The Stovebolt Site Forums Project Journals Project Journals 1947 Chevy Panel Truck Frame swap with 1988 K2500

I’ve mostly been working on the roof of my house, but I get a little work in on this project. I picked up some Inner Fender to firewall filler panels from a junkyard in Montana. Correct parts for a truck with the floor lever parking brake. I cleaned and painted them, attached the foam and installed.
I wasn’t happy with the height of the brake and clutch pedals and there isn’t much adjustability with this set-up. I found some short clevis yokes that were an easy fix to lower the pedals.
The driver’s door wasn’t closing flush, it was binding at the top near the front. I thought about it for a long time. I made an elaborate tool for measuring the cab, in the end some diagonal measurements reassured me that the cab is not too far off. I ended up placing a 2x4 in the door opening and leaning on the door. Now the door shuts flush.
I connected a laptop to the ALDL and found the battery was not charging and there was a vacuum leak. I fixed both issues.
I have a list of parts that I need, so another trip to the pick it yard is in my future.

I saw a post about running the original 6v horns on a 12v system. That is something that I wanted to do but didn’t have much hope of achieving. The original horns came in a box of stuff when I got the truck over 20 years ago, and I still had the horns. I had tried them on a 12v battery before and didn’t get any sound. I tried again and one worked. The other one didn’t so I removed the cover. I used a screwdriver to open the points and that got them working. The 6v horns are really loud on 12v. It took several attempts, but I finally got them working close to 6v with some dropping resistors about 0.2Ω. I also built a voltage reducer with some transistors I had. Both the resistors and the transistors got really hot. I looked for high watt/ low value resistors and found some solutions for a price. I looked for voltage converters and couldn’t find any that could handle the current at a reasonable price. I did find some high watt mosfets that might work for a couple bucks. I ordered some parts and will get on that another day.
I have part of the cab interior painted, but not the threshold or the trim around the doors and windshield. I tried to remove the lower windlace retainer, but the screws would not budge. I fired up the O-A and heated each screw red hot and spritzed them with water. They came out like butter. This is the ’47 with two piece windlace retainer, unique to only a couple years. There is a 3rd small retainer on the back bottom of each door held on by Two screws. A little heat to get one of those off. The front retainer on the passenger side was damaged at the bottom while in the shop, so I’ll come up with a fix for that. I have not found a source for this part so I’ll work with what I have. The windlace retainer has one piece on the front of the door opening, and another on the rear. At the top where they meet is an embossed rectangle piece that covers the seam of both retainers as well as the first headliner retainer. This is the domino effect as I had to remove the headliner retainer last. None of this can go back on until the headliner is in place. The headliner is cardboard, so it will go on after the windows are in. I masked off the interior and sprayed Grey where it needed to go. The door jambs were originally the Bronze color. I was able to remove the passenger side striker plate, The screws wouldn’t budge on the driver side. I taped everything off and debated for several days either painting over the striker and hinges, or complete teardown. I decided since everything was working it would be o.k. to paint over as is.
I had some time and looking some more, one thing led to another. I started turning hinge bolts. After awhile the passenger door was on the ground and the hinges were on the running board. Full steam ahead, I proceeded to the driver side. One striker plate screw turned, the other three did not. I striped the phillips slot on two, sheared off the other. I tested the hinge bolts with the socket/breaker bar. They were not free. One acted like it was turning, but sheared off. I used heat and got the rest out.
It took awhile for me to accept the fact that my drill bits are dull. I also broke two bolt extractors in the process. A task awaits for another day.

Two weeks of penetrating oil and the busted stud would not budge. I drilled it out some more and used a centerpunch to collapse it in. In the process I hammered the punch between the stud and the hole, the nut is D-shaped and split on the thin side. I cleared the hole and tried another bolt in it. I was able to tighten it some, so I may use it as is, or could add a helicoil.
I removed the hood to go over the hinge bolts. The restoration shop decided it would be a good idea to tap the threads and assemble with their standard shop bolts. I was actually there while the owner’s son was doing this. The owner commented that the guy that dismantled it neglected to tap the threads and they were having a hard time getting the bolts in. I mentioned that I had the special bolts for it, but they wanted to use their bolt then, and use new bolts after paint. I should have known better. I still haven’t found the original bolts.
Now that I have the hood off, I see they tapped it out to 5/16-18. The shoulder bolts are 5/16-24. These tapped holes are in a bracket that is rivetted to the hood. I could buy 6 helicoils and use the shoulder bolts. This hood hinge has Three 3/8” holes for the shoulder. The shoulder bolt kit I purchased has one 3/8” for each side and two larger for each side. I would need to get 4 more 3/8” shoulder bolts. I picked up some 3/8” spacers that I can cut to length to use on 5/16-18 bolts and make my own shoulder bolts.
I tapped the spacers to 5/16-18, and cut to length.
Now I’m attempting to paint the under side of the hood when it’s not freezing outside. I was in a hurry and painting a concave surface. The drips really showed up after I applied black. I decided to use some sandpaper, 100 grit was a lot of work so I had some 60 grit. It shows the drips are from the primer. I sprayed more black and the 60 grit scratches show. I used the 100 grit to knock those down, and more black. This is all new to me, I’ve watch a couple videos and know I can get it looking fairly decent.

