Customs finishing off my 38 chevee project

up early to finish

 

made a bracket to mount the temp gauge approx. in its position ,leaving my hands free to route the capilliary tube.this is a spare gauge and not the reconditioned one I will be using with the extended tube.looks like theres plenty of room for everything

 

some switches and stuff arrived in the post,back from cry baby vintage hotrod show in france .freshly inspired to get the truck finished .it was very hot there but its very hot here as well hard to get into gear. got a nice compact hi beam indicator light and a resistor ordered to dim the light should it be too bright.pull switch can be wired to light the bulb in the knob or not depending on what its used for

 

fun stuff

 

h started on the dash again.gave the pull switches a trial run.i will be using one of them for a reversing light switch and the other for a rear fog light switch.the hazard switch has an illuminated knob as well.all 3 switches need a separate earth for the knob light to work.the dash has a few earth points .started cleaning the paint off and sanding the metal to remove any rust,coated with petroleum jelly..i used a piece of self adhesive rubber near the dash mounting bolts so I need to earth the dash to the body as well.either side where the dash bolts on I have an earth bolt ready to go.
I wanted a cigarette lighter to power the sat nav.i decided on a discrete one behind the dash on the passenger side.made up a bracket from some 3mm alloy angle.
because the pull switch were inclined to turn when I was tightening them up I cut two small strips of 3mm alloy and superglued them along side the switches.worked pretty well.dash to be continued tomorrow P.G
the dash stand is also working out very well.im screwing it to two timber hop-ups I have and its making for a steady work station.the hi-beam light also needs doing the easiest place to mount it is between the two pull switches but id like to mount it in the speedo face.

 

spent some time at the cigarette lighter today.painted up the pieces ,drilled out the spacer ,found some suitable bolts.bolted it together.the bracket is earthing well but must disassemble tomor and put some petroleum jelly on the bkt and tidy the wiring up.then do something with the hi-beam lite.

 

opened up the spare speedo.there was plenty of room for the hi-beam warning lite at 12 and six o clock .but decided to take the easier option of mounting it between the pull/push switches..1/ 14mm hole needed..disassembled the cigarette lighter bkt.removed some paint where needed and applied petroleum jelly to ensure a good earth.shortened the earth wire and crimped on a fitting warning lite is central even if it doesn't look it in the photo.cigarette lighter is strictly for accessories no smoking in my truck

 

just spotted that painless do a reversing light switch for 700r4.ill have one of those sometime soon.and a spare switch as a result

 

trying to finish all the small jobs by next weekend,there are quite a few to do.made a bkt to protect the temp probe .had 2 unused 3/8 mounts in the manifold.made 2 pillars to screw into these but drilled the studs and tapped them m5and locktited 2 m5 stainless studs in there,mow I could use small nuts to anchor the bkt cause space is tight around the throttle linkage.it l be mon at the earliest before I can get it alloy spot welded togetherand paint it up im considering a strong two-pac adhesive as well.that would guarantee I wont warp the bkt and could well be the way to go.when its sorted ill split the pipe along the length to get the probe in . made my mind up,ill go for the 2-pac and keep going ,finish up the bracket and stik it together on monday

 

pic of pillars-plenty of Loctite on the nut

 

used araldite to bond the pieces together,but used 2/ m4 screws to hold it together as well .etch primed and shot it with satin black.split the tube down the length.the probe at its narrowest is 2mm approx.split the tube using 2 /1mm discs in the grinder.i will plug the tube either end once the split doesn't line up with the split in the tube the probe will be trapped inside. .this has been dragging on possibily run the probe this w end .don't want to risk kinking the tube need another pair of hands to finish

 

my good friend mick knocked up the end caps View attachment 4356698 dis evening out of black nylon.delighted with how they turned out.line up the slots push in the pipe then twist the caps the pipe stays put.another coat of paint and were ready to go.

