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Steve, that is sweet.

Hello all, thanks for checking in and following along.

The hood work is ongoing, albeit slowly. I am getting a premium shop rate which means other customer work gets priority. That is okay as it allows me to chip in and make parts to reduce the hours billed through the shop. I remade the hinge mount supports to beef up the hood where the hinge mounts as it stress cracked and was repaired at some point and has cracked again. The first set of reinforcements was trashed with the current work.
I learned of a cool product called “ Quick Latch” the system which works very similar to an air line connector. It is like a ball and socket, with the socket having a ring of mini ball bearings that capture the ball when pressed together. The hold is very strong and secure. I am going to use them to replace the original hood side latch system, the ball will be mounted to the frame and the sockets will be install on the hood sides. I will have 2/side.
The pictures show the materials and hand tools used for the hood reinforcement pieces. The rest of the pictures are of the start of the latch install. I want to keep the original handle, but did not want to just weld it into place. I fabbed up a Mount that allows the handle bolt to be used, but is secure so the handle doesn’t jiggle or flop around.

To be continued...
Stay safe out there.
Steve

Hello again, just a quick update on the continuing work.

Today I worked on the hood latches I mentioned in my last post. I started with a pattern to gauge where to put the latches for the most aesthetically pleasing location....
I built the rear latch ball mounts 1st as I thought they would be the most difficult. I got them completed and have just started on the front ones. I think that the front ones will probably turn out to be a touch more difficult as they need a set back of an inch or so and as they will be more prominent when the hood is open, I want them to be less utilitarian and more visually pleasing.

Anyways, more to come as I think I will get the front mounts completed tomorrow.
Stay safe,
Steve

Heck, oh!

The pics are of the front latch mounts which was completed Thursday.

We spent the long weekend with family celebrating our nieces grads. The younger one graduated grade 9 and the older graduated high school. Very smart and beautiful girls and will certainly be breaking some hearts!
PSA - The importance of sunscreen! We went river tubing and while I greased up my back and legs, I neglected my front. I have 2nd degree burns on my chest and shoulders so I have been hiding indoors for a few days licking my wounds. I Feel like such a dumbell as I should know better as this is NOT my 1st go round of this...

Anyways, let’s have a laugh together and move on, shall we?

I was hoping to get the latches all installed and set up by now but I will post what I have.
The pics are of;
-making the template
- fabbed brackets ( 12ga sheet metal, bent about 45 deg for a 1” backset ) I slotted the holes 1/4” to allow for adjustment )
- materials used. The small plates will be the backers the hold down screws will thread into.

That is all for now, stay safe and wear sunscreen! (Everywhere)
Steve

Hello all;

So many posts, I know! I finished the latch instal so here are the last of the pictures for the series. I think it turned out good, about the only thing I would change would be the depth of the front mounts as I went a little deep. You can see the rear mount only has about a1/2” of rod used, but the front is nearly maxed out at over an 1”.
They still work fine, and I am really happy with how they turned out. With the black anodized finish, once the truck is painted they will disappear. They are super strong and secure as well.

Stay safe,
Steve

Hello again and thanks for checking and following along;

I hope everyone is sane and healthy...

I have been working on the seat frame and mounting the seats and seat belts, but that will come in my next post. This post is about the new wheel openings for the front fenders. The new openings have been fabbed and I have attached pictures of the fender opening as it is and another with the new opening clamped in place. The old lips are cracked and have been previously repaired in a number of spots. As well, the cab and front clip were originally off a 1.5 ton truck. The wheel openings are really large to accommodate the large truck tires and since they are in pretty rough shape I thought it would be the opportune time to tweak them a little to fit the new tires. Nothing too crazy, IMO, but the opening at the front has been brought back to the tire about 2" and down about an inch as well.
The picture with the new opening in place with change a little since the old opening is still in place. The opening will move a 1/2" or so once the old opening is cut away.

