The Stovebolt Site Forums Project Journals Project Journals 1949 Chevy Panel Truck

UPPER SHOCK SUPPORT

Once the rear diff was completed then it was time to mate it to the 4-links and place the diff in the frame. After checking the rear diff travel (which was perfect) then I needed to add an upper mount for the shocks.

I had some square tubing that I cut out the lower tubing wall and the side walls and welded in some 3/16” thick plate at the proper width (in the two side walls) for the upper shock bolt to mount thru. I then welded the upper shock support between the two step notches as shown. I then mounted the shocks and cycled the rear suspension travel to re-check it for binding and such...it was all good.

UPPER SHOCK SUPPORT PICS

PANHARD BAR

I had integrated one end of the panhard bar mount on the rear diff (under the RH lower bag mounting plate on the rear diff), now I needed to build a mount for the end that attaches to the frame.

I went ahead and temp installed the two airbags and rigged the panhard bar assy (that I had bought from Speedway Motors) at mid adjustment. I then figured out where the frame clevis needed to be on the frame with the rear suspension at mid-travel (up/dn) and fabbed a double shear clevis out of plate to weld to the frame.

🤤🤤

Looking great!

UPPER AIRBAG MOUNTS

The last major component of the rear suspension was the upper airbag mounting plate. Referring to my initial layout, I determined the elevation of the airbag mount and marked it on the inside surfaces of the step notches. I then fabbed some upper mounts out of 3/16”thk plate, again using some 1/4” MDF templates and my plasma cutter to make them uniform and symmetric.

I welded these upper plate assemblies between the step notch and the shock cross-member as shown. So they should provide good support for the bags as well as a gusset for the step notch to shock cross-member.

After all this was in place, I bought a cheap air line kit that has a simple Schrader valve and all the fittings needed for a quick hook-up of the airbags. I also had some 2” thick pink foamboard that I used to mock-up the tire diameter that I clamped to the rear diff to get a visual on the rear suspension travel and the tire sitting in the wheelwell.

I don't have any good pics of it, but I also added some poly bumpers under the step notch. They were a little tall so I eventually had to cut them down a bit.

UPPER AIRBAG MOUNTS PICS

UPPER AIRBAG MOUNTS PICS CON'T

REAR FENDERWELL CLOSEOUT

Somewhere along the way I had cutout the inner portion of the rear fenderwell to gain access to weld and do some other things. Since I was going to need to modify it anyway for the new suspension travel then it was better to cut it out and fab a new piece to replace it.

So I took some posterboard and traced the outline of the cutout portion onto it so I could transfer it to a new piece of steel sheet. I then figured out how big the notch needed to be cut into the new sheet to clear the suspension travel. After this was trimmed to fit then I was able to form a bead along the lower lip to match the existing bead on the panel.

GAS TANK INSTALLATION

I had previously fabbed the gas tank mount but held off on welding it into the frame until the rear suspension was better defined. With the rear suspension pretty much completed, it was time to nail down the gas tank particulars.

To allow some room to route the exhaust (which will be tight), it was evident that I needed to lower the gas tank relative to the frame a bit to give me a fighting chance to get the exhaust to fit. So I cut the ears off the tank framework and sunk it into the frame as shown and welded it to the boxing plate in the front and I added a small plate in the rear to weld it to.

I also had found a chrome gas tank cap and a short beaded filler neck that I could use. I welded the filler neck into the rear truck bed structure as shown at a slight angle to align with the tank. I will eventually buy a short rubber hose to connect the filler neck to the tank. I also had to fab a new closeout angle to snake around new filler neck. This angle will later be drilled to hold down the wood bed just like the original straight part did.

GAS TANK INSTALLATION PICS

CHEVROLET SCRIPT

Since I am diverging from following a “stock” truck in many areas and coloring outside the lines, I thought that the lettering on the tailgate (actually doors) might be an area where I freestyle a bit. But I wanted to retain a look of the era (or close to the same era).

So I purchased some white adhesive backed vinyl and laid out the script “CHEVROLET” in a size that I thought fit the space. I did this to just get a feel for the look and to see if it was something that I liked before committing any further. I think the script text seemed to match the curves of the truck better than the original block letters used on the stock truck tailgates.

