I've slowly been making progress with the wiring. I have the headlights, parking lights, turn signals, fog lights and horn wired and loomed. I've also ran the wires for the rear lights but nothing is hooked up. Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
So I started playing around with mounting the taillights and this is what I came up with. Please excuse the clutter; the frame rails are performing duty as a work bench staging area for everything that needs to be installed still. I plan on using carriage bolts to attach the bracket to the frame rail. One other question for you guys, I need to buy glass and don't have any for patterns. I found seller on ebay that sells the complete glass kit and offers it in clear, green tint or smoke tint. Should I get the clear or tinted variety?
Wiring looks nice and neat, I like the tail lights! The temporary work bench is typical and looks convenient! Maybe you can get samples of the glass, it's just your preference. The AC should work good with any choice, a light gray tint would look good.
Thanks Johnboy. I think you're right on the glass, I guess clear would've been stock but the smoked would look good. So today I fit the wood to the flatbed and man does it look good. I sourced all of the wood, skid strips and bolts from Horkey's and let me tell you, I am impressed. That guy knows what he is doing. Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
The wood is going to look nice, wow! You should get a sample of the glass tint, too dark can be too much. A sample will let you know how you will like it in the dark, very different than in the sun. You're probably already going to do this but I would recommend rounding the corners of the angle iron bolted to the frame for the taillight bracket, matching the rounded corners on the bracket. Kinda like this. Sorry about my drawing .
That's a great idea about rounding the corners on the tail light brackets. I had not thought of that. Thank you. Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
I'm still plugging away on the F4. I took some measurements of the flatbed for some side rails last weekend and made more progress on the wiring. I have the instrument panel, ignition switch and AC/heater all wired up. There just isn't much room under the dash and I feel like a contortionist trying to get everything connected! I've also come to the conclusion that it is near impossible to make wiring neat under the dash no matter how hard I try. Oh well. Do the best you can with ya got.
With the exception of mounting and connecting the tail lights (my garage door won't close with the tail lights mounted) the wiring is done! Good gravy that's a tedious job. I did a quick test to see what would happen if the battery was connected; the fog lights work, the dome lights work and the low beams work. I need to put some gas in the tank before I try to start it. Here are a few pics. Sorry it's so hard to make out what you're looking at. Gauge cluster Left cowl Center with wiper motor Top of evaporator Fuse panel and such. Dash pic Ground panel and wires coming out of cab Looking top down of above picture Alternator and wiring for temp sensor and such Ignition and AC wiring Starter solenoid mounted to battery tray Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
Thanks LowKat. The sheathing is Painless Wiring's Classic Braid. The kit comes with everything you need; various sizes of sheathing, tape, zip ties and a bunch of patience. Haha Sent from my iPhone using H.A.M.B.
Clean, professional and right. Just thinking earlier today that its about time for you to take that truck on the road. Soon?
Looks good Dave! Wiring is my favorite part 'cause it means the end is in sight. The big, heavy, dirty, greasy rebuilding stuff is done, welding done, lotsa shiny parts, not long before the vroom vroom sounds come from the builder. (Don't lie, you know we all do it). One thing though, only one wrong connection will let the smoke out of the wire and its a bitch to get it back in there. All that b.s. aside, when you gonna be making the inaugural beer run?
Thanks Osage and Eli. The end is near and I'm getting anxious! But there's still so much to do. The next big thing is the bed. I need to fit it to the chassis, have the bed powder coated and stain/seal the wood. I need to get the door mechanisms installed; windows, door latches, etc. Do any of you know the order in which to install all of the door innards? I need to order and install the glass. The front bumper needs its dents removed and then painted. Yeah, just a bunch of tasks. Sent from my iPhone using H.A.M.B.
The wiring looks nice and tidy! So does the rest of what you've done to that truck since you started on it. Are you still doing this for someone else or maybe I missed it and it's yours now? I know I would like to have it! I would recommend the door latches first, then the glass hardware and glass.
Thanks Johnboy. Yes, the truck belongs to someone else but I've treated it like it was my own. I'm anxious to finish it but will be sad to see it go. Hopefully the owner will let me take it to a few car shows. Thanks for the tip on the door innards! There are a lot of parts that go in the doors and I didn't take any of the original parts out so I'm trying to figure out how it all goes back in. Sent from my iPhone using H.A.M.B.
As for the door innards, put the division bar in loose, you'll have to adjust it when you put the door glass in. Plus it gives you a starting point for the window channel/felt. If you're installing new wind wing glass you may encounter issues where the edge of the glass comes too close to the top hinge. I had to notch the glass about 1/8" deep and maybe 1/4" on my '51 F1.
Thanks HOTFR8. I've been plugging away slowly but the last couple of months have been crazy with job and family. Sent from my iPhone using H.A.M.B.
Worked on the vent window frames yesterday. I sandblasted the frames and then painted them. I need to polish the various shiny bits and then put them back together. Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
Lucky your could be saved. I had to get new ones made as mine had rusted out. Painted mine the same color as the truck.
Hey HOTFR8, I had to buy these vent windows as well. I didn't take this truck apart originally and I have no idea what happened to the original vent windows. These are in decent shape, definitely savable. On a different topic, I need to polish the hood side spears and vent window handles but I've never polished anything before. I'm not even sure what to buy. Do any of you guys have any words of wisdom to share on polishing?
The parts you have should clean up OK. They are the only parts I reused when we had to make new frames.
With some time spent on them they should clean up very well. Mine looked the same but cleaned up very well. You may be surprised just how good they can clean up.
I received some parts back from Ogden Chrome yesterday and I tell you what, those guys do a great job. If you compare the parts from the "before" picture in post 802 above and the one below to the "after" shot at the bottom of this post....well let's just say I'm impressed. Before After
This weekend I hope to fit the flatbed to the truck before I get it powder coated. In preparation for that I needed to remove everything I've been storing on the back of the truck and I also wanted to clean the frame because it had a lot of dust on it from when I removed the bondo from the hood. I took the tires off in order to clean the drums. Man those tires are heavy!! Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
I've been following your thread since few year, its gonna be an awesome truck! Thanks for sharing! Sent from my iPhone using H.A.M.B.
The Jalopy Journal