It’s been awhile since I updated this. I work weather and time permitting.
I painted the hood hinges with Cold Galvanizing Compound and installed them with new bolts from a kit.
I really want to button up the truck and start driving it, I’ve been going back and forth on assembly before paint. I have finally decided to paint it first since some rubber and hardware will go over paint, and I don’t want to teardown again later. I removed the door window garnish. The original green paint is under the window garnish. I spent an hour picking the old rubber scraper out of the groove in the door.
There are some holes in the door where I had mounted an eighties mirror. My plan is to fill those. I have a piece of the inner fender to practice on. I fired up the oxy and dialed it low. My previous attempts at welding on the inner fenders was less than spectacular, but I got the job done. The door will be visible, so it has to be good. Having the gas and oxygen set low helped. It was easy, I’ll practice some more before hitting the doors. Here is a picture of the holes filled, the back side of the filled holes, and after I ground down the filled holes. I’m happy with the results. I put the torch in my 9 y.o. son’s hand and let him have a try at one of the holes. He needs more practice too.

The weather was nice and I had some time. I filled the holes in the doors. I used an abrasive wheel to clean around the holes. Placed a flat copper piece under the hole. Adjusted the Oxy-Acetylene by sight and sound. Tested the flame on my scrap piece. Hit the hole with the torch while feeding welding rod. Let it cool so I could move the copper and magnet to the next hole. Burnish around the weld area. The one video I found of someone doing this kind of repair showed the burnishing as lightly spanking the sheet metal with a spatula. I lightly tapped with a hammer, not sure it accomplished anything. I used 100 grit sanding disk to grind down each weld and hit them with some primer. I’ll follow up with body filler for the imperfections. It was easy enough. Each time I shut off the torch between holes. I had to re-dial in the flame each time so it was inconsistent. I tried on the scrap piece and modified the flame as needed. A couple of the holes tried to get away from me, but I kept them from getting out of hand by either repositioning or adjusting the flame.
Next I’ll go after the original mirror bracket holes in the cowl. This is a 3800, so 1-ton that originally came with the round mirror on the end of a long rod. I’ll be using the smaller truck style mirror arms.
That area has a reinforcement plate behind the outer sheet metal. I won’t be able to place my copper piece under the holes.

I’m getting more time in as the weather is agreeable. I’ve painted the inside of the doors and installed the window rubber sweepers. I tried to slide the sweeper in from the gap, but didn’t. Instead I put one edge in the channel, and pushed the other edge in with a screwdriver. It was somewhat easy. I cut a hole for the driver side lock retainer. I’ll cut a hole for the lock later, and modify the latch mechanism. I had purchased a lock for a ‘40’s car driver door so the cover and keyhole will be oriented correctly. I wanted to use the best for my truck, and heard about Steele rubber. I attached the door weatherstrip. It was a bit of a struggle to remove the doors from the hinges. I wanted installation to be easier than removal so I opened up the hinge pockets in the doors with a pry bar. I set a door on the running board and then lifted it onto the hinges and placed the bolts. Little adjustment was needed and then I found the doors would not close. I panicked, read several discussions on door weatherstrip and the woes of doors not closing. I searched for thinner weatherstrip, found a couple sources, and even ordered some from Jim Carter. I decided this issue could wait and used a cam strap to pull both doors in. The Jim Carter weatherstrip arrived and it is quite different, rounded. I may use that on the ’55 when the time comes. The doors have been under tension for a few weeks and are shutting better.
I reworked the mirror bracket holes, reattached the cowl side vent bracket, worked over the big dent over the driver door. Rear doors, I finally tackled the cracks in the rear door using O-A and body filler. I don’t think the patch will hold, and when I re-do it later, I’ll have a better idea of how to go about it. That part is done for now.

I had removed the driver side rear door from the hinges. I went about removing the hinges from the body and sheared off one bolt. The rest of the bolts went carefully and slowly over several days. There is no access to the threads, so I sprayed penetrating oil on the head, give a small turn, and re-tighten. Keep repeating, unscrewing more each time until less resistance is felt. I used this technique on the passenger side rear door and hinges too. For the bolt that sheared off, I removed the rubber grommet from the hinge, and slipped a saws-all in to cut the stud from the back side of the hinge. Later on I removed what was left from the hinge. I removed the rear door upper latch. I had painted most of the interior, except for the rear door opening. I’ll paint the rear door opening, and the rear doors interior surfaces before painting the exterior.
I purchased a half pint of two colors of paint. I have a little panel truck piggy bank that I will use as a test, but if there is enough paint, I’ll also paint the rear splash pan, and the sun visor. I removed the brackets and seal fasteners from the rear splash pan. The sun visor had something, maybe paint spilled on it thick. I cleaned that off. Ospho applied to both, and then washed off with WD-40.
The last thing to remove from the body was the Running board seal retainer. I sprayed the bolts with penetrating oil and was able to remove 3. I then spent about 5 hours removing the rest. I used a grinder to flatten the round head bolts, center punch, 3 drill bit sizes and out they came.

I sprayed primer on the sun visor and rear splash pan. I found some light green paint that I thought was similar to what was used on the underside of the visor. I finished painting the rear door jamb, and the rear door interior, before and after pictured. It was a nice hot day and I had time so I hooked up my new paint gun. I sprayed the Windsor Blue. The rear splash pan, lower rear hinges, mirror arms, Rear light cans, and piggy bank panel truck used a small amount of the ½ pint sample. I mixed the whole sample, so I decided to go at the rear doors. I put two coats on everything and still had some paint left. I had to stop when the air compressor started making a strange noise and quit. The belt came off and the motor breaker threw. I re-aligned the motor and it’s working for now. I really like how well the paint goes on. I’ll probably spray primer over the doors as they weren’t ready at the time. There are some places where the old paint and the original paint had chipped off and the transition is visible with the blue paint on.

