Hound dog hauler

[Los_Control]

@Nirvana09 thanks for the link.

I opened it to take a look, first words I read was concourse quality.

 

My goal is to go through everything and make it a safe dependable driver.

Then drive the wheels off of it while doing regular maintenance for the rest of my life it will be a ongoing project.

So I want a new or different wheel, still may be a few years of using what I have before I get it.

 

[Nirvana09]

21 hours ago, Los_Control said:

@Nirvana09 thanks for the link.

I opened it to take a look, first words I read was concourse quality.

 

My goal is to go through everything and make it a safe dependable driver.

Then drive the wheels off of it while doing regular maintenance for the rest of my life it will be a ongoing project.

So I want a new or different wheel, still may be a few years of using what I have before I get it.

 

 

Yes, the quality of the restored wheels is unmatched. I understand the need to use what you have. The price to have those gone through (the last time I checked) was around $350+. If you were going the budget route I think you're in the right direction - epoxy and a lot of sanding will do wonders. If you don't like how it comes out a leather wrap might be in order. 

[Los_Control]

Time for a update ..... been awhile since I actually worked on Hound dog ..... I was welding in the floor then ran out of wire.

I drove to town to get more wire & the clutch went out on my daily driver truck .... took almost a month to finish replacing it..... Then I sat back for 3 weeks recovering from installing the clutch .... This was July August where it was over 100F everyday .... Good times to stay cool & be lazy when retired.

 

Now I have the floor totally welded in, seamed seal & ospho rust converter.

 

The seat base is not welded in yet. The floor is ugly but it is all solid metal and good enough for a hound dog.

I plan to paint it with a brush to get a heavy coat of paint on it for future protection.

 

I have been trying to think of a way to install my bucket seats .... I do not have all the original seat to use .... the buckets are very comfortable.

I decided that repairing/installing the original seat base then adding the braces needed to install the buckets is the way to go ..... Use what you have.

I need to go to the metal yard tomorrow to get whats needed to finish the seat installation.

 

So many things need to be done at the same time.  While not finished 100% with the floor .... I feel like I should jump ahead & install the wiring under the dash while I have a clear floor to lay on.

Also work on my wipers & cowl vent. .... I feel like my ADD is kicking in jumping all around before finishing one project .... just makes sense to me though.

 

I admit to being disappointed on my first cut & butt panel repair. I so much wanted to do it with no bondo .... just a difficult area to reach. I could not hammer/dolly the welds & work it as I go ..... I finally gave in and put bondo on it .... after it was 100% welded in with no light shining through. The putty is only 1/8" thick at the deepest point ..... still sad when going for no bondo    

This phone camera sucks .... I need a new phone.

 

 

 

 

[Plymouthy Adams]

good you making headway on the truck....I got so little done today running around looking for material to work with.  My local stores it seems has cut back so much on items they used to stock...it's a crap shoot when you drive to shop.  Got what I needed but had to go to 3 different stores.

[Los_Control]

17 minutes ago, Plymouthy Adams said:

.it's a crap shoot when you drive to shop.  Got what I needed but had to go to 3 different stores.

I have no idea what to expect. I called a steel yard .... I'm thinking I want 3/16" angle iron 1.5" wide. And 8' would be plenty extra ..... they only sell it in 20' lengths ..... I have a short bed truck with a 6' bed.

 

They did give me a hint on calling sweetwater machine & welding for shorter pieces. I talked to them on the phone and pretty sure can get what I need there ...... still excited to see if they actually do any machine shop work because of their name.

 

Same time it has been raining for days here .... Just a hour here or there .... but still active rain.

Moving here to west Texas from New Mexico ..... Some people wont drive in the snow? .... I dont drive in the rain.

Suppose I'm always looking for a reason to stay home, thats as good as any   ???

[Young Ed]

You probably wouldn't be the first guy to buy a 20' length and cut it in the parking lot. 

[Dave72dt]

The machine and welding shop would probably cut your pieces to length for you if you had a cut list prepared.  You'll pay for their time but all the pieces will have straight, clean cuts, match in lengths which is a plus when working with thicker materials.

 

My cab floor is dead flat.  I built my own seat risers for buckets from 1" square tubing and 1/4" flat.  I couldn't get them to fit well in the factory bench riser without hacking it up.   They bolt to 1 x 2 rectangular tubing floor supports that will also anchor seat belts.  That also let Ye adjust the mount angle for the most comfortable position for me.

[Veemoney]

Steel like everything else has gone up in cost. I try to keep cost down while not sacrificing quality, call it frugal or cheap but who doesn't enjoy a good deal. If you have time check the following for steel.

1. Search Craigs List and F-book Marketplace for Angle Iron or bed frames. I don't specify size so I can see what is available in my area.
2. Call or visit the local thrift stores to see if they have any bed frames or other items I can repurpose.

