51 B3B build thread - after all these years

[billrigsby]

12 hours ago, billrigsby said:

 

I can provide measurements if needed.

 

 

Here are the measurements,

just in case,

or if any one else needs them.......

 

[bkahler]

On 9/15/2023 at 6:16 PM, Los_Control said:

While I have never had any items re-chromed myself .... I remember this thread and it might answer your question.

https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/chrome-platers-in-midwest.1294699/#post-14894216

 

Thats about all the help I can offer on the subject.

 

Los, thanks for the link.  That shop is only about a 3 hour drive for me.  I'll give them a call Monday to see what they have to say.

 

 

[bkahler]

On 9/15/2023 at 6:32 PM, ggdad1951 said:

Before you drill mount the whole front so the center section is fixed for flex.   Mark and drill after that.   The center can flex a lot with not being fixed at both ends.  Just saying.

 

I've come to the conclusion that I'm not going to try installing the ornament until after I have the entire front end assembled.  While that work is taking place I'll have the ornament rechromed.  If it still fits at that point I'll install it.  If not then I'll sell it.  The truck never had an ornament, I just thought it would be nice to have one on the truck because I like the looks.  

 

 

[bkahler]

On 9/15/2023 at 11:52 PM, Dave72dt said:

The sweet spot where the ornament sits now may change once all the front sheet is aligned.  Drilling those holes now is fine as long as that spot doesn't change. If it does change, even as little as 1/4 ", someone gets to weld those holes up, body work and paint and drill in the new location.

 

All very good points and the reason why I'll wait until the front end assembly is complete. 

[bkahler]

13 hours ago, billrigsby said:

 

Not sure if this helps or not,

my hood center piece has elongated mounting holes for the ornament.

 

I can provide measurements if needed.

 

 

Interesting.  I didn't realize the holes were slotted at the factory.  It makes sense to have slots.  What is the width of the slots?  

[bkahler]

13 hours ago, billrigsby said:

 

I used this guy for my Kubota restoration, did great work

small shop in a small town....

 

Lowell Beaman     199 W 9th Ave, Yuma, CO 80759     (970) 848-2065

https://www.facebook.com/QualityPlating/

 

 

Thanks for the link.  I'll likely try the one Los provided because it's a reasonably short drive to get there.  It would be nice to see their operation in person.

[bkahler]

Things have been kinda hectic lately so I guess it's time to bring this thread up to date.

 

The first bit of news is effective September 6th I am officially retired   

 

What this means is I'm now struggling to figure out what to do each day to occupy my time!  All kidding aside, it's been interesting the last week or so trying to figure out when to go to bed, when to wake up and what tasks to take care of first.  I have so many projects that trying to prioritize one over the other is proving to be some what of a challenge.  I'm sure I'll get this all sorted out in the near future, but retirement has certainly changed my outlook on things.

 

As far as the Dodge goes, I've been mostly concentrating on it, because it does run and drive and it would be nice to be able to hop in it and go for a relaxing drive now and then.  I have both doors ready to install in the truck.  Both roll-up and vent window assemblies have been installed in both doors.  For the doors, all that's left is mainly the decorative stuff.

 

I hope to install the front nose yet today and work on installing the doors early next week.  I installed the drivers side stone guard and was going to install the passenger side only to find that it is bent pretty bad on the lower inside corner.  So that piece goes back to the painter to be reworked.  I now have the drivers side splash guard installed and will do the passenger side this week.  

 

Here's a couple of pictures showing current status.

 

 

Edited September 17, 2023 by bkahler

[billrigsby]

1 hour ago, bkahler said:

What is the width of the slots?  

 

Yeah probably should have included that, it was early in the morning, during not after coffee, that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it,

 

5/16 of an inch

 

 

[bkahler]

Front nose is installed.  Currently pretty much all of the mounting hardware is loose.  Only a few are snugged up tight.  The assembly is sagging quite a bit on the right front passenger side.  Not sure what's causing that issue just yet.  I can lift it up which tells me that I should be able to tighten things up in the correct position once the fenders and doors are installed.  It definitely does make the truck look a lot different

 

 

 

 

[bkahler]

Got bored (really liking this retirement thing!) and decided to hang the drivers door before closing up shop for the day.  Overall it went fairly smooth although I have one issue to resolve.  The bottom rear of the door needs to go up approximately 3/16" to 1/4".  Any thoughts on how to deal with that issue?

 

 

 

[ggdad1951]

Depending on how the gap is on the rest of the door and body line, you might have to bend the hinges to get it to twist up. Top hinge bent/pushed forward will lift the rear bottom of the door, but it also plays the gap a bit all around.