I’ve been prepping the body for paint. I took a disk sander to any rough rust. I hand sanded everything with 120 grit. Vacuumed off the dust. Applied Ospho to the entire roof and any visible rust on the sides. Washed everything with formula 409. At this point some Red became visible. I had always thought the truck was silver with red fenders, but it appears that it was all red with the original green beltline for awhile. The hood does not appear to have been painted red ever. I believe it was replaced after mid ’49 as the front emblem is the stamped metal. ’47 to mid ’49 the front emblem was cast and plated. This makes me think the hood was replaced. Also the hood hinges do not have the tiny holes for coil spring like on ’47 hood hinges.
The truck had Texas ’56 plates when I got it, so it was on the road for 9 years. It was repainted red, and then painted silver with a brush. The words on the side of the body read “HENDERSON DISTRIBUTION COMPANY”. There was a Mr. Peanut image and 5¢ on the door. There was also the words spray painted and faded “Loco for Sale” on one side. This stuff gets me excited so I’m documenting it here. I have tried to look up the history of Henderson Distribution Company, and Planters Peanuts in 1947 Texas. I found a Henderson Texas and they have some historical pictures on-line. I have not found any history related to this panel truck other than what is on the truck. The previous owner had scratched off the company markings otherwise I might like to keep them. Being a delivery truck and painted red makes me wonder if it was for Coca-Cola at first. I won’t be doing a forensic paint removal to look for markings, so if there is anything under the silver it will remain hidden.

Washed everything with WD40? That’s a body shop no no! The paint guys will be along shortly to explain why.

Like Martin said, WD40 is NOT what you should use. It used to contain silicone (I don't think it does anymore) which shouldn't come anywhere near anything that's going to be painted. That's just wishing for fisheyes in your finished paint. But even if WD40 doesn't contain silicone anymore (and that's not certain), it's not what to use. WD40 does contain <35% petroleum base oil (non-hazardous heavy paraffins) (wax), which is equally bad for paint.
You should use a specific wax and grease remover. Example

I just read your build and I commend you for doing such a monumental task. It looks like you will have blended modern engineering into an old classic truck perfectly. You’ll be driving her soon and I’ll be following along.

Sir,

You're painting your '47 Panel Windsor Blue. Nice! Me too for my '52 'Burb. (Here's the Project Journal.)

Someday, we could meet up even though we are on opposite sides of America.

I do wipe down my metal with acetone before I spray.

Keep on making progress, even if it's an hour/day. But mostly have fun doing it.

Thanks Walt.

V/r,
Nick

Yikes! good catch I used Formula 409, NOT WD-40. My next task is to use paint prep, a solvent the paint shop sold me similar to Acetone but doesn't evaporate as fast.

It's OK Walter, we all have slips like that.
But not me.

Who knew a simple typo would garner such response? Aside from the well meaning advice, this is the most replies this post has gotten. Thanks for the kudos!
I have painted the inside of the fenders and the rear wheel wells Black. I installed a fan in the car tent, I hope the paint vapors don’t flash when they go through the fan motor. I’m aware of that issue, but this is what I have. I also mounted a spotlight at the back top of the tent. I have a 2’ stepladder that would make a good scaffold base for accessing the roof of the truck. I would need 5 more. I found some at a local hardware store, but at $50 each I decided to make my own out of wood. I spent a day making some. I also made 3 3’ sawhorses to support the fenders or doors. I still need more rack room! The 4 doors, 4 fenders, and hood take a lot of space when laid out for paint. I picked up a metal shelf system at an estate sale for $20. The problem with a panel truck is the amazing interior that is so useful for placing stuff. I have been partly working out of the back of the truck. Now it’s time to mask up for paint, everything I’ll need must be removed from the truck. I set up the metal shelf with paint supplies. All that stuff was in random piles here and there, now it’s mostly in one place.

I feel your pain (regarding rack room). Those of us doing standard pickups have box sides, etc. in addition although we only have 2 doors. I amtrying to determine how I am going to rack everything when I get to that point in my project.

I sprayed Primer and all the dings and scratches showed up. I worked over the worst areas a little, and then full speed ahead. The Cream Medium looks more like Buttermilk, I had the paint shop modify the mix slightly, but it is still very yellow. I proceeded to paint the top half Cream Medium, and the bottom half Windsor blue. Some drips in the primer I sanded smooth. Some drips in the Cream Medium yet to be addressed. The Windsor Blue went on nice. Working on the top half was cramped in the car tent. My back against the tent and the spray gun at my chest at times. The drips seemed to happen when the gun was too close. Now it’s time for final assembly. Before the hood goes on, the hood to cowl gasket needs to be installed. I found a picture in the shop manual for ’47 and ’48 versions, (notice the lower clip rotated from tightening down). The FAM and parts catalogs show images of later versions that seem to be shorter. The cowl vent gasket fits good, I decided to glue it in place. It feels good to install new rubber on new paint. I went on to the rear door hinges, used some spray soap to coax the hinges through the gasket while holding the gasket in place. Now for the Fenders, The Rear Fender Welt is not as wide as whatever was originally between the fender and body. I thought about using some roofing tarpaper as a gasket along with the welt as a garnish. The welt might be wide enough to reach the mounting bolts. My plan is to get a hole punch for paper to make some nice holes and see how it fits.

