You're not alone, Tom. I installed a Weedeater bolt in rear suspension kit in my 41 pickup this winter, nice kit, happy with that (Dale was most helpful too). But upon initial mock up my axel looked like your's, too far back, unacceptable. I ended up drill new holes 1 inch back in both the axel saddles and lower plates, which worked perfect. Now the axel is near perfectly centered above that little box support bracket above the fender. Pleases the eye! Good luck.
I appreciate the comment. I bought stuff from Dale a long time ago - he had a dual exhaust kit for a sbc in a 40 ford. Anyway, I really don’t think all kits out there can satisfy everyone. My CE setup would be great if I didn’t need the 8 degree shim. It’s just that there are no two alike ….
Just a quick update - Carlisle is over and the one bay in the shop is now empty to work on the hood and second front fender. My ps pump was leaking like a sieve so I ordered a new one which should be in tomorrow. We have company in town for the next week or so - garage tine will be at a minimum .
My company has now gone but I did get some help from them while here. The new power steering pump is now installed (and not leaking) with some needed help from them, my hood had a slight downward belly in it they helped me fix, and I got the truck turned around with their help and car dollies …. Believe me when I say I could not have done it on my own and even with three of us it wasn’t easy. Having it this way leaves plenty of room to install the front end now. But, she’s back up on the wooden stands now and I will pick up where I left off, rear end placement and ordering a driveshaft …. although still on the rollers, you get an idea of the stance. We’ll see how it is after the rear is set ……
I finally got the rear wheels centered in the wheel wells. 3rd time was a charm in this case. I started with …. I had my friend cut a 1/2” steel lowering block the same size as the shim and weld it to the shim. The center hole of the shim was set with the head of a spring bolt which would go up into the center hole of the axle perch. Then, after a bit of math that I had to dust off the cobwebs to get my brain working, I had a hole drilled 1 1/16” further back than where the center hole would be on the underside of the lowering block. The lowering block was needed to provide enough meat for the head of the bolt that goes through the spring and locates the axle pad on the spring. The 1 1/16” worked perfectly to center the tire in the wheel well opening. I got this far and I was feeling pretty good about things until I tried to put the ubolts through the bottom plate. That did not work too well and certainly did not look right. I had to drill a corresponding hole 1 1/16” back from the original center hole so everything would seat as planned …. Once that was done I got the ubolts bolted in and set it down on all 4s. Originally the wheel and tire looked like this … But now they look just right …. I had to shim the shock mounts a bit to allow for shock removal (of which I got a little creative) - the upper mount needed to move forward, the lower towards the back 1/4” for both. The sway bar strut rods (?) also were at a severe angle with the suspension hanging. But once down on all 4s they ended up being only at a 10 degree angle going forward and they look to be ok that way ….. The helper springs also moved further forward by the same 1 1/4” amount which seems to have made them even better by flattening the spring out even more - so that was a good thing. All in all, this took awhile to get through especially with visits from family and friends but it is very satisfying to see this finished. A big thank you goes out to my buddy Koppy for the precision machining and heavy welding work …. Now - on to the next hurdle …..
Glad you fixed it. If you’re like me, it would have bothered you every time you approached the truck. Looks great now!
Looks great now. Fixing it now was the right thing - if you left it, it would bugged you every time you looked at the truck forever.
Driveshaft is in the works - the driveshaft shop is 2+ hours away round trip but it was a great ride with n the coupe to order it. I also installed the new MSD wires with the limited time I had today. Progress is progress regardless of how small ….
Been chipping away at smalls today with about 5 hours of garage time available- column is all wired up, I worked a bit on the rear fender that was repaired and needs some body work done to it, and I had to repair the door check arm tabs that come out on the front door post passenger side. I knew the tabs or tongs where the door check strap connects weren’t there awhile ago. I was just going to use door check straps like on Model As. But I got to thinking about it today and decided to see if I could find a repop piece but they do not make one. So, I decided to make my own. My only problem would be not being able to weld it in place due to everything being painted. But, it’s a truck so I decided to just bolt it in place …. Everything was there except the tabs which I made up and welded things together using 14 gauge which seemed to be what the passenger side was. The original tabs were actually two plates with the tabs made and bent at a 90 degree angle to poke through the door jamb. I just made the tabs a bit longer and cut another plate for a mounting surface that just covered over the old. I used a bolt with a nut in between to line up the tabs and welded them in place. I painted the repair piece with self etching primer and bolted things in place ….. I touched the heads of the bolts up and the tabs with paint and voila - it was done. I just like having the door check arms vs the straps - the arms are on order. I still had some garage time so I started prepping the rear fender crack repair by making a first pass at knocking down and cleaning up the bondo surrounding the repair …. I have a bit more to clean up before starting to smooth things out but it’s a good start. I need to find something flexible to wrap sandpaper on when sanding the newly applied bondo. The fender curve there will be hard to get right without it …. A good day ….