I have a video of us rolling the new lip over on the Pullmax machine, but need to work out a way to attach it.

More to come soon...
Steve

Tools....🤤🤤🤤🤤🤤🤤

Do you have a door access code so I can use all those sweet tools at night?

Hey Fox;

Sorry, but a no on the door access code. I don’t even have a key!
I am sure I could get you a cut rate though!

Steve

Hello all;

Thanks for checking in and following along.

Another busy week, Dean spent a good deal of time on the truck as you can see the fender openings are welded out though the DS still needs to be finished ground/sanded. I think they are looking great and am very excited to see them getting done. New splash guards have been made as well, I will post more pictures of that work as they are finished.

I was completing the seat belt install. That went well and I will post more on it. I need to re-install the seats and get the belts in place so I can get some good pics of it. I was also re-engineering the mount for the fuel neck cut-off switch. I have a weld that I need to do to complete the mount install and I needed the seat out of my way and also did not want to risk some weld splatter ruining a seat belt. I will get that done and grab some pictures to update.
I have purchased all the parts for my exhaust system and that will be getting built, possibly tomorrow but if not next week sometime. I am using 2-1/2” SS tubing. I have shorty headers which will run to a “Y” for the cut-outs and then into Flowmaster 50 series delta flow mufflers. I chose them as they are supposed to have a deep rumble, on the quieter end of the scale while not impeding flow. When I want to be stupid loud I can open the electric cutouts with a switch for instant jerk mode!
I have also been working on the sun visor. I think I may have posted some pics a long while back but I still needed to narrow the visor. I got that done, but the visor still needs to be finish mounted and a bracket to support the center of the visor. The visor came with a center bracket which attaches to the front window frame. The bracket is fixed and meant for a window that is also fixed. Since I intend on keeping the window opening I will need to fab up something and fix it to the roof.

That is all for now, more to come soon.
Take care,
Steve

Hello,

I just noticed your master cylinder and brake pedal
Relocation. I’m interested in what parts you used and how much work it was to install them. I looked at all the pics but didn’t see any of how you did that part.

Hey Tony;

I will take some pictures of the pedal assembly which I bought through the shop. I will get you the make as I don’t recall what it is at the moment. I did weld in a patch on the firewall to mount the booster and then it was a game to push things around to find the sweet spot where the booster was not going to interfere with the engine install and the pedal was at the correct height in the cab. I did have to bend the pedal over to the center of the cab as it was about 2” over too far.

I also did not explain the one picture. That is a cab heater cover I acquired. I wasn’t sure what I was going to use it for but it is now a floor mounted drink tray thingy! The seat mount wound up too close to each other to allow for something between the seats so this will sit on the floor in front of the seat and behind the shifter.

Hey there;

Tony292 here are some pictures of my install as well as a new one on the shelf.
The model number is: BPB2018 and can found at bousperformance.com

Steve

Thanks that’s awesome!!

This is going to be one nasty looking truck, love the front end.

Hello all, thanks for checking in and following along.

I have completed the seat belt install. The belts themselves were simple to install as they utilized the seat factory mounts. The belts are generic aftermarket Intended for replacing or adding them to a vehicle that doesn’t have any. I wanted to install ones with the shoulder point as I don’t see the point of installing lap belts when In a crash you are only going to eat the steering wheel.

Anyways, as mentioned, the base points were easy to mount utilizing the factory points but the 3rd point was very challenging. I had salvaged the adjustable shoulder points from a Ford SUV but either way, fixed or adjustable, I needed to fab up the mounting point and support. I made tabs to attach the bar that goes across the back to the door jambs. The bar is welded to the rear window opening as and I used 3/16” plate as the backer for the shoulder belt mount.
I was originally going to mount the shoulder points to the door frame with the 3/16 plate, but they were too far forward and off to the side which made the shoulder point useless. I still think they are out a little far but sitting in the seat the belt sits in the right place on my shoulder so I think they will work as intended. I used heavy wall 3/4” tubing for the upper crossbar as the 1” I started with interfered with the stock interior panel too much. The 3/4” still interferes, but I think I can make it work. I of course lost some strength with the reduced size but I think it is supported enough to be effective in a crash. The whole assembly would likely need to be replaced after that, however I figure if that occurs I will probably have bigger issues to be concerned about anyways. Not too much crash testing and crumple zones were included back then!