Wow that is a tight spot, but it looks like you're getting it done. I have a similar tent I've been using for some painting, but may be smaller than yours. Mine is 10'x10'x8' and I don't think I'll have enough room to paint the cab in there.
I see that you're using the 3M PPS system. I like that system as it's pretty easy to clean up after painting.

Yes I am using the 3M PPS system spraygun. I guess I got one of the last first gen, then I had to get a case of the lids and liners. It is easy to clean up but it does generate a lot of waste. I got a half gallon of each color and used one lid and liner for each. I have some spots to touch up, but I’m waiting until I’m done with assembly in case I create more. I will use a new lid and liner each time I spray.
I kind of missed the whole spray booth concept. I was spraying in a tent, and I did have an exhaust fan so that was covered. I had the end open and saw clouds of paint blowing down the road. Next time I’ll keep the end closed and put a filter over the fan.
I got the wiper transmission in place and realized I had no gaskets. I ordered the gaskets along with the windshield center bar and the front hood ornament. The original center bar was in good shape, but two bolts were stuck. The front emblem looked o.k. but the attaching hardware was trashed and the chrome was peeling.
A friend helped me move the hood to the truck. I had installed the hood by myself when I got the truck over 20 years ago. I tried every combination of assembly until I finally tried to attach the springs to the truck last, that did it. I had to modify a couple of the hinge to body bolts, the kit I got had pointy bolts that were too long and interfered, so I cut them shorter. The hood is not sitting down enough, I’ll look at that later.
I attached weatherstrip to the rear doors. I had read about leaving extra on the left door to fill the gap, so I did. I thought I could stab the rear doors onto the hinges, but that was not happening. I had a helper over to hold the door while I tried to get the hinges through the grommets, but no. I ended up removing the hinges from the truck and installing them on the doors. Then I was able to hold the door myself and work the hinges through the grommets on the truck with some soapy liquid. I reattached the front doors and installed the latches and striker plates. They close nicely.
My son said he wanted to help me with the windshield. I got everything ready and removed the new glass from the bubble wrap. He took the bubble wrap and proceeded to pop while I put the weatherstrip on the glass. I used soapy liquid on one side, I’m not sure it helped and it made it hard to handle. I did not use soapy liquid on the other side. We moved the glass to the truck and the soapy side was easier than the dry side. I used boot strings and worked each side in simultaneously going inch by inch. After the weatherstrip was in place the soapy side was easy to final adjust, the dry side not so much. I had also applied some adhesive to the center, don’t do that. The center rubber was slightly off. We were able to get the upper 3 bolts through to the center divider. I made a special tool to get the last one lined up and cinched down. A 2” 10-32 bolt with a nut and washer, then I used real duct tape, aluminum, to hold the center divider in place while I swapped in the final bolt. Installed the window trim and mirror. Headliner needs to go in before the door trim. The first piece required some modification to accommodate the center retaining bolts. I tried to install the second piece of headliner, but I don’t have 3 arms. I cleaned up some of the accumulation in the truck and found a bag of the headliner retainers and fasteners.
I moved on to the sun visor. I used some cord to hang the visor in place. I’m not sure what kind of visor this is, maybe a Dieterich. It came with the truck, but I never attached it. I recently purchased some Dieterich end brackets, they bolt onto the visor and clamp to the driprail at the same time. I wrangled with that for awhile and finally got one bolt on each side. Then I found the doorgap on the passenger side was too tight to clear the visor bracket. I tried to hammer the bracket, but it popped off.

I proceeded with the 2nd piece of headliner. I set it in place on the passenger side into the center retainer, and used a screw/washer on the back to hold it in place. The dome light holes lined up, so I put the screws in there. I used individual screw/washers along the back edge, working from the passenger side to the driver side. The driver side did not go into the center retainer as much as the passenger side, but it was good enough. Once in place, I trimmed the end edges and installed the two smaller retainers on each side. Finally I removed the individual screw/washers and installed the rear retainer. It looks good. The front headliner is short on the ends, I don’t think the windlace retainer is going to cover that gap.
I ditched the sun visor end brackets and used screws for a solid attach. I modified one of the center support brackets and made it work.
On to the back doors, one of the lock rods broke during teardown. I was able to remove the threaded shaft from the trunnion. I cut the lock rod back and welded a bolt to the end. I used the O-A and just heated the two pieces red hot until they fused together. I cut the head of the bolt off and cleaned up the threads. Later I found it was too long and trimmed to fit. The left door lock lever spring was broken. I got the closest spring I could find at the local hardware store. Getting ready to modify the new spring I see it is wound opposite of what I need. I made it work anyway. Now the left rear door latches as it should. I put the right door latch in and it latches good. The door doesn’t shut as tight as I would like and the bottom is sticking out. I’m pretty sure they let the door swing hard when it was in the shop. They had removed all the hardware including the mechanism to keep the door open and from opening too much. After paint I noticed the upper hinge hole was bent suggesting something happened here. I tried to bend it flat to accommodate the hinge grommet. The truck had always had the door keepers so I don’t see how that could have happened over the years. I’m thinking a hinge is bent. I’ll look at that sometime.

