Stovebolt.com Forums Project Journals Project Journals My '51 3100/3600 Project

Me too.
I think I've seen that concept before.

With progress on my cab moving along, I decided I'd better get some of the interior things rehabbed and ready to be installed someday. I brought home my gauges and ordered a number of restoration parts from a local vendor. Now, my truck is a '51 and as such it had an 80 mph speedo in it. The truck came with another pair of gauges that were not in the best shape, but I took both speedos apart so I could pick the best pieces to use. As it turned out, the decal set I bought (which was advertised for 1947-1953 Chevy trucks) came with a 90 mph speedo decal. This situation seems to be an issue with the various vendors I look at. At any rate, I went ahead with what I had. I plan to rehab the pieces I have for the 80 mph speedo, too, once I get a proper decal for the face plate.

I had a lot of fun with the odometer. I don't wish that little project on anybody that doesn't have the patience of Job. The decal instructions say to apply them directly over the old painted numbers on the wheels. That would ensure the numbers all line up properly. In my case, one of the odometers had teeth missing from the gear on the end, and the other odometer's wheels were stuck on the shaft. Also, the old painted numbers were flaking off the wheels so I had to scrape them all clean before applying the new numbers.

Since I wanted to reset my odo to zero, I jumped in with both feet and took them both apart. I always wanted to know how they worked anyway. For the uninitiated, each wheel has a dimple on one side that indicates the "0" position. Between each wheel is a thin metal plate with a small gear. The teeth on those little gears are different on each side so getting them installed in the correct way is critical. The wheels are held on the center shaft with washer-shaped keepers that are pressed onto each end. Only remove one of them so that the wheels stay in the same position on the shaft. I removed the keeper on the right (gear) end as it is much closer to the end of the shaft. Getting that keeper back onto the shaft in such a way that it is not too tight or too loose is challenging to say the least.

The end result is less than perfect as the zeroes don't line up just right. This is due to my application of the decals (not getting them in exactly the same spot on each wheel) and not the wheels themselves. I'm going to live with it until something better comes along.

The steel body of the speedo was prepped inside and out for repaint. On the outside I used Dupli-Color #SS100 "Stainless Steel" to replicate the galvanized look. The inside was repainted with Krylon #2437 "Satin Almond" which I found in my wife's stash of spray paint. The pressed ring that fits between the gauge body and the glass was originally painted in Chevy's "Champagne" color (I think that's what it's called). My son found a reference to Rust-Oleum #7272830 "Dark Metallic Bronze" right here in the Stovebolt forum. I found it to be a wonderful match to the original color.

I used a new chrome bezel and found that the bronze painted inner ring would not fit inside it as it should. The inner ring's flange was too wide across about 45% of its circumference. A short time with a good file took care of the problem. Next, the replacement gaskets that I got are not the same shape as the originals. The originals were round in cross section so they sat down inside the bezel. The new gaskets are square in cross section so they sit proud in the bezel. With the glass and inner ring in place, you can't push the gauge body down far enough to seat it all together and crimp the bezel. My solution was to take a razor blade and shave one the outer corner of the gasket to a 45 degree angle so that it sat down inside the bezel.

The speedo is done and I'm most of the way through doing the other gauge now so more on that soon.

Here's a photo showing the two odometers all taken apart. You can see the thin metal divider plates with their little gears. The wheels have a full "ring gear" on one side, and a very short section of teeth between "9" and "0" on the other side. The little gears have "extended" teeth on one side that engage that short section of teeth on the wheel to advance the next wheel one place. It's a very clever design.

Today was a big day for the project. With my son's help I got the cab re-installed on the chassis. Prior to putting it on, we installed the cab-to-running board seals on both sides and I finished coating the bottom of the cab with truck bed liner. After removing the steering column and a few other items installed during last summer's test drive, the cab went on without any hitches. Now I need to shim it to the proper height. I'm very excited about getting the front end all put together soon!

That is a big day and it’s starting to look like a truck again. I think the best part is your not going backwards repairing every part you touch but moving forward toward a completed project. Congrats!

Last weekend my folks were visiting from out-of-state for my dad's birthday. He's been a big supporter of my truck project so I figured I needed to have the truck in a condition to give him a ride while he was here. My list of to-do's was fairly long.

Previously I had painted the interior of the cab. I then painted the upper cowl area where the hood lays. I figured this was as good a place as any to spray the urethane sample I had mixed to match the "Gloss Regal Blue" I used inside the cab. After letting it cure a number of days, and being satisfied with the result, I installed new rubber grommets in the firewall, and the reconditioned fuse holder and voltage regulator (just for looks, it's not in use). I needed to get some of my new wiring loom installed, too, but first I had to purchase a new rubber mat (with the jute backing) for the inner firewall and get that installed. The new mat had die-cut holes for the various penetrations, some of which didn't match up at all. In hind sight, I should not have punched out the holes before installing the mat. Instead, I should have test fit the mat and marked it with a pen through the holes in the firewall, then cut the mat myself. It is what it is at this point, so I moved on. The new wiring loom my dad purchased over a year ago went in along with a new brake light switch and headlight dimmer switch.