Last time I checked for a similar size by me a 3-4' stick of angle at say Home Depot or Tractor supply was about 20-25 bucks. 8' at a steel shop about $50 and 20' just around $105. If you weld you can always use the extra steel somewhere.

 

 

[Los_Control]

Just now, Veemoney said:

Steel like everything else has gone up in cost.

It really has gone up & a 3' stick at the local hardware store is ridiculous stupid high price.

A 20' stick at the local steel yard was $38.   They offered to cut it in 1/2 for me so I could haul it.

I was fine with the price and the leftovers.

 

I wanted to go to the machine & welding store for a 10' piece ... It was $21.

I really wanted more info on their machine shop, they are a industrial shop & not setup for automotive engines 

Edit ... I just looked at the receipt, they charged $13.70 for material, $5 labor for cutting it.

 

I try to grab all the scrap metal I can. I have some bed rails out in the pile. They are good for some things, you can cut & weld them ... but the metal is too hard to drill holes in it.

Ideally you can use a torch & burn a hole in it, it just dulls drill bits. The only way I have found is using my air powered die grinder with a pointed carbide bit .... literally grind a hole in it.

I replaced the side rails for the bed floor with it ..... I really regret it and wish I would have bought steel for it.

I have to drill 7 holes on each side for mounting ..... not looking forward to it.

 

OTOH, I used some to make my battery box .... all welded together and welded all thread to the sides for the hold down .... so no drilling & is fine.

 

I went to the metal yard today because the weather report said no rain today ..... It poured all the way home .... wipers on high could barely keep up    ?

Edited September 14, 2023 by Los_Control

[Veemoney]

3 hours ago, Los_Control said:

I wanted to go to the machine & welding store for a 10' piece ... It was $21.

You did good at that price. I recently had a copper drain line start leaking. It was 1.5" copper and was about $90 for a 10' piece. I needed 20' and went with PVC 2 pieces for under $12 instead.

 

Bed frame angle, some are harder than others, some are tough like tool steel to machine and others are soft. You get an idea of what you have by running a file on it or spark test, some can be hardened and folks make knives out of them. That may be what you have. Best practice start with a small drill and not running to fast taking care not to get it hot and work harden it moving up in size from there using a cutting oil or coolant helps reduce friction heat. I do have some small carbide drills but haven't had to use them just the Harbor Freight gold coated which hold up pretty good. I completed a good bit of grinding with carbide burr bits a few months back and still catching metal slivers from it so I don't envy you that

[Los_Control]

Well well well, what an eyesore this is   ..... I have some issues to work through here.

The tear on  the seat along the seam looks bad. All the material is there .... I need to sew in some reinforcement on the cloth then pull up the side and sew it back together ..... and it will be a better looking pile of poo.

Same time, these 1990's chebby seats has a million choices of custom fit seat covers available.

I seen some leather seat covers for $200 .... plus I have the wife carpet shampooer with the furniture attachment I can clean them. ..... Thats a future Fred problem.

 

Just the first time I have had seats installed that are close to fitting. So I have been sitting in it making vroom vroom noises, adjusting the mirrors pretending I'm driving ....???

 

Problem is the rake on the seats. The factory base on the truck has 1" from front to rear.

The risers on the buckets also have 1" rake.

The way I welded in my mounting support also adds 1/2" rake.

So I have 2.5" of rake .... yeah I could get comfortable & sleep in them at a rest area .... almost too tall in the front for my legs to work the pedals.

 

If I raise the rear of the seat 1" that would tilt the front down .... That might be all I need.

I could cut the risers on the seat so they sit level, I have the metal to rebuild them ... more work but may be what I do.

Very drive-able the way it is, still needs work though.

 

I picked up enough angle iron so I can build the base for a console between the seats.

I've also decided to make tabs & bolt the floor base down instead of welding it. I want it all removable for future needs.

Knowing I have to crawl under the dash for a complete wiring job ..... I do not want to fight with the seats.

 

 

Any ways, just one step closer to being able to take it for a test drive .... Sandpaper came in today, I think I have enough to really sand the cab / front end down for a 2nd coat of primer then paint. ... Even If I just paint the back of the cab & the front of the bed .... I can start assembling the bed. & then paint the rest all together.

Tomorrow now the floor is basically finished besides paint, I need to get it back in the air on jack stands and modify/install the rod to the master cylinder. .... Then it is time to go through & adjust the brake shoes on all 4 corners ... There is just always something to do when trying to pull a truck from the grave & putting it back on the road.

[Young Ed]

For my 47 with Dakota bench seat I was able to take the Dakota brackets and then them backwards. That fixed the angle problem but now my adjuster lever is on the pass side facing the rear cab wall!

[Plymouthy Adams]

this is ideal Ed if you were....Wrongway Peachfuzz....cable, couple pullies and a pull handle...you be set up again...remember three rights is a left....