On the first attempt I simply scaled up a scan from a photo (from a Corvette valve cover, I believe) that I found online and transferred that to the vinyl. The problem that I saw with that approach was that the line weight was too heavy since the original was a smaller text size. To correct that, I got out my old drafting French curves and reconstructed the same size text but with a thinner line weight. I seem to like this better. I “may” end up thinning it a little more since once the text is taped off and painted on the panel it “may” need some pinstriping around it to soften the tape edge (which will thicken it a bit more).

I'll just leave the sticker on it for now. That will give me time to further mull over it's size and lineweight. Eventually I would like to emboss the outline a bit (like the original tailgate text) instead of simply painting it on but I'm still trying to figure the best way to approach doing so. I could use the bead roller and see what I can do but I'm sure the panel will potato chip and could be a handful getting it to match the rear panel contour once it was rolled. Or I could create a male/female wood embossing tool and use the english wheel to roll the embossed panel....either way might be tricky. I still have some time to experiment and investigate before deciding.

WOOD BENDING (PART 1)

Since the step notches on the modified frame protrude into the bed, the bed floor would have to be modified to fit around the notches and the diff when the truck is fully lowered. I had a few choices, raise the entire floor to clear.... but then the beads rolled in the stock bed side panels would no longer match the floor interface. Or....leave the floor at the same elevation but raise the floor local to the notches and differential. I decided to do the latter.

The next decision was how to raise the local area. I could box it out using the same wood used on the rest of the bed or I could fab a metal tunnel or hump for this area. After looking at every way imaginable way to do this I settled on trying to see if I could form the wood in this area.

I had already dipped my toes in the steam bending foray but like I mentioned before the process needed some refinement for this more difficult level of bending. Bending 1/2” thick wood to gentle curvatures in-place was somewhat difficult but bending 3/4” thick wood to a tighter radius on a separate tool was going to be exponentially harder. So off to consult the internet for more answers....

Like I previously had read, quarter sawn oak was supposedly a good wood to steam bend. This was stated by several online sources, but after further investigation the preferred curing method hierarchy for steaming wood was green wood, followed by air dried wood, then....................kiln dried wood (a distant 3rd). Unfortunately green qtr sawn oak wood was impossible to find (and would take forever to fully dry and stabilize after forming without proper equipment), air dried oak was next to impossible to find and kiln dried was just simply difficult to find (and all of it was expensive). I ended up special ordering some kiln dried from Home Depot, but there were a few others I could have gotten it from online (but Home Depot offered free shipping).

After further research, I lucked out and found this guy on YouTube that did a ton of steam forming of old wagon parts (wheel and top bows) that had some good tips for doing it with kiln dried wood. I also found somewhere that mentioned that if they formed kiln dried wood they soaked it for a week (in a creek near their house) instead of a few days like I had done before. The other tidbit that I picked up was that someone suggested adding Downey fabric softener to the water to loosen the wood lichen to make it more pliable.

Now that I knew to soak the wood for a week in a water solution with fabric softener in it (½ cup per gallon) the next issue was the actually forming process of the wood. The wagon guy and several others also stated that you needed to keep the wood in compression as much as possible to keep it from cracking. Apparently wood can compress a larger amount (18-20% ᠁.but don't quote me) but can only stretch (tension) a small amount (3% or so...again, don't quote me) before cracking. To keep it in tension, a metal strap was placed on the outside surface of the wood while bending and the ends are clamped or constrained to the strap. This basically shifts the neutral axis of the wood being bent to be in line with the strap and the entire wood plank is compressed while being formed instead of part of it being in tension.

So now I had a plan for prepping the wood and bending the wood but the last unknown was trying to nail down the spring-back on the wood. Just like metal, you have to over-bend the wood and once it is released, then it will spring back into a different shape. The Youtube wagon guy had formed some thicker pieces of a different wood species at 90 degrees at a tighter radius than what I needed and had a 2” spring-back. Using the ever-so-accurate WAG method (wild-*** guess), I decided to use half his number. Since I had thinner wood, a smaller bend angle and a more gentle curve (bend radius) than he had then that seemed about right to me. After measuring the frame structure geometry on the truck, I determined that I needed and inside radius of approx 15.25” to clear the suspension and frame. So I needed a form block of 14.25”R to get there (15.25” minus 1” spring-back) and hopefully (fingers crossed) it would relax to the 15.25R.

I had a stash of lumber left over from my pole barn construction that I planned to use to build the forming tool. The tool I had in mind was roughly based on the wagon guys more elaborate set-up. His tool was powered with an electric or hydraulic driven pull cable but I would simply use two large ratchet straps to pull the board ends around my wood mandrel.