More to come soon,
Steve

Hello folks;

Well, I am exhausted.
Sorry bad pun, and actually it is the truck that is exhausted.

Exciting, yes!

I used stainless steel for the durability, I should never have to worry about exhaust again. I debated on galvanized But felt the extra cost was worth it. Cost was pretty up there, the flowmaster, 2.5” SS Install kit which comes with a selection of the pre-bend and straight pipes as well as hangers and other bits. The mufflers are Magnaflow, Type 50, Delta flow. Cost was about 950.00 for materials and another 285.00 for the install.
The install took 9.5 hours and was a little tricky to get the runs over the differential. Initially we were going to run under the diff, but I preferred to go over to minimize the potential for hitting stuff as the truck is low. The running boards will have a ride height of 8” so angled curbs and speed bumps will have to be navigated carefully.
A small nod to my late Father, the exhaust tips came from his garage and are antiques. They were still wrapped in the original plastics and had a price tag of 3.25 from London Drugs, I think they were bought sometime in the 80’s. London drugs is a drug/electronics and housewares store and I never knew they sold auto parts.

Have a peek at the pictures and you may notice a little “extra run” which are the electric exhaust cutouts. I chose the type 50 mufflers as they are on the quieter end of the spectrum but should have that rumble everyone’s loves. The cutouts are fun for me so I can tune out the loud stereos and bikes, etc!

That is all for now, stay healthy
Steve

Hello all;

I think I may have updated previously regarding the sunvisor, however it is now completely installed. I, once again, used my favorite tool the rivnut to fasten the visor to the roof. I fabricated the center support from the extra 1/8" Aluminium material left over from the fuel tank. The support consists of 3 pieces; a 3" wide by about 6" long for the underside of the visor which I through bolted with #10 stainless screws. The center section is shaped the same profile as the hood ornament to add a little interest. The last piece is the roof mount which was bent to match the roof peak and the curve as well.
It turned out well, very strong which is of course the point...

I think it looks good too and hope people enjoy the hood ornament profile detail, when/if they see it. Tucked under the visor you really need to look for it to see it.

Take care, stay safe
Steve

🤤

Stellar!

Have I told you I'm jealous of your skills... well I am.

Hello;

I hope this finds you well...

I am getting close, so very close. Close to completing the fabrication portion anyways.
One of the few items left on the list was a sway bar. Check, install complete!

I had some difficultly selecting a sway bar as the websites are set up by the application. So you need to enter the vehicle in and then get results based on that. Well, oddly enough a 1940 Chev truck restomod doesn’t come up. Anyways, I got a bar that fits well and then ran into a similar issue with the bushing and mounting kit. Through some help from the local parts supplier we got the right end link Set and mounts.
The steering rack fluid line was too close for comfort so I made a couple spacers to get clearance. The bottom spacer is threaded for the bar clamps and will be welded to the frame. The other spacer is just that, a spacer.

Another item checked off the list, just a few more to go....

Steve

Hello all, Happy Thanksgiving! ( Canadians eh? )

Thanksgiving weekend started out busy, with my Wife’s Brother and his family coming for dinner on Saturday. A very nice time and great to see them. Sunday and Monday were quiet which is a nice way to end the long weekend.