[Los_Control]

What I see it is flush at the top and sticks out at the bottom .... the bottom needs to go in not up?

 

The threaded plates the door hinge screws into will slide in and out and drop into the abyss if you let them.

Typically the doors were adjusted when installed 70+ years ago and the hinges not moved since .... so they tend to rust and fuze together with the body.

10 hours ago, bkahler said:

Overall it went fairly smooth

This tells me the plates did not drop down into the body and needed to spend a hour with a magnet fishing them out

 

I had one that fell, then I fished it out, cleaned it up and added some grease to the face so it would slide easier.

The other 3 after I had the hinge bolts started I broke them free and cleaned greased them in place the best I could.

Now I could adjust them fairly easily. ..... I still waited to adjust them until I got my fenders on .... want to line them and the doors together.

 

I'm guessing if the doors came off of the truck and worked ok before, you probably wont need to bend the hinges to make them fit again ..... you will need to get them to slide in and out though.

[Lingle]

congrats on retirement!  also, the build looks awesome

[Los_Control]

I sure hope you have better luck setting your priorities with your time then I did.

 

When working it was simple, the job had first priority because we like to eat.

 

When no longer working you get free reign to do what you think you want ..... do not forget your wife also has plans....

 

I also put my truck as first priority, I have lots of future projects ahead of me .... I just want to do them while driving a old beater truck .... Like driving to the hardware store while picking up materials to remodel my kitchen in my house that was built in 1948.

 

In order to make this a reality, I had to teach myself to weld, do basic body work .... paint.

Why I bought my project in 2018 and only got as far as I have ..... Now I'm confident I can do what needs to be done and get it done. ..... Mine will never look as good as yours while I'm alive though  

It is fun & a challenge to learn new things though.

Only complaints I have come from my wife and her priorities   ?

[bkahler]

On 9/18/2023 at 5:59 AM, ggdad1951 said:

Depending on how the gap is on the rest of the door and body line, you might have to bend the hinges to get it to twist up. Top hinge bent/pushed forward will lift the rear bottom of the door, but it also plays the gap a bit all around.

 

After much tweaking and bending we mostly have the doors in proper alignment, assuming proper alignment means the door strikers line up correctly and the gaps are more or less close

 

More on that to come shortly....

[bkahler]

On 9/18/2023 at 2:31 PM, Lingle said:

congrats on retirement!  also, the build looks awesome

 

Thanks on both counts

 

[bkahler]

On 9/18/2023 at 3:41 PM, Los_Control said:

I sure hope you have better luck setting your priorities with your time then I did.

 

When working it was simple, the job had first priority because we like to eat.

 

When no longer working you get free reign to do what you think you want ..... do not forget your wife also has plans....

 

Well, so far retirement seems to be off to a good start   I'm getting things done and I'm enjoying not having to deal with the pressure of getting something done before having to go to work the next day.  No wife in the picture so that really simplifies things!

 

 

On 9/18/2023 at 3:41 PM, Los_Control said:

I also put my truck as first priority, I have lots of future projects ahead of me .... I just want to do them while driving a old beater truck .... Like driving to the hardware store while picking up materials to remodel my kitchen in my house that was built in 1948.

 

That's sort of what my thought process is, get the truck done so I can use it as a parts and errand runner.  

 

 

[bkahler]

I'm now at the point where I'm need to install the front fenders.  I have the front rubber gaskets made for the front fenders to nose and I have the two seals that go on the back of the fenders, but I'm waiting for the split rivets to arrive before I can fasten them.  I should have the split rivets on Tuesday afternoon.  That means I should have the fenders installed by the end of this coming week.  In the mean time I'm been tinkering with some small stuff like headlight buckets, parking lights, door handles, and sun visors.  

 

I did notice that the drivers door roll up window seems to be out of alignment so I need to do some research on how to correct that problem.

 

Also, I have a hunch my cab is not bolted squarely on the frame.  I may end up loosening the four cab bolts to see if I can move it around slightly.  I'll know more once the fenders are in place.  

 

Brad

 

[Bluesmann9]

The build seems to be going smoothly enough and it is looking good Brad.

Congratulations on your retirement! 

 

Terry

[bkahler]

Sorry about the radio silence, I'm slowly figuring out this whole retirement thing

 

I haven't really done much of anything to the truck but progress has been made by the guy doing the body work on the bed.  In early October I took a trip back to my home town to visit family for a couple of days and then headed to Minneapolis to pick up a pair of bed side panels (thanks Mark!).  I wouldn't call the newly obtained panels "new" but they are in considerably better condition than my originals.  

