Winter without a project?

[GB SISSON]

The propeller shaft was a great help! Couldn't find my square of copper. Some of this running board's surface looked like the surface of the moon. The polyurethane 'bondo' worked well on the driver side running board, and should do as well on the passenger side now that most of the holes were welded shut. My trucks reside in sheds and don't often get driven in the rain. I use my disposable chevies for that duty. As a kid living in New England I used a lot of bondo to repair rust in door bottoms just to continue driving in the salt the next day. I would drive the rust in with a ball peen hammer, smooth on the goop, sand it off... You know the drill. Couple weeks later the blisters rear their ugly heads...... I do have quite a bit of faith in my process of knotted cup brush, grinder, heavy brush on rustoleum rusty metal primer, sikaflex, sand flush, more of the primer and finally brush on a load of satin black with a bit of sand through. In re-reading this, maybe I shoulda made another set of wooden ones. Let's see how these hold up. A good chance they will still look the same when I'm six feet under

 

[sugarmaker]

Gary,
Happy Easter.
Reading your post on the work you do to preserve the running boards! Yes sounds like they will last a VERY long time!!
Was thinking of you when I was checking kingpins in my 32.
No I dont plan on doing anything with them!
Your going to have this truck ready for summer events! Great following along with your progress too. Thanks for taking the time to post the updates. I look forward to them!
I am not a wood worker but enjoy your projects such as the doors! And the small chair.C
Regards,
Chris

 

[GB SISSON]

Got the running boards installed this weekend. Bigger job than I anticipated. I was able to repair the lower front of both rear fenders. They were pretty good but had some cracks to weld up. The running boards were almost 'throw aways', but as previously stated they are as rare as hen's teeth (or tonner rear fenders). I used a combination of 1/4" steel rod and 1/8 x 1 1/4 steel strap to rebuild the running board's ends. Lots of welding of rust pits, then the priming and filling of many large pits with the sikaflex polyurethane. After priming I brought the parts up to the living room for the sikaflex application. My wife was on a 24 hr shift so I was in the clear. I tried a couple of home made devices to evenly spread the sticky goo over the rust pits, but settled on my wife's brand new silicone bladed window squeege. 7" blade, nice handle. A thing of beauty. Stuff went on like cream cheese. Up and over the ribs when I had to was a challenge, but most damage was on the flat. Immediately upon completion I went straight to amazon and ordered a 2 pack of the same 9 dollar window tools. Now I have a backup. In closing, let me be the first to say these 'boards were not repaired in an approved manner, but are an experiment. They are a simple bolt on part and if I should happen upon a nice set I will swoop down upon them with outstretched arms!

 

[tubman]

Those look fine to me.

 

[petehoovie]

In closing, let me be the first to say these 'boards were not repaired in an approved manner, but are an experiment. They are a simple bolt on part and if I should happen upon a nice set I will swoop down upon them with outstretched arms!

 

[GB SISSON]

Thank you Pete. I just can't see spending 20,000.00 in body work on an old one ton truck that would bring 10,000.00 (on a good day)to my heirs upon my demise. I just like driving around, hauling stuff, towing stuff and having some good old fashioned fun. (On a good day) !!!

 

[cmbrucew]

Gary
Those boards look good from so. Cal.


Bruce

 

[GB SISSON]

Flat black Matters!

 

[GB SISSON]

Any flat paint hides a multitude of sins. Tonight I got back from a jobsite and the red shop was bathed in a rare spring sunshine so I dug in and finalized my last running board issues. Next is attend to a couple of issues like manifold gaskets while they are at eye level and no fenders in the way.... Then it's assemble the front clip and get this old jalopy in one piece. Weather forecast looks good to go to county seat in Friday Harbor on Friday. We can take the 'YOM '47 plate to the DMV there and get it registered. It will need bed wood and lots more, but that kind of stuff is stacked all around the ten acres, along with a bunch of jailbar hoods etc, etc.

 

[cas3]

Looks good ! thanks for the update

 

[GB SISSON]

It has been a cold, rainy spring, if one could even call this a spring. I have been totally swamped with work in the shop and combine these two factors and my normal fun in the sun after work has taken a back seat. Not to worry, I am never deterred for too long. Old Green is still not licensed but we went for an extended drive on the dirt roads around here this afternoon. So now it's time to get some front sheet metal on. After reading about Kube always installing the hood first, it made a lot of sense to me. So today I found the hood has a couple of problems. I knew the center spear was missing, but I found a mount for the driver's side hinge was cracked off and missing. I dragged my worst looking of 5 hoods up from the lower yard as it had a good mount. Tomorrow The sun is supposed to return so gonna take most of the day off and weld the mount onto my hood. As for that center spear I actually need two, so I had one to copy. Make sure you bring a magnet to 'Gary's Used Truck Lot'. Or not.

 

[petehoovie]

 

[cas3]

you tricky devil you !!!

 

[GB SISSON]

Finally a Sring weekend. After I repaired the hood I got the rest of the wood crossmembers in the bed. Seems every one is a different species. Used a pnuematic needle scaler to clean the angle and bed sides and unloaded a can of ospho down the joint. Next morning a tube of marine polyurethane sikaflex down each side, nice and deeplike into the bedside/floor angle seam. Now for bedwood. Have some good solid douglas fir floor joists with some weathering on them, so as not to spoil my image. Next week I will fit them to the bedsides around the fenders. I have new looking 8' bed strips that came with a parts truck many years back. My folks were both Yankees from many generations in SE Massachusetts where they said 'Use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without'. Amen

 

[petehoovie]

 

[GB SISSON]

Been doing some welding and patching on the door bottoms and finding more old boards that will look right for the bed wood. I have 2 almost pristine green doors but this old beater is just fine with some repaired ones. If I end up keeping it band loving it, I will just drive out the hinge pins and swap them out. These both have good hardware and the ignition key fits the right door and I really like that. Time will tell. Easy retrofit some day. In the mean time experimenting some more with the marine poly adhesive sika flex and working on my match for the truck's patina. The old red 226 six has really come to life with more running, MMO and some sea foam. Most of what I thought was carb and ignition tured out to be a hung up intake valve. It was intermittent. And as so often happens, it was overlapped with plug fouling from too much MMO. I am really surprised to find in some fairly definative testing that the brand new NGK plugs fouled early and so I replaced them one at a time with used champion H 10s and AC 45s or Autolites, but a mismatch and for the first time in over a month it once again runs like it did on my run stand.... Like a watch. Next is the milling of the bed wood for the stack of strips I have been hoarding. They have the round holes made for the serrated neck carraige bolts. They would be 1/4-20s. I have two so I know they work. What's a good source for these? Thanks, GB

 

[GB SISSON]

Found the other pics.

 

[petehoovie]

Found the other pics.

 

[Tinker]

Great stuff!

 

[sugarmaker]

Gary,
Wonderful documentation of the progress on your winter tuck project!
The wood in the bed floor looks just right too.
I did not realize that the one spear is non metalic! I like that!
Regards,
Chris