Roxanne - She don't have to put on the red light.

[FlashBuddy]

Roxanne added to the 1948-1953 dodge Truck Registry:
http://www.townwagon.com/4853registry/display.php?serial=82204513

 

They are also asking some tough questions that I don't have answers to:

Build Card Date (I'll have to order one) ?

Body Tag Number - where is that?

Gross HP (not on the data plate) ?

Wheelbase?

Wheel Rim Date - I'm not finding any dates on my rims?

Final Drive Ratio - Isn't this always 1:1?

 

Who here doesn't have their truck in the database? You can add it here:

http://www.townwagon.com/

 

[JBNeal]

On the 1-tons, there is a 2-digit date code stamped near the bolt circle...my '49 has one rim that is stamped '48...the smaller rims may have a code on them, but all the rims I have seen have been rusty + repainted so I have not seen one yet...Build Cards have oodles of info, and that is used to verify if the engine + body tag + frame number match...I have not found the gross HP info to verify it, so the net HP on the ID tag should be enough info for reference... there is a number on the rear axle carrier to verify your axle ratio that is stamped into the ring gear, most are 4.3 but the factory parts manual goes into detail where to locate this number

Edited June 11, 2018 by JBNeal

[FlashBuddy]

Sometimes the simplest ideas take days to effect. I just wanted to change the diff oil but I'm 5/16 male drain plug socket short. Found one on Amazon for $15! Now waiting four days. At least I can still drive her.

 

[Merle Coggins]

Go to the hardware store and get a piece of 5/16 key stock. Then either use a Crescent wrench on it, or bend a 90 on one end and make it into a wrench

[FlashBuddy]

Genuine authentic Colorful Colorado license plates :: Found 'em on EPAY for a modest amount of cash. Roxanne deserves proper badging, starting with period correct license plates. When we first met she was showing off a 1970’s Colorado Collector Series license plates, which is nice and they do have just the right amount of wear for a truck of this age. When I drove her down to get her registered in my name, they wouldn’t let me use the plates she came with. I ended up buying the Horseless Carriage plates – I think there about $12.00 for a year or so. I’ve been re-thinking that decision because those plates limit your mileage to about two thousand miles per year, and Roxanne isn’t exactly a horseless carriage. Horseless yes, but carriage? No.

 

 

Epay is the place to shop for vintage plates for your collectible automobiles. Prices range from $20.00 to well over $69.95. While there are plenty of Colorado plates, finding one with 19   50 stamped into the metal is nigh impossible – or so I thought. I ended up finding three different sets. I lost out in a bidding war for the first set, second offer was for one plate only and the third offer was for a set of TT (Truck Tractor) plates for a modest $39.95 plus shipping and tax. It was a Buy Now scenario and the plates arrived today.

The seller on EBAY was Tom & Margaret Boyd who goes by ‘licpl8s’. Tom it turns out is a license plate collector who happens to live in Boulder. Yeah, I lost a little respect for him just because he was from Boulder ? He is a bonafide member of APCL. Tom joined the Automobile License Plate Collectors Association in 1982 and has been active at both the international and local level.  He served as Vice President of ALPCA and was Editor of ALPCA’s magazine.  Locally, Tom was Secretary/Treasurer of Rocky Mountain Regional branch of ALPCA for nineteen years.  Tom has co-authored three books on license plates.

 

 

Here is Tom's EPAY Store >

Here is Tom's website >

 

[FlashBuddy]

I was looking at @ggdad1951's FEF and see Mark is using what appears to be the original "yellow". I recall him discussing it here and there. I think he referred to it as Armour Yellow.

 

When I learned that Les Schwab Tires would media blast and powder coat wheels for about 36 bucks each I pulled 'em off Roxanne and trucked over to the local franchise. The yellows they showed me were pretty lemon or orange, and none that looked like what Mark has on FEF.

 

I have remnants od the original yellow color; the pin stripes on my grill bars. When I measure with my colorometer I get RGB 217 201 140. Yes, faded and sun tinted. What is the original color really, or more important, what color is it in today's paints?

 

Now I'm at a crossroads. My new plan is to media blast them and paint them myself, but not sure how to proceed. I've heard rustoleum has a color that is very close, or I can get a can mixed up and spray it myself, or ??? 

 

I'm not planning a show quality restore, more of a general cleanup and preservation and need some counseling and advise to that end.

