fireguyfire

Hi gents; I’ve got the windshield frame removed from my 1940 1/2 ton, and I’m going to disassemble it, so a bit of metal work, paint the frame and replace the glass. The screws in the frame that hold the trim that holds the glass are super seized; I’ve been soaking them and have tried a bit of heat but the flathead screw slots are starting to distort and I haven’t looked a screw yet. im sure this is common, and there are people on here that have faced this same job in the past, so I’d love to hear some tips on how to go about this. is drilling the screw heads out to get the frame and trim apart the best solution, and then deal with the screw shafts after?

So I bought some 8/4 red oak and got busy in my wood shop and made the crossmember. For now I just added scrap 4/4 oak and tge box to crossmember bolts as temporary spacers to represent the deck boards, and it’s great to have a rock solid box that’s not all askew on the frame as my wood has been rotted and gone for a long time.

That’s good to know as I also have an Uber rare 1958 Fargo Sweptside that I will need to completely rebuild the box floor for as well

Thanks! The photos are very helpful

Thanks for the reply and pics PT. Do you have a photo of how the longer one goes at the tailgate end of your bed?

I’m now ready to bolt the box to the freshly painted frame of my 1940 1/2 ton truck. When I bought the truck there was zero wood left other than a couple of 2x4’s slide in from side to side in the lower box channel so that the box could kind of sit on the frame; I am now ready to bolt the box to the frame like it was from the factory. so it looks like the lower box channel on each side of the box takes 1 1/2” material perfectly, and I also noticed there are 4 pairs of bolts on the frame from front to back of the box that would bolt the box to the frame. My questions are, what width of wood was used across the box to bolt through to connect the box to the frame? (2x4, 2x6?). would you guys recommend going with pressure treated wood on these cross boards? And finally, each of my box to connector bolts has a rubber pad still on it between the washers (again all of my wood is long gone); I’m assuming these rubber pads would go between the wooden box cross members and the frame when bolted together? I’ll deal with the longer box floor boards later, but any help you guys can give about the wooden box frame boards would be appreciated!

Good to know!

Thanks gents; I’ll go a bit flatter with a semi gloss being that my truck is a worn survivor.

Anyone?

I’ve got to pull the windshield frame out of my 1940 1/2 ton and do some metal repair in the lower passenger side corner, as well as replace the glass. The paint is gone from my frame, but it is solid. My truck is deep blue, including the fenders and my question is, what colour would my windshield frame likely have been from new; the same deep blue as the body, or black? I seem to remember reading somewhere that they painted all of the windshield frames black before installing on any colour of truck, but I might be mistaken.

What was the original intention of having the parking lights on top of the headlight buckets in 1940? were they a running light?

And correct on the marker lights on top of the headlight buckets on my truck

Do you happen to have a few hoot 49 wraith? And what did you do for signal lights at the rear of the truck?

Thanks for the info Merle! im torn whether I should be welding up the holes in the roof, or reusing them. I’m not a huge fan of having the signal lights on the roof, as it makes the truck have a construction feel but I’m trying to see what other options are out there other than the roof, such as what Merle did.

I’m continuing sorting out my 1940 half ton and I’ve got a question regarding what I should do for signal lights. The signal lights are missing on my truck, but you can see where the aftermarket signal lever was clamped to the steering column at some point, and there is also the usual 2 holes in the roof for where the aftermarket signal lights mounted on the roof. im trying to figure out what my options might be as far as signal lights go, and am open to suggestions. How did you guys and gals go about adding signal lights to your old flathead truck?

Thanks!

I’m cleaning up the frame on my 1940 1/2 ton and noticed that the wood in the front cab to frame mounting points is 90% rotted and gone, and the metal part of the base of the cab is sitting down directly on the frame. I’ve got some nice 1/4 sawn oak timber scraps that I’m thinking will make ideal replacements. Does someone know the dimensions of the wood pieces that are part of the front mounting points, or have a photo of what they should look like when not rotted away?

Very helpful, thanks. im happy to say I installed them correctly

I’ve got brand new lower inner door seal rubber and clips for my 1940 1/2 ton. As usual there is nothing left of the original seals other than the holes in the bottom of the door that the clips go into. The new rubber is flat, with a hook on the one side all the way down. I’ve studied it and can convince myself that it could be installed one way, or 180 degrees from that way, and both could work. Im hoping someone would be kind enough to post up a photo of the rear door seals which shows how they should be orientated.

I think you have got it right! The carb off of my original (seized) engine is long gone. I’ve sourced a good running 1942 flathead that apparently came out of a grain truck. The carb and distributor on the replacement 42 engine do not have vacuum advance. I assumed because of this, and that both of my later flatheads do have vacuum advance that it was a later addition. So I just went out in the snow and had a look aren’t my 1940 original seized engine, and the distributor is there, and it does have a vacuum diaphragm on the side, so the carb would have had the vacuum port if it was still there. So I believe you are correct that tge 1/2 tons and probably the 3/4’s got vacuum advance, and the bigger trucks didn’t.

That is correct, but it also means the carb has a vacuum port at the base which is missing on the non VA carbs so they are linked.

All 3 are Canadian trucks, the 40,58 and 59 are 25” blocks

So I’ve got the rebuild kit for my Carter BB carb from my 1940 flathead 6; about as simple a carb as the is being single barrel, manual choke and no vacuum advance. I’ve got a 58 and a 58 Fargo 1/2 ton parts trucks here, both with flathead 6 engines in them. They are both Carter BB’s as well, but have more “modern” features being 18 years newer. So I’ve been torn between rebuilding one of the later carbs with vacuum advance, and installing it on the 40 engine, which would mean I would have to swap the distributor as well for the vacuum diaphragm. So my questions are, is there much benefit from going away from the factory setup to the later vacuum advance setup, and if so, would the later distributor bolt right in to the earlier engine? Also wanted to say thanks to everyone for all of the great info, and to wish everyone here a safe and merry Xmas, and a happy new year!

Which book are you referring to?

Hard to capture in a photo, but hopefully this will help