[Los_Control]

LOL actually it is not a bad idea, usually one sets the seat where they want it and leaves it. Just not a big deal to have it where it is.

Actually with bucket seats I just checked and could still operate them by reaching around the seat.

 

What I like about the idea is, I can try it and see what that does for me. Not sure I would leave it that way, but I would know how it affected the situation and tell me what I need to do.

 

First of all I did turn the base upside down, does not change the angle but it is wider at the top then the bottom from the factory ..... Now it is wider at the bottom and has more welding surface while it sits flatter on the floor for whatever reason.

 

In the photo there is a jog in the base, I could cut the jog out all the way across the front then cut & grind my welds out to remove the metal from the angle iron & just re-weld them 1" lower. Now the base would be level and just the seats have the usual 1" rise.

Or accomplish the same thing as @Young Ed idea with turning the seat base around.

So I would know if it works before cutting & welding anything .... Doing your work over a 2nd time sucks, doing it 3 times would really suck.

 

 

 

 

 

[Plymouthy Adams]

some things actually work out for the best when reversed.  I gleaned some attractive enclosed seat belts, 3 point for the current project.  The center links lay low on the floor.  As I am RHD and wanted to also incorporate a fasten seat belt light, courtesy a donor Volvo, flipping the center belts allowed them to lay just parallel with the seat cushions and raise to meet your stature.   About to finish up the carpet and console install.  I have surely put my sewing machine to the task here.  Typical Brit lay in style carpet and next is securing them with snaps. There is zero back seat here and originally the rear panel never gets carpet.  We having fun.

 

Not many are into really tailoring their cars....I can so understand the purist aspect....but seems often they do not reciprocate in same manner to those that modify.  Not all cars are suitable candidates for originality, and I purposely buy mine with engines missing etc. etc. so not to have regret to change.  

 

 

 

 

[Los_Control]

On 9/17/2023 at 12:44 PM, Plymouthy Adams said:

I have surely put my sewing machine to the task here.  Typical Brit lay in style carpet and next is securing them with snaps.

The sewing machine is a machine, the layout and seams is nothing but skill .... your skills certainly do task your tools.

I love seeing your work .... It kinda in it's own ways sets a standard we can reach for .... Not saying I could ever match it ... just nice to have a goal to shoot for.

 

I felt like I had to tackle this issue, so I pulled everything out of the truck and was thinking about rotating the base on the seats.

I decided to just cut my welds out and do the job a 2nd time ..... all the while mumbling under my breath about learning to spot weld til certain you want to weld in place.

 

So I cut 3/4" off the front, it is still 4" at front, 3.5" at the rear .... nothing is welded down yet but I was able to try it in the truck with the seat held down ... I sat in it, then I sat in my 1991 chebby and compared the wheel height from the lap ... my feet on the floor .... I'm really satisfied that was all I needed .... take 3/4" out of it and do the job twice.

 

The shelf is rough cut oversized, needs to be spot welded into place ground to shape then painted ... perfect spot to mount a fire extinguisher. The other side I'm thinking a first aid kit.

 

Still have a console going in between the seats and picked up enough iron to build the base ... Then tabs to bolt the base to the floor. .... Lots of work to do yet, I now know the seats are correct height.

 

 

What I really wanted to do today is tackle this dent.

 

 

Not going to be easy, with advice from others here on the forum I'm setting up to push it out with a bottle jack .... no Idea how close I will end up at, but willing to tackle it ...... Right now is the perfect weather for painting outside in the driveway.

Everything else on the back of the cab & roof is finished .... except more sanding, primer then more sanding & paint .... I want to get this part done this fall.

 

Sad my ADD kicks in, I had to work on the seat base, I worked on the brakes ... I started sewing the cloth on the seat .... I never got to taking out the dent ..... tomorrow thats all I want to work on.

 

[Los_Control]

I have to admit the dent is/was kicking my butt.

I was not able to use the jack to push it out. ... I figured out I could use my long pry bar & push out the bottom of the cab.

This took out most of the bounce and was able to start moving the metal with a hammer.

I worked on it off & on for a couple days, then life got in the way for a few days.

Learning to read metal knowing where to to work it .... like reading a book written in a foreign language.

 

Anyways am back at it today, this is where I'm starting at. Not sure how close I can get it. Now it is responding to a hammer/dolly really well and starting to move back into shape.

 

 

 

[ggdad1951]

remember to work outside in and not in the center! 

[Los_Control]

Just now, ggdad1951 said:

remember to work outside in and not in the center! 

Good advice.

The way it is right now it has a heavy eyebrow over the top of the low spot.

I found by using the dolly behind low spot and working the eyebrow, the low spot is coming up and the eyebrow is going down. .... Then when you tap it just right, you can feel the metal start popping into place. .... They say metal has a memory.