 

Ideas?

 

 

[JBNeal]

I have had more than one auto body paint supply store point me in the direction of Auto Color Library to do research and find possible solutions to my needs... I have located the paint chips needed, but the locals do not have the recipes to mix accurately, and their suppliers are not willing to go to their warehouses to dig out the hard copies that contain this information... good luck

[59bisquik]

Look in the phone book for a local powder coater. They will have a couple dozen shades of yellow (just like a paint shop). The powder coat holds up a long time and will look much better than rattle can. 

Edited July 15, 2018 by 59bisquik

[David A.]

I sanded and buffed one of my original wheels that still had an area of good paint on it. Then I took it to Finish Masters and had them match it for me. I’ll try to attach a picture of my finished wheel and a picture of the formula. I thought they did an excellent job of matching the original color. 

[David A.]

[David A.]

[Merle Coggins]

10 hours ago, David A. said:

I sanded and buffed one of my original wheels that still had an area of good paint on it. Then I took it to Finish Masters and had them match it for me. I’ll try to attach a picture of my finished wheel and a picture of the formula. I thought they did an excellent job of matching the original color. 

 

That looks very similar to the yellow I ended up with, based on a number that was posted here many years ago. Can’t seem to find it now. The yellow that Mark used on FEF is different than what I used. His has a more orange, or brown hue to it. MIne is a brighter yellow. They both look good. Based on what paint was left on mine, I believe what I have is very close to the original color, and I believe Mark has claimed the same with his. Maybe the yellow color changed over the years? 

Edited July 15, 2018 by Merle Coggins

[JBNeal]

From what I know of paint in general and quality control of the post-war era, both of ya could be right...color matching is almost an art form, factory colors could have varied from batch to batch over the years...as long as ya are in the ballpark and are happy with the results, then ya probably nailed it

[FlashBuddy]

With your experience, and the experience of @ggdad1951 I don't think we'll ever know re original color. I thought one of my front wheels still had a good sample of orig color under the hubcap but on closer inspection I can see it was repainted, and where it has chipped off it is showing a very faded buff color - almost light gray. I'd be happy with @Merle Coggins, Mark's or @David A.'s. 

[Merle Coggins]

When I dismounted the tires, there was some good color left on the inside for comparison. 

[FlashBuddy]

OMG I suck at painting, or the paint Store ripped me off! I was suspicious when I poured the epoxy primer into the mixing cup then added the catalyst as directed by the paint Store and it was RUNNY - like water color. Am I missing something here or do I need professional help.

[John Rogers]

Your right, it shouldn't be runny and transparent. Primers have a lot of solids in them. Was the can of primer well mixed? If the can sat on the shelf at the paint supply shop for even a few weeks the solids can and will separate and settle into sort of thick clump/layer the bottom. Primers that are high build have more solids than others and it doesn't have to sit on a shelf very long for them to start to separate and settle. All the auto paint shops that I have dealt with over the years have always put everything on the shaker before it goes out the door but you never know if it got missed. If the contents are not well mixed it will be runny. I use a direct to metal urethane 2K primer on some of the things that I work on that separates so much if it sits that it gets very solid in the bottom and no amount of mixing with a stick will get it mixed properly so I have to put it on a shaker for 5 or 10 minutes and that mixes it up just fine.  Another thing that can cause problems like this is using the wrong mixing ratio. I would check to make sure that the primer was thoroughly mixed and that there are no solids built up on the bottom of the can and I'd also double check the primer / activator mixing ratio that was used. I hope this helps.

                                                     John

Edited August 20, 2018 by John Rogers

[FlashBuddy]

Got the paint from Finish Masters locally here in Fort Collins. They seemed very knowledgeable and professional. There was a constant stream of customers, most of which appeared to work in the auto body industry. I felt like a fish out of water? The counter help were very patient with my questions and they pre marked my mixing cup with the proper ratios, one each for primer and the 2k polyurethane.

 

So @John Rogers, the shop did put the can on the shaker, but it sat in my shop for a couple weeks. I shook it by hand but it wasn't close to sufficient - you got me up off the couch to take another look at that can of primer. Yup, pretty thick on the bottom.

 

Instead of annoying those nice people at Finish Masters, I'll sand down the drips and runs and have another go at it, and thanks ?