 

Mark had previously removed the rusty stake pockets from the panels but he had new replacements available so that's what you're looking at in these pictures.  I will say the Bruce Horkey replacement stake pockets look to be identical to the originals, they are very well made reproductions.  This panel is the passenger side, it was the better of the two so we figured to start with the good panel and hopefully learn along the way.  The panel did require some straightening and shrinking but I'm happy to say it turned out pretty darn straight.  

 

The drivers side panel is pretty much straight along the top tube but the panel itself is somewhat of a banana shape, although we both feel it's workable.  Maybe in a week or so I'll be able to post some pictures of the reworked panel.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By the way, the reason for me not working on the truck is because my Cushman Truckster engine finally blew up so I'm in the process of replacing the engine.  I really need the Cushman running as it's my workhorse for getting things done on my property.

 

Brad

Edited November 21, 2023 by bkahler

[ggdad1951]

Looking good Brad!  Glad those sides are helping you vs. sitting in my shop for 10 more years!    It was good visitng and putting a face to the profile!

[Los_Control]

You're progress looks great. Sometimes it is not what we want or meet the mental goals we set for our self.

But it is still progress.

 

Because I was medically retired, it was different for me to get accustomed to a different life.

When you are working you have a pretty structured life where your time is taken up on a schedule.

Retired it is now up to you to make a new schedule for your time. ..... Just different.

 

I have not made any recent post in my thread either .... I've done some since the last post, but life just keeps getting in the way. ..... When I think I want to do something then my water heater in the house demands attention.

I have my favorite Brother inlaw going through some problems. Wife & I got him moved from Washington to Texas .... getting the spare room in order ...... I just have no time to get things done on the truck.

 

I went out yesterday to change the water pump on it. I have had the water pump on and off at least 3 times in the last 5 years ..... A bolt broke .... what I thought was going to be a quick, easy swap now is going to be a issue .... I'm only hoping I do not have to pull the radiator to drill it out & tap it. .... Again, not what I wanted to spend my time on.

 

You know what I mean? I've had the new water pump on a shelf for 4 years ..... old one works fine just needs grease and the zirk fitting is plugged. While I'm here, I'm just going to put on the new pump. .... I can sit on the tire and get it done.

So what should be a 30 minute job, life come along and I have no idea how long it will take to fix it.

 

We may think as retired people we control our time ..... I'm not so sure we are in control.

 

One day I went to the wrecking yard 1 hour away and I called the yard to tell them what I wanted. I got there and they never pulled the part yet. ..... Then it was lunch time, come back in 1 hour .... I did, then took them 30 minute to pull the part ...... Me & the sales lady was in a heated argument about the time it took to get the simple part .... she pulled me aside to talk to me to calm me down. ..... I said look lady I'm retired and I do not have time for all this BS. ..... We both laughed so hard, gave each other a hug and went on our way.

 

 

 

 

[bkahler]

On 11/12/2023 at 5:46 PM, Los_Control said:

I went out yesterday to change the water pump on it. I have had the water pump on and off at least 3 times in the last 5 years ..... A bolt broke .... what I thought was going to be a quick, easy swap now is going to be a issue .... I'm only hoping I do not have to pull the radiator to drill it out & tap it. .... Again, not what I wanted to spend my time on.

 

Beg, borrow or steal one of these drills.  They are great for getting into tight spaces.

 

[bkahler]

One step closer to getting the bed side panels painted.  Last week we welded the stake pockets and bed rail to the passenger side panel.  This weekend we welded the pieces to the drivers side panel.  It's in surprisingly straight condition now.  Both panels are now being prepped for paint. 

 

There are a couple of flat spots on the top tube of the panel and we were trying to use one of those harbor freight tubing expanders, unfortunately the smallest one they have is just a bit to large to be able to comfortably slide it down towards the middle of the tube without getting stuck.  As an alternative he's considering JB Weld as a build up material and shaping it to match the curve.  As long as I own the truck it's not going to be a work truck so that might be the easiest option.

 

Its about time for me to start milling the lumber for the bed floor

 

 

 

 

[Los_Control]

3 hours ago, bkahler said:

Beg, borrow or steal one of these drills.  They are great for getting into tight spaces.

Thats a good idea to have a right angle drill .... turns out I used a map gas torch to heat the bolt and it came out using vice grips ... I still pulled the radiator because I forgot to put the pulley on the water pump before installing it.

I installed the water pump and was no way to install the pulley after ?

 

I think the JB weld will probably work fine.  ... It actually seems to work well as a filler ... for example it works to fill cracks on a steering wheel before painting it .... anytime it is under stress or pressure it will fail quickly.

 

I need to do work on my rail also, sadly it is bent from some sort of collision. Not terrible, but you will sure see it in the gap when the tailgate is closed.

Thats a future Fred problem