1952 B3b with Cummins 4bt

[1952B3b23]

Haha.....its been a long day....that just hit me as funny.

 

Good job Chris.

 

48D

 

Thanks Tim. That gave me a good chuckle too, but its very true those corners are extra pointy.

 

-Chris

[Dave72dt]

Some of the  lessons I've learned involving vehicle repairs have come about as the direct result of some blood -letting.  That's one of them.

[1952B3b23]

I got a little bit of work done this weekend. Moved the cab back into position to see how things are looking for clearance with the firewall. Looks like ill have to recess the firewall to give more space for the last valve cover and the fuel line that runs behind there. It also looks like i will be able to keep the floor pretty flat, just a slight hump for the bell housing. I'll also have to recess the firewall for the turbo down pipe.

 

I also took some time today to fab up a patch panel for the gas tank filler hole in the side of the cab. Im going to run the new tank under the bed all the way at the rear of the frame so the hole isnt needed anymore. I used a small contour gauge so that i'd get the right shape for the patch and beat it out of 18 gauge on my leather sand bag from Eastwood. It came out decent for being my first time using a panel beater bag. Then i welded it up and smoothed the welds with a 120 grit flap disc. It still needs a little hammer and dollie work to be just right but its darn close. 

 

Thanks for looking,

 

-Chris  

[1952B3b23]

Here's some more pics of the gas tank filler hole piece.

 

-Chris

[1952B3b23]

Hey Guys,

 

Life has gotten in the way lately of working on the truck. Fortunately i was able to accomplish a little bit today. My brother and i removed the cab from the truck and laid it on its back. The cab is propped up under the rear lip so that the radius of the backside of the cab is not being flattened by the weight. That will allow me to do work on the bottom of the floor and replace the door jamb on the drivers side. I was able to fill one of the holes in the floor, its underneath where the bench seat goes. The patch came out alright. 

 

A few of the attached pics show other problem areas that i need to fix. The floor area where the driver and passenger put their feet needs to be replaced. As of right now it "oil cans" and has a few small rust through holes. The bottom of the cab at the rear also needs some help. The previous owner did some patch work and then filled the rest with body filler to make the contour of the back of the cab. Im sure ill discover some other stuff that needs help.

 

 

Thanks for reading,

 

-Chris 

[1952B3b23]

Here are a couple more pictures that wouldn't upload before. They show some of the metal i will replace.

 

-Chris 

[1952B3b23]

I was able to make a little progress this weekend. I patched the hole in the floor that once was for the gas tank filler neck (Pics 1,2,3). 

Next on the plate was the drivers side door jamb that was pretty well torn up and horribly "repaired" by the previous owner. I welded in a brace across the door opening prior to cutting the jamb out to make sure things stay put (Pic 4). Then chopped out the jamb and took some close up pics of its ugliness (Pics 5,6). I also made a paper template of the new jamb, it has a slight taper to it as it approaches the floor. The template is a little short but you get the idea (Pics 7,8). The last couple pics just show that general area and whats there. You can see a piece of the jamb that's still there. Its welded to the floor, i'll have to remove it at some point.

Thanks for looking,

-Chris

[HanksB3B]

Tricky Work...

 

Nice Job !

 

Hank 

[1952B3b23]

Tricky Work...

 

Nice Job !

 

Hank 

 

Thank you Hank. Yea this will be kind of tricky to rebuild. The truck has been surprising me with all of the hidden "repair jobs"  that the previous owner made. There is some terrible craftsman ship that that im trying to get rid of.

 

-Chris

[1952B3b23]

I got a new toy for the 4bt. I picked up a HX30W turbo from a guy on the diesel swaps forum. Supposedly it only has 15,000 miles on it and was brand new when he got it. This one will work a bit better than the baby H1C thats on there now. It'll help once i turn the motor up a bit. I've heard good things about them, so im hoping for the best. 

-Chris

[1952B3b23]

Hey Guys,

 

I have a small update finally. I haven't had any time to work on the truck lately because i was working on a '39 Plymouth Coupe i picked up back in July. Today i was able to get out to the shop for a few hours and work on the new drivers side door jamb. 

 

I've attached a few pics of it and it still needs some fine tuning before tacking it in. I will also need to cut in an opening for the lower door hinge to pass through.

 

It sure felt good to get back out there for a little bit and accomplish something.

