The Stovebolt Site Forums Project Journals Project Journals 1949 Chevy Panel Truck

Great progress, glad you were able to overcome the "opportunities" that presented themselves during the process.

Yeah, I get frustrated with the aftermarkets not fitting then I recall in the 1980s having to scavange thru all junkyards within a 100 mi radius to find a clapped out part that I could possibly use.... then I feel better about sitting in my recliner and ordering a part and having it show up on my doorstep.

Radiator Fan & Shroud

Next on the agenda was getting the radiator fan and shroud bought and/or fabbed and mounted. I bought some .062 thick aluminum sheet as well as a Derale electric fan. The fan could be configured as a pusher or puller fan and seemed a little thick... which may not have been the best choice since I need to conserve as much space as possible to the water pump pulley.

The first task was to go ahead and make the shroud minus the fan to make sure it would all work and fit before I got in too deep. I set the shroud off from the radiator core surface 1 inch to give it room to draw air. The shroud was too big for my small sheet brake so I had to use some steel angles and bar stock & wood 2x4s to make all the bends. I then mounted it in the chassis to check the clearance.

The clearance looked adequate but the fan was designed to mount directly to the radiator with some plastic straps thru the core so the rubber mounting pads created a fairly large offset that I needed to reduce... plus I wanted to mount it using bolts So I took the 4 rubber pads and cut them down so that they would allow the fan to slightly recess (1/8”) into the shroud. I also had to open up the mounting holes to fit the bolts.

I found some weld-on steel floating nutplates that I had laying around and decided to use them since they had a large footprint. I took 4 of them and drilled them with some 1/8” dia holes for attach rivets and used them to fasten the fan to the shroud. Once the holes and nutplates were installed, I mounted the fan then I traced the fan periphery onto the shroud and cut it out to fit.

I ordered a thin rubber sheet from Ebay and went ahead and added some holes with flaps in the corner to better flow while driving while I was at it. Then I roughed up the surface, primed and painted, and then mounted it.

Dang - that shroud looks nice!

Great job, mine is somewhat similar but sheet metal rather than aluminum andI didn't add the extra opening/flaps (haven't driven enough yet to know if I need to add them).

As usual, very professional job! I can’t wait to see your build when it’s finished. Awesome work!

Engine Start-up

I finally fired-up the engine for the first time this past weekend. I had primed the oil before I dropped the distributor, set the base timing close to 10 BTDC, filled the engine with coolant and the 700r4 with about 5 qts of ATF. I temp wired the engine and enlisted the help from my brother-in-law to feed ATF into the trans while I fiddled with the engine (checking timing, setting the idle, checking temps, etc).... you can always use a few extra arms and eyes.

Everything when pretty well....for a short bit. The engine started right up and the base timing was pretty much bang-on but after a minute or so the outlet on the water pump feeding the heater core popped loose and spilled coolant onto the floor. I had plugged it with a simple press-in plug and meant to go back and plug it more securely.... and just simply forgot to do it. I has filled the radiator with coolant a few days prior to make sure I didn't have a leak but totally overlooked the simple plug.

So we shut it down, cleaned up the mess and had to drive to town to get a small section of ¾ dia hose (I didn't have on hand), a plug and some more coolant. Not a big deal except the clean-up was a pain since coolant can be rather sticky if you don't get it all mopped up. After the short diversion and addressing the problem, we fired it up again and was able to set the idle and check a few more things. I think I still need to add a couple of qts of ATF but I will do that shortly.

I rigged my Insta360 camera to capture the milestone and any Keystone cop moments and did a few edits on the video since it was about 2 or 3 hrs long. I'm still figuring out the intricacies of editing video but I did upload it to Youtube if you want a good laugh. The coolant leak happens around the 2 min mark if you want to fast forward and then we go get the parts necessary to fix it and give it another whirl.

Link: Initial startup of Chevy 350 w/700r4

I have a punchlist for the next items on the agenda. I need to address a few things on the body such as figuring out the A/C mounting and a few other metalwork type things then the plan is to place the body back on the chassis/engine combo and get it ready for bodywork and paint.

Great job! I'm hoping to hear a similar sound in a week or two.

Great... just make sure you have more than a rubber stopper shoved into the heater hose fitting...lol.

