The Stovebolt Site Forums Welcome! Welcome Centre Do It Yourself (DITY) Gallery 1946 Chevy 1/2Ton in Utah - "Here We Go"

I just saw a YouTube video and noticed they drilled a couple holes and had the wiring go through the hollow tube on the front of the radiator support. I guess that's a good way to hide the wiring.

I was wondering about that. I've not soldered like that before, but I can probably watch a few YouTube videos and become an expert! 🤣

John - Perhaps instead of soldering on that radiator and risking messing up the upper tank solder seal, maybe you could form a couple of hangers similar to the originals and adhere them with JB Weld??? Just a little outside the box thinking.

"Guitplayer" - I saw how close the holes were to the edge and I thought I could hide them under the angle strips. No one would ever see them, but guilt got the best of me. I was just going to replace the outside boards with new, but my cabinet guy ran the boards on his jointer to remove the finish on the sides and then glued on a 3/8" strip. I'm finishing the boards right now and if (for some reason) I don't feel good about it, I'll get new boards. These are looking OK right now and I'll post some pictures when the varnish dries. Your right - my attempt at a shortcut wasn't worth it.

Yes - My luck I'd ruin my new radiator! JB Weld might be a good solution. Thanks Dan! I was going to heat up the hangers on my old radiator to see if they come off. Maybe I can reuse them.

thanks...I`m trying to follow your DIY. Looks like a cool truck!!! I know some glues are real strong nowadays and that extension he will
add will work. I know there is alot of stress right there at the angle strip. Keeping the box mostly together.
Good Luck!!

Thanks for the ideas on transferring the wire clips from my old radiator to the new one. I added a little heat and the clips popped right off. I used JB Weld to attach them to the new radiator and added a little black paint.

Looks great John! Glad the idea worked out.

I also got the last coat of varnish on the two side boards. I'll let them dry for a couple of days and then assemble the bed. I will need to figure out where to drill the two rear holes for the carriage bolts and acentric washers that hold the bed to the frame.

Nice work on your rad John. I was looking at your front fenders right beside your bed boards. I would bet they still have shine under that oxidized paint. A bit of work with some cut polish might surprise you.

Thanks Paul. I'm really not looking for "shine". I want the old and tired look - kind of like me.🤣 Maybe one day I'll add paint to my list of things I want to do to this truck.

Only a little work today. I put a couple coats of polyurethane on the mounting blocks and attached them to the rear of the bed.

Finishing up the fuel line today since my shut-off valve showed up in the mail. The line to the fuel filter doesn't have the prettiest bends, but there's no kinks. I have an extra pre-bent line I can use later if needed, but for now I think I'll just go with what I have.

I find it interesting that with all the excruciating detail you've put into every single component of this truck, that you're leaving the original paint and patina on the exterior. Certainly nothing wrong with that, I'm just struck by the contrast.

Me too Rich. I’m not suggesting you re-shoot your truck John. The original paint looks like it’s in decent shape under that oxidation that has happened over the last 80 years. Under that oxidation is original shine.

Rich - I just don't want to drive a "show" truck around town. I'd be nervous about rock chips, door dings, scratches, dumb drivers,... This way I hope to have a dependable ride that I can take anywhere. Lots of old farms and country back roads around here where I live and I look forward to driving them all. I want people to see an old truck first, but those that look closer will see a new chassis and engine. I'm not saying I won't paint it, but I just want to drive it for now.

And I wasn't intending to be critical. I was just surprised when I first read that. I've been following this thread from the beginning and was just caught off guard when you mentioned that. I commend you for all the work you've put into that truck--you can be very proud of it. You should get many years of reliable service from it.

I totally get where John's coming from. The beautiful mechanical work that he's doing seems like it should have an equally restored body. However, I personally have never done any body work. I would have a lot of learning to do and it would take a lot longer to bring aOl Roy up to snuff .

As far as the mechanical stuff goes I'm fully capable of doing almost all of that and I'm capable of doing it while keeping the truck drivable and usable on the road.