 

Thanks for looking,

 

-Chris 

[1952B3b23]

Well i had a few hours today to work on the old girl. I decided that before doing any more work on the cab im going to get it blasted. With that said i worked on removing some stuff that needs to come off for blasting. The cabs loaded up with bondo and i dont feel like having to grind all that junk off in my garage. The same guy who blasts it is going to shoot it with primer once hes done. That'll keep the rust at bay while it sits around waiting for me to work on it.

 

So i got to removing the heater, wipers, e-brake assembly, and a few other miscellaneous things. I was happy to see that the heater core looks new. The previous owner must have had it rebuilt. As it looks to new to be original. The last thing to remove is the windshield glass and back window glass. I'll need to recruit a helper for that cause they're still in good shape and i don't want them to break trying to get them out. I've attached some pics for your viewing pleasure.

 

Question: Whats the best way to take the windshield and back glass out? I've never done this before so any advice is appreciated.

 

Thanks for lookin'

 

-Chris

[Merle Coggins]

If you are going to use new rubber when reinstalling the glass, then use a razor knife to cut the rubber molding around the outside. The goal is to cut off the lip that wraps up over the pinch weld so that you can easily push the whole thing inward and remove it.

 

Merle

[1952B3b23]

If you are going to use new rubber when reinstalling the glass, then use a razor knife to cut the rubber molding around the outside. The goal is to cut off the lip that wraps up over the pinch weld so that you can easily push the whole thing inward and remove it.

Merle

Yup it will certainly be getting new rubber when reinstalled. Thanks a lot for the help Merle. Hopefully I don't end up breaking any pieces, keeping my fingers crossed.

-Chris

[ggdad1951]

all the glass being flat glass ('cept the corners) getting new glass isn't a big expense if something does need replacement.

[1952B3b23]

all the glass being flat glass ('cept the corners) getting new glass isn't a big expense if something does need replacement.

Good to know, thanks.

-Chris

[1952B3b23]

Well i'm finally back to working on this thing, boy it's been awhile! Since i last posted i got my '39 Plymouth coupe (see my avatar) back on the road after buying it in July of 2014. That turned into way more of a project than i expected. But i learned a ton in the process and the new skills will help me on the truck.

The cab needs a lot of metal work  so i decided i'd start with the drivers side door jamb. I had removed the rusted out section a few years ago so i copied the passenger side jamb using the flexible shape pattern method. This method is something that was created by my friend and top notch metal shaper/coachbuilder Wray Schelin (check him out at proshaper.com). Using this method i was able to take the passenger side pattern and turn it inside out and i instantly had the pattern for the drivers side. I then used a combination of bead roller, hammers, dollies, chisels, and sand bag to form the jamb section. It still needs to be gone over one last time to tune up the surface and also to do the final fitment. For now i just clamped it up so i could get an idea of how it was looking.

Thanks for looking,

-Chris

[wayfarer]

Good to see that this project will continue!

[1952B3b23]

10 hours ago, wayfarer said:

Good to see that this project will continue!

Thanks. I'm actually glad I was working on a different project for all that time. I learned so much on the '39 and my skills have gotten better. So the work done on the truck will be much higher quality than what I was able to do back then. All I can do is get a bit done at a time and keep improving. 

-Chris 

[Steve-L]

 I just finished reading the entire thread. Thanks for the memory refreshed, more on that in a bit. Let me say you’re doing a great job. I’ve been planning a very similar similar project for my 38, for the same reasons. Seems everyone is stuffing small a block V-8 or LS variant these days.

Looking at your photos, reading about your trials. Brought back lots of memories of the time when I was 28 being drug away from the project for months at a time trying to balance work plus overtime to generate the funds for the project along with wife and family obligations. 

 I knew nothing about cars but bought a 1960 Austin Healey 3000 BT7. I went through everything you have with your project with the exception of this was pre-Internet I know! Right? Like way back in the dark ages *grin*. 

Anyway it took me two years to do a frame off, nut and bolt restoration.  I then drove it from Seattle to Snowmass Colorado for an international Austin Healey car show. Garnered a third place finish in my class. First and second going to professionally restored trailer queens. Just imagine trying to gather the information you get here by going to different garages mechanics and body and paint guys buying the oldest guy there or the entire shop, coffee and donuts, so you could ask them the questions you ask here. Simply boggles the mind. Once again you’re doing a great job I’m looking forward to your future updates.