For the compression strap, I ordered a roll of .025 thk x 6” wide stainless shim stock and welded carbon steel angles onto the strap ends to restrain the ends of the wood. I also welded some ¼ dia steel loops on each end for the ratchet straps to hook into since the hooks were rather large. The strap was designed to tightly fit a 47” plank (so I could get 2 pieces out of a 8' board). There is also a hole in each angle so that I could put a 3/8 dia eye-bolt thru it and the board. When I did my initial forming pull on the wood with the ratchet strap, the ratchet strap would run out of travel before the pull was complete so this would allow me to put a smaller strap from eye-bolt to eye-bolt to hold it while I reset the ratchet straps. I also used it as a secondary safety strap once the pull was complete.

Prior to soaking the wood, I cut it to 47” length, drilled holes to accommodate the eye-bolts and I had read somewhere that you needed to seal the end grain to control the water infiltration in this local area and essentially keep the ends from getting too mushy (since end grain absorbs water when unsealed). I coated the ends of the boards with a wood sealer/primer.

To soak the wood, I took some 2x4's I had and made a simple rectangular frame. I then sit that frame on my shop floor, draped a moving blanket inside of it and then placed about 6 or 7 layers of plastic on top of the blanket to hold the water and boards. I placed the board in this set-up and poured the softener/water solution onto it and covered it with another plastic sheet to minimize evaporation.

Part 2 will cover the actual forming....

Although I realize this may have been already done, I’ll give you another method to accomplish a smooth bend. Slice the oak into slats on a band saw and laminate them back together using Titebond exterior wood glue. You could use the bending jig you already built as a clamp. Give it a few days to cure. Once dry it retain the shape better then if it was bent.

WOOD FORMING (PART 2)

Now for the first attempt to bend the wood. When the wood had soaked for a week, I removed it from the solution and dried it off and placed it directly into the steam box for 1 hr at 200F.

I then removed the board from the steam box and placed it in the compression strap, slid it into the bending tool, installed the eye-bolts on each end and then attached the ends of the ratchet straps to the welded on loops and took up the slack in the straps. I then started ratcheting each side, switching from side to side to keep it even. Once the ratchet straps maxed out, I put a smaller ratchet strap across the eye-bolts to hold it while resetting the ratchet straps. I then made the final pull after which I put the smaller strap back on along with a chain to make sure it was secure. I then left it to cure on the tool for a week.

The plan was to soak the wood for a week while the steamed one sat on the form for a week. This would prolong the process since I needed 8 pieces but there was plenty of other things to do on the bed while I formed them.

The first attempt worked out pretty good except the board cracked mid-span of the curvature. After further inspection, the cracking was due to the board not being held snugly against the wood mandrel at the center point. I had a 1-1/2” space between the horizontal board (that initially held the board and compression strap prior to the pull) to give me room to slide it into place. When it was pulled then it gapped open in this area and cracked. On the second attempt I placed a scrap board under this area as a wedge before I pulled it and that cured the issue.

To check the boards after they cured for a week, I made a cardboard template in order to check them. Surprisingly the curvature (i.e. my spring-back WAG) was very close. For all of the boards I formed, the curvature was very close. It was close enough that I could get it into shape with minimal rework (standing in it, etc).

I then put the boards into the bed and trimmed them to length to fit.

WOOD FORMING (PART 2) PICS

BED FLOOR ATTACHMENT

Once I had two pieces of the curved wood formed and cut to length, I needed to create a mounting flange to connect these pieces to the rear inner fenderwell.

I had some 1/8” thick flat stock that I planned on using as the flange so I routed the ends of the curved boards to fit this piece (so it would be flush). I then applied tape to the fenderwell so I could trace the outline of the board onto it when it was positioned correctly. I then used the marked tape to make a cardboard template that I used to mark the other fenderwell (and keep it symmetric), bend the flat stock using the infamous knee brake, and to re-mark the flange placement after I sanded off the primer in the area.

I then welded these two curved pieces directly onto the rear fenderwell. To keep these pieces looking like the rest of the attachment pieces on the truck bed, I fabbed an upstanding flange out of .080 thk sheet that I had and welded it in place to mimic the formed angles used elsewhere. I held this in place with sheetmetal screws while I welded this piece all along the interface between the other more horizontal piece. I then removed the screws, drilled the holes larger and plugwelded it to the fenderwell.