I've used the sanding sponge Home Depot and I'm sure others sell. Flexible comes in different grits, and/or cut a regular sheet with your preferred grit and wrap around it to use as a sanding block.
Worked on in cab electricals and it should be all done (save for what does not work - lol!) and got on the fender repair again. Here it is after the first pass …. …. and after the second with some primer to see imperfections…. There were some imperfections and a light third coat has been applied and I will be back on it tomorrow …. Btw - the sanding sponge worked out great!
Finished the rear fender today and I also repaired a crack in the driver so de cab corner. The cab was done almost 15 years ago now remember, by my good friend who has since passed on. I imagine that I might see other areas needing attention from time to time …. I could have gone a lot more on this one I think - I just stayed with what would come off easily and cleaned and addressed the metal before applying the UPol bondo - that stuff is great. Hardens right up and sands very easily - it even makes me look good!
I did get to do some work on the project yesterday. I had not wired up my neutral safety switch so I took care of that. I had taken the shifter out as it’s a lot easier working inside the cab without it along with no steering wheel and column. Anyway, what should have been a simple thing, turned into 4 hours. I had raised the tranny at one point to reduce its downward pointing at the tail shaft. That made the Lokar shift arm run into the frame rail …. So I marked the frame rail where it needed to be trimmed. I had to be real careful as there is a brake line underneath and just enough out of the way to make the cut. Getting in there to make the cuts was a bit of a Houdini act. I ended up using a small air cutoff wheel that just allowed enough room for the device to get in there and the small cut off wheel. Since the cut was so close to the brake line I then ground things down until I had it shaved enough. Each time I tested it for clearance I had to install the shifter, connect everything, try it and then take it apart and remove it. I also had to cover things up with towels and such for sparks. After about 5 tries, I had it so it would pass and still left the brake line untouched…. once that was done I installed the shifter and tested for voltage on the two neural safety switch posts. In park and neutral I had nothing which is as it should be because there’s no connectivity, and around 12 volts for all the other shifter positions. Another piece of project mischief has been managed …..
Seems the neutral switch should be closed (continuity on ohm meter) in neutral and park only, the switch should be open in reverse and all drive positions. Just checking to be sure that what you were saying in the prior post?
I am not up on these shifters ( last auto shifter and neutral safety switches, etc, etc I installed were from a mid 60s Chevy column) but I did do some research. Sorry my explanations may not be too clear but I understand what I need to see - neutral and park should be closed (a 0 reading as the start key/button regulates when and for how long current flows to the starter) while all other shift selections are open and therefore there should be a reading … Thanks for checking up on me …..
Got my driveshaft the other day and I finally had a chance to install it. It fits! Lol! But I did check my measurements multiple times to be sure. I am going over everything underneath, checking that I have everything wired up right (there’s way more wiring in this build than I have done in a long time), and any loose wiring for the headlights and stuff are up and out of the way. I am hoping for a fire up soon but I need another set of eyes to check things over. I was a computer programmer way back when and one thing I learned - it’s not a good thing to check your own work. Always have another pair of eyes on your work to be sure. The only smoke I want to see is just what comes out of the exhaust pipes …..
Amen to that my ford truck brotha! I was working on my OT dune buggy the other day, gas gauge reading empty on a full tank, I pulled the sender wire and grounded it. The gauge went to full but the cluster filled with smoke moments later. At least the magic smoke didn't get away, its still in there. Hopefully it goes back into where ever it came from. Starting to wonder if it was a 6 volt VW gauge. Oh well. they are easy to push
Well, we tried a startup of the motor but we ran into a few snags and then ran out a time. But, we are ready for round two when it happens. I also found out that the battery setup makes spark plug changing on that side a pain in the butt even without the fenders on. Better to learn now so I will move the battery to the box I have lined up to install in the truck bed. That will make thinks a lot easier. Ya live and learn …. I did get to a few other things in the last couple days: I programed the Lokar auto shift indicator led light setup so that was good, found a suitable shifter plate/surround that I will have to make the boot for, we have tail lights, instrument lights, brake lights, backup lights, interior lights both under the dash and in the above console, blower motors for both the heat/def setup and the AC work, the mode switch for heat to defrost and back works, fuel pump works, snd that’s about all I can test for the moment. When round two happens on startup I hope to have a video for y’all ….
