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

Who's gages did you use? They look a lot like the ones I got from Dakota Digital. I'm very happy with mine although they were a bit pricy.

Your headliner looks a lot better than mine but I didn't go with the ABS version.

I went with the silver/white set from Intellitronix. They have mult colors to choose from. I liked the Dakota but, like you said, they were a bit pricey. I really wanted a more stock looking set but all the ones that I found (even 12v repops) had an issue that would have been a pain to work around so I punted. I can live with how these look but the instructions look to be very poor, which is strange because I think these are American made... but I'll battle thru it. The wiring on the rest of the truck is pretty straightforward so if I have to do a little trial & error on the gauges then that is ok.

Air Conditioner Finale

I still had the outboard AC vents to conquer. This is a good task when the thermometer is close to touching 100 degrees outside. I had a design roughed out earlier but I needed to make it more producible as well as better quality via the 3D printer. I determined that the vents needed to be broken into a 2-piece design so that the printer didn't have to make all these temp internal supports that were a bear to remove in a enclosed design. So the pics so what I came up with.

On the LH vent the hose from the evap unit could come in directly behind it but on the RH vent the glovebox was in the way so the hose connection has to be offset. On the LH vent I also had to add a clearance hole on the top plate to clear a bolt head from the parking brake bracket.

I went ahead and painted and mounted them in place. It was a pain to get them mounted with everything in place with everything all mounted in the dash so I made a mental note to mount them earlier in the assembly. I think they turned out pretty good and blend into the existing design like I intended.

Cab Glass

I had bought the glass for the windshield as well as the corner glass for the 5 window several years ago but after having experienced the questionable fitment of aftermarket parts during this project I knew that I needed to do a good test fit on them. With the upper cab sheet-metal (roof, back glass panel, upper cowl) being aftermarket and all the glass being aftermarket, I had a feeling the fit might be poor. I wasn't too concerned about the flat glass but the curved corner glass could be problematic.

I placed the windshield glass in place and it was a bit off...mainly in the corners along the A-pillar. After reading several blogs and watching several videos on glass installation, it was apparent that the fitment needed to be spot-on or I'd be fighting it after the truck was painted with limited options. So I bought some 1/4” thick press-board and decided to make a template.
I had the windshield rubber on-hand so the key dimension looked to be1/4” from the cab lip and the pinch-weld being 3/8” long. I went around and measure the pinch-weld on the cab and it was really close to the 3/8” except for a few local areas that I went ahead and trimmed down. I then used the glass I bought and made a slightly oversize press-board template based on it but oversized in a few areas. I then used my contour gauges to get it dialed to fit within the lip on the cab. Next I took some 1/4” wide tape that I had and routed it around the press-board edge to mark it to trim off the 1/4” clearance needed for the rubber.

The rear glass templates followed the same basic principle but the seal is a bit different. The fit of the rear and corner glass is indexed off the EOP of the pinch weld. I measured the rubber around these areas and the glass needed to be ¼” smaller than the EOP of the pinch-weld, the pinch weld needed to be a max of 3/8” wide and the the lip on the cab also needed to be about 3/8” from the EOP of the pinch weld before it starts curving. The first thing I did was to assure the pinch-weld was 3/8”, then I made sure the flat was at least 3/8” long to keep the rubber from progressing up the contour. There was a few places that needed trimmed, so I dialed the cab metal in and then it is was pretty simple to place in the template, mark the edge of the pinch-weld on the template, run the 1/4” tape around the edge and trim.

I'll take these templates to a local glass shop and have them cut some new glass. Now on to the corner glass which was a bit more involved. The corner glass uses the same rubber cross-section as the back glass so the measurements required would be the same. The issue was how to rig the curved glass in place to properly evaluate the fit.

