BIG OR NOT AT ALL
Some 5 yrs ago I moved the project inside my shop.
We know the AD trucks have a two piece hood. I split the seam and ground the edges. I fabricated a 6" strip to widen the hood down the middle. My English Wheel (own design/built) provided the bull nose crown for the front. Welded together it stiffened up the hood. Fitting the old cab to my '80 donor was complicated. The reference point was the center of the front fenders over the front wheels. With that in mind it set the location fore/aft for the cab. I used the floor and firewall from my donor truck (C5000) because it was not rusted/gone. It also provided the mount locations for the hanging pedal cluster.
Add new shaped rocker panels to the floor. Outer L/R dogleg cowling panels were spliced onto the '49. Inner cowl panels roughed in. Then the left and right front cab quarters were clamped into place, 6" wider. Working in 3D space with a curved cab is very complex. Up/down, fore/aft, left/right, same dim. top and bottom. It helped that I took cab dimensions as found and marked them on the '49 cab with a yellow paint pen. Then took digital pics. These pics proved invaluable when I needed to establish new +6" cab dimensions. A flexi-cab like these quarters moves like your hand when you hold your opposable thumb opposite your four fingers. Picture your thumb is the window pillar and fingers are the back of the cab. It takes seconds to move your hand and thumb, many hours to fit the door opening to a door and get a ~3/16" gap. Everything had to be clamped and tacked 10-15-20 times to get to the location and dimension I needed. Keeping in mind the door opening in 3D. Doors went on/off as many times each. The door hinge post as rusted was missing from the lower hinge down and the cab rear corners also gone. I used another AD cab to provide the pointed cowling at front/center. Cut/fitted to provide the net 6" wider. Same on roof and windshield framing.
Not many straight/flat lines to work with, everything is curved/tapered/wedge shaped etc. AH, the beauty of the old trucks! Using the second cab I donated a good rear window and spliced into my 5 window between the rear windows (so rear window is stock size.) Roof is still wide open!
As previously mentioned the steering wheel now protrudes into the windshield plane about 5-6". Need to move the wheel and column back to suit. Keep in mind there is no dash or instrument holes at this point. Disconnect the steering coupler, tie the steering wheel up in place to mock it up. Put a box in the cab to sit on and do some "visioning".
As time passes I see I have basically a two seater turned into a three seater.
http://i837.photobucket.com/albums/zz296/BAFTUB/IM000148.jpgNot enough to put anything into my truck (cab).
WHY NOT STRETCH THE CAB? and make it longer. A Crew Cab! (maybe I should have had a Suburban/Panel truck.)
OK! Found two other old donor cabs for more sheet metal. $20 each!!!
http://i837.photobucket.com/albums/zz296/BAFTUB/PhotosArchivefromCD03-04087-1.jpghttp://i837.photobucket.com/albums/zz296/BAFTUB/IM000049.jpgNow I do some roughing again, hanging/clamping the other cab back-back-back, 54" sounds/looks right.
http://i837.photobucket.com/albums/zz296/BAFTUB/49Chevstretch54in.jpg Wait a minute, these cabs are tapered, wider at the back! Ifin its 6" wider at front, it is not right at the back. Lots of eye-balling and measuring and 9" is the magic number for wider at the back panel. Now I split my original cab again between the lock post and the 5th windows. Again, I re-cut the back panel and respliced it for +4.5" per side. Clamp and tack, eye-ball/measure again.
That's it, so now I have a front section and a very floppy rear section in 3D space. Agin I goes up/down, fore/aft, in/out, clamping/tacking/bracing etc. More than 30 vice grips and a dozen C-Clamps in play, with tubing, angle iron, tape, threaded rods (adjustable), string and almost bubblegum to get stuff located. I must be nuts! But I'm not scared!
NO BONES! This monster has no frames, just skin, no floors also.
Fabed up some 1.5" shaped channels for floor frames, making a grid and braces. Extended the rockers back under the big cab.
Welded up some 1/8 heavy perches for the main frame channels to hold body cushions. Found some new multi-piece GM body cushions at a swap meet. Mount new extended cab on 6 new cushions, weld floor frames to extended rockers. Now for the bones! I made a 1/4 template for the roof curves, bent up some (racecar) tubing to make roll bars. The rear gets a double, fitted just ahead of the 5th windows. Tacked welded to the body and welded down to the floor framing it stiffens the cab rear. The second pair of rollbars go behind the door lock post in the B pillar.
Now some fabing of a 48" curbside door frame (from extra cabs left/right) lock posts. Fab curbside door from two donor doors L/R. Design and fab hinges for curbside door, hinge suicide style. Fit and adjust big door, 90 degree opening, hinge bases attach to corner bones.
http://i837.photobucket.com/albums/zz296/BAFTUB/IM000252.jpg Bear claw latches in front/side doors, pins on the doors, claws in the posts. Repair front door bottoms inside/out. Shave door handles, remove window hardware, chem dip and epoxy prime doors, etc. Fit GM power window motors and arms to '49 Chevy window mechanicals. Test fire and adjust bear claw latches. Test wire and fire windows with plexi panels. Dangerous! I now have enough window torque, I think I could cut a ripe apple in half. Fab custom window lift for big door.
Now to the driver's side. Don't want suicide door opening to road side. Design and fab left side big window to match curbside big door window. Partial door window frames from '70's Chevy van, provides same corner rads and curves. Clamp and tack into place, eyballing it to line up with body lines. Design and fab roadside hatch under window, custom design hinges, hinge up and out of the way.
http://i837.photobucket.com/albums/zz296/BAFTUB/IM000264.jpghttp://i837.photobucket.com/albums/zz296/BAFTUB/IM003529.jpgThis is a BIG BOLT for sure, and a BIG project.
On any big project you burn out from time to time, so I laid off of it for the best part of a yr. 99.8% of this work I accomplished SOLO!, even the heavy cab/frame work. When my lovely and patient wife Mary or daughter Jackie come out to inspect, I always try to have them hold something or sit in the truck to comment. After all they are my racecar crew and could ride in this BIG BOLT (if they approve).
Soon to the dash, cowl, wipers and steering/pedal cluster mods.
Then the big job yet to come, THE ROOF! I need to run a large panel thru "Mrs. Peel" (the English Wheel, painted British Racing Green). That may take from 4-6hrs with the help of a friend or two.
More in a couple of months as work progresses.
Also, on the horizon is an opportunity to get a '45 2Ton Art Deco farm truck (rough) from an old friend ($100). Stay tumed.
