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

Steve, the wheels and tires look great, hopefully the white walls will form to the tire after they are mounted for awhile. I was wondering why you have such a deep offset to the rear (I suppose) wheels?

Hey Craig;

The short answer is because they really look cool!
The long answer is that is where things worked out.
The distance from the frame to the inner edge of the fender was my limiting factor in selecting tires.
I wanted the beefiest tire I could get, the rear tire size is LT265/70-16 and the rim is 16x10.
I tubbed the box to give me room frame-tire and I have about 3/4" clearance from outside of the tire to the fender.
The tire is pretty much stuffed in there and to remove it I need to lift the truck from the frame so the suspension goes slack.
This gives me "just" enough room to wiggle the tire out if I wrestle with it.
If I don't want to wrestle, I can release the coil over bolt and lower the diff even further.

Don't ask me about changing a tire roadside...
Steve

Yep they do look COOL, and yes that was going to be my next question.

Hello all;

Thanks again for checking in and following along.

I am very frustrated, not much has been going right lately. I have been working towards getting the suspension installed and back together. I am not having much success. To clarify, the rear end suspension is back together, it is the brakes that are the issue back there. Long story short, after much monkeying around I found out the rear disc brake conversion kit is not going to work. I do not have enough room as the caliber interferes with the frame. It is not a big deal as the drum brakes will be good, but the time invested to figure it out is the frustrating part. I still have to disassemble them and pack it all up yet.
If anyone is looking for a Ford 9” disc upgrade kit that has been partially installed, but not used᠁
The front suspension got my goat, I tried the other night to install the springs and was unsuccessful. Tonight I tried again with a different type of compressor and after a few different set up attempts I kind of got it. Thing is the spring won’t sit into the lower A frame spring saddle. I took a pause tonight to do some research, so umm if anyone is a mustang 2 guru, I could use your help᠁
On a positive note the underside of the cab got under coated along with the front fenders. Small win, but I will take it.

Thanks,
Steve

It looks like the spring needs to be rotated . I would PM Coilover and send him your pictures. He has complete many IFS swaps over the years.

Plating springs like that can be dangerous because of hydrogen embrittlement unless proper heating is done, I would recommend verifying with the spring plater that it was properly done.

Ed

I agree. They need to be "screwed" into the mount. They look like they might still be a bit too large to fit correctly, but hard to tell from the picture.

Hello again;

I will start by thanking Ed and Craig for commenting. I haven’t resolved the issue yet, but I will let you all know what I figure out.

Things have been really chaotic for us since the beginning of December, my hope is that we are done and life can return to some semblance of normal. That said, I have been working on the truck even if it has been a slog. I want this blog to be a true representation of what a normal person can expect to go through on a build such as this. There are the highs and lows as with all things and I think it is more valuable/interesting to be honest with my experiences.I am also trying to maintain a positive outlook as it I don’t imagine people would be interested in a depressing train wreck. These last few trips to the shop I have said to myself more than a few times, “ this is your dream, this is supposed to be fun”

The suspension, front and rear was really eating my lunch᠁ the front I have left alone until I get the engine and Trans installed. The rear suspension was puzzling me ( and giving me a minor panic attack that something was installed wrong ) things were just not going back together the way they were before the tear down. To sort it out, I started over. I removed all the bolts, measured this out to get the diff where it needed to be and it went back together with out an issue and is looking good. The differential assembly has not been smooth. Think of the hokey-pokey song from childhood “ you put the disc brakes on, you take the disc brakes off. You put the disc brakes on and you shake all about!” Oh, then you take them off again᠁ long story short, before I took everything apart, I should have taken some measurements and pictures too. It never crossed my mind until someone from the shop suggested to notch the frame to make room for the calipers. By then though I had taken it all apart, so I had to reinstall the kit to confirm and measure if notching the frame is an option. It depended on how deep the notch would need to be and how close to the rear suspension cross member I would be. As you can see from the pictures the notch would have to be way too deep to maintain the structural integrity and it is right where the cross member is so I have abandoned the disc brakes᠁again.
So, here is a fun little story. My differential, as I was told from the seller, came from a 1966 Mustang. The Ford 9” has had 3 or 4 axle flange bolt patterns over it’s run. Mine appears to be the “early Ford” which seems to be an odd ball. When I bought the diff it came with the drum brakes installed and even rebuilt. I sold them as I was upgrading to the discs and man, do I regret that decision.
So, if anyone has a set of Ford 9” drum brakes they are looking to sell᠁

All of that aside, today was a really productive day. As I mentioned above I have been working to get the engine/tranny installed and today I was successful. I was a little nervous as I was relying on the expertise of others regarding the torque converter and flex plate selection. Everything went together good, I had a minor hiccup because I did not get the torque converter fully installed my 1st try. Once I did though everything went together quick. It was very satisfying to see big pieces go together and I needed a win to get my spirits back up.