To help me hold it the curved glass in place, I 3D printed a few clamps that mimicked the rubber seal. I used these in conjunction with some painters tape to allow me to position (or re-position...and re-position) the glass to try and get the best fit in the cab. It worked pretty good but I also took the rubber seal and cut off a few small (1” long) pieces and used those to also wedge it in place. I had to take these in and out several times until I got it to the best fit and and marked and trimmed. I didn't take any pics with it at final trim but I think I got the edge of the pinch-weld trimmed to be right at 1/4” to within about 1/32”. I also had to work on some of the punch-weld contour to better fit the glass. The bad thing about the corner glass is that the glass can't be modified so all the “correction” had to be on the cab. I'll make sure and eat my Wheaties before I put the corner glass in.

Did you find that the main front windshield pieces are same-same mirror images and sizes, or did you have to create a separate template for each side to deal with variations?

Very detailed work which should lead to much better fit and less fuss/muss come installation time I think.

I made separate templates for each side. They were off from each other about a 1/2" (iirc) or so in the edge along the A-pillar... but mainly in the top and bottom corner on that edge. It could be that the top is slightly wonky since it was a panel that I added an aftermarket roof to but who knows. I have a '48 3600 that will be the recipient of some pristine aftermarket glass in the near future (along with some other leftovers).

I figured if I was able to get the gaps to pretty much match the nominal rubber thickness that it would make the install go more smoothly. I can't imagine trying to pull the seal in place with a rope with too large or too small a gap. The flat glass should be very close to the nominal gap needed if they are cut to my templates but the corner glass may be a little tighter fit because I could only massage the metal. I have some local areas on the corner glass where I was only able to get a 3/16 gap and I'm hoping the rubber will compress enough to compensate. If not, I can still trim the edge a bit and let the seal ride up the contour a bit but I wanted to limit trimming a painted truck as much as possible.

Thanks for the feedback. I'm amazed at how detailed you are with your work. I'll be sure to keep watching as things progress.

No problem. Hopefully some of this can help someone out down the road. I know that I spend a ton of time reading posts and watching videos to come up with solutions or to give me a heads up on possible issues. So I know how valuable it can be.
I have one more small project on the truck (unless I missed something) and then it will be off to the bodyshop. I have it assembled to the point that the bodyshop can see what they are working with and let me know if there are areas that I need to address. Then I will disassemble it so they can start roughing it in. I have a fairly small punchlist of things to do after it is torn down.
7 years is long enough and if I did the bodywork and paint myself it would be another 7 years so I'll just grit my teeth and pay someone. These large curved surfaces are not made for amateur hour.

Your vents look great and I like the way they fit in with your dash. Nice work!

Thanks! I was looking to make them blend in better with the original dash and be a little understated as well

Turn Signal Wire Routing

The last task that I had on my punchlist before the truck can go to into bodyshop jail was to see how to route the wiring from the turn signal switch. The bright wires just stood out against the black interior so my first thought was to use a black wire loom to cover them us a bit.

I decided to just use an expanding braided sleeve and some black heat shrink to seal the ends and keep it from fraying. I liked the look that yielded but I needed some way of retaining it to the column. I could have just used a black wire tie but that didn't look too good so I settled on making a 3D printed “wire chase” of some sort to corral the wire bundle. The design I chose is somewhat similar to the fitting that bolts the steering column to the dash.

It ended up looking acceptable but I will eventually paint it to better match the steering column so that it becomes more understated.

7 Long Years

According to the data on the photos on my phone, I took delivery of the truck on May 18th 2019. I am finally at the point that I am ready to turn it over to the paint shop. I have started the ball rolling on getting it into the bodyshop but it my be more toward the end of the year before he can fit me in (fingers crossed). I still have some things that I need to do when it is being torn down and anything else the body man says we need to tweak but I have a list and I don't think these things will be a pinch-point in the process.

I am about to start putting together a quick document outlining what I all want done and how I want it done. Things like paint colors, where to transition the paint changes and other things that will make sure we are all on the same page and hopefully make it easier for the shop to understand what I am asking them to do.

I have also been using Ai tools to help me visualize what the truck will look like based on my choices. Ai can be a bit unpredictable regarding colors but I finally hit on the exterior color that I was looking for in one rendering. I don't know the actual name or paint code but after several renderings I got a picture that looks real close to what I want. Now I'll just have to go the paint store and see if we can get a few candidates for some spray-outs.