Last week I worked on the dash insert panel. I have contemplated purchasing one, but thought I would take a stab at it first to see if I could come up with something I would be happy with. My Brother is a Mechanical Engineer and has a CAD program, he was kind enough to take my measurements and plot them in a drawing making it a breeze to layout the hole spacing. ( Thanks, Paul! ) The end result is okay, though I am not quite finished. It is looking very, ummm race car-ish to me at the moment. Plain and to-the-point so I am thinking on how to give it a more polished look. I don’t want to literally polish it, but am considering having it dip painted. A Ford came through the shop, which had it’s metal dash dip-painted in a wood grain and it was beautiful. So I am considering having something similar done as well but would need to tie it into the overall theme of the truck somehow. What is the theme of my truck anyways?
To complete the gauge panel, I would like to add signal light indicators and maybe a high beam indicator as well. For the signal lights I would like them to be indicating arrows, but need to figure out whether I can purchase something or will have to fabricate them. In case anyone is curious, the gauges are Classic Instruments brand.

Hello all;

Well today was an exciting and rather momentous day! Today I started to disassemble the truck to start bodywork. I was beginning to feel like it would never happen, but here we go...

There are a few odds and ends that need doing, one was to mount the fuse panel. I am using a 22 circuit kit pre-wired for the common runs like headlights, signal lights and such. There are more than enough Circuits but the 18 circuit kit was the same price so I figured the extras runs may come in handy.

I had been giving some thought as to the switches I will need and where they will go. I am leaning towards an aux. panel mounted to the dash, low and to the right of the steering column. I will need switches for; fog lights, exhaust cutouts and brake line lock. I originally thought I would have a switch for the reverse lights, but I bought a kit from Lokar to make the automatic when it is shifted into reverse. I also thought I would need a switch for the overdrive lockup in the transmission. I read an article in HotRod magazine that explains how to install the TCC kit in a 700-R4 and they recommended the OD be put on a manual switch so that the trans is not shifting into OD when in town. One of the guys in the shop said you can accomplish the same thing by keeping the shifter in 3rd. Does anyone have experience with either set-up? Comments?

Back to the fuse panel... I decided to mount the panel on the firewall, to the right of the steering column. I have a panel I had install to stiffen the firewall when I installed the brake booster and pedal assembly which I could also use for the fuse panel mount. I fabbed up the mount and gave it about a 15deg angle down which will make is easier to read the panel if having to replace a fuse. I used 1/4” bolts, 3” long to secure the panel to the mounting bracket. I painted it and will weld it into place later when the brake assembly and seats are out as I cannot contort into a position to weld it in right now.

I then spent the rest of the day welding a grinding out the hood mounting brackets. They had been modified by the PO and were further modified in order to get the hood gaps sorted. They were only tacked together so I finish welded and then spent some time grinding and making them “prettier”. I blasted them and will paint them as soon as I have a few more items ready for primer.

Anyways, that is my excitement thanks for following along.
Steve

Hello all;

I had a good week as I got a few things taken care of. Knocking items off the list is very therapeutic!

I needed to repair the cover in front of the rad as the PO had butchered it.

In the end it seemed easier to make a new one as I could not replicate the larger bead.

I used what I had and I think it turned out well.

Stay well, stay healthy.
For those South of the 49th parallel don’t forget to vote.

Steve

Oh, come on now. Now you’re just showing off. 😉😎 Wooo doggy, that does look sharp!

Thanks Fox, I will take that praise and appreciate the kind thoughts.

Wooo doggy?

Wooo doggy! :

(Aye carumba!
Oh boy!
Holy cow!
Unbelievable!
Man, oh man!
Wow!)

Take your pick!

I still need those keys for after hours so I can play with all those sweet tools. 😉😎

Continuation of the instrument panel posts.

So the LED lights that I ordered arrived, I was of course overly excited to install them so I did....

Turned out really well, I just need to decide on a fourth light as I had to drill the hole for the symmetry or my OCD would have kicked in and bugged me until I fixed it. I figured I would drill the hole and either cover it later or purchase another light once I decide what I need.

Happy Halloween, stay safe!

Steve

For the record, I think four looks better. You cold always wire a low oil pressure light or alternator light.