Great news (except the coolant leak - but a simple fix) - it is indeed a milestone when you get that first engine operational sequence completed.

Color Renderings, etc.

Worked on a few small issues. I noticed the lower pulley on the crank was wobbling a bit when I set the timing. So I pulled the radiator and noticed the two pulleys a 3 groove lower pulley has a two parts.... a single groove that nests in the two groove) didn't mate properly and the lip that centers the pulley on the harmonic balancer was not very deep. I decided to buy another set to see if they fit better....and they did. The initial set came from Speedway Motors and the replacements were from Alan Grove (but they looked to be from CPP).

I also had to replace the dipstick on the transmission. I had a flex one but it kept giving me bad level readings so I bought a traditional stock one. I think the flex one just help fluid in it too long after filling so I kept getting a higher reading than what it actually was. I hope I didn't toast the pump on the 700r4. I will need to check it again after I re-rig the chassis to run the engine again. I'll hook up a pressure gauge on the trans to make sure.

Today I dialed in the door gaps on the back (half) barn doors. It took me the better part of the day. Which brings me closer to the bodywork and paint. Speaking of which, a few months ago I started dabbling in the AI photo generation apps and online sites to see if I could get a good idea of what I wanted the final paint job to look like. The pics in this post are some of what I generated back then. I knew that I probably wanted a light silvery green paint as well as painting the runningboards with black bedliner.

These were just typed into the AI generator and you will notice that some of the trucks look a little unique to say the least but they gave me a good idea if I was on the right path.

Color Renderings, etc. (Con't)

I recently tried a different approach to the AI generation. I uploaded a few pics of the truck when it was assembled and then directed the AI tool to make the changes that I wanted. It worked pretty good with a few minor glitches but I was able to see some changes that I may want to make.

Initially I thought that I wanted to simply use black bedliner in the bed instead of body paint but after seeing the rendering I don't care for it (although I wasn't going to bedline the top edge of the bed like the rendering).... the body color looks so much better. I also was able to direct AI to generate the truck in a different venue (in front of old gas stations).

I'll continue to play around with it from time to time to better dial-in what I want. I suggest you try it if you are trying to determine what looks good.

Color Renderings, etc. (Con't)

I also took a pic of the interior and had the AI Generator add a few things (gloss black paint, black carpet and white gauges) just to see what it could do and what it looked like. I show the “before” picture so you can get in idea of the capability.

LineX bedliner can be mixed in any color you want, not just black. You can have it body color but still have the textured surface of bedliner coating.

Thanks. I knew it could be colored but I def want black on the runningboards to tone down the lighter green color and match the black wheels. I "might" consider using it inside the bed (matched to the body color) but I really like the rendering with it painted body color. Frankly, the only thing that will possibly be hauled in the bed will be some kids or display in a parade so I don't need the durability.

Air Conditioner

When I first started this project several years ago, I went ahead and bought the controls for a Vintage Air system so I could modify the dash to fit. Since then the system I was planning on using was discontinued and the new system has 3 dash knobs instead of 4.... so I had to weld up the 4 old holes and drill 3 new ones. I also went ahead and ordered the complete system.

I didn't go with their “Sure-Fit” system since I had some modifications that may not work with it plus I didn't want the duct/vents under the dash so I called them and we pieced together a system that has part of their Sure-Fit and some generic components as well.

The condenser/drier portion was basically the same as the Sure-Fit so I went ahead and mounted that on the front of the radiator. I then modified the dash for the new controls. I will need to 3D print some new knobs similar to what I did awhile ago for the old controls but I'll have to do that later.

Next up was mounting the evaporator unit. The evap base unit was the same as the Sure-Fit and I went ahead and ordered the mounting brackets figuring that I would either need to modify them or make new brackets since I had already filled most of the holes in the firewall. Luckily I could still faintly make out the outline of the large hole that I filled in the firewall and some of the surrounding bolt holes since the Sure-Fit bracket and evap unit was located off of this existing pattern.