The pics that I posted are of the truck as it currently sits and the one that shows the color combo that I am shooting for.... 7 years. Like the frog said, “Time's fun when you're having flies”.

7 Long Years

Ai Pics

It's gonna look stunning! I like the green a lot!

BTW - Not to try and detract by backtracking a bit, but did you/have you considered inverting your "wire chase" so the bundled cable runs on the underside of the column? Might look just a smidge less conspicuous if you know what I mean.

I’ve been following your build since day one and your creativity, attention to detail and fabrication skills are top notch. I can’t wait to see the finished product. It’s going to be fabulous! Congratulations on reaching this milestone!

I considered it & I might just do that. It looked pretty clean with the wire going through the gap at the top of the column at the dash but it might not be a big deal to just go under the dash instead. Thanks for bringing it up. Sometimes I get so focused on going in one direction and forget to stand back and look at the big picture.

Thanks! Instead of a do it yourselfer, I consider myself a "screw-it-up yourselfer"... but the best teacher is failure.

Aftermarket Hood

Ok...so I “was” ready to get it off to paint (or at least get it on the waiting list) but after talking with the paint & bodyman I decided to try and tweak a few things to save him some time and ultimately save me some money....or so I thought.

First, I tried reworking the aft edge of the original hood a bit and then it went sideways (overworked the metal a bit) and I then thought I would try an aftermarket hood instead thinking that it couldn't be that bad. Big mistake. Big, big mistake. But I was committed after spending the $900 so here goes the documentation of the past several weeks of turmoil.

When I placed the aftermarket hood on the truck it was obvious that the curvature of the hood didn't match the curvature of the cowl. Both sides stuck out considerably from the cowl. The mating portion of the cowl is also aftermarket so it is not clear which part is the offending party but after some head and butt scratching I came up with a plan to fix it.

I initially considered trying to simply bend the inner hood support to better match the cowl contour but there really wasn't a good way to control the bending and force it to bend in the correct location nor a good way to predict the proper spring-back when it was bent. I was also afraid that the hood skin might warp awkwardly since the bending needed to happen a bit diagonal to the inner support due to the fact that the hood curvature is tapered front to back and not normal to the support that needed bent.

After I marked with tape the area where I wanted to re-contour the hood with it in place, I then removed the hood and made some relief cuts in the hood support. I made 3 cuts on one side and 4 cuts on the other since one side needed a bit more re-forming than the other. Once the support was cut I placed the hood back on the truck. I removed both front fenders so I could easily see and access the underside to check the fitment.

Once I confirmed the cuts would allow the hood to conform to the cowl, I removed the hood and temp welded a few pieces of flat-stock on each side of the cuts so I could form the hood to the cowl and clamp another piece of flat-stock across the cuts to hold the contour while I removed the hood and welded the cuts up. I did this for both sides and it worked out pretty well. I then ground down the welds to clean it up a bit.

Aftermarket Hood (Con't)

After the hood was re-fitted to the cowl I then focused on the front of the hood. I moved parts, slotted holes, threw tools, prayed to the gods of sheet-metal and the front nose would not match the aftermarket grille no matter what I did. But this time I had my '48 3600 to go by. So I made a template of the '48 and like I suspected, the aftermarket hood was too flat on the nose area compared to the stock hood. It was actually about 1/2” to 5/8” too snub-nosed compared to the '48. If it matched the '48 contour then it would match the grille so I had to do something to make it fit.

The outer edges of the hood close to the fenders were also pushed too far aft and had too much downward curvature to properly match the fenders. I split the outer edge of the hood skin from the under-structure in this area and then pulled the local hood skin forward by using a stud and dent puller. This brought the outer hood curvature closer to matching the fender but it wasn't perfect so I had to do some work on the fenders in this local area as well.

Once the outer edges of the hood were fairly close then I had to figure out how to grow the center of the hood forward to better match the grille contour. I decided that I need to split the hood down the centerline a bit and pull it forward to achieve a more “pointy” profile. I also had to split it along the lower center edge in order to pull it forward as well as fab a new return flange to back up the new nose.