Installed the cab windlace. I noticed a hole in each end of the dash, now I know it’s to get at the one windlace retainer screw. The original windlace retainer wasn’t a perfect fit in the original holes, I had to work it and bow it in places to line up. I did find a new replacement 2-piece windlace retainer at one vendor, but could not find the small parts, one at the bottom rear and one at the top seam. Fortunately this truck still had all the pieces.

The hood was up too much. I loosened the hinge bolts under the dash, just barely untightened the hinge bolts on the outside cowl. Used a hammer and chisel to move the hinges down with good results.

The rear glass went in easy. I used the boot lace to pull the gasket in place. No sealer was used, but I want to glue the ends.

I started getting ready for the front door glass. The glass that I installed almost 30 years ago was still in the frames so I re-painted the frames as is. I painted the regulators and channels. The replacement rollers include 3 rivets each. Rivet tool on order.

While I await the rivet tool I went after making a driver side key lock. The Chevy cars from 1941, 1942, 1946, 1947, or 1948 had a driver side door key lock. The latch mechanism from those cars looks like the Panel truck barn door latch, so that won’t work here, but the lock is a mirror image of the passenger side lock. Bezel position, key door opening, and key orientation look correct. I spent several days toiling with that, close but no cigar᠁yet.

The rivet tool finally arrived a day before my vacation. I replaced the rollers on both regulators. I had some time so I decided to mount the rear lights. I had printed out the mounting template and found the template is not the correct size. There was a copy of a FAM with the dimensions so I measured the print out, stretched the image and printed again. I had to do this a couple times before the template was close enough.
My vacation spot got flooded last spring, the road up the mountains washed out about 4 miles. This spring roadwork commenced, and they put in a temporary bridge and road for most of the way. The last driveway is washed out and there is driftwood everywhere. I took some time to file out the bowtie hole in the key lever for the driver door.
I had a hard time getting back into the groove after I came back home. I attached a weldnut to the key lever. I found some window screen springs that are flat. I bent one to work, used a dremel to cut a slot in the latch mechanism. The key lever needed some profiling and in my haste I ground off some important nubs. It works pretty well, but I’ll be making a final version.
I had mounted the cowl vent door after paint to find the bracket was not at the correct angle. I thought about this during my break, and thought some reinforcement is needed. I measured the angle of the vent door to bracket angle in the closed position(with the vent door removed). Made a template and used that to position the bracket to the cowl. I used Two long bolts to mount that bracket to the cowl inner and outer. I still had to shim the bracket to get it right, but it now closes good.
Wanting to finish glass, I put in the window channel. I thought it would be good to put the inner trim to snug the channel before fastening. I tried to drill through the channel, I got one screw to bite. After breaking several drillbits, I removed the inner trim. The surface the channel sets on is flat towards the outside, but slants toward the inside. If I bias the drill toward the outside it works. Now was the time to put Hushmat in the door. It turned that tinny sound into a warm thud. Then I hastily tried to jam the glass in with the regulator in place. That struggle ended when I realized the regulator goes in after the glass is in place. I read the manual, but didn’t see that tidbit. In the process the glass survived, but the regulator spring broke. I also discovered that the new rollers/rivets are a tad taller that original, so won’t work with the original channel screws. The next day I spent on-line researching these Two issues. There seems to be no replacement for the ’47-’51 regulator spring, I did read about installation. Some have hinted at using low profile bolts for mounting the roller channel to the bottom of the window when updating to nylon rollers, I want to shout about it from a rooftop. At the end of the day I want to proceed with progress. I removed the busted spring, hit it with O-A, and popped it back in place. It was not difficult to install the spring with this method. As far as welding the spring, will it hold? Is it a good idea? Is this the right thing to do? Rhetorical questions, I don’t care at least as long as it works. I’m on the look out for a good used spring, or a modern spring I can modify as a background task for the future. I think I’m back in the groove.

Spring steel does not weld well. My guess is that it is either annealed to the point where there it will yield (bend) or brittle to the point it will break so sourcing a replacment may be in order.

What WICruiser said about welding spring steel. But with that type of spring you might slide (if it holds), but the spring will likely be a little weaker and your window may not stay up. I think your only real fix on the broken spring is find another original regulator or get one of the repops that are available (with spring). Kind of pricey for just the spring you need. Someone like McMaster-Carr might have the correct wind-up spring.

It looks like the only option is to find a stock spring from a new or used regulator, Someone is making them for the new regulators, but I wouldn't know how to get one of those short of going to China and knocking on some doors. I saw some late '60-early '70 cars used a spring with a longer tang that could be modified, but spring steel doesn't like to be bent as well. The spring test will have to wait until I figure out how to get the regulator rollers to play nice with the roller channel, as of now it doesn't fit. The roller channel was redesigned in '51 with the mounting offset of the channel. '47 to '50 has bolts attaching the channel and leather sliders of different thicknesses to offset the rivet to clear the bolt heads is what it looks like to me.