I also had to order two 90 degree fittings for the heater hose connection since the unit I ordered came with 2 straight fittings that didn't go thru the firewall and the Sure-Fit system used one 90 degree and that snaked down to go thru the big hole in the firewall (that I had plugged). Since I wasn't limited to go thru the large hole, I figured that I could just go straight out but I needed to check clearances and make sure it didn't have other issues. So I made a simple cardboard template of the mounting bracket with the proposed hose penetrations in it so I could work outside the cab instead of under the dash. I also drilled out the top bolt hole that I had plugged to see how it all situated on the firewall.

When I laid the template on the firewall aligned to the bolt holes and level,it was obvious that the top hole fitting was going to go right thru the curved lip near the top of the firewall. I decided to just angle the two fitting down a bit so instead of going thru perpendicular to the firewall they would be pointed down slightly....which is ok since I will probably route them along the top of the inner fenderwell below the penetration when I final assemble the system.

Once I had it planned out in my head then I went ahead and cut off the portion of the mounting bracket that went around the large firewall hole (that no longer was there) and I added a few more mounting holes in the remaining bracket using the old nutplates that was in the portion that I had cut off. I then drilled the firewall to match the 3 holes in the bracket and then dry-fit the bracket inside the cab to make sure it fit.

I then drilled two larger holes (larger but still a little undersized) in the firewall for the heater hose fittings. I then mounted the evap unit under the dash to see how well they lined up. I adjusted the hole positions slightly and then opened it up the two holes into a slot so the unit would go in place easier.

With the heater hose fitting angled down slightly, sealing up the hole/slot became a little more difficult. I took some 1/16 rubber sheet I had around and made a gasket that fit tightly around the hose and then fabbed an aluminum plate that had slightly slotted and oversized holes that sandwiched the rubber to the firewall.

With the evap unit in place I then could see where I needed to place the hi & lo pressure AC lines to go thru the firewall. I settled on the the lower corner on the passenger side to place a bulkhead fitting. I had ordered a bulkhead fitting on Amazon but it didn't fit the fittings (cheaper but trash) so I ordered a new one as well as a 45 degree hose fitting since the generic hose fitting set that I bought for Vintage Air didn't have one. That is where we stand today. The bulkhead fitting came in today but it looks like Monday before the hose fitting gets here. I'll pick up here when I get further along.....

I don't have any welding skills, so I would have been forced to figure out a way to use 3 of holes and found some other use for the 4th hole. Nice progress!

I considered doing just that... possibly moving the wiper switch to the open hole (if it fit) since it seems somewhat out of place in the stock location, but the holes were also different size. So roll out the mig, bite the bullet and just fix the issue.

I'm currently working on making a duct for the a/c that comes out the speaker grill. I 3D printed a small portion of it last night to see if I have the proper contour modeled. I hope to have 2 ducts in the speaker grill and I am thinking that I will make 2 ducts that point down in the footwells. Not sure how the lower ones will pan out.

I also need to find a place for the fuse box so I may fab a panel that spans the lower center of the dash to the firewall and use that to mount the fuse box as well as the lower ducts. Once I get the unit installed and the speaker duct fabbed I'll be able to better determine what I need to do.

Air Conditioner (Con't)

With the hose fittings in hand, I decided to go ahead and bite the bullet and buy a hose crimping set instead of running back and forth to a hydraulic line supplier. I fabbed the high and low pressure lines and installed them to the firewall....pretty straightforward.

Next was to figure out the vents for the unit. Like I mentioned earlier, I decided to not opt for the Sure-Fit system since I didn't like their vent styling. My plan was to develop my own and I wanted to see if I could design and fab a vent that used the center dash louvers that usually have a speaker in them. A year or so ago I bought a fairly cheap but capable 3D printer and my plan was to use it to make the vents and any special ducts.

The first things that I needed done were to figure out a software package to use to model the vent and to verify that I could replicate the contour needed to match the dash. I settled on FreeCad for the modeling software since it was “free” and it seemed to be close to the software that I have used for years in my job. It took a little ”googling” to figure out some things but I got it done. I also took my contour gauge and made a small cardboard template so I could measure the contour more easily.

I them put the measurements into the software and created a 3D surface. I then used the surface to create a test solid in the software that I then printed to make sure that I was heading down the right path before I got in too deeply. The surface matched well and then I kept slowly developing and testing my concepts. I didn't want to make wholesale changes to the software since it did seem to struggle a bit with parametric updates. I ended up making several prints out of cheap PLA material to validate the design. The final design is shown on the silver and red part (my PLA filament ran out mid print so I used what I had laying around).

