 3100 Truck Project

Yep, that is the conclusion I came too last night while looking at it. Truck is a little low in that area and has more of a chance of being damaged. Will come out behind the tire in the rear fendr, no big tips just the pipe barely visible.

Jim, is your crossover pipe under the tailshaft of the trans?

 

Yes it is. This isn't a very good pic, but it is just behind the trans crossmember and about inline were the speedometer cable goes into a 350 turbo. If you need more info let me know...Jim

 

Ill try to get you a pic tomorro so it gives you an idea of how they are snaked thru the leaf/frame

 

I had mine in the front of the rear tire at first, but used the stainless Camaro tips cut into the running boards for clearance and for the flamethrowers.

 

it sure was, horrible job if i have seen one, looked great untill the delivery company brought the truck and had caught the bottom edges of both fenders and cracked it all

not looking forward to re doing them both but its got to look better than how it does now

 

So, I finally fixed something that has been fighting me for a long time. The shocks were too short, even after the bed was on I had to compress the suspension to get enough thred through to get them bolted up and then the truck had no rebound. So I pulled the last spring off my posies springs, and I cut and welded the lower shock mount in the upper spring plate hole since there isnt enough clearance between the u bolt and the hole to use the bolt with a nut as designed. Lowered the rear about an inch with the spring removal and the shocks bolted up nicely. FINALLY!!

Got it mostly reassembled, hood/front end will still need adjustment, got the hoods latch rebulit and working good, got a hole cut in the floor for master cyl access, added some hinges and made a trap door and now I need to get to work on the pass door issue. Pics tonight...

 

Will be waiting for the pics.(ha ha)....Jim

 

This isnt going to be a very interesting post, but since I havent updated in a while I figured I would throw this up. If you have gone through this thread you might remember waaay bak I found my shocks were too short. There are stock length Bilsteins for the 47-54 p/u but were supposed to work with the 3" lowered Posies springs. Initially I put them on the bare frame and thought once I finally got it back together they would reach but no dice. The more I piled on the closer it got, but with everything minus the bed wood I was still about 1/2" short, and even with that they would be fully extended, actually, they would be holding the truck down slightly.

So first thing I did was get it up on stands. A word of caution for idiots like me. I put large stands under the rear of the frame thinking they would keep the frame from lowering as I removed the u bolt nuts, and put small stands under the axles. By doing this, the weight of the rear of the truck was still compressing the leaf springs, so after I just about got the last u bolt nut off the whole spring and lower plate shot downward and knoced the shit out of my hand.

What I should have done was get the rear of the frame up high with the large jack stands and let the axle push the spring down, and since the axle sits onthe springs, there would be no tension.

Anyway, got the u bolts loose and the lower plate, clamped all but the last spring together so when I removed the center bolt they all didnt fall apart or once again shoot downward, and pulled the last leaf, which was only abut 8 inches long and about a quarter inch thick.



Now part of my initial problem is the shock stud went through the lower plate, a threaded bolt stuck through about an inch, and a lock nut went on to secure it. However, the u bolt went directly behind it, so there was no way to put the nut on. What I did at first was bolt up the spring plate and all the u bolts, then cut the threads on the u bolt so I had room to put the nut on the shock stud. That limited me to using the bottom hole, making it too long of a trip to the upper mount. So what I did was put the shock stud through the plate, cut off the threads leaving a little hanging out, then welded it on using the top hole which got me an extra inch of travel. My thinking is that there wont be a lot of stress on my weld becuase the stud threads into the plate, so the stud itself will be supporting the load of the shock with the weld just keeping it in place. Didnt look pretty but should work.



Amazing how dirty things get just from sitting, drives me crazy.




After I got it all together, removing the last spring and moving the stud up gave me the length I needed so I dont "top out" so to speak. It also lowered it another 1/2 inch or so. The tire fills it up perfectly, I cant wait to get this thing on the road..I cant jack it up by the axle to change a tire, have to jack the frame to raise the fender and once the tire comes off the ground, it is an exact fit to slide it out enough to get it off the wheel studs, then I can lean it over and get it out...any taller and it would not have come off, lucked out...




Although it doesnt look it, it is actually pretty low, I aint that big a dude and I cant fit underneath the running board without a struggle. Matter of fact I just changed the break in oil out and had a little panic attack when my hoodie jacket I was wearing was just enough to wedge me under the truck. I wiggled and wiggled for a good 2-3 minutes before I finally got out, thought I was going to have to have my prego wife get out the lube and slather me up, ha!

this brings up another point. I haven't driven it but I can turn the wheels all the way to both sides and don't come close to rubbing. I can see maybe on inclines or in certain situations it might touch but it shoudl be good. I am not layed out by any means or have steam roller tires on front but all the talk of Camaro clips being too wide really had me worried. Seems like it was all for nothing.




Lastly, anybody in the market for full length banks stainless heads for a BBC? I came across two brand spankin new sets that I am selling cheap or trading for AD/350 parts or other items of interest, namely things that go boom. PM me if interested, cost 1200 at summit right now...

 

Lookin great dude

Sent from my DROID device using the TJJ mobile app

 

Looks great!!

 

Looks like it's sitting pretty good to me. I like the way the wheel fills the rear fender opening.
I'll have to remember your tip about the springs. Removing leaves are easy when off the truck. Whole different thing once they're installed!

