Todd B Posted April 14, 2014 Report Posted April 14, 2014 I am surprised they allow bikes next to the vehichles, I would be a bundle of nerves. Awesome 4x4 woody!!! Quote
Charles Furman Posted April 14, 2014 Author Report Posted April 14, 2014 Todd, They make people walk their bikes in the area where the cars are displayed which is good. It still gets crazy sometimes when people want to sit on or in your car to take pictures or let their kids run wild around them. If a parent asks nicely and seems responsible, I will often let their kid sit behind the steering wheel. I think it's my way of trying to generate some interest in vintage cars with the younger generation. A lot of us in the woodie world have started to talk about what the future of this hobby will look like without the next generation talking over. In 10-20 years there may only be 1980's-1990's Honda car shows. I guess this could be a topic for another full thread. Quote
Charles Furman Posted April 14, 2014 Author Report Posted April 14, 2014 4-13-14 Update The truck was up on the rack so I got to take a couple of pictures from below. Today the rear-end will be going in and most of the wiring, brake lines and fuel lines are roughed in. The fuel tank is now complete and will get painted today. Quote
HanksB3B Posted April 16, 2014 Report Posted April 16, 2014 Charles, That differential sure looks sweet to me,. What is it ? Thanks, Hank Quote
Charles Furman Posted April 16, 2014 Author Report Posted April 16, 2014 The entire rear-end is made by Currie Enterprises in Corona, CA and it has a ratio of 3.70. Quote
pflaming Posted April 17, 2014 Report Posted April 17, 2014 (edited) Dang, the price of that would buy a lot of grass (hay)! Will you leave it silver? Edited April 17, 2014 by pflaming Quote
Charles Furman Posted April 17, 2014 Author Report Posted April 17, 2014 pflaming ..... I see you are from Reedley, CA so I don't think it is necessary to clarify that grass = (hay). Now, if you were from Oregon or Colorado it might be a different story. To answer your question, the rear-end housing will be painted the same semi-gloss black as the frame, gas tank, suspension components, etc. I have intentionally stayed away from chrome and polished parts as much as possible. In fact, the only parts that are polished or chrome are ones that gave me no option. When I originally restored this truck many years ago, I stayed with black bumpers, blackwall tires, etc. to try to maintain the commercial character of the truck's roots. These truck chassis woodies were purchased as mini-buses for boarding schools, shuttle vehicles for resorts and hotels, and other commercial uses. They rarely had upgraded features. In this new upgrade, I am trying to do all I can to preserve the original look inside and out. I am even going with a super quiet exhaust system to eliminate the rumble of a 345 h.p. "Hemi" motor. 2 Quote
Todd B Posted April 17, 2014 Report Posted April 17, 2014 Charles, You are doing an amazing job on this truck!!! I am one for loud pipes on everything I own right down to my dad's John Deer B I inherited. If you think about it, (have an open mind) most businesses back then ran those trucks until they broke in half. My guess is the muffler would have been one of the first thing to burn out or get ripped off going through the bad roads. Soooo, you could put a nice barking muffler that would compliment that awesome Hemi sitting under the hood and everyone would think it is the way it was back then. I could'nt change my dads muffler until he died so I doubt if I will get my way on this discussion either. Cool project, I am saving my change so I can come out to the 8th annual and see all of these awesome trucks. Quote
Jeff Balazs Posted April 17, 2014 Report Posted April 17, 2014 Charles; Magnificent job! I really like how you have approached this project. It should be truly useful in today's world when it is done. And to my way of thinking about it that is the best way to pay homage to the original designers and builders. You might have a tough time getting it to sound like a flattie though........but you can certainly try. Jeff Quote
Charles Furman Posted April 19, 2014 Author Report Posted April 19, 2014 4-18-14 Update The rear-end in mounted and the work on the rear sway bar system is in progress. Here are some pictures. The sway bar is installed between the frame rails ahead of the axle and will be connect to the axle on both sides outside the frame rails. You can see the bearings in the pictures. Because of the weight of the wood body, we are using the same design and components that are used in open class off-road racing trucks. 1 Quote
Charles Furman Posted April 25, 2014 Author Report Posted April 25, 2014 04-24-14 Update Rear axle housing is drying and the gas tank has been reassembled, so they will be reinstalled tomorrow. We hope to have the truck on the road by mid-May so we can get a couple of hundred miles on it locally before we head up to Santa Cruz, CA in mid-June. 1 Quote
HanksB3B Posted April 25, 2014 Report Posted April 25, 2014 (edited) Charles, Keep pushing now. Don't think you'll be pushing later. Mechanically and cosmetically the woodie looking real good. I enjoyed the Woodie Scene at Dana Point and wish I'd taken a few surf safari's in them back in the day. Hank Edited April 25, 2014 by HanksB3B Quote
Charles Furman Posted May 6, 2014 Author Report Posted May 6, 2014 5/5/14 Update Well, we got the trailer hitch all fabricated and painted. I want to thank everyone for all the ideas, especially Gerald (GTK). We kind of copied GTK's design and I am thrilled with how it came out. Here's a couple of pictures, plus one of the gas tank painted and mounted: 1 Quote
48Dodger Posted May 6, 2014 Report Posted May 6, 2014 Yeah! Love the hitch design Charles. Remember to post a bunch of the "hooked up" pictures... 48D Quote
Charles Furman Posted May 16, 2014 Author Report Posted May 16, 2014 Sorry I haven't posted much lately, but a lot has been going on down here in the San Diego area. (see picture). We are safe, the trucks are safe, so I have a lot to be thankful for. Others are not so lucky. At times like this, your priorities get a reality check. I'll post more truck upgrade pictures next week. Quote
Don Coatney Posted May 16, 2014 Report Posted May 16, 2014 Was this photo taken from near your house? WOW! Quote
Charles Furman Posted May 16, 2014 Author Report Posted May 16, 2014 It wasn't too far away, but far enough that we are safe. Everyone had some level of discomfort because over the past three days there have been over 15 fairly large fires in North San Diego County, and close to 40,000 people have been evacuated from there homes. Our fire crews and the residents handled things really well, in part, because we learned so much from the 2003 and 2007 fires. So far only one fatality, a transient who had a camp out in a brushy area. Quote
ruff1148kr Posted May 20, 2014 Report Posted May 20, 2014 Got to say, loved your ac plumbing inside the fender will try to see I can do some thing similar even though my condenser is set up different did not think of drilling thru that curved front shield like that, my hole saw died on that tough old steel and had go old school to get it done Quote
Charles Furman Posted June 5, 2016 Author Report Posted June 5, 2016 Here is how it looks now. I still have a few bugs to work out, but I am very pleased with the outcome. The process was a nightmare. When I get time I will write it all up so that the next person that takes a project like this on will be able to benefit from my mistakes. 8 Quote
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