I finally figured out how to install the windows in the doors. Glass goes in first, then the regulator, then install the channel onto the rollers, lastly attach the channel to the glass frame. The rollers travel less than the distance between bolts. It has been awhile since I did that last time, 20 years. After I got the window done it wouldn’t roll up or down all the way, a couple inches short. I use the search on this forum and found a simple solution. Roll the window up as far as it will go, loosen the 3 regulator bolts, use a prybar to push the window up the rest of the way, tighten the 3 regulator bolts. The crank part shifted(rotated) like 1/16” and that allowed the window to travel the last couple inches. I was impressed. The window was stiff to roll up and down, but became easier after several days. The welded spring is holding up.

I decided to make the driver door key lock work as it is no fun filing the bowtie hole and I didn’t want to do that again. I welded up on the parts that I had filed away to add some metal, filed it down a little. It works really well. In my haste I didn’t take a picture of the final Key Lever. I installed the latch, installed the rear window channel. In the picture you can see the weld-up on the tang of the Key Lever. The glass install went smoother on this side, but it was still a struggle.

I tend to work on 2 or 3 things at a time. I gave up on using Fender Welt, it didn’t seem to be wide enough to include the bolt holes. I cut some roofing tar paper to place between the fender and the body. There was something like that originally. Since this picture of the front end I have mounted the hood latch. Again a quick search here gave the formula for that adjustment. Push the latch back as far as it will go, close the hood, open the hood, scootch the latch forward(I eyeballed it), tighten the latch bolts. I closed the hood, It sounded solid. I tried the release lever and to my relief it worked. That hood closes tight.

The rear splash pan had some remnants of the seal. The replacement seal did not look right. The original seal is like the shape of a lower case r, the new seal is like the shape of an L. I found something on-line that looked like it might be correct. I called the vendor and asked what the profile of their seal is. They checked with the parts manager and returned to inform me that this piece is straight. I don’t even know what that means, something lost in translation I guess. The new stuff works just fine.

For the interior cargo area. The interior cargo area was in great shape. I told the resto shop to leave it as is. They did not touch it for several months. Someone decided it would be a good idea to remove all the original interior panels and dispose of them discretely. I did not notice until I decided to remove my truck from their shop. The original cargo panel was like a cardboard with a rhino texture. I searched high and low for a modern replacement. I found some tray board with the texture at a local automotive upholstery shop, there is also cowl board available. By the time I was ready to do this part, the upholstery places didn’t know what I was talking about. I finally found a local distributor for the cowl board, and I got some tolex (amplifier covering) for the texture. I used spray adhesive to bond the tolex to the cowl board. The front panels took some effort to get in place. I had to jam it behind the rear rib and slide into place in the lower and front channels. I’m happy with the result, it should help quiet down the area. The next panel I attached some boom mat.

I attached the running board to body seal. After I did one side I decided to paint the bolts, so that side had to be redone. I thought the running board seal went inboard of the running boards, but I could not push it back far enough to mount the running boards. The running board brackets may not be attached to the new frame in the correct position. I ended up tucking the running boards under the seal for now.
Then it rained for a week and I didn’t get much done. The weather got nicer and I was thinking about when I’m done with this I’ll be driving. I tried to start the engine but the battery was dead. I put a quick charge on it and an hour later started the truck. I let it idle, but it shut off after a few minutes. It was hard to start and I noticed the charge light was on. I checked the running voltage and it was close to 12v.
I purchased a new alternator. 60Amp, and 110Amp were the options, so I went with the 110Amp. I noticed the pulley was for 6 rib belt, my truck has 4 rib belt. I thought it would be easy to swap in a new alternator, but I got hung up on the pulley. I now know that I could just run the 4 rib belt on the 6 rib pulley, but at the time I was determined to do it right. I went to 4 different parts stores in search of the elusive special tool. I finally used the tools that I already have. I did have a hex driver set, so hex bit in the alternator shaft. Deep socket on the pulley nut, over the hex bit. 3/8 extension out of the ½ deep socket. Breaker bar and pipe wrench got the job done. With the new alternator the charge light comes on and then goes off while still cranking, so it looks like the old one was on it’s way out for awhile. The truck was still hard to start. I checked for trouble codes and got 33, MAP sensor. I swapped in the MAP sensor from my other truck and no change. I thought about checking the fuel pressure. I went to the junk yard and got some TBI related parts, and to a store and got a timing light, a fuel pressure gauge, and a fuel filter. I would need to T into the fuel line to check the pressure with the truck running. The next day I was set to go the hardware store to get some fittings to T into the fuel line. Before I left I wanted to try running the truck, it would not start. I checked the spark-good. I checked after the fuel pump relay-good. I tried some starting fluid, it responded to that. At this point I didn’t know what to do. I thought that the easiest solution is probably the right solution, so I went and got some fresh gas. 4 gallons into the tank and the truck started right up. Having put about 4 gallons in it over a year ago, I had run out of gas. I’m happy nothing is wrong with the truck.
Back on track I had forgotten to mount the charcoal canister before mounting the fender. I got down in the wet dirt and installed it from below onto the inner fender. Between rain storms I had fitted the bull bar and modified the supports. With that all painted I mounted the modified bull bar supports. In the picture you can see where the support had dented the grill. With the frame horn modified you can see how the new frame is wider and the support is shifted over. Mounting sequence went like this: Bull bar supports first, front splash apron set in place, attach bull bar to supports, Bolt on front bumper. I had purchased a bumper bolt kit, but those bolts were dinky. I found some ½” bolts locally, but at 2” they were just short. Another trip to the hardware store and I had that part of the build done.
Somewhere in there I had wired up the rear lights and am currently finishing up the cargo panels and the rear splash apron.