 

ran the probe from the temp gauge to the manifold it went painlessly.i tried to calculate the length required with a piece of flex,looked like I was 1ft over length.i cut a short piece of 1 1/4"pipe wrapped the probe around this twice and lost 10" in the process.in the end it was just about the correct length.coiling the tube at the back of the gauge took the strain off the tube where it came out of the gauge.in hindsight one coil would have done with another coil at the other end.top it up tomorrow hope it doesn't leak..wrapped some telflon tape on the lip at the probe.the pipe/bracket near the carb worked out well its not very noticeable exactly what I planned.just need to clip the tube to the firewall to finish

 

better too long than too short.

 

EXACTLY ! better to be looking at it than for it.

 

damn got a leak at the manifold.tightened it a bit.any tips on how to keep the probe sealed

 

did you use the correct fittings? the probe should seal itself against the flat inside the fitting.

 

used the correct fitting from jim carter.gave it another nip it seems to have dried up for the moment.

 

picked up some sound insulation this weekend and made a start on the passenger door.rubbed the paint with a fine scotchbrite pad wiped down with panel clean stayed back about 3/8" from the edges cause I had previously seam sealed the corners . purchased a box of 20/ 2mm sheets and the recommended roller.the roof of the cab is the noisiest panel in the cab,i tried out the lighest sheets because of the compound curves in the roof.as it turned out the sheets stuck very well and stretched to the shape very well. the 2mm sheets made a noticeable difference quieter and the extra weight on the door helps the lock shut better .need to finish insulating under dash area before the dash gets bolted back on

 

insulated the drivers door was a lot quicker second time round.then moved on to the roof section.the roof was very noisy.there is a brace on the roof running left to right.decided it had to come out for a look.it was tight to the roof and held in with 2 screws either side.expected it to put up a good fight.however I sprayed the screws with wd40.they were brass and came out easy.the brace wasn't stuck to the roof and that came away easy too phew.at one time there was a tar type substance holding the brace to the roof and damping out the vibrations.that was rock hard doing nothing.i sanded behind where the brace was washed it down and painted there with POR15.that will be well dry by tomorrow.the brace originallywas hollow and 3 screws held the roof liner up to it.im going to insulate roof leave the brace exposed paint it and run wires through it to a light.its a commercial vehicle after all not a sports car.looking forward to insulating the roof tomorrow.

 

spent a few hours at the roof of the cab.once I got a centre line down to work to, things got easier and quicker.ive used about half the box of 20 sheets .approx. 20"x14".plan is to do under the dash and cowl next and see how much more I need.

 

spent a half day at the cowl underdash.more than half done.all the lovely curves on the outside make for a slow job inside.of course theres wiring ,fuse box brake pedal,m/cylinder in the way.get there eventually,and surprisingly little to no waste so far .got to say im impressed with how effective the sound insulation is and I havnt driven it insulated yet

 

Looking good! I can't wait to see it in person!

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thanx nick,maybe next year

 

spent some time offering up the replacement glove box liner today.didnt fit as I expected.mounting holes didn't line up.decided to use m5 nuts and bolts instead of the supplied screws.due to a miscalculation on my part im caught for room behind the box.hope to bring the back forward and trim a little off .its rained a lot here lately.ive discovered the cardboard/fibreboard material doesn't like the damp weather so when ive finished modifications ill give the outside a coat of spray paint.theres still loads of room inside enough for a sat nav a map a notebook and a packet of mints.

 

wrapped up the speedo today.the plastic windows were perished and brittle /broken.new windows broke going in.in hindsight I should have heated them to soften them.today cut a piece of be cool packaging into windows.worked a treat.as good if not better than the originals.they sprung into place and a dot of superglue will keep them there.there was some dates on the back of the face.1-19-48, 2-11-56 and 27-7 2015 the last time I worked on it and added todays date 12-8-2019 for posterity

 

assembled and ready for road

 

after mounting up the dash I could check the clearance between the tongue on the windscreen adjuster and the new led hi-beam warning light.i thought it would be close but there is about 1/4 "clearance .a false alarm,but I think I could have shaved at least another 3/16 from the back corner of the light if I had to (phew).and theres no need to trim the back of the glove box either

 

moved on to something different.rewiring the taillights ,doing a discrete /hidden route .sprayed up two pieces of alum 6/8 mm pipe to route the wire through.wire is 6.2 mm filed out the bore a little

 

taking pictures but cant upload at the moment