To finish up inside the cab, I installed the brake and clutch pedals, the accelerator pedal and its rod, the starter pedal, and the choke and throttle cables. I also installed a new speedometer cable and the speedo I rebuilt. Next went in the re-conditioned seat adjusters, the cleaned (but not yet painted) seat frame along with the original cushions, and finally the steering wheel.

Moving to the outside of the cab, I re-installed the steering box and column (removed when I installed the cab). Then came the radiator, the inner fenders and their support rods.

After installing a temporary temperature gauge that I zip tied to the passenger side A pillar, I filled the cooling system with water. I also installed a temporary oil pressure gauge in the tee fitting at the block. Lastly, I ran fuel hose back to a temporary gas tank mounted on a piece of plywood on the frame behind the cab.

After a brief hiccup involving the distributor timing (quickly rectified by my son) the motor fired right up and idled smoothly. My son and I took a quick spin around the shop area to make sure everything was ok then it was my dad's turn. It was incredibly rewarding to be able to drive him around in my truck!

The first two photos don't do show the blue paint properly. The third photo better represents the dark gloss blue that I had matched to one of my porcelain enamel "Union 76" signs from the 1950's. My son reconditioned the air cleaner (a swap meet purchase) and added the decal which he made from a scan of an advertisement on a 1950's Union Oil road map.

I haven't had any luck uploading video files to this forum, so I plan to upload some video to my YouTube account then post a link.

Congrats on your first drive. Won’t be long before you take your first spin on the road!

My 1951 3600 is in the final paint stage. I am the third owner, all original, 69000 miles. I drove it for a year before I started a total frame off restoration in 2018. Trying hard to make it look like it just came off the show room floor. Total stock. Only thing I have left to find is 17" (8) lug split rims.

51 Roughrider, sounds like you've got a great project. Have you posted any photos yet? I'd sure love to see your truck, and I'm sure others would, too!

Changes in my job have got me hopping, but I continue to make progress on my truck as often as I can. We've had some very nice weather here which has made it nice to get lots of painting done. I'm trying to get as many of the big pieces painted before cooler and/or wet weather sets in. The place where I am doing this work is not the best environment for painting so my bar is not set very high. I keep telling myself that this isn't going to be a 'show truck.' Also, to paraphrase something an old boss used to say (about his welding abilities), I wouldn't make a pimple on a good painter's butt! In the end I hope to have a truck that will be fun to play with and still look pretty good going down the road. But I digress...

A couple months ago I temporarily mounted the front fenders to the truck so that I could (1) figure out how to do it before they are painted, (2) figure out where to install the turn signals, and (3) check the fender height (I had a concern about my radiator support not being 'square'). Since then I've painted the front fenders and the grill, and the hood is 75% done (inside painted; ready to paint the outside). To recap a bit, I'm a Union 76 collector so this truck is going to represent a gas station service truck, hence the blue and orange scheme. I matched the colors to a 1950's era porcelain enamel sign that I have hanging in my garage. The orange is a stock color (Sherwin-Williams) and the blue happened to match "Nissan Blue" (Wesco). Both are single-stage urethanes. I had issues with getting the orange thick enough to not see through it (which turned out to be an issue with my gravity fed spray gun, not the paint). I shot four coats the first go around. After that had cured I wet sanded the fenders and gave them three more coats. I had the same issue with the orange on the grill. That took five coats, the last two I shot with a different gun. Live and learn, I guess. I shot all of the blue on the grill first then masked for the orange (since the orange is in the front). What a nightmare! There are some spots where the parting lines are not as clean as I'd like so I will go back and touch those up with a 00 brush. Ultimately, one day when the budget allows, I hope to acquire a chrome grill to replace this painted one.

On a different note I also acquired new tires (thank you dad!) to go on the new 16x6 rims that I bought. I painted the rims blue (they came powder coated black). Once I install the hubcap clips the rims will get another shot of blue. I'm really looking forward to seeing the truck sitting on these one day soon.

After shopping for cab glass via the usual vendors, I decided that I did not need to spend so much money on shipping (which basically doubled the cost of new glass and has a 4-6 week lead time). I took my old windshield glass to a local shop and had new ones cut. Then, thanks to an ad on Craigslist, I picked up brand new glass for the rear window, the vent windows and the door windows (all LMC products for a project that went a different route) at half cost. The hour and a half drive to pick them up was well worth it.

Next on the docket is to get the windshield installed while the fenders are off, then the front end can go together.