After all the cutting was done and I pulled the nose forward then it was obvious that I had to add some metal to account for the increased area of the re-contour. I used the simple template I made from the '48 to guide me in adding the extra metal and then I welded it up and ground down all the welds. Luckily the nose emblem and center trim will hide most of the carnage after it has some filler on it.

Aftermarket Hood (Con't)

So the aftermarket hood didn't properly fit the cowl, didn't properly fit the grille, and (not surprisingly) doesn't fit the front fenders...so I had to tweak the fenders as well. I don't have many pics of it but it was easier for me to slice the fenders longitudinal and re-weld them to match the hood than to tweak the hood. The curvatures just didn't match so no amount of adjusting was going to fix it...so snip, snip, weld, weld.

The last issue that had with the aftermarket hood was that although I was able to reshape the hood to better match the cowl, the hood skin still didn't want to pull down snug on the cowl seal. I could press the hood skin downward with slight pressure right at the hood support that I had cut and welded earlier but it wouldn't hold. After some internet searching I saw where someone had used some anti-flutter sealant between the substructure and skin to “firm-up” the skin to the support. This was mostly to keep it from oil-canning but it might work for this situation as well. The anti-flutter was sturdy but had enough flexibility so as not to telegraph through the skin as it flexed. I determined this is how I'd fix it.

So I removed the hood, cleaned the surfaces between the skin and support with 80 grit and some solvent afterward, taped off the area and put a healthy bead of the adhesive on the hood under the support. I then immediately re-installed the hood (before it cured) and placed some sandbags I made to hold the skin down to the cowl in the local area of concern to let it dry for 24 hrs. That seemed to the do the trick. The next day the hood matches much better to the cowl.

Hopefully this is most of the heavylifting completed to make this hood fit.... fingers crossed.

Exceptional metal-smithing IMHO! The results look great and your description of the processes provide guidance for other Bolters that will have to deal with the less than accurate aftermarket pieces available these days.

Wow! And I just struggled with aligning the original hood and fenders to the cowl. Great job!

Adding my WOW! as well. Very nice work! It's a shame that you had to resort to that much work to make a hood fit. The Aftermarket industry needs to up it's game. It's not like they don't have the proper dimensions for these parts.:rolleyes:

That 3M NVH stuff is good. I used it on my hood as well. Was wondering if heating the rear hood support would have worked to tighten up that curvature. I've see where a company straightened bent wide flange beams by standing them with the arch upward and heating the flanges in a V pattern. That shrinks the metal and in the case of the beams gravity helped straighten them. The cost of the OA gas was worth salvaging the beams.

Thanks for all the comments. Hopefully this will help someone out along the way.


I considered heating the support but I was afraid the heat might warp the skin if it happened to get too hot. But it might not be a bad way to go if you are careful and can heat the support while the hood is mounted to bend it in place and let it cool. That was one of the hardest things to account for on all these changes. Figuring out what needed to be tweaked and keeping that curvature or rigging in place when the hood was removed to be worked on. Also, if the finished engine wasn't in the way then it might have been easier to do while the hood was on the truck. Like Mike Tyson says, "hindsight is 50/50".

The heat would only be on the part of the support away from the hood skin. It's not heat bending but heat shrinking.You just need to heat it to dull red and then quench it, which makes the metal shrink.

VERY nice work, not easy but nice!

That's a very ingenious fix.

Ok... I get ya. I would just be worried about controlling the bend at that point since it would just be a guess on how much it would shrink. I have recently done some disc shrinking on panels for highs & lows and the iterations required to get these simple anomalies properly dialed in is no joke. I could see that being the case for this as well... but it could be the way to go for small tweaks and is another method to consider.

I’ve had a lot of success using a MIG welder for shrinking. Depending on how much I need to shrink, I usually just lay down a few dots, quench it, check the fit, and repeat if necessary.

If I need a bit more pull, I’ll drill a small hole, fill it with weld, and immediately quench it.

This method is especially effective on tricky areas where you can’t use traditional oxy-acetylene method.