I would also rather drive a vehicle than work on a vehicle. So having the vehicle completely mechanically restored but still in its original ragged shape doesn't bother me at all

I understand and agree with John’s approach. When Sparky’s rise from the ashes began I thought, mostly because the previous owner was an autobody Votech instructor, that it would be an easy completion. I soon learned he had turned his project over to his students. They learned how to sculpt inch plus thick layers of bondo. It was a nightmare. No kidding, the roof had been on the receiving end of a tree fall. They had packed plastic and sculpted it to seemingly symmetrical curves. I was clearly out of my league in fixing that and several of their other messes discovered. I turned the body work and painting over to body shop owner friends. We agreed they would use the work only as fill in to keep their guys busy during slow periods or if one of them needed to work extra hours for whatever reason. It took about four years and the guys did a great job, IMO. The bonus was all of them were old school body repair trained! Plastic was only used at a minimum to cover sanding scratches. They took one part at a time and were paid as each part was completed. That made justifying the expenses more tolerable as far as I was concerned. Added to that, there were many other project elements I needed to complete while they did their work, so it all came together without one impeding the others efforts.

P and B work is expensive! Given how prices have escalated this past 10 years, it’s unlikely I’d undertake a similar effort now.

I wonder if that is prerequisite for these trucks? Mine too had a tree fall on the cab. 🤣

Drilled the countersunk holes for the offset washers, so the bed wood carriage bolts won't spin. I'll add a little black stain and maybe only one coat of varnish since the fit is already snug.

OK, I think I'm done with the bed. I'm just going to verify each nut is snug and then find some help to lift it in place. I ended up with one extra flat washer and one nut? I looked twice and I don't see anything I missed. Maybe I'll post them in the "Freebies" section. (Just kidding.)

Got all the bed nuts snugged up this morning. I used a creeper and just rolled around until each was good. Noticed that the underside was nice a shiny - oh well.

What are those racing slicks for?

John - That "shiny" underside will be great when it comes cleaning time. A quick spritz with the hose and it'll be clean as a whistle and the wood is well protected from the elements.

Those are my Hoosiers tires for my Miata that I autocross in the summer. Wide for more grip! Hey - maybe they'll fit on my '46?

Pretty cool.

I got the last of the bed bolts installed and I believe I'm now ready to get this thing mounted on the frame. I first tried to use Phillips head bolts with a flat washer, but didn't like the way it looked. So I changed it to carriage bolts. I think it looks better. Also, I did not add the bolt to the outside board because the holes would not have been centered and I did not want to drill a hole in the bed frame.

(I'm noticing the wood looks light when I take pictures, but three feet away it looks black.)

Another step closer! Some friends stopped by and we put the bed on the truck frame. I have some temporary 4-inch blocks for now and will get the real mounting blocks installed next. Starting to look like a truck!

John - It's really nice when some friends stop by at just the opportune moment! Very much looks like major progress and love to see the continued progress.

Thanks Dan!

Decided to add those last two bolts on the outside boards. Now I'm wondering about that lighter board? No, I'm not going to sand, stain and refinish! Maybe next time.

Replaced the upper/lower door bumpers on each side. The old ones were hard as rock. New ones went in pretty easy.

No reason to worry about the light board. It looks worn.

Tell again about the bolts at the edge of the headboard. You said they aren't factory but there were holes there already. How were the boards fastened on the front end originally?

I don't know if they're factory or not. I didn't remember taking out any bolts, but there are holes in the old boards where I added bolts. If you look closely at the right outside board, you can see a bolt that is offset. Second picture shows bolts sticking out at the bottom, so that makes sense to have them.

OK. For some reason I thought you mentioned that they weren't stock. Maybe I was just confused since you considered not installing the bolts in the outside board.

Been a few days since I got the bed sitting on the frame, but I finally got it bolted down. The '46 instructions say to run the bolts up from the bottom on the front two securing points and then the rear point is using a carriage bolt going down through the bed wood. My carriage bolts ended up being very close to the angle strips, so I ended up grinding a flat edge on both bolts. I don't think many will even notice.

When I see your truck in person, I will look for them. LOL

Dang! I better fix them before your review!!

Well, spent the day looking for the tailgate hinges and chains. No Bueno. I'll start the hunt again and open every box and plastic container. Dang.

I did find this gem in one of the boxes. Brings back memories of working at a Standard Oil gas station in high school.