With the design validated, I then had to decide what filament to use for the final part. ABS would have been nice but my printer isn't really set-up for printing ABS so I decided to use some high temp PLA with glass fibers. I had to change out the nozzle to print with the more abrasive material but that wasn't too hard to do. I then printed the 3 separate parts in black HT-PLA-GF filament as shown.

The high temp filament has pretty good properties at elevated temps but to make it even better I had to anneal the parts. To do that I packed them tightly in a container with table salt (to keep deformation down) and heated them to 215 degree F for about an hour to anneal the parts. I also had to upscale the parts about 1.5% to account for shrinking.

With the parts printed and annealed, I could assemble the 3 components together. I went ahead a sealed the interface with RTV (although it was probably unnecessary) and bolted them together, painted the shiny screw heads black and then installed it along with the center trim to see how it looked. I then ran the hoses from the evap so I could see how they fit and to make sure I have space for other things.

Next task is to do the same thing for the outer two vents.

Air Conditioner (Con't)

Air Conditioner (Con't)

Air Conditioner (Con't)

While I was on a modeling and 3D print kick, I decided to make a small fitting for the A/C drain to pass it thru the lower kickboard. I made it out of the the HT-PLA-GF filament & annealed it since part of it is in the engine bay. I routed the drain line down just outboard of the frame.

Also, when I installed the A/C evap unit I had a small clash with the cowl vent when it was fully down. I'm not sure which was the culprit, the evap, the aftermarket cowl vent, or the 70+ year old cowl but really didn't matter. It was just barely keeping the cowl vent open. I took the cowl vent and cut the bottom off the screen support and repositioned it about 1/4” higher to clear, Not a major task but an unexpected pain nonetheless.

Didn't see the other 2 hoses going thru the firewall, so no heater?

The heater hoses are above the a/c hoses. The heater inlet & outlet are integral to the evap unit and protrude directly thru the firewall so their location is dictated by the location of the unit. A previous post shows those a little better.

Wow, pretty neat stuff. I have not gotten into 3D printing but is seems that you have done a lot of work to ensure success.

3d printing has advanced a ton. My first limited experience with it was around 1992 when it was called stereolithography and the guy at work in charge of the system said the 55 gal drum of resin costs $100k and machine was $300k. The prints were super brittle and fairly crappy looking.
Now the basic systems are moderately cheap ($400-$500) and other systems can print in many other materials... flexible, metallic, etc. There are also quite a few companies that will print parts for you. I limit my usage to non-structural parts but the development of metallic printed parts (high dollar) has gotten pretty good with strength comparable to cast metal... not as good as forged or machined but still solid results. It will be amazing what the future brings.

About 5 years ago, a friend of mine had pistons and other internal parts 3D printed for a 1908 Thomas Flyer. It cost a fortune but it was paid by the insurance company of a collector vehicle transport company. The idiots started the car even though they had explicit instructions not to do so. There was no oil in the crankcase.

Ouch.. but a good application of a printed part. Hopefully additive metal printing cost will be driven down to the point where us commoners can afford it...lol.

Knobs, Glovebox & Fusebox

With the center A/C vent printed and installed I went ahead and remade all the knobs for the A/C (x3), wiper switch, light switch and lighter so they all somewhat matched. I reused the knob inserts I had for the A/C knobs. I tore apart the wiper knob on the aftermarket wiper kit to extract the insert to use for the new printed knob for the wiper. I had to fab an insert out of aluminum for the light switch since it was an odd size (an aftermarket light switch that came with the wiring harness). I made a cap for the cigarette lighter and bonded it on top of the existing knob.... but found out while bonding it on that the knob simply screwed on with a short threaded shaft. So I could have removed it and made a replacement knob instead of capping it but I was already committed. I think they turned out pretty good.

For the three A/C knobs I need to figure out if I want to use the stickers that came with the A/C system or if I want to have something else made. I was thinking about having some stainless, aluminum or chromed dial markings engraved to make it more retro looking but I'm still looking into it. Another site suggested seeing if a trophy shop can make what I'm looking to use.

I also repainted the center dash and glovebox door to satin black with silver highlights instead of the brown that it came with. The interior is going to be primarily black so the brown would have clashed so it had to go.