Hey Tuts;

Yeah, I agree I was leaning towards an emergency brake light.

That, or possibly a Indicator light for the line lock.

Thanks for the suggestion.

Steve

Love it. Gauges, wiring, and a brew. I did that with my AD and the speedometer/gauge cluster, too. My wife was very understanding as well! 😎

Hello all;

Thanks for checking in and following along.

Continuing with the disassembly, I have a pile of parts to sandblast and prep for epoxy. Today’s post focuses on the front splash guards. The originals were mangled pretty badly, that and with the mods to fit the V8 it seemed easier to make some new ones. These were made by Dean, the “Guru” but had a couple of things needing to be done to be completed. I wanted to punch some lovers and also wanted to install some 3/16” round bar around the suspension openings so you don’t cut your hand up if you are reaching through.
The main pictures are of the lay out of the louvres and the punching them. I thought the spacing was 1-1/2” but it was shorter. The jig uses the edge of the previous louver to locate for the next, so I just followed my centre line and punched as many as I could. I wound up with 13 louvres on each panel, I kinda like how that worked out... The original louvers were wider, I think 6” while these are 3” wide but this is the only jig available so it will do just fine.

To finish up the panels I went over them and filled some holes no longer needed and smoothed out some edges, etc... the last picture is of the round bar welded into place and partially sanded out. The round bar does 2 things, it gives me a good piece to weld the sheet metal to and minimize the risk of warpage from heat. I still controlled the heat by quenching with air after an inch on weld or so. The 2nd thing was that it give the panel a bit more rigidity as well. The engine bay side will be gloss black and the wheel side will be the truck box liner, the product we use a lot of is called “Raptor”.

Stay safe,
Steve

Hello there;

Today I got a good surprise when I sandblasted the doors to expose the sheet metal. Besides 1 spot with some wrinkles and a couple perforations, the doors are in really solid condition. Both the outside and insides are in great shape. I think I may have posted before that I thought my truck had seen military service, but I am continuing to find olive drab paint to confirm it. The paint is in spots, like the inside of the door which leads me to believe that it must be from factory and not a re-spray.

Speaking of service and leading up to Remembrance Day, I want to say thank-you to those that have served.
Thank-you for your service.

Stay well, stay safe
Steve

Hello all;

Thanks for checking in and following along.

This week was spent prepping parts for epoxy sealer. Parts were blasted, sanded and cleaned. Today I sprayed them with U-tech 250 epoxy in black. This is a metal sealer which is applied first and then body work is completed over top. This gives the best rust protection.

It sure feels good to see the parts in black as it gives me a tangible feeling of forward progress.

Stay positive, test negative. ( Heard this online )
Steve

Hello again;

Today was a grilling day...
Bad pun, I know. I removed the grill and shroud from the truck, then stripped off all the parts that could be removed from the shroud. I sandblasted the parts and then spent the next 2 days working out all the dents and repairing cracks, etc. The shroud has some previous repair work done a long, long time ago... As evidenced by the lead filler work I found. I removed some of the lead as it was in areas that I needed to repair, but for the most part I will be leaving it alone as it still has a good bond.
The sheet metal behind the grill, the piece with the crank hole had been modified previously by someone with a cutting torch and no patience. I am not sure why the extra holes had to be cut, but it was a real hack job for sure. I straightened what I could and then cut it back to get a straight edge, which I then hemmed over to give it some strength and a "finished" look.

Moving right along though, parts are coming off...
Stay safe, stay sane
Steve

Hello all;

A Two-fer today as I forgot to finish and send in my previous post which was from Thursday.
Some good news, I have a job! I start on the 30th, so I spent Saturday at the shop trying to get done what I can. The new job is Mon-Fri so it is really going to cramp my style on the truck build... But a job is a good thing for sure, I am really excited to get in there and start.
Saturday was a productive day though, I got a lot of parts stripped off the truck. Exhaust, seats, seat frame, seat belts, running boards, box side trim panels, rear bumper and splash pan, grill shroud support, shifter and trans tunnel cover removed.