[DJ194950]

Not all primers are high build which have more solids in them, I do not see anything on the label about it being high build type if it actually is.

 

For mixing primers that have sat for a while i have make up a rod of about 3/16 or 1/4"  about 10" long and bend a triangle with the bottom edge being the flat part of the triangle and chuck in a variable speed drill and just move it around and up and down to mix it up good. Sometimes I spend up to 7-8 minutes doing the mix.

Caution do not lift it to high up with it still spinning or you and everything around you will get painted!

 

DJ

[Dave72dt]

After a number of years buying primer in gallon cans and trying to carefully pour from full cans I finally purchased a mixing lid, same as the paint jobber use and put that on the primer cans.   Now I can attach the drill to the built in stir device, has a convenient pour spout and  it closes when letting off the trigger, eliminating the slop and mess.

 

Those wheels looked like you were trying to cover it in one pass.  Epoxies are typically thinner than 2k high build primers and may not be recommended to be sanded.  You generally can but you need it to fully cure before you do, probably overnight at least.  Multiple coats require a flash time between coats.  They should have given you a tech sheet with your supplies that would outline product usage and time guidelines  Waiting between coats is hard and we all get impatient.  Flash time recommendations are for a particular temp range so don't cut them short.  The cooler the temp, the longer the flash time needed  Get a cheap kitchen timer, set it for desired flash time if it helps keep you from going back at it too quickly..

[FlashBuddy]

Thanks Dave, yeah, flash time was 20 minutes. Your looking at one coat. In a couple days I plan on giving it another go. Trying to sand down the ridges and other lumps and bumps a bit. Hoping they don't have to be perfect and after another couple coats of primer and two more of color it will look half way decent.

[kencombs]

Flash, Epoxies never sand well, just the nature of the beast.  If I were at your spot, I'd use some fairly coarse paper, maybe 220 wet to get the runs out. The water will greatly reduce clogging.  At a drop or two of dish soap to the water, that helps too.   Then a very light coat of epoxy to cover the sand through spots, let it flash an hit it with some high build primer.  When that cures sand with 600 wet and lay on the color.

 

Practice your gun technique, concentrating on getting light consistent coverage.  Wheels are really hard for me because the surface has so many changes of distance and angle.  It works best when I just set the fan wide and keeping the gun about 5-6 inches away, move quickly in a straight line, not following the curve at all.

that wastes a lot of paint but give the best results.  don't cover with the first coat, then do the same but rotation the direction of the wheel 90 degrees.  YMMV

Edited August 24, 2018 by kencombs

[FlashBuddy]

Holy crap did I learn a lot about paint and painting. Turned out to be way more effort than I had anticipated. 

 

Went to the tire store store and came home empty handed and confused. They wouldn't sell me 215 60 R16 - won"t handle the load. I don't want a tall 70, 75 or 80 load handling beast of a tire. I like the idea of a tire that is not tall. Trying g to keep the height of the truck down as much as I can without resorting to a change in suspension.

 

On a bright note, O'Reilly's had a set of Monroe shocks that will fit the truck.  Though they are blue?! I'll rattle can them black while I try to come up with a tire solution. 

 

So here I am with refreshed wheels, hubcaps and new shocks but no tires. My girl needs to get out of the garage and stretch her legs; show off some new shoes.

 

[Merle Coggins]

Wheels look nice!

In my opinion, a short sidewall tire would look out of place in the larger wheel opening. I'm running 235/75R-15's on my truck and they're pretty close to the original 6.50X15's as far as overall diameter. Plus, a smaller diameter tire would mean higher RPM at speed than a taller tire. If you have a lower numerical differential then it may not matter to you, but if you still have the 4.10 gears you'll wish you had taller tires.

[FlashBuddy]

Discount Tire was supposed to call back with some tire recommendations - they never did (losers). Pep Boys had a couple choices in stock so I brought over my wheels and they mounted and balanced a set of 215/70 R16.

 

Manny Moe & Jack

 

Added on some new Monroe shocks. Did you know they come in blue?! Can't have that so I painted them black. Shout out to @Plymouthy Adams for suggesting Speedway Motors.

 

 

 

Truck drives so much smoother and looks great! Actually, I think it may look worse. New-ish looking hubcaps on new tires on an old truck is a contradictory mashup mess. I'm thinking more and more of re-painting the truck.