Last thing is the picture of the spray paint. I really like it. It covers really nice, spreads evenly and is forgiving on runs.

That is all I have for now, stay safe.

Steve

Steve, Alright I may be crazy but... can you mount the brake calipers in a forward position on the axel. It would mean swapping the calipers side to side but it would allow the bracket to be mounted lower and clear the frame. Just a thought.🤔

Hello all;

Craig you are not crazy, we did consider it. I can't recall exactly why at the moment but it has something to do with the parking brakes. Maybe the cables or something? No, I remember that it was that the calipers would be upside down and as the bleed screw would be on the bottom you would not be able to bleed the air out.
Today was a day off and though errands kept me out of the shop until noon or so, I was able to spend the afternoon there. It was a great day! Riding the high of getting the engine and whatnot installed Sunday, I was looking forward to tackling the front springs. Warren, the mechanic was also going to be there and his input was very helpful. The first thing he had me do was finish installing the chrome springs I had 1/2 installed. Once sitting back on the tires, by bouncing the truck using my body weight we could tell the springs were too soft. I stripped one side down and removed the 350# rated 11" long spring and replaced it with a 375# 13-3/4" long spring. This was the original spring I had thought was too long. Using the spring compressor and a floor jack under the lower control arm, I got it installed relatively easy. Back on the tires and doing the bouncy test showed it was rock stiff, way too hard. We decided to cut off 1/2 a coil and see how that softened things. The difference in length was 1/2" but it turned out to be the winning combo. The goal was to have the lower control arm about level when the truck is at finished weight. With the shortened springs and 2 adults ( about 400lbs ) standing on the front, the control arm was pretty much level. So, with that achieved I spent the last hour tightening things up and installing the gas shocks.
I am very happy with the progress this weekend and can continue to get more pieces bolted on!

Stay safe,
Steve

I wouldn't give up on your rear disc up, step back and look at it from another angle there should be a solution. Good luck.

If I remember correctly, the last rear disc brake kit I help install had the ability to be installed in any position, regardless of bleeder position. The instructions for the kit said to remove the caliper hardware and position the caliper with the bleeder up, do your bleeding then reinstall.

Hope this helps.

Hey Dan, Craig;

Thanks, but I already gave up᠁?

Yeah, I pulled the pin today and ordered a drum kit. Nothing cool like a 7 piece PEARL rock band kit either.
With it being the rear brakes and once they are on and set up/bled they can be forgotten about. I felt that I didn’t need any additional issues mucking around with set ups. The manufacturer doesn’t give any alternative configurations. It may be that I got a basic kit with no features or maybe there are accessories available. I am okay with plain old drum brakes.
There is a shop out of California, Roadster Supply, and they have remanufactured backing plates with my axle housing bolt pattern.
It may be a cop out, but I wanted a quick solve to my problem. I tried locally to find a used set I could refurb, and given time something would turn up. My problem is that the truck is progressing and I didn’t want to have it in limbo for long.

Thanks for the suggestions, I welcome the input.
Steve

I fully understand about wanting to move forward on the build. I have my 59' set up for drums in the rear, I mocked everything up years ago prior to all of the options out on the market today. I can live with drums as long as I have discs up front and a power brake booster. My thoughts are if you don't enjoy driving the truck you won't drive the truck, I see that a lot.

I’ve got disc/drums on these three and have had no negative issues. All three have great brakes.

Hello all;

Thanks for checking in and following along.

DB Cooper, that is a pretty stable you have there. Thanks for the pic and the reassurance that drums are fine.

Speaking of drums, they should be here this week which is good as I would like to get the chassis a roller again.
The cab bodywork is done and seam sealer applied. I am told that it will be sprayed this week. Fingers crossed it happens.
I have been busy cleaning, painting and installing parts on the engine. I was a bit short sighted when pulling the engine from the donor vehicle as I left the power steering pump behind. Sooo, I have been researching and pricing replacements. From what I can find these pumps are pretty much bullet proof. I priced out a remanufactured pump for 140.00 with a 40.00 core charge ( which I don't have ) so I bought a used one off the local buy/sell for 40.00. I blasted and painted it, which seems to be a re-occurring theme of late...