I got the new parts organized and put away as cleaned up a bunch of stuff from the box as well in prep to remove it. (The box )
This sets me up for the week to blast, repair, sand and epoxy another batch of parts.
The other cool thing I wanted to mention was all the great journals there are now. For a while, there was only a couple being regularly updated, but now there are almost a dozen. Great job, guys! I really enjoy reading the updates from the other builds and enjoy posting as well.

I will still be working on the truck as much as possible and posting too. I imagine there will be a period I may slack off a bit, but once I find a new routine, I should be able to get back to it.
Back soon, stay safe,
Steve

Hello all;

I have been pushing hard to get as much done as possible and I can really feel it. The pile of parts that came off on Sat are almost ready for epoxy.

I don't know what the part is called, but it is the support that bridges the rad and the hood bolts to. Anyways, at some point in the past, the support was modified. It was repaired by. Razing rather than welding so the repair is from a long, looong time ago.
I tried to make a repair patch but it didn't work out. The dies were close, but the curves got me. I was feeling pressed for time so I quit with the patch and cleaned up the hole so that it looks clean. I guess I can revisit it later.

Stay safe,
Steve

Hello again, thanks for checking in and following along.

Another 2-fer today as I have some extra pictures to post.

These were from the box disassembly last weekend and what I needed to decide was how to finish the tubs to box sides. I can use welting, but I think I will be welding in the tubs though they are currently bolted in. If I weld them in then I will likely use a seam sealer for the finish and go with that.

I have some additional welding to do in the box. The side trim has to be completed, see the pictures. There is also a finish piece to be made as well.

Stay healthy,
Steve

Hello all;

I started a new job this week and it has been going very well. A new routine is yet to be established, but I was able to get into the shop for a few hours yesterday. I worked for about 6 hours, but had to call it early as my back was giving me grief. I had previously shortened the rear fenders at the front to line up better with the running boards. There was a gap at the back as the radius on the fender was brought up higher when I shortened it an left the gap. I am also looking at my previous welds and I can see how much I have improved. Enough so that I am cutting away as much of the previous work as I can while replacing the edge with the radius.

I started with the paper for a template, cut out some 18 ga pieces and then used the Pullmax machine to form the edge. The radius is pretty tight so it cause a lot of ripples in the corner as the edge was formed. I made some cuts and with some hammer work and cutting here and there got the corners welded up and looking good.

That was pretty much where the good times ended as the rest of the time was spent fighting myself. I laid the new piece over the fender, clamped it on and then made a cut where I figured I had new fender material under it. Nope, remember kids to measure twice and cut once! I welded that cut up and then marked a line into new material. I spent the next hour carefully cutting and welding the new piece in. I could have been much faster had I cut the new piece to the proper size then laid it over. I had to take extra time as I was cutting through both pieces which also made getting the patch flush more difficult. Then I struggled with the new fender material thickness and blowing through with too much heat. GAH!!

I did get a nice surprise though, my younger son came out to help for a while. I set him to work doing some dismantling in the cab while I struggled on the fender. Once he was done with that he came and helped me with the fender. Took some extra time to show him what I was doing, but he caught on quickly so I let him run with that fender while I started the other.

In the end I did not accomplish as much as I had wanted to, but hey....

Steve

I'm glad your able to pass this knowledge along to your Son, way COOL. I've been trying to get my 26 year old involved for years now, if it were a video game it would have been finished by now.

Man, Steve, your skills are getting pretty sharp. That is pretty slick building those little contoured bed strips that hug the box side along the wheel tub. Very nice touch. I can’t wait for this truck to be done. Good grief, it’s going to be nice.

🤤🤤

I can’t wait for my little guy or girl to be able to pull wrenches effectively. Watch out, Mrs! 😎