 

The bottom edge is the same way, heavy bulge on the bottom edge then a low spot. .... The heavy crease is coming out but it was torn & pinched so thin .... hoping to weld it back together, I may end up having to put in a patch ....

 

 

[Eneto-55]

I'm reminded of when I started in on the roof of my P15.  Someone had been on the roof, and it had lots of those half-moon ridges & low spots.  My intention at the time was that I would not pull the headliner, so I had to work it all from the top side only.  I worked back and forth along the ridges with glancing hammer blows.  All of the creases came out except one, right up in the front left, close to the downward curve of the roof, both towards the front and towards the side.  I think I hit it too hard (or stayed in one spot too long), because I collapsed the ridge on that one, and I had to use some body putty there.  I had the exterior painted before I decided to pull the headliner after all, of I might have worked that area more, using a dolly.  That's one of the spots on that car body I will never be able to forget about. Patience pays off, and that time I didn't have it.

[Los_Control]

I appreciate the effort it took @Eneto-55to do the job they did .... I takes a lot of patience and time.

 

I got to a point where the more I worked it the worse it seemed to get. I feel I got it pretty close.

This dent had a lot of force to make it. The floor pan is in the top section of the dent. It had a long stress crack in it by the body mount I welded up awhile ago, then the spot welds from the cab to the A pillar were popped loose.

It was hit hard enough the metal torn and I had to weld it back together. .... This metal was stretched thin.

 

 

 

I think a experienced body man would have created a new cab corner then welded it in ..... I'm not that man.

So I did the best I could. .... Honestly it came out better then I expected .... Time to put it to bed and apply putty.

 

 

Just a rough first coat of putty 90% will be ground off tomorrow .... but it marks the end of a chapter in the book.

No more pecking around with a hammer & dolly tomorrow ... I also took care of the drivers door while I was at it.

It had a few different sets of mirrors on it in the past .... I swear they used a hammer & punch to make the holes to mount them.

 

These areas are impossible to get to from behind .... Like a idiot I just went ahead and welded the holes closed, then kept going and filled in the divots around the holes with the welder also.  ..... Nobody ever told me we could not do that.

Still will require putty but less of it.

 

 

I still need to do the passenger door tomorrow ..... then there are just a few cracks to take care of & 2 major patches left.

The 2 patches on the fenders around the rivets .... They scare me, but I am getting braver.

 

Been quiet for a week or so but been hammering away at it.

[ggdad1951]

Good job!  Yah the more you work it, the more the metal can get stretched and all you do it make it worse again.   At that point it's time for body spackel.

 

As for the fender rivet area, I did just that repair 2 years ago for TODD, maybe go look at those pics and see what I did.  Just make sure to go SLOW, take your time and grind, hammer and dolly as you go.  

[Los_Control]

No work today, seemed I was too active on it yesterday. I did prep the passenger door for welding the holes.

I put a 2nd coat of putty on the other spots .... did a slight adjustment or two with a hammer.

 

I started sanding and son of a ***** seems the hook & loop pad on my sander needs replaced, had to stop and order more.

No big deal I guess to some.

As a retired finish carpenter I have used hook & loop orbital sanders for decades. I have wore out a couple and replaced the sanders with new. I have never needed to replace the pad in the past.

 

While ordering a new pad, I ordered a 2 pack of them .... while looking at a 4 pack and wondering if I should get it.

Seems the modern sander the replaceable pad is just built into them .... a consumable product.

 

Took the wind out of my sails today.

 

[kencombs]

3 hours ago, Los_Control said:

No work today, seemed I was too active on it yesterday. I did prep the passenger door for welding the holes.

I put a 2nd coat of putty on the other spots .... did a slight adjustment or two with a hammer.

 

I started sanding and son of a ***** seems the hook & loop pad on my sander needs replaced, had to stop and order more.

No big deal I guess to some.

As a retired finish carpenter I have used hook & loop orbital sanders for decades. I have wore out a couple and replaced the sanders with new. I have never needed to replace the pad in the past.

 

While ordering a new pad, I ordered a 2 pack of them .... while looking at a 4 pack and wondering if I should get it.

Seems the modern sander the replaceable pad is just built into them .... a consumable product.

 

Took the wind out of my sails today.

 

I've done a lot of cabinet, trim and furniture work.  Sorta took a break for cars for a few years and did things with wood.  Going back to metal work I found out really soon that sanding it generates a LOT more heat in the sanding pad that wood.  Heat kills the pad fairly soon.   Since swapping pads that aren't worn out is a rarity for me, I just went back to pressure sensitive adhesive.   disks are much cheaper, last just as long and if I do need to change grits, I just use the other sander.

[ggdad1951]

I have to replace the pad on my orbitals every few years for my wood working, the foam is just so cheap it sdoen't hold up long anymore...every year less and less hours before replacement.