That is all I got.
Stay safe,
Steve

Steve,

I’ve been following along. Thanks for sharing your build.

You’ll definitely have a nice truck when complete. Keep up the good work!

Hopefully we’ll all be cruising this summer, if we have gas and can afford it that is.

Hello all;

Progress is a wonderful thing!

Paint has officially been applied. The rear fenders and firewall are painted, maybe more. I wasn't expecting anything to happen until Thurs/Friday so I was pretty surprised to get a text with the cab in the booth and painted. There were some phone calls back and forth about the running boards so they may be painted as well.
This morning I received the rear brake assemblies, anyone care to guess what I am doing this weekend?

Thanks for checking in, and for anyone with family in the Ukraine my thoughts are with you. I hope your friends and family can be safe and that this war comes to a quick end.

Steve

SWEET !!!

Hello again;

Thanks for checking in and following along.

This weekend was a lesson in "adulting" and by that I mean balancing what you want to do and what your wife wants to do. I don't mean that in a negative way, rather as excited as I was to go to the shop, I chose to spend yesterday with her and what she wanted to get done. As we are recent empty nesters, we now have a lot of free time to ourselves. I have been focused on the truck for sometime now, and she hasn't been giving me a hard time about it. So, Saturday was about working in the basement to clean and organize. Funny thing though we wound up spending 2 hours playing "Hot Wheels" and racing them on the treadmill. I had seen a few YouTube videos of it, so we tried it out and had a lot of laughs.
Anyways, about the truck...
I was at the shop today and of course I beelined to the rear end with the brakes to confirm they fit. And.....they did! Whew! I went there intending to get the brakes mounted and the diff assembled with the tires on so the truck was mobile again. I did fully assemble the DS before taking it apart again so I could blast and paint the drums. The drums won't be visible, but I figured I might as well just for consistency sake.
After the drums were painted and drying, I got some parts on the engine. There was a bracket for the transmission kickdown that I modified to fit and had painted. It went back on and the power steering pump was installed as well. I made a cover plate for the intake manifold as there is an opening I won't need. I got it fabricated and then came home as I was starving and it was a beautiful day outside. Too nice to spend the entire day inside.

That is all I got, stay safe
Steve

That back spacing is close, I can't remember if you added mini tub's. It's going to look slick with those wheels and tires.

Canadian_guy,

Private Message sent, thanks.

Good day all;

A quick post tonight.
Yesterday I posted an update with a couple of pictures.
I was informed after my post that I had violated a site rule that no car pictures are to be posted.

So, after member “Just horsing around” posted a reply to inform me, “ Handy Andy” sent me a private message telling me to remove the post ASAP.
I replied to HandyAndy that I would not remove the picture and that he could do what he needed to. I now see that the entire post and pictures has been removed.
I also see the post from “Just horsing around” has also been removed.

I am pretty disappointed in this turn of events.

Private Message sent.

The rules are not taken lightly on this site.
It’s to keep us all in check, including the Moderators!
But, do keep posting on your progress. We want to learn and help!

Don

The pictures that were posted were taken of your frame and tires, there just happened to be a car in the background. I personally don't see the problem.

TUTS 59 the post you are referring to is NOT the one in violation. (Yes it does have a car on the lift in the background) He actually posted a photo of a car by itself along with other photos of his truck then pointed out in his narrative that he posted a photo of a car. That means there is a problem. People who can’t/don’t follow the rules have no valid complaint when a Moderator does the job that the site owners require of them. He was asked by this Forum’s Moderator to remove the car photo and he refused to comply. Therefore the post went away. My post was then irrelevant and I deleted it.
I hope this explains it and y’all can get back to a excellent Project Journal blog.

No problem, just coming in on the back side of all this.

Hello;

I guess the biggest problem I have with all this is that I violated no rule. After the incident, I looked for a rule against posting pictures of a car and could not find one. I asked the moderator for the rule and was told there is not one. The moderator is attempting to keep the forum in line with the spirit of the site.
I can sort of understand and get behind that in a way. If there is a “guideline” we are to follow then there is some leeway in the application of the guidelines. Posting a single picture and mentioning a “car” when it is a 1928 Ford Model A should be given some grace. I would be more understanding if we were discussing a 2012 Ford Focus and I was going on about it. To remove the entire post rather than just the picture AND all because of a violation of spirit seems heavy handed and also not in the “spirit” of the site.

