The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area The HiPo Shop Putting 1941 COE on a modern frame

I started removing body filler, what a mess, the person who did this must have bought filler in a 5 gallon bucket. I heat with a propane torch and scrape off with a wood chiesel. When I get it hot enough it comes off nice. I have the passenger fender done and 1/3 of the driver side. The passenger side photo has a 4 pound hammer laying in the debris pile. The metal underneath is pretty good, I don't understand the massive amount of body filler.

Holy cow, that is a lot of filler. That's like the lead I found on a fender near the headlight, No idea why they used lead, as I was able to straighten the small defect with a hammer and dolly.
Looks like there might be a few dings in that fender, but nothing that couldn't be fixed pretty easily. No cracks or welds?

Back when I co-owned a body shop, we called those Bondo artists "Mud Daubers". I learned the torch trick to loosen up old body filler about 50 years go. Other than some "period-correct" restoration work, body solder (lead) is pretty much a thing of the past. Ditzler used to sell a powdered product called "Aluma-Lead" that was a lot easier to work with, and could be used in places plastic filler didn't work. I believe the powdered aluminum was mixed with clear lacquer to form a stiff paste that dried pretty hard and could be used to repair rusted-through areas in windshield and rear window channels. It's been close to 40 years since I've seen any of it.
Jerry

Today I installed the brake pedal and small master then I modified the bracket and installed slave cylinder hydro boost and master. I will add picture tomorrow.
Then I stripped some of the body filler on the driver side fender. It looked thicker, measured .250 then found a deeper spot at .300. I can't imagine this happened, must have had a 5 gallon pail full or they shopped at Costco .I never looked for body filler at Costco.

I can now tap on the fenders and they sound like steel, not just a dull thud.

Body filler 99% off of fenders, positioning brake pedal and throttle pedal, masters slave and hydro boost.

I’m finding the same thing on my fenders too. A simple hammer and dolly would have reduced the use of plastic by 90%. A skim coat is all that’s needed.

Your work and truck look amazing. Great job!

Squirted some cheap rattle can primer on the fenders after going to bare metal. Just for a guide coat while repairs are made, then off to blasting. The bag on the table is the filler off of the fenders, I weighed it as best as I could, about 8 pounds!
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I see you have a few cracks on the hood, but it looks like the fenders are fairly crack-free. That's a good thing. They look pretty good with that rattle can primer on them, but I'm sure there will be some work needed after you hit them with a sanding block. I kind of miss doing body work on my truck, I'm just in the middle of engine work. It's satisfying getting sheet metal straightened out.

I removed the filler from below the belt line on the rear of the cab, same mud daubers visited there. It will be interesting to have a total weight of filler removed. I weighed the bag of removed filler, 12 pounds, un real!

An update, I just got back from a week off, went to Seattle and Phoenix. Saw the Martin auto museum in the Phoenix area.

I picked up a new heater for the coe and drilled for mounting. Also got an electric emergency brake that will be installed later after painting the frame.

Finished welding in the door patch panels, had some issues with my welder but have it done.

Patch panels finished and installed on the fenders .

On going work on the running boards and steps, they are different than the Chevy and I must make all new ones.

Made 2 patch panels for the grill and installed.

Still looking for wiring diagrams for the 2001 chevy 3500 cutaway van donor I am using.

I did a bit of a search on line and couldn't find any "free" wiring diagram sources. This 2001 Chevrolet Express 3500 Complete Color Electrical Wiring Diagram Manual USB offered by this ebay seller seems like it might have everything in one purchase for your wiring diagram needs. Perhaps it's worth the price??? Looking forward to see more work on your project.

I ordered it, thanks I will report on the results.

Picture of the lower grill repairs at the spot where both bumper brackets come out.

Off the frame and onto the rotisserie for finish welding

Stripped all the paint and of course more bondo off of the cab above the belt line. It seems the previous owner/rebuilder did not own a hammer and dolly but did buy bondo in bulk.

Ya, the old can of worms phenomenon. Once you open it, it gets worse.

I found the same bodywork technique used on my truck also. They must have watched the same “How To” video on YouTube. I took out some dents on the front fenders that were only about 6” long filled with a 1/4” of bondo and ended up with only a skim coat.

Keep up the great work!'