So I had some me limited garage time today and tried to make the most of it. First, I finished up my door checks. In the door there had been a rectangular rubber piece attached to the inside of the door where the arm goes through. They were both long gone and I had nothing around to make it out of. What I did find were a second set of the round rubber pieces that were a bit stiffer than what came with the door check arms. Using both the ones I found and what came with the arms proved to work pretty well. I am using a 62 Impala steering wheel and my column was a swap meet find and there were no markings on it to tell me who made it. After searching around a bit, the steering wheel end looked most like an iDidit column. I found a nice youtube that showed how to adapt an older steering wheel. I had all the needed parts in my stash so I was good to go and that’s now done. For my front park and signal lights I am using the commercial glass cover on top of the headlight rim and I am in the process of installing the park and turn signal light adapter kit from Drake. I am not a fan of the amber lights that came with it and substituted some clear bulbs instead. Since I am trying to make the whole nose easily removable one-piece unit I am doing all the wiring from the firewall to either of the inner fender panels with trailer light wiring connectors of various sizes to keep things simple. We’ll see how that works out. I try to keep moving forward ….
I have turn signals within my headlight reflectors. I didn't like the amber bulb showing through the lens. I did an internet search and found 1157 amber bulb with a shiny silver coating like state trooper sun glasses. They don't show when turned off, but glow amber when flashing or when park lights are on. Like these: https://www.rickscamaros.com/bulbs-...sLiSJSH61lpS4dopJD6_gynAovAX53bhoCnEUQAvD_BwE
I will be off the board for awhile while I take care of some family business and it’s all good stuff …. catch up with y’all when I get back …..
...........I always save those rubber spacers from the "spear" end of shock absorbers. They work great as door check rubbers. Just the right level of hardness and give.
Been back since July 4th and have been spending as much time on the truck as possible. I have mainly been working on the bed box which has been a saga just like anything else in hot rods at times. My first issue was where to put the battery inside the box and how were the cables going to run. I got a rather large one with plenty of cranking amps. I insulated/sound deadened it first … I didn’t want the lower lip of the metal touching the wood especially with jokeying it around as much as I would be doing so I used some 1/2 x 1 1/2” oak strips place them so the battery box would mount through two of them …. I usually carry a small aluminum floor jack so I selected a location for it ….. To keep it in place a built a “cradle” that would hold it in place and bolt through it, the box, and the floor so keep things from banging around … I started off with bolts I had from attaching the wood bed but they ended up just a bit too small. What the longer bolts things worked out well save for the 3 bolts that hold the cradle down. With those 3 being longer things worked out ok after that. Once all the fabricating was all done I cleaned up the box, did body work on a couple of spots, primed it and had the wife pick out a color. She selected a Smokey grey but it only came in gloss which we both did not like. I then thought of satin clear over top and we both liked that …. My latches finally came in yesterday and once the paint was dry, I installed them last night and installed everything this morning. However, there was something on the top of the trunk - something that made the paint bubble. I scraped the whole top down and repainted it and recleared everything …. While under there however I detected a gas smell. iohnrodz came over the other day to try starting the truck. Everything in the distributor was set perfect but she would not fire. I have changed everything in it to all new items and bench tested it but the spark color was only yellow, not electric blue. I have ordered a brand new one. There is also another problem however. Every since johnrodz was here, I have smelled gas. While under the truck installing the bed box I noticed that I have a leak and it is in the worst possible place - on top of the gas tank. That means removing the one bed board and the box will also have to home out prior to that. Just another road block that will have to wait a bit since we are going camping starting mid next week for a couple weeks. Oh well, all I can say is that I hope I get all the bugs worked out now instead of when it’s on the road ….. I do like the box though and more importantly, so does the wife!
The Jalopy Journal