I tied (welded) the ends of these pieces to the existing floor angles/supports. While I was at it, I also went around and straightened up the other support angle joints. The stock truck had lap joints in most of the corners where these angles met, so I cut them flush and butt welded the ends together to smooth them out a bit where I could.

Looks great! Nice job!

FLOOR CROSS-BRACING

With the new rear suspension and new truck bed, the original cross-bracing was not going to work any longer. They were no longer in the proper position fore/aft and all the interfaces to the flooring strips would need to be redone so it seemed easier to make new parts.

I used some 2 x 2 square tubing to make the new cross-braces. I did not want to keep lifting the body up off the frame to get them in and out so I split them in two pieces (just off-center so it wouldn't interfere with the center wood strip) and built a clevis joint to keep them fastened together. This allowed me to simply slide them in and out and bolt them together without raising the body. I fabbed one forward and one rearward of the “hump”.

The new fore/aft position of each one landed about mid-span between two of the existing bolts that held the wood floor. I didn't want to redo the bolt spacing so I had some 1/4” thick bar that I used to make a plate that spanned between the two bolts on each side. I notched the ends of the square tubing so the top surface would still be flush when mounted to the underside of the wood floor and welded these pieces to the ends of the tubes. I then drilled and tapped holes in these plates so I could simply bolt thru the wood floor into them without the need for a separate hex nut under the floor.

I had already fabbed some wood mounting body block blocks some time ago so I used them to figure out where I needed to bolt the cross-braces to the frame. On the rear cross-brace I was able to drill a new hole in the frame top cap to bolt into. I then welded a 3/8-16 cage nut under the cap to screw the bolt into.

On the forward cross-brace, on the stock frame mount provisions there is an angle riveted to the frame web that it bolts through. Since the space was tight and I couldn't get the grinder in to remove the rivets and old bracket, I left it for now and fabbed a new similar bracket in the new, more-forward location. When I remove the body (again) I will remove the old bracket.

REAR FLAT FLOOR

Like I mentioned in the wood steam write-up, forming the curved bed wood took about a week per board (so about 8 weeks total), so during that time I went on and did other things. Since I knew where the curved boards now fit and had the substructure (cross-braces) bolted in, I moved on to the flat boards behind the hump.

I worked the from the outside boards to the middle so the first boards I did was the ones that mounted to the bed sides. Using my typical 1x6 quarter sawn oak (actual ¾ x 5-1/2) I made some cardboard patterns and cut them out on the bandsaw to fit properly. Then I moved on the the adjacent ones. These only had a small amount of profiling that needed to done on the bandsaw. I also made sure that they aligned with the two curved boards so the bed strips would look straight when installed.

The 6 interior boards were pretty straight forward since they were simple square cut ends. I used these to figure out the proper spacing so everything was as even as possible and symmetric.

This is so radical!! I love it!

Very cool.


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Keep it coming Frank!

FWD FLAT FLOOR & REAR STRIPS

The forward flat floor was similar to the rear flat floor except the mounting on the forward end was different than the aft mount. On the aft mount, although a made a new top angle to fit around the gas tank nozzle, I was able to utilize the existing supports (with new hole locations), but the forward end was a totally new configuration since the panel truck did not have a cab backwall.

I had made an integral (welded) angle on the curved cab back when I installed the cab so that the the bed boards could mount under them but I needed something on the bottom side to bolt through to. So I bought some smaller c-channel (1-1/2” wide or so) and made a nut plate/cage nut strip. Apparently I didn't take a good pic of it, but with the wood in place, I simply drilled thru the integral angle (mounted on back of the cab) thru to the c-channel under the wood and then removed the c-channel and welded some cage nuts onto these holes so that I could simply install the bolts from the topside once I had a few started.

While working the forward bed I also wanted to start on the bed strips to make sure I didn't have something that I had overlooked. I used some 1/8 x 1-1/4 steel that I bought to start getting them made and installed. I used some hex bolts to temp install them for now. I eventually changed these to some better looking stainless hardware.

I also added 3 cross-braces in the hump area as well. I added a fwd and an aft one that I fabbed out of flat stock and a middle one that was fabbed out of rectangular tubing so it was stiffer. These will help keep the hump aligned and give me something to bolt the strips into when I install them.

FWD FLAT FLOOR & REAR STRIPS PICS

FLOOR PAINTED AND SEALED

Like I mentioned, it took a week per piece to make the curved planks so they were the long pole in the tent. I may have been able to lessen the pre-soaking or the curing time on the form but once I had what I wanted I didn't want to rock the boat and change anything. The qtr sawn white oak was hard to find and expensive so I also didn't want to wait or pay for any extra due to my experimenting.