 

Thanks..yea I have learned all kinds of tips like that, unfortunately most were after the fact. I guess that is how it goes though.

 

Today I decided to get the trans cover cut for the shifter and parking brake. Took a few measurements and got going.



Clamped it to my trusty black and decker work mate and got to cutting..



Trimmed it up and it fit like a glove. I scuffed up the bottom and sprayed it with undercoating. Also cut the access door for the master cylinder, bought some hinges and riveted the piece I cut out back in, need to add some kind of pull and rivet in a piece to stop it so it doesnt over rotate past the floor. I forgot to weld up the damn hole for the original master. I guess I will just buy the plug for now.



This is a view of under the nose so you can see how I trimmed the splash shield to fit around the radiator, it all fit together very nicely.



Engine compartment after a little wipe down..



Overall shot, really coming together. Actually fits ok, I think I need to lower the core supporta 1/2" or so, I think the hood hits the latch panel before it is all the way up against the fenders. That shouldnt be too hard to do..



Pulled out the headlamp trim rings that were onthe truck when I got it, they were painted and after a little thinner and some fine steel wool it left me wondering why in the hell anyone would have painted them to begin with..




So after all that I changed out the break in oil and added a KN oil filter and Valvoline syn VR1 oil. The new filter didnt thread on nicely, didnt think much of it, but when I started the engine oil came gushing out from around the filter. Dont know if I just didnt get it tight enough or if I cross threaded it on there, that would suck...left a big mess to clean up, at least it was nice clean oil...

 

It's coming along nicely. My lokar shifter came through the factory 4-speed shifter hole. I have no parking brake. See no need with an auto trans.

 

I almost bought the 4 spd cover thinking that would be the case but I figured with the the solid cover I couldnt go wrong. I also went back and forth on the pb but in the end thought it was better safe than sorry. It did save my ass already once...

 

Ha, thanks. The cavalier column is probably a toaster somewhere by now, that was 2 yrs ago!

 

So, figured out why my oil filter was puking everywhere...



What a newb maneuver, the dreaded double gasket. At first the idiot in me thought maybe I should just tighten the shit out of it and see what happens, but fortunately I decided to take it off and take a look first. Glad I did or I would have cleaned up a second oil spill...

Had the only one of my five dogs that actually likes hanging out with me in the garage at the time, I swear I heard her laughing. Anyway, I ran inside for a sec and whn I came out she was checkin out my progress...

 

By the look on her face, she's saying stay out of my truck....Jim

 

Looking good buddy... keep at it! How did u make out with exhaust tips?

 

I love this build.

 

Ha, she is a camera hamb, anytime the camera comes out she starts posin..

Nothing yet, I need to though...this weekend I am going to get the brakes done and then it will be bare bones drivable, strapping the doors closed and what not. I want to try and find a local place that can do it, since I live in teh country maybe I can just drive it there...that would be hilarious..

Why thank you sir.

So last night I made a boo-boo. I found out that my pass door problems have more to do with jacked hinges rather than my floor/pillar work. It fits in and lines up pretty good when just held in place, a little tight in the gap department but that it minor compared to what I was thinking was the problem.

Anyway, while the door was sitting on the running board leaning against the opening, I left to get something and it fell over right onto the front bumper and put a couple crease type dents in really bad spots. Pissed me off.

But I got the bottom of the door closed in, looks good. Just need to figure out if I am better off buying new hinges or what. Anyone have anything to say about the repro hinges from LMC or whatever?

 

Famous last words of the guy with a truck on the bottom of a lake.lol

 

Haa!

In Texas at least a working PB is required for state inspection. I suppose if it is registered as an antique a inspection isnt required, but I didnt even consider not using one.

 

I used a pair of repops on mine, they work well and fit right. Otherwise, get up with this guy.....http://talk.classicparts.com/member.php?u=8916, he has everything.

 

Gona be a great ride. You have come a long way Pilgrim .
Bill aka Tnomoldw

 

Funny you should say that, mine never had a parking brake of any kind fitted, nor blinkers or side markers, infact the only thing that worked on it was, lights and high and low beam lol

nothing else was wired up or even had any wiring or horn, wipers etc and mine is from Tx San Antonio

now in the UK and still doesnt have them lmao

Your truck is coming along great and love the clean lines of the firewall and engine bay, keep it coming as cant wait to see her running

 

Nice and clean,,,,

 

Appreciate the info

Thanks, and yes, I was looking back through the thread and cant believe all the things I have done, and how much there still is to do...

Funny. Mine didnt have any brake lines to the back, or a parking brake, anylights, and somehow I let the guy convince me it just needed a little work to be driveable, ha.

Thanks!

Appreciate it, I am sure we will run across each other once I get this thing driving...

 

GRRRAAAAAWWRRRRRR! As usual, a 30 minute job turned into an al day one, three trips to the parts house, and lots of brake fluid and degreaser to clean up brake fluid, and I made very little progress.

Turns out, i am not very good at double flaring. Tried to pressure bleed my brakes and pretty much anywhere it could leak it did. Wasted all day trying to reflare lines but it is a bitch when the body of the truck is in the way. I am so aggravated right now.....try again tomorrow...

 

Wow, i was told the exact same thing lol

funny what you get told and to the truth is sooo different

hope you get your lines sorted out too

Matt