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Fenders and doors are now installed. I need to do some work on the Altman door latch adjustment and insdie door handle connections.

I anticipate doing some paint touch up/repaint before moving on to more electrical and glass installation but at least now it looks like a truck again.

Running boards were installed without too much paint damage to the rear fenders.

Rear lights were installed and after some challenges (mis wiring, etc.) are working. Installed junction blocks on the inner front fenders and wired horn and front parking/turn lights.

Now working on prep for doing a final once-over paint coat before moving on to glass installation.

I've not got to my wiring yet, but I'm sure it will be an adventure for me. Exciting to see your project moving along.

John, after all the work you've done so far, the wiring is going to be a piece of cake. There's what, eight circuits on a '46 pickup?

As meticulous as you work, it will probably take you all weekend!

Completed the "final" (I hope) painting of the truck. Now on to interior and electrical efforts.

I had a strange surprise, I had an accumulation of fluid under the seats that was leaking through the drain hole onto the transmission output shaft/u-joint. Apparently the '90's vintage Chevy seats I installed have a fluid reservoir associated with the passenger air bag system I did not realize. When I removed a bunch of the extra junk under the seat prior to install I opened that fluid reservoir to drain onto the floor. At first I thought I had a transmission leak (puddle on the floor under the truck) but finally determined it was the seat leaking, totally unexpected.

Another reason added to the list of why I hate modern cars. Leaking fluid from the seat. Good grief!

When I disconnected the tubing I thought it was just an air pressure type connection but apparently the system required fluid that was less compressable to sense weight on the seat. In retrospect I can understand why it was designed that way but it sure was not expected.

As an engineer I can appreciate the design involved with modern vehicle systems but I am very much an old school car person so as much as I understand the potential of modern systems (like electronic fuel injection) I choose to use an old fashion carburetor.

Just a quick update.

The front wheel studs (original) were 1/2" where the rear are now 9/16" due to the install of the 14-bolt rear axle. I have the front hubs at my local machinist currently being resized for the new 9/16" wheel studs.

Once the new wheel studs are in place and hubs reinstalled I am planning to pull the trigger on getting tires for the "new to me" 16" wheels so that the truck could actually be driven down the road. The current wheels/tires hold air but their age and the multipart wheel construction is not something I want to trust even for a short drive.

Hoping to get the parts I need to install the window related parts back in the doors today via UPS but not sure when I will get them installed.

I am in a holding pattern on anything external on the body pending my son making a trip to WI from AZ to see if he can salvage my paint job. Although I think I need to remove the grille as I forgot to install the clip nuts on the lower cross bar that attach to the lower shield. I can not see anyway to get them in place without at least removing the hood latch plate and maybe the entire grille.

My son, a more professional painter than myself came home for a week to "fix" my paint. After sanding, repainting, wet sanding, and buffing the paint looks pretty good (and shows all of my body work failures).

I was going to attach a video he took but the file size is too large. I will need to see if I can resize it.

On to more details like door internals and windows as well as exterior trim parts.

Still hoping to have an initial road test before winter sets in.

We'd love to see the video, but you'd have to post it somewhere (Youtube?) and include a link here.

I love the way the 3600 looks with those giant wheels and tires.

Is that all your corn in the background?

That is not our corn, we own an old fram house on about 3 acres surrounded by farm fields that were part of the original farm.

I will see if I can load the video to U-tube or somewhere and post a link here.

Hopefully this link will work for the video of the paint job. The link was not working so it was deleted.


Still needs a fair amount of work including refinishing the rear bumper.

Link didn't work for me.

Nor me. "Video unavailable"

Sorry, it originally worked for me but now it does not so I need to determine what I did wrong. I will edit the post to remove the link and post a new link when I have it sorted out.

Let me try to post a link again: https://youtube.com/shorts/dQ2kPG7Q4BI

I think previously the problem was the link was not considered public, hopefully this time it is viable for anyone who cares to watch.

Looking good

The video works and your truck looks incredible! Nice work.

I'm glad the video works now and that it doesn't show the body work problems that are apparent when you see it in person.

I'm glad my son was able to fix my previous paint job and get it looking as good as it does. Overall I am pretty happy with how the project is going but it has been a long slow process (going on 4 year now) and I have a ways to go before I consider it done enough to transition from a project to a daily driver (that still needs things done over time).

HA HA HA. 4 years is just a flash. I'm at 10 years, although I was on the road after 9.

You truck looks very nice. I noticed a few dents on the back of the cab, but overall, you did well.

Four years might sound like a significant chunk of time, but for many of us, myself included, it's barely a warm-up. I've been pouring my heart, soul, and probably a small fortune into my build for six years now, and I can easily see at least another year, if not more, on the horizon.

Life, as it often does, has a funny way of throwing curveballs, and each one seems to present a new project or an unexpected delay, ensuring that the light at the end if the tunnel keeps its distance and the journey of perfecting this truck is far from over.

Geez, you’re all killing me 😂 I’m only two years in and still have a non-roller.
Your truck looks great. I sort of like the presence of war wounds that have been acquired from 70 years of work.

Thank you all for you kind words and confirmation that my time to date is neither unussual or problematic.

Paul, I remember those days when the frame was out for blasting and painting. Pretty hard to manuver around the heavy stuff much less find space for all of the bulky stuff (cab included) when you are at that stage of things.

As noted life does throw curve balls, right now I am in process of refurbishing our master bedroom that has sidelined truck progress. There is a bit more urgency to the bedroom project as sleeping in the dining room does include some challenges.

I rented a storage unit to house my parts because I couldn’t maneuver to do any work, and I didn’t want to leave anything outside in the elements.