Walter, FYI the special tool needed for alternator pulley replacement is an impact wrench. Makes really quick work of it for next time you need to change a pulley.

But at least you're making progress. That bull bar looks good.

The running board seal and retainer are placed rubber lip on underside of the rocker panel lip then the retainer on top of the rubber still on the underside so if looking up lying on your back you only see the heads of the screws on the bottom .looking at your picture to me it looks like the retainer on the bottom but I cannot tell.

Okay I put my glasses on or the picture is clear now looks good

The body, then the seal, then the retainer and then screws through retainer, seal and into body. If I am not mistaken the screws should be towards the interior and the seal flap should hang down the outside. No? I recall my truck was screws to the inside.

The running board seal was so deteriorated that only the part under the retainer remained, so I never saw how the seal was against the running board. The retainer is contoured such that this is the correct orientation, with the seal hanging towards the inside and the screws visible. The retainer is two pieces with one long piece towards the rear, the rear piece follows the contour of the body and has a slight bend. This is for the '47.2 1-ton, long bed. My question is does the seal hang in front of the running board, or behind? The way that I was able to install the running boards is with the seal in front of the running board(seal towards the outside of the running board lip). So it will keep water from going behind the running board. I feel the seal should be toward the inside, behind the running board, to keep road water from splashing from under the truck onto the running board. My running board brackets were attached to the donor frame at the whim of the custom shop.

The seal goes behind the running board to keep stuff from splashing up onto the boards. I get what you are saying about the retainer being contoured. Leave that as is and flip the seal around. If it has to stay that way, nobody will see the screws once the running boards are on. The more important thing would be to get the seal behind the running boards as designed.

Thanks all for the feedback I appreciate it!
It rained for a week, and then it cleared up for a few days. I thought I better get my crawling around on the ground work done. I tucked the running board seal behind the running board on the passenger side. The driver side didn’t have the clearance so I removed the running board and worked it into place with the seal behind. The only clue as to position of the running board is the holes in the rear fender. I haven’t lined those up yet. The driver side is close, the passenger side looks like the running board is low and outward. It seems like the top of the running board inner edge should line up with the seal retainer. Not an issue with a stock set-up, but something to consider when attaching running board brackets to frame. Here are some pictures: The end of the seal retainer to show the profile, The running board mounted inward of the seal, and the running board mounted outward of the seal. There is little wiggle room so I may be able to make some minor adjustments.
While down there I finally mounted the exhaust heat shield.
I had started mounting the rear splash pan, but couldn’t get the seal tucked between the pan and bumper. I removed the bumper, and then re-installed. The ends of the seal just hang in the breeze while the center is pinched in place.
I took a break from the ground and finished the cargo panel install with the wood strips. Looks just like original.
I found that the ’88 GMC headlight wiring harness has the same headlight sockets as the ’47, so I’ll use the donor harness. I painted the buckets, and installed one side. I cut the harness to feed the socket wires through the bucket grommet and to extend the wires as I routed low and out of sight. The other side will have to wait until I get another headlight adjuster screw᠁

Looking good

I mounted the other headlight. It rained some more, so I started on the Seatbelts. I cut an access hole and mounted the upper shoulder point for both sides. I have a plan for the lower shoulder point, but that will be for another day.
I spent a couple hours trimming down the headlight wiring harness, then 4 more hours installing it. In that time I also cleaned up the park light lenses, and modified the buckets for dual filament bulbs. I had spray painted the buckets black, and the inside of the buckets a bright white. The dual filament sockets that I installed over 20 years ago were a bit rusty. I had modified them to fit inside the buckets. This time I mounted the new ones on the back side. I added a ground wire to one of the socket mounting bolts with a second nut. I used a ground wire that was in the ’88 wiring harness. That harness had the right bulbs ground to a grounding lug, left bulbs to a separate lug. I attached each lug to the frame on each side with a self tapping screw. Still need to secure the harness and attach the other end to the wires coming through the firewall + dimmer switch. They still wont work until I get the switches connected.

Another day was spent on connecting the headlight harness to the firewall, and highbeam foot switch. I added about a foot of wire between the two harnesses to allow routing out of the way. I had enough split loom tubing to make it look nice. I also attached the second mounting point for the seatbelt. There is an access cover in the cargo panel. I drilled a mounting hole in the panel just rear of the door. Ran a Fish tape through the mounting hole to the access hole and pulled a string through. I had previously glued a nut and lockwasher to the 3” washer for the seatbelt anchor. I placed that on the string and tied a screw to pull the washer inside the panel. There is a small bracket between the inner and outer cargo panels. I had to get past that. I pulled the mount into place and held it there with magnets before removing the string. Carefully started the seatbelt bolt and then cranked it tight. The other side will be for another day, I had to reglue the nut/lockwasher/washer. This is a one-shot procedure, do it right one time. The third mounting point for that part of the seatbelt can go in the side of the seat riser. The other half of the seatbelt, the short part, needs to go in the floor. I had thought about going through the seat riser. I’m considering widening an existing bolt hole just rear of the seat riser. One of the bed strip bolt holes could work with a larger bolt.