With that in mind, I was able to finish up the floor except for the curved pieces. To take advantage of the lull, I decided to sand and finish the wood and metal stripping in the area already completed. So I removed all the floor panels that I had completed so far to refinish them.

For the metal strips I simply painted them with black primer to keep them from rusting. I plan on eventually painting them with a lightly textured bed liner (black) to match the bed sides. I also replaced the temp hex head hardware with stainless button socket head bolts while I was at it.

For the wood, I really liked the natural wood color. I played around with a few stains but I kept coming back to the natural wood. Since the wood would need some type of protection I settled on a satin exterior poly for such. So I sanded the board tops with 100 grit then 200 grit to get out all the wood stains and abnormalities. Then I primed and painted the bottom-side of the wood a satin black (1 primer 2 topcoats) and then I sealed the top surface with 3 coats (light sanding between coats) of the exterior satin poly.

FLOOR PAINTED AND SEALED PICS

FLOOR PAINTED AND SEALED PICS CON'T

I do enjoy following your build, you have MAD SKILLS !!!! I just don't have brain power for what you have accomplished.

Thanks for the compliment, glad it is being enjoyed but I couldn't come close to doing this without sites like this and others where I can get ideas and solutions to problems. Tons of info out there even if you have to double check it from time to time for accuracy.

LAST CURVED FLOOR & FINALLY FINISHED!!!

While I was finishing the completed floor panels, I continued to form the remaining 4 curved boards. Once they were formed then I cut, routed and finished them to match the others.

I also had to form the curved bed strips. I started out making a form out of wood scraps but the springback was too large so I tossed the form and simply hand bent the pieces to fit. I then painted them to match and completed the installation.

As a side note, this formed bed was a good learning experience and I'm glad that I was ignorant enough to start it. If I had known what all it involved then I doubt I would have tackled it. It definitely put the cuss in custom. Lotsa head and butt scratching. If I had to do this for someone I would charge them a number comparable to a 3rd world country GDP.

LAST CURVED FLOOR & FINALLY FINISHED PICS

LAST CURVED FLOOR & FINALLY FINISHED PICS CON'T

Wow! That was allot of work but it looks great. Nice job!

Super. Not everyone’s cup of tea but I like it!

Simply awesome. Just shows folks it can be done. The sky is the limit...or beyond. Thanks for sharing. An inspiration to everyone.

Wow.

If Bolters on here don't drink tea, they'd better start because, again... wow.

BRAKE BOOSTER

While I was finishing the bed wood, I branched off and went ahead and mounted the CPP brake booster that I had purchased a while back. Straight forward installation using the instructions. Not much to discuss so I'll just post pics.

Next up — the IFS installation.

IFS — DELIVERY

After a ton of research on IFS kits, I settled on the Superslam Kit from Scott's Hotrods in Knoxville, TN. I ordered the unit back in early January ('22) with an estimated delivery of mid-March ('22). After several phone calls, missed delivery dates, and such, I finally received a partial shipment at the end of April.

I won't take the time to further vent but needless to say that knowing what I now know, I might have went a different direction....but with that being said, although their customer service is lacking, the build quality looks real good. Here are some pics of the components with a little of the pre-assembly done.

IFS — DELIVERY PICS

CROSSMEMBER LOCATION & LEVELING

I had already removed the stock front suspension but I did not mark the centerline of the old front wheels on the frame prior to removing. One of the old leaf springs had an eye broken so I had zero confidence that the stock one was positioned correctly so I simply referred back to the OEM engineering drawing of the frame to mark the spindle CL using other frame features.

After leveling the frame and marking the wheel CL then I dry fit the crossmember into position. It was then that I realized that I had been shorted the spindles on the order. I needed them to final locate the crossmember (due to the caster angle). So after a phone call and more missed dates from Scott's I found out they were just Mustang II 2” drop spindles from Speedway Motors. So I called them and had a set in my hands in 2 days. (BTW, I'm still awaiting my refund or spindles from them — mid June '22).

This is a huge step so on something like this I like to measure 5 or 6 times and then walk away a bit before welding it in place....which is what I did after the dry fit.

CROSSMEMBER LOCATION & LEVELING PICS

CROSSMEMBER LOCATION & LEVELING PICS CON'T