With that repainted, I worked on a new glovebox/fusebox. The A/C unit cuts into the glovebox depth considerably so I knew I had to have a shallow glovebox...which is available from Vintage Air but I also needed to find a place for the fusebox. Space is pretty tight under these dashes and the shallow glovebox is very limited on what it can hold, so I decided to see if I could mount the fusebox inside of the glovebox instead of cramming it elsewhere.

The wiring harness I selected is a generic harness from Speedway Motors and the first thing I needed to do was to check and see if the fusebox would even fit in the glovebox. I had a repro original glovebox to check it against and it looked to be close but doable. I used the repro box to come up with a cardboard template and utilized that to fab a shallow box out of 22 Ga steel. I welded up the “hoop” and test fit it to the opening,drilled the mounting holes and then made a template for the back as well as a template for the fusebox hole that needed to be cut in the back.

I then cut the back out of metal, located the fusebox cutout on the back piece and test fit it to the fusebox. After a few test fits and subsequent trims, I mig welded it all together. I also drilled a hole for a large p-clamp next to the fusebx to help hold the wires that connect it. The p-clamp will hopefully act as a strain-relief for the wires. Next, it was epoxy primed and I decided to paint it with the black Raptor bedliner. Then I installed it and after a few more trims (around the glovebox latch and paint touch-ups), considered it complete.

Next up is getting the front sheet metal mounted and all the gaps checked.

Nice work on that glovebox/fuse box.

A/C Con't

I got the front sheetmetal hung.... I'm not 100% happy with it so after fighting it (and losing) I did what I usually do and moved on to something else and I will circle back to it later. I settled on continuing the A/C system.

I really wanted to try and incorporate the stock heater core case in some way to cover up the plasticy aftermarket evaporator but I couldn't come up with anything that would look good or wouldn't require a ton of work for very little benefit. But I did decide to use the emblem that is on the stock unit. I didn't want to use the stock one that I had so I ordered a repop one as well as some 1/8 thick ABS plastic sheet to use to mount it. I wanted to back up the emblem with some plastic since it could be kicked and possibly dented and I planned on using the tabs on the emblem to help mount it but to my surprise the repop didn't have tabs like the OEM. So... the plan was changed and I just bonded to pieces of ABS together and then profiled it on the belt sander to semi-match the emblem shape and then I bonded the emblem to the sandwiched and profiled ABS. I then bonded it to the evaporator case with epoxy. It looks better but I may end up painting at least part of the evap unit to hide the plastic better.

I also worked on the RH outer vent design a bit. I modeled up and 3D printed a simple solid just to see if I liked the design and to see if it fit properly. When I held it into place under the dash it was obviously too small but the concept looked pretty close to what I was after.

I revised the model from 4” wide and .75” tall to 5” wide to 1” tall and matured it a little further. I tried to incorporate some of the design cues on the stock center dash and glovebox door. I then made a quick (if 10 hrs on the printer is quick) 3D print using PLA to see if it was to my liking and once I held it under the dash, I think it looked exactly like what I was looking for. I still need to make some fairly significant changes to the design to make it more producible but the size and shape was spot-on and I liked the horizontal bars for the vents as well. I hope to get the final part done in the next week or so, between other in-work jobs, and I will post pics once it is completed.

Nice job on the emblem. I also do some 3d modeling and printing. Love the vent design but, I’m curious how you plan on making it hollow.

The second larger one is hollow but I made the walls too thin (.080") and the build supports were a pain to get cleaned up. The upper tube also broke off partially due to the overly thin wall and due to using a low-res, quick print.

So this is what I jotted down to change:

1. Thicken the walls to match what I used on the center vent. I don't remember what I used but I'll pull up the center vent model to measure it.

2. Make it 2 pieces. The top is mainly planar so I will make the top a separate piece and put some lugs/tabs on them to screw the pieces together as well as bond the parts to each other to make it permanent. This will also make it easier to print.

3. Add internal vanes to direct and spread the air. This will also help in making it easier to fastener together and make the print easier.

4. Print using HT-PLA-GF and anneal to make it more durable.

We'll see if this fixes everything.

Sounds like solid plan. Good luck on your final print!