This seems like a good enough time for my annual update.
I drove the 1947 panel truck, and the 1988 K2500 to a shop around 9/6/19. It was in the shop for a year. In that time they removed both bodies from the frames. A jig was made to locate the body mounts. The ends of the donor frame were modified and outriggers were attached. The rear axle was moved back a few inches. The ’47 body was set on the donor frame for mock-up. A custom core support was fabbed and the front sheet metal fitted. The Steering Column, Brake and Clutch pedals mounted. Fuel filler relocated to driver side, Parking brake lever bracket fabbed and mounted to the right of the floor shifter. The body and engine were removed from the donor frame and the body mounts were welded on. Frame painted. I reworked the original bed wood. Body and engine back on the frame, and sheet metal set in place. I hauled the project home on 11/4/20.

The second year was slow but steady. I had a custom radiator built and I installed it. I moved the axle bumps, and rear shocks back and fabbed an upper shock bracket for the passenger side, the start of my welding experience with O-A. I fabbed a spare tire mount, and the exhaust, the start of my welding experience with Gmaw. I lowered the gas tank to modify one of the body mounts that was making contact with a fuel line. I fabbed a bracket and mounted the parking brake lines. Installed the front Brake line, and Hydraulic Clutch line. Modified the connecting rods for the Brake and Clutch masters. Fabbed a stiffener plate for the firewall mounted masters. Painted the inside of the dash and the firewall. Painted the interior cargo area and installed the bed wood. Installed a driver seat, Rebuilt the steering shaft with longer dd stock. Modified the power steering lines. Fabbed brackets and installed cooler radiators for the steering and oil. Repaired a broken fitting on the engine for the coolant. Had some hoses made for the oil cooler.

The Third year of the build, 12/9/21 I started to cut wires on the harness. I found the cowl vent conflicted with the brake pedal bracket, so moved the brake pedal bracket over and installed the cowl vent. Fabbed a bracket and installed the gas pedal. Installed the foot starter button and linkage. Fabbed a bracket and mounted a button for the starter linkage. Cut and spliced the engine wiring harness to the cab wiring harness. Wired in a DRAC. Installed a firewall pad. Fabbed a bracket for the T-case shifter, installed it. Cut a battery box into the inner fender. Painted the dash. Fabbed a bracket and mounted the fuse panel. Wired in some relays for the starter circuit. Painted and installed the inner fenders. Restored the heater and installed. Replaced the Distributor, Then the engine fired right up! I mounted the spare tire and rear bumper and drove the truck onto my property on 6/24/22. It had been in the street until then. I burned out the battery running without a voltage gauge or load resistor, so replaced the Battery and installed the donor gauge cluster for the time being. Modified the Brake and Clutch linkages to lower the pedals. Adjusted the door gap with a 2x4 and brute force. Removed the door hinges and striker plates. Painted the hinges. Found the hood threads had been rethreaded for coarse screws, modified some coarse screws with shoulders. Tried to paint the underside of the hood in sub 50s weather.

Getting into the Fourth year of the build, I’ll have to wait for warmer weather for some painting. I’ll work on what I can during the winter.

In the 4th year of the build I used Oxy-Acetylene to fill the old mirror holes in the cowl and doors, and repaired a tear in the rear door sheet metal. I reworked the doors. The rear doors I painted, rebuilt the interior latch system on the left, installed weatherstrip and glass, and mounted on the truck. They close nicely. The front doors I painted, added hush mat, added a key lock to the driver side, installed the glass and rubber etc. These doors close well. I applied primer and then single stage paint to almost everything on the truck. Installed the windshield, external sun visor, outside mirrors, cab headliner, and cab windlace. Hood installed and adjusted, front sheetmetal, runningboards and rear fenders in place. Installed rear Bullet lights, and side cowl vent cover. Refinished the interior cargo panels. Mounted and wired the front lights. Installed shoulder seat belts. Currently wiring underdash. I’m just not motivated to work out in the cold, but I am ready to get this on the road, so close.

I finished up the seatbelt install during the cold weather. The original steering wheel mated to the ‘80’s steering column needed a trim to fit. I thought I saw the sun one day so I took a router to the steering wheel. I could have spent more time setting up a jig, but it didn’t turn out too bad. I still need to build up part of the steering wheel to close a gap on the top side. I spent some time figuring how the horn contact works and how the turn signal cancels. I can add a cam to the turn signal cancel/horn contact piece. The issue there is that the upper horn spring contact is at 12:00 on the ’47, and at 10:30 on the ‘80s turn signal cancel cam. When I shift the cancel cam from 10:30 to 12:00, the cams also shift. So now the Left cancel becomes the Right cancel, and there is no Left cancel. My plan is to cut a piece of tube and epoxy it on for the Left cancel cam. For the horn I did manage to piece together parts from both eras to get continuity when I press the button. I took the old upper spring contact out of the old steering wheel and removed it from the sheath. Had to stretch it out some, so not a great fit. I have since ordered and received an ‘80s upper spring contact. I’ll go over all that later when it is warm out and I can finish and paint the steering wheel. I did order some parts and got the under dash A/C unit, yet to be installed. Ordered more parts, but received half of them with the rest back ordered. Today I called and was informed the Holiday sale does not apply to backordered items, only in-stock. I was given a $10.00 coupon for my next order so I will wait. I decided to use the old heater duct tubing that I got over 20 years ago. It fits well, I like it despite the dents and breaks. It is rigid and conforms well in the tight turn on the driver side. I wrapped tape where it goes by the solenoid I mounted under dash. I also put the windshield wipers on. Here is a picture.