The Stovebolt Site Forums Project Journals Archived Journals 1940 Chev 1/2 ton “Franken/Restomod”

Hello again;

Thanks for checking in and following along.
I had another busy weekend working on the truck.
The hours are:
• Friday — 4 hrs
• Saturday — 10 hrs
• Sunday — 10 hrs

I received the completed powder coated rims back on Wednesday, they really “POP”!
Thursday after work I was at the shop so I could clean up the tires and gather up all the pieces to be dropped off at the tire shop to get the tires mounted/balanced.
I dropped them off on my way home Friday and after explaining to the shop tire tech how the white walls are installed. I left them expecting a call to pick them up Saturday. I did get the call Saturday, but the tire shop was struggling to get the 2 front tire white walls to sit right. I wound up taking the front tires back and after getting the white walls installed as best as I could, I returned them to the tire shop to be balanced. The white walls are not perfect as they don’t sit flat against the tire as I feared they might not. I am going to let them sit for now and will revisit them later. I really like the look but may need to glue them down to get them looking right.
This is a very exciting time, and I don’t mean to complain, this is a LOT of work…. Between the full-time job and working on the truck I could use a day off. Fortunately, we are taking a road trip to the Mother-in-law this coming weekend so I can relax then?
Friday after dropping off the tires I tried to get to the shop before the guys rushed off for their weekend. I needed to meet with the mechanic to discuss the differential build. I have not done one before and wanted some tips if he had any. I passed him on the road, so I missed out there. I got the housing all washed out and cleaned up and called it a night.
Saturday was organizing, cleaning and whatnot. Not a whole lot of parts were bolted on as I was reading up on the disc brake conversion kit and what is needed/required to install that. I would up having to remove the differential shaft bearings as I needed to install the retainer plate. There are slip-on type retaining plates available, but I have an older differential and the shop doesn’t have any in my bolt pattern. 2 steps forward, 1 step back goes the dance.
Sunday turned out to be an exciting day. I was procrastinating assembling the rear differential, so I was working on getting the front suspension put together. I got the front wheel bearings cleaned up and had painted the hubs Saturday, so they were dry and ready to go together. I assembled the spindles and got the tires mounted as well. When I finally got as far as I could while the frame was still on the rotisserie I reluctantly went back to the differential. I needed to press the new bearings to the shaft, this is where things got exciting. The 1st one went fine, pressed right on. The inner bearing race literally blew up as I was pressing on the 2nd set. I received one minor cut on my hand; while my son Cam who was standing right there with me was uninjured. We were very lucky as we heard pieces ricochet about the shop around us! After cleaning up and examining the pieces we couldn’t tell what caused it so there was nothing to do but try it again. The 2nd attempt went alright, although I was a bit gun shy really took my time.
So, long story long I did not get the chassis back to a roller state but made progress…

Stay safe,
Steve