Door Glass

Next up was installing the door glass to make sure everything fit & worked properly so I don't have to modify it after it is painted. All the parts are aftermarket except the door...but the door has been repaired a ton.

I hit a problem right off the bat. I bought the glass already set in the track but I had to add the channel that the guides glide in. When I went to bolt the glass and the channel the screw holes didn't line up. With the channel banked against the bottom of the window track the slots were off in the up/down direction about 3/32 of an inch and the screws wouldn't engage. So what should have been a 5 minute job turned into a 90 minute job. My friends often ask me how is it working on an old truck...my response is always “It's a grind. Both figuratively and literally”. This is typical (as you will soon see).

Once I had the two parts bolted together, the guides and felt all installed and the window rolling up and down it was apparent that the window was not going up all the way. I stuck a steel scale to see what it lacked and the window was about a ½ shy of being all the way up. After checking to make sure there wasn't something in the window recess keeping from going further up, I sat down and did some internet searching. I found several “fixes” but the one that stood out was a Youtube video that showed that the aftermarket window regulators did not take full advantage of the entire gear range. So I pulled the window to see if that was the case, and it was.

I marked the center of the outermost fixed gear and the center of the moving gear to see if the travel could be increased. It looked to be about a ¼”off so the next thing I did was to mark & grind the fixed portion to clear so the regulator would travel up further. The window went low enough but not high enough therefore I only had to modify one end. This seems to be a pretty common problem and solution. I did this on both regulator.


This corrected the issue and then I reassembled the rest of the door. It isn't perfect and I didn't bond in any of the soft parts but I am satisfied enough to call it good to proceed.

Headliner and Gauges

The channels for the door windlace was pretty dented (some of it dented by me) and rusted when I cut the top off years ago so I needed to replace it. I bought aftermarket channels, drilled some holes in them and clecko'ed them in place and then plug welded them to the cab. It was a pain but I did manage to get them welded in and then took and angle grinder and ground down the welds. I then tested to see how a small piece of the windlace slid around the channel after reading to do this before you install it and tweaked the channel it it hung up. I didn't install the windlace but I needed the channel in place to cut the headliner.

Moving on to the headliner. I bought a one-piece ABS headliner and really liked how it looked raw. I put it in place and marked it to trim around the channels. I actually left the channels fastened with cleckos so I could just slide the headliner behind them and refasten the channels on top of the headliner to make it easier to mark. Once it was marked I trimmed the headliner using a bandsaw (and did the final install on the channels).

With the headliner temp installed it was clear that the trim on the RH A-pillar and the rear LH trim was off. These were areas that came pre-trimmed so I either got the headliner rigged a bit crooked when I marked it or the part was trimmed incorrectly from the factory (or the whole 80 year old roof was tweaked along the way). Either way, it had to be fixed.

I did some internet sleuthing and read about ABS being pretty easy to bond (actually chemically melt)using an Acetone slurry. The bits I trimmed off were great for making a slurry but weren't big enough to make the extension....so I ordered some 1/16” thick ABS sheet from Ebay with what I thought was the same pattern. The pattern didn't match so I finally had to give up on leaving the headliner bare.

With the slurry at the consistency of a thick primer, I then bonded some ABS together, basically a butt-splice, to see how it held. It was pretty strong but if I bent it then it would crack along the bond. I didn't want that to happen later so I decided to grab some fiberglass weave that I had and bonded it across the splice on the backside of the headliner using the slurry as the adhesive. This worked out real nice but the splices are an eyesore. I ordered some black vinyl that is close to the seat upholstery that I will install over the ABS upon final installation to hide the splices.

I has also ordered the gauges for the truck. I went one that will work with GPS instead of messing with all the gears on the 700R4. I also really wanted a tach so this set meet all those requirements....except they hit the brake pedal and booster & support bracket....ugh. They don't look any larger than the stock gauges so I believed they would just bolt right in. I had to pull the bracket and cut it off and re-weld it so it mounted further forward on the under-dash. It used to picked up the bolts of the steering column support but I had to shorten it and add two dedicated bolts to clear. Once that was done the gauges fit right in. With the gauges and headliner in place, I went ahead and re-installed the seat to make sure it fit properly.
If I don't watch out, I just may get done with this project in the near future.