I would just repost what you did (without the pic of the car) and move on. It doesn't do any good to complain about a rule (or "guideline".) Yes, the whole post was deleted, but that's water under the bridge.

PM sent

Hello all;

This has been an interesting few days on the build. I feel this build could be adapted into a Netflix series or something. I had gone through the paint book and given my 3 favorites and had a discussion about getting cards sprayed of the colours to do a final selection. That didn't happen and my top selection was ordered. Friday, I am at work and I miss a call from the shop.
I return the call and am asked if I wanted Olive Green.
Ummm, no I selected a charcoal Grey.
Well, the paint you selected is. The paint matches the chip.
Okay not good, so what are the options?
The sealer has been sprayed and the top coat has to be wet on wet so there isn't time to order new paint. We can let the sealer dry and order new paint but will have to scuff the sealer before it can be resprayed. We can spray the paint as is and see how it looks. Or we can tint it with black to shade it darker and see how it turns out.

I went with option 3; tint it darker and see what happens. That was Friday and I did stop by the shop to see it as I was pretty nervous for the results. Initially I didn't really like it, I didn't hate it either though. As I looked at it and walked around getting different angles and reflections it was growing on me. As it was still pretty fresh the finish was still shiny and I was told the matte finish would come through as it cures.
Today I stopped in at the shop as I wanted to see how the finish had changed. I also got to remove the masking to see the "Green" against the black and I think what we have here is a happy accident. While it is not what I was looking for I still like it. If you have been following along you may recall that the truck was originally a military vehicle. This colour could be a kind of homage to the trucks origins.

I have the day off work tomorrow and the plan is to roll the cab out into natural light and see what it looks like.

Stay safe,
Steve

Steve,

Happy accident is right, it looks great! Not something that’s been done a million times and fits the era of the truck.

Have you thought about an accent stripe on the belt line?

Great progress.

That's an interesting color, like you not the first choice I would have picked but is looks good against the gloss black. I wonder how the red wheels are going to look though?

I like the color. I think that a black belt line and black wheels would fit nicely.

What kind of paint did you use, Steve? That is an interesting colour. I like it. A lot. I think I’m going to start my paint debate soon, too.

As soon as my eye heals I'll definitely be paying you a visit to see this awesome build, NICE WORK.

Been quite a while since you made any update, I just hope you haven't given up on "Stovebolt". I would love to see what progress you have made on your truck, you have a great build going and I really enjoyed following your work.

Thank-you TUTS for the encouragement and thoughtful comment;

I was/am taking a break for a while. Not that it was a chore to post as I enjoyed the process and the feedback.
Life gets in the way and for a while things have been pretty gangbusters!
I am currently in outage mode at work and going 7 days a week 12+ hours/day so I have no time for anything but Work, sleep and eat...

I was also taking a break from STOVEBOLT after the "incident" but have since spoken with the site owners and am happy with the conversation.
I was encouraged to return and I will once things settle down on the homestead I will.

The progress on the truck has been steady, but slow. I have been trying to follow the advice to get a little done each day or as time allows.
For the most part I have been painting the "smalls" and a ton of screws!
I have gone through 3 spray cans of matte black and 5 of the gloss black. Had I realized the amount of work to paint all the little pieces I would have started way sooner.

Something the bolters might find interesting...
I inherited my Father's collection of hardware when we cleaned out his shop and I have been having fun going through the drawers of screws and finding, what I think, are almost exact matches for the original slotted interior screws.
From the truck dis-assembly, I have been sorting, cleaning and painting the screws that are in good shape.
I have about 200-300 new screws from Dad's that are near identical, just the head is thicker, that I have been using where needed.
I think Dad would be happy that the screws are being used as no-one, at least around here, uses slotted screws anymore.
Phillips and Robertson have become that standards and while I am not a "purist" I am happy to use something that is very close to original/stock.
Not that much on the truck is stock anymore, but I think it is cool to add some small touches that increase the sentimental value.

I have attached a few pictures. The dash has turned out very nice - I like the gloss.
The model was a "Home Hardware" piggy bank I found online and had it painted at the same time the truck was so I will have the matching model.