I believe I have a front bumper for the coe! A friend of mine told me he found a bumper at the dump today, he has a yard full of items he has brought home from the dump, he is a real salvage master. This blows me away, he found a bumper off of a Case car, only 28,000 made over a production run of 10 years or so ending around 1927. This bumper looks similar to a model A bumper but bigger, 2 piece with a center divider that has a brass emblem that says buckeye deluxe and Indianapolis Ohio. My plan is to restore it and use it on my coe.

What are the odds finding this old rare bumper in a dump in Homer Ak. It is straight as an arrow but quite pitted with rust so I must decide rechrome almost likely a real high cost or powder coat at a lower cost.

I will get pictures

Here is a picture of the emblem in the center of the bumper. The rest is very much like a model A ferd and it has extreme rust pitting.

Nice!

If the bars are really pitted, it might be cheaper to get new bars fabbed at a spring shop. I think Alaska Spring could fabricate something to match if it's two bars with ends rolled into eyes like a Model A. You'd still need to get it chromed, but at least the metal would be smooth.

Most decent chrome plating places will do the necessary body work on parts to make it smooth before plating.

S & H Chrome Plating

www.shchrome.com

Yes, but the more grinding they have to do to remove pits, the more $$.

I may have to rethink using this bumper, it would look nice on the coe but not 1300$ plus shipping nice. I have an old bumper off of a 1/2 ton chevy and will not work, the gmc coe is wider than the Chevy coe and the bumper looks out of place. I will keep on looking.

I have decided to use the old bumper and my friend is going to powdercoat it gold and black hammer tone which will cover up all of the pitting. He also gave me 2 pieces of scrap stainless that I cut 3 diamond shaped pieces that one will be in the center to hold the buckeye delux emblem and the other 2 will cover the mounting bolts, I practiced on one and it polished to a mirror finish in about an hour or so of sanding and polishing.

Monday I sent off the computer off to get it retuned so I can remove the cats, vats, evap and more, when I get it back I will do some serious wire removal.

I now think that the bumper is not off of a case. From my research i believe it is an aftermarket bumper that would be installed by a dealer as an add on. I have seen them on a Buick and a Chrysler.

I went to visit a friend who gave me a tour of his sign shop and showed me a hood ornament off of a gmc truck. Days after I got to thinking it would look nice on my coe so I called and asked, long story short he gave it to me and I installed it today. It is off a 1937 but I think it looks great on the coe.

That's a nice addition, Dave. I like it.

I'm surprised that the curvature of the '41 COE's hood matched that of the '37 pickup's.

Surprised me also but it is perfect, I REALLY LIKE IT!

Soon everything will be off to the blaster, next time you see it , it will be the greenish primer.

Here is the green machine back from the blaster, he put the green acid etch primer on.

Looking good.

Today I put the base coat of epoxy primer on everything.

I was going to say "looking good" but then I scrolled down and saw that klhansen already said that so I'll say very impressive.

Today I stuck the hood ornament and the hood emblem on just for a picture.

Pretty cool.

Awesome. Get those little wrinkles hammered out and get some color on that bad boy.

Looking for input on my '41 GMC COE, that is going on a 2001 chevy 3500 cutaway van frame, with a Chevy 8.1 engine sitting behind the cab. I am getting the exhaust together and wanted opinions on whether to run the dual exhaust out the back or go side exhaust out behind the rear wheels.

I've always liked out the back - one on each side, chrome tips. My $.02

I prefer dual , straight out the back.
Better acoustics with the two in proximity , more purposeful looking , quieter cab.
That long straight run always sounds better to me.

Unless the vehicle is a chromed up hot rod, I'd leave off the chrome tips and terminate the exhaust in the stock location, semi-hidden for both one pipe or two.

I don't work on the truck during the summer but I have been gathering parts and getting things lined up to go when I get started. I got an old buckeye delux bumper that my friend found at the dump, another friend powder coated it in a rough gold, it looks really good, he also gave me some scrap stainless pieces that I made into the parts that rusted out on the original bumper. I hand polished them and will finish them to mirror finish.

In the picture on the left there are 2 of these and the through carriage bolts attach to the 2 mounting brackets.
Picture on the right is the center piece and I will have to drill and tap two mounting holes for the brass emblem, I think it will